Sealey Harbor Freight TC960 Manual Portable Tyre Changer

This Tyre changer is a great piece of kit but I recommend some minor tweaks to optimise it.

It is a typical chinese proprietary item, badged with various brand names as indicated in the title - exactly the same beast can be found under different names with wide ranging price tags so shop wisely.

Instructions supplied are not great but loads of Youtube videos and internet links identify operation and ways to overcome some of the issues that exist with the unit as received.

Main concerns are potential alloy wheel damage and the strength of the lever operated bead breaker. The shoe supporting arms have been known to deflect as bead breaking requires fair leverage force with good shoe positioning.

I am using the tyre changer for large 4 x 4 (SUV) tyres at 235 70 R16 size. Tweaks I have had to consider to optimise my tyre changes are -

Wheel clamping - I had to turn up a simple steel ring for clamping as the wheel's 6 hole configuration left the supplied 4 way spider clamp only clamping on two positions at best. The spider arms now clamp the ring which itself bears on the full wheel hub anulus. The ring also serves to protect the hub surface surface.

For bead breaker strengthening I put a length of 20mm diameter steel bar between the arms with a 1/4 bolt through the middle just at the point before where the arms flare out to the bead breaking shoe form. This rigidises the breaker, no problem.

To protect alloy wheel surfaces it's just common sense. A thick folded towel under the alloy wheel face at the bead breaking stage to protect the surface from the steel foot. For tyre removal / fitting I've dropped using the accompanying chunky rough bar and use a couple of cheap Neilsen 36 inch tyre levers, protected with strategically wrapped, 2" wide electrical insulation tape to avoid scratching the rim. The electrical insulation taped areas are sprayed with silicon lubricant at the wheel contact points just before use.

Special bars for alloy wheel tyre removal/mounting that include rollers are out there however if you are going to be using the thing in earnest!

Regards tyre preparation,after breaking the bead/rim seal apply plenty of tyre lubricant brushed around the bead sidewall to help it come off. Similarly apply it to the replacement tyre bead to ease assembly. Use proper tyre assembly paste to lubricate the sidewall sealing peripheries! It is important not to use washing up type liquids as fat removing elements can eat the alloy wheel surface when trapped between sidewall and rim.

So 4 stars is my rating. The unit is certainly fit for function and fairly well built. It must be bolted down for rigidity with 3/8 or M10 nuts, bolts and washers. Rather than garage floor, I mounted mine in the centre of a 3/4" (20mm) thick plywood sheet 4ft square, supported on 20mm thick timber runners to give clearance to the thread/nut extensions.

Be prepared to make the considerations mentioned for larger wheels, especially alloy types.