Here's an Easy One - Inner Tube Question

[spineguru]

I came home the other day and the TR3 had a flat tire. I have wire wheels so the tire has an inner tube. I figured this was piece of cake so I take it to the local tire chain and they say they can't fix tires with tubes. I have no experience with tires with a tube (the car was passed on to me by my Dad and this is the first tire problem I have had), but I assume the tube should be replaced or patched. I had to leave town the next day so I have not had chance to ask around to other tire shops, so I thought I would throw out the question of what type of shop I should call to get this fixed. I told you this was easy....

Thanks.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Do you have a good "independent" tire shop in town, and/or some other independent shop that has actually existed more than eight weeks or has a mechanic older than 22?

Of course, you have at least two problems: a) proper repair of the tire and/or tube; and b) dismounting and remounting of that tire on a wire wheel, which many shops fear.

Something else to keep in mind is that maybe it's time for new tires, anyway. How old ARE these? For your safety, it might well be time to buy four new tires and appropriate radial tubes to go inside them!

 

[spineguru]

Good questions Andrew. I should have started with some of that info. The tires and wheels are relatively new. The car originally had regular wheels. Dad added the wire wheels a couple years before I got the car and the tires and tubes were new then. They have less than 2000 miles on them and are probably 5 years old or so.

Regarding mounting and dismounting, I guess I will cross that bridge once I find the right shop to deal with it. You nailed it regarding the tire shop. The one I first went to was one of the national chains and the "kids" had no clue what they were looking at. When I told them it was a Triumph TR3 wheel, they were clueless!

I have a call into my mechanic to see if he can refer me to a good "local" shop.

 

[jsneddon]

I must of lucked out. SWMBO just walked into a national chain and bought me a set of tires as a surprise xmas gift... Yes she walked out of the store with 4 unmounted tires and put them under the tree (she honestly thought I could just put them on myself). At any rate... I hauled them back down there with my wheels and the manager says "hey! knockoff wire wheels - are these for an Austin Healy or what?" Turns out he has owned several Lotii including a couple of Elans, a Seven, and an Esprit. He even had new tubes in stock. At a national chain.... I was absolutely shocked. I've been to other places that won't even touch wires because they are afraid to put them on the tire-mounting-bead-breaker thingy.

So the long of the short of it is... check around. Someone will know how to deal with them.

 

[tomshobby]

Hey Jim,

Wondered where you were, good to see you are still around.

Because of your bringing me to this forum I have made a lot of good friends. Thanks!

 

[DougF]

You should be able to make the repair yourself. You break the tire from the rim. Pushing the side wall in get a hold of the tube and pull it out working your way around the tire.
Fix or replace the tube making sure the tube is the proper one for the tire. Find the leak to determine what caused the problem. If it is a problem that you can't fix, take the tire to a shop for repair.
When reinstalling, start at the stem and feed the tube in from there being careful not to damage it. When finished make certain the tire doesn't pinch the tube and try to straighten the tube a much as possible so there are no twists or folds that could cause problems.
Slowly inflate the tire, making sure that your stem is straight and allow the air to help work the tube into a proper inflation. I've bounced the tire around at various points of inflation to help the tube straighten itself out.
Then you just get the wheel balanced and you're on your way.
It isn't the easiest job, but it is very doable.

 

[sail]

I have a broken spoke, sounds like i could replace it same way?

 

[Andrew Mace]

I'll add to Doug's excellent advice only that it sometimes helps to gently inflate and then almost completely DEFLATE the tube (leave just a tiny bit of air in there) before trying to insert it into the tire.

 

[Roger]

Also, a lot of "French Chalk", which is a superb lubricant for tubes and helps stop them getting pinched or twisted.

 

[TR3driver]

You break the tire from the rim.

Easier said than done ! At least in my experience, if the tires have been on there for any length of time, it can be very difficult to break the bead without special tools. After struggling with pry bars, hammers, and jumping up and down on the sidewall; I tried building a tool from 1" water pipe. Broke the pipe.

Now I have one of those cheap manual tire changers from HF, and it's still a struggle sometimes to break the bead.

 

[DougF]

You might be able to fix the spoke by pulling the tube and pushing the side wall over. You can only find out by trying. The more difficult task will be applying a smooth buffer strip between the new spoke and the tube to reduce the chance of abrasion.
I have used duct tape to do this. My biggest concern would be if you can get it smooth while fighting with everything else. I'm sure it can be done. You don't want wrinkles in the tape as that in itself could be a source of abrasion.

 

[DougF]

Randall,
That is why I said it isn't the easiest job. If you know someone with a fork truck, they make fast work at breaking beads.

 

[MGTF1250Dave]

Aloha All,

I change and repair tubes on my cars. If you want to consider doing this, then invest a few dollars to buy some good tire irons (tyre levers). The old axiom, the right tool for the job. I bought mine about thirty years ago for about $12. Tubes can generally be patched with a tube patching kit, usually in the big Mart stores bicycle section. If the leak is near the base of the valve stem, patching may be difficult or impossible.

The valve stem hole in the wheel of older cars is often larger in diameter than new tube valve stems. If this is the case it is best to get a valve stem grommet to slip over the tube stem and hold it securely in the wheel hole. Most off road/four wheel drive shop have these. A small diameter valve stem in a large wheel hole with out a grommet will cause the tube to eventual weakening there. Kind of like an aneurysm.

Loose or missing spokes need to be replaced or tightened or result will be a damaged tube. Spoke repair is easiest if the tire is off the wheel. You may have to unlace a few spokes to insert a new spoke. A spoke wrench is the best tool for this job.

Finding a shop that knows how and has the equipment to balance the wheel is often the most difficult part of wire wheel maintenance.

 

[hondo402000]

a lot of replies on this one. I have a TR6 I purchased new tires and tubes well now going on 3 years, drove up to the gas station to fill up with gas one night, came out of the store and the rear tire was flat, changed it and back home I go, sunday I get up go to the Nationl chain tire store and they will not work on tires with tubes, but they did break the bead pulled the tire off and back home I go, pumped up the tire and found the leak, got a tube repair kit, patched it and took it back to he NC store and they helped me get the tire back on. they wouldnt charge me, liability reasons, but I slipped the guy a 10 for his help, turned out there was some small plastic shavings in the tire that must have finally wore a small hole in the tube, no flats since

 

[Tinkerman]

Remember, that you have to put in a wire rim liner to protect the tube from the wire spokes. A must do!

Good luck, Tinkerman