Tire changer

The largest assortment of garage tools include tire changers, wheel alignment equipment, wheel balancers, 4 post lifts, 2 post lifts, scissor lifts, emission testing equipments and scan tools for diagnosis. These tire fitting accessories are also used to enhance functions, efficiency and appearance of the tire s of your vehicle such as alloy wheel protector rings, tire fitting tools and chemicals that includes a brush, 4 in 1 tire valve tool silver, plastic handled valve key, spider wrench, screw on tire valve mounter (pvc), and general accessories including rubber mallet, 2-in-1 digi pressure gauge, digital tire pressure gauge, dead blow mallet, and master wheel wrench with a socket.

Tire repair materials are important parts of a tire changer that are meant to repair any type of malfunctioning of tire s. The tire repairing parts include patches and plugs, which comprise of Schrader brand repair plugs and tube repair patches.

Another essential part of a tire repair material is tire repair chemical that includes fast dry vulcanising solution small, buffing solution, leak detection fluid, rimtite, inner liner sealant along with repair tools that include value repair kits and valve knife (straight blade tapered). Other important parts of a tire machine are valve knife (hooked blade), carbide cutter and flap wheel. Tire repair accessories basically include tire bath, wire brush, repair string and tire lube

Today we focus on the tire changer. Tire changers are machines used to help mechanics and tire technicians dismount and mount tires with most kinds of wheels. After the wheel and tire assembly are removed from the vehicle, the tire changer has all the components necessary to remove and replace the tire from the wheel. Different types of tire changers allow technicians to replace tires on automobiles, motorcycles and heavy-duty trucks. New tire and wheel technology have improved the newer tire changers to be able to change a low profile tire or a run-flat tire. A tire changer machine is the outcome of many years of experience accumulated by established manufacturers pooled with technical expertise of specialists on the ground for the equipments of tire services. Small, light and user-friendly tire changers are necessary for operators as well as for karting aficionados.

Furthermore, there are other types of tire changer.

• motorcycle tire changer. Motorcycle tire changers are less sophisticated than passenger cars & light truck or heavy duty tire changers because they deal with smaller and lighter tires and wheels. Motorcycle tire changers mainly provide a simple bead loosening system and rim clamps powered manually. Certain motorcycle tire changers can accommodate wheel diameters as small as 10" and wheels at least 1-1/2" wide. In addition, small atv wheels and tires are used on motorcycle tire changers.
• heavy duty tire changer. Heavy duty tire changers require larger equipment because these changers deal with larger, heavier tires and wheels. Heavy duty tire changers can work with some wheels up to 56" in diameter and tires up to 90.5” in diameter and 43” wide. Heavy duty tire changers are used for agricultural, off-road and construction vehicles.

Tire changer components

Today's tire machines are stand-up models that hydraulically assist the tire technician to remove the tire from the rim and replace it. The hydraulics in the machines can either be electrically or pneumatically powered. There are many moving parts on the machine that take the technician through the removal and replacement process at one machine, without having to move around the shop. These tire machines were designed for speed and efficiency as well as limited shop space. The tire's bead is separated from the rim, placed on a clamping turntable, and an adjustable tool bar, pry tool, and the turning motion of the turntable remove the bead of the tire from the wheel. The machines generally have tire lube bottles band-strapped to them to conveniently apply a coat of lubricant to the bead of the tire being installed. They also have some shelf space for valve stem replacement storage and other tools that may be needed. The new tire is placed onto the wheel in an opposite fashion and then air is inflated into the tire, all at the tire machine. Most tire machines do not balance the tires--that has to be performed using another machine. These newer stand-up tire machines are much faster and more efficient than their old manual tire-changer counterparts.

The Bead Breaker

Commonly located on the right side of the machine if you're facing it from the front. The tire is rolled up on the wheel and deflated to the right side of the machine standing vertically. The bead breaker is lined up manually by the technician and strategically aimed near the bead of the tire, but just away from the inside edge of the rim. The bead breaker is activated by a foot pedal on the bottom of the front of the machine (or, in some older models, by a button on the bead breaker handle activated by the thumb of the technician), and is drawn toward the machine using hydraulic pressure to collapse the bead from the wheel. The tire is then turned around manually and the bead on the reverse side of the wheel is separated from the wheel again so that the beads on both sides of the wheel are collapsed before placing it on the turntable

The Turntable

The turntable is located at the top of the base of the tire machine--low, so that it can be easily worked on by the tech at thigh level. The tire, beads now collapsed inward from the wheel, is placed on the turntable horizontally. Four hydraulic or pneumatic clamps are activated by another foot pedal located near the floor in front of the machine. The clamps can either extend from in to out and clamp the tire from the inside circumference of the wheel, or they can clamp on the outside edge of the wheel moving from out to in. The pedal activates the clamps, and they spread out or in to grip the bottom of the wheel and hold the wheel during the removal process. The other feature the turntable does is turn. Again, another foot pedal at the bottom of the front of the machine turns the table clockwise if you step down on it, and counterclockwise if you place your foot under the foot pedal and lift it upward. This gives the tire technician forward and reverse motion of the turntable.

The Pry Bar and the Tool Arm

Once the tire is laying on the turntable and the clamps have locked the wheel, the adjustable tool arm swings up to the top right-side edge of the wheel. There is a metal or plastic curved end of the tool arm (commonly called a duck head because it resembles the head of a duck) that wraps around a 7- or 8-inch-wide area of the top of the wheel rim. The tool arm is spring-loaded and can move up and down easily, and moves from a boom arm that swings back and forth. The boom would swing the arm inward until the tool arm is up to the wheel, then the tool arm would be manually pushed downward on the spring until the duck head is mounted onto the top right side of the rim. Then, there is a locking arm on the tool arm that will hold the spring pressure of the arm to the rim. Now the tool arm and duck head are locked into place. The pry bar or tire tool is set down into the sidewall of the tire, where the bead is separated from the wheel and lifted or pried up over the duck head. The turntable is then activated by foot pedal in a clockwise motion while still holding the pry bar and the top bead of the tire over the duck head. About halfway around the pry bar no longer needs to hold upward pressure of the bead of the tire, and the duck head takes over removing the bead from the wheel. The bottom bead is removed in the same fashion, although this is a little trickier because the width of the tire can sometimes get in the way.

The Foot Padals

Knowing the foot pedals, their location, and the function they perform is the trickiest part of the tire machine. The more a tire technician uses one, the easier and quicker this becomes. There may be three or four foot pedals in the bottom front of the machine that all operate different functions of the machine, so it's all about coordination. Most of these machines and the foot pedals that operate them have automatic shut-off functions. In other words, if you miss the tire bead when using the bead breaker and accidentally hit the wheel, but do not want to incur damage to it, by releasing the foot pedal that activates the bead breaker, the bead breaker stops the hydraulic pressure. This is the same for the turntable. If the bead slips while the table is turning, releasing the pedal stops the table and gives the technician another chance to start over.

The air Inflator

Once the tire is successfully installed on the tire machine, the last step is to inflate it. On the left side of the machine is yet another device and another foot pedal. The device is a pneumatic air hose with an adapter that fits onto the universal valve stems. Air is pumped through the air hose by stepping on the foot pedal. Most machines will also have an air inflation gauge to monitor how much air pressure is being pumped into the tire. Caution is advised during this step as tire beads setting against the wheels can be loud and dangerous if not performed properly. By pressing down on the air inflation with force, the tech can activate a bead-setter purge of air that assists in setting the bead of a flimsy sidewall tire onto a wide rim. The air is purged from both the air hose and from holes on the turntable that blow upward with force to push air into the bottom bead of the tire and force the upper bead onto the wheel. The air inside the tire machine is limited, so once the tech has exhausted the air pressure with the bead setter blast of air, he may have to wait for the pressure to build up inside again before trying again if he wasn't successful the first time.With the help of the tire changer to change a tire in garage

Changing car tire is not a problem anymore with the introduction of professional tire changing machines. Loosening the beads, detaching the old tire and then placing a new one can be a really difficult and knuckle-scraping job when it comes to tire changing. But, a professional tire changing machine can make the whole process easier and faster. Professional tire machines can change the car tire s without damaging the tire or rim.

The best feature about this tire changer is that everyone can afford this easily and can make their tire -changing task simpler. The latest technology in these machines has been devoted to fulfil the necessities of consumers when they come across with the task of tire changing.

So, how can we use a tire changer properly and professionally?

Steps to use a tire changer

1. Put on your safety glasses and familiarize yourself with the tire machine and all the moving parts. Some may have two foot pedals located on the bottom of the front of the machine, while others may have three. It is recommended to step on the pedals to see which one activates what part of the machine and get familiar with it before de-mounting or mounting a tire. The placement of the pedals is not always universal, however for the most part, the pedal closest to the apparatus is what activates it. For example, on a three pedal system, the far right foot pedal will activate the bead breaker bar, the pedal in the middle will activate the turntable, the pedal on the left will activate the locking jaws on the turntable. Most all of the machines will have an air inflation pedal located on the far left side of the machine away from the moving parts on the front. Remove the valve stem cap. Remove the valve core using the valve core removal tool. Allow the tire to deflate.

2. Place the tire on the right side of the tire machine standing up. Swing the adjustable bead breaking arm so that the blade is placed just on the outside edge of the rim, but only touching the tire. Make sure the blade does not contact the rim in any way. Activate the bead breaking pedal to activate the bead breaking arm and blade. Do not hold the handle of the blade after you've activated the arm. You can hold it long enough to ensure the blade won't come into contact with the rim, but the moment the blade is safely contacted the bead of the tire, release the handle. You may have to spin the tire and break the bead down on the opposite side. Flip the tire around and break the bead on the other side of the rim

3. Place the tire onto the turntable. Activating the locking jaws is determined by what type of rim the tire is on. Most all steel rims can be locked from the inside diameter of the rim. To activate the lock for that type of rim, place the tire on the turntable (top of the tire and rim facing upward) with the locking jaws retracted and activate the locking jaws pedal to extend them. A specialty aluminum rim might call for the bottom of the rim to be clamped from the outside of the rim. For this procedure, the locking jaws would have to be open all the way, the rim and tire placed on the turntable, then the locking jaws pedal depressed to activate them to close around the outside of the rim, being cautious not to pinch the sidewall of the tire inside the locking jaw. Determine the type of rim and activate the locking jaw.

4. Swing the adjustable tool arm so that the duck-head covers the outside of the rim edge. There is a large adjustment screw located at the hinge of the arm that can be tightened or loosened. Adjust the screw if you need to. When the duck-head of the adjustable tool arm is in place, swing the locking arm (attached to the adjustable tool arm) over to lock it into place

 5. Take the tire tool bar and place it into the bead of the tire over the front of the duck-head and pry the bead over the duck-head. Holding the bar down close to the rim, activate the turntable pedal in a clockwise motion. Go slowly at first to make sure the bead stays over the duck-head and the top bead is being pulled off without causing damage to the bead of the tire. Allow the tire tool bar to rotate with the table and do not try to hold it against the moving turntable. It will get wedged between the tire and bead and turn with the turntable until 3/4 of the bead is pulled off and then it will release.

 6. Lift the bottom bead of the tire up and pry the tire tool bar down inside the circumference of the tire by the duck-head. Repeat the same procedure by trying to pry the bottom bead over the duck-head with the tool bar and activate the turntable in a clockwise motion. If you miss, the turntable can be backed up by lifting the foot pedal with your foot making it turn counter-clockwise. Go slowly on the bottom bead and, in some cases, lifting the tire on the outside near the duck-head will assist in making sure the bottom bead does not slip over the tool bar and back onto the rim. Remove the tire by unlocking the adjustable tool arm lock and swinging it back out of the way

7. Remove the valve stem using a valve stem puller. Replace the valve stem with a new one. If you locked the rim on the outside by the locking jaws, this would be a good time to reposition them to lock from the inside so you do not mount and inflate the tire with the locking jaws stuck between the bead and the rim.

8. Place the tire on the rim when you're ready to replace it. Using the tire lubricant swab, place a generous coat of tire lubricant around the circumference of both bottom and top bead. Tip the tire toward the right side of the machine so the top of the tire is facing upward and swing the adjustable arm so that it locks the duck-head to the rim through the center of the tire.

9. Twist the tire slightly in a clockwise fashion to make the bottom bead angle onto the rim in the front of the duck-head and activate the turntable pedal in a clockwise motion. Repeat the procedure for the top bead.

10. Insert the air hose to the valve stem and depress the air inflation pedal to inflate the tire and set the bead. Most machines will have a dial indicator to show how much air is being pumped into the tire. Inflate to the proper pounds per square inch recommended for the tire.