How to mount a small riding mower tire. Very easy method. Read description for more info.

Small tires can be very challenging remove and mount to a wheel. This method works well for small tires that will not fit on a tire machine.
Tools needed:
*Vise
*Steel rod that fits inside the hub wheel and is long enough to give about 6 or more inches above the wheel's side when mounted on the vise.
* Min 2 sets of Vise grip pliers
* Long flat screw driver or flat bar.
* Wd40 or equivalent or soapy water.
The smaller vise grips I use in the video to grip the wheels rim are ground smooth to keep from cutting into the tire as I spin it around the wheel.
After installing the new tire, if you're having trouble getting the tire to air up/ beads to seat, use a ratchet strap around the center of the tire to squeeze the tire and the beads will expand out to make contact with the wheel rim. Add some air gradually and remove the ratchet strap while slowly and carefully adding air.
These tires usually only need 14 psi.
My goal is to make 'how to' and repair videos that teach valuable skills and help people save money. If you found this video helpful, hit the like button and Subscribe to the channel!

[@Mechanical_Mind]

To find tools, shop equipment, mower parts and more, you can find them at my store. Click this link: www.amazon.com/shop/mechanicalmind I'll get a commission on the sale at no extra cost to you. It's a great way to help the channel and get the items you need.

[@joeross6064]

that is slicker than cow poop !

[@westofthelakecadillacclub]

There have to be hundreds of videos on KZbin showing how to mount a new tractor tire, but yours is hands down the best there is. So simple, so easy. The best part is, no games or nonsense in your video, just simple instructions. Thanks so much, you are a KZbin gem!

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Wow, thanks!

[@kurtT342]

I second that @@Mechanical_Mind

[@RobertFrisbeeTAM]

I third that. THIS is the video I was looking for.

[@house_church]

Best video on this often frustrating job. Thanks for not taking 30 minutes or an hour... :)

[@kurtT342]

Hey brotha, just want to say thanks for shooting this video. I spent the better part of 3 hrs trying to mount a tire with no success. Then I saw your video. Literally 5 minutes to mount the tire. Thanks again!

[@tobylou8]

Every 4-5 years I come back to see how to do this again when my casters wear out. This is by far the best video I've ever seen in 20 years on small tire installation!!!! Thanks a lot. I'll be doing this in the a.m.!

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Thanks Toby!

[@Albe3331]

I love learning. At 72, I have struggled with small tires like this for years. The last lawn tractor tire cause me so much grief that I bought a whole new tire and rim assembly. Now I am confident I can salvage the old one. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

[@harmonchandler6164]

Best video ever on these small rim tires. I ruined a brand new tire today and bent the rim trying to put the new tire on. Now to order a new tire and wheel already assembled.

[@frankhoward7645]

One thing I think you forgot. When you go to air it up, sometimes the bead won't settle into the rim and the air just escapes. To remedy this problem, put a belt around the tire at the center of the tread forcing the bead into the rim, then air it up.

[@zekesspindoctor3566]

Or ratchet strap

[@fredford7642]

Thank you for a really good video on changing these tires. I have been messing with these suckers for close to forty years. Your method is simple and easy. Thank you many times over!

[@ls2005019227]

Coming from someone who has no problem with semi or car/truck tires.....but has literally wrestled with lawnmower tires.....nice tips/video!

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Thanks Robert!

[@01eddielawson]

The smaller the tyre, the harder they seem to be

[@philpavlovicz4044]

I don’t believe I have ever left a comment on a KZbin video before. DAMN! This worked! I was so frustrated that I was ready to drop $50 on a Harbor Freight small tire changer! This made my afternoon, and I got the lawn cut! Thanks much for this short, sweet and ingenious video!

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Thanks Phil!

[@johntoe6127]

I had one of their small tire changers to use on go-kart wheels. It wouldn't even break the bead without bending. Harbor Freight's motto should be: Designed to break, and built to stay that way!

[@johntoe6127]

@@davebryant8050 HF sells a set of socket extensions that are extra long. Those are handy, so I bought a set, Thinking what could break. Zero moving parts right? The square end of one just twisted right off. You'd have thought it was made of brass, it was so soft. I don't think the steel had been correctly hardened. Harbor Freight: Designed to break, and built to stay that way!!!

[@bobrees4363]

Forty plus years of fighting lawn mower tires and I never thought of mounting them on a post. When I saw your bar in the vice, I said that will work just like an old Coates 40-40. Thanks for the idea.

[@maxsfight2432]

Excellent video, helped me greatly! Thank you.👊🏼

[@dennyclosser8456]

I can’t tell how much I appreciate seeing that. Thank you.

[@vskhouse7932]

Has to be the best lawn tip video I've seen in a long time!

[@martinmoffitt4702]

best how to on small tire r and r ever! thank you Sir

[@markrush5013]

wow!! genius!!! thank you...I'm still dreading putting on new tires ..never did it .....but at least I've got a fighting chance now after seeing your vid!

[@jimyoungquist1687]

wow, that was great. I have struggled and struggled with that, and then gave up and paid to have it done. Thanks much!

[@28tpi]

Nice job. Thanks for sharing.

[@paintegrity.]

Excellent! You are the DUDE!

[@aaronfurlough7503]

I put tubes in rotten tires not wanting to pay the price they wanted for new tires. (mower about 30 years old). It took me hours fighting, with tires between my knees. Great video, thank you. @ 72 I can't think like I used to.

[@timlad5]

Well done. Reminds me of working in a tire shop using a Coates 40 40.

[@dcurry8147]

Okay now that was slick. I just went out in the shop and tried it thinking it can't be that easy. Wasn't it as easy as you did it but I got it on with no problem thanks

[@jamesmorrisy1908]

This was excellent. I’ve been beating my brains out getting the tire back on.

[@rosskrause3926]

No doubt..me too !

[@garyjackson9786]

Most all round excellence content.time.no excess chatter..on point thank you

[@user-iy6de7qi1r]

Good method!

[@mattjford473]

Awesome video thanks

[@georgestrickland9278]

try breaking the bead loose with a hammer on one that's been on a mower about 20 years,also try it in cold weather

[@87mattjt]

That was my situation, i dropped my snow plow blade on it a few time and that finally did the trick.

[@SA-dl9ox]

Excellent technique. So much easier than wrestling. Thanks for this!

[@jessefernandez850]

Great video thanks bro

[@HamiltonSRink]

Excellent !

[@xenaguy01]

*HUGE thanks!!!* At 74, I had my new tires on inside 1/2 hour! Subbed!

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Thanks for the sub!

[@saigashooter]

I just need to leave a comment and say a huge Thank You! I fought with this for way too long but this method is awesome!

[@MidnightClique926]

Bro best advice ever saved me so much

[@danielmaclachlan2829]

Dude! You Rock! I had been trying an old method pretty much all afternoon, and then with yours, I was done in less than 5 min. Thank You!

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Haha! Thanks Daniel! I'm glad it helped

[@cliffjumper1984]

after mounting 245/35r19' zr rating last weekend....and this was the first time I ever did this at the age of 41 LOL thanks for the upload. worked pretty good! except I took out the grease fitting. It was way too tall. Just lightly tapped it, and back in business

[@JeffABellamy]

Tried for hours on a small rigid lawnmower tire. Used this method and was on in five minutes.

[@Mechanical_Mind]

These are the type of comments I love reading!

[@j.hernandez8730]

Thank you for a great and simple video!

[@staceyward777]

Very slick

[@STRTVNT]

It's been awhile since you posted. I think that thing is called the valve stem core. Great video. I'm saving your video for next summer. 👍🏼

[@tommymartin2551]

It helped me tremendously thank you 🙏🏽 and May God continue to bless you.

[@dmlundgren]

That looks so simple and those tires appear very flexible. I have 4ply 16x7.5-8 for aJohn Deere 455. They are very stiff and cannot be manipulated so easily. Back to my wrestling match...

[@Mechanical_Mind]

I get the tires as hot as possible and With bigger tires I use a tire machine.

[@Dan-jl1fk]

Two big c-clamps with wood blocks, squeeze the old to break the bead.

[@jimknowlton342]

I tried this, it worked amazing. Thank you!

[@douglasweller9709]

Yes that’s great . I have a hole in my table that works almost the same. I even use the same brand screwdriver 😂

[@windmolenfarm8030]

Great idea and very useful to me. We have a lot of thorny bushes and trees here in OK and constantly have to remove and patch these tires. This will speed up and make the tire changes much easier. Grazie!

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tommorgan1291]

Great display! Thanks! I always remount with a good old fashion tire tube. Even put tubes on car tires if for some reason they have o come off.

[@robertbrokus2123]

Best, quickest,safest way i have ever seen. Straight to the point. Short and sweet. You could own (how to video's if you did that every time. Good luck.

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Thanks Robert! I appreciate the compliment, and that is great advice. 🍻

[@R.L.Thomas]

Back in the late 70's I worked in a body shop/ used car lot, and they had a manual tire remover that I used on occasion that worked on the same principal. I don't remember exactly how it kept the tire stationary. It was quite a chore getting 14 and 15 inch tires off the rims.

[@j.gaudario5149]

Wow dude... How many times have u done this?! Made it look so easy. Thanks

[@donkerwin6289]

Wish I saw this last night before I destroyed my hands trying to put thus tire on!

[@rickwalt8767]

Great video. Thanks for doing it. Keep up the good work.

[@oldfarmer9004]

Now to just get that bead to reseat. Grab a ratchet strap and put it around the tread. Twist it with that big screwdriver to force the bead against the rim.

[@donnielepper7289]

Wow, I have wrestled getting my tire on! Thanks!

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Did it work for you?

[@camille-georgefischer307]

Same as above wrestled to get my tire on. Used your trick to squeeze down on the tire, wow it works, Thank You.

[@user-kq7wg9zf7n]

I would love to see a how to video on changing the front tire from a 5 year old mower wheel and tire to a refurbished wheel. I don't see it anywhere as slick as the rear tire change is.

[@Justin-fq7vj]

Good idea . I try that. 👍

[@asudavew]

Good stuff! I appreciate your helpful video.

[@royhauer311]

Good method, but there is one thing I would change, and that is to get rid of the screw driver and get a tire iron fro Harbor Freight or other source. A lot of ATV shops sell them as well. Reason is, screwdrivers have a flatened end thats tapered. The edges of this area can cut the rubber along the bead area. This rubber is softer on some tires, but this rubber in the area your pulling an edged screwdriver through is all that seals a tubeless tire to the rim, and cuts or other damages can lead to leaking tires.

[@hermantuinstra118]

Well,,, that's a first. I wish I would've known about this a long time ago and thnx ^5😊

[@gregbowen9546]

Usually the hardest part is getting bead broke off rim. This is obviously a new tire that you just put on and took back off. The best way to break a bead without a tire machine is use a trailer ramp or something similar. Lay tire flat and put ramp on tire side wall. Drive a truck or tractor up ramp and it will pop tire off.

[@Jimmy-Legs]

Damn, that looks easy. Holy cow.

[@deannacousin2339]

Thanks so much!

[@craiggerber3740]

thankyou very much!👍

[@shawnbeckett1370]

Thank you

[@robnamowicz8073]

Smoothing the third set of vice grips,,,,,I hear my grinder calling me!!! Thanks,

[@cdgulvin]

amazing- thanks for this, should have found this couple of hours ago.

[@AnthonyCelata]

for the life of me I cannot put this tire back on the rim. I have the exact same setup, its an older tire so maybe it doesn't stretch as well. I even tried putting it in the oven at 175 degrees for over an hour to get the rubber nice and pliable and I just cant get it on. Seeing you do this so effortlessly makes me want to cry....

[@dabody57ify]

Sweet thank you nice demonstration very useful.

[@samirmeshraky6580]

Great job man thank you

[@robertheinkel6225]

I use a small bottle jack to break the bead. Put the base of the Jack against the edge of the rim, and the ram against a trailer hitch. I just fought my 4 inch rims on the front of my ZTR mower. They are small, but a royal pain in the a$$.

[@johnnygavita]

I haven't tackled the front yet. How bad was it with the bottle jack?

[@robertheinkel6225]

@@johnnygavita it works well, as long as you have a hitch to push against

[@johnnygavita]

@@robertheinkel6225 I'll give it a shot. Thank you

[@craigfitzgibbons9146]

Nice Thank you for the tips.

[@cyberslick18]

The technique is spot on and works with stiffer tires, but it's funny how most of these videos use the softest, thinnest tires out there. You damn near coulda squeezed that thing on with your bare hands lol.

[@Mechanical_Mind]

What is stopping you from making video showing yourself doing it with a cold hard stiff tire with no gloves?? I let my all my tires heat up in the sun just to make it easier. I wear gloves because I spend half my time doing paper work. When you get older and wiser you dont give s F about proving how 'tough' you are. Funny how all the video critics never have posted a their own videos. 🤔🤣

[@xenaguy01]

*You're a butthole!* I'm 74. Couldn't find anyone to change the tires I bought off Amazon for my mobility trike. After 3 months of inflating my punctured tires every ride, I found this video by happenstance, and had them changed out in less than 1/2 hour.

[@thardyryll]

Wow. I have mounted too many small tires but have never seen ones that pop on and off the wheel that easily. And then there are the larger ones that, when new, are so shriveled up that no bead blaster or any other trick will seat the beads, so only a tube will work. In any case, Harbor Freight’s small manual tire tool works well enough.

[@Buddy-po4hv]

Thank you for this, saved my day 🙏

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Glad it helped!

[@andrewhanson5942]

OK those were a couple of pretty good tips. But try that with a 6 ply Ag tire on the same rim! I'm telling ya from recent personal experience, it's a challenge!

[@ucoder8905]

bro thank you so much makes it look damn easy

[@garoglen]

You can use a threaded rod in the vise , cut a short bar ,drill a hole in the bar to fit over the rod , screw a nut onto the rod and you have a way to hold the wheel ., harbor freight had cheap tire changing tools so you don't gouge your tire with a screw driver if you a putting in a tube, you can get a few more miles out of a leaky dry rotted tire with a tube

[@lepowell9095]

Excellent thanks

[@rickdavies4801]

Thanks works great

[@barrymurray8264]

Real nice ! Thanks

[@SteveB-hy2ci]

Thanks

[@glennedwards9046]

Thanks for sharing 👍👍👍

[@manicmods]

Well done all around!

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Thanks!

[@jamesconn7311]

Kool !! thanks

[@MatthewMason-yf3gt]

Brilliant, thanks for posting.

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@justinsane7128]

Semi tires, split rims. Done them all, but the front tire on my mower was the hardest one I've ever had to get to reseat

[@user-kq7wg9zf7n]

That is a mind bending fact. The rears are a battle extraordinary. The fronts are totally absurd to change without help and a tire machine.

[@randydavidson7969]

Great job…

[@miroslavjuicebag]

He's stronger than I am. But I almost was able to do it. I'm going to try again the next time. 😆

[@randyhess260]

Good idea

[@jamesmartin7559]

Thanks great idea👈

[@jamespinckard4210]

Been trying to think of an easy way to do this and this is it. Thanks.

[@andyhellgrim]

Thank you so much, I thought I was going crazy haha

[@Mechanical_Mind]

We've all been there buddy 🤣

[@veronicamartin295]

The best

[@IBEW44]

Awesome i like that. 😊😊

[@INTERNA9]

WOW!

[@billbyrnes9505]

I could have used this two weeks ago. Although, my tires were pretty old, ( non plyable,) and stiff. Hard to work with. Then, the new soft playable tires come, and it looks as if they had set a pallet of some considerable weight on top of them. Tip: set them out in the sun on some black top for a couple of hours prior to mounting and inflating. But thanks anyway. Next time, right?

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Well the video has been up for nearly a year! 🤣 Yeah a hot tire does much better. I'm in Florida so it's not hard to get one hot here

[@georgesimpson3113]

Gota say that's faster and easier than how I do it but then I have a hard time getting both beads to seat/aired up.

[@Mechanical_Mind]

If you're ever having a hard time getting the bead to seat, wrap a ratchet strap around the tire in the center of the tire. As you tighten it up it will push the tire out and it will make contact witht he wheel. Then add air and release the strap while adding air. I should have added that to this video.

[@georgesimpson3113]

@@Mechanical_Mind I've done that. It didn't work for me. It made it worse. The tires were squashed when I got them. I sat them in the sun for a few hours and they "widened" back out... but it doesn't always work easily.

[@fishdresser4759]

Thanks for the video. But you stopped before inflation. How do you get the bead to seat without starting fluid and a match?

[@Mechanical_Mind]

When I have giving problems seating I'll use a ratchet strap around the center of the tire.

[@alsheremeta]

Great video, thanks for posting it, I use a small tire changer, one of the best purchases I have ever made, having about 8 things with small tires. Do you find that WD40 attacks the rubber at all?

[@Mechanical_Mind]

Wd40 doesn't hurt rubber or anything that I can think of. It's great for removing sticky glue...

[@jdoboy6835]

I always use WD or just plain 'ol squirt gun, aka, used car oil. It will help to spin the tire onto the rim, & make the rubber kinda sticky & seal better. I will NEVER spray soap or water on my rims or tires! That moisture stays inside of the tire & will rust the rims, if there are any knicks in the paint.

[@billjones5178]

How to seal new tire to rim so it will build air pressure?

[@davidsanford1102]

Does this work with a 4 inch rim? It looked pretty easy when you did it, but that was a bigger and softer tire.

[@Mechanical_Mind]

It should work David but I'd recommend getting your tire as warm as possible to help make the tire more flexible.