Breaking Insane Tire Bead

[Bret McFarland]

You could go this route and get a nice tool as a bonus.

Would love to have one of those Coates Tire changers.

I started last week by getting a Harbor Freight Mini Tire changer for $69 which is supposed to handle 6-12" wheels. Perfect I thought. You can see how good it is from the picture, center shaft bent easily it is soft metal -- it's a toy! The bead breaker on it is a joke, and it barely handles 8" wheels -- forget 12". I'll be returning it. But I may try the bigger tire changer for $60.

 

[Bret McFarland]

That's high especially since these tires aren't spin balanced. If this price includes new valve stem and possibly bead sealer, then it might be more in line. My local tire guy charges $15 inc. valve stems mount dismount and if necessary bead sealer.

1811Cub they probably still have $5 haircuts where you live .

 

[1811Cub]

They are $20 here haha

 

[tkhoffman]

$30 per tire might change your mind!

Problem is I need to get the tires off so I can recondition the wheels and paint them before mounting new tires … times that by 6 tires and double trips to get off and on and it would really add up.

Finally got the beads from h-e-l-l broken by repeatly dropping that 1000lbs on them. Never seen them that bad, but after 40+ years of being stuck together I guess I should not be suprised.

I used a pneumatic impact hammer after I couldn't get mine off the bead. I have a dull chisel tip and drove it toward the rim then down. I had to go around the rim a bit until the tire finally stopped down

 

[mgwin]

I have removed old rusted tires from old rusty rims with a good sized screwdriver. It takes some patience and time, but it works without damaging the rim.
Just push/wiggle the screwdriver between the rim and tire and pry up and down. Keep pushing the driver up and down while pushing it around the rim. Go about 1/3 of the way around the rim, and then reverse and go back where you were. Little by little, the tire will separate from the rim.
It will come off a little quicker and easier if you put dish soap on it, but it allows the screwdriver to jump out more.

 

[Greg Carpenter]

I've tried brute force to break the bead loose on an old 26x12-12 tire -- final effort was lowering my 1000lb 3pt snow blower on it. Would not budge lol.

There was talk recently of oil breaking down rubber material. Would soaking the bead in gasoline help? thanks

I welded a scissor jack upside down on a receiver, where the trailer ball would go. Once inside the receiver hitch on back of truck, the jack can be lowered to the tire bead and basically become a bead-breaker. You can also use a large bolt and washers to mount the jack instead of welding.

 

[jack casey]

What? Did I get this right? $30 to mount/dismount a tire? My local repair shop, not a tire store but I do buy tires there, is J&J Automotive, Pearl River, NY. They maintain my '03 BMW X5 and my wife's '07 Lexus es350. My CC102 came to me with oem dried-out tires last Fall. Rims were good as tractor was kept indoors. J&J would not charge me to scrap the old tires and install the new, a $10 tip handed to the tech. I always tip the tech, even for a simple oil change. I'm not taking a shot at anyone here but for me, auto repair is a relationship business. Places like Mavis (notorious upseller) are to be avoided like the plague.

 

[gary noblit]

Jack, it appears you are dealing with private owners not the greed of the corp. world.There used to be a private owner nearby he became ill and sold to a corp .yep 30 per tire and a charge to throw away a used one even tho buying one from them...They change help often so no relationship gets bonded....All I can say is be grateful !!

 

[jack casey]

Jack, it appears you are dealing with private owners not the greed of the corp. world.There used to be a private owner nearby he became ill and sold to a corp .yep 30 per tire and a charge to throw away a used one even tho buying one from them...They change help often so no relationship gets bonded....All I can say is be grateful !!

To be clear I didn't buy the new tires from J&J as I had them left over after selling the Elec-Trak

 

[user 19288]

You could go this route and get a nice tool as a bonus. This would look great in a garage after a refurb.
I used one of these about 50 years ago, they did the job!
https://lancaster.craigslist.org/tls/d/hopeland-coates-manual-tire-machine/7593669885.html

I used one of those for years then lucked up on a Coats 2020, sold the old manual one. Wish I had kept it. The 2020 will do the 12” tires but just barely.

 

[user 19288]

Would love to have one of those Coates Tire changers.

I started last week by getting a Harbor Freight Mini Tire changer for $69 which is supposed to handle 6-12" wheels. Perfect I thought. You can see how good it is from the picture, center shaft bent easily it is soft metal -- it's a toy! The bead breaker on it is a joke, and it barely handles 8" wheels -- forget 12". I'll be returning it. But I may try the bigger tire changer for $60.

View attachment 153314

Those are better than nothing but still a bear on 6” & 8” tires. Mine came with a box of swear words!

 

[Greg Riutzel]

I used a pneumatic impact hammer

Cool move. The local shop that does Class 8 rigs to agricultural does that occasionally for big tires on old equipment, especially if it had calcium chloride.

On disposal of old tires, there's a fee now but it's kind of a sliding scale. If it is just to dump a tire to two, it $10 per carcass, up from $5 a few years ago. If you're buying tires, there's a line in the bill called "Environmental Disposal Fee" for $5 per tire or $12 for a set of four.

 

[jack casey]

I used one of those for years then lucked up on a Coats 2020, sold the old manual one. Wish I had kept it. The 2020 will do the 12” tires but just barely.

Cool move. The local shop that does Class 8 rigs to agricultural does that occasionally for big tires on old equipment, especially if it had calcium chloride.

On disposal of old tires, there's a fee now but it's kind of a sliding scale. If it is just to dump a tire to two, it $10 per carcass, up from $5 a few years ago. If you're buying tires, there's a line in the bill called "Environmental Disposal Fee" for $5 per tire or $12 for a set of four.

Youse guys amaze me; patience, smarts, ingenuity, not-afraid-of-work. Me, I just take my tires/wheels to my reasonable auto repair shop and the man will do his thing.
Cheers, Jack

 

[user 19288]

Cool move. The local shop that does Class 8 rigs to agricultural does that occasionally for big tires on old equipment, especially if it had calcium chloride.

Cool move. The local shop that does Class 8 rigs to agricultural does that occasionally for big tires on old equipment, especially if it had calcium chloride.

On disposal of old tires, there's a fee now but it's kind of a sliding scale. If it is just to dump a tire to two, it $10 per carcass, up from $5 a few years ago. If you're buying tires, there's a line in the bill called "Environmental Disposal Fee" for $5 per tire or $12 for a set of four.

I wish I had taken a photo of the wheels I pulled the tires off of on Saturday. Years of water sitting in the tires made for a rusty mess.And I had already cleaned up most if it.

 

[-CӞ]

Mac: nice fox-body.

 

[dray]

I've tried brute force to break the bead loose on an old 26x12-12 tire -- final effort was lowering my 1000lb 3pt snow blower on it. Would not budge lol.

There was talk recently of oil breaking down rubber material. Would soaking the bead in gasoline help? thanks

I use transmission fluid it softens up the rubber. I also use it for slow bead leaks, just take the valve core out and use a small squeeze bottle and put a little inside before I mow . This after I get tried of airing it up every time before I use it lol works most of the time.

 

[mgonitzke]

I use transmission fluid it softens up the rubber. I also use it for slow bead leaks, just take the valve core out and use a small squeeze bottle and put a little inside before I mow . This after I get tried of airing it up every time before I use it lol works most of the time.

It softens the rubber because the rubber is not compatible with it...all you are doing is destroying the tire.

 

[tkhoffman]

I used one of those for years then lucked up on a Coats 2020, sold the old manual one. Wish I had kept it. The 2020 will do the 12” tires but just barely.

They sell an add on for motorcycle rims. That will help with smaller diameter rims too. Like these. Mine are slightly different, they offset more to give you a shorter or longer capability depending on whether you are pushing or pulling to hold the rim
https://m.aliexpress.us/item/325680...&gatewayAdapt=gloPc2usaMsite&_randl_shipto=US

 

[user 19288]

They sell an add on for motorcycle rims. That will help with smaller diameter rims too. Like these. Mine are slightly different, they offset more to give you a shorter or longer capability depending on whether you are pushing or pulling to hold the rim
https://m.aliexpress.us/item/3256803382029022.html?pdp_npi=2@dis!USD!US $112.57!$31.52!!!!!@210323a716800111642896806eda62!12000026319010545!btf&_t=pvid:10c05fc1-0888-4808-9a8d-3d9ffec48940&afTraceInfo=1005003568343774__msite__c_ppc_item_bridge__xxxxxx__1680011164&spm=a2g0n.ppclist.product.0&gatewayAdapt=gloPc2usaMsite&_randl_shipto=US

Those appear to be for a rim clamp machine. The 2020 is a center clamp type. Love to have a rim clamp changer.

 

[dray]

It softens the rubber because the rubber is not compatible with it...all you are doing is destroying the tire.

Tell that to my 10 year old tires. They still hold air