Tyre Pliars.... the joys of mechanical advantage

Gday Ron

I've used mine a few times now, but I know the trick!....

You must continue to drive on the flat until the tyre has partially disintegrated and the bead is broken, then it isn't too bad!

Seriously though, the aove bade it easier, but ia have found it better on the 16 inch rims off the car than on the 13 inch rims on the trailer....the bigger rims and tyres seem to be easier than the littlies!

$23.00 for a puncture repair in town is cheap compared to the sweat, but I wouldn,t travel without the pliers, and occasionally if I feel I need to earn the right to open the beer fridge, i'll have a practice rum (I won't correct that, very fitting typo!) in the yard on the spare.

Cheers Andrew

Hi Ron, are you really 173 years old?
No wonder you're stuffed.
I use mine all the time and while they're not that hard to use I still work up a bit of a sweat at times.
Remember, practice makes perfect, or something along those lines.

I had to laugh at this thread as it reminds me so much of myself .I purchased one of those fandangled super duper beadbreaker thingy magigers from the four wheel drive show in perth many years ago ,and i have only ever managed to get a tyre off a rim and i cant help but think how easy the guy at the show made it look ,then again hes been using the same old tyre for ten years i reckon .

Big fan here Ron , so much so that friend copied mine and made copy weight 1 kilo less. Love effective products so I swapped and use the copy.

Every now and then I see a rusted on tyre and its hard to get off but really they have got me out of trouble more than once and there small pack up size means I always carry them.


Robin Miller

It never ceases to amaze me that people still buy Tyre Pliers when you have a product like the R & R Bead Breaker on the market.
R & R Beadbreaker
My 12 yo daughter can break the bead and remove a 16 inch BFG AT with this tool.

No affiliation other than a very satisfied consumer.

i think the beadbreaker /tyrebreaker are only any good as a weight loss device for the missus .Mind you she cops the hump when i say it to her .pete

I have read the above posts a number of times and do believe I am missing something very important.

I have and use the tyre plier kit with the greatest of ease.

(1) The tyre pliers are bead breakers only.

(2) The tyre levers in the kit take a second or two to get the tyre over and off the rim.

(3) Also use a decent rubber mallet when appropriate.

However I normally just 'plug & pray' and leave that tyre as the spare for 24hrs before re using.

More than one puncture then its 'plug & pray' as you go.

Tyre Pliers - luv them (absolute piece of 'P')

I use my Tyrepliers *fairly* regularly up bush - most times don't even bother taking the wheel of the ute - just pop the bead, lever one side off the rim, stick a gator on the hole and maybe stuff a tube in!

Gets me to where i'm going - and to where I can PAY someone to do a proper job :-)

Still a bugga of a job on a hot day!

I have seen the R&R's - in fact the bloke who sells/makes them is just a road from me - but never used one to compare

Stocky

G'day Ron,

Very amusing post. However, I also have a set of 'tyre pliers' made by the company in Sunbury Victoria.....possibly the same as yours. I picked up a tek-screw whilst travelling through Outback Queensland recently and as I had a 2nd spare, did not bother to attempt the repair job, that is until I had asked at every mechanic/garage in a 500 kilometre radius without success.

Appears any able-bodied bloke with the slightest mechanical know-how is working in the mining industry, mostly Mt Isa Mines. The Outback is starved of skilled & semi-skilled labour and the local motor mechanic businesses can't compete; I assume its even worse in WA.

Anyhow, I found the 'pliers' did an outstanding job and with the aid of a rubber mallet (in 40 degree plus heat, I might add) had the tyre off in a few minutes.

My main beef is the fact that the kit only has temporary plugs in it and the directions state the tyre needs to be repaired 'professionally' as soon as possible. When I eventually found a tyre retailer that could perform the work, he said it was no problem for him to remove the temporary plug, ream the hole out to a standard size and plug it with a matching rubber plug.

Appears the reaming tools and plugs are only available to professional tyre repairers. Perhaps other members/visitors know of a supplier that sells retail. Failing that, a tube would be the only other option for a permanent repair.

Cheers,
Paul

You might find this a little easier for breaking beads.

Link

Then you just need a bit of practice with tyre levers and a rubber mallet. I have had both and find the tyre levers easier, as well as allowing me to let off a little steam.

I have also used a second vehicle to slowly drive over the tyre to break a bead on a couple of occasions and, if done carefully, works well too. Probably not recommended for alloy wheels though.

Jack

I used a scissor jack for many years as a beadbreaker.
Later I adapted the Toyota jack as in the link above.
Now the only beadbreaker I bother with is the high lift jack. Its a lot easier than even the R&R.

It should be rarely needed. In my experience, tyre plugs are the best solution to outback punctures - can be going again in 10 minutes, and get it fixed properly or replace the tyre back in town.

And if you're having trouble levering the tyre off the rim, try lubricating the bead and rim with some detergent, so it slides easily off the rim. The Mumme levers are good.

My bead breaking kit consists of a couple of bits of angle that I drive between the wheel and the tyre with a hammer. I just work my way around the rim and it takes little effort. I was told this by a mate who changed a lot of truck tyres this way and it works a treat. You cant go to the 4wd shops and spend a lot of money on them which takes the fun out of it. Just have to get the hacksaw out and cut them two inches long.

Owen

Hi Ron173
I have both the Tyrepliers and the R&R Beadbreaker, and both are very easy to use for what they are designed to do, which is break the bead. Were you using the Tyrepliers to remove the tyre from the rim??? For that you need some soapy water and a pair of tyre levers, AFTER using the Tyrepliers to break the bead.

I have both because the R&R Beadbreaker can't break the bead on a shredded tyre, as it relies on a stiff sidewall to work. Kind of difficult when there is no sidewall LOL. The Tyrepliers works directly on the bead, so it is good for shredded tyres. BTW, I only carry the Tyrepliers now, because the pack up smaller than the R&R Beadbreaker, and are quicker to use.

Cheers
Hope the radox works :-)

John

Have had a set of Tyre pliars for oh, 6 years now and they are still "brand new".

The only puncture I have experienced resulted in a decidedly 2nd hand tyre that was beyond repair.

However, I also have a tyre repair kit for slow/normal punctures through the tread area of the tyre and for that, you don't need to take the tyre off the rim.

The "Safety Seal" kit is a quality product and I would have no problem employing it to get me out of trouble.

ARB also market their own brand of a similar product.

As for my trailer, that still has split rims, but I've been "gunna" change over to standard rims and run tubeless.
Why?.........Buggered if I know really, but I don't thinkl I have a spare inner tube on board:-(

Have had a set of Tyre pliars for oh, 6 years now and they are still "brand new".

The only puncture I have experienced resulted in a decidedly 2nd hand tyre that was beyond repair.

However, I also have a tyre repair kit for slow/normal punctures through the tread area of the tyre and for that, you don't need to take the tyre off the rim.

The "Safety Seal" kit is a quality product and I would have no problem employing it to get me out of trouble.

ARB also market their own brand of a similar product.

As for my trailer, that still has split rims, but I've been "gunna" change over to standard rims and run tubeless.
Why?.........Buggered if I know really, but I don't think I have a spare inner tube on board:-(

Thanks for all replies.

Was a bit of a laugh looking back on it.

Just for clarity, I know the tyre pliars are only to break the bead, and they did that quite easily, it was the rest of it I struggled with, actually using the levers to get it off the rim, which of course you need to use to complete any sort of repair.

I will carry them if going remote but hope I never need to use them.

Maybe I should have used some soap on bead to help............

but then again, could see that resulting in a tyre lever slipping out and whacking me in the face.

My tyre will be going to Good year for a tube and refitting.... I'm not even gonna attempt putting it back.

hoo roo

Ron

Don't feel bad, Ron;-))
I suspect you may have discovered (as I did a few years ago) that not all wheels are created equal...

It appears that some wheels have a very shallow "well" (you know, the groove that you push one side of the bead into, while the other side is levered off the rim), thus making the tyre very difficult to remove using normal tyre levers.. even harder to get the b@st@rds back on!!

I know this is certainly true of the Nissan (GU) steels.. I discovered this the hard way, while having to replace a tyre in the bush.. Having been employed in agriculture for 20+ years, I can confidently say that I "know a thing or two" about changing tyres, but boy-oh-boy, this one tested my patience!!

So now, if I'm going anywhere where there might be the remotest possibility that I might have to remove a tyre from a rim, it's Sunrasias all round! (no difficulty at all with these)...

Have fun;-)

Ed C

I guess you don't have split rims. These are the easiest of all to work with in the bush.

I got Tyre plyers ,,,
About a 5 minute job to rip off a stuffed tyre, and put on another good one on..
My first Cooper took 20 minutes, and I hated everyone,, then a real good lube up with Lux Flakes, 50/50 water mix , and a decent rubber mallet, got it down to 2 minutes put back on time, easy as

Mate has R & R Beadbreaker, and he loves it ,,told me I was a d---head for getting the Plyers, but I love them

Bit like the Holden a d Ford debate,, Ain't it ?

Bit more practice and you will find it easy ,,

Cheers
Bucky

Bucky's reply reminded me of the following incident that I was central to.

A few Outback Challenges ago I put a large piece of steel through a Cooper ST - through the tread and out the side wall - never did find that piece of steel even though it was on a much traversed well maintained outback dirt road.

Anyway, had a replacement Cooper brought out to that days competition site and one of the Comp teams in the group of competitors I was managing told me to bring the trashed wheel and tyre over plus the new one and they would change it along with something they were doing to their tyres.

How good was that - so I did and watched them in action and timed them as well.

They had the trashed tyre off using tyre pliers, levers and rubber mallet - new tyre on and aired up in 1.5 minutes. I kid you not.

That was my introduction to the endless air which I couldn't get my hands on fast enough.

I'm no where near that fast but I use their technique/s which I studied for the rest of the OBC.

Just amazing what you can learn from others, especially being able to see it done and able to ask a question or two.

The OBC is my learning ground every year. Always something new or better to see and adopt if applicable.