rotating tires...

[Yorb]

okay so, just out of curiosity, how does everyone do this? use the spare? use 2 jacks (maybe the jack from another car and my jack?)? or do you just take it to jiffy lube =/

silly question i know but i'd like to do this in as little time as possible (maybe while the oil is draining when i change it tomorrow) ;D

EDIT: also, will jacks hold on gravel/dirt? or should i find a road somewhere where no one will mind if i park my car for an hour or so =/

[ricebike]

me? i got 2 floor jacks & 2 jack stands, 2 X-tire wrenches, socket w/ torque wrench... get a buddy for faster speed.

rip off wheel covers, "break" the lugs, jack up front end, install the jack stands under the frame on both sides, lower jacks till stands take up the weight of car...

proceed to take off wheels @ front (& do oil change while it's in the air), inspect front brakes, lube outer tie rods/lower ball joints if zerk fittings are thurr, wire brush lug bolts/wheel mounting surfaces, apply very small amount of antiseize on threads...

place jacks on rear jack points, raise vehicle (& if you're good @ trying to make it level while in the air, good time to check transmission & diff fluid levels), remove wheels @ rear (do same as above if needed) inspect the CV axle boots, gawk @ the multi-link suspension...

I do the X-modified tire rotation pattern & i don't trust jiffy lube since I know from hearing/experiencing bad things about them overtightening wheels/oil drain plugs...

PS: have some sorta platform (plywood, mebbe?) to distribute the load under the jacks/stands or just use the side of a level road w/ no traffic o' buddy's driveway; u don't want the dreaded, shift-boom-$#!T to happen to u

[hybrid_flyer]

in case you dont know the tire rotation goes......front to back....backs cross and go to the front

never rely on jacks to hold a vehicle...the only thing holding that jack up...is a friggin little piece of rubber seal...if hydraulic pressure drops....down comes the jack

[Yorb]

thats a heckuva lotta work rice =o

hybrid - yeah thanks i have an fsm (actually, the owners manual says too i believe ;D)

and im changing the oil now... turns out i dont have time for the tires today.

but do you think the spare idea would work? jack up one wheel, change to spare, let it down, jack up another wheel, swap the first wheel for this one, let it down, jack up the next wheel, etc until you get back to the spare and swap it with the remaining wheel?

also, one of my brakes squeaks a little bit sometimes. what kinda fluids and stuff should i have ready when i do this so that i can maybe remedy that?

EDIT: how important is the tightening torque? i have a torque wrench but i dont think i have a socket that big.

[ricebike]

dayum u talk about a long time consuming process doing that, Yorb, but it's the safe way to do it if u don't have access to more jacks/ stands...

I had to do it this way on an explorer since my weeny 2ton jack wasn't high enough to lift the vehicle up. took 3x longer that way than what i've described

time to befriend someone in the auto tech school/garage near your house :P

squeaks may indicate thinning out pads: may is the implied word since it can be just some dirt on the rotors if u drive off road sometimes. So, the "squealers" built-in @ the ends of some pads would let u know to change your pads w/in a few hundred miles <or less>. I'll get a pic online later when I stretched it a bit longer 1 time & almost had metal-to-metal contact to the rotors...

I was arguing about the brake fluid level w/ my dad recently. the fluid level is an indicator of the brake pad thickness; as the pad wears out, the fluid in the resevoir would go towards the min line <says captain obvious>. I told him that Jiffy Lube (& hopefully other quick lube chains) have stop "topping off" this DOT 3 or 4 fluid. While under there doing the tire rotation, quick inspection of brake fluid leaks, if any, would take priority over that "indicator."

wheel lug torque is important to me: safety item... too loose & you'll see your wheel fly off during an onramp/offramp to/from the highway.... too tight & you'll risk warping your rotors/strip the wheel lugs/ create a "wobble"/ or somethin somethin

[SmithSR]

In almost all cases, the place you buy tires from will rotate your tires free of charge as part of the free warranty. We use this as an incentive so you'll bring your car in and save you the hassle of spending all that time monkeying with a jack and stands....we like to see your car back at our shop so we can inspect your vehicle and find other worn out items to sell you, and/or make you aware of unusual or excessive tire wear.

[Yorb]

i know my tires are worn, but im too cheap for new ones. =P i just get used to the slippage on turns. they're not bald or anything though, but the front wants are a bit better which is why i wanna rotate.

btw my torque wrench only goes to 100nm, so that wont help much. maybe i'll have to take it somewhere after all =( i didnt think it would take that long though, i mean come on, its just 4 bolts per tire right?

[ricebike]

weird, i know i replied to this last nite...

isn't there a ft.lb rating on that same torque wrench? well, my specs says 98-118N-m (72-87 ft-lb) soo, u can torque your wheel lugs to 100 Nm

I dunno about taking that long; time yourself w/ a stopwatch :P

smith, nah... i'd rather do the rotations myself, eventhough pepboys would do it for free (along w/ free brake inspections & suspension visual checks)... I know some of those newbie tire/lube techs don't know the strength of their own ingersol-rand thunder guns & would break a lug or 2 in the process...

learning to do things myself w/ the help of NICO, made me capable of doing almost everything to my car, short of internal engine, high electrical/electronics, and auto body repair.

& yorb, I don't wanna see u post a thread in the future like this:"hmm, it was a rainy night & I was taking a turn a little too fast, my car lost traction & i hit a tree... RIP" Dont be too cheap!

[Yorb]

the forum went crapola. yeah i replied as well. and yeah my torque wrench has ft-lbs, just only up to 100nm... so yeah i can torque up to 100nm and then guesstimate the remaining nm's with a regular ratchet =P

and yeah believe me i dont wanna lose my 240. im careful. well, except for that one time where i was coming to a t-off stop sign at night and wasnt watching. glanced up 30 feet from the sign, slammed on the brakes, skidded all the way across the intersection and bounced over the ditch on the other side. never even stalled, 240 power! undersides a bit banged up though :< oh well. tires still have tread on em though. all's okay. =)

[SmithSR]

But rotating tires is remedial at best. You could spend the time reading/studying electrical schematics or running your hands over body lines with your eyes closed to feel for imperfections, instead of sweating out a rotate.

Pepboys is crap. No wonder you don't want work done there. I wouldn't either.

[Yorb]

well another reason is i have new wheel spacers to put in.

[ricebike]

Smith: ya, but i've seen other shops that know better in my short-lived career as an autoparts delivery driver. Hmm, like Meineke in Marlton NJ... saw 1st-hand a guy just using an impact wrench to "torque" those wheel nuts down after a rear brake job w/out a "torque stick" attached to his impact, then proceed to hammer on the plastic hub cap... gah! It's remedial, but there are some that overlook the importance of not warping the drums/rotors/ snapping lugs & such. + I have the peace of mind to know that it's been done correctly.

Yorb: U can just torque them to 100 Nm; it falls w/in the torque specs... hope those spacers don't require longer wheel studs.