Changing Your Own Tires at Home: The Whole Job from Bead Breaking to Balancing

First: is this a job for your garage?

“Changing tires” on this page means taking a tire off its rim and mounting another one, not swapping wheels with a jack. Whether you can do that at home is decided before you pick up a tool.

The left column is what the reference machine of the manual floor-post type, Harbor Freight item 58731, is specified for. According to the copy of the owner's manual on ManualsLib, it is not to be used on standard tires exceeding 16 in., it cautions against high-end rims, and it is not to be used without mounting it to the floor. The tire makers add that low aspect ratio tires call for equipment designed for them. The association's bulletins also carry a notice that belongs here in full: tire changing can be dangerous and should be done by trained personnel using proper tools and procedures.

We have not run this job in a shop. What follows is the documented sequence, set in order.

The tools, in the order you need them

The job in nine stages

1. Check that your wheels are within the tool's limits

   Read the size on the sidewall: in 215/60R16, 16 is the rim diameter and 60 the aspect ratio. Compare it with the table above and with your own machine's manual.

2. Take the wheel off the vehicle

   This part belongs to the vehicle maker. Follow the owner's manual for jacking points, supports and the order of the work.

3. Deflate the tire completely

   Remove the valve core and let all the air out. The changer's manual says to leave the valve stem uncovered so the rest can escape. If the tire may contain an aerosol sealant, the tire makers say to assume it is flammable: keep it away from sparks and flame and inflate and deflate it a few times before demounting.

4. Break both beads

   Lubricate the bead, lay the wheel on the base of the changer, set the shoe at the rim edge and push the handle down. Lift, turn the wheel, push again, all the way around; then flip the wheel and repeat. The tools and steps for wheels that do not go on a changer are under how to break a tire bead.

5. Lever the old tire off

   Fix the wheel on the center post. Keep the bead opposite the bar pushed into the drop center, lever the upper bead over the flange and work around, then do the same with the lower bead. The seven detailed steps are in how to remove a tire from a rim.

6. Clean and inspect the rim, fit a new valve

   Corroded or dirty rims should be cleaned thoroughly, bent or cracked rims replaced, and used snap-in valves are always replaced when tires are replaced. On wheels with pressure sensors, follow the vehicle maker's service requirements.

7. Lubricate and mount the new tire

   Lubricate both beads and the rim. Check the tire's orientation, push the lower bead on, then lever the upper bead on in small steps with the opposite side held down in the drop center. Details are in how to mount a tire on a rim.

8. Seat the beads and set the pressure

   Rotate and center the tire on the rim. If the changer has no positive lock-down device that holds the wheel, use a safety cage or other restraining device with a clip-on extension hose, and never stand, lean or reach over the wheel. Never inflate beyond 40 psi to seat beads. If both beads are not seated at 40 psi: deflate completely, reposition the tire on the rim, relubricate, reinflate. Inspect both sides, then set the operating pressure from the vehicle's tire placard, never above the maximum molded on the sidewall, and check for leaks.

9. Balance the wheel and refit it

   The changer's manual sends you to a qualified automotive technician for balancing. The home alternative is a static balance on a bubble balancer. Refit the wheel and tighten the lug nuts in the way and to the value the vehicle owner's manual specifies.

The two stages where home jobs go wrong

Seating the beads. This is the stage that can injure. Popular advice tells you to keep adding air until the beads snap into place and names no ceiling; the tire makers set one at 40 psi and say a popping sound is not proof of seating.

The changer's manual itself only says to inflate to the proper pressure and not to over-inflate. That a floor-post changer should be treated as a machine without a positive lock-down device is our own cautious reading, not a statement from that manual. What a restraint is and what the law does and does not ask of private users is explained under tire mounting safety.

Balancing. It is the stage a manual changer does not cover at all. A portable bubble wheel balancer^* (paid link) shows where a resting wheel is heavy and lets you correct that with weights. This is a static balance in one plane. Imbalance across the width of the wheel shows only when the wheel turns and needs a spin balancer, so keep the shop in mind for any wheel that still vibrates. We know the balancer in our list from its Amazon listing only; check the hub and wheel sizes there against your wheels.

Typical mistakes across the whole job

• Starting with the wrong wheels. A low-profile set or a 17 in. rim does not become a home job because the changer is already bolted down.
• Air left in the tire. The valve core comes out before the bead breaker goes on.
• Dry beads. The manual warns that removing a tire without lubricant can damage it; the tire makers list poor lubrication among the three main causes of bead damage.
• Old valves. Snap-in valves are replaced with the tire.
• Skipping the balance. Plan it before you start, either a balancer or an appointment.

Where to go from here

Two questions come up around this job and have short pages of their own: do you need to balance tires after mounting and can you change tires without damaging TPMS sensors. If you are still choosing a machine, the page on home garage tire changers sorts the types by wheels, floor and supplies. The machine procedure in one piece is under how to use a manual tire changer, and the overview of all tools is on the manual tire changer homepage.