I wanted to provide an update on this discussion, which netted a fair
amount of feedback, both positive and negative. I decided to hold off
on the changer based on that feedback, but still haven't gotten around
to trying to find a good dismount price at a tire shop. However, I just got a
20% off HF coupon that brought the price down to $40, so I decided to
give it a try. My report is a lot like what others found.
The
first thing I learned is the the instructions were really, really bad,
even by HF standards. They are pretty poor for assembly, although you
can figure that out from the exploded diagram fairly easily. But, they
are almost worthless on actual use. I didn't want to start drilling
holes in the garage floor for something that might or might not work,
so I mounted it on a 10' 2x6 that I had laying around. I then lifted
the front of my Alpine and set the wheels on top of the board. That,
plus two pieces of scrap 2x4's that I bolted to the other two legs
seemed to give it enough stability for testing. I decided to try on a
couple of old 13" Alpine steel wheels that I had laying around and
didn't really care about. Breaking the bead on those was a breeze.
One good push with the breaker bar and they came loose. Then, it was
time to try to remove the tire. This is where the poor instructions
were really bad. I could easily pull one part of the tire off of the
wheel, but that part fell back down when I moved the bar to a different
part. I felt pretty stupid when, after lots of sweating and swearing,
I finally figured out that the trick was just to start in one spot and
then rotate the bar around the center post. I probably struggled with
the first tire for more than a half hour. The next two only took me
about 5 minutes each, if that. So far, so good.
Next up was a
set of 14" Porsche 924 rims that I hope to put on one of my Alpines.
One of the rims (I have 5) is a little beat, so I decided to learn on
it. My plan was to do this one, then bolt the changer to the floor for
the rest. However, nothing I do seems to break the rim free. The bead
breaker forces the tire down a bit, then slips right off without breaking the
bead. I've
tried multiple angles with the breaker and both sides of the tire, but
cannot budge it. I've tried it lubed with dish soap and dry, but no
difference. Just to be safe, I tried one of the other Porsche wheels too,
but with the same result. Unless I am doing something wrong - a
definite possibility given my experience removing the first tire -
nothing I do is going to safely break the bead.
I'm definitely
giving up for the day (whoever said it was a good upper body workout
wasn't kidding!), probably for good. I have some time off over Xmas; I
suspect that will be a good time to throw the rims in the back of the
truck and go shopping for a good deal on removing the tires.
Lets see: three tires dismounted for $40. Not quite a good deal.
Jim
> From: jandkstone99@msn.com
> To: shop-talk@autox.team.net
> Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2009 21:03:30 -0500
> Subject: [Shop-talk] HF Tire Changer
>
> I currently have 9 wheels with trash tires taking up space in my garage.
> Someday I'll get around to selling the ones I don't want, but for now I'd
like
> to get rid of the tires and store the wheels in less space. I can take
them
> all to a tire place, but as I recall, they get about $10/wheel for removing
> tires, plus the fee for recycling them. For $50, I'm thinking about buying
an
> HF tire changer
> (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34542)
and
> doing the work myself. I can then easily take them to the recycling
center,
> although I don't know if there is a consumer charge for turning them in.
>
> Has anyone ever used one of these or one like it? Is it more trouble than
its
> worth?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Jim
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