I have an old 22 inch "split rim" wheel with the tire mounted on it that came off an old bus. I need to get the tire off the rim so I can use the the old wheel to set underneath a burn barrel. I don't have any special tire-removing equipment, nor to I want to pay anyone to take the tire off the rim for me. I already deflated the tire and removed the valve core. What would be the trick(s) to getting this tire off of this type of rim. I tried prying and beating and stuff to get the outer rim thing off, but of course it doesn't want to give. Probably because I'm not going about it right. Any suggestions? thanks

 

The split rim I've had experience with is the one with the removable ring. For those deflate the tire and push the tire down away from the ring. Then you can use a flat end tire iron to pry out in the notch in the ring. That will pop the ring off.

If you ever decide to put an tire on one of those things, though, don't do it yourself. Let a tire shop do it - they are dangerous to inflate a tire on.

 

Here's a link to a picture of it. http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...1/IMG_1062.jpg

As I mentioned, I've already deflated the tire. But I don't see how I can push the tire down away from the ring, when the ring (white-colored here and with notches) is situated as it is, unless I'm not understanding you correctly. Also, as I mentioned I don't have any special equipment with which to "push the tire down," I'm just looking for a way to get the tire off manually somehow. And don't worry I'm not going to ever attempt to put the tire back on, I just want it off. thanks

 

Do you absolutely have to save the tire?

Sawzall works well.......

 

No dont want the tire. Sawzall good idea!!

 

Ok, you haven't broken the bead loose from the rim. For a jury rigging, you can use two hammers, one of which is a claw hammer, the other doesn't matter - you'll hammer with it.

Between the tire and the outer rim of white that you're showing in the photo is where you have to separate the tire from the solid white ring. Get on some goggles and drive the claws of the hammer between the tire and rim to wedge the tire down. Go all the way around the tire. It'll take a couple of times around to break loose the tire. Once it is off the bead of the tire you can push the tire down away from the rim. Then the solid white rim in your photo will push/beat down off the split ring and you can pop the ring off with the tire iron/big screwdriver.

With the split ring off, the white ring will pull up off the lower portion and you're not only wore out, but in business to sit your burn barrel on it.

Glad to hear you won't be reassembling it - when I say they are dangerous to air a tire on, they have killed people.

A truck stop/tire shop would probably break it down for $25.00.

 

Once I have broken the bead of the tire from the rim with the hammers, as you described, I'm not clear about being able to "push the tire down away from the rim." How far would I need to push the tire down, just a little ways? Then I would beat down on the far outer perimeter of the rim and it would come loose somehow, and thats when I take the flat end of a tire iron or big screwdriver) and stick it into the notch and pry the white ring off? I guess I'm confused, never actually having seen how these rims/rings go together.

 

That's Ok they're kind of an odd duck anymore. They were never a favorite because of the problems with airing them.

The configuration of the thing is like this:

A large hat shaped affair with a groove cut in the upper part of the "stove pipe" = part away from the rim, about an inch away from the end. That is the groove the split ring locks into.

The split ring, when locked into the groove has a lip that extends away from the "stove pipe" about one half inch. That lip is what keeps the outer most ring (the outer white ring in your photo) from blowing off the rim with the air pressure in the tire. That ring is slightly beveled, top to bottom.

The outer white ring is about two inches in depth, extending down inside the bead of the tire. When assembled and aired the tire bead is a tight, pressed fit on to that white ring. That tolerance is how they keep the tire from blowing off the rim with over 100 lbs of air in the tire + load = road dynamics, etc.

If you look at a common car tire you see the same basic configuration, but there are three components on the one side of that truck wheel/tire that are used to accomplish the same thing. The advantage to that setup was you wouldn't have to distort the heavy truck tire bead to pry it over a rim lip of a one piece rim. And it was workable because those tires have tubes in them.

For what you're doing, you have to break loose the bead of the tire from the white ring and force the tire down past the ring toward the other side of the rim. You may be able to just stand on it, or weight it, or place it under something and force it down with a jack. Once the tire bead is broken loose they move pretty easily. But some of the older ones may be a little stiff. It depends on the plies in the sidewall of the tire.

The tire will have to move at least three inches down the rim to provide clearance to drive the outer ring down. Once that ring has been driven down off the inner split ring, you should be able to pry the split ring off pretty easily.

Once you get that ring off, that side is finished and the other bead pressed on the opposite side of of the rim (the single lip side) can be broken down the same way.

It is a lot of work without power tire equipment, but it can be done. I've done the same thing to change big farm tractor tires.

When you're breaking the beads loose, keep a pair of goggles on.

 

Don't know whether it would work here, but we used to just drive over the tire sidewall with another vehicle. Of course those were regular steel wheels and car tires.

 

I dunno, it's been an education learning how I might be able to manually get the bead broken and get the rings pryed off and the tire finally separated from the dang rim(s) if I expend enough time and energy at it. But this is a really old rim and tire and I have the feeling it's gonna be stuck on there too hard to fight with manually with claw hammers and tire irons.
Since I'm not planning on saving the tire, I'm leaning toward cutting it off instead. I have a sawsall. I've never cut a tire off a rim with a sawsall. So what's the best way to do that? Which way do I cut? Is there gonna be any steel woven into the tire? Use a wood blade or a "bi-metal" blade on the saw?

 

You would likely have steel belts in the cap and definitely steel cord in the bead (the mating point of the tire to the rim).

 

Okay I sawed away at it and got it all off using the sawsall with metal blade. And to cut through the steel cord in the bead I used a grinder. Got it under the burn barrel now, mission accomplished. thanks