Breaking the Bead

I use a wood splitting wedge, cheap and effective.
A old splitting maul with a broken handle works well.

I jack up the tire, take the dull sharp end of the maul and lay on the bead to steel seal and hit the maul with a 4lb hammer one time, then move 3" and repeat.

It doesn't look like your doing anything but you "slightly" move the tire bead each time. After about 18" or so the bead will pop inside and is broken.

Repeat on the inside bead and takes less than 12" to break the inside bead.

I bought two 7/8" crow bars, one 12" one 24", at HD for $6 eh. I dulled both sharp ends with a grinder then sanded smooth. My tire irons.

It takes me about 1 hr patch a tube from start to finish and I'm crippled up.

Wal-Mart has 2" round patchs for 20/$5. Pint of rubber glue, $10, 1qt liquid buffer, about $12 NAPA. NAPA/Glimplers patchs and glue is too expensive. Also pick up a screen door screen installing tool at Wally-world, for setting the patch.

I use a 3" wire wheel on a drill motor or air die grinder to buff the patch area, then liquid buff clean, then glue, then patch, then roll the patch with the screen tool. Done

Liquid dish soap in a spray bottle helps the tire slip back on or break a stubberon bead.

T_Bone

If I was gonna do all the mail order high $$ like some of these do-it-myseff fellers and then waiting at the mail box for a tool I did'nt know how to use anyway I would just spend the $20 and let Leroy fix my tire while I watch Fred and Shady Grady.

Just alot easier to do the job and get it over with :)

T_Bone

I'm dead in the middle of the boonies here where I live but there is a farm equipment shop with a mobile tire service 5 miles away that only charges me $20.

If it's as much trouble to fix his tire as some of these fellers let on it to be I believe I would put steel on the tractor so I never had anymore troubles with it.

Those goat heads must have gotten bigger since I was a kid riding a bike in your neighborhood. We used to use two tubes, one split open, inside the tire to keep those nasty things from letting the air out. Now they go through tractor tires? Wow!

What you want me to rat myself out for driving over a cactus? I learned along ago to never squeel on ones self :)

T_Bone

You serious about the ironwood? I thought you might be joking but if you do need some I could round you up some small pieces.

T_Bone

If you're heading this way, YES. I'm still using up my last little trunk. I guess you know how heavy ironwood is, won't float in water. Can't imagine what the PO would want to deliver a decent chunk across the country. We've been talking about a road trip, but it won't be this summer, not that summer's quite the right time to visit your area. Thanks for the offer.

Look at gemplers web site. They have a tool called bead cheater - Item no GBB. I bought one and it works great. Not cheap - but with most stuff you get what you pay for. I put the link it but don't know if it will work. If not, just sign on to www.gemplers.com and search for item.

Jim

I'd guess you forgot to put in _any_ 'Link Title' which is required, so there is nothing to click on in your message? The URL is probably there, but it won't show up without the Link Title field.

--->Paul

I think this is what Jim is talking about. It is, indeed, the screw type variety that you turn with a socket wrench. Like Jim, I bought one last year and used it to break the beads on both front and rear tires on my AC-B. It works easily and does a good job...basically just jacks the bead down from the rim until it lets go. The hand lever that you see is used to clamp the thing to the rim to keep it in place. Turning the hex with a wrench does the deed. Pricey is right though.

Rod

Link