VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Trucks and Vans Tire Removal on 1933 1-1/2 ton truck

The rear wheels on the 1933 truck that I have, have lock rings that are not split, they are a full circle . The inside diameter of the ring has 2 areas about 4 or 5 inches long and 180 degrees apart that is relived about 1/8 inch. I have tried to get these off by prying with pry bars with no success. I can't find any information on them, not even in the old Dykes manuals. Can anyone advise me as to how to remove these so I can change the tires. The front wheels have rings that are split like a snap ring, they are no problem, I can remove these easily. Thanks for any help.
Cleon Eck
cleoneck@aol.com

I have the same type of wheels on my truck and believe me - they are a pain in the butt. About 4 or 5 inches away from one of the areas that you have found there is a 1 inch cut away. It is kind of hard to find. Stick a STRONG tire iron into it and pry it up. Then, if you get it up a little, stick something else like a small crowbar between the wheel and outside rim and pry up. It will take a lot of effort and a few swear words, but you will get it up so that the two cutaways you found will be on top of the wheel rim. Then just pull it up. That is the easy part. Just wait till you want to put it back together!!! When you put it back on, put your tire WITH TUBE AND FLAP back on. Put the rim on so that the cutaways are over the wheel (it will look like the rim is hingeing on the wheel). Then get a hammer and pound the part of the rim that is pushing down on the tire into the slot in the inside of the wheel as far as you can get it (basically force the rim really close to the wheel) Then get your tire iron (I used a srewdriver for this part) and put it in the 1 inch slot and pry it down over the rim. P.S. Dont worry about scratching your wheel, there is no way to avoid it. Let me know if this works. Bob

Thanks for the information Bob I will look for the 1" cutaway tomorrow and give it a try.

OK!! I found the notch and got the ring off.
I can see where it is going to be a strggle getting it back on. I've got 2 more to go and the tires are flat and old and hard as stone. The air may get blue around here getting these off. Thanks for the tip.
Cleon

Cleon, let her rip! we could use a warm front up here in Comanche County today!

When you put them back together, make sure you get the part of the rim hinged inward as far toward the center of the wheel as possible before you pound the opposite end on. They will basically snap on. Stiff tires make it a heck of a lot harder. Youll see.

Make sure ya use a remote air chuck [ & stay clear] when you air up them " Widow Maker" rims.
If ya got a " cage " USE IT !!!!

http://www.productliabilitylawyer.com/tires.cfm

Also, if you don't have a cage to air up the tires, face the wheel and tire towards a brick wall or something similar when you air up the tires....and stand clear! If the ring hits you........you will be deader than dead! And, like MT says......use a remote chuck or don't put air in the tires. :eek: :eek: :eek:

I once saw a 2 piece split rim explode during initial air up. This sucker blew the damn outer ring completly through a masonry wall & the ring landed a 1/2 a block down the road !!!

Split rims are fine if ya know whatcha are doin'
Most big truck stops know how to mount split rims.
Any place that services forklifts are knowlegible in split rims.

Mountin' split rims in your backyard is a recipe for DE - DAMN - SASTER !!!!!!!
Take them tires & rims to the pros for mounting !!

http://www.nt.gov.au/deet/worksafe/corporate/bulletins/pdf/11-15/15.04.18.pdf


They dont call'em " Widow Makers " for nothin'

You damn betchum Red Ryder! and have your life insurance policy checked to see if it pays on a suicide, the insurance company will probably deny the claim because it was suicide! I worked at a Sinclair Fillin' station when I was a teenager fixin' truck flats and I was scared *&^$(_*( every time I aired one of these *&%$#&^% tires up, I was so scared I always checked and re checked the ring and used the remote air chuck, You don't get any warning when they blow, they blow and it is all over!

Take it to a truck tire place and go home while they are doing it. I had a highschool classmate turned into a vegatable at Sears in Wichita Falls, Texas during the late 1950s, he was just watching Sears putting new tires on his Chevy 1 1/2 ton truck.

I always put a chain around the tire and wheel thru the slots in the wheel. (at least two places) I check the snap ring periodically while airing up. I also get on the side of the wheel opposite the snap ring to do the airing. Clean any rust scale from the groove and from the ring before you remount. BE CAREFUL and STAY CLEAR. An improperly seated ring can blow any time during or after the mounting process.
Mike

A trick when airing up the 16" split rims on my '71 3/4 ton chevy was to use a remote chuck and lay the split ring towards the ground. I never had one blow but was always very respectful of these rims. I love them but if not handled right I am scared of them as well.


imcelt2 in Texas
64 1/2 ton in progress

My grandpap told me a story about how when he was a teenager he used to work at a gas station back in the late '30s. One day a big truck came in with a flat and when they were airing up the tire, the rim blew off decapitating one of the guys watching. BE CAREFUL!!!

Thanks for the warnings guys about split rims. I have mounted tires on split rim wheels before with what I call the snap ring type of locking ring and am very respectful of them. I like the idea of putting 2 chains around them though.
I will do that when it comes time to air these up.
Cleon

Your grandpap was right! That same thing happened here at a well-known tire center a few years ago. The technician failed to use a cage and the ring took his head off! Now, only one tire center in town will do split rims. They use both a cage and a remote tire chuck. :eek: :eek: :( :( :(

Can the non split rims blow off too?

Not if they don't have a removable ring.

We went from jokin' 'round to DEAD SERIOUS on this topic.

Yeah we did MT, ain't life in the Half-Fast lane Cool?

Like Chauncey Gardner once said "First we have the Spring, then Summer, and then the Fall"...

Hello - I'd like to add a follow-up q. I just got the same '33 1 1/2 ton truck with the split/ split rims. I'd like to forego dealing with the split rims until the end of my project - probably about 1 or 10 years.

Does anybody have any suggestions on alternative tire/rim combinations that I could use while I work on getting this getting this truck back on the road?

I've got a barn full of '33 1/2 tons I'm working on and I thought it would be nice for them to have a big brother.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have.