RivkahChaya
Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2023
- Messages
- 9
When I bought my car, I was told I could not change the tire myself, and therefore, my "spare" was a can of Fix-a-Flat. Aside from the facts that Fix-a-Flat is nasty, and doesn't work, I didn't see why I couldn't change my own tire. I've been doing it all my life, including being in a military motor pool, and changing tires on huge, military vehicles.
The saleswoman said I couldn't jack it up, it was too heavy.
So I said that I have a 1.5 ton hydraulic floor jack, and know how to place it safely under the undercarriage. I also Googled, and my car is heavier than similar-sized ICE cars by just a couple hundred pounds, coming in at less than 4,000, so a 1.5 ton jack should lift a quarter of it.
I'm capable of getting a wheel from a junkyard that will fit it, and putting a used tire on it, so I have a spare-- I have done this for most of the cars I've had, because they came with 50 miles/50mpg doughnuts, and I wanted a real spare in case I had a blow on the highway.
But maybe there is more I don't know-- I have a very good 1/2" extension with a cheater bar, for which I can buy any socket the car needs, if I don't already have one.
I know the brakes are very different from brakes I am familiar with, so maybe the whole wheel assembly is.
What else do I need to know? I hate the idea of having it towed for a blow-out.
Oh-- and while we are on it-- any reason I couldn't plug up a hole in a tire? That's my usual fix when I pick up a nail. The plugs are very cheap. I have one of those inflators that hooks up to the axillary outlet (what we called the "cigarette lighter" in the 20th century). I can plug and inflate a front tire without taking it off the car, usually.
The saleswoman said I couldn't jack it up, it was too heavy.
So I said that I have a 1.5 ton hydraulic floor jack, and know how to place it safely under the undercarriage. I also Googled, and my car is heavier than similar-sized ICE cars by just a couple hundred pounds, coming in at less than 4,000, so a 1.5 ton jack should lift a quarter of it.
I'm capable of getting a wheel from a junkyard that will fit it, and putting a used tire on it, so I have a spare-- I have done this for most of the cars I've had, because they came with 50 miles/50mpg doughnuts, and I wanted a real spare in case I had a blow on the highway.
But maybe there is more I don't know-- I have a very good 1/2" extension with a cheater bar, for which I can buy any socket the car needs, if I don't already have one.
I know the brakes are very different from brakes I am familiar with, so maybe the whole wheel assembly is.
What else do I need to know? I hate the idea of having it towed for a blow-out.
Oh-- and while we are on it-- any reason I couldn't plug up a hole in a tire? That's my usual fix when I pick up a nail. The plugs are very cheap. I have one of those inflators that hooks up to the axillary outlet (what we called the "cigarette lighter" in the 20th century). I can plug and inflate a front tire without taking it off the car, usually.