On Wed, 21 Dec 2016 10:44:14 -0800 (PST), Davej advised:
I have both of them. They are both weak. As with any Chinese tool
you usually need to strengthen or otherwise improve what you get.
So the general rule is to use them gently with caution. However
it is probably cheaper to improve them than to buy the vastly more
expensive industrial/professional-grade tools. Youtube can be
helpful as people will show you what they did to destroy or improve
various cheap tools.
Thank you Davej for that advice which I agree with:
a. The HF bead-breaking tools suck, but,
b. Fixing the HF tools is cheaper than buying a better tool
For example, on the purpose-built HF bead breaker, *all* the wheels I did
(15 and 16 inches in diameter) were too big for the base. You'd think the
manufacturer would know how big a tire is. Luckily, adding this board
"extended" the base sufficiently to do 15 and 15 inch wheels:
http://i.cubeupload.com/9axQTD.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
g. The red tire iron flat tip bends like rubber on the tougher tires!
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
However, both can be made to work:
http://i.cubeupload.com/ngg3X3.jpg
But both bent horribly in the wheels and tires that I did.
http://i.cubeupload.com/JvoTto.jpg
For example, I just removed & patched-plugged these five 15-inch 75-series
SUV tires and 16-inch 55-series sedan tires last night:
http://i.cubeupload.com/qD9rZv.jpg
The tire-changer bead breaker isn't useful for tough tires, but it worked
on the easier tires. The problem with the tire changer is that the toughest
tire of the 5 defeated it, and *still* isn't on the wheel, even after
bending the tire iron (which is made of too-soft metal for hard tires):
http://i.cubeupload.com/W3NoBk.jpg
I can't for the life of me figure out why a sister tire went on the same
size rim, but this one still won't go on no matter what I try.