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As a fellow diy greasemonkey, do you recommend this vehicle since you have time in it? Reliability? Are you able to service the vehicle mostly yourself?

The problem is you assume the Harbor Freight balancer works because it shows level with the wheel on it, but if you pick up the wheel and rotate it 45 degrees it's probably no longer level, then if you rotate it 45 degrees again it's no longer showing level. You can't trust your first reading, because when you check it by rotating the wheel and setting it back down the unit will show something different on the level.

Thank you. My daughter just bought one 2020 discovery. Her Toyota Camry got stolen and I have the filter tool so all good

For $60 the Amazon balancer is identical to the HF one. So HF one is the dumb choice. But the Amazon one says it can only balance up to a 15" wheel.

Sure would like to see your adapter plates for the first balancer, I have one similar but the cone is too small to do all my 16" 8 lug truck and trailer wheels.

I think the very best solution to make the HF balancer better is to use a hardened 1 1/2 inch dia ball bearing as a replacement to the needle point support. I guy did a vid on how to do it and the bearing is less than 10 bucks on amazon. I did it and it works great.

Hey dean, you mentioned you lived in the north east. I live in ct and have the same issue with my 2013 mkz. Any chance we could bring the car to you to get it done for lower?

Great idea bud 😎

I bought a balancer from ranger and it looks like i gor ripped off. I thought they would be better

Anyone know if this Discovery Sports come with an engine block heater?

Amazing. Most people knock the HF products ! Good to see the HF win for once.

Thank you

I’ve changed 2 on my 2014 MKZ and had to program both, I use a Launch 431 v

I picked up a discontinued HF for $25 from clearance rack and it works like a champ after a 5min mod drill. Don't waste your time getting brand name guys. They all come from the same factory who copied exact design from a Challenger then they slap different brand name and price them based on brand recognition. There is no status symbol for me. Go get the cheapest one you can get and mod it, make sure it rocks for a couple of minute long. The biggest complain I heard is people insist this needs to be sitting on leveled surface - no you don't that's why they gave you 3 level adjustment screws. You do need to make sure the base is evenly seated though, this is the only requirement. Every garage will be off level so it's perfectly fine to use. Second is if you spin X degree you should get the same reading - no don't do that. Do this instead, adjust your 3 screws to get a dead center then mark a spot where you made your setting with a sharpie. Then tap opposite 180, it should return to center then tap 90 -> 180 make sure all 4 spots return to center after tapping. The sharpie mark is your official bird view, now put your tire on and set your weight. Also I find that adjustment that get screwed in the deepest is my favorite starting point because it gives me direct view with minimum optical deflection.

nul cette machine sa fonctionne pas

I don’t understand why People don’t use balance beads - I never have a problem with them..

Thank you great educational post. I was able to change my oil using only the trap door. It saved a lot of time and effort by not having to remove the entire underbody cover. If you bend the door back 160 degrees or so you can secure it open with a bungee cord, one end hooked at the door fold and the other on the edge of the underbody cover near the wheel well. I made an oil drain shield out of an old Clorox bottle I cut up but didn’t really need it. When I pulled the oil drain plug it didn’t hit where the remaining underbody cover was . I didn’t loosen the oil fill cap until most of the oil drained, that way it wasn’t coming out as forceful. Much easier to do and the underbody cover material is very strong, I don’t feel like it will ever break at the bend.

It's not just the pivot pin that is a problem, This design has many issues and being as how it is made so poorly, it cannot be trusted. Here is an example... see if your units have the same issue with the frame not fitting in the holes th-cam.com/video/an6sURvUhBA/w-d-xo.html

thanks for posting

Wow what a difference after I modded my HF balancer. I didn't touch the pin. I just widened the pin socket. Drilled it out in steps from 1/2" to 3/8" to 1/4" split point drill bits being carefull on the last bit to not get to close to the center point that the pin point contacts. Plenty of free movement. Takes awhile for it to settle but it centers perfectly. I clocked the centering cone at the 12,3,6,9 o'clock positions and the bubble stays in the same spot. Before I had trouble getting repeatable results because it would stick and not move freely. Cheers

I purchased a 30 plus year old Napa Challenger bubble balancer from a shop that recently went out of business and it works great. I'm sure that once the HF model is modified it work just as well.

what size drill bits did you use to make the hole bigger? and was it hard to do without screwing it up?

Thank you Sir.....over here in the UK...they are advertising the one that looks the same as the Harbour Freight on ebay and marking it as the new bubble balancer......I wonder if they have modified them recently. We dont have HF over here. Priced over here at £46 GBP or about $60.....our stuff is usually more expensive than yours. I just dont know if I should get one and mod it....or just pay to have my wheels balanced in a shop....which is not very often......but I do like to be able to do all my own work. Always done my own tyre work since 17....now 70. Nick.

thanks for posting!

Thanks, for the detailed closeup and specs on the Filter wrench (64mm 14flute) and on the filter cap and o ring placement. I had put mine on wrong.