The "new to me" car routine

[Petrol & Powder]

This topic came up in a discussion the other day and I thought I would share.

I have purchased exactly one new vehicle in my lifetime and that number is not likely to increase.
When I buy a "New to Me" vehicle, one of the first things I do is check out the spare tire, jack, lug wrench and lug nuts.
It may seem a little excessive but a spare is no use if it is flat. A missing or inoperative jack is also useless. And I've lost count of the times I've encountered lug nuts that were frozen tight or wheels that were rusted to hubs.

It is a LOT easier to get that gear squared away BEFORE there is a problem.

I pull the spare out. Make sure it is properly inflated. Make sure it's accessible. Is there some screw or wing nut that holds the spare? Is it greased and removable when needed?
I remove the jack from its stowed location. Clean it if needed. Operate it through its entire range. Grease the thread, oil the pivots, etc. MAKE SURE IT'S THE RIGHT JACK for the vehicle (seen that problem before!) .
Check the lug wrench. Is it present? It is useable ? (correct size, the socket head isn't split or rounded) Is it super short? Would a little section of pipe to fit over the end make it more usable? Sometimes it's worth it to just get the proper 6 point socket, a short extension and a breaker bar. Put that in the vehicle along with the lug wrench.
I remove each wheel and make sure the lug nuts are serviceable. (not stripped, rounded over, rusted tight, etc.) I make sure the wheel will come off !
The lug nuts or studs get cleaned, anti-seize grease is applied to threads and they get re-torqued to the correct setting.

Even if you intend to call roadside assistance and have someone else perform the work - it is still a good idea to have that gear ship shape before you need it.

Many of us carry a firearm in case we need it. How many have a jack that works ?

 

[L Ross]

In the truck I carry a milk crate that holds a Milwaukee M18 Fuel cordless impact wrench, one set of deep well metric and one set of deep well SAE impact sockets. There is an old IH bottle jack, a couple of pieces of 2x8 and a shop towel. I have helped a couple of people change a tire along side the highway. An officer providing cover with his squad and lights teased me about being a NASCAR pit crew. The less time you spend squatting next to traffic the less likely you are to be killed.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I can change a tire pretty quickly, but I had a lot of practice when I was young.
When everything works like it should, it's not difficult. But when something is broken, it's not as smooth.

Last year I got a call from the girlfriend. She had a flat tire, I was close by and not too busy.
No problem, I'll just change it and she'll be on her way.
The steel wheel was rusted tight to the brake drum. I mean like super tight. After some persuasion and a little cussing, I broke it loose.
That was one of the cars that I hadn't performed my normal routine on. I corrected that oversight the next weekend.

Interesting that L Ross mentioned the old IH jack. My father had an old IH truck and I recall the jack being one of the slowest (read that as incredibly high mechanical advantage) jacks I've ever used. It would pick up a house but it wouldn't do it quickly !

 

[Missionary]

And do not forget to check that spare every couple months.
We also carry a can of pressurized flat fix as I have come across vehicles stranded out in the desert with no spare and a big nail on a mounted tire.
A hand pump and an inexpensive 12 volt pump also come in handy. We carry a 3 ton HD jack bolted in the engine space. A colapsable shovel was used to help an old couple get their camper trailer up off the ground and the spare on. They had been there 3 hours and no one would stop.

 

[Mitty38]

One thing I learned driving for AAA. First...Make sure you have a spare.
I towed, or flat bedded many a vehicle that did not have a spare.

Yep I always check everything involving the spare, tires, and brakes.
Basically everything in the wheel well, and involved in getting thru a flat.
Make sure I have two road flares, a small wheel chock,a small piece of plywood to set the jack on if the ground is mushy, a pair of gloves, and a plastic bag to lay on, in with the jack.

Another thing, I go thru the entire service list and at least check everything on it.
Push every button, check every light, to see what is not working right.
I spent at least 8 hours familiarizing myself with and checking functions on my New to me vehicle.
Then change the oil.

 

[fiver]

I wouldn't let either of the girls drive their respective vehicles until they changed out one of the tires for the spare, and then put everything back where it belonged.
they didn't like it,,,, but [shrug]

 

[Jeff H]

One thing I've learned not to trust by buying used vehicles is the cheap, stamped steel lug wrenches. AND, make sure the FIT the lugs. Easy fix is to buy an extra breaker-bar and a 6-point deep-well socket to fit the actual lug nuts on the car. Adding a square of 2x12 to go under the jack is handy.

Check all fuse-blocks for "McGyver fuses," remove and determine the cause of the need for an expedient short-circuit protection device.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Some lug wrenches are OK but I agree that some of the stamped steel ones leave a lot to be desired.
Like Jeff H, if the factory provided lug wrench looks like it came out of a box of Cracker Jacks, I'll buy a breaker bar, a good 6 point socket and maybe a short extension. That expenditure will likely be less than a towing fee.

 

[Winelover]

I pretty much concur with P&P..............except for the fact that I've never bought used. Tire changing equipment is the first thing I do. I go so far as removing all the tires and even bottom mounted spare. I have found that with the painted wheels, sometimes removing the wheel from the axle is near impossible. That paint is enough to mimic rusted on wheels. I then relieve the high spots with a rotary file in a die grinder.

All of my vehicles, have the sliding socket breaker bars with six inch extension and appropriate socket. In the full sized vans, I keep a bottle jack, in addition to the factory jack.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

On one occasion I helped a tow truck driver change a tire on a Toyota pick up. The alloy wheel had seized to the brake drum/hub. With a floor jack under the axle and both of us trying to kick the tire loose , we couldn't get the wheel to release. He finally put the end of a 6' pipe between the spokes of the cast aluminum wheel and popped it loose. I was surprised that aluminum and steel could corrode together that tightly but it was a good learning experience.

 

[L Ross]

On one occasion I helped a tow trick driver change a tire on a Toyota pick up. The alloy wheel had seized to the brake drum/hub. With a floor jack under the axle and both of us trying to kick the tire loose , we couldn't get the wheel to release. He finally put the end of a 6' pipe between the spokes of the cast aluminum wheel and popped it loose. I was surprised that aluminum and steel could corrode together that tightly but it was a good learning experience.

Galvanic corrosion, accentuated by the various ice and snow melt chemicals.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

It sure worked ! Almost didn't need those silly lugs nuts.

 

[Winelover]

On one occasion I helped a tow truck driver change a tire on a Toyota pick up. The alloy wheel had seized to the brake drum/hub. With a floor jack under the axle and both of us trying to kick the tire loose , we couldn't get the wheel to release. He finally put the end of a 6' pipe between the spokes of the cast aluminum wheel and popped it loose. I was surprised that aluminum and steel could corrode together that tightly but it was a good learning experience.

Now, imagine that when you're on the road.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Now, imagine that when you're on the road.

I DID imagine that happening, and took measures to prevent it.

And the experience with the girlfriend's car reinforced it. (a wire brush and a tiny bit of grease prevented the reoccurrence of that issue)

Here's a lesson I learned 40 years ago - VW uses bolts (not studs and lug nuts) to attach the wheels. They have threaded shanks with a tapered head to center the wheel. Basically the same thing as a stud and tapered lug nut, just from the German perspective of "why do we need two parts when we can do it with one intricately machined and over engineered part ..." .
That system works well, but if over-tightened, or if slightly rusted; it works incredibly well. Like so well, you will destroy the lug wrench attempting to remove them (like one of my relatives did).

There's a trick that will save you. Place a soft iron drift over the head of the bolt, stoutly whack it one time with a large hammer. The bolt will then unscrew.

 

[RicinYakima]

All Chrysler made cars, and Plymouth pick-ups, used bolts until some time in the mid-1950's. And they were right and left threaded so that going forward they tended to tighten. I think they made the change to studs about when they went to 12 volt electronics.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

OH YES ! Chrysler did use left hand threads on one side and they continued that practice well into the 1960's and with lug nuts and studs.

International Harvester also used left handed threads on the lug nuts. We had an IH truck with a couple of broken studs on one wheel. I went to the parts store and purchased replacement studs and lug nuts for that hub. Figured, I'll just do them all at one time and be done with it. I didn't know IH used left and right handed threads, so I just purchased enough right hand studs and nuts to re-fit one wheel.
I put new studs on that side and didn't give it a second thought.
Now we had a truck with 3 wheels that had right hand threaded lug nuts and ONE wheel with left hand threads ! That caused some problems later.

 

[popper]

Tried to remove the bolts from old VW van with proper wrench and 6ft cheater bar. Nope. Or try to help an old guy change the tire on a Chrysler - after breaking off a stud. Did get the tire changed and he went to a shop for stud. Nuts had L & R stamped on them, found out why. Live and learn.

 

[RBHarter]

Left hand on the left side ...... lots of Jeeps too .
Hudson had bolts too but with an alignment pin in the hub . Original wheels only had 1 alignment hole , presumably to maintain wheel/ hub balance .

 

[Petrol & Powder]

........ Nuts had L & R stamped on them, found out why. Live and learn.

Yeah.......I learned that too, but not the easy way

The nuts also have cuts across the points to designate left hand threads. I didn't learn that the easy way either.

Men learn via empirical knowledge. That is knowledge gained through experience in the world.

Or, as an instructor once told me:
Experience is a series of non-fatal mistakes.

 

[RicinYakima]

Left hand on the left side ...... lots of Jeeps too .
Hudson had bolts too but with an alignment pin in the hub . Original wheels only had 1 alignment hole , presumably to maintain wheel/ hub balance .

When I was restoring Hudson's, a very knowledgeable 1930's factory trained mechanic told me that the alignment stud went on top. You "hung" the wheel on that so you could start two bolts at the same time. He said the biggest problem was people would paint the machined hub and inside lip of the wheel, then they were very hard to get off.