On Mon, 12 Dec 2016 23:45:12 +0000 (UTC), Frank Baron advised:
I have a question about mounting and balancing tires at home that didn't
come up when I was researching this problem. If you have never mounted or
balanced your own passenger-car tires, then you won't know the answers
(most likely) but if you have, you'll know because you must have solved
this problem.
I have the Harbor Freight Pittsburgh Manual Tire Changer HF item #62317
which is mounted in concrete so that it is stable.
That tire changer comes with a "bead breaker" but the bead is just not
breaking when I used it today!
http://i.cubeupload.com/f8FCTC.jpg
I also bought a couple of Harbor Freight item #61603 Pittsburgh 24 in.
General Purpose Tire Irons.
http://i.cubeupload.com/7q7Tq0.jpg
The problem is that the harbor freight tire changer bead breaker just seems
to slip off when following the instructions.
http://i.cubeupload.com/7CdvVu.jpg
I would be glad to use the the Harbor Freight item #67403 Tire Bead Breaker
with Swan Neck:
http://i.cubeupload.com/Qcg2YR.jpg
But it doesn't come with instructions.
Have you used these goose-neck bead breakers on passenger tires?
Which way does the goose-neck go?
a. It can't fit under the rim with the finger pointing up, and,
b. It can't fit under the bead with the finger pointing down.
So how did you use this bead breaker anyway?
I finally broke down and bought the HF Pittsburgh Bead Breaker, Harbor
Freight item 92961. (
http://i.cubeupload.com/Lb3Fof.jpg )
I used that harbor freight bead breaker to break the beads on four
difficult steel-rim wheels with Optimo P235/75R15 108T thick-sidewall tires
seemingly glued on.
http://cubeupload.com/im/uFwoAk.jpg
After using it successfully (not without a few curses), I conclude the HF
standalone bead breaker sucks but it sucks differently than the bead
breaker attachment on the Harbor Freight tire changing tool.
http://i.cubeupload.com/rQiNkr.jpg
The HF tire changing tool bead breaker is fine for the three passenger
tires I've done now, but it's far too weak (puny would be more apropos) for
the strong sidewall SUV tires.
http://i.cubeupload.com/sjfJWR.jpg
Luckily (as Clare kindly warned me), all of what sucks in both tools can be
"fixed" if you know ahead of time what to modify (as Clare has kindly shown
us):
http://i.cubeupload.com/GqExGq.jpg
What sucks about the tire-changing tool bead-breaker attachment is:
a. The bead-breaker arms are too weak (and bend like a pretzel)
b. The clevis pins (thanks Clare) are far too sloppy (replace with bolts)
c. The bead breaker arc is far too small (about 1/2 to 1/4 of what you need
d. The tire iron twists out of your hands (use a vise grip to prevent that)
e. The tire iron is too soft so it bends when used as a lever (use pipe)
f. The base *must* be bolted down for SUV tires which require turning force
HF Pittsburgh Bead Breaker, Harbor Freight item #92961
http://www.harborfreight.com/bead-breaker-92961.html
What sucks about the standalone bead breaker tool is:
a. The base is far too short for big tires
b. The base has no attachment holes for securing to concrete or pallets
c. The lever action isn't all that powerful (but it's strong enough)
HF Pittsburgh Manual Tire Changer, Harbor Freight item #62317
http://www.harborfreight.com/automot...ger-62317.html
Here is the first method that I used as an expediency to temporarily
"extend" the base of the HF bead breaking tool (it was a steel shelf from a
Costco shelf rack):
http://cubeupload.com/im/nADolx.jpg
Here is the second method that I used to extend the base (it's just a board
of wood that I had lying around):
http://cubeupload.com/im/uZf7Id.jpg
I changed multiple car tires easily with both tools, but SUV 108T P235/75
tires stressed both tools to the max - where - without the emergency
modifications above - I don't think you can do the job (I couldn't).