Removing Stock Rubber on 250sx SUUUUUUUUCKS....

[Xhumeka]

Sorry - just have to vent... I spent 2 hours yesterday working at (and swearing at) the original Ohtsu tires from my '86 250SX.

After spending 15 mins trying to break the bead, I cut them off - then spent the next 1.5 hours peeling away the remaining rubber and cutting the steel belts. The problem is the belts are SO DAMN TIGHT against the hub it's very difficult to get wire cutters in there. If I had a dremel handy that probably would have made things easier, but I didn't - so it was a lot of prying with screwdriver then snapping belts one at a time (when I could get a bite on them).

Anyone have any tips for this stuff? Again I think a dremel would have helped... i tried an angle grinder but it was too big and would have damaged the hub.

Vent over - my kenda k290 scorpion is finally on the front :)

PS - please don't use tire slime, it's SUCH a mess :(

https://i.imgur.com/wQV08nk.jpg

[shortline10]

Next time invest in a beadbuster :lol:
I can only imagine the hell you went threw to remove that bead .

[barnett468]

Sorry - just have to vent... I spent 2 hours yesterday working at (and swearing at) the original Ohtsu tires from my '86 250SX.

After spending 15 mins trying to break the bead, I cut them off - then spent the next 1.5 hours peeling away the remaining rubber and cutting the steel belts.
Anyone have any tips for this stuff?



Yes, take them to a tire or motorcycle/atv shop that can remove them for you if one is nearby.

[twomanytoys]

I have used a bottle jack under the trailer hitch on a truck to break beads. Also a trailer tongue jack works good when its hooked to a truck to hold the tongue up while you work.
I found a Harbor Freight tire changer setup on CL for 20 bucks so now I use it.

[Xhumeka]

I have used a bottle jack under the trailer hitch on a truck to break beads. Also a trailer tongue jack works good when its hooked to a truck to hold the tongue up while you work.
I found a Harbor Freight tire changer setup on CL for 20 bucks so now I use it.

The Harbor Freight tire changer stand definitely wouldn't have worked here - that's what I have, and that's what I tried using to break the bead for first 15 mins. After being patient and nothing was budging I started jumping on the pry bar and that pushed the bead-buster right through the sidewall... I'm assuming a more expensive commercial-grade bead buster would have worked, but maybe not - the tire was so rotten it may have just cut through too without dislodging the bead.

[captainweezy]

I totally understand. Sx wheels are a special kind of pain in he azz. Had to do the same thing as you and cut some off recently myself.

[Scootertrash]

Sometimes it's worth the 20-25 bucks to have a tire place do it.

X10 on Slime or any other sealant, unless it's an emergency situation.

They do make a bead sealer that I use on the tires I mount. Helps keep the corrosion down. ;)

[Gabriel]

$20-25!!!???

You guys are getting screwed.
I do it for $10-15 each depending on how hard they are.


One of the real tricks to breaking them down is NOT letting all the air out.
You need something to push against and when it’s flat, it just wants to skip over the bead and into the sidewall.
Leave 5 pounds or so in it and break the backside down first. Unless it’s a reverse wheel. Either way break the long side down first.
Then air it back up but only enough to have some air in it. No need to seat the bead again. Then break the front down.

I’ve been doing tires for 13+ years now. These ATV wheels can be a betch but they ain’t THAT bad. Rather do them then those stupid run flats.

[Jd110]

Sometimes it's worth the 20-25 bucks to have a tire place do it.

X10 on Slime or any other sealant, unless it's an emergency situation.

They do make a bead sealer that I use on the tires I mount. Helps keep the corrosion down. ;)
Good call....I’ve seen the tire guys use some sort of grease on the bead before mounting. Maybe water soluble? I use petroleum jelly.
I recently had some that were rusted on, so I soaked them with penetrating lube-just like a rusted screw and it helped. Dish soap/water works good, too.

[ironchop]

Good call....I’ve seen the tire guys use some sort of grease on the bead before mounting. Maybe water soluble? I use petroleum jelly.
I recently had some that were rusted on, so I soaked them with penetrating lube-just like a rusted screw and it helped. Dish soap/water works good, too.I used a tiny bit of petroleum based grease on ATV tire beads once long ago and that tire would spin on the rim under hard acceleration.

Tire shops I worked at as a teen used a mix of dish detergent and water because its slippery but dries up easily, is a little sticky when dry, but can be rinsed off with water. I still use a little Dawn in some water on all my tires I install myself

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[Xhumeka]

One of the real tricks to breaking them down is NOT letting all the air out.
You need something to push against and when it’s flat, it just wants to skip over the bead and into the sidewall.
Leave 5 pounds or so in it and break the backside down first. Unless it’s a reverse wheel. Either way break the long side down first.
Then air it back up but only enough to have some air in it. No need to seat the bead again. Then break the front down.

I’ve been doing tires for 13+ years now. These ATV wheels can be a betch but they ain’t THAT bad. Rather do them then those stupid run flats.

Thanks for the tips - what would you suggest for a rotted tire like I was working with? There was no way I could get it to hold ANY air, and that's exactly what was happening to me - skipping over the bead and into the sidewall.

[Jd110]

I used a tiny bit of petroleum based grease on ATV tire beads once long ago and that tire would spin on the rim under hard acceleration.

Tire shops I worked at as a teen used a mix of dish detergent and water because its slippery but dries up easily, is a little sticky when dry, but can be rinsed off with water. I still use a little Dawn in some water on all my tires I install myself

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Well hell!! Hopefully, the term ‘spinning my wheels’ won’t apply here. But it doesn’t look too good, huh?........that doesn’t sound like a good idea, now. Thank you.


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[oldskool83]

5 mins at any tire change place an throwing them a few bucks would of saved you the time.

[fabiodriven]

I found this C-channel cut at an angle with a torch works great. The angle maximizes the surface area of the tool and the rough cut from the torch helps to grip the tires. I used it on my original SX Ohtsu's this past summer and it worked really well.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190219/9d07820aba15cc8862c2a5e966a44748.jpg

The other thing I recently learned which I was amazed I'd never thought to use; a log splitter. I've had a log splitter for 12 years and somehow never thought to use it for breaking beads.

[ATCKevin]

PS - please don't use tire slime, it's SUCH a mess :(

At the John Deere dealer I worked at, we would charge customers 5 bucks more for repairing or replacing tires/tubes that had slime or fix a flat in them. What a nasty mess. And the smell stays on your hands and arms for DAYS! I've seen that fix a flat garbage destroy the insides of rims. Garbage. I use a slide hammer for breaking stubborn beads most of the time now. I have a nice Coats machine but still prefer to mount and dismount by hand. I feel much more in control. The tire machine tends to rip the beads no matter how careful I am or how much Murphy Soap I use.

[ATC King]

Beadbuster that shortline10 suggested https://beadbuster.com/


I've been changing tires for nearly a couple decades, and I can say that some flat repair in-a-can stuff that was used in a tire long ago, just about glues the bead to the wheel and causes a whole lot of rust in steel wheels. It often takes a good bead breaker and some experience to loosen them up. I've broken many tractor and big truck tires down by hand, some fix-a-flated ATV tires can be a whole bunch more difficult. Back to the Beadbuster previously suggested.


Any tire sealant, like Slime, that has water in it, will eventually ruin steel and aluminum wheels. It often plugs up the Schrader valve too. Fix-A-Flat definitely destroys wheels much quicker, at least the older version that is likely found used in ATC tires.

I've been using Quadboss sealant for a few years now, and it works much better than Slime, which I've also used. The Quadboss sealant is more expensive, but I've been completely satisfied with it that I'll buy more when the gallon I have now, is used. Supposedly, it's the same as the High Lifter brand, but I can't confirm.

I put Quadboss sealant in a new utility ATC tires, but I've also used it in other slow speed tires with leaks, and it sealed them, without the worry of rim corrosion.



A lot of the ATV tires that are shipped now, are all contorted and banded together to save on shipping size. That not only makes them difficult to mount, but more importantly, to seat. A tip there is to let them sit in the sun for a couple hours (cloudy day-SOL) before mounting. A lot of the OTR 350 Mag tires I've mounted were so smashed for shipping, I had to do that and use a bead seater to get them seated. A bead seater is something else a tire shop will have that most people don't have at home.

[Xhumeka]

Beadbuster that shortline10 suggested https://beadbuster.com/

A lot of the ATV tires that are shipped now, are all contorted and banded together to save on shipping size. That not only makes them difficult to mount, but more importantly, to seat. A tip there is to let them sit in the sun for a couple hours (cloudy day-SOL) before mounting. A lot of the OTR 350 Mag tires I've mounted were so smashed for shipping, I had to do that and use a bead seater to get them seated. A bead seater is something else a tire shop will have that most people don't have at home.

Thanks for the reply!! From the site you linked, this is one of the bead-breakers I tried to use:

https://i.imgur.com/PlQVW7T.png

And is this the product you recommend instead?

https://beadbuster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/XB-451-348x348.png

I also like your idea of leaving the new tires in the sun to help seat the bead, but this new tire (kenda k290) was so warped that I don't think that would have helped much. Thankfully the tried, tested and true "fire bead trick" did the job in my case - but even that didn't work the first 2 times lying horizontally I had to set the tire vertically and position the hub JUST RIGHT before the explosion trick did the job.

[shortline10]

The bead bust is the only tire removal tool I use in my shop anymore , yes it will remove an old rotten tire bead when used correctly . I use them so much that I’ve worn 3 out :lol: , this last time I splurged and bought the chromoly version.
The only downside of this product is if you use it like me almost on a daily basis the threads will strip out eventually in the body were it pushed the foot down .

[ATC King]

Those large lever type bead breakers have the same problems the ones on actual tire machines have when trying to break down damaged, old tires. They don't really get between the bead and rim, so more often than not, when dealing with old, damaged tires, they just end up pushing the sidewall in and don't move the bead. The other problem is they apply pressure to one side of the tire/wheel, but don't secure the other side, which means the wheel just moves, not the bead.

The trick Gabriel mentioned, about leaving some pressure in the tire works really well, but, on damaged tires, that's not possible. I've changed a good many blown out tires, that's where something else can make it easier.

What needs pointed out about the product shortline10 mentioned, is that is breaks the bead by clamping to and applying force against the wheel itself. It holds itself in place, so it applies force directly to the bead and stays put while doing so. It's nothing like the large lever type bead breakers that apply force against the entire wheel/tires assembly, which tends to leverage the opposite side of the assembly up, consequently rolling the sidewall instead of staying put on the bead.

[ironchop]

I have had to cut the tire off with a utility knife going around the rim on each side and then use tin snips or big side cut pliers to cut through each individual bead wire until I had cut enough to get the bead to pop over that hump in the rim so I can get it the rest of the way off with bars

That was worst case scenario

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[tripledog]

Thanks for the reply!! From the site you linked, this is one of the bead-breakers I tried to use:

https://i.imgur.com/PlQVW7T.png

And is this the product you recommend instead?

https://beadbuster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/XB-451-348x348.png

I also like your idea of leaving the new tires in the sun to help seat the bead, but this new tire (kenda k290) was so warped that I don't think that would have helped much. Thankfully the tried, tested and true "fire bead trick" did the job in my case - but even that didn't work the first 2 times lying horizontally I had to set the tire vertically and position the hub JUST RIGHT before the explosion trick did the job.

I'm not seeing a bead breaker in the first picture...

[ironchop]

I'm not seeing a bead breaker in the first picture...I think he meant 'ball buster'

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[tripledog]

I think he meant 'ball buster'

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Now, now, there's no need to get teste.

[Scootertrash]

Youse guys are a handfull:)


I'm not seeing a bead breaker in the first picture...

257377

[6bt]

I have had the pleasure of removing all sorts of dry rotted tires. A backhoe, mini excavator, even a skid steer with forks works great...here's a pic from a few years ago, peeling foam filled tires off rims with pallet forks on a skid steer. Even a harbor freight bead breaker is better than nothing.257629

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