[Old_School_RC_1]

I love beadlocks - gluing and un-gluing tires is a total pain, and probably my least favorite thing to do in the hobby. (right next to assembling turnbuckles) My only beef is that some of these wheels have 12 or more screws a side, which can make for a long afternoon and a sore wrist.

I took some old cheapie hex wrenchs that came with my kits and lopped off the L portion to make a chuckable shaft that I can key into my drill.


Now, assembling beadlocks goes 10x faster.


Couple of things to remember:

• Set your drill to the lowest torque setting, go slow and the minute you feel resistance STOP! Plastic wheels can strip very easily. As soon as I feel resistance, I stop and use a handheld hex to snug the screws down. Aluminum wheels are more forgiving and I usually let the drill's clutch handle snugging it down.
• When drilling the screws in for the first time to a plastic, a little dab of grease helps it go in easier.
• GO SLOW! - keeps the plastic cooler - machine threads can melt the plasic if you go too fast. A dab of grease helps this too.
• Keep the drill as straight as possible - coming in at an angle can warp the screw hole or make seating the beadlock difficult.
• Use the same crosshatch pattern you would use to cinch them down manually.

[Admin2]

If you don't want to cut up Hex wrenches you can buy bits from Hudy, EDS Racing products, Wihi, Snapon and others. I would suggest, if you can find them to get extended length of at least 3 inches.

Good advice for sure go slow and don't use a drill without a slipper clutch!!!!

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by LOST IN MN

If you don't want to cut up Hex wrenches you can buy bits from Hudy, EDS Racing products, Wihi, Snapon and others. I would suggest, if you can find them to get extended length of at least 3 inches.

Good advice for sure go slow and don't use a drill without a slipper clutch!!!!

Good advice about the clutch.

I use my Craftsman electric screwdriver to screw the screws most of the way in, but I use a manual screwdriver to hand tighten the screws to avoid as much stripping as possible.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

[Blueice12]

Great info i sure do like using a little helper to get the stuff done quicker.

[Old_School_RC_1]

Originally Posted by LOST IN MN

If you don't want to cut up Hex wrenches you can buy bits from Hudy, EDS Racing products, Wihi, Snapon and others. I would suggest, if you can find them to get extended length of at least 3 inches.

True, but I have dozens of the "kit supplied" wrenches floating around in the toolbox. May as well put them to use!

[JayHawk]

Another great helper that go along with beadlocks is a ratchet strap. I bought some Axial beadlocks for my Savage and the Pro-Line Trencher 3.8. I had a rough time getting the bead to stay in the slot, so I used a ratchet strap around the tire to suck in the sidewalls to allow them to fit the slot better. Then using the star method, I cinched down the screws until the bead set. After that, I just repeated the same procedure for the others.

I'm surprised I haven't seen any bands that they make for SC tires when gluing them. Maybe I haven't looked enough yet.

[Admin2]

Originally Posted by Old_School_RC_1

True, but I have dozens of the "kit supplied" wrenches floating around in the toolbox. May as well put them to use!

No doubt... That is a good way to use them.

Another simple tip I have learned from the 1000 or so beadlock's I have installed.

Start a single screw about half way in the move across to the other side of the beadlock start another screw half way in. Then do the same thing equal distant apart until all screws are started. Then tighten them all down in the pattern you started them in. This will help center the beadlock and work the tire into the grooves equally.

If you get a single screw in too tight the tire and ring won't seat very well across the entire surface of the rim and the possibility of stripping screw holes out increases significantly.

[JayHawk]

That's the way I did it, and it worked out excellent. The only problem I had though was keeping the bead in the opening long enough to tighten the screws. That's why I decided to use the ratchet strap. Still wish they made something that would put enough pressure on the sidewalls of 3.8" tires. Maybe someday...