Harbor Freight - Manual Tire Changer Modifications - Should you buy one for SHTF?
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- Опубліковано 4 сер 2024
- I picked up this PITTSBURGH AUTOMOTIVE Manual Tire Changer from Harbor Freight the other day. I wanted to share my first impressions and some modifications I think you might want to consider.
Here's the link if you want to buy one www.harborfreight.com/manual-...
Great review and thanks for the Northern Tool comparison. My brother did basically the same thing as you did and his works just fine. He also bought some sort of inexpensive balancer for tires and it works just fine as well. Thanks for the videos.
I appreciate the great audio quality on this. Also the info.
I appreciate that!
Thanks. I did just as you suggested and it works great! I then made my own version of the lucid swivel head adapter. It’s a mean machine now for $60.00!
I think I found the secret to making this thing super rigid. I threw away the crisscrossy c-channel things at the bottom, and bolted the square flange directly to my concrete floor with flush drop-in anchors. The machine does not move AT ALL. I haven't had any problem breaking beads with the wheel flat on the floor. Fussy rims can be laid on a towel for protection.
I just got mine not long ago. I haven't used or mounted it yet, but I'm tempted to do the same thing you did. I would be interested to know the durability of this mounting method after time and lots of tire changes (?) I wonder why no one else is doing this? It seems to make more sense.
Good to see a video that shows how to improve those things. I'm about close to buying one since they want 25 and up to mount and balance. Next I'll need to find a bubble balancer. Thanks for the tips much appreciated.
On mine, I just welded a short piece of 2" square tubing on the bottom of the bead breaker tube and moved the pin down to a hole drilled through the 2 inch tsqusre tube. Then bolted it to that with washers.
I made a tube that slides over the hold down tube with some U channel welded to it to put the breaker bar tube to it. This way, after I secure the tire to the changer I can slip my breaker bar on the screw down tube. Then I use a tire iron through the tighten down slot to act as a stop for my bead breaker assembly.
Once the tire is secured I can use the bead breaker with the tire mounted on the changer rather than on the floor. It's much easier on my back.
And my breaker bar slides all the way through the breaker tube so it won't bend as easy.
I also bolted my tire changer to my shop floor near a wall and then built a rack so I can hang my breaker assembly, bar, tire tools, valve stem removers, air hose and tire pressure gauges etc... on the wall out of the way.
I am about to build one of the bead removal adapters I've seen on UA-cam to keep from scratching my freshly powder coated rims with.
I've been using heat shrink on my bar to keep from scratching the rims.
I have one of the first model tire changers that HF sold, It was made in Taiwan rather than China and it is made of heavier gauge steel on all the pieces, I just lay a piece of old carpet on the bead breaker part to prevent damage to the rim and just lay rags on the rim before tightening the hold down, no scratches or damage to a aluminum wheel, drop in threaded anchors in the shop floor allows removal when not in use too.
I've had mine for about 15 years the only problem I've ever had was I bent the big handle you use for the bead breaker and to take the tire on and off. Just use mine to put two industrial tires on the front of my tractor I've changed dozens of tires with that fantastic. Get the bubble balancer also it works great that's what everybody use before these new computer balances were around .
don't bother with a bubble balancer, just use tire beads for balancing if you're changing tires on full size trucks and vans or heavy trucks.
Yes, after watching a bajillion videos, I came to the same conclusion. It stays balanced for the life of the tire that way. I saw a video by a guy on YT that goes by Bleepinjeep who used airsoft bbs and did a 6-month follow up. You can't feed them through the valve stem like the small ceramic ones, but it may be worth considering. The video is called "How to balance your tires with BB's. Is it Legit ???" @@RigepFroggit
Thank you! Great video
Nice job - I am picking one up this weekend ! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
You made it a much more efficient machine!!!
To avoid damaging nicer rims when using the bead breaker, I made plastic protector plates out of white plastic meat cutting boards; I cut and shaped them to fit over the c-channel and the beak on the bead breaker/ rim contact points, fixed them onto the tire changer with some gorilla glue and a couple countersink holes through the new plastic protectors through the metal parts and used screws to make sure they won't come off.
I mounted mine on a piece of grating where I could take bolts and hanger clamps lose and stand grating on the side! I had a old drill press stand for a Concrete core drill and mounted a 20 t0n hydraulic bottle jack with springs on to break beads loose with springs to pull itself back up! Use balancing beads, you can buy 18 pounds for a hundred bucks takes 12 to 14 ounces to do a 20-inch truck tire, 2 ounces on motorcycle tires! i got tire beads and changer for less than they wanted for mounting and balancing 4 tires! had enough beads left for about 30 tires!
Good job !
I used Walmart for tires too, Yokohamas for a pickup. best price, under $200 ea for 285/70R17, made in USA. but the shop nearby wants to charge $50 ea to mount & bal if I bring my own. I got my 1st mechanic job in 1984 so I've done hundreds of tires over the years, incl a lot of the old split-rim big truck wheels done by hand with sledgehammer picks. so to continue to empower myself and not be a victim, I'm going to get one of these changers at HF tomorrow. it's not a new thought for me, so now I have a good reason, and will have it for anytime I need it. 🏁🏁🏁
Here in Haines City, Fl they want $38 dollars per tire mounting! I had 8 tires to mount so I pulled my old Harbor freight tire changer and here we go again!!!
Nice job
The old coats was the 40-40 got one for $250 years ago still have it just did a video on the HFT tire changer I've had since 1996.
Air soft bb's make for cheap balance beads. Use them in all tires on my vehicles.
Mine is over six yearsold . More than paid for itself years ago . Including a bubble balance, cement pad , tire chetta , wheel wieghs. Etc ….
Check it out. There's a marker on the tire/rim . Aline them as best as you get. Almost stops the vibes.
And if it comes up heavy in that spot , mark tire deflate and spin 180*
I bent the bead breaker on the first day...... But it was kind of my fault as i did not use bead lube on the first tire.
There’s no need to weld reinforcement to the bead breaker part. Just drill out the holes where the pins are and use a bolt with lock nuts. Snug it down to take up the slack and the entire assembly will have far less slop. Old inner tube pieces will do nicely to reduce wheel damage. If I were to weld anything I would remove the bottom channel pieces and weld the vertical tube to a piece of quarter-inch plate. With three or four gussets the base setup would be indestructible.
commenting on @ 3:40 yeaterday that part bent trying to break the bead so we welded a nice brace between there about half way...that problem solved now onto other points... horrible fright engineering barely gets you half way but can be a good starter kit. Good to know going in as a rule.
This will do a good job and cheap is ok. Just buy the nylon motorcycle bead roller and no scratched rims....
You should do the duck mod, works 1000 times better
Will this work for a 20 inch rim?
I dont think so, I think 16'' is the limit.
Did you use a gas or flux core welder?
Flux core
I sprayed that truck bed liner in a can on all the bearing surfaces.
I cut a long more blade to fit in between those straps and weather those.
Just use an ole more blade ever has some of them lay around
Have the same one myself, great minds think alike!(Ffngg emojis busting my balls)
I started wrenching to save a buck but then realized being self sufficient is the real value..
balance beads for your trailer tires will be fine.
"To make a short story super long I can help"
The new black one is better constructed. It costs a bit more.
17:45 that's what she said
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Bolt it too the floor and you’ll be good. SHTF? The few tire shops left in our little town keep bankers hours, same hours I work. If I want tires mounted one of these is my option. Or else drive a 1/2 hour one way to deal with the monkeys over at joes muffler and tobacco.
Should balance all tires, otherwise they wear out prematurely. Small price to pay considering cost of tires.
Three tire irons and a tire bead breaker hammer is your other option. The choice of professionals worldwide.
I cannot believe how long you can make this, Bla,Bla,Bla
chicken for supper?
weld a nut on top pipe and use impact on/off.
Long story long
the tire changer sucks . the bars bent on me
too bad manufacturer made it so cheaply. I'm willing to pay $100 -$150 if manufacturer made it 100% better.