tips on changing a car's tire
January 29, 2023 5:23 PM Subscribe
Perfect! I needed this.
posted by chinesefood at 6:22 PM on January 29, 2023
posted by chinesefood at 6:22 PM on January 29, 2023
One thing he didn't mention is that if you haven't touched your spare in a couple of years, it's probably gone flat. That happened when I was out with my kid last month. Fortunately, we have a little air compressor that runs off of the cigarette lighter, and I was able to reinflate it.
Good video, though. My kid had no idea how to change a flat, at the time.
posted by Spike Glee at 6:23 PM on January 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Good video, though. My kid had no idea how to change a flat, at the time.
posted by Spike Glee at 6:23 PM on January 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
This is one of those basic things I've never had to do and only know the steps in theory. I'm afraid if I take off the tire and put it back on to practice I'm going to mess something up in the process!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 7:35 PM on January 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 7:35 PM on January 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
When I took driver ed on high school, they included how to drive a manual, check fluids and air, and how to change a tire. My local high school doesn't even have a driver ed program. I know, I'm an old fart.
Throw some gloves in with your spare. You'll want them when you're grabbing that filthy tire.
The easiest way to fix a flat is to call AAA, join, then have them send someone out to change it.
posted by Marky at 8:18 PM on January 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
Throw some gloves in with your spare. You'll want them when you're grabbing that filthy tire.
The easiest way to fix a flat is to call AAA, join, then have them send someone out to change it.
posted by Marky at 8:18 PM on January 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
So, a few I'm-a-dad-pay-attention caveats.
Throw some work gloves in your trunk. Changing tires is unpleasant, on cold days doubly so.
You won't always have the luxury of choosing to change your tire on on flat dry ground, so maybe get a foot of 2x4 or 2x6 board, just any old scrap lumber, throw it in the trunk and forget about it. If the ground is muddy or gross, put it down under where the jack goes.
If you're thinking to yourself "ok, but I don't have the strength to do this, I'm 94 pounds soaking wet and even if I stand on that wrench that bolt will not move": You don't need mass or muscle to do this, all you need is leverage. At any home-depot type store you'll be able to get a yard-long steel pipe that will fit over the wrench your car provides, and no matter who you are, that will give you more than enough leverage to undo stuck bolts. Go buy that pipe, throw it in your trunk and forget about it too. Leverage makes this work easy.
If you have the means, call CAA/AAA and get a membership. When you get the chance to help somebody else out with your membership, do that.
When you see somebody at the side of the road with a flat, if you are comfortable helping them, pull over and do that.
posted by mhoye at 8:25 PM on January 29, 2023 [8 favorites]
Throw some work gloves in your trunk. Changing tires is unpleasant, on cold days doubly so.
You won't always have the luxury of choosing to change your tire on on flat dry ground, so maybe get a foot of 2x4 or 2x6 board, just any old scrap lumber, throw it in the trunk and forget about it. If the ground is muddy or gross, put it down under where the jack goes.
If you're thinking to yourself "ok, but I don't have the strength to do this, I'm 94 pounds soaking wet and even if I stand on that wrench that bolt will not move": You don't need mass or muscle to do this, all you need is leverage. At any home-depot type store you'll be able to get a yard-long steel pipe that will fit over the wrench your car provides, and no matter who you are, that will give you more than enough leverage to undo stuck bolts. Go buy that pipe, throw it in your trunk and forget about it too. Leverage makes this work easy.
If you have the means, call CAA/AAA and get a membership. When you get the chance to help somebody else out with your membership, do that.
When you see somebody at the side of the road with a flat, if you are comfortable helping them, pull over and do that.
posted by mhoye at 8:25 PM on January 29, 2023 [8 favorites]
If in a safe spot, the use of ergonomics is key, setting the Jack is...well, worked in garage for over a year, changed a lot of tires. what's interesting is the little coffee cans we kept, an assortment of foreign objects that we've pulled out of tyres.
bullets, bullet casings, wood, plastic, knife blades, saw blades, 18 variety of screws, a few bolts. crack pipes, beer cans, glass, ceramic, flip phone and I kid you not, a partial Darth Vader action figure.
Most dangerous tyre situation I ever saw, 87°day, someone puts Fix-A-Flat in their tyre and over filled it with air, started driving down to garage, pulled into the lot and it was just bulging and I ran like it was a grenade. One wrecker call was on a beautiful spring afternoon, tyre change in front of Charlie Nash's house. Pulled up in front the old Durant-Dort carriage office. (car was just around the buildings left). it was a doctor from Australia with an MG and I had no clue. the doctor was attempting to take off the hub and preparing to get out the jack I told him that wasn't necessary if not detrimental because he's a doctor he didn't quite understand and I explained about hands and fingers and all that he didn't quite get it so I deferred, showed him my hand, I said, you know got that one an hour ago nonetheless I looked at the manual got it off and aired it up and all the while I told the story that he was in front of Charlie Nash's house and behind him was first major office of the founder of general motors. we both just quickly smiled in silence, he followed me back the garage, hooked him up, nice guy.
This past Christmas mom upgraded my AAA membership to gold.
posted by clavdivs at 9:19 PM on January 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
bullets, bullet casings, wood, plastic, knife blades, saw blades, 18 variety of screws, a few bolts. crack pipes, beer cans, glass, ceramic, flip phone and I kid you not, a partial Darth Vader action figure.
Most dangerous tyre situation I ever saw, 87°day, someone puts Fix-A-Flat in their tyre and over filled it with air, started driving down to garage, pulled into the lot and it was just bulging and I ran like it was a grenade. One wrecker call was on a beautiful spring afternoon, tyre change in front of Charlie Nash's house. Pulled up in front the old Durant-Dort carriage office. (car was just around the buildings left). it was a doctor from Australia with an MG and I had no clue. the doctor was attempting to take off the hub and preparing to get out the jack I told him that wasn't necessary if not detrimental because he's a doctor he didn't quite understand and I explained about hands and fingers and all that he didn't quite get it so I deferred, showed him my hand, I said, you know got that one an hour ago nonetheless I looked at the manual got it off and aired it up and all the while I told the story that he was in front of Charlie Nash's house and behind him was first major office of the founder of general motors. we both just quickly smiled in silence, he followed me back the garage, hooked him up, nice guy.
This past Christmas mom upgraded my AAA membership to gold.
posted by clavdivs at 9:19 PM on January 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
At any home-depot type store you'll be able to get a yard-long steel pipe that will fit over the wrench your car provides, and no matter who you are, that will give you more than enough leverage to undo stuck bolts.
Yep, I was going to suggest the same thing. It doesn't even have to be a yard long. I don't think mine is more than about 2 feet but it does the job. (And I'm probably smaller than anyone else who may be reading this.) Changing a flat is not hard as long as you know how to use your jack and you can loosen the lug nuts. Why sit around waiting for AAA to send someone out when you can do it yourself in 20 minutes? The key thing you have to do ahead of time is make sure you can budge those lug nuts. If you've never tried using your lug wrench, go out some day and try it. If the nut doesn't move, you can try standing on the wrench and bouncing a little. If even that doesn't work, go buy a length of pipe and try again.
posted by Redstart at 9:44 PM on January 29, 2023
Yep, I was going to suggest the same thing. It doesn't even have to be a yard long. I don't think mine is more than about 2 feet but it does the job. (And I'm probably smaller than anyone else who may be reading this.) Changing a flat is not hard as long as you know how to use your jack and you can loosen the lug nuts. Why sit around waiting for AAA to send someone out when you can do it yourself in 20 minutes? The key thing you have to do ahead of time is make sure you can budge those lug nuts. If you've never tried using your lug wrench, go out some day and try it. If the nut doesn't move, you can try standing on the wrench and bouncing a little. If even that doesn't work, go buy a length of pipe and try again.
posted by Redstart at 9:44 PM on January 29, 2023
I haven’t changed a tire since before unibody cars were a thing and this video alerted me to the fact that I would have no idea where to even place the jack. Pretty sure if I got a flat it would be at night in the rain and very cold. I’m callin AAA.
I have indistinct childhood memories of having a wheel sheer off because of improperly torqued lug nuts. You’re not going far on that tiny spare but nonetheless get to a professional pronto to get your wheels back on proper.
posted by sjswitzer at 3:52 AM on January 30, 2023
I have indistinct childhood memories of having a wheel sheer off because of improperly torqued lug nuts. You’re not going far on that tiny spare but nonetheless get to a professional pronto to get your wheels back on proper.
posted by sjswitzer at 3:52 AM on January 30, 2023
Came to offer the tips about leverage pipe, flat spares, and gloves, all of which have already been proffered. Sooooo . . . +1 I suppose.
Check the manual for where the jack actually goes on your vehicle. Don’t ever jack a car up on an incline. Throw on the parking brake first. It’s easier to loosen the nuts a bit before jacking the car up, since the added weight will help keep the wheel in place and you don’t have to worry about yanking the car off the jack.
posted by aspersioncast at 4:35 AM on January 30, 2023
Check the manual for where the jack actually goes on your vehicle. Don’t ever jack a car up on an incline. Throw on the parking brake first. It’s easier to loosen the nuts a bit before jacking the car up, since the added weight will help keep the wheel in place and you don’t have to worry about yanking the car off the jack.
posted by aspersioncast at 4:35 AM on January 30, 2023
Wait, wait, wait. At the end he casually mentions not putting a "donut" spare on the front, instead swap the rear tire with the front. How is that possible? You jack up the back, take the tire off, (transmission garbled), jack up the front and take off that tire and put the rear tire on the front. There is a crucial step missing there. Surely you don't drop the wheel-less axel on the ground?
Is it really that dangerous to put it on the front?
posted by bitslayer at 4:47 AM on January 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
Is it really that dangerous to put it on the front?
posted by bitslayer at 4:47 AM on January 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
You don't put the donut in the front, because front wheels do the bulk of braking and steering, and have to support the added weight of the engine. So if you have to swap front wheel, first swap a rear wheel with donut, and then swap a front wheel with that rear wheel, preferably in the same side
posted by karuna at 4:56 AM on January 30, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by karuna at 4:56 AM on January 30, 2023 [6 favorites]
At any home-depot type store you'll be able to get a yard-long steel pipe that will fit over the wrench your car provides, and no matter who you are, that will give you more than enough leverage to undo stuck bolts. Go buy that pipe, throw it in your trunk and forget about it too. Leverage makes this work easy.
Why use a pipe when for about the same price you can just get an actual breaker bar at Harbor Freight and a matching 6-pointed socket that fits your lug nuts?
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:35 AM on January 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
Why use a pipe when for about the same price you can just get an actual breaker bar at Harbor Freight and a matching 6-pointed socket that fits your lug nuts?
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:35 AM on January 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have indistinct childhood memories of having a wheel sheer off because of improperly torqued lug nuts.
I have very, very clear adult memories of almost having a wheel sheer off because of improperly torqued lug nuts this past July.. I've priced out torque wrenches and lug nut sockets, and it's about $50 for something cheap to assuage my nervousness next time I get the car serviced at the dealer (because it appears they didn't torque them up right after my last service).
posted by mikelieman at 5:45 AM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have very, very clear adult memories of almost having a wheel sheer off because of improperly torqued lug nuts this past July.. I've priced out torque wrenches and lug nut sockets, and it's about $50 for something cheap to assuage my nervousness next time I get the car serviced at the dealer (because it appears they didn't torque them up right after my last service).
posted by mikelieman at 5:45 AM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also, I can't stress how important it is to hand tighten all the nuts before you use the wrench. Unless you're Superman, it's mostly impossible to cross-thread nuts by hand tightening them. Put the nut on, tighten it as much as you can with your fingers and then use the wrench. And if you can't get the nut on with your fingers, back it off and slowly turn it until you feel the threads catch. Only use the wrench when you've got all the nuts on all the way with your fingers.
The very first time I had to change a flat when I was eighteen, I didn't do that and I ended up cross-threading the nuts on three out of the five studs.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:51 AM on January 30, 2023
The very first time I had to change a flat when I was eighteen, I didn't do that and I ended up cross-threading the nuts on three out of the five studs.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:51 AM on January 30, 2023
Last time I had to change a tire, I found the hardest part to be getting the wheel off. It was pretty damn stuck! And there was no easy way to get good leverage on it. I was about to call roadside assistance when I finally gave it one last go and pried it loose.
posted by rikschell at 6:00 AM on January 30, 2023
posted by rikschell at 6:00 AM on January 30, 2023
Even it's properly laid out in the steps, I came by just to put some emphasis on the part where you get the nuts loose BEFORE you jack the car, it won't work if the wheel can spin.
Also for all suggesting gloves/planks that's a great one.
I'd just add, know where the jack is, it's not always with the wheel (for example on old Yarris it's under the driver's seat, in some pick ups it's under the passenger bench).
AAA/CAA membership is worth its weight in gold for the roadside assistance.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 6:15 AM on January 30, 2023
Also for all suggesting gloves/planks that's a great one.
I'd just add, know where the jack is, it's not always with the wheel (for example on old Yarris it's under the driver's seat, in some pick ups it's under the passenger bench).
AAA/CAA membership is worth its weight in gold for the roadside assistance.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 6:15 AM on January 30, 2023
If you like DIYing things you can repair a puncture without removing the wheel from the car by sticking a worm in to the hole. Worth looking into if your car doesn't have an onboard spare.
posted by grahamparks at 6:32 AM on January 30, 2023
posted by grahamparks at 6:32 AM on January 30, 2023
Last time I had to change a tire, I found the hardest part to be getting the wheel off. It was pretty damn stuck! And there was no easy way to get good leverage on it. I was about to call roadside assistance when I finally gave it one last go and pried it loose.
Yep. I went through a period where I had to replace three wheels within a few months of each other--I think that my town just stopped repairing potholes because so many people had SUVs that would just roll over them, and if they pinch-flatted the relatively puny tires on my Honda Fit, then fuck me, I guess--and once I had to sit on the curb and kick the tire repeatedly to get it unstuck. (The other time, I flatted both tires on the passenger side and just called the tow to take it to the dealer.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:02 AM on January 30, 2023
Yep. I went through a period where I had to replace three wheels within a few months of each other--I think that my town just stopped repairing potholes because so many people had SUVs that would just roll over them, and if they pinch-flatted the relatively puny tires on my Honda Fit, then fuck me, I guess--and once I had to sit on the curb and kick the tire repeatedly to get it unstuck. (The other time, I flatted both tires on the passenger side and just called the tow to take it to the dealer.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:02 AM on January 30, 2023
Go easy on that 3ft pipe: I managed to shear the head clean off one of my wheel nuts tightening it with a pipe. The fact that I was tightening a nut to get the wheel _off_ is a whole other I-live-in-my-head drifting-through-reality story.
Pro tip: in addition to mhoye's short board to support the jack in the mud, commend a plastic feed-sack to support knee.
Pro tip: for peace of mind I've upcluttered my trunk with a couple of wooden wedges to chock the wheels against the slope.
posted by BobTheScientist at 7:04 AM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Pro tip: in addition to mhoye's short board to support the jack in the mud, commend a plastic feed-sack to support knee.
Pro tip: for peace of mind I've upcluttered my trunk with a couple of wooden wedges to chock the wheels against the slope.
posted by BobTheScientist at 7:04 AM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Yeah. Definitely go easy on the leverage and carry around a can of blaster to spray on the nuts before you try to loosen them.
I got new tires recently and I was impressed that the tire shop made a big deal about how they hand-tighten the lugs with torque wrenches. Too many times I've been to tire shops and they just use the pneumatic and end up over tightening things so they're impossible to get off even with a breaker bar.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:15 AM on January 30, 2023
I got new tires recently and I was impressed that the tire shop made a big deal about how they hand-tighten the lugs with torque wrenches. Too many times I've been to tire shops and they just use the pneumatic and end up over tightening things so they're impossible to get off even with a breaker bar.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:15 AM on January 30, 2023
Last time I had to change a tire, I found the hardest part to be getting the wheel off. It was pretty damn stuck!
That's never happened to me, but it happened to my husband last year. He was changing a tire at a gas station near our house and having trouble with the lug nuts, so I drove over with my length of pipe. That fixed that problem, but then he couldn't get the wheel off! I googled wheel loosening solutions and one of them was to slowly drive the car forward and back a short distance. He tried that and it worked.
posted by Redstart at 7:19 AM on January 30, 2023
That's never happened to me, but it happened to my husband last year. He was changing a tire at a gas station near our house and having trouble with the lug nuts, so I drove over with my length of pipe. That fixed that problem, but then he couldn't get the wheel off! I googled wheel loosening solutions and one of them was to slowly drive the car forward and back a short distance. He tried that and it worked.
posted by Redstart at 7:19 AM on January 30, 2023
I did this successfully when I was about 20 years old. I was so proud of myself to put real world knowledge to use. That was 32 years ago and I can barely remember the steps it took. Thanks for the video. Though the car we have now has run-flat tires that can get you around 20 miles at 45 MPH, according to the instructions.
posted by SoberHighland at 7:23 AM on January 30, 2023
posted by SoberHighland at 7:23 AM on January 30, 2023
The pipe's a good idea for loosening the wheel nuts, but don't use it for tightening; it's too easy to overtighten them that way.
I've always changed my own flats, and most of the summer/winter changeovers. After a few times, you get a feel for the correct tightness. You can also hear it, often - eg if the bolts made a certain squeak with that last push, I knew it was about right. Still, I did buy a cheap torque wrench for confirmation.
I have an electric impact driver at home which makes it easier to loosen and spin off the nuts. I'll also use it to spin the nuts on, but not to tighten them; I still do that with the lug wrench, and the torque wrench if I have it.
posted by Artful Codger at 7:36 AM on January 30, 2023
I've always changed my own flats, and most of the summer/winter changeovers. After a few times, you get a feel for the correct tightness. You can also hear it, often - eg if the bolts made a certain squeak with that last push, I knew it was about right. Still, I did buy a cheap torque wrench for confirmation.
I have an electric impact driver at home which makes it easier to loosen and spin off the nuts. I'll also use it to spin the nuts on, but not to tighten them; I still do that with the lug wrench, and the torque wrench if I have it.
posted by Artful Codger at 7:36 AM on January 30, 2023
Caution: Police Violence and Misconduct for the very next story on that blog. If you're not up for that, don't scroll down.
posted by ob1quixote at 7:53 AM on January 30, 2023
posted by ob1quixote at 7:53 AM on January 30, 2023
If you live in Texas you probably don't even need AAA as you're automatically enrolled in the Three Random Bubbas In A Pickup Truck Protection Plan.
Just pull over, get out of the car, and look distraught and a bit confused. This will telepathically summon The Bubbas.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:08 AM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Just pull over, get out of the car, and look distraught and a bit confused. This will telepathically summon The Bubbas.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:08 AM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Last time I had to change a tire, I found the hardest part to be getting the wheel off. It was pretty damn stuck!
Last time I dealt with this we just grabbed a 5lb sledge and gave it a whack from the inside of the rim, popped right off in a little poof of rust.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:18 AM on January 30, 2023
Last time I dealt with this we just grabbed a 5lb sledge and gave it a whack from the inside of the rim, popped right off in a little poof of rust.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:18 AM on January 30, 2023
I once had a wheel sheer off. I was on a road trip from Ohio to DC. We were on 370 near Rockville. The car shook and made a noise like it had blown a tire. I pulled off to the side of the road and walked around to the rear passenger side and the wheel was just gone. I was only 19 or 20, with a couple friends. We were supposed to go from DC to Philly then Boston. A friend from Richmond drove up to get us and we went there instead.
posted by slogger at 1:14 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by slogger at 1:14 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
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