2 Hour Flat tire Change ... Ugh ... Why so hard???

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Cliff Notes:
"Low" tire is flat
Flat tire has bad sidewall
Can't access spare tire - break the carrier
Rip out exhaust carrier trying to tie the carrier up
Can't get tire off
Punch jack through "jack point"
Spare is flat


So, I got a call tonight "Hey my drivers side tire is a bit low and I'm not near an air pump , can you inflate it?"

I hop in the jeep, expecting a low tire that can be inflated in a minute.

I get there and see that "low" means ... I have 0 psi and I'm riding on the rim. I try to inflate it anyway, and, surprisingly it takes air. Once it gets up to pressure I see the sidewall is completely toast from being driven on ... apparently it was driven like this for a while.

No biggie, crawl underneath and see there's a brand new full size spare (even on matching wheel!).

Trying to get the spare tire off ended up taking 30 minutes. Turns out, it's a carrier that has to be accessed from inside the cargo area by popping part of the trim panel off. It's labeled "SPARE TIRE", but you have to know to pull the carpet first.

I start turning the bolt to losen up the tire carrier ... and it sounds like a gun. Look underneath and the bolt is rusted to @$@#$. No PB blaster so I work it back and fourth easily. *BANG* ... nope - bolt breaks and tire falls off. I mention to the car, how I feel it's a PoS

Of course I have no zip ties, but I have some spare wire! It's dark out, but I found something substantial to tie the carrier to (sans tire).

Once on, I wanted to make sure that it was fastened securely. I give it a TUG ... and (what I think was) the exhaust pipe falls off @#$#@$@#$@#$#@$#@$ ... I really stat yelling and swearing at the car. It looks like the exhaust hanger was attached to a very rusty part of the frame.

So ... I wire the exhaust hanger to something secure on the frame AND the carrier. I'm able to pull pretty good without it falling off.

Next - Jack the car up. I find the jack point and start jacking the car up. *crunch* the jack started to punch through the jack point. However, I was able to rock the car and it didn't fall off / punch through completely.

Go to remove the lug nuts and the wheel spins. Hmm, thought I set the parking brake ... Check and the rear brakes don't work period. Ugh.

Let the car off the jack, loosen the lug nuts, bring it back up crunching rust the whole way.

Go to pull the tire of and .... it's seized on the hub. Of course, I left my sledge hammer at home. I try hitting it with a pipe, kicking it while yelling "W@$@#$@# HYUNDAIS" ... that didn't help.

Put on 3 lug huts, lowered it and moved it forwards and back to unsiez it. Worked!

Get the car back up in the air, pull the old tire off, put on the BRAND NEW 9 year old spare, let the car down and ... the spare is flat.

So, I hook up the compressor to the jeep and inflate.

2 hours to change a flat tire!?!?!?! I need a beer. Ugh.
 
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Wow.

Rust is a harsh mistress.
 
Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed. That car sounds like it needs a one way ticket to the place from which cars never return...
 
ive got alot of these stories, i feel your pain.. atleast you were able to complete the repair and the car didnt "win"
 
Also, to make matters worse, it was about 25 degrees out. As a teenager, I suffered frost bite on my feet. As soon as it gets even remotely cold out, I lose blood flow and feeling in my feet.

By the time I was done with this, I was walking like a Penguin because I couldn't feel anything with my feet
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Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed. That car sounds like it needs a one way ticket to the place from which cars never return...


I hear ya!

The car probably has a month or two on the road before it is sold for scrap. Transmission is shot.
 
If I get such a call, I'm going to give the gift of an AAA membership and then open some beers to congratulate myself.

Thanks for the warning!
 
I have an AAA Platinum account for myself (mainly for the free towing ... I've managed to use it a few times so far). As nice as I am, I wouldn't want to waste a service call on someone eles.

If I had a flat tire on the highway and wasn't able to limp it to a safer place, or if it was bad weather out ... I'd call AAA to do it for me.

I was just trying to help out a friend.

I would'nt mind buying this car for $500 and putting the money into it to make it functional , then selling for $2000 or so
 
I hate it when i get stuck with a tire that is rusted to the rotor/drum and no amount of kicking or prying will break it loose. Of course this problem only happens on vehicles that aren't mine. I spread anti-seize on the mating surfaces when i rotate tires, works pretty well.
 
Originally Posted By: dakota99
I hate it when i get stuck with a tire that is rusted to the rotor/drum and no amount of kicking or prying will break it loose. Of course this problem only happens on vehicles that aren't mine. I spread anti-seize on the mating surfaces when i rotate tires, works pretty well.


i rotate often enuff its never a problem..well, Tire barn rotates them enuff hehehe.. its free, heck why not, i let them fellas get dirty.. besides i get a free balance with the rotations..
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Cliff Notes:
"Low" tire is flat
Flat tire has bad sidewall
Can't access spare tire - break the carrier
Rip out exhaust carrier trying to tie the carrier up
Can't get tire off
Punch jack through "jack point"
Spare is flat


Wonderful, if you only had had a camera and some company this would be perfect for Ted's road rage art collection.

2nlbcls.jpg

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http://books.google.com/books?id=s16JvOs...p;q&f=false
 
Just makes me remember the the day two years ago where I blew 9 tires in one day. Turned a 10 hour trip into 20. Including a period where I had to leave it in the air and take two tires to the next town in a passing pickup for repair since they were too badly gone for the patch kit and compressor I carried.
 
Those Cherokees underbodies rust horribly.Being unibody,they really cant be fixed.Rockers,floors,and rear rails seem to be popular rust spots. A very popular vehicle when new,and still very visible on the roads,they are declining fast due to the tinworm.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Those Cherokees underbodies rust horribly.Being unibody,they really cant be fixed.Rockers,floors,and rear rails seem to be popular rust spots. A very popular vehicle when new,and still very visible on the roads,they are declining fast due to the tinworm.


This was on a Hundai. I'm trying to preserve the Cherokee for as long as possible from this stuff!

I'm parking the Cherokee for the winter and driving the 2 year old car haha
 
Originally Posted By: widman
Just makes me remember the the day two years ago where I blew 9 tires in one day. Turned a 10 hour trip into 20. Including a period where I had to leave it in the air and take two tires to the next town in a passing pickup for repair since they were too badly gone for the patch kit and compressor I carried.

9 tires in a day?
 
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