You’re thinking of the first “it’s” in the sentence. She’s acknowledging the error in the second “it’s.”
It’s all academic now as the car failed it’s MOT…
I know how, in theory, but I don’t have the muscles to do it. That is WHY I have AAA. It’s a bit embarassing to call them for a flat tire, but it’s way more embarassing to call them because I locked the keys in the car (it only happened once!).
Yep I know how to change a tire and my wife does as well. She would prefer to have someone else do it because its a dirty task at best! I drive a Ford…enough said. I carry a set of jumper cables, 4-way lug wrench, 2 quarts of oil, 2 quarts of transmission fluid, 1 quart of brake fluid, 1 quart of power steering fluid, 2 gallons of water, a full tool bag with a full socket set, a portable air compressor, a tire repair kit and wrenches, screwdrivers and the like. Oh and don’t forget JB weld, duck tape, super glue, a few lengths of pvc pipe, hose clamps, flares, dry matches and a blanket or two.
I’ve had to do many roadside repairs on my Ford Exploder…er Explorer, from changing a flat to tightening my starter. I’ve had 2 batteries explode on me, the heater core rupture (imagine driving on the interstate and having hot scalding water shoot down on your legs blocking access to the pedals esp. the brake pedal) two blow outs at the same time, a tire lose all but one lug nut a hose rupture and a radiator rupture.
All of these would have stranded the more faint of heart but in every situation I was able to keep going after a little bit of roadside repair.
When I lost 4 lug nuts on one of my tires (I had just purchased 4 new tires and the idiot tightened all but one of my tires) I simply went around the car and took one lugnut from each of the other tires. The tire company bough me a new hub cap for their trouble. With the heater core rupture I simply pulled off the road pulled the inflow and outflow hoses to the heater system and then took a piece of 1/2" pvc pipe and two hose clamps and by-passed the heater core.
The radiator rupture was temporarly cured with JB weld held down with duck tape until set. After putting in my two gallons of water I was back on the road in about 45 minutes. During an attempt to jump start my truck the batteries exploded on two separate occasions. The first time all I did was raise the hood and check the battery terminal connections. A spark must have set off the vapor in the top of the battery. All I remember was a ringing in my ears, my hand and arm throbbing where the battery casing hit them and a fine mist of battery acid sprayed all over my custom tailored shirt and tie. Lucky for me I was wearing sunglasses because a few days later my facial skin peeled as if it had been sunburned.
So after cleaning myself off from the acid blasted on me and getting some of my hearing back I simply pulled the remnants of the batteries out and connected the juper cables directly to the battery cables and started the truck. I drove it to the nearest battery outlet and parked it out front with the engine running. A car will run without a battery until you shut it down but make sure you don’t ground out the system by letting the positive terminal hit any metal objects attached to the car frame.
The mechanic when he opened the hood was surprised to find no battery. The second time I had battery trouble I made sure I was not over the battery when it blew. My friend was trying to jump me off and I was trying to get a better connection with the cables. I told him to wait but he thought I said ok and hit the switch. The battery blew with the force of a grenade. Again my hearing was shot and I was stunned for about 3 minutes or so. He thought he had killed me because of the loud explosion. The battery top came down about 100 feet from the truck so you can guess the power one of these things has. Again, we wen’t direct to the cables and I took the truck back to the place which sold me the battery. They replace it free of charge this time.
There are a lot of stories associated with this Ford and there is several other reasons I call it a Ford Exploder but in a sense of brevity I’ll save them for a future post.
Yep.
One of my brothers and I used to race each other whenever there was a flat. One time it was his turn, then next mine. We were running about even with around 5 minutes.
That’s not to say that I won’t allow someone else to change one if the opportunity presents itself.
Haven’t had to replace a flat yet, but I have rotated my tires!
It took me 1 hour, which includes
- 15 minutes, struggling to take off the lugnuts before realising that I should have lossen the nuts before I jacked the car up.
- 20 minutes wondering how to take the tire off, change the jack, than swap other tire with only two wheels on the car. After 10 mins, I realised that you’re supposed to use the spare :smack:.
When I got my driver’s liscense, my father taught me to change a tire, replace the belts (and save the worn belt for emergencies), change the oils, change the wires, gap the plugs, change the plugs, replace the distributor cap, fill all the fluids, jump a dead battery, and hit the starter with a wrench.
Then he bought me a subscription to AAA.
Yes, I know how to change a tire, and, no, I haven’t in half my life.
TWICE I saw a tire suddenly come off a moving car on my street; I’ll never change a tire again unless it’s an emergency. And I am pure hell on tires.
But I always offer the AAA person hot cocoa.
I only knew how to change a tire in theory until a few years ago. My mom decided she was going to sell her car, but had recently put new tires on it. My tires were crappy, so we decided to switch all the tires from her car to mine and vice versa. My brother and I each got to change 4 tires this way, and it was great practice. Now I’m confident I could do it if I had to, though I do question the safety of changing a tire alongside the interstate.
Both me and my sister lnew how to change tires by the time we were twelve or so. My dad was one of those dads who has mastered reverse psychology to the point where he made it seem so cool to do things like change tires, replace disributer caps, Water pumps, etc. that by the time he finally decided we were old enough to do it we happily did all kinds of work for him feeling grown up. Damn I wish I had taken notes 
I’ve never timed myself for best time, but I did once change a tire roadside for a bride going to her wedding in a downpour in about ten minutes or so. Beat that 
I can do it!! I have done it a couple of times. My dad taught me!!
The least fun one was just last summer. Returning from a multi-family trip to a holiday cabin, I was bringing myself, my two small children, and another very young lady I didn’t know well and who had a newish baby who seemed to be developing an ear infection over the weekend and was quite cranky.
When the tire blew and I pulled over on the interstate, the young lady started freaking out- she began to cry and shake and howl which woke up my kids who began to cry, which then woke up the small cranky baby who began to cry, too. All this made me want to cry!
Young lady then grabbed her baby from the carrier, and clutching the kid to chest and stating out the back window, told me she was worried that we were going to be hit by an 18 wheeler. I told her to just turn around because if that was gonna happen, she probably didn’t want to see it coming. She said wanted to sit on the side of the highway while I changed the tire, but at this piont I didn’t trust her to not off herself by running into the roadway in a panic. I ordered her to stay in the car and shut up.
I unloaded the stuff, changed the tire, loaded back up and hit the road. I wanted to teach the helpless teenager how to do it, too, but she was such a basket case, I decided to ply her with McDonald’s instead. I was hoping all her sobbing into her chicken nuggets wouldn’t make me have to practice the Heimlich maneuver, too.
I certainly can change the tires on any vehicle I drive, as can Mr. Legend. I can also jump-start a car, check ignition components and all fluid levels, and change the oil. I can theoretically change the belts, too, but I’ve never done it in practice on our newer car, and I somehow doubt I could get the mammoth belt I see in there replaced and tightened properly.
I’ve changed a tire on the side of the freeway two or three times (once at night), in pitch-darkness on a side road once, in my own driveway once, and in parking lots at least three times. I’ve changed my mom’s tire rather than wait for AAA, just because I was more willing to get dirty than to wait for an hour or so. The only time I’ve had to call for help with a tire was when the idiots at Big-O replaced my lug nuts (after destroying the originals) with bigger ones my lug wrench did not fit. Because of my experiences, I always ask the people at the tire store to hand-tighten the lug nuts, and I test them before I drive away, just to be sure I can budge them on my own.
My daughters will know how to do basic maintenance, including minor repairs on the road, before I allow them to get their drivers’ licenses. AAA is a great thing to have, but there’s no real substitute for knowing how to do something yourself.
i think my husband can change a tire, but in all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never known him to need to. As it’s worked out, he’s the lucky one.
I had to learn how to check and add all of the oil, check and replace all of the basic belts, check and add the coolant and change a tire before my parents would allow me to get my license. I’ve had three flat tires while out on the road over the years, but I only changed one myself because we’ve always had AAA and in the other two instances, I haven’t been dressed appropriately for tire-changing. Squatting on a roadside in a skirt and heels just isn’t happening!
To my mind, safety trumps all. Better to destroy a tire, and maybe even a wheel, by driving to a safe area rather than risk your life in high-speed traffic. If the shoulder isn’t wide or level enough, you’ll see me putt-putting slowly along till I find the space I need.
elfbabe - *grin, thanks. I think we both could’ve done with the sleep!
GaryT - yes indeed, the 2nd one. Thankyou.
SunTzu2u :eek:
“ford exploder” made me laugh. Tea over a keyboard - never a good idea.
Yes, I can change a tire on my own. There was a time when I actually had to, and couldn’t loosen the lug nuts, and had to get a client (who was in the office at the time, and a car shop owner) to do it for me. I then changed the tire in heels and a short skirt, in Yellowknife, in the winter. The new tires I had put on shortly after that, I asked the fellow to not use a torque wrench, because I needed to be able to loosen them on my own. Well, I drove away from the shop, and in three minutes drove right back in - he hadsn’t tightened them enough, and it was pretty apparent in the driving of the vehicle.
However, I have a Weirddave, and he’ll do it for me if he’s around. Come to think of it, Airman Doors also changed a tire on my car - after he replaced the radiator, when my husband was away. Let’s hear it for Daves!
If you can’t:
- change a tyre
- jump start a car
- push start a car
- change a fan belt (using nylons/panty hose if necessary)
you shouldn’t be driving, IMHO.
These things are not a macho wank. They are slightly grimy activities, but are basic common sense. To learn how to do all of these things properly would only extend the learning-to-drive process by half a morning maximum.
I can change a tire. My father showed me how and made me practice when I got my first car.
I have never had to change a flat tire. I have had a flat tire three times and each time a man stopped and offered to change it for me before I could even get my spare tire out of the truck. I figure that if some random passerby wants to change my tire for me I should let him.
I probably changed more tires by the time I was 12 than most people do in a lifetime. The last time I had to change a tire, I was 8 months pregnant, it was shitty weather ( winter ) and I was on the interstate. I had my dad’s truck. It was a big Chevy 3/4ton that had super heavy tires on it. Not one person stopped to offer help. Since then, I can only remember having one flat tire and hubby was home to take it up to the repair shop.
It takes a lot of effort and muscle to break lug nuts loose. They are put on in shops with air ratchets, I don’t know if a lot of women (and some men) can even loosen the lug nuts.
I usually have to loosen lug nuts by standing on the wrench, although carrying a cheater bar would be safer. There was only one occasion where I absolutely could not break the nuts loose. I was driving my husband’s 'vette (oh, how I hated that car!!) - I was able to pull into a parking lot and I called a friend to see if he could help me out. He wound up calling AAA for me - those nuts were tight!!
A few years ago at work, I had to change one of my van tires. I remember being there with 3 or 4 guys from my office standing around. They really really wanted to help and I really really didn’t want them to. It was my van and I was quite capable of changing my tire. I kinda felt sorry for them - obviously their mothers had taught them to be gentlemen and I wasn’t allowing them. 
Yes, it is your opinion and that’s fine - it just made me think a little more about this topic. I do see your point, but I don’t agree. Whilst I can (and indeed have done) pushed a car - both my own and other people’s - with no worries, I still am unable to lug the spare wheel out of the boot and manhandle it onto the car etc. It’s not a case of being worried about getting dirty, dirt washes off. Neither it is a case of having a lack of common sense.
Some people who are physically disabled would have trouble changing a wheel - should they be excluded from driving because of their physical limitation?
I wish drivers. ed would include a couple of sessions on oil changing and basic car maintenance - that would’ve saved me a packet of cash over the years
I’ve changed tires in -10C weather…not fun but I can do it if I have to.
Since I change tires (winter and summer tires) changing tires is very simple for me. I carry everything I need (I use my OEM jack and it’s pretty good). I also use a little grease on my wheel nuts to prevent them from seizing.
I have Toyota Road side but if the weather isn’t too bad, and I’m safe, I will change a tire myself and save time than wait for the tow truck. I can also fix the flat with a plug but never had to.
I don’t know if my sister can change a tire. I’m not sure she has the physical strength to do it (she’s 5 foot, 100 lbs).