Tire Mounting and Dismounting

CAUTION: To avoid serious personal injury, do not stand over the tire when inflating. The bead may break when the bead snaps over safety hump. Do not exceed 275 kPa (40 psi) pressure when inflating any tire if beads are not seated. If 275 kPa (40 psi) pressure will not seat beads, deflate, relubricate the beads and reinflate. Overinflation may cause the bead to break and cause serious personal injury.

NOTICE: When dismounting tires on steel wheels, ensure the air is completely exhausted before breaking the tire bead. The bead breaker on the tire changing machine could put enough force on the tire to bend the wheel at the mounting surface. Such damage can result in vibration, shimmy, and under severe usage (i.e. police vehicle) lead to cracking.

Use a tire changing machine to mount or dismount tires. Follow the equipment manufacturer's instructions. Do not use hand tools or tire irons to change tires, as they may damage the tire bead or wheel rim. To determine if a steel wheel has been bent by tire changing equipment, perform the following procedure.

1. Place a straight edge, approximately 8-9 inches long, on the inboard mounting surface of the wheel and try to rock it up and down.
2. Repeat the above procedure on three or four different positions around the wheel inboard mounting surface.
3. If a gap exists replace the wheel.

Clean wheel rim bead seats with a wire brush or course steel wool to remove lubricants, old rubber, and light rust. Before mounting or dismounting a tire, lubricate the tire bead area with an approved tire lubricant.

After mounting, inflate until beads are seated, but never exceed 275 kPa (40 psi) to seat the beads. Install valve core and inflate to proper pressure, as shown on the Tire Placard. Check the locating ring of the tire to be sure it shows evenly around the rim flanges on both sides.