Changing tires
Yesterday I swapped off my Focus' snow tires and put on its high-performance "summer-only" tires. I hope that wasn't premature, though this week is supposed to be consistently in the 60's, and if there is any precipitation, it should be in the form of rain. Hopefully Spring has fully sprung and there won't be much, if any, more snow.
Getting the tires off wasn't nearly as easy as I would have expected, however. The iron rotors had corroded, and while they hadn't corroded to the aluminum wheels, they had enlarged themselves to the point where the wheels were stuck on the hubs. I officially don't like salt.
I was able to get the front wheels off by a few (dozen) swift kicks to the lower part of the wheel, but the rears were stubborn and refused to budge. I kicked and kicked and got nothing. I got a board and a hammer and beat the wheel through the flat side of the board, and still nothing. I switched to the narrow end of the board and beat the wheel some more. It didn't budge but I did scrape the clear coat on the wheel.
Frustrated and thinking that I wouldn't be able to figure out a way of applying sufficient force without mangling the wheel, I got desperate. And desperate times call for desperate measures. I decided to lower the car back onto the wheels, without any lug nuts on the wheel lugs, hoping that the weight of the car would pop the wheels loose (and not send them flying and the car crashing down). A calculated risk, but I figured I had the variables under control.
I kept the jack under the car (jacking up both rear wheels at the same time -- there's a lovely brace back there that I imagine would be replaced by a rear differential if I had the euro-spec AWD turbo Focus) and lowered the car to the point where there was probably just a few hundred pounds on each wheel. I then kicked the wheels some more and was able to get them to pop off (though one was still quite stubborn).
I brushed off the bulk of the corrosion on the hubs and put the new wheels on, though I imagine that I should have used some sort of scouring pad to really clean the hubs. I think that means I need a new air tool! :-)
Getting the tires off wasn't nearly as easy as I would have expected, however. The iron rotors had corroded, and while they hadn't corroded to the aluminum wheels, they had enlarged themselves to the point where the wheels were stuck on the hubs. I officially don't like salt.
I was able to get the front wheels off by a few (dozen) swift kicks to the lower part of the wheel, but the rears were stubborn and refused to budge. I kicked and kicked and got nothing. I got a board and a hammer and beat the wheel through the flat side of the board, and still nothing. I switched to the narrow end of the board and beat the wheel some more. It didn't budge but I did scrape the clear coat on the wheel.
Frustrated and thinking that I wouldn't be able to figure out a way of applying sufficient force without mangling the wheel, I got desperate. And desperate times call for desperate measures. I decided to lower the car back onto the wheels, without any lug nuts on the wheel lugs, hoping that the weight of the car would pop the wheels loose (and not send them flying and the car crashing down). A calculated risk, but I figured I had the variables under control.
I kept the jack under the car (jacking up both rear wheels at the same time -- there's a lovely brace back there that I imagine would be replaced by a rear differential if I had the euro-spec AWD turbo Focus) and lowered the car to the point where there was probably just a few hundred pounds on each wheel. I then kicked the wheels some more and was able to get them to pop off (though one was still quite stubborn).
I brushed off the bulk of the corrosion on the hubs and put the new wheels on, though I imagine that I should have used some sort of scouring pad to really clean the hubs. I think that means I need a new air tool! :-)
posted by Mark at 6:50 PM
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