teddyw
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,873
Jun 29, 2014 1:56:04 GMT
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Post by teddyw on May 24, 2017 12:52:58 GMT
I cannot and I've run over nails twice in 1 week. Thankfully they didn't go flat. One could not be plugged though so I had to get a new tire. I've had roadside assistance since I was 19 and have used it many times.
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Post by vspindler on May 24, 2017 12:54:57 GMT
My dad made me learn after I got a flat in high school. Came in handy too. I have had to do it at least three times that I can remember, and one was with two small children in the car on the side of a busy highway.
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Post by pjaye on May 24, 2017 12:55:15 GMT
I have no idea! I'm going to have a proper look tomorrow when it's not dark I was thinking that could be your excuse "Of course I could have changed it myself....BUT I didn't have a jack, so I had to call the RACV"
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 6, 2024 6:59:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2017 12:55:38 GMT
I know how in theory, but I haven't always had the physical strength needed to loosen the lug nuts. I do, however, have AAA. Yup I don't have the strength to do it either. My husband uses an air ratchet to put the lug nuts on.
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Post by epeanymous on May 24, 2017 13:02:13 GMT
I have done it, but it has been years (16 or 17?) since I last did it and I am not sure I could still figure out how to do it.
I mostly take the bus if I am by myself, so am unlikely to have to change one anyway, and I have AAA if I need service.
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iluvpink
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,298
Location: Michigan
Jul 13, 2014 12:40:31 GMT
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Post by iluvpink on May 24, 2017 13:04:42 GMT
No. My dad showed me once when I first got my license but I didn't pay much attention and never had to. I asked my husband to show me once years ago but he said there was no way I would be able to get the lug nuts off these days and to just call roadside assistance. I've only had one flat and did call and have someone do it. Much easier than trying to do it myself.
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
Jul 3, 2014 18:13:13 GMT
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Post by mallie on May 24, 2017 13:17:16 GMT
I know how ro and have done it a long tim ago. However, once auto places went to that new way of putting them on, i can no longer loosen the bolts. I have even tried standing on the tool and it still did not move. That is what AAA is for.
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Post by scrapsotime on May 24, 2017 13:19:37 GMT
I have changed several tires, but I don't know if I would have the strength now. I have lost a lot of grip strength. I have also changed my own battery. You learn a lot when your dh used to build and race stock cars.
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,184
Location: Western Illinois
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on May 24, 2017 13:26:23 GMT
I learned when I was a teen, and I've actually changed a tire twice, once by myself and once with help. But those were long ago and now with the pneumatic lug tightening, I doubt if I could get the lug nuts off by myself. I have roadside assistance with my car insurance, and I'd use that.
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Post by originalvanillabean on May 24, 2017 13:29:17 GMT
I could do it, but my mother always renews my AAA so I'd just call them
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on May 24, 2017 13:40:24 GMT
I CAN change a tire...but I pay a few extra bucks a month on my insurance so that I don't HAVE to change a tire. So I would have called, too.
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quiltz
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,717
Location: CANADA
Jun 29, 2014 16:13:28 GMT
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Post by quiltz on May 24, 2017 13:45:24 GMT
No, because that is when I press the OnStar button. The one time, THEY called me. I love my OnStar .
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Post by tampascrapper on May 24, 2017 13:49:28 GMT
I know how. When I was married, my husband was a mechanic. He insisted that I learn how to change a tire and jump start a car just in case. I can also drive a manual car 🙂
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Post by crazy4scraps on May 24, 2017 13:52:56 GMT
I'm sure I could figure it out however, they put those lug nuts on so tight you sometimes need a machine to get them off! It looks like a drill but it removes the lug nuts. Don't have one of those! I've seen it done and I'm pretty mechanically inclined so I know I could figure out how to do it, but I also know with my back and neck problems I would have trouble getting the lug nuts off. Heck, I can barely get the top of the screw on chicken waterer off to refill it! DH cranks the thing on so stinking tight that it takes all my strength to get the top off.
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Post by beachbum on May 24, 2017 13:54:48 GMT
I know how and have changed one in the first car I owned. That skill won't help me with my car now - there's no spare. Not that I am just lazy and haven't put one in there, but the car has no room for one. There's a small air compressor and a can of fix-a-flat kind of stuff in the 'trunk' (AKA rear glove compartment), if that doesn't work it's call AAA time. I should by run-flat tires next time I replace them.
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Post by KelleeM on May 24, 2017 14:10:38 GMT
I know how in theory, but I haven't always had the physical strength needed to loosen the lug nuts. I do, however, have AAA. Exactly this! I have AAA as well as roadside assistance through my vehicle's manufacturer.
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Post by malibou on May 24, 2017 14:23:24 GMT
I took a car care class in high school, so yes I can change a tire and have on several occasions. The last time was in the middle of the night in Nebraska. I vowed then and there that I would make enough money to always have AAA and good tires on my car. Changing a tire sucks. It's not always easy, and you get dirty and I'm getting old.
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Post by littlemama on May 24, 2017 14:25:36 GMT
I have AAA for that. The way they tighten the lug nuts, they are really hard to get off anyway.
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Post by chaosisapony on May 24, 2017 14:26:37 GMT
Something quite similar happened to me last month. I had to call a friend to help and he gave me a crash course on how to do it. It doesn't seem hard so next time it happens I'll have a crack at it first before calling for help.
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Mary Kay Lady
Pearl Clutcher
PeaNut 367,913 Refupea number 1,638
Posts: 3,076
Jun 27, 2014 4:11:36 GMT
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Post by Mary Kay Lady on May 24, 2017 14:44:24 GMT
I know how to do it, but doubt that I have the physical strength do do the job. Thankfully, I've never been in a situation where it's been a problem.
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Post by leannec on May 24, 2017 14:45:42 GMT
I wouldn't have a clue how to change a tire ... I leave all vehicle related things up to dh so I would have to sit on the side of the road until he could rescue me
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Post by katlady on May 24, 2017 15:40:13 GMT
I know how and have helped friends change their tires before. But I wouldn't be able to do it by myself. I am not strong enough to take those lug nuts off or to tighten them back up properly. AAA is my friend.
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M in Carolina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,128
Jun 29, 2014 12:11:41 GMT
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Post by M in Carolina on May 24, 2017 15:42:32 GMT
I've regaled you with stories of my dad the ex sex crime cop and all the stuff he insisted I know how to do. Before he let me drive, I had to change ALL 4 tires of our M*A*S*H army jeep by myself.
As an adult when I did need to change a tire, I couldn't get the jack out of the trunk of our Honda. It was stuck in this box on the wall of the trunk. I was in a parking lot of a big shopping center that had a Firestone, and I walked over there and asked if I bought the new tire from them, if they'd go retrieve my car. They refused. I was going to Trader Joe's, so they let me call my dh. His coworker drove him over. It took BOTH of them to get that jack out.
I was disappointed--I was hoping I could do it all by myself. I did help dh change the tire.
I actually just went down and looked at the lug nuts on my Volvo. They're flat, square and in recessed wells of the hubcap. Even my dh needed help changing a flat on this car.
I haven't used a jack in forever, but there is one tip to try. Try sticking the pole from the jack into the end of the lug nut tool thingy. The Greek mathematician Euclid said if he had a lever long enough, he could lift the Earth. I've seen guys get lug nuts off by sticking the pole on the tool then jumping up and down on it.
We have roadside emergency with our insurance. So we'd call them. But sometimes you could be somewhere without good cell coverage, forget your phone, or something and be at the mercy of whoever came along. My mom got stranded with her mom once in the middle of nowhere (of course). My dad also insisted my mom keep a pistol. She had to show it to these guys in a truck who pulled up and started threating them. Of course my dad became intolerable after that.
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Post by scrapmaven on May 24, 2017 15:46:25 GMT
I'm sorry that you have a flat. What a drag. I used to be able to change tires and put oil in my car. That made me feel like a rockstar. Nowadays I don't think I'd have the strength to get the lugnuts off.
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Post by papersilly on May 24, 2017 15:51:37 GMT
the women in my family were just talking about this last sunday! we think we can. we feel we can but we just need to learn the right spot where to place the jack so it doesn't come crashing down mid tire change.
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Post by peano on May 24, 2017 15:52:37 GMT
I have AAA but I am impatient and I hate to look like a helpless hand-fluttery woman, so I'll call them and then get out my manual to look at the instructions and try to start doing it myself. The lug nuts can be hard to remove, even if I do use my considerable bulk to stand on the lug wrench to try to pry them off, so usually AAA has arrived by the time I've made any progress.
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
Jun 26, 2014 18:51:17 GMT
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Post by perumbula on May 24, 2017 16:11:35 GMT
I can and have but only once five years ago. 18 months ago I got flats three times while going to real estate school. I had to drive through road construction to get there, and it was murder on my tires. Luckily, I had a small air compressor in my car and the leaks were slow enough it would hold air long enough for me to get to the tire store down the road. I found the air compressor to be much easier and more useful. I could keep my nice clothes clean and I didn't have to struggle with the stupid job. We had bought the air compressor on clearance five years before and those two weeks made keeping a space for it in the car all that time very, very worth it. I've since added a couple of cans of fix a flat to the back of the car as well.
The one time I did change the tire by myself, I forgot you have to loosen the lug nuts before you jack the car up. I cranked the stupid jack all the way up and then worked on those stupid things for five minutes before I figured it out. Then I had to crank it back down, wrestle with the lug nuts (at one point I had to step on the tire iron to get it to move) and then jack the car back up. It was very annoying, dirty, and gross. Air compressors and fix a flat for the win.
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,477
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on May 24, 2017 16:33:00 GMT
Yep, I know how and I have multiple times. Stand on the tire iron and it will loosen the lugs. I do have AAA but I have been out of reception and had to do it myself. I've also done basic repairs on the road. We like to travel where there is no cell service.
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Post by MichyM on May 24, 2017 16:51:15 GMT
It's been years, but I've changed several tires. In a pinch, this 55YO could do it, but I'd rather call for assistance!
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linda~lou
Pearl Clutcher
Keep calm and eat crumpets
Posts: 2,744
Location: Motown but my heart is in San Francisco
Jun 25, 2014 21:57:08 GMT
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Post by linda~lou on May 24, 2017 16:58:15 GMT
I know how, but wouldn't do it. Too much work, I doubt I'd have the strength to jack the car up let alone unscrew the lug nuts. Like everyone else, that's why I have AAA road service.
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