DIY wood tire bead breakers wanted

[wesalexleft]

I have a TPMS sensor going out due to the battery. I can order a new TPMS online, but the "labor" to have them put in makes them cost prohibitive for what they do...especially if all 4 begin to fail. What I'd like to see is how anyone has made a bead breaker, especially wooden ones (no ability to weld here). I think I could utilize a fence post and "lever" to pop the tire bead at the valve stem, reach in, replace, the TPMS, then air them back up again saving myself about $30.00 or more per tire in labor alone. I considered the Harbor Freight Tire Changer, but it would need to be mounted to something, and I don't think I have a good way to do that which would be easier than using a fence post. Anyone else do this?

Thanks!

 

[Terra Nova]

Easy. Lay the tire flat on the ground. Place a 2x6 on the tire like a ramp, drive another vehicle (preferable pickup or SUV with enough weight & clearance) up the ramp and it'll pop the bead off. Flip tire over and repeat if necessary.

I've done this tons of times and it's a snap. You may have to play with initial position of the 'ramp' a little so it comes down close to the rim but not on it.

 

[Bullitt427]

Motorcycle, ATV and scooters are easy to pop beads with a wooden lever etc.

A car tire, yeah right.

You'll have to pop it by driving over it or just take it in. Should only be $12-15

Josh

 

[volleyball]

You risk ruining the tire trying something home made.

 

[djb2]

I've popped the bead on automotive tires using a press, with a 2x4 to spread the pressure along the bead. It took enough force that I don't think a wooden substitute would be easy to make.

 

[see pictures]

The harbor freight one will break the bead not mounted to anything. I mounted mine on a sheet of 1/2" osb to use to mount tires. others have mounted them on pallets

 

[wesalexleft]

I'd thought of attaching an 8' long double 2X4 beam to a fence post at near ground level, coming back about 8 inches or so from the post and having a pivoting "drop" piece, then using the other 7' as lever. Bringing this to the ground would create the leverage to remove the tire from the rim. I can see a risk of damaging the tire, but my problem is my 2007 Yukon's TPMS batteries are beginning to fail. I'm looking at about $40.00 per tire in TPMS sensors (at a good price), plus an additional $30.00/tire for a breakdown and remount; assuming the shop will let me actually install my own TPMS sensor instead of them demanding either purchase of their 70.00 sensor, or labor to install mine. At some point, getting the TPMS working will be close to 250.00-300.00 which buys a whole bunch of tire gauges. I'd thought that if I could just pop the bead on one side of the tire, near the valve, I could turn it into a DIY. I'd done my share if tire mounts growing up, but always on a machine. I guess I need to find a kid during off hours at the local gas station.

 

[gungatim]

go to HF and pickup a couple of tire irons for $8 ea. get a can of wd40 and spray the sh--t out of the bead and go to town. takes a little while but bit by bit you can break the bead. I have taken off many old tires that way when scrapping rims before I got my tire machine.

or

take it to a gas station and pay $5 to have them break the bead for you.

if you google, there are a dozen home made ways to break a bead. many use a jack and a vehicle...

 

[jgorm]

$50 at harbor freight, or drive over it as mentioned.
http://www.harborfreight.com/bead-breaker-92961.html

 

[Zrexxer]

I built one out of 2x4's to do sportbike tires with. It worked better than I ever could have imagined. Including taking off some 20 year old tires that had turned as hard as rawhide. It had no problem doing wide, low profile motorcycle tires, but I never tested it on a car or truck tire, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. The main lever can be six feet long so you've got lots of leverage.

 

[Basstracker34]

The harbor freight one will break the bead not mounted to anything. I mounted mine on a sheet of 1/2" osb to use to mount tires. others have mounted them on pallets

+1. I attach mine to a sheet of plywood with nuts and bolts. Then drive car over a part of the plywood. That keeps the tire changer stationary and there's still plenty of room to work around it. I've replaced multiple motorcycle tires this way.

 

[rtole]

Bead breaking duckbill hammer. But then you will need to relearn the tpms system anyways. That's if you get a sensor that your system will recognize. If not you have to port the code to the new sensor anyways.

 

[wesalexleft]

The drawing is much what I'd imagined, except mine would be from a gate post instead of a wall. I didn't think about the narrowing cut at the "bit", so thanks for that. I also wasn't looking at the correct HF tool though. I'd been looking at the upright version that also is used for mounting...that's why I'd said it would have to be mounted to a floor. The HF version above...any good reviews from anyone when used on larger truck tires?

 

[wesalexleft]

One question on the TPMS. I'd assumed that If I went with a new AC Delco for the Yukon, I'd just simply need to follow the re-learn process...is this not correct?

 

[Zrexxer]

Going back to the TPMS issue - Discount Tire changed out a failed TPMS sensor for me for something like $65 IIRC. No way I'm wrestling a tire off the rim myself to save that little money.

 

[CJM8515]

Mount the harbor freight one to a pallet, easy peasy.

 

[kiatech]

Just make sure you bust the bead 180 degrees from the sensor. You shouldn't have to take the tire off either, just press down the sidewall and becareful not to drop any parts in the tire.

Ive done this literally 100's of times on a tire machine...

 

[smiffy]

Get two steel tubes the fit one inside other both about 5 feet long and as thick walled as possible take the smaller tube and hammer the end the end flat about 6 inches above this put a large bolt through the tube plathe flat end of the tube against the bead slide the other tube over it and use it as a slide hammer this will work on tires from kids quadbikes up to rear tractor tires

 

[chris142]

How much do shops charge to mount tires where you are at? Here PB,Firestone etc are $12-$15 range. THe smaller Mexican shops are only $5.

 

[lilredex]

I made one similar to that HF unit shown. An angle was added to the rear so you could place a vehicle's wheel over it to keep it in position. But.....what you'll find is the handle will bend on any tough ones.

For the really tough ones, I use the drive up on a 2 X 6 method outlined above. That method even broke the bead on my Lil Red wheels after being untouched for about 25 years. ( LR60x15 on 8" wheels )

 

[404]

Stupid question as I don't have TPMS. What happens if you just ignore it and check the pressure on your own like the good old days?

 

[Zrexxer]

Stupid question as I don't have TPMS. What happens if you just ignore it and check the pressure on your own like the good old days?

Depending on the system a little light on the dashboard stays lit, or it overrides your Driver Information Center display showing "Right Rear Tire Pressure Low" or something similar.

It's just an annoyance. You can get out and squat down with a tire gauge just like any other tire.