I use a manual tire changer I have mostly for the bead breaker--but it busted on me,so now I can only do smaller tires,tractor tires still fit on it,but car tires wont now,too wide..so I'm back to using crude methods like running them over with my 3/4 ton pickup to break the beads..prying the tires off with spoons or crowbars doesn't bother be as much as getting the beads broken..I find the 6" and 8" tires the hardest to dismount and put on,myself..the bigger ,the easier they are,IMO--.Just the opposite of what you'd expect!..
I saw a tool my friend uses on 18 wheeler tires to break the bead--its nothing more than 2 thick pipes that slide over one another,one has a duck billed end you place against the tire bead,and you slide the other pipe down hard and whack it,and it drives the bead off the rim slick!..works like one of those fence post drivers kinda--I might try making a scaled down version for car and tractor tires--beats using a masons chisel and a 5 lb sledge ..
He also has a "tire hammer" that looks like a sledge on one side and has a curved end on the other,you use in similar fashion--you place the curved end against the bead,and hit the "hammer" end with another sledge hammer!..I used a brick hammer in that way to get a really petrified 6" tire off a rusty rim,it worked but I ruined the tire,but it was dry rotted bad anyway..(was hoping to save it for originality,but looks arent everything!)...I've had to use a hacksaw and cutoff wheels on quite a few old tires that were "stubborn" too!..in fact cutting them is often easier than breaking the bead traditionally,and saves you a lot of time and effort..if the tire is junk anyway,why not ??.
I saw a tool my friend uses on 18 wheeler tires to break the bead--its nothing more than 2 thick pipes that slide over one another,one has a duck billed end you place against the tire bead,and you slide the other pipe down hard and whack it,and it drives the bead off the rim slick!..works like one of those fence post drivers kinda--I might try making a scaled down version for car and tractor tires--beats using a masons chisel and a 5 lb sledge ..
He also has a "tire hammer" that looks like a sledge on one side and has a curved end on the other,you use in similar fashion--you place the curved end against the bead,and hit the "hammer" end with another sledge hammer!..I used a brick hammer in that way to get a really petrified 6" tire off a rusty rim,it worked but I ruined the tire,but it was dry rotted bad anyway..(was hoping to save it for originality,but looks arent everything!)...I've had to use a hacksaw and cutoff wheels on quite a few old tires that were "stubborn" too!..in fact cutting them is often easier than breaking the bead traditionally,and saves you a lot of time and effort..if the tire is junk anyway,why not ??.
