Quick Tip: Changing a wheel

Two for the price of one today…

Just been outside to put the winter tyres on the mother-in-laws car this morning (oh the joy of working on a brand new car! No big hammers needed lol!) and I thought here’s a couple of things I do that might be useful to you….

Put your wheel nuts in a container (and not on the floor)

Wheel nuts pick up all sorts of grit and muck (especially if they are lubricated) and could give you a false reading on your torque wrench as you tighten the wheel nut (it tightens on the debris rather than the straight metal to metal of wheel stud to nut). Instead, put them in a handy container; any clean thing really, from a box to a colander…

What? You don’t have a torque wrench? Go and get one ASAP! They don’t cost much and it’s much better for almost every nut tightening job in the house, and especially for wheel nuts, so you never get stuck at the roadside with a stubborn wheel nut you can’t undo…

Don’t put your wheel nuts on the floor, use a container instead to keep them clean.

And second…

Prop your foot against the wheel to undo the last wheel nut

When you undo the last wheel nut it’s likely that the wheel will start to tip out at the bottom and this will cause the wheel nut to catch and become tight to undo. It can also damage the paintwork on the wheel.

Simply prop your big toe against the tyre, holding the wheel in place until you have completely removed the last nut, then move your foot and the wheel is ready to lift off, no problem. Simple and obvious I know but just in case…

Hold the tyre whilst undoing the last wheel nut to prevent the wheel tipping and trapping the nut.

Hope that makes you think about your own ‘procedures’ as you tackle the little jobs around your home.
Stay well
Ian