Flat Tire Today

Omalley said:
Just a reminder to use caution with any jack, but especially a scissor jack. I had a scissor jack incident a few month ago while changing a flat on a dark roadside. The jack tipped over as I was taking the flat tire off, but luckily I had placed the spare under the frame as I was lifting the car. The spare caught the car and prevented any damage to the hub or me.
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Thank you good reminder for any jack scissors or not.

I remember being 16 years old, changing oil on a bulldozer. As I crawled under it, my brother saw I'd only jacked it up with the hydraulics, no blocking. He gave me a lesson in what might happen if the hydraulics leaked.
 
2012 Ford Escape came with both a jack and spare. However, when I deployed the jack to change a flat, it would not lift high enough to get the flat off. When the tow truck driver arrived, 2 hours later, he said it was common for jacks not to lift high enough.
Good idea to check your emergency equipment in your driveway.
 
I change a flat tire about once a year. Sometimes one of mine, sometimes for someone in distress on the side of the road. I keep a bin full of work clothes/boots/gloves/hats/coveralls in my truck for such emergencies. It will be interesting if I ever get a flat in my corvette. No spare - just a plug kit, slime and a mini air compressor that I put under the hatchback 15 years ago. I’ve never had to use it. Chances are I’ll be calling AAA if I get a flat in that car.
 
Gallaher said:
2012 Ford Escape came with both a jack and spare. However, when I deployed the jack to change a flat, it would not lift high enough to get the flat off. When the tow truck driver arrived, 2 hours later, he said it was common for jacks not to lift high enough.
Good idea to check your emergency equipment in your driveway.
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Are you certain that you were positioning the jack correctly?

For Front Wheel - Top of jack goes under the bolt head that bolts the rear-most mount of the Lower Control Arm up to the body structure. It's quite a ways in.

For Rear Wheel - There is a downward-facing nub cast into the Rear Trailing Arm, not easily seen, as the tire/wheel assembly blocks easy view of it. Jack has to go in on a diagonal, just in front of the leading edge of the rear wheel. The side of the jack will almost touch the tire.
 
replace that can of sealant with a sticky string. that sealant will ruin your wheel and some if not most shops won't work on it. it's all got to be leaned out.
 
We spent 10 years in a tiny town(population 247) outside KC. The country roads were all gravel and maybe twice a year they'd run a road grader through. When that happened every nail, bolt, or any old metal would be turned up and you were very likely to get a flat. I quit putting my spare back under the truck because I'd need it every couple of months.

There was a local tire place who'd patch them for a good price, it made up for the low personal property taxes.

I walked in for a repair and a local woman was having a large piece of the owner's backsides. "That grader man is your cousin. He's out there stirring up nails for your benefit"! She was red in the face and totally out of control. I don't recall ever seeing anyone have that bad of a meltdown.
 
Just ordered a new Ryobi battery for my better tire inflator to leave in the car for the next time I choose to chase potholes :cool:.
 
Talk to Me About Tires

As you know from this thread, I got a tire blow out so had to get a new tire.

So, my question is, why only one tire when if I was to buy new tires (not from a blown tire), isn't the rule of thumb to change them in fours are at least in pairs?

Granted, the tire that blew was only a few months old, so the wear shouldn't be too uneven, if at all.

But for the sake of discussion, if my other tires had many miles on, would the suggestion be to change more than just the one that busted?
 
NW-Bound said:
Hmmm... Wonder if I should get an electric impact wrench to keep with my RV. The lug nuts are torqued a lot higher than those of normal passenger cars.

I can run the wrench with the installed 2kW inverter. That's easier than carrying my existing pneumatic impact wrench, which needs a compressor.

Or I can take along a small air tank, which can be filled up using the 12V emergency compressor. This small compressor is powerful enough to pump RV tires, but the air tank is needed as an accumulator to supply the air volume to work the wrench.

I have seen many class A owners carrying a mid-sized 115V compressor in the storage bay. My class C does not have much storage room.
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I have a Ryobi 18V Impact Wrench, but I don't carry it with me. The downside, of course, is ensuring the battery stays charged.
 
MoneyIsMyHobby said:
I have a Ryobi 18V Impact Wrench, but I don't carry it with me. The downside, of course, is ensuring the battery stays charged.
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The car place (no longer around) that I used to take my car to would always over torque the lug nuts. I tried taking them off manually and with a Ryobi (I'm a big fan of Ryobi) 18v impact wrench, but no luck. Not sure if Ryobi has a more powerful one now. This was a few years ago.

I ended up getting a used impact wrench kit (included wrench, charger, two batteries, nice molded carrying case) since this was my only Milwaukee product. Even used was pretty expensive and wasn't sure if I'd ever use. But the came in handy with the recent flat.

The Milwaukee I have is made to have enough power to take off lug nuts from semi trucks :LOL:, so no question about the amount of heft.

As for the charge, I pretty much don't use the tool for anything else but emergency in my car. A charged battery sitting idle stays fresh easily for over a year. But I charge anyhow each year as one of my annual "To Do" things is too keep my car emergency stuff ready.
 
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The torque multiplier that I am thinking of buying and carrying with my RV works like this one.

They usually come with a gear ratio of 1:58, but I have seen one with 1:78. That's how much your manual torque is multiplied.

It may not fit on some passenger car wheels, the way it is constructed. Or a kit may not come with the sockets for smaller lug nuts.

 
easysurfer said:
The car place (no longer around) that I used to take my car to would always over torque the lug nuts. I tried taking them off manually and with a Ryobi (I'm a big fan of Ryobi) 18v impact wrench, but no luck. Not sure if Ryobi has a more powerful one now. This was a few years ago.

I ended up getting a used impact wrench kit (included wrench, charger, two batteries, nice molded carrying case) since this was my only Milwaukee product. Even used was pretty expensive and wasn't sure if I'd ever use. But the came in handy with the recent flat.

The Milwaukee I have is made to have enough power to take off lug nuts from semi trucks :LOL:, so no question about the amount of heft.

As for the charge, I pretty much don't use the tool for anything else but emergency in my car. A charged battery sitting idle stays fresh easily for over a year. But I charge anyhow each year as one of my annual "To Do" things is too keep my car emergency stuff ready.
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Great info! Part of my thinking, was that the manual for the Ryobi says not to keep the batteries in a hot car or trunk. I was, prior to reading that, keeping nearly my whole Ryobi toolkit and batteries in the truck for emergency projects on my rentals, etc. Off the top of my head I know I have...

Reciprocating saw
Circular saw
Impact Driver
Impact Wrench
Drill
Flashlight
Drain Cleaner/Snake
Skill Saw
Muti/vibro tool

My point is, it was awesome to always have it with me, because friends and family are always asking for Home Improvement help (or I was working at the rentals), and never had the right tools... but alas I stoped carying them all.

MIMH
 
NW-Bound said:
The torque multiplier that I am thinking of buying and carrying with my RV works like this one.

They usually come with a gear ratio of 1:58, but I have seen one with 1:78. That's how much your manual torque is multiplied.

It may not fit on some passenger car wheels, the way it is constructed. Or a kit may not come with the sockets for smaller lug nuts.

Click to expand...


That's a pretty cool looking multiplier. Here one of a 1:78 that you might have had in mind.


Someone should make a smaller one especially for cars.
 
MoneyIsMyHobby said:
Great info! Part of my thinking, was that the manual for the Ryobi says not to keep the batteries in a hot car or trunk. I was, prior to reading that, keeping nearly my whole Ryobi toolkit and batteries in the truck for emergency projects on my rentals, etc. Off the top of my head I know I have...

Reciprocating saw
Circular saw
Impact Driver
Impact Wrench
Drill
Flashlight
Drain Cleaner/Snake
Skill Saw
Muti/vibro tool

My point is, it was awesome to always have it with me, because friends and family are always asking for Home Improvement help (or I was working at the rentals), and never had the right tools... but alas I stoped carying them all.

MIMH
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My car isn't in the hot sun all day. I was worried about heat too, but that hasn't been too bad. Right now, I always carry along my Milwaukee impact wrench with 2 batteries, in a molded case. Also, I have a Craftsman 19.2v battery attached to a flashlight. Next, I've decided to carry my Ryobi inflator with 18v battery. Also, I have one of those jump boxes in that has a lead acid battery. I cover my cargo area with a dark blanket which does a pretty good job of blocking out the sun and the batteries might feel warm but not hot and I don't notice any excessive drain on batteries. But like I said, my car is usually not parked outside all day. Plus, I carry some rechargeable AA sized batteries too, in a toolbox.
 
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braumeister said:
Years ago I bought DW one of these to keep in her car:
Geared Lug Nut Remover.

It's a pretty high quality tool.
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Yes, that's the version for cars. However, I usually do not have a problem with car lug nuts, which yield to my 2' long breaker bar.

easysurfer said:
That's a pretty cool looking multiplier. Here one of a 1:78 that you might have had in mind.


Someone should make a smaller one especially for cars.
Click to expand...

See the one to which Braumeister provided a link.

Hermit said:
I would call that a pipe that fits over the lug wrench!
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A 4' pipe may work to extend my 2' breaker bar. However, I would need a block of wood to support the other end of the bar. :)

No, forget it. See the video that easysurfer linked to. The guy was jumping on a 4' long bar, and it did not budge. Yes, he supported the other end of the bar, while he was dancin' on the other end. I am a skinny guy, and do not weight as much as that guy. :)
 
NW-Bound said:
Yes, that's the version for cars. However, I usually do not have a problem with car lug nuts, which yield to my 2' long breaker bar.



See the one to which Braumeister provided a link.



A 4' pipe may work to extend my 2' breaker bar. However, I would need a block of wood to support the other end of the bar. :)

No, forget it. See the video that easysurfer linked to. The guy was jumping on a 4' long bar, and it did not budge. Yes, he supported the other end of the bar, while he was dancin' on the other end. I am a skinny guy, and do not weight as much as that guy. :)
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Yes, the one that Braumeister posted looks like a car one. Didn't notice earlier. Now I need to try youtube for a video of that in action :).
 
I have to say i'm a bit surprised by all the not-so-young, finacially well off people who are willing to get on their hands and knees to change a tire. As far as i'm concerned the only tool you need is a cell phone with AAA's number in it.
 
aaronc879 said:
As far as i'm concerned the only tool you need is a cell phone with AAA's number in it.
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When some of us started changing tires, there was no such thing as a cell phone and AAA was considered an expensive luxury. Also, flat tires on lonely roads were a fairly common occurrence. It was just something you did. Some of us still see it that way.
 
I routinely drove a long stretch of rural interstate in the late 80's before the cell phone era. It wasn't uncommon to stop my truck (equipped with a full-size floor jack) 2-3 times some days to help get people back on the road. The 4 ft breaker bar came in handy back in those days as well.
 
aaronc879 said:
I have to say i'm a bit surprised by all the not-so-young, finacially well off people who are willing to get on their hands and knees to change a tire. As far as i'm concerned the only tool you need is a cell phone with AAA's number in it.
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Actually AAA refused to change my truck tire. The spare wouldn't just wind down and they'd have nothing to do with it. I don't blame them Chevy built an effective human trap.
 
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