The "new to me" car routine

[462]

It would sure be a much easier task to replace the boat trailer's 14" steel wheels if the hubs had alignment studs. The wheels are held on with bolts, but trying to get one started as an alignment guide is tricky and tries what little patience I have for such jobs.

 

[Joshua]

I carry all that stuff, jack, spare, pump, socket set, etc.

But I also carry a plug kit. I spent a year working at an old school service station, when I was 18. In fact we were the only full service fuel pumping station in the area by that point. I learned how to change tires and plug flats. I’ve put another twenty thousand miles on a plugged tire. I don’t even take the tire off of the car or truck if I don’t have to.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

It would sure be a much easier task to replace the boat trailer's 14" steel wheels if the hubs had alignment studs. The wheels are held on with bolts, but trying to get one started as an alignment guide is tricky and tries what little patience I have for such jobs.

Get two bolts with the correct thread pitch and cut the heads off. The ones with the unthread shank between the head and the beginning of the threads work best. Screw them in finger tight. They act as alignment pins and you can start two other bolts. Then unscrew the "pins" and install the other two bolts.

 

[RBHarter]

Expirance is what you get about 10 seconds after you needed it .

Replacement of a bolt with a stud on a flat flange hub isn't a big deal either .

 

[Mitty38]

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.

Always used a long 4x4 for those. Couple of good whacks in the edge of the rim and come right loose. Plus the wood will not damage the Alloy rims.

 

[JustJim]

I usually loosen all of the lug nuts a couple turns, drop the vehicle off the jack, then drive forward about ten feet. That will usually break the hub free; if not, backing up and slamming on the brakes will usually get it loose enough I can kick it loose.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Always used a long 4x4 for those. Couple of good whacks in the edge of the rim and come right loose. Plus the wood will not damage the Alloy rims.

Yeah, you had to be there. It wasn't coming off.

 

[Jeff H]

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.

On one occasion, I had to change a tire on a one year old Subaru Forrester. I tried and tried to get that wheel off and eventually borrowed a large chunk of fire-wood from the house the car was topped in front of and wailed the snot out of the wheel. EVENTUALLY, the thing broke loose.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

On one occasion, I had to change a tire on a one year old Subaru Forrester. I tried and tried to get that wheel off and eventually borrowed a large chunk of fire-wood from the house the car was topped in front of and wailed the snot out of the wheel. EVENTUALLY, the thing broke loose.

That's pretty much what we did with a 3 foot section of 4 x 4. Even that didn't work. That's when he resorted to the long metal pipe.

 

[John]

I had a one ton work van that the spare lowered from the rear with a jack handle and extension. A piece of gravel would clog that tube and there wasn't enough room for it to drop through. I finally got it where I could vee a slot into the tube to get gravel out and still have the wrench hit the screw down spare. The nearest parts for the equipment I used were often 125 miles away back in the shop, or in Houston. I kept the interior too full to fit a spare tire in. I only had two flats but it was two too many.
I did have a rolling floor jack and a couple of 18 V power wrenches in that made the rest of the job easy.