G
Guest
Guest
Morning All,
I had a blow out on the dual carriageway yesterday on the one of the
rear tyres, not a major problem initially, however trying to chage it
was a nightmare.
I haven't touched the wheels since before Morocco last year and trying
to change one on the side of a busy dual carriageway with a car full of
children was fun!!
I used to always have a breaker bar and socket in the boot for doing
the wheels, but this now lives in the workshop so all I had was a 1/2"
ratchet and socket and classically the wheel nuts were so siezed on the
socket broke when I tried to undo them.
Fortunately a friend was passing and had a decent wheel wrench so I
managed to loosen nuts in the end.
Then I had the fun and games trying to lower the spare from under the
back - firstly the winch was a little seized as well, but I had some
WD40 which helped, although it took a little time to realise that you
have to turn the winch clockwise to lower the wheel - logically you
would expect that it would go anti-clockwise to lower the wheel and
clockwise to raise it.
Anyway, eventually managed to get it changed, but a few lessons
learnt...
Every 6-12months rotate your tyres - this will ensure that that you
don't end up with any seized wheel nuts - note you shouldn't use WD40
or coppereaze on the studs - they are supposed to be torqued on dry -
if lubricated you can end up over torqueing them.
When rotating the wheels, also drop the spare down and make sure that
the winch mechanism is well lubricated.
Make sure you have a decent wrench to remove stubborn wheel nuts -
there are some good extentable ones that will enable you to get some
good leverage. Wheel braces are OK, but sometimes you do need to stamp
on them to get the nuts off and most braces are often too small to get
enough leverage.
Carry a block of wood to put your jack on - the verges are often very
soft - you can get a small block about 1ft by 6" to slide under the
passenger seat which is ideal.
Use a marker pen to write on the inside of your little Toyota tool bag
that you need to turn clockwise to lower wheel and anticlockwise to
raise it - this will save some headaches
If you do get a puncture and change the wheel, do be prepared to
remount it afterwards - I went round to the workshop to double check
the torque on the wheel nuts and they were all too tight, so ended up
taking them off and redoing them - if they are too tight it can lead to
problems with disk warping and damage to the alloys.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
07971 540 362
Skype: julianvoelcker
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift
I had a blow out on the dual carriageway yesterday on the one of the
rear tyres, not a major problem initially, however trying to chage it
was a nightmare.
I haven't touched the wheels since before Morocco last year and trying
to change one on the side of a busy dual carriageway with a car full of
children was fun!!
I used to always have a breaker bar and socket in the boot for doing
the wheels, but this now lives in the workshop so all I had was a 1/2"
ratchet and socket and classically the wheel nuts were so siezed on the
socket broke when I tried to undo them.
Fortunately a friend was passing and had a decent wheel wrench so I
managed to loosen nuts in the end.
Then I had the fun and games trying to lower the spare from under the
back - firstly the winch was a little seized as well, but I had some
WD40 which helped, although it took a little time to realise that you
have to turn the winch clockwise to lower the wheel - logically you
would expect that it would go anti-clockwise to lower the wheel and
clockwise to raise it.
Anyway, eventually managed to get it changed, but a few lessons
learnt...
Every 6-12months rotate your tyres - this will ensure that that you
don't end up with any seized wheel nuts - note you shouldn't use WD40
or coppereaze on the studs - they are supposed to be torqued on dry -
if lubricated you can end up over torqueing them.
When rotating the wheels, also drop the spare down and make sure that
the winch mechanism is well lubricated.
Make sure you have a decent wrench to remove stubborn wheel nuts -
there are some good extentable ones that will enable you to get some
good leverage. Wheel braces are OK, but sometimes you do need to stamp
on them to get the nuts off and most braces are often too small to get
enough leverage.
Carry a block of wood to put your jack on - the verges are often very
soft - you can get a small block about 1ft by 6" to slide under the
passenger seat which is ideal.
Use a marker pen to write on the inside of your little Toyota tool bag
that you need to turn clockwise to lower wheel and anticlockwise to
raise it - this will save some headaches
If you do get a puncture and change the wheel, do be prepared to
remount it afterwards - I went round to the workshop to double check
the torque on the wheel nuts and they were all too tight, so ended up
taking them off and redoing them - if they are too tight it can lead to
problems with disk warping and damage to the alloys.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
07971 540 362
Skype: julianvoelcker
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift
