mounting tires myself with the $40 harbor freight changer

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So I'm kind of handy, doing most of my own automotive work, and it occurs to me that
I'm paying a lot for tires. $60 labor to mount and balance four tires and I get them
in half an hour... I bet I could do this myself given time.

I order the $39.99 tire changer from Harbor Freight. For a huge box of chinese steel
shipping is only eight bucks. I pad the order with an air ratchet and other goodies.
16 days later the UPS guy shows up. HF's tracking read "billing information received"
until the day the stuff showed up. I was getting antsy but was willing to put up with
a LOT because I'm cheap like that.

Get it all assembled and it has provisions to bolt to concrete. I leave the stand
alone for now, as I am planning a garage in the fairly new future. I have considered
bolting the thing to a sheet of plywood that I could stand on or park a vehicle on to
weigh down.

Test subject is a 95 Saturn SL2 with steel 15" wheels and a bald 195/60/15 tire. "New"
tire is a Kumho with 7/32 tread remaining I got for ten bucks from the junkyard. They
have a "tire trailer" which is like any candy store with neat shelves sorted by
diameter down both sides and a dark aisle down the middle.

Device has a bead breaker which many say is the toughest part of undoing an old tire.
Piece of cake.

I set the device on my frozen lawn and pound a couple of six inch bolts into the ground
through the base to keep it from spinning. Operation of the device is a big post goes
through the hub hole, one prys against the bead and post and "unzips" it in a big
circle. No freaking luck. I pry and pry and sweat. Put soapy water around the bead
which freezes. Apply enough pressure to bust a weld on a retainer for the lug pin
which keeps the tire from spinning. Lug pin remains effectively in place but can now
be removed entirely. Omen of quality issues to come, or efficiency improvement? Who
knows.

I move inside the basement assuming if I can keep the soap liquid I'll have an easier
time. I've added two 15" tire irons with pointy ends to the 4 foot long spoon the unit
came with. Eventually I figure out that I had the wheel on upside down and found the
deepest part of the wheel, where one side of the tire's bead has to hide to provide
enough stretch to the side one is pulling off. Tire comes off pretty fast. I
unmounted it like a bicycle tire (only bigger) but levered in fixed positions, each new
lever a couple inches from where the last was. I feel it was easier on myself and the
bead than "zipping" around.

New tire goes on pretty much like the old tire came off. My soap ran out and I should
have used more putting it on. Going to seat the bead it wasn't really slippery enough
inside. The bead (I guess this is a so-called 'safety tire') likes to sit half an inch
away from the edge of the rim on a sort of inner rim, then it pops out to the edge. The inner rim has to be somewhat air tight to hold enough pressure to pop the bead out.
Went inside, got a dish soap bottle, mixed 1 part joy with 10 parts water, shook it
good, got tons of suds, then went outside and hosed everything down.

Put air to the tire, kicked it around a little bit, and the beads popped into place at
about 10-15 psi. Nowhere has anyone really described the process like I could
understand. This is by far the most dangerous part of the job IMO.

Notes, I didn't remove the valve stem core, which I guess lets air in faster. Kept the
old valve stem in fact. Haven't balanced the new assembly yet, I have no balancer, but
am rigging something with a laser pointer, rubber ball, and traffic cone. Stay tuned.
 
i have that tyre changer and use it alot. you need to mount it to the ground. i wouldnt be able to have enough paitence to use it with out mounting it to a concrete floor with big bolts.

the more you use it the easier it gets. i can change 4 tyres in 30 minutes and not even break a sweat.

awalys remove the valve stem core when working on tyres. its a major pain in the arse to pop the bead while the core is still even, even if you deflated the tyre already.
 
I have one to mount motorcycle tires. It works great for that. Both dirt and street tires. I also have a static balancer. Buying tires online and mounting myself I save $40-60 per set of street tires. $20-30 a set on dirt tires.

I mounted it to a 2x12" board and drive my truck up on one end. That way I can put it away when I'm not using it.

Real tire soap works a lot better than dish soap. And it non-corosive to rubber. Dish soap and water inside the tire is not a good thing.
 
yea balance. I go to wheel works and they charge 5 dollars for one time mount, balancing for life time. That also includes other goodies like rotation etc.
 
A caution for you DIY'ers:

Apply the soap solution to both tire beads and the bead seat area of the rim, as well as the underside of the top bead (bead toe) and the rim flange.

Not only do you have to get the beads to seat, but in the "buttonhook" operation, the top bead tends to get torn by the rim and the extra lube on the two surfaces in contact will allow the bead to slip over the rim flange easier. A torn bead toe could lead to the sidewall being blown off - VERY dangerous.

Also never exceed 40 psi when seating the beads. If the beads don't seat by 40 psi, look at what may be wrong and do it again. When you exceed 40 psi you run the risk of breaking the beads - which has been known to kill people!!! Be extra cautious when inflating the tire.
 
I have the same device.

One danger in seating the beads is that the tire can pop off the ground. I always seat the beads with the tire in the upright position on the ground, not on the tire changer.
 
For balancing I'll rig up a cone balancer and/or put the tire on a rear hub and spin it a la "wheel of fortune", marking where "up" is and seeing if it recurs reliably. Have to watch for dragging brakes, bearings. Will then unbolt and stick on the 4-lug hub 180' off to see if results repeat. Getting sticky weights off ebay.

The soap solution was "all bubbles" and not all that wet. I read the bead lube thread with interest. I inflated with dry 25'F air if that helps the humidity inside the tire.
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It is cool when the bottom bead seats, my whole rim had been sitting on concrete, jumped up, and rang like a gong. I do respect the awesome maiming power that sits bottled up in there.

For anyone who hasn't mounted their own tire, it has a real "homestead" feel and really helps you respect the guys that do it for a living (and invent nicer tools for it).
 
On a motorcycle tire, static balancer works excellent. I have tested mine to very high speeds without a hint of it being out of balance.

Some motorcycle shops only have static balancers. Nice thing about them is they are cheap and very portable. And like I said before saves me ton of money.
 
I use that tire changer with very short 9" tire levers. I've never used the long 36" tire lever that came with it.

When i put the tire on, i lubricate both tire beads on just the inside edges with washing up liquid applied with a dry brush. Make sure no water is used.

Getting the inside bead over the rim is easy. It just pushes straight on with no tire levers. For the outside bead i have someone hold a 9" tire lever in place while i work my way round with another 9" tire lever. If you need a huge long tire lever it means you're doing it wrong.

Also, i have never bolted the tire changer down. Just put it onto an old rubber car mat.
 
I've seen someone (Harbor Freight?, eBay?) sell a sleeve- or mitten-type set of plastic pieces that goes over the business end of the tire mounting tools to protect the aluminum alloy wheels during mount/dismount.

I didn't bother to get it. I've mounted one alloy wheel and used strips of plastic cut from a Prestone jug to protect the surfaces from my pry bar. It was a pain to use and I still marred some of the wheel. Maybe I'll be more careful next time and have better success. It helps tremendously to have three or four hands doing it.
 
If you use this tire changer with alloy wheels i would suggest that you don't use the metal spider that you can see in the top picture. This is likely to mark the alloy wheel. Instead, i would machine up a metal bush/spacer piece to fit in the wheels center bore.

You really need to be well practised fitting tyres to old steel wheels first. With alloy wheels, you need a type of alloy wheel that will not be damaged easily by a tire lever. Look at the edge of the alloy wheel and see if it is of the strong rounded type or the weak feather-edged type.

Also, i never use rim protectors. If you use short 9" motorcycle tire levers it shouldn't damage the rim. To remove the tire, use plenty of washing up liquid mixed with a small amount of water. Push the opposite side of the bead into the wheel well with your knee to help the tire lever get the bead over the rim.

To remove the inside tire bead after the outside tire bead has been removed i turn the wheel over on the tire changer. Use a piece of cardboard cut to size between the wheel and the tire changer's wheel rest plate. Otherwise, the face of the wheel will be scratched. The inside bead is then removed without tire levers, by pressing down hard. Again, plenty of lubricant is needed.
 
the metal spider works fine with alloy wheels. you just need to cut a hole in a piece of rubber, like a floor mat for example. put the rubber on the shaft between the spider and the wheel.
 
I have seen some people dip their tire spoons in liquid latex tool dip to save alloy wheels. I can't imagine that holding up though. Maybe even the right wax might help.
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I built a similar device that fits into my old truck's receiver hitch. Got a static balancer off ebay years ago for $20. I usually lube the beads with grease, remove the valve stem core, and seat the beads with ether and a lighter. It's fun.

You have to remove the valve stem core if you're going to seat the beads with ether- otherwise the bead will seat, then get sucked right back off as the gas inside the tire cools. Removing the valve stem allows air to be sucked in as the gas cools, so the bead stays in place.

Grease works great for lubing the bead and preventing bead leaks. I know it's not 'approved', but it's never caused me a problem. Tractor tires have been mounted this way since the dawn of time.
 
Originally Posted By: onion
I built a similar device that fits into my old truck's receiver hitch. Got a static balancer off ebay years ago for $20. I usually lube the beads with grease, remove the valve stem core, and seat the beads with ether and a lighter. It's fun.

You have to remove the valve stem core if you're going to seat the beads with ether- otherwise the bead will seat, then get sucked right back off as the gas inside the tire cools. Removing the valve stem allows air to be sucked in as the gas cools, so the bead stays in place.

Grease works great for lubing the bead and preventing bead leaks. I know it's not 'approved', but it's never caused me a problem. Tractor tires have been mounted this way since the dawn of time.
You need to post a video of seating a tire with ether-I'd like to see that!
 
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