h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Changing a Car's Flat Tyre - Update of A996924 - A11824184
Author: Eco Worrier - U290

This is an update to remove potentially dangerous advice.

I've tried to keep the original tone to the entry, am more than happy to remove it and make this more serious and boring if necessary.

It's worth noting somewhere that before you start that you should see that you have WD40, a screwdriver, a brick or block of wood, a complete jack, a jackhandle, and a sturdy pipe that fits over the jackhandle. If you don't have these, you'd might as well call a service and save yourself the pain and filth. You might want to go get these for next time. Perhaps put this near the end of the article?

What's a hazard, that you turn one on?

Wheel trim or hubcap off...->Wheel trim or hubcap off of the tire that is flat



Flimsy jack->hmm...how does one know ahead of time that the jack is inadequate to the task? American cars tend to come with a jack already fixed in place around the tire, and there'd be no space there to put a jackstand in, so this is something you'd have to plan for. All the cars I have owned have always had a jack that's strong enough that came with the car.

In any case, it's rather hard to remove the nuts if you haven't already loosened them before lifting the tire, independent of any hazard being run by not doing it. Perhaps emphasize again how hard undoing the nuts is?



Starting at the top one->you mention later on that the order of final tightening matters, but it can help you handle an unwieldy tire if you also do the initial tightening in the same way.

"It's worth noting somewhere that before you start that you should see that you have WD40, a screwdriver, a brick or block of wood, a complete jack, a jackhandle, and a sturdy pipe that fits over the jackhandle."

Well, most of the time you will be pulling up at the roadside, so won't be able to make sure you have anything.

While it's a good idea to carry around a good number of tools for various maintainence jobs on the car, we're also told not to leave valuables in the car. Having a brand new set of jump leads stolen from my car I know about this! Most cars have a built in home for a jack and wheel brace, anything else would be on view.

The 'flimsy' jack section was part of the original entry, which is part of what I wanted to 'preserve' (the riginal author has been around reasonably recently) while at the same time not really being happy with. In my experience, a trolly jack is what they mean by 'not flimsy' because the jacks that come with the car are fine, they are just a little crap looking when compared with the professionals! Who has space to carry one of those around though?

This is part of the original 'tone' of the entry, should I remove it?

"you mention later on that the order of final tightening matters, but it can help you handle an unwieldy tire if you also do the initial tightening in the same way." I thought I had done that already. The tyre is on, then the nutes are tightened into position, starting at the top.

Other comments changed in the entry.

Oh, and the entry is to help people do it themselves so that they *don't* have to call out a breakdown service. In the UK a lot of people don't have it anyway.

There's no reason the article has to be limited to "Changing a Car's Flat Tyre Right Now". If the subject is merely "Changing a Car's Flat Tyre", then you can mention that it's a good idea to have extra tools handy just in case you will need them. A recipe may have instructions for bowls, mixers measuring equipment, and ingredients that the chef doesn't have in his kitchen at the exact moment he reads it, but that doesn't make it a bad recipe.

A for making it consistent with the tone of the original, you can put these tools at the end of the article, after the reader has read everything. One of the funny things about changing tires is the exigency of the situation.

Burglary of cars for tools may be very common in the UK. It's never happened to me in California, nor do I really expect it to. Burglars here are into the easily sold things like radios, handicapped placards, and CD players. The cost of these tools (and replacing them, too, if it comes to that) is much less than a tow, or at least it is so here on the west coast of the United States. In any case, burglary isn't the subject of your article, or it wasn't.

How often is one likely to be burgled compared to the chance one's tire will be caught flat?

I've had one of each

This looks excellent to me, Mina - I'll have a thorough read later

I've changed the title. I'm not updating this into a completely different entry when it's been in the EG for years!

Thanks Rich.

The worst is when your car gets burgled because you had to leave it somewhere with a flat.

A few screwdrivers, a hammer, vice grips and some duct tape are things that are too often not in the car when you need them.

I once changed a tire that the rim had practically welded itself to the hub (maybe the e-brake left on by the owner?) A hammer would have been very nice to have.

If you are worried about visibility, just cover them with a

I'd rather not add that into the entry - covering things with blankets or towels is more likely to make people think that there is something valuable being hidden. Crimestoppes advise us to leave nothing in our cars anymore. Having been hit by car crime at least twice, I tend to agree with that. http://www.secureyourmotor.gov.uk/cars/topten.html

Y'know, because of the name change, I didn't know it was you!

Let me know when you're ready for this to be updated.

Just found this... One question though - are you allowed to change your own tyre on the hard shoulder of a motorway in the UK nowadays? If not, is it worth putting that fact into the entry.

Yes, it is allowed as long as it causes no risk to other people. It's definitely not recommended if it's on the offside of the car. In reality a police car is likely to turn up very quickly if it looks as if you are changing a tyre.

The Highway Code recommends that even simple repairs are not attempted, so I'll add that.

Jim,

I think it's ready. Sorry about the name change, I should have mentioned it!

I have in fact been around the forum fairly regularly both before and after writing the entry . I was treating it more as a humorous approach , but am in no way fussed about the updating . I am merely surprised that anyone had bothered to read it .

brislib

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Changing a Flat Tyre in an Emergency - Update of A996924' to 'Changing a Flat Tyre in an Emergency'.

Well done on a superb update.

Glad you approve brislib, it just needed a very few changes, nothing major.

I say just call somebody, you pay enough to the companies, let them do their job for God sake. They should not feel put out, as it's their job + you should not feel embarrassed as you've probably already paid them.

God, you should see what rubbish people bring into A+E, where I work. However we are paid to see them, so we do.

Wattaray Bro (he is a dog, he is the dog)

Great job on this entry!
Just a few little details that I would reccomend.

-break loose the lugnuts while the tyre is firmly on the ground, but do not loosen them more than a turn or two, they will come off easily when the wheel is off the ground if you first break them on solid ground.

-After jacking the tyre off the ground, do the bump test to prove the stability of the jack. Lift the tyre so it is off the ground and give a light tap or bump to the car. If the jack is unstable it will fall onto the (still attached) flat. This is much better than watching the car fall onto the axle, or worse your leg!

-Seat the replacement tyre and fasten the lugs as far as you can by hand. You will fully tighten the lugnuts when the wheel is firm on the ground (don't forget to do this).

Sorry for yammering on but this is a favorite subject of mine...

Again, Great Job. I never knew that a company had used a front wheel emergency brake! (Seems like a good idea since most cable-to-drum rear E-brakes work worth spit!)

I've just put it through the update forum. If you want any more changes you'll have to put it back through updating again.

I knew about the front wheel handbrake from the time I went on a skidpan - citroens weren't allowed as the nice policemen couldn't use the handbrake to make the cars skid.

I would recommend checking that you actually have a spare tyre in the boot, and that it is inflated before you try to shift the wheel nuts/bolts! How many of us right now assume that we have a spare but have never actually checked!

I would also suggest removing the spare from the boot and sliding it under the car sill near the wheel being removed, so that should the jack slip when the flat tyre has been removed, the car will fall onto the spare. This could reduce damage to the car and prevent yourself from being crushed. Likewise when fitting the spare, slide the flat tyre under the car.