Like so many things, a little lube can make the experience nicer.
TBH, I can’t remember the last time I had to change a flat tire. I don’t know if that is good luck or just bad memory.
@macromeh@yakkoTDI
Still don’t use it on the lugs [bolts] or lug nuts, lest they self-loosen.
The best place to use either grease or never-seize is is around the inside of the wheel and its hub- then you don’t need a home-free [i.e., undomiciled, un-housed, or housing-insecure] person and construction materials to get it off once the lug nuts have been removed.
@PhysAssist@yakkoTDI I use some of this on wheel studs (and tighten to factory torque specs) and have never had a problem with either unwanted loosening or difficult removal.
My wife had a 70’s compact pickup when we married. She had rarely used it and it sat for a long time. After many more years of sitting unused, we gave the engine and transmission to a friend’s son, scrapped the cab and I turned the bed and rear axle into a trailer to pull behind my tractor.
Well, eventually there was a flat tire on the trailer. I tried many different methods to remove the rusted, seized lug nuts (various penetrating products, heat, long breaker bar, etc.) with no success - they were essentially welded to the studs. I finally had to burn the lug nuts off with a torch.
A little anti-seize can make life much simpler.
@macromeh@yakkoTDI
That sounds like a specific special circumstance, and while I could not find any specific instances where it was proven to be a problem, my [brief] research indicated that the torque specifications given by virtually all automotive manufacturers is for dry fasteners, and in contrast to what I thought would be the problem [the lug nuts self-loosening or working/vibrating free], the actual issue appears to be that by lubricating the threads, the axial torque on the studs/lugs/bolts is significantly increased, which risks breaking them off due to increased traction effects.
But as always, YMMV.
I haven’t changed a tire lately, but I have had to fill and refill flat tires with air. I keep two the inflators in the car for said purpose. My tires seem to attract nails.
@heartny Picked up a screw in my 1 day old tires a few months back, luckily the TPMS warned me in time. Good thing I always keep a portable inflator in the car, but it still took a long time to get the pressure up from less than 20 psi. Now I also carry a quick tire patch kit and a slime type liquid patch as a last resort.
@heartny@kuoh
I spent months having to re-inflate my tire within about 3-4 months of getting my car new to replace the one the insurance totaled due to lack of parts availability- [it was an otherwise repairable 2020].
I eventually took it off once I got sick of the necessity and took it to a tore repair/replace place, where they said that they couldn’t repair it because the screw I picked up was in the shoulder, and not in the flat part of the tread, but that I could either repair it myself, or buy a whole set of 4 new tires [AWD car requirement].
I bought a Harbor Freight tire repair kit, and repaired it with a glued in plug- and it has been fine ever since- to the point that I now really do have to replace all 4 tires because they are all ‘baldinis’, with almost no tread left in the contact areas, which I noticed when I took them off to put my snow tires on 2 months ago.
@heartny@PhysAssist@pmarin@Star2236 Cost is the biggest reason, especially if the tires are still within 50% and a complete set of all seasons for SUVs are typically over $1k. Also when it happens, you aren’t always near home or have the time to comparison shop for the best deal, so you’re at the mercy of the tire shop’s inventory.
It’s recommended if there is a significant tread depth difference, but not required. Even if not replaced as a full set, there wouldn’t necessarily be much of an issue if it has open differentials, which some AWD systems have. You can easily tell if only one front and one rear wheel spins and the car remains immobile. It’s more of a problem for limited slip or a locked center diff, which was common with older shift on the fly 4WD transmissions, not sure about modern 4WD systems.
My Fiat is one of those cars that doesn’t have a spare. Instead it’s an air pump with a sealant solution that can be pumped into the tire. Not so helpful if you park in a spot someone else in South Boston cleared after a snowstorm and find your sidewall slit in the morning.
@ItalianScallion
S. Boston was really brutal in the mid-80’s when
I lived and worked there nice to know that some things never change [not really tho].
I don’t specifically remember my last time, my wife is always getting flats and I have to go change them for her… But I remember my first time. Was on a first date with a girl. Meeting her in a place I had never been before - torrential downpour, at night, couldn’t see entrance to parking lot and drove over curb. Tire was ruined, fortunately no other damage to car. Great way to start a first date.
Later on that same date took her to the emergency room, she sliced her finger open on catfood and had to have stitches (big coincidence considering today’s sale item and fact I’m sitting in an ER right now)
Would have been an awesome meet-story if we lasted but that awesome first date story was lost on a fling that only lasted two months.
It’s called aaa. I don’t change tires anymore. It’s well worth the money if you do any amount of driving. I can remember when they first added the pay a little bit more and be able to tow it further. I hadn’t had to have them tow a car in years. And in that same week or month at least my daughter’s girlfriend’s car installed and had to go back to the dealer that had just worked on it. And it was about 70 Mi away and I had a hundred mile t o w
@Cerridwyn I had a buddy who made it a point to ration his AAA tow miles for the year carefully and never waste them. Once he had the car towed a town over to save on gas when he was headed there. (He was a madman, obviously.)
Two scissors jacks, two sturdy rubber chocks, a big cordless DeWalt impact, and a 12V compressor were nearly enough. The compressor’s plug melted. But as this was a rescue run, I just hauled the spare to a nearby tire shop, got it aired up, and was done shortly after. (And yes, I brought a big torque wrench for final tightening.)
@werehatrack
Think about getting a breaker bar, because sometimes even a really good impact wrench doesn’t have enough grunt to loosen a really tight [or crudded up, or rusted] lug nut.
E.g.: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-25-in-breaker-bar-60819.html
Note: this is the regular price, but they always have some on sale, or discounted via coupons
@PhysAssist Oh, I carry a 36" breaker bar, but my big DeWalt hits over 900 ft/lbs according the TTC, and I have yet to encounter a car or light truck lug it can’t remove.
I had a flat on 476 one time on the way home from Musikfest and could not get the lug nuts OFF, so I got a righteous wrench (aka 4-way, aka universal) for the trunk and have never had a problem since, although sometimes you have to hit the left arm (holding it carefully level) a bit. A compressor and impact driver sound pleasant but I’d save the room for a full-size spare.
There’s a lot to said for AAA but sometimes you have to have a LOT of patience.
There’s a lot to said for patience but sometimes you have to have more than I do.
I’ve never changed a tire. My dad showed me how when I first started driving, but when I got my first flat, I couldn’t get the lug nuts off. I have roadside assistance through my insurance, so I just call them.
@lisagd
While I really don’t want SWMBO to do her own tire changes, [We do have roadside assistance gratis from Honda, but they can be very long on arriving.] I bought a 12-volt impact wrench that plugs into the power port on her truck just in case that is even an issue.
But we also have a breaker bar and apropos socket for the lug nuts in each vehicle- just in case.
The last time I had a flat that required a spare was in a rental car in the fall. I had rented a car from SixT and they upgraded me to a BMW. Fun to drive, but while we were at a local community theater watching a play my left front tire went flat. Popped the trunk and there was no spare, no slime, no compressor… nothing. Called SixT to find out what the deal was and they said it was a run-flat tire. Told me I could drive 50 mph up to 50 miles. Offered to change it out for a different car if I took it back, but I was 75 miles away from the airport where I got it so that was a no-go. They said there was a tire shop 24 miles away that I could take it to and they would change out the tire. Quick google search found a tire shop 4 miles away which I drove to on the run flat.
Waited 10 minutes till I could get it into a bay. They threw it on the lift and found a screw in the thread. Pulled the screw, put a plug in, aired up the tire, put it down on the ground and back out of the bay. Whole thing took less than 20 minutes. When I went to pay my bill the guy at the counter said “never mind it’s on us”. My wife and I scraped together $10 in cash and gave it to him and told him to go buy a six pack of beer after work. There are still good people in this world!
My most common flats are in my riding mower. I use it as a bush hog way too many times and end up driving over pointy pieces of bamboo or branches. Harbor freights plug kits have been able to solve all of those except one slice in a side wall which required a tire change.
@chienfou@PhysAssist We had one of these as a rental car. Actually one of most awesome cheap (but limited) 4WDs ever made. Loaded with camping gear and going over gravel roads. Got a slow tire leak and was able to continue on and get it fixed at a local shop, and then the rental car company reimbursed us for the repair cost.
this was my experience in Tennessee « in a roadside ditch. » as the ad goes don’t end up in a roadside ditch. the story is still too painful to tell but no injuries, except to the vehicle by incompetent and unequipped road service. And yet I was grateful for it because they got me going to live and fight another day.
My best tire story is driving North on the Alaska Pipeline Road (aka the “Haul Road”) from Fairbanks. All Gravel and mostly trucks on it but some locals too. Got a flat and pulled over to a siding area and within minutes a guy in a pickup came over to help us. He whipped out a hydraulic floor jack from the back of his truck and swapped our tire for us (our spare was OK). People up there help each other. He said he always carries 2 spare tires because otherwise if you need a second one you are out of luck and about 50 miles from any form of help.
Got the tire repaired by a tire shop by the bridge over the Yukon river. Tire guy used the trick of splashing gasoline or starter fluid into the rim so that it would seal quickly when you tossed a flame into it. With our new tire spent the night in another gravel turnout since a bridge was closed for maintenance. Next day we saw the guy who helped us again in the town of Coldfoot (great name). He was going to take a small plane to a lake where he lived or ran a lodge or something. Maybe his own plane. Was a great trip the whole thing. Once I got back to “normal” work one guy’s wife said it sounded like the “honeymoon from Hell” but it was all good.
@pmarin
That sounds like my version of fun times- just as long as it wasn’t brutally cold and snowing out.
That’s the “2 is one, and 1 is none” school of planning ahead with redundancy, which is rumored at least to have come from the special forces communities.
I’d say that’s why I have so many knives, flashlights, etc., but I’d be lying- when I see new or interesting ones, I just can’t stop myself from buying them.
Like so many things, a little lube can make the experience nicer.
TBH, I can’t remember the last time I had to change a flat tire. I don’t know if that is good luck or just bad memory.
@macromeh Never use lube on lug nuts/bolts. Use anti seize like I do.
@macromeh @yakkoTDI
Still don’t use it on the lugs [bolts] or lug nuts, lest they self-loosen.
The best place to use either grease or never-seize is is around the inside of the wheel and its hub- then you don’t need a home-free [i.e., undomiciled, un-housed, or housing-insecure] person and construction materials to get it off once the lug nuts have been removed.
I speak from long experience.
@PhysAssist @yakkoTDI I use some of this on wheel studs (and tighten to factory torque specs) and have never had a problem with either unwanted loosening or difficult removal.
My wife had a 70’s compact pickup when we married. She had rarely used it and it sat for a long time. After many more years of sitting unused, we gave the engine and transmission to a friend’s son, scrapped the cab and I turned the bed and rear axle into a trailer to pull behind my tractor.
Well, eventually there was a flat tire on the trailer. I tried many different methods to remove the rusted, seized lug nuts (various penetrating products, heat, long breaker bar, etc.) with no success - they were essentially welded to the studs. I finally had to burn the lug nuts off with a torch.
A little anti-seize can make life much simpler.
@macromeh @yakkoTDI
That sounds like a specific special circumstance, and while I could not find any specific instances where it was proven to be a problem, my [brief] research indicated that the torque specifications given by virtually all automotive manufacturers is for dry fasteners, and in contrast to what I thought would be the problem [the lug nuts self-loosening or working/vibrating free], the actual issue appears to be that by lubricating the threads, the axial torque on the studs/lugs/bolts is significantly increased, which risks breaking them off due to increased traction effects.
But as always, YMMV.
@macromeh @PhysAssist The anti seize I use is from Wurth and is copper infused.
I haven’t changed a tire lately, but I have had to fill and refill flat tires with air. I keep two the inflators in the car for said purpose. My tires seem to attract nails.
@heartny Picked up a screw in my 1 day old tires a few months back, luckily the TPMS warned me in time. Good thing I always keep a portable inflator in the car, but it still took a long time to get the pressure up from less than 20 psi. Now I also carry a quick tire patch kit and a slime type liquid patch as a last resort.
KuoH
@heartny @kuoh
I spent months having to re-inflate my tire within about 3-4 months of getting my car new to replace the one the insurance totaled due to lack of parts availability- [it was an otherwise repairable 2020].
I eventually took it off once I got sick of the necessity and took it to a tore repair/replace place, where they said that they couldn’t repair it because the screw I picked up was in the shoulder, and not in the flat part of the tread, but that I could either repair it myself, or buy a whole set of 4 new tires [AWD car requirement].
I bought a Harbor Freight tire repair kit, and repaired it with a glued in plug- and it has been fine ever since- to the point that I now really do have to replace all 4 tires because they are all ‘baldinis’, with almost no tread left in the contact areas, which I noticed when I took them off to put my snow tires on 2 months ago.
@heartny @kuoh @PhysAssist I had a similar experience with an “unrepairable” tire. Never had a problem with the plug patch that I DIY’ed.
@heartny @kuoh
That was supposed to be ‘tire’ shop.
I blame myself…
@heartny @kuoh @PhysAssist
AWD cars require you to replace all tires at one time? People need to tell you this when you buy an AWD car
@heartny @kuoh @PhysAssist @Star2236 Depends on the type of system but yeah, that makes sense. I don’t see why you would not, though.
@heartny @PhysAssist @pmarin @Star2236 Cost is the biggest reason, especially if the tires are still within 50% and a complete set of all seasons for SUVs are typically over $1k. Also when it happens, you aren’t always near home or have the time to comparison shop for the best deal, so you’re at the mercy of the tire shop’s inventory.
It’s recommended if there is a significant tread depth difference, but not required. Even if not replaced as a full set, there wouldn’t necessarily be much of an issue if it has open differentials, which some AWD systems have. You can easily tell if only one front and one rear wheel spins and the car remains immobile. It’s more of a problem for limited slip or a locked center diff, which was common with older shift on the fly 4WD transmissions, not sure about modern 4WD systems.
KuoH
@heartny @kuoh @pmarin @Star2236
This was a 2023 Honda.
My Fiat is one of those cars that doesn’t have a spare. Instead it’s an air pump with a sealant solution that can be pumped into the tire. Not so helpful if you park in a spot someone else in South Boston cleared after a snowstorm and find your sidewall slit in the morning.
@ItalianScallion
S. Boston was really brutal in the mid-80’s when
I lived and worked there nice to know that some things never change [not really tho].
I don’t specifically remember my last time, my wife is always getting flats and I have to go change them for her… But I remember my first time. Was on a first date with a girl. Meeting her in a place I had never been before - torrential downpour, at night, couldn’t see entrance to parking lot and drove over curb. Tire was ruined, fortunately no other damage to car. Great way to start a first date.
Later on that same date took her to the emergency room, she sliced her finger open on catfood and had to have stitches (big coincidence considering today’s sale item and fact I’m sitting in an ER right now)
Would have been an awesome meet-story if we lasted but that awesome first date story was lost on a fling that only lasted two months.
MEALS! DEALS! EELS! AWESOME!
@OnionSoup The universe was sending you a message …
You’re in an ER? Hope things are okay??
@Kyeh yes, I was when I sent that. Took my daughter in. Everything will be OK but they’re holding her until the morning. We’re finally home now.
@OnionSoup Yikes, I’m glad she’s going to be OK.
@Kyeh thank you. Me too, but probably not going to get any sleep tonight knowing she’s there even though I know it’s just for monitoring.
@OnionSoup Yeah, I imagine it will be a long night. I hope she’s back home soon!!!
@Kyeh @OnionSoup I hope your daughter is well and safely home now!
It’s called aaa. I don’t change tires anymore. It’s well worth the money if you do any amount of driving. I can remember when they first added the pay a little bit more and be able to tow it further. I hadn’t had to have them tow a car in years. And in that same week or month at least my daughter’s girlfriend’s car installed and had to go back to the dealer that had just worked on it. And it was about 70 Mi away and I had a hundred mile t o w
@Cerridwyn I had a buddy who made it a point to ration his AAA tow miles for the year carefully and never waste them. Once he had the car towed a town over to save on gas when he was headed there. (He was a madman, obviously.)
Two scissors jacks, two sturdy rubber chocks, a big cordless DeWalt impact, and a 12V compressor were nearly enough. The compressor’s plug melted. But as this was a rescue run, I just hauled the spare to a nearby tire shop, got it aired up, and was done shortly after. (And yes, I brought a big torque wrench for final tightening.)
@werehatrack
Think about getting a breaker bar, because sometimes even a really good impact wrench doesn’t have enough grunt to loosen a really tight [or crudded up, or rusted] lug nut.
E.g.: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-25-in-breaker-bar-60819.html
Note: this is the regular price, but they always have some on sale, or discounted via coupons
@PhysAssist Oh, I carry a 36" breaker bar, but my big DeWalt hits over 900 ft/lbs according the TTC, and I have yet to encounter a car or light truck lug it can’t remove.
I had a flat on 476 one time on the way home from Musikfest and could not get the lug nuts OFF, so I got a righteous wrench (aka 4-way, aka universal) for the trunk and have never had a problem since, although sometimes you have to hit the left arm (holding it carefully level) a bit. A compressor and impact driver sound pleasant but I’d save the room for a full-size spare.
There’s a lot to said for AAA but sometimes you have to have a LOT of patience.
There’s a lot to said for patience but sometimes you have to have more than I do.
I’ve never changed a tire. My dad showed me how when I first started driving, but when I got my first flat, I couldn’t get the lug nuts off. I have roadside assistance through my insurance, so I just call them.
@lisagd
While I really don’t want SWMBO to do her own tire changes, [We do have roadside assistance gratis from Honda, but they can be very long on arriving.] I bought a 12-volt impact wrench that plugs into the power port on her truck just in case that is even an issue.
But we also have a breaker bar and apropos socket for the lug nuts in each vehicle- just in case.
The last time I had a flat that required a spare was in a rental car in the fall. I had rented a car from SixT and they upgraded me to a BMW. Fun to drive, but while we were at a local community theater watching a play my left front tire went flat. Popped the trunk and there was no spare, no slime, no compressor… nothing. Called SixT to find out what the deal was and they said it was a run-flat tire. Told me I could drive 50 mph up to 50 miles. Offered to change it out for a different car if I took it back, but I was 75 miles away from the airport where I got it so that was a no-go. They said there was a tire shop 24 miles away that I could take it to and they would change out the tire. Quick google search found a tire shop 4 miles away which I drove to on the run flat.
Waited 10 minutes till I could get it into a bay. They threw it on the lift and found a screw in the thread. Pulled the screw, put a plug in, aired up the tire, put it down on the ground and back out of the bay. Whole thing took less than 20 minutes. When I went to pay my bill the guy at the counter said “never mind it’s on us”. My wife and I scraped together $10 in cash and gave it to him and told him to go buy a six pack of beer after work. There are still good people in this world!
My most common flats are in my riding mower. I use it as a bush hog way too many times and end up driving over pointy pieces of bamboo or branches. Harbor freights plug kits have been able to solve all of those except one slice in a side wall which required a tire change.
@chienfou
Yeah, sidewall damage is almost always a no go from there on.
@chienfou @PhysAssist We had one of these as a rental car. Actually one of most awesome cheap (but limited) 4WDs ever made. Loaded with camping gear and going over gravel roads. Got a slow tire leak and was able to continue on and get it fixed at a local shop, and then the rental car company reimbursed us for the repair cost.
/image 1990 Toyota Tercel Wagon
POKER! JOKER! NOT MEDIOCRE! AWESOME!
Bonus story: when I was 20 we spent 7,000 miles driving (inefficiently) across the U.S.
We got exactly one flat tire and it was in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. It might be the worst spot in the country to change a flat.
@jouest That does sound pretty bad. Did you have the tunnel road service come help you or were you on your own?
@jouest
Sounds like hell- on wheels…
this was my experience in Tennessee « in a roadside ditch. » as the ad goes don’t end up in a roadside ditch. the story is still too painful to tell but no injuries, except to the vehicle by incompetent and unequipped road service. And yet I was grateful for it because they got me going to live and fight another day.
@pmarin
Owie!
My best tire story is driving North on the Alaska Pipeline Road (aka the “Haul Road”) from Fairbanks. All Gravel and mostly trucks on it but some locals too. Got a flat and pulled over to a siding area and within minutes a guy in a pickup came over to help us. He whipped out a hydraulic floor jack from the back of his truck and swapped our tire for us (our spare was OK). People up there help each other. He said he always carries 2 spare tires because otherwise if you need a second one you are out of luck and about 50 miles from any form of help.
Got the tire repaired by a tire shop by the bridge over the Yukon river. Tire guy used the trick of splashing gasoline or starter fluid into the rim so that it would seal quickly when you tossed a flame into it. With our new tire spent the night in another gravel turnout since a bridge was closed for maintenance. Next day we saw the guy who helped us again in the town of Coldfoot (great name). He was going to take a small plane to a lake where he lived or ran a lodge or something. Maybe his own plane. Was a great trip the whole thing. Once I got back to “normal” work one guy’s wife said it sounded like the “honeymoon from Hell” but it was all good.
@pmarin
That sounds like my version of fun times- just as long as it wasn’t brutally cold and snowing out.
That’s the “2 is one, and 1 is none” school of planning ahead with redundancy, which is rumored at least to have come from the special forces communities.
I’d say that’s why I have so many knives, flashlights, etc., but I’d be lying- when I see new or interesting ones, I just can’t stop myself from buying them.