So on the bright morning of Chap Goh Meh or chinese Valentine’s Day, I woke up to a quick breakfast of dimsum and proceeded to fix my car. I was so excited okay, I told the bf already that I would try to change the tyre myself first and commanded that he’d be quiet and just take my pictures.
First, a recap of how bad the tyre was…….
Refresh your memory: punctured tyre
Changing a tyre really isn’t that difficult. Among the precautions to take are:
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1. Park at a safe place if you could help it (ie: emergency lane, somewhere with less oncoming vehicles, basically just use your common sense ok)
2. Switch on your hazard lights (they are not for use during heavy rain where visibility has deteriorated!)
3. Take out that reflective triangle thing and put it at least 10 metres away from your car.
4. Lastly, if the place where you’re stranded is still not safe, leave the tyre and summon for help!
Okay enough of them horse shit, lets begin the most crucial steps – changing the tyre!
First of all, find your spare tyre. It’s usually located at the back of your car, so open up the boot and get it out.
Clear the boot.
Lift up the piece of board at the base of your boot space. You will find a spare tyre underneath it.
Spare tyre.
When was the last time you pump air into your spare tyre? A month ago? 6 months ago? Never? If you have not pumped air into your spare tyre before or found the very idea of it foreign to you, stop now and start dialling for help. You’re screwed, darling.
On the other hand, if you’re not screwed yet…..unscrew the tyre by turning that hub thing in the middle of your tyre.
Unscrewing the spare tyre from the boot space.
Now find that elusive car jack.
Car jack.
If you’re driving a Kelisa like me, you’ll probably find that thing a little too stubborn to be removed. That’s because it’s been intentionally locked. Turn the thing with holes on the side to loosen the jack from its lockup. Just like this…
Loosening the jack.
After getting the jack out it’s time to lift up your car. Make sure that all the brakes are engaged.
If you are on a slope, place a brick or large rock right behind your tyre if you’re facing uphill or in front of it you’re facing downhill. I mean, would you like to see your car violently falling off your car jack and have an an eye or two injured?
Check for the area to place your jack right beneath your car doors.
Place your jack here.
The jack in place.
Check out my busted tyre, man.
Busted.
I was lucky that it was already completely flat before I started the car. I could have driven the car away, not felt a single thing and had the tyre exploded in motion. That could have been the end of me. So ladies and gentlemen, always be aware of the condition of your tyres.
And now, it’s really time to lift up your car. Crank up the jack like what I’m doing here. I used this stick thing from the tool bag that came with my car. It looked like some ancient Egyptian ornament.
It looks like that.
Cranking it up….
Still cranking it up….
Stop cranking when it’s reached the right height. Which means when there’s ample space for the tyre to slide out and not get stuck. Don’t get the car up too high though, it’s dangerous!!
Behold the moment of truth……..
(Trying) to remove a flat tyre.
Now, can you tell me what’s wrong with the last picture?
Can?
I’m pushing against the wrong direction -_-. And I shouldn’t be loosening the nuts when the car’s suspended! IT’S VERY DANGEROUS!!!
How on earth did I know this? After all those hassle, I still couldn’t remove the damn tyre. Called my mechanic and he had it settled in 10 minutes. Total damage including 3 new tyres, fixing a dented rim and ordinary servicing….RM615.
Defeated.
I tried to be an independent woman…..I really did.
you drove with the flat, hence the tyre’s screwed. The sidewall should be fine if you didn’t drive with it.
Tyres won’t explode that easily, kim. The pressure used in car and the weight of your car won’t cause a tyre explosion like you see in movies.
Also, you must have hit a pothole really bad to cause the flat. Look at the wheel, modern cars don’t use tubes anymore, if the wheels aren’t in good condition, the seal between rubber and rims won’t be perfect. That can cause air to leak out over night or within a couple hours
Satu tayar pancit, tukar yang 3 lagi juga?
Did that too cos could not find the same stupid tyre that came with the City.
A valiant effort nonetheless! Better than my punctured tyre experience :P
hey, i have that ‘have you met the fockers’ T-shirt too! :D
lmao….
wah.. with manicure on some more. lucky your nails didnt break :p
btw, i follow your pacmee. yay! update la there -.-
I think there’s something wrong with the way you used the crook… the hook part is supposed to be in contact with the turning knob of the jack.. and you use the length of the crook shaft as a sort of handle, not the middle of the shaft… diff. to explain, but actually it would be good safety practice to rehearse again…
If one Tire KO, how come you have to change 3 new tires? ???
sometimes it is best to leave these things to the mechanic. i rather pay for their effort.
ky: i must have…i didn’t even know. ok glad it won’t explode that easily but it still will be dangerous! and i’ll remember never to drive over potholes and dent the rims!
peter: changed 3 because it’s about time…have had it since i got the car..more than 4 years already.
paris: hahah i was rotflol reading your story!
eyeris: high 5! i love the teeshirt
icemilo: :D
esther: nails are short mah..hehe
suertes: hrmm bf said the crook was for me to push easily as opposed to a piece of stick? i dunno also but i did try to use the crook as the fulcrum….but it won’t work.
david: been wanting to change the set for sometime already hehe
sweetheart: i totally agree with you! as long as don’t get butchered i’m fine.
you should always loosen the nuts on the wheel BEFORE jacking the car up!
also, 1 punctured tyre….usually it means changing at least 2! to get similar tread-wear and such….if you change only 1…the new one would wear out faster than it should.
LOL!! I managed to “undo” all the bolts on my friend’s Honda, using brute force in the wrong direction. It was only at the last minute that I realized what I had done as the 4th bolt made a nice snapping sound.(I blogged it on my old blog).
I blamed cheap Honda steel……cost me a few bucks, that did, and not a little pride. Mahlu.
Strength of an Orangutan, brain of a sloth. :)
ront: hehe luckily i didn’t find out after getting injured or something!
grant: omg! the bf was using brute force too and i figured if it had to take that much effort to do, we’re better off letting the professionals do the job. call it womanly instincts or something like that haha
First – Join the Motor Group [what is it, Royal Malaysian Automobile Association over there?] Is always good to have them come fix the tire for you!
Second – when you get to trying to loosen the nuts, if you’re not sure of the right direction, look it up on the internet.
Third – KY is right.
Fourth – who was taking the photos? Surely THEY knew you were turning the nuts the wrong way???? Why didn’t they help with the nuts anyway?
I just got smarter reading this post + comments :D Kim, if I want to save RM615 next time, I’ll call. ROFL!
dabido: haha photographer wasn’t sure also! haha
nicholas: choi!
BTW, and belatedly, after my mishap, a friend pointed out how simple it is to remember.
Right to Tighten – Left to Loosen.
Works on virtually every mechanical device!
(I wish I had known that years ago)
First rule of thumb, loosen the nut first before jacking up. I learnt that when I change my first punctured tyre.
Second rule of thumb, turning the right direction to loosen the nut, if not enough strength, stand one leg on the wrench and let your body weight do the work.
i’m surprised your hands remain clean after the change :P
grant: wow good tip!
simon: my wrench was the puny perodua wrench which was shit! haha
doink: why is that such a surprise? firstly, i didnt manage to change the tyre. secondly, i was changing a tyre not a baby’s diaper.
cos you should at least have some grease if you indeed touched the tyre :P
seems like someone’s been watching too much tele lately. if you’re trying to insinuate that i’m lying about trying to change my tyre, well guess what you’re doing a pretty bad job dear.