Bojitoes Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 Hi all I went to a national tyre distributor this morning for a puncture repair, he was unable to remove the tyre from the axle due to the lack of space in the wheel arch. I have looked back at the various posts which appeared in the forum on this subject 7 years ago and realise that my problem is not uncommon. What I did not find in the previous posts was a definitive methodology of how to take off and then replace the wheel- has anyone managed to undertake wheel replacement easily- the tyre fitter was shattered and frustrated at not being able to do the job! Many thanks bOB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 Bob, I think the problem may be related to how you jack up your MH. If you do the usual and jack under the axle then you are in effect pushing the wheel further up into the wheelarch. You need to jack under the chassis/body to let the axle fall away and increase the clearance around the wheelarch. IIRC some Transits actually had a large cast alloy spacer block to fit underneath the standard jack to allow the MH to be jacked up high enough. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 What does that mean is the Ford a disposable item once tyres worn. Jack it on chassie if that don't do it put a jack between axle an chassie if that won't do it perhaps the shock absorber may need disconnecting. Hard to believe a tyre fitter was unable to get a wheel off did he really want to do the job ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 The old "Dagenham Dustbin" joke was........ a Ford had reached the end of its life when the fag tray was full :D ........ Mines on it's fourth set of tyre's........But I do have a unused fag tray B-) ....... Perhaps its best if the OP goes to a proper tyre fitter........Rather than a "National" chain that employs chimps *-) ...... I was going to say monkey's .......but given the "National Chain" chimps abilities......I'd say that was offensive to monkeys (lol) ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 3, 2019 Share Posted May 3, 2019 Bojitoes - 2019-05-02 2:19 PM What I did not find in the previous posts was a definitive methodology of how to take off and then replace the wheel- has anyone managed to undertake wheel replacement easily- the tyre fitter was shattered and frustrated at not being able to do the job! Many thanks bOB How easy it will be to change a rear wheel of a Ford Transit-based motorhome will depend primarily on the design/construction of the vehicle’s rear wheel-arch ‘conversion’ element. Consequently there will be no definitive wheel-removal methodology and, if the vehicle’s owner thinks he/she might ever need to carry out a DIY rear-wheel change, the best thing to do is experiment to establish what’s practicable using the tools that will be carried in the motorhome. I commented on this issue in the following 2012 forum thread https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Autosleeper-Windsor-Coachbuilt-rear-wheel-removal-to-clear-body-How-please-/29737/ The 1st attached photo is of a 2005 Eura-Mobil Profila built on a FWD Transit Mk 6 with drum rear brakes. It will be apparent how much of the top of the rear wheel is ‘masked’ by the wheel-arch and removing a rear wheel on this model could be VERY challenging even for professionals. The 2nd attached photo is of a 2008 Eura-Mobil Profila built on a FWD Transit Mk 7 with rear disc brakes. It will be seen that Eura Mobil had significantly altered the design of the rear wheel-arch so that, once the wheel had been raised from the ground, it was straightforward to remove the wheel horizontally. (It’s perhaps stating the obvious but, if getting the wheel off is hard to do, putting it back will be even harder as gravity will now be your enemy!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted May 3, 2019 Share Posted May 3, 2019 I have seen an image of a Roller Team 500, of about the right year, where there seemed to be a removable section at the top edge of the wheel arch. They obviously took some time to resolve the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted May 3, 2019 Author Share Posted May 3, 2019 Thank you for the helpful replies. Derek I saw your previous post using the search feature, ours is similar to the top photo and very difficult to get off. EJB ; Yes we looked at removing the "fascia" of the wheel arch but there is a solid immovable bar behind it which prevents the wheel being tilted sufficiently to come off that way. I think we will have to experiment with jacking the van up at 2 different points, that idea seems workable. Thanks again, will update!! Bob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted May 7, 2019 Author Share Posted May 7, 2019 Pleased to advise that the suggested solution worked, jacking the chassis and letting the rear wheel "droop". It was still hard going for the tyre fitter who spent quite a lot of timer under the vehicle getting the spare wheel out. I must say this is certainly not a job to tackle yourself! Thanks for the help and suggestions. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 I have found over the years that tyre fitters have very little training, They just take wheels off, fit a new tyre, and then put them back. I've not met one who knew about high pressure valves, camping tyre pressures or loading limits. So I have to stand over them and watch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Thanks for the update Bojitoes :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Billggski - 2019-05-07 12:48 PM I have found over the years that tyre fitters have very little training, They just take wheels off, fit a new tyre, and then put them back. I've not met one who knew about high pressure valves, camping tyre pressures or loading limits. So I have to stand over them and watch! Our old VW had steel hub caps, watching a tyre fitter trying to prise them off by hand was amusing, what wasn't amusing was another tyre fitter jacking the rear of van under the exhaust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deneb Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 There is a small tyre shop attached to a haulage depot in my village. The last time I went there was several years ago, when I found that the old fitter who had been there for years had retired and a young lad had been employed in his place. I watched him rip through the sidewalls of three tyres with the fitting machine before asking if he might like me to show him how to use it. Never been back since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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