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MRAP wheel tire mounting...am I missing something

welldigger

Active member
2,602
15
38
Location
Benton LA
I wouldn't chance it. I use a 1 inch impact to assemble all of the wheels I have dealt with. Some of them leaked even with an o ring.

I would put an o ring in just to be sure. Although I don't find mounting 395s or 14.00s to be as big of a deal as most, I still don't like doing it twice.
 
53
0
6
Location
Des Moines, IA
This is the first time I'm trying to mount tires on 2 piece rims. My buddy got 4 aluminum MRAP wheels and some Michelin XL 14x20 tires. I put the rim in the tire and bolted it together but the bead does not seat when I try to inflate the tire. I've only ever mounted tires on my cars and trucks with one piece rims on a tire machine and the beads just 'pop' when inflated. Am I missing something?
Thanks
When I mounted 395's on the mrap wheels, I used a healthy dose of the Murphy's tire soap and removed the valve core when I began adding air. I did not have bead locks. The best thing I found to get the bead to seat was have the assembly laying horizontal above the ground, with the rim supported by a 30 gallon oil drum. Then, I lifted the tire from the bottom with a forklift up an inch or 2. This basically centered the tire on the rim as close as I could get. I got each one to seat very easily using this method.

The first tire I tried was standing up vertical on the ground, and I couldn't get it to seat. I stuck a single fork thru the center of the rim and lifted up a little bit, again to get it centered in the tire. This method worked OK after some jiggling too.
 

infidel got me

Well-known member
1,685
32
48
Location
Newberry, Florida
I wouldn't chance it. I use a 1 inch impact to assemble all of the wheels I have dealt with. Some of them leaked even with an o ring.

I would put an o ring in just to be sure. Although I don't find mounting 395s or 14.00s to be as big of a deal as most, I still don't like doing it twice.
I agree with Welldigger, I used my 500 dollar snap-on impact on my rims and broke 2 sockets without budging wheel studs.

I picked up a 1 inch air gun at h.freight , and two 1 inch drive sockets (cost of both was under 200 bucks)

Money well spent, if you plan on doing tire work save yourself the headache. I would also recommend a larger air line to run the gun.
 

welldigger

Active member
2,602
15
38
Location
Benton LA
O and I did not use murphys soap. I used a similar product to rema tip top tire lube/bead packing compound.

It's a light brown substance that has a similar consistency to bearing grease.
 

Hainebd

New member
520
5
0
Location
Mays Landing, NJ
Rim must be clean. Tire must be clean. Use tire mounting soap. Do not dilute with water. Use on oring and rim and tire bead. Assemble tire. Fill with 5 psi of air. Mount to truck or put in cage. Use clip on tire chuck and attach to tire. Connect hose to chuck and start filling. Have a heavy hammer for which you can hit the tread towards rim as you rotate. Be careful and watch for a bad tire. If bulge appears run disconnect air hose from source. Keep away till 0psi is in tire. It takes 40 to 50 psi to seat this way. Never exceed max tire rating psi. A good friend of mine died filling tires with 15psi of air, rims were rated for max of 5 psi. He was standing over when rim split, killing him instantly. These big tires have tremendous energy with air pressure and surface area. That is 40 pounds pushing outward on square inch of that tire so 80 psi of force per square inch when tire is flat on the ground. Be careful or take to a tire shop. It will cost you $100 to get 4 mounted and they are quick. Be sure to tip the guy.
 

peashooter

Well-known member
1,039
205
63
Location
Hanover, minnesota
Here is a link to some MRAP O-Ring sizes part numbers (there are different size o-rings on different MRAP wheels). http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showth...O-Ring-Sizes&p=1683766&viewfull=1#post1683766

Also regarding the impact gun; some of us cant justify a giant impact gun and more so the larger compressor/hose to run it. I bought one of those Lug nut torque multipliers off ebay a few years ago for $60 shipped and love it, even comes with sockets... so just another option if a 1" impact gun setup isnt something you would use frequently enough to justify the cost.
 

Special T

Member
495
21
18
Location
Wetside/ WA
Rim must be clean. Tire must be clean. Use tire mounting soap. Do not dilute with water. Use on oring and rim and tire bead. Assemble tire. Fill with 5 psi of air. Mount to truck or put in cage. Use clip on tire chuck and attach to tire. Connect hose to chuck and start filling. Have a heavy hammer for which you can hit the tread towards rim as you rotate. Be careful and watch for a bad tire. If bulge appears run disconnect air hose from source. Keep away till 0psi is in tire. It takes 40 to 50 psi to seat this way. Never exceed max tire rating psi. A good friend of mine died filling tires with 15psi of air, rims were rated for max of 5 psi. He was standing over when rim split, killing him instantly. These big tires have tremendous energy with air pressure and surface area. That is 40 pounds pushing outward on square inch of that tire so 80 psi of force per square inch when tire is flat on the ground. Be careful or take to a tire shop. It will cost you $100 to get 4 mounted and they are quick. Be sure to tip the guy.
This is good advise. I have to second how this can kill some one. Good advice from some one who knows what they are talking about
 

ke5eua

Well-known member
2,568
40
48
Location
Baton Rouge (Central), LA
Ok so I got back to the wheels today and took a closer look at them. Sure enough there was a bead on them. You can see why I didn't think there was one there as it was flatter than a pancake and perfectly matched the color of the wheel.

I also learned the runflats are notched all the way around so it doesn't have to be aligned perfectly. Learned this after fighting with it for about 2 hours.

IMG_0250.jpg

IMG_0252.jpg

IMG_0251.jpg
 

Hainebd

New member
520
5
0
Location
Mays Landing, NJ
Rim bolts should be torqued with a torque wrench, not impact! They need to be run down in steps side to side top to bottom slowly. Wheel to adapter needs torque wrench too. Lugs 550, adapter 192, rims 105. All foot pounds! Yours are different.
 

peashooter

Well-known member
1,039
205
63
Location
Hanover, minnesota
Rim bolts should be torqued with a torque wrench, not impact! They need to be run down in steps side to side top to bottom slowly. Wheel to adapter needs torque wrench too. Lugs 550, adapter 192, rims 105. All foot pounds! Yours are different.
I'm not sure on the torque specs here. I know the various mrap wheels have different specs (mine are in the 400 ft/lb range I think), the adapters I make use 1-8 bolts that have a torque call out of 650-900 ft/lbs depending if its grade 5 or 8 and that doesn't even factor in the locknuts (I just tighten mine as much as possible with 2x 3' breaker bars). Anyway, I'd just double check the torque specs for your specific setup to verify.
 

Hainebd

New member
520
5
0
Location
Mays Landing, NJ
My post torques are not correct. On person caught it. Point is, find out for yourself. Torque is different for many factors. If you don't know, find out! Don't ask me cause I do not memories information that is written down in a TM or Engineering Referance Guide. My mind is cooked due to Meds so don't mind me.
 

ke5eua

Well-known member
2,568
40
48
Location
Baton Rouge (Central), LA
Ok ladies and gentlemen, I'm doing the opposite of op. I'm taking off the 395's from the aluminum wheels and putting them on 5 ton combat wheels.

I have been fighting for a day trying to break the bead on one wheel and so far all I have to show for it is a broken chain and a day almost gone with no work done.

My goal was to finish the last 5 and bring them back home with me since I have a tractor and shop air here where they are now. I could bring everything back to Texas but if I'm having trouble breaking the beads with a tractor I don't see myself doing it in a driveway.

It took me almost 4 hours to brake the top bead and no luck on getting the bottom out.

I need tips on how to do this. I've even tried heating and that didn't work.
 

Hainebd

New member
520
5
0
Location
Mays Landing, NJ
You need a long handle Duckbill Hammer or one of my tire kits. No just a duckbill. $100.00. Practice on old steel rim. There are also hydraulic bead breakers. I bought the duck and off they went. Tire guy will break down for $15 to $30 each.
 
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