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Bead Breaker

gimpyrobb

dumpsterlandingfromorbit!
27,786
757
113
Location
Cincy Ohio
As someone thats used both, there is no comparison, go hydraulic. I've used one like in the 2nd link. Never seen the one in the 1st.
 

rustystud

Well-known member
9,298
3,074
113
Location
Woodinville, Washington
As someone thats used both, there is no comparison, go hydraulic. I've used one like in the 2nd link. Never seen the one in the 1st.
I totally agree with "gimpyrobb" here. Get the hydraulic one. You will regret it if you go with the manual one. I even used my impact wrench on it, though your not suppose to. It was still a pain in the A$$ ! Go with the hydraulic !
 

Merc1973

Active member
308
38
28
Location
Sykesville, MD
Great thread and great info. Whats the going rate for a truck tire shop to replace a bad tube? I need one done and my spare on the truck is horribly out of balance/round.
 

Nomad1

Member
177
4
18
Location
Conway NH
Thanks for posting this pick I was wondering if that style would work have a chance to get one 4 less than $380 new . So if your still around thanks as see this is a post from 2009
 

snowtrac nome

Well-known member
1,674
139
63
Location
western alaska
An Old tire man once told me, that if your really working hard, to change a tire, your doing it wrong!.. The bottom line is that a "duck bill" hammer and a slide hammer, are about as fast as anything. That precludes the fact, that you have to learn how to swing that hammer. Sledge hammers don't get it! You need the right tool. I often tend to think that "tire work" is a young mans job. However, I still do mine. I want the valves straight, tubes in straight, no hands full of dirt left in the tire, flap straight and tube not pinched. So I do my tire work in self defense.

Lee in Alaska
Lee that must be an Alaska saying I have told it to many young folks in the past too I still use it today when some one tells me I make it look easy.
 

fasttruck

Well-known member
1,265
636
113
Location
Mesa, AZ
Some maintenance sections had a Kem tire spade which you held against the bead with your foot and beat on it with a sledge hammer. Not good if you missed the tool and hit your foot. In RVN people were breaking tires by placing the offending tire under a deuce and putting the issue jack against the bead and jacking. Usually the bead would break before the truck went up. Military tires mounted for a long time of steel wheels can be difficult if a ridge of rust formed under the bead on the lock ring side. This will require you to drive the bead down far enough to expose the rust so you can knock it off. Sometimes the ties get stuck on the rims after the beads are broken and another basket like took fits on the lock ring side and holds the assembly off the ground so you can drive the tire off the rim from above. Sometimes this problem can also be addressed by leaning the tire against something on a 45 degree angle lock ring side out and hitting it with a hammer. Was once assigned to a motor transport unit that had at least 1000 11:00X20 tires to maintain. when you got a deuce wheel you thought it was from a Volkswagen. 14:00X24 tires from M123s were also a character builder.
 

rustystud

Well-known member
9,298
3,074
113
Location
Woodinville, Washington
I bought a good hydraulic bead buster and was able with my bad back and knees to bust down 12 tires in two hours. The hardest part was just moving the tires themselves. So save yourself a lot of pain and misery and buy the hydraulic unit.
 

porkysplace

Well-known member
9,604
1,494
113
Location
mid- michigan
I bought a good hydraulic bead buster and was able with my bad back and knees to bust down 12 tires in two hours. The hardest part was just moving the tires themselves. So save yourself a lot of pain and misery and buy the hydraulic unit.
Is yours mil-surplus or commercial ?
The mil-surplus one I got weighs 60+ pounds .
 

rustystud

Well-known member
9,298
3,074
113
Location
Woodinville, Washington
Is yours mil-surplus or commercial ?
The mil-surplus one I got weighs 60+ pounds .
I bought it from "Northern Tool and Equipment" . I also bought the foot operated hydraulic power supply. The unit itself weighs in at around 30 Ibs so not to bad to lug around. I own all the "duck bill" sledge hammers and "pry bars" to manually break down tires, but after using this hydraulic unit I will never use them again !
 
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