Pictorial Guide: How to change a flat tyre!

[lohithrao]

iraghava thanks a lot for this thread though i knew the process but was not sure...this has made me clear about it....great Job

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

You only notice it when, one fine day, you try to remove the nut and the spanner just goes about slipping!!! One of the worst possible situations to be in, especially if there are no help available!

Very good point. Should you ever find your self in this unfortunate situation, you can try packing some sand in the wrench. This will surely help, but remember to get the bolts/nuts replaced at the first opportunity

Cheers,

Rajan

[benbsb29]

How important is wheel balancing or alignment after a tyre has been removed, and then put back?

[hydrashok]

The Tyrewallah Strikes Again! Great thread, Ishan!

What's coming up next?

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by iraghava

Correct again but these are still rare on cars in India. The one I can recall off the back of my mind is the RS though.

iraghava, that is precisely my point. Not many people are aware of the different kind of bolts/nuts which can be used. Usually, if you get after-market alloys, a good tyre shop puts these on. Believe me these guys, I helped were lucky that I had the key in my car and that fit for them. (I had to go in another friend's car to the resort where my car was parked & I had to drive 4+4km back and forth to get them the key, but I realized how difficult it was for them )! And they were lucky to run into my friend who knew one of them, so he asked me.

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

How important is wheel balancing or alignment after a tyre has been removed, and then put back?

Removing the tyre and putting it back should not / will not affect the alignment nor balancing.

[gd1418]

If a tyre is removed and put back, it doesn't affect the alignment, but balancing is a must. let me be more explicit - when I said tyre I mean the rubber and not the rim. A tyre is removed for a purpose and not just like that; say for mending a puncture etc.

If that's the case then balancing is a must. Alignment does not get affected even by removing the wheel and putting it back.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

How important is wheel balancing or alignment after a tyre has been removed, and then put back?

[Ricky_63]

Thanks Ishaan for the step by step tyre changing guide.

Tell me if you know (or if anyone else does) why do the European's have this silly & ridiculous system of putting the wheels on the car ? The lug nuts need to be juggled while holding the tyre & voila you get to fix one thread into the drum / disc nstead of the Jap way of doing things, simply slide the tyre into the already fixed threaded lugs !????????

This is one MAJOR grouse I have with European cars.....GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Is there a way of going to the more sensible way of changing a tyre ???

Plus having a Slip disc (in the vertebrae) does not help very much :-(

[srijit]

woot. Great thread Ishan. Even though I follow your procedure, its nice to know why I do it the way I do

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Tell me if you know (or if anyone else does) why do the European's have this silly & ridiculous system of putting the wheels on the car ? The lug nuts need to be juggled while holding the tyre & voila you get to fix one thread into the drum / disc nstead of the Jap way of doing things, simply slide the tyre into the already fixed threaded lugs !????????

This is one MAJOR grouse I have with European cars.....GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Is there a way of going to the more sensible way of changing a tyre ???

None as far as I know Ricky. That used to be a major gripe for my friend's Opel too! I think it's best that you carry a compressor & avoid doing the tyre change yourself unless there is no other option.

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Plus having a Slip disc (in the vertebrae) does not help very much :-(

Yup, same problem here, I have a slipped disc too. Hence, only do the change if there is no other option.

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Tell me if you know (or if anyone else does) why do the European's have this silly & ridiculous system of putting the wheels on the car ? The lug nuts need to be juggled while holding the tyre & voila you get to fix one thread into the drum / disc nstead of the Jap way of doing things, simply slide the tyre into the already fixed threaded lugs !????????

This is one MAJOR grouse I have with European cars.....GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR

The European wheel / axle joints are also know as Bolted joints:

Bolted joints are one of the most common elements in construction and machine design. They consist of cap screws or studs that capture and join other parts, and are secured with the mating of screw threads.

In this method the bolt is tightened to a calculated clamp load, usually by applying a measured torque load. The joint will be designed such that the clamp load is never overcome by the forces acting on the joint (and therefore the joined parts see no relative motion).

The Japanese wheel / axle joints are also know as Stud joints:

The Japanese stud joint does not have a designed clamp load but relies on the shear strength of the bolt shaft. This may include clevis linkages, joints that can move, and joints that rely on locking mechanism (like lock washers, thread adhesives, and lock nuts).

Check this for more details:

Bolted joint - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cheers,

Rajan

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by im_srini

Yes, there is such a thing as tightening the lug-nuts too much...

I once broke a tire wrench (really !) trying to get a lug nut off that had been tightened using a pneumatic wrench.

Thanks Srini! And yes, there is overtightening of the nuts but like you & me both mentioned, that usually happens when using a pneumatic wrench!

Originally Posted by condor

Speaking of spanners, is there any clamp kind of thing that can support the ' + ' type (the one seen in these pics) wheel spanner ?

Haven't seen one yet Condor. You might have to have a custom fabrication done for that.

Originally Posted by anupmathur

All cars were yours? Or did you have to do these as a tyrewallah?!!

Don't you badly NEED Slime or some such preventative?
There's now Ultraseal, Ride-On TPS, Airseal Tyremilk etc. all available in India.

Most were mine Sir, some belonged to friends/family. Mostly the job to change tyres was mine since I was usually the most experienced & also because seeing someone doing it in a ham-fisted manner usually made me take over the task to speed up things!

Not to mention, that my cars do about 40k kms a year on average & we do not employ drivers most of the time apart for the occasions when my mother needs to travel out of station.

About the Slime etc., I've never been convinced of their functionality (even more so ever since the introduction of tubeless tyres) and so have never used them. Have you used them? What's the experience been like?

Originally Posted by hydrashok

The Tyrewallah Strikes Again! Great thread, Ishan!

What's coming up next?

Thanks Anup! I was thinking of doing a guide on how to change a car's Battery & another one of how to get the wheels balanced. What do you think?

Lohith/Srijit/Ricky - Thanks!

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Please do a "how to replace headlight bulbs and adjust the beams". It's necessary to know for everyone traveling on the highways.
Changing battery is not so critical to know because you buy a battery from a shop and they will do it in any case. But it's nice to know, because if the dealer is far away and doesn't want to send the battery to you, you might need to do it yourself.
Wheel balancing/alignment is a machine oriented mechanic's job that cannot be done on your own.
I think jump-starting a car is easy and important to know.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Diagonally tightening the nuts: this is to ensure that the wheel is properly flush, otherwise it might settle at a slight angle.

I don't think it is so important for removing, but no reason not to!

Somebody mentioned WD40. My immediate reaction was that to lubricate one's wheel nuts is not a good idea! Any more on this?

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by iraghava

About the Slime etc., I've never been convinced of their functionality (even more so ever since the introduction of tubeless tyres) and so have never used them. Have you used them? What's the experience been like?

In fact these preventatives are at their best with tubless tyres and not with tubed ones. From tubed tyres a puncturing object HAS to be removed at the earliest, else the tube might get shredded! This problem is NOT there with tubeless.

I too am 'new' to these, but I have had Slime in my Scorpio's tyres about 15 months now.

One day, I saw a biggish nail in the right front tyre. I did nothing about it for nearly 2 months. Regular check of air pressure showed zero loss.

Then one day I jacked up the car, pulled out the nail and manually gave the wheel a spin. This is very important as these preventatives ONLY work in dynamic condition and will often FAIL in static condition.

On pulling out the nail a sssshhhhh sound began, and after the wheel had made about 6 or 8 revolutions, the sound abruptly stopped. The Slime had done its job! Total pressure drop was about 1 psi, measured, as always, with the 'pen' type gauge I carry.

Most interestingly, the air loss from the tyres has been unbelievably low over these 15 months or so, after adding Slime. As I had done the procedure during summer (June), I had to add about 2 to 3 psi when winter had set in (Mid-November). From 32 psi (which is what I maintain) the pressure in all tyres had come down to 29~30 psi.
Recently (in Sept) I had to add about 2 psi to each tyre. That is the sum total of air filling that has had to be done in 15 months.

Currently, I can say I am more than satisfied with the Slime treatment. I consider the Rs.5000/- as well spent, for sliming the tyres.

Other claimed benefits are that it keeps wheels running much cooler as these preventatives are esentially ethylene glycol based, ie. they are very good thermal conductors. It is claimed that correctly inflated (as opposed to under inflated) and cool running wheels are likely to last 25% more than 'untreated' wheels.

I am in no position to comment on this aspect yet, and will probably never be as my annual running is about 8000 kms, mostly highway (about 40%) and (bad) mountain roads (about 60%). The tyres will probably be due for renewal on account of ageing rather than wear!


More info can be googled, and some sites are given here:
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