My HF knock-off works just fine! I've balanced several sets of car tires on it, since I bought it last spring. My local shops wanted anywhere from $15 to $30 PER WHEEL, to mount and balance. "Shop local," they say. No thanks. That's highway robbery!
@@maximusmax4557 best price I can find is Discount Tire and they want $30 per wheel just to unmount, flip the tire over and remount. Then another $95 to balance all 5 (Jeep Wrangler). Bell Tire wants $37 per wheel to mount. I didn't bother asking the price for balance. But then this Coats M-76 balancer is going for $600 on ebay so...
To all the questions / requests for information or more videos on this balancer, it was sold on ebay. This video was linked to the auction to better describe questions I was getting on it. @DanTheManIOM, the cone pins simply slipped into the holes of the adapter to match the bolt pattern of the rim you are trying to balance. Yes, it fit Volkswagen too but I think two pins were missing? I never used the adapter so that explians it's like new condition. Sorry all, I no longer have this balancer to make a video of balancing a wheel. You also have to remember when I made this video, we were limited to 5 minutes. =)
I bought one yesterday for $50, there's a few on craigslist for $150 to $250 none are in this good of shape. I used to use one of these in the 70s at a gas station.
Once set up, how do you use it ? Load wheel on, lower lever, determine how much wt is needed, split that in half and them so it comes back to balance ? I don't have a manual. Could you also hammer on wts with lever up or do you have to mark the wheel, take it off balancer, and then hammer on wts ? I read someplace, not to hammer. IDK
It sold back in January of 2012 on eBay for $374 plus shipping. This video was just to show it's condition and was to be deleted once I sold it. It was not intended to be a ''wheel balancing instructional video'', I wish I had actually balanced a wheel on it for those that lack imagination... It got so many views in a short period time, I decided to leave it up. I actually have another video I linked the purchaser to, showing how to retrieve the bubble wrapped cone stuffed in the base for shipping it to him. I should actually delete that one.
Dept of Army document TM 9-4910-743-14&P says to use 20 sae motor oil. Here's a comment I pulled off an old forum on how to properly use it: I too had, and still have great results with "old tech" bubble balancing. I do it a little different than a lot of people do tho. I put the wheel/tire on the balancer and find out the balance point and weight it takes to center the bubble, then put a chalk mark there. I take the amount of weight needed and divide it by four. Then I take 4 weights of equal weight, that total about a half ounce more than needed, lay them on the tire/rim next to the chalk mark, 2 on each side of the mark, and start moving the pairs away from the mark 2 to the left and 2 to the right, equal distant, until the bubble centers. Put a chalk mark by each pair. Take the tire/wheel off the balancer and hammer 1 of each pair on the backside of the wheel opposite their chalk marks. Then put the tire/wheel back on the balancer, take the remaining 2 and start at the original mark and start sliding them out left and right until I have balance again, mark them, take it off again, install the 2 weights, check again, and done. If you do it right, you can put the unit on a spin balancer and be right on. Before you try to balance a tire/wheel assembly you want to make sure you have a wheel that is true (not bent) and a tire thats tread is true. I have only run into a problem twice with this method. The first time about drove me nuts. Balance take out and drive, works great. Customer complained about out of balance. checked and it was right on, took customer with me, he is satisfied, comes back, complains about balance problem. I had to do some serious thinking on this one after about 4 times. AHA!, I drove it, and took the customer out and got approval, then went back and put the wire wheel hubcaps with knockoff on them back on. One hubcap was 3/4oz out of balance. Balanced with hubcaps laying in correct position (valvestem) on wheel and solved problem. Second time same thing, 1963 Buick with masive cast piece that looked like turbine veins screwed to hubcap. Factory cap. I too, drag raced and never had a problem with balancing this way. Great piece of equipment you got there. Yep... in the 70's I used an old Snap-on tire balancer which had two legs with a center-shaft on two bearings and allowed the tire's heavy side to rotate/settle at the bottom. We would mark the light side and put 2 weights in a Y on either side of the mark. If it took more than 1 oz, we would split half the weight on either side of the tire. Worked like a charm!
