getting tires off dukw rims

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uglydukwling
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getting tires off dukw rims

Post by uglydukwling » Tue Jan 30, 2018 7:04 am

Does anybody have a secret for getting the tires off DUKW rims? A method that worked for me in the past was to make a die out of a piece of pipe (maybe it was a piece of a tank) that would just fit over the rim and rest on the tire. The i.d. was just over 22". Not having a press big enough to put the assembly into, I parked a bulldozer on it and the tire came off.

Now I have some that just won't move. What I presume has happened over the last 70 years is that the bead lock has been welded to the rim by rust.

Burning the tires off would be environmentally unfriendly, and besides I'm afraid it might get hot enough to warp the rims. (The heat would probably loosen the bead locks, though.)

I've also considered cutting around the tire just outside the rim with a Sawzall. Most of the tire should fall off, leaving just a small ring of bead trapped between the beadlock and the rim. I'd still have to get the bead lock off, but at least it would be exposed, and I'd be able to get to it with penetrating oil, and when that didn't work, a cutting torch.

Still, it seems to me that there must be a better way, and I'm hoping somebody on this forum has found it.


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Re: getting tires off dukw rims

Post by dukw hunter » Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:46 am

take them to a truck tyre shop they will do them no trouble

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Re: getting tires off dukw rims

Post by motto » Wed Jan 31, 2018 12:48 pm

I've always done them myself. I have my own sequence that involves putting a safety chain through and around the wheel/tyre which is first deflated. Then back off the flange nuts about 1/4" and inflate the tyre until it pushes the lock rim against the nuts, Deflate and back off the nuts or remove them if the ring is moving easily. Inflate again until the lock ring is far enough away from the wheel to insert three wooden blocks about 1-1/2" to 2" thick between the ring and the wheel. At this point I deflate the tyre and use a slide hammer type bead breaker to remove the lock ring from the tyre. Flip the wheel over and use the bead breaker on the other side and the tyre is off.
This procedure is my own method and has always worked on bolted flange combat wheels, DUKW, White Scout Car and Dodge Weapons Carrier. Try it at your own risk. It can be labor intensive (hard work) but I have the satisfaction of doing it myself.

David

If you take them to a truck tyre shop make sure they fully understand about the presence of the bead locks otherwise they will just try and crush them.

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Re: getting tires off dukw rims

Post by uglydukwling » Fri Feb 02, 2018 6:10 am

Getting the locking rings off hasn't been a problem. They come off easily, except for having to heat some of the nuts, but I consider that a normal part of any disassembly.

The problem is getting the tire and beadlock off the wheel. The manual says to block up the tire and drive the wheel out of the tire and beadlock with a heavy hammer. If that fails, use a jack between the wheel and a vehicle frame. It doesn't say what to try when that fails.

It could be interesting to take them to a tire shop. I suspect they'll either (a) refuse to touch them, (b) try, give up, and charge by the hour for the time they spent trying, or (c) get them separated, but at the cost of crushing the beadlocks, as you warned.

I had been hoping to salvage a set of beadlocks, but I may just have to accept that they'll get destroyed, as long as the wheels aren't damaged in the process. After all, if I have to take them off with a cutting torch, they'll be destroyed anyway. And if I do get them off intact, I may discover that the effort was wasted because they're too rusty to use. I may just have to use a conventional rubber flap, assuming they exist in the correct size.

I've been tempted to take them to the next heavy truck trade show. There's always at least one company anxious to demonstrate how easily their machine dismounts "impossible" tires. It might be fun to watch them try these.

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Re: getting tires off dukw rims

Post by W. Winget » Fri Feb 02, 2018 7:00 am

Sounds ugly, but remount tire to DUKW without lock ring (deflated) and drive around a little while turning. With no air in there and one bead not reinforced it should work off in a opposite direction turn. (If you had another truck you might use it VS risk of DUKW damage)

I had a thought to use the 1" thick rubber bead locks off the newer 5T truck (might have to trim them down) as a modern replacement for using Gamma Goat tires to prevent them from spinning on the rims.
V/R W Winget
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Re: getting tires off dukw rims

Post by motto » Fri Feb 02, 2018 6:07 pm

The slide hammer type bead breaker has never failed to remove a tyre from a wheel. On occasion I have had to circle a wheel many times whilst slamming the breaker into the bead before it lets go but eventually it works. I must look something like an indian doing a war dance, I must remember to chant next time.
I can't imagine the bead lock being rusted to the wheel as they have a folded edge that is all that is in contact, the rest of the steel band is about 3/8" away from the wheel.

David

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Re: getting tires off dukw rims

Post by uglydukwling » Sun Feb 04, 2018 7:00 am

I took another look at some of the wheels I broke down earlier. I'd forgotten how little contact there was between the beadlock and the wheel. That 1/8" wide strip along each edge really shouldn't be able to lock the beadlock to the wheel. (Never underestimate the power of rust, though.) Now that I know they should come loose, I'm motivated to try again. Maybe the pavement breaker will do it.

If I can get a set of beadlocks in usable condition, what's the pest way to protect them and the wheel against rust in the future? I'd like to paint them, but I've run into several situations where even the thickness of a couple of coats of paint makes things difficult to assemble. Grease would do it, but it's probably not a good idea to use a petroleum grease where it will be in prolonged contact with rubber. The cost of silicone grease in those little tubes is prohibitive, unless I can figure out how to buy it by the pail at a reasonable price. Does tire-mounting lubricant provide any corrosion protection?

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Re: getting tires off dukw rims

Post by motto » Mon Feb 05, 2018 4:28 pm

Keep in mind that any bead locks you have are over 70 years old and only left the factory with a coat of paint. If you blast and coat them using a good quality paint system such as POR15 they will see you out.
The only moving part on the bead lock is the toggle and they are sloppy on their pins to avoid problems with binding. Paint won't bother them.
Two things you can do to increase the service life of your DUKW are to never put it in salt water and take it for a good road run after water operation to dry things out. For a start, driving the vehicle is the only way to dry out the bead lock area short of dismantling the wheels.

David

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Re: getting tires off dukw rims

Post by kw573 » Fri Jun 29, 2018 3:03 pm

Hi uglydukwling, Dave and others,

I have a few comments about dis assembling long rusted MV wheels, but not specific to DUKW. My experience is with larger 18" and 20" MV wheels.
Before my local small town tire dealer bought a larger wheel dis-assembly machine which just laughs at the most heavily rusted wheel/hard-as-steel tire I have ever taken to it (even where much of the bead rubber is torn from the tire and left still solidly at one with the rusty rim, something that a week with a slide hammer only might achieve), I would burn them off!

I'll explain.
To do this, I had to firstly accept that in the great scheme of things, the environmental problems of this method will make no difference. (I will believe we are serious about our environment when ALL takeaway food containers are paper based.)

Next, this can only be done in a rural/semi-rural area and is good for multiple wheels at once.
Build a large bonfire, throw the wheels on top, in the evening light it up, enjoy the 'campfire' and go to bed.
Sometime next day, retrieve your now rubber and rust free wheels.

Note, it must be a big enough fire to burn most of the night. The reason it works so well is the great heat (not temperature) generated will burn the tires more cleanly (a bit), will gently and evenly heat up AND cool down the wheels thus minimizing distortion problems.

Of course, common sense regarding safety with fire is essential.

This is not for everyone, but did work well for me.

My 2 cents.
Sam.
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Re: getting tires off dukw rims

Post by dukw hunter » Wed Jul 04, 2018 2:49 pm

Hi can anyone advise me on fitting dukw tyres ? I have a new set of denmams and there tight very tight

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Re: getting tires off dukw rims

Post by uglydukwling » Thu Jul 05, 2018 4:23 am

An update on getting my tires off. This batch did have some locking rings stuck to the wheel. They all eventually came off, but some required a lot of hammering. No way would the bead separate from the wheel though. I was still afraid that if I took them to a tire shop, they'd destroy the beadlocks, so I had to get them off myself. I ended up sawing around the sidewall, leaving a narrow ring of bead attached to the wheel and locking ring. If I had burned them off at this point, at least it would have been a lot cleaner than burning the whole tire. However, I found that by using a cutting wheel in an angle grinder, I was able to cut at a tangent to the wheel, and cut through the rubber without damaging the wheel, Once cut, the rubber peeled off nicely.

After all this trouble, I found that the bead locks weren't going to work anyway. I'll be mounting GamaGoat tires, and they have a thinner bead than the originals. The beadlocks would be too narrow by about 3/4 inch. It looks like I'll be looking for conventional flaps after all.

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Re: getting tires off dukw rims

Post by W. Winget » Fri Jul 06, 2018 5:13 am

uglydukwling wrote:
Thu Jul 05, 2018 4:23 am
After all this trouble, I found that the bead locks weren't going to work anyway. I'll be mounting GamaGoat tires, and they have a thinner bead than the originals. The beadlocks would be too narrow by about 3/4 inch. It looks like I'll be looking for conventional flaps after all.
This was my thought to use the M900 series super single or MRAP tire bead locks (big 1" thick rubber rings that other vehicle owners toss out) . Might have to cut them down in width and maybe cut 2" out of the diameter and stitch it together, OR maybe find some 18" Thick Wall PVC water pipe and have it sliced to width, then insert it in the tire and clamp it all together. I have several Goat tires I will eventually use when I restore my DUKW.
V/R W WInget
Looking for 1918 Standard B 'Liberty' truck parts


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