Thread: New tyres = stuffed wheel winch

Thanks Kev, that was reassuring. I was getting a bit freaked out.

My local tyre place loves me, Im almost honorary staff there.

I usually come in with a vehicle with the covers off the rims, chalk or chinograph marks on the tyres if its in for replace 2 balance and rotate and will be standing at the back of the vehicle with a hand full of tools in my hands and pockets.

by the time they have it hoisted I have the valve stems out,
as soon as the first wheel is off and on the tyre changer Im in doing the basic brakes and steering checks along with any other mark onery I can do as I put a slick of antisieze on the threads of the studs..

By that time the wheel to be rotated into that position is off and coming my way from the balancer, I'll have the nuts in hand their guy lifts it on I wind them on and then torque them up move to where that wheel came from. By now the first tyre off is fitted, balanced and ready to go on.

you get the idea, I get a full inspection done, studs lubed, wheel nuts torqued correctly, I know the condition of everything in the wheel arch.

I've had a small 4x4 done in 15 minutes with 5 new bits of rubber, brake pads replaced on the rears.

and I get a good discount while Im there.

and wheres this?

Jax Quick fit in Ipswich.

theres a bob janes down the road.... I get mixed reports about that, the quality of the work depends on which crew is working and the quality of the customer relations depends on the boss on the day.

I prefer the smaller operators. Almost always happy to do everything to make it all work for you.

Originally Posted by Celtoid

2. Only a retard could get the placement wrong .... there is a friggin big hole in the chassis that co-incidentally matches the top of the jack in co-incidentally the four correct jacking positions,

Kev - well I guess I am a retard . I used my jack a few times in benign situations and had no issues - then I had a flat at an inconvenient time and to minimise inconvenience to others I was with, I rushed the wheel change. Placed the jack under the car - saw the friggin big hole that the knob on the jack fits in and started jacking away - heard the tinkle of cracking metal and then realised I had put the jack in the hole in the bottom of the air compressor cover.

Even though I had done jackings before, the hole in the air compressor cover from the side rather from under looked like the right spot - if I had not been rushed, calmer and less stressed the jack would have gone into the right spot but it didn't - if that makes me a retard then gibber, gibber, gibber.

The other worry was the jack itself - I was backed into the kerb and even the gentle slope designed into the road to drain water off the road was enough to make the car very unstable at full height.

The bottom line is that extreme care is required in using both the wheel winch and jack if damage to car or limb is to be prevented.

Garry

Originally Posted by garrycol

Kev - well I guess I am a retard . I used my jack a few times in benign situations and had no issues - then I had a flat at an inconvenient time and to minimise inconvenience to others I was with, I rushed the wheel change. Placed the jack under the car - saw the friggin big hole that the knob on the jack fits in and started jacking away - heard the tinkle of cracking metal and then realised I had put the jack in the hole in the bottom of the air compressor cover.

Even though I had done jackings before, the hole in the air compressor cover from the side rather from under looked like the right spot - if I had not been rushed, calmer and less stressed the jack would have gone into the right spot but it didn't - if that makes me a retard then gibber, gibber, gibber.

The other worry was the jack itself - I was backed into the kerb and even the gentle slope designed into the road to drain water off the road was enough to make the car very unstable at full height.

The bottom line is that extreme care is required in using both the wheel winch and jack if damage to car or limb is to be prevented.

Garry

Hi Garry,

I'm glad you said that, not me ... LOL!!!


In ****ty situations anything can happen, weather, rushing a task, etc. I've seen people jack right up through their panels in sedans. It's like when people get bogged and do all sorts of crazy stuff that damages their car or equipment, in a mad rush when there is no impending danger. It's human nature.


Would a bottle jack be any better in the situation you described? I even get the sweats when I see how much the trolley jack I now use moves around both on the ground and on the chassis .... on my perfectly level garage floor. There is an inherent problem trying to jack something so high using a single point that pivots with the vehicle, without that pivot being anchored in some way, when the whole independent suspension undercarriage shimmies and shakes as you gain height.


I know of people that have modified an interface or adapter to plug into the hole on the chassis but I'm not sure that would be any better unless it was quite long. Are other manufacturers doing a better job, have a better design?


Concur fully with your comments about extreme care being needed.


Cheers,


Kev.

Again if you follow the book jacking is safe - wheels chocked, level ground, hard surface etc etc etc. The reality, particularly when heading offroad, the level ground and hard surface is rare to find.

The main issue with the jack is that there have been quite a few reported failures of the jack itself - whether caused by the weight, movement of the vehicle or poor ground I do not know but they have failed.

At home I do not use the standard jack as I have no where level - after well chocking the car I use a hydraulic floor jack or my 101 hydraulic jack but both cannot get the lift needed if used under the chassis as the jacking points with timber pads under - then there are issues getting them under the car.

So I use normally use my 101 jack under the suspension arms so you jack the wheel rather than the body. I always have jack stands at the chassis jack points as a safety measure. I had an 12v Aldi Scissors Jack that used to lift the 2500kg RRS with no issues but subsequently failed lifting my 600kg Haflinger on flat concrete with me under it. Was only lifting one corner so lifting only 150kg and it failed on the scissor at the bottom - luckily I had a jack stand under for safety.

In view of my recent experiences in future I will take a high lift hydraulic jack with me in the RRs for trips away.

Bob Jane came through no worries at all - Mark, the manager, arranged for a replacement winch and installation by the Thursday after the tyre install on the Monday. Due to my scheduling I only got in last Friday, and it's now rectified. (The new winch has a ring connection intended to be wound by the jack winder hook, rather than a wheel-nut sized hex head. You'd have to be particularly creative to get a rattle gun on there now.)

So kudos to Bob Jane in Wollongong for recognising an error, not giving any argy-bargy and promptly arranging to fix it. I'm very impressed with the uncommonly good customer service.

Ben

A decent Bob Jane dealer.

I judge companies not so much on the basis if nothing goes wrong but on what they do when it does.

Totally agree with you.