Im going to rotate my tires tomorrow . I usually dont do this . But my front right tire is wearing so bad right not b/c I need a front end alignment and some other things done , I was going to rotate my tires . Is it saft to jack up my car and place a cinder block under the frame on the end the tire is off , then remove the tire I want to take off next and keep the jack on that one while i change it ?

 

no jack stands????? tisk tisk tisk :nono: :nono: :nono:

y dont you just rotate the back 2 then the front 2?

 

I know , shame on me lol . I still live at home with my parents and everytime I say something about getting some , I almost get in an arguement with them b/c when my Mom was growing up this man down the street from the got killed when one of his jackstands failed and the car fell on him . Yeah I guess I could do that huh ... Thanx man .

 

Could always get a floor jack, then use that and the jack in the car.

 

Me and my friends used to make skate ramps and hold them up with cinder blocks. We broke a few. I'd think jack stands would be alot safer than those. If it's that big of a deal, take it to Pep Boys or some place where they can put it on a lift and let them do. It beats having your mom bitch you out for buying jack stands, or having a car fall on you. I hate arguing with my mom. She thinks having more than one keychain will make the ignition fall out.

 

I'd say take it to Pepboys for the rotation and get an alignment while you're at it

 

yeah im not a fan of cinderblocks at all,,, broken to many in my day.your front and rear tires arnt differant sizes???i was just thinkin jack it up by puttin the jack under your differental then rotate them 2, then go to the front and put the jack under...what is it called..the crossmemeber? then do them 2. since you got it jacked up, fix the problem also!

 

Yeah dude, I agree, cinder blocks are known to just crumble, without warning. Show your mom this message! Jackstands are the safest thing out there; you're not supposed to work on a car that's just supported by a hydraulic jack. I bet the guy that got killed didn't do one of two things-

1, I bet he didn't block the wheels, and the car rolled away. Say I just lift the front of the car- I put wheel chocks behind the rear tires so the car doesn't roll away. I put the jackstands underneath the front, under the FRAME (I use the inner spring pad of the lower control arms), and then slowly lower the jack onto the stands. Then I go back and check the wheel chocks to make sure they're firmly against the tire.

2. I bet he didn't make sure the stands were sturdy. After lifting any part of the car and placing it on jackstands, I stand up, get "sideways" to the fenders or quarter panel, and bump the car hard with my hip. If it doesn't move, I put my hands on the car and push/pull it sideways. Obviously I don't use excessive strength, but I use enough strength to make sure the car isn't rocking back and forth on the stands. He probably got under a car that wasn't secure.

When I was helping my friend do his brakes on his truck, he lifted the truck up, stood up, and gave the door a push. Truck fell off the jackstands. "Good thing I checked!" he said, and then we lifted it back up, repositioned the jackstands, and gave the car another shake- it was sturdy, so we climbed under.

And that was another thing that majorly annoyed me about that 2.8/2.8 swap I did for my buddy. He didn't care that the car was jacked up and was swaying back and forth!! Happened twice. And twice I told him "it's not sturdy." He'd say "Oh it's fine, it's not going anywhere." So twice I answered "I won't work on it until you re-position those jackstands." He'd grumble, and re-jack the car until it was sturdy on the stands. Hell no am I getting smashed by a car, especially if it's not my own! I was actually able to rock his car back and forth with my little finger!!! (I did that to demonstrate how damn shaky the car was)

Jackstands are the absolute safest thing. I doubt your mom would want you under cinder blocks... and I can't believe she'd rather have you work under "just" a hydraulic jack! Then again, I guess she doesn't know the full story about cinder blocks & hydraulic jacks and jackstands.

Hell, just go down to the local parts store and buy a set; don't tell her. And make sure you always check that the car's secure on the jackstands before getting under!!! My friend found an AC/Delco set, a jack and two jackstands, for $50. Everything looked kind of small, though, since you already have a floorjack, I'd say look for a 2 or 3 ton model of jackstands. We have both types, the pin-type, and the ratchet type- the ratchet type is so much easier to set the car up with. The pin-type... if the pin doesn't line up with the hole, you gotta lift/lower the car until it will.

Also- always put the stands under the frame. Always jack the car up (and use jackstands) on concrete. Blacktop is soft, and will "suck" the jackstands in. And don't even think of jacking the car up on gravel or sand!!

Good luck, hope ya get the stands!

 

Thanx guys . Shhh , don't tell her , Im just ganna buy some jackstands !

 

what ton should I get ?

 

Two ton should be plenty; let your budget and intended uses be the judge (say if you have a truck that you might work on). Whatever you get, just make sure the car is sturdy before getting under it. An accident prone friend of mine was working under his 30th Z28 in his garage, with the door closed, and a buddy leaned on the fender. The car came down, and fortunately my friend A) is very skinny, and B) his car wasn't lowered. As it was, the car broke his ribs and collar bone and rolled through the garage door! If the buddy had been under it, he would have died...he's a big guy. DONT EVER use cinder blocks to hold up a car!!!

 

And ya might not want to let any friend lean on (or get in!) the car, either. Print this message out in case of future "mom attack"!

 

heh , you guys are ganna laugh . I rotated my tires by using my donate out of the trunk . I decided not to buy any jackstands just yet . I just didn't feel like getting into it with my Mom right now . I have never sweat so much in my life when I started taking off the back rear left wheel , the nuts where sooooo tight on there , Im surprised the threads weren't stripped when I took them off . I think he-man must have tighten those lugs on there .If I would have been on the side of the road changing a flat tire and I had to $hit , I would have $hit in my pants straining to get them nuts off

 

Wow man, that must've been hell! Good idea though, never would've thought of it. Shoot, that reminds me, that firebird I took the fenders & bumper off of (not the one I took the dash out of) had a perfect donut in the hatch. The thing looked brand new, never driven on! Dammit, I meant to get it when I went for the gauges panel and totally forgot. Hm, maybe I can go tomorrow morning. Shoot! (my donut is almost bald!)

 

man , what I did notice from doing it like that , I need to put some air in my donut tire like bad , the thing is almost flat , and I have driven on it before ! I think its just gotten flat from sitting in my trunk for so long , was prabably real low on air when I drove on it and didnt know it .

Now that I think about it , that tire I had a flat on about two years ago , they must have tighten the hell out of that one .

At the same time I had to get three other tires because they were firestone tires and they were bad tires , but it seems like the one I had the flat on they just tightened the hell out of it !

 

Good tip for everyone would be to occasionally check that air pressure in the donut. Nothing would suck more then changing a flat only to find the donut is flat too

 

Wayne,
You bring up a good point about lug nuts being too tight - Don't (any of you guys) let the tire man over-torque your nuts. I was stuck out on the road with a flat, one time and the lug nuts were so tight that my socket broke. Lucky a friend was at home when I called - carry a can of Flat Fix too, it may get you off the road to a safe place to change a tire.

 

You just brought up a good point to dood ! you say " it may get you off the road to a safe place to change a tire "

NEVER , no matter what , stop and change a tire in a bad part of town . One of my Dad's aquantances and her friend had a flat tire on the interstate down here a few weeks ago , she pulled off the interstate in a bad part of town . These two guys walked up to them with guns and robbed them .They thought they were going to die though because both the men had guns . NEVER , change a tire in a bad part of town , your life is worth more than your car .

 

Know what I want to do? Ever see those little 12 volt air compressors that plug into your cig lighter? The actual compressor part is Small! Most of the compressor is empty, and is just "fluff" to look good. So I want to open one up, and put the motor on my rear hatch cargo compartment, the one on the rear driver's side panel in the hatch. I'll put a quick-disconnect fitting on it (similar to that of an air compressor). I'll buy a 25 foot yellow coil air compressor hose, and put a tire chuck on one end, and the matching quick-disconnect fitting on the other. That way I'll always have air, it'll be convenient, and I won't have to carry around a large frickin' "empty" plastic compressor case.

Scary story, Wayne... the world's full of a-holes, eh? Yeah, I think it'd be well worth it to ruin the rim/tire than stop somewhere bad.

 

Yeah that is a wonderfull ideau Tom . You will have to tell me how it turns out after you do it , because I have the same litle 12 volt air compressor thingy you have and I travel alot ( school is an hour away ) and that little hook-up you thought of could come in handy one day .

 

I definitely woulnd't do this. Concrete blocks are designed to hold up when stacked a certain way with even pressure on them. If you were to hold the car up with them, it would be with the weak side, and they would surely give way.

Jack stands are the best thing to do, just get sturdy ones rated for heavier then the weight of our cars. Also defintely block the wheels, and be sure your on level ground. Also if your working on black-top, be careful because it is a soft surface (especially in this heat we have in NJ this summer), although you may not realize it, the stands may begin to sink into the blacktop a little, they did for me after I pulled the Camaro out of the garage. Should have kept it in there. .

 

It took my friend pulling, and me pushing while putting all my weight to break his lugs off his wheels. There is no chance in hell he would be able to get them off if he got a flat. The shops definitely over-torque those things.