OT: Cars

[Profet]

Everyone really should know how to do this. I know we all have roadside assistance (or you should), but I've been in situations where I had to wait 3 hours for a tow when my gf's timing belt snapped. Anyone can change a tire in less than 15 minutes.

Last flat I got, which was recent , I thought of Ralphie's dad in a Christmas Story when he had his wife time him like he was a member of a pit crew. LOL.

This...

But also, many new cars don't even come with a spare.

That said, yes, everyone absolutely should know how to change a tire.

 

[Profet]

I remember I once watched a friend almost jack his car up by the door trim/panel...

 

[NickyFotiu]

This...

But also, many new cars don't even come with a spare.

That said, yes, everyone absolutely should know how to change a tire.

I was just about to say that. In fact a tire could not even fit in my trunk. One of my cars does have "run flats" though.

I remember I once watched a friend almost jack his car up by the door trim/panel...

I once was not careful and had a jack go out and a jackstand placed in the wrong spot so it went partially through a floor board. I was not under the car but I learned my lesson fast about making sure I had my jack stand in the right place.

 

[Profet]

I was just about to say that. In fact a tire could not even fit in my trunk. One of my cars does have "run flats" though.


I once was not careful and had a jack go out and a jackstand placed in the wrong spot so it went partially through a floor board. I was not under the car but I learned my lesson fast about making sure I had my jack stand in the right place.

And chocks!

I once had a car drop off a jack while I was loosening lug nuts as it rolled just a hair too much.

 

[NickyFotiu]

And chocks!

I once had a car drop off a jack while I was loosening lug nuts as it rolled just a hair too much.

Thats what happened to me. I was changing a tie rod and didn't have the rear wheels chocken. Jack moved. Car fell on badly placed jack stand. Jack stand put hole in floor board under drivets side floor mat. Learned my lesson forever!

 

[Boris Zubov]

Thats what happened to me. I was changing a tie rod and didn't have the rear wheels chocken. Jack moved. Car fell on badly placed jack stand. Jack stand put hole in floor board under drivets side floor mat. Learned my lesson forever!

Many news cars have jacking points that aren't immediately obvious or there's nowhere to place a stand when using a floor jack. They really don't make it very easy for us.

 

[dstoffa]

I remember I once watched a friend almost jack his car up by the door trim/panel...

Did Lucy and Ethel train your friend?

 

[Profet]

Did Lucy and Ethel train your friend?

I mean... that's the thing, people aren't taught to do this stuff anymore.

He did what he thought was right, put the jack in front of the rear wheel and started to jack it up, didn't bother looking for a pinch weld or a jack point. Why? Because why would he? He'd never been shown how to change a tire.

 

[aufheben]

I was just about to say that. In fact a tire could not even fit in my trunk. One of my cars does have "run flats" though.


I once was not careful and had a jack go out and a jackstand placed in the wrong spot so it went partially through a floor board. I was not under the car but I learned my lesson fast about making sure I had my jack stand in the right place.

And chocks!

I once had a car drop off a jack while I was loosening lug nuts as it rolled just a hair too much.

Thats what happened to me. I was changing a tie rod and didn't have the rear wheels chocken. Jack moved. Car fell on badly placed jack stand. Jack stand put hole in floor board under drivets side floor mat. Learned my lesson forever!

This sounds kind of dangerous to even try doing. What kinds of gear do you guys carry in your vehicles for emergencies? Air compressors, tire patches, etc. I just have a tire gauge and an extra set of caps…

 

[Boris Zubov]

This sounds kind of dangerous to even try doing. What kinds of gear do you guys carry in your vehicles for emergencies? Air compressors, tire patches, etc. I just have a tire gauge and an extra set of caps…

Roadside repairs on today's vehicles are pretty much a non starter. Even if you could diagnose an issue, there's a slim chance you would be able to fix the problem.

The only thing I carry is a real lug wrench in case of flats. Had to use it twice in 3 weeks this past December. Had 2 blowouts from gnarly potholes. Never had a blowout before in 35 years of driving. Luckily I had that lug wrench.... the one that came in my VW's tool kit is a joke.

 

[NickyFotiu]

This sounds kind of dangerous to even try doing. What kinds of gear do you guys carry in your vehicles for emergencies? Air compressors, tire patches, etc. I just have a tire gauge and an extra set of caps…

I was not really in much danger because I was not working under the car. With that said any danger was self inflicted because I got lazy. If you jack the car in the right place, use jack stands in the right place and chock the wheels the danger is really low. Because I was working outside the car and not under it I got careless. That was around 15 years ago. I learned my lesson well and never got careless again. In some ways it may be good that it happened.
To answer your question my cars come with BMW tool kits but I keep them in my house not in the car. In one car I have no tools currently. In the other car I have a code reader. 30 years ago I used to keep a full tool box in my car. With my Miata I kept a small socket wrench and a 8 mm socket because a certain sensor would go bad every 3 years and was a 1 minute swap.

 

[Profet]

This sounds kind of dangerous to even try doing. What kinds of gear do you guys carry in your vehicles for emergencies? Air compressors, tire patches, etc. I just have a tire gauge and an extra set of caps…

Some cars have pretty standard/fine manual jacks... some cars do not.

Some of the older/SUV type VW's have these crazy complicated jacks that people always screwed up and were very dangerous.

The Mk7+ GTI's have a standard scissor jack which is very easy to use. There are little "notches" that are impossible to find on the bottom of the rocker panels, but the pinch weld lift points are very obvious if you look under the car. In fact, I couldn't find the dumb notches until after I found the welds, then it was like, "oh, those are the notches?"

 

[Profet]

Some cars have pretty standard/fine manual jacks... some cars do not.

Some of the older/SUV type VW's have these crazy complicated jacks that people always screwed up and were very dangerous.

The Mk7+ GTI's have a standard scissor jack which is very easy to use. There are little "notches" that are impossible to find on the bottom of the rocker panels, but the pinch weld lift points are very obvious if you look under the car. In fact, I couldn't find the dumb notches until after I found the welds, then it was like, "oh, those are the notches?"

This is the crazy VW jack that I would not know how to use:

 

[aufheben]

I really like this GTI I found nearby, I’m just terrified of buying a user car even though it has 20k less miles than the car I’m currently driving. Website has the CarFax, the window sticker; dealership is 10 minutes from the office.

@Boris Zubov I keep thinking of your advice though. The new version of this car is expensive (to me), mostly because of the trim. It’s tough though, it’s only 40k miles on a 2017 car. Fully loaded, Fender audio. Sigh. Maybe I’ll just wait until I actually need a car. I’ve had a really hard six months and I’ve always wanted a fun car. I spend so damn much time in it. In my defense my therapist said I needed a goal and she thought a car was a great idea.

There is one thing about the Jetta that’s crushing my soul though. When I’m making a left turn over even slightly bumpy roads I hear a plastic rattling noise behind the infotainment/AC.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I really like this GTI I found nearby, I’m just terrified of buying a user car even though it has 20k less miles than the car I’m currently driving. Website has the CarFax, the window sticker; dealership is 10 minutes from the office.

@Boris Zubov I keep thinking of your advice though. The new version of this car is expensive (to me), mostly because of the trim. Maybe I’ll just wait until I actually need a car.

There is one thing about the Jetta that’s crushing my soul though. When I’m making a left turn over even slightly bumpy roads I hear a plastic rattling noise behind the infotainment/AC.

I do not know VW's but its possible something small is behind there. Can you put a scope type camera through a vent or something to take a peak?

 

[aufheben]

I do not know VW's but its possible something small is behind there. Can you put a scope type camera through a vent or something to take a peak?

It’s so frustrating because I can feel driving when it’s going to happen and it never fails.

 

[NickyFotiu]

It’s so frustrating because I can feel driving when it’s going to happen and it never fails.

Well few things with cars are impossible to figure out or fix. I'm not familiar with VW's. If its worth some money to you I would think the infotainment system could be removed and the noise found. If you decide to pay money to get it fixed do your best to be sure where the noise is coming from before you have someone look at it.