Stupid tire question

[pmpski_1]

I have some 33's that are on wheels right now, but they've lost all the air. They were full of air when I got them so I know they will hold it. I want to air them up and put them on the truck but they don't seal agains the rim.

How can I air them up? Is there a trick to getting them to seal and take the air? I have an air compressor, but do I need to take it to a tire shop to get this done?

[chisler]

You can take a rachet style tie down around the outside circumference of the tire and tighten it up so that the walls will seat against the rims enough to seal and take air.

[LONGHAIR]

If they broke from the bead after deflating, they must be 16.5" wheels. If they are a factory style steel wheel, you may get them back on with the ratchet strap, as mentioned by chisler . If they are wider aftermarket wheels, you may need to go to a tire shop to have them "blown" on.

But if they

were full of air when I got them so I know they will hold it.

I'm confused? How did they "lose it"....seems like they won't hold air?

[BERT306]

If you have no concerns about arms/legs, life in general, u could always try this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI38RZ2f6Ls

[pmpski_1]

They are 16.5 wheels, and they are wider than stock. The wheels are slots and I believe they're 9 wide or so.

They were aired up when I got them - I stored them stacked up on each other sideways for a year or two and I'm assuming a slow leak just totally deflated two of the four. So, what I mean is there isn't a huge hole letting the air out as soon as it goes in, other than where it's not sealing.

The thing is, the tires need to be replaced anyway, but I wanted to fit them on the truck to make sure there aren't any clearance problems before dropping the cash on 4 new 33 16.5 tires. Many on here say don't worry they'll fit, but...I need to verify.

Anyway, point is, getting them aired up at a tire shop may be a liability from their point of view since the tires are so gone. I'll try the ratchet straps (can't hurt, it's free!) and then take them to a shop if necessary.

And I think I'll skip the redneck method. As red as my neck is, I stop when it comes to fire. Been there done that

[LONGHAIR]

I didn't mean "blown on" as the redneck method. Tire places have a method to blow in a lot more volume of air in one "blast" to pop them on.

I have done the "fire" method with Propane, with the tire/wheel properly secured and caged. I sure wouldn't do it in my driveway....with a dry-rotted tire.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

I have done the "fire" method with Propane, with the tire/wheel properly secured and caged. I sure wouldn't do it in my driveway....with a dry-rotted tire.

Unless someone was there to film it...

[LONGHAIR]

I'm not a big fan of doing dumb stuff in the first place.....but when there is a camera around, I try to stay behind it.

BTW I mis-spoke before, it was acetylene, not propane. We used the regular cutting torch to blow 42-44 inch tires onto wider wheels. The sidewalls were just so soft and flabby that you could not pull them up enough to seal the bead. This was back in the late 80s and early 90s, big diameter wheels hadn't hit yet,....not even on cars.