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Mitsubishi 4WD Club Trev's Tip 31. |
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Trev’s Tips
Quite a while ago now I, along with a number of other club members went along to a Training day where we all watched as Guy showed off his valuable tyre changing skills. During this demonstration he used a lubricant to assist getting the tyre on and off the rim more easily. It was just a mixture of lux flakes (available at Coles) and water which did not damage the tyre at all and only needed to have more water added to it if it ever began to dry out.
Since this demonstration I have had to remove and refit probably a dozen tyres onto rims (don’t ask why) and have found this lubricant to be very effective in making the job a bit more easy, but I did not realise how important it was until just a couple of weeks ago.
One of my tyres had a slow leak and despite my best effort to plug it the leak persisted so my only option was to remove the tyre and patch it properly from the inside. So late one night (again don’t ask why) I removed the tyre from the rim, patched it and then proceeded to refit it. However because it was so late I was worried about making too much noise and upsetting the neighbours. To try and reduce the clunking of tyre levers on my rim I made up a really sloppy mixture of the lux flakes lubricant and smeared it all over the tyre and rim so it would go on easily. Easily it did go on. I hardly even need to use the tyre levers. By just standing on the edge of the tyre it just popped straight on with only the slightest assistance from the tyre lever.
The next problem was how to reinflate the tyre quietly. All the 4wd mags and any one with any sort of a clue about reseating tyres onto a rim will tell you the only way to do it is with a big blast of air from a large compressor. For me though running a compressor late at night would not have won me any friends.
Previously I have talked about a few tricks to help reseat tyres which included a rope around the tread of the tyre (but this still relies on a compressor to reinflate) or by using Martins trick of using a small amount of fuel to create an explosion inside the tyre thus reinflating it. I still haven’t gotten over my fear of trying this last time and my tyre still bears scorch marks when the side wall lit up so I was reluctant to try this again.
Recently I read in a 4wd mag that a kmart compress would never be able to pump up a tyre. Whist I agree they probably shouldn’t be relied upon as your only source of air when 4wding I think they can have their place in the right situation. It was then that I saw my push bike hand pump hanging on the wall of the shed. I’m always up for a challenge to prove someone wrong especially if it is the author of a 4wd mag that believes the only way to get a job like this done is to have the latest and most costly high volume compressor on the market.
After applying another smearing of lux flakes, pushing the beading of the tyre onto the rim to get the best seal possible I connected the push bike pump and started pumping. This was not a fancy pump either, just a cheapy which leaked a little on every stroke. 2 minutes is all it took and I had reseated the tyre. No one was more amazed than me. So much for needing a high volume compressor. I keep telling my wife she should be more proud of me.
Good on ya Lux. Don’t underestimate the difference the lux flakes can make to turning this from a hard to an easy job and don’t believe everything that you read when someone tries to tell you that cheap gear will not be up to the job. Sometimes cheap tools are rubbish but their usefulness all depends on your determination and the application.
Terry’s Tradesman Tips
For those of you who have been to the most recent club meetings you would have heard about the recent success Terry had in finding some reasonably priced and reliable trades people to carry out a job for him on his Jayco Outback van and his battery charger. We all know how hard it is to find any service or repairer in the caravan and camping industry at present that doesn’t have a 6 month backlog of work or won’t make you take out a second mortgage for the service so it was refreshing to know that some help is available if needed.
The 1st highly recommended business was
“A Small Caravan Co” He runs a mobile service to do repairs on site and specializes in alterations and servicing to campers and caravans, break and bearing services, wind up repairs and pre purchase inspections. For more info contact Terry on 0421 644 969 or 9498 0325.
The 2nd highly recommended Business was
“Wialki Electronics” They are mainly a wholesaler for the supply and service of smart battery chargers for Coromal Caravans so may not accept all works but apparently they were very friendly and willing to help out. They can be found at Unit 6, 11-17 Canvale Road, Canning Vale, WA 6155 ph: (08) 9455 2245 f: (08) 9455 2137
Till next time
Happy 4wding Trevor Car sickness is the feeling you get when the monthly payment is due.
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