How to Replace a Valve Stem

Intro: How to Replace a Valve Stem

The other day my brother bought this civic from a local dealership. I checked the car in great detail on and off the lot and I discovered that the car had a bad valve stem on the spare tire.

Warning:
Some vehicles are equipped with tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS). The TPMS could be part of the valve stem and could be expensive to replace.

STEP 1: Remove Tire

What you should do is find some flat ground and lay the tire down. After doing so you will need to break the bead. Breaking the bead requires a lot of force. My method is to run the tire over with another car. You should be extremely careful not to damage the rim.

STEP 2: Remove the Old Valve Stem.

Once you have gained access to the old valve stem you can remove it by cutting it or pulling it out with pliers.

STEP 3: Lubrication/ Glue

Next you have to use something will help the valve stem slide in place and when it dries you it should function like glue to prevent air form leaking out. I chose to use dish detergant but any other type of soap would do.

STEP 4: Installing the Valve Stem

The installation process is straight forward. All you need to do is to put the stem trough the hoe and pull it trough. For these step you can use pliers or a valve tool. I use pliers because the tool was hitting the rim and I could not screw it in. I would recommend that you have a metal valve stem extender so you do not run into this problem.

STEP 5: Tire Inflation

Now it is time to inflate the tire. But there is a problem is that since the bread was broken the tire will not hold pressure. So what I did was used a strap to force the tire out ward. You can also use rope to squish the tire's interior in which forces the bead out towards the rim.

Lastly you have to inflate the tire. I would that you start with a hand pump and pump faster in the begging and then slow down until you reach the proper pressure. If you are not sure what the pressure is then check the tire sticker. The sticker is located some where on the drivers door of the vehicle.

STEP 6: Tools

I have in my care a tire kit that I bought from harbor freight tools. It did not come with valve stems but there is enough room to add four of them. I also recommend that you add a mental valve extender.

Comments

[AndrásL]

Thanks for the article, but I don't recommend to follow this method. This can go wrong so many ways. You can damage the rim, the tyre, and even your car if you not careful. An exploding tyre can even kill you. There are tools you can just pull the valve stem out, without removing the tyre from the wheels. Some likes it, some had issues. It's around £4 in the uk to replace one of the valve stems, way cheaper than buying a new rim / tyre if something goes wrong.

[scott.hepler]

OK, nice job. This worked great for me -- thanks!

[lalunette]

Good instructables !!

I always meant to find out how those vavle stems were installed.

BTW, got a good chuckle when I read about the "mental valve extender"

[thebatman]

an easier way to get a bead to seat is take the 4 way valve tool and remove the core with the tool then use a compressor to set the bead, do not exceed max psi for the tire to set it, also you need to lube the bead with soapy water if you break it

[revkarl]

I have been meaning to get a "mental valve extender". sounds useful.

[killerjackalope]

We had a handy little tool for this, made it far simpler to do because every now and again you'll wreck the threads on the valve stem, fine if dust caps are plastic but stem extenders just won't go on...

[citydragon]

Good tips on inserting the stem, breaking the bead and resetting the bead. Thanks!