Changing a car wheel

[Worldlife]

Noticed Mrs W/L's tyre was lower than normal on her return from the office. The suspension system on our Citroen's is excellent and compensates for differences in wheel loadings.

Inflated the tyre to the correct pressure and established that there was a fast slow puncture!!!!!

It's a doddle using a jack on the Citroen (providing one remembers it is on top of the spare wheel suspended below the boot). First one uses the car hydraulic system with the engine on to lift the body to maximum height.

With the tyre still on contact with the ground I began to undo the wheel nuts. Is this a "girlie" job? I found the only way to release them was to use foot leverage on the brace and obviously one needs a reasonably strong wrist and hand to counterbalance this force.

I was absolutely stumped on the fourth bolt - it just would not budge. Ended up taking the car to a specialist tyre dealer and after looking at the remaining tread and cost of repair opted for a replacement tyre.

The offending wheel nut was easily removed by the garage compressed air tool.

So here are my questions:-

If the wheel nuts were so difficult to remove had they been overtightened?

Are the power tools at garages regularly checked to ensure that they are tightening wheel nuts to the correct torque?

Using the cars own toolkit would it be reasonably easy for wheel nuts adjusted to the correct torque be removed by most car users be they male, female, young or elderly.

How expensive are wrenches that would ensure one could remove wheel bolts easily and tighten them to the correct torque?

Should changing a tyre no longer be regarded as a normal and safe roadside activity and the alternatives of using a foam repair and inflation cylinder or calling a Rescue Service be the norm?

Hi,

a fast slow puncture!!!!!

Whassoneofthem then ??.

I agree about the compressed air things..They do overtighten the wheelnuts somewhat. Always re-do them @ home after having had new tyres.

Recently took delivery of (well you know) and the nuts @ the factory settings are very slack by comparison to anything else I have ever had to remove. In fact I went around and tightened em all up a touch!.

STS

[Worldlife]

Guess with a really slow puncture the tyre goes down either overnight or over several hours.

With some punctures it is possible to lose air faster than one can pump it in and thus fail to inflate the tyre.

So a fast slow puncture is one where the tyre holds air but deflates within an hour or so.

Trust this is as helpful as ever

Hi,

Overposter

STS

[Worldlife]

That's a really serious allegation STS.

Does it mean making too many posts or putting posts above other peoples?

Hmmmm... but this post appears below yours so you are overposting me right now!

If I'm upsetting people I had better stop

Hi,

Yeah..... Right...... On all 16 counts

Someone has got to do it......... Might as well be us 2.

STS

[Worldlife]

"The End is Nigh" Unless someone posts.

Hmmm maybe I'll let STS have the last word tonight.

Must go soon. Up at 6.00 am to get Mrs W/L's breakfast!!

Hi,

Overboiler then ??

STS

[Dantony]

Your wheel nuts appear to have been over-tightened, it should be possible to remove them with the car tools.

There's a neat wheel nut spanner in car shops, it is a simple L-shaped bar with a square for a spanner socket on the short leg, costs £10 to £15.

The spanner socket supplied is double ended to cater for different sized nuts.

The long leg has a sliding tube to extend the leverage.

Tighten the nuts with the tube closed, this should give a sensible torque.

Undo the nuts with the tube extended, that makes it easier.

If the nuts have been tightened by a "professional" use a four or five foot length of scaffold tube over the lever to undo them. They like it if you have to go back for help.

Spring-loaded adjustable torque spanners are available but it is not really worth the expense unless you have other uses for them.

Roadside tyre changing requires common sense, don't try to do it if it means you are exposed to passing traffic, remember that motorway hard shoulders are the sites for a lot of accidents, standard advice is to get out of the car, climb over the near-side barrier and call for help.

You may note that when the AA or RAC patrols stop to help they usually park their vehicle to give them some cover from stupid or sleeping drivers.

Dantony

[Worldlife]

If the nuts have been tightened by a "professional" use a four or five foot length of scaffold tube over the lever to undo them.

Just in case I pop a bit of scaffold tube in the car tool kit

You just don't have these things with you normally when you are out for the day in the car

Thanks Dantony for the advice on the wheel nut spanner - might give it a whirl.

In future might be sensible to check the wheel bolts at home and if necessary find something to apply extra leverage to loosen and reset to the correct torque.