Harbor Freight Tire Changer Upgrades

[Ed Lijewski]

Water-softened hand soap bar works best: rub tire edge lightly a few times leaving a film of soap. Ivory bars are excellent for this purpose.

YMMV

[DPDISXR4Ti]

No time to verify yet, but I'm pretty confident that I got my answer. The problem was plain to see from my picture for those that have experience. You need to push the portion of the tire bead already on the wheel toward the center of the wheel where the diameter is smaller and thus allows the tire to shift over just enough. This allows you to get the last ~25% of the tire over the rim edge. You can see from my pic that I'm only just getting the bead into the channel where it will eventually end up. But it can't go there initially - the bead won't stretch enough - it's first gotta go into the drop center and then once the whole tire is on you inflate and pop the tire beads into place.

[brokencase]

You need to push the portion of the tire bead already on the wheel toward the center of the wheel where the diameter is smaller and thus allows the tire to shift over just enough. This allows you to get the last ~25% of the tire over the rim edge.

Oh yeah, sorry I did not notice it earlier. You're a master now. Be sure to get the bolt anchors from the home center and bolt that thing to the garage floor.

Still think NAPA tire lube is better than veg oil or detergent.

It's got slippy stuff in it.

[Ed Lijewski]

Ivory FTW:

"When the building was in a position to be pushed backward, there was only one brand of soap Rushton was comfortable using: Ivory. He said most soap brands quickly become dry and break apart, but Ivory soap sticks to steel beams for a smoother slide."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2 ... 20bathroom

YMMV

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Ivory FTW:

Or not....

"A classic Ivory soap bar contains sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernelate, water, sodium chloride, sodium silicate, magnesium sulfate, and fragrance. The soap has a determined pH value of 9.5."

"If aluminium is exposed to very strong acid or alkaline environments outside the pH range 4 to 9, violent corrosion will occur in the form of metal pitting. Bases break down the aluminium faster than acids - for example concentrated caustic soda reacts so violently with aluminium that it can start to boil."

"The pH of cooking quality vegetable oil is generally kept neutral and usually ranges from 6.9 to 6.7."

[Ed Lijewski]

Point taken.

I used a softened hard soap bar in mounting four (maybe five...it's been a while) new sets of tubeless tires on my motorcycles with no apparent issues to the wheels (magnesium). I put close to 200K total miles on those to bikes and checked tire pressures often and found they held pressures well.

YMMV

[brokencase]

Just go get the gallon of tire lube from NAPA. It's the right stuff and will last you a lifetime.

This is no place for cheap elixirs or home brew remedies.

[Ed Lijewski]

Save your money...and your valuable garage storage space that NAPA gallon will demand for the rest of your life..

Use Ivory or other bar or hand soap to apply a thin soap film on the inner tire edge surface. Once the tire is then easily mounted, squeamish sorts can use a damp cloth to wipe away the film. Presto: worry free.

YMMV

[Nice shibboleth that BTW: "This is no place for cheap elixirs or home brew remedies." I'll keep it in mind reviewing your future offerings.]

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Back on topic, I had considered getting a wheel centering cone for this thing last year, but they were selling for ~$50 and weren't essential, so I didn't bother. Zoom ahead one year and China is knocking these things out for $10.88 shipped! So I got one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126189014719

I hate short-term eBay links, but you should be able to search in the future using this....
Aluminum Centering Cone for a Manual Tire Changer like Harbor Freight 6063-T6
Note, clearly they have no idea what they're selling. The "in use" picture of it on the changer is all wrong.

[andyofcolumbusmerkur]

Don't ever change ED.

[brokencase]

Back on topic, I had considered getting a wheel centering cone for this thing last year, but they were selling for ~$50 and weren't essential, so I didn't bother. Zoom ahead one year and China is knocking these things out for $10.88 shipped! So I got one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126189014719

I hate short-term eBay links, but you should be able to search in the future using this....
Aluminum Centering Cone for a Manual Tire Changer like Harbor Freight 6063-T6
Note, clearly they have no idea what they're selling. The "in use" picture of it on the changer is all wrong.

Have not found the need for it on all flavor of wheels I have attempted thus far.

[brokencase]

[Nice shibboleth that BTW: "This is no place for cheap elixirs or home brew remedies." I'll keep it in mind reviewing your future offerings.]

Now you got me wondering of "home brew elixirs" I might have suggested in the past - for which I know I have dabbled in from time to time.

But I think in this case the NAPA stuff is worth it:)

[Ed Lijewski]

I change tires this way (on difficult tires I'll use three irons, using the third to advance getting the bead off the wheel). You know about it already, but jump to 5.00 in the video where the guy puts the first bead of the new tire on the rim--which is typical more difficult--sooo easily, with soapy water. Impressive.

https://youtu.be/k1Feg5CbMp0?si=Q0GC2Lut0l7BAOal

I do use the HF bead breaker, because it's inexpensive and reasonably easy, although an awkward shape to store away when not in use.

Changing tires with the wheel on the ground gives you all the leverage needed for that job.

YMMV

[Ed Lijewski]

One YT video shows a guy spraying some "tire shine" on the new tire edge before mounting it.

So, I checked the info on my bottle of Mequiar's Tech Protect (discontinued) and it can be used on rubber surfaces. I'll try it on tire dismoubt/mount the next time I change tires (won't be soon).

Screenshot_20231224-180057_Chrome.jpg (416.87 KiB) Viewed 29205 times

YMMV

[brokencase]

I do have a few tire irons, but the Harbor Freight tire changer is so inexpensive and makes things so much easier.

I used to change tires on the Sprite manually. I would break the bead by laying the wheel on the driveway and then placing a board on the side of the tire and driving over the board with another vehicle.

When I converted the Sprite to wire wheels then the Harbor Freight tire changer sort of became a requisite item.

The problem with spoons and irons is the potential to tear the bead, and with wire wheels the potential to tear the inner tube...although tearing the inner tube is possible with the changer as well, but less so.