Breaking the tyre bead

Submitted: Sunday, Dec 07, 2003 at 22:20

ThreadID: 9016 Views:4867 Replies:5 FollowUps:6

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Member - Rick (S.A.)

G'Day

Thought I would use a summer Sunday, so that come the next touring season, I would be well used to putting a spare casing on a tubeless GU Patrol wheel rim.

Removed the valve. Got the Tyre Pliersout , no worries about how to use them. Only trouble is, could not break the bead from the rim. Flipped the rim over & finally got the reverse side bead off.

But not the out side. I was damaging the bead with the jaws of the pliers. Stood on, jumped, huffed & puffed; tried to hit a tyre lever to break the bead; all to no avail.

Interestingly, could not get good purchase with the pliers set on 16 "; but broke the rear seal eventually when set at 15 ". Tried a relatively concentrated solution of water & detergent to make the bead slip. NBG.

Mind you, 47 gallons of sweat were now in a puddle on the carport floor. Lucky I'm in peak physical condition, eh? So, I thought, this is why I do a dry run. But I was in the shade on a 27 degree day, on concrete, and I could not budge it.

My heavens, what if it were ' real life ' ???

Any tips?

As the tyre was the rear right, and it was off the vehicle, and therefore I could not drive over the tyre with a wheel to force it off.

CheersRick ( S.A.) - ' It is better to travel hopefully than arrive'

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Reply By: Willem - Sunday, Dec 07, 2003 at 22:51

Sunday, Dec 07, 2003 at 22:51

Hello Rick,

Get a set of splits...hahahaha

Normally if you had a puncture out bush you may have driven with the casing flat for a very short distance and then the bead would have been loosened somewhat and you should not have the problem. As it was a 'healthy' tyre with the air out it was stuck up there as if it was fully inflated...hence the problem. Next time practice on the spare !!! so you can run over the bead if necessary :-) or use the hlift jack.

Cheers,
Willem

Always going somewhere

AnswerID: 39629

Follow Up By: Mark from Getaway Portable Refrigerator Hire - Sunday, Dec 07, 2003 at 22:56

Sunday, Dec 07, 2003 at 22:56

Willem, Good come back!!

Cheers

Mark

PS. No doubt you will run splits on the "new" rig

FollowupID: 257301

Follow Up By: Willem - Sunday, Dec 07, 2003 at 23:12

Sunday, Dec 07, 2003 at 23:12

Dunno about the 'new' rig, Mark. I have been following all the threads on car problems and although my 'old dear' is very heavy on juice, it rarely has a problem. Normally anything breaking is due to my rough driving or hitting submerged objects. I might just keep the G60 a while longer.
Cheers,
Willem

Always going somewhere

FollowupID: 257304

Reply By: Voxson (Adelaide) - Sunday, Dec 07, 2003 at 23:10

Sunday, Dec 07, 2003 at 23:10

Hi Rick... I think you are explaining the same problem i had also.... The bead area on the inside of the rim is quite shallow hence easy to unbead the tyre from but the outside is longer and a real hassle to get the distance down with tyrepliers...So i use the highlift jack in this case...
Base of jack on tyre and lift under bullbar squashing it down with a large surface area and using the tyrepliers to finish the breaking the bead on the other side...

Maybe i am miles away from what you are asking but that is my way...........

Regards.........

PS... Since those days i bought some after market rims with shallow beading areas on both sides so it is a since to break the bead now but still a hassle using those tyre levers...3 levers make the job easier i find..._____________________________________________
Cant think of anything to put here just yet !
_____________________________________________

AnswerID: 39630

Reply By: Member - Oskar(Bris) - Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 05:58

Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 05:58

I know "Tyre Pliers" seem to be the go for most people but I use a different product which uses a spanner operated machanism to break the bead and it has never let me down (not that I have had to use it much).
I can break the bead with one hand with this system and you can use it to reifit the tyre as well.
I always wonder why no-one mentions it on this forum.
It is a very compact unit and easy to use but do you think I can remember its name .... ????? It is advertised in 4WD mags from time to time but it's made in SA and I saw it at a 4X4 show here in Bris.
I've tried driving over wheels, using the jack etc and this system is much less hassle.
I've never used tyre pliers so I can't compare them with this.
Cheers
OskarThe real oskar

AnswerID: 39637

Follow Up By: Brad - Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 09:08

Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 09:08

Probably the 'R&R Beadbreaker'.
I have one and have used it in the garage for practicem( not yet on the road).
Seems to be as good as the 'advertisement'.
Regards,
Brad.

FollowupID: 257316

Follow Up By: Member - David - Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 09:45

Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 09:45

Absolutley the best. I have used the R&R bead breaker its no effort and no damage to the tyre bead, look them up www.randrbeadbreaker.com/

FollowupID: 257318

Follow Up By: Member - Peter (WA) - Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 10:49

Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 10:49

I also have used the R&R bead breaker it makes it easy , you can do it on the tailgate so no bending down ,make sure you use plenty of soapy water ,4x4 monthly did a write up on them awhile ago and rated them well , remember to mark you tyre weights position for replacing the tyre to help with balancing , the use of a mallet can often damage the bead wall and make it imposable to reinflate the tyre back on the rim , the R&R also come swith a vidio to show you all the tipsThis is not my car anymore
Peter York 4x4

FollowupID: 257323

Reply By: Member - Rick (S.A.) - Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 11:24

Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 11:24

Thanks blokes

I tried the Hi Lift under the towbar housing, with the relatively large foot of the jack hard up against the rim edge.

Although the footprint of the Hi Lift really ended up on the tyre wall, the seal DID break.

Thanks for the tip.

However, now I think I will have to resume carrying the Hi Lift. I haven't used it for years. This is because :

1. I carry an 8 t bottle jack & hard wood blocks & 7 ply plate ( ditched the Nissan mecanical jack, which is useless on a 3 t vehicle) and a Bull Bag jack (excellent in sand).
2. There isn't any simple way to use a Hi Lift on the ARB bull bar. Thus the Hi Lift as a jack is useless on the front end.

Cheers

Rick ( S.A.) - ' It is better to travel hopefully than arrive'

AnswerID: 39660

Follow Up By: Moose - Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 14:28

Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 14:28

G'day Rick
Hi lifts are a pain to carry and as you say hard to use on some bull bars. Why not just go down to the local tyre shop and get them to remove and replace the tyres from the rim a couple of weeks before heading off on your travels. That way the beads have been recently broken and the tyrepliers should make short work of bead breaking in the event of any flats.

FollowupID: 257339

Reply By: Coops (Pilbara) - Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 23:34

Monday, Dec 08, 2003 at 23:34

if you're stuck somewhere & can't get the bead broken I'd try carefully running over it with your vehicle. That's assuming you alreday have your spare fitted and are not jacked up of course.Allyn
Some days we are the flies; some days we are the windscreen.

AnswerID: 39712