Which wrenches and jack are best for a quick wheel change
No one is safe from a punctured wheel on a Russian road: pieces of rebar, nails and other sharp objects that have ended up on the roadway, as well as asphalt that leaves much to be desired, are doing their dirty work. But a simple replacement of a wheel with a “spare tire” or “stowaway” can turn into a real disaster if you have the wrong tool. How to change a wheel with minimal effort, without cursing the whole wide world, the AvtoVzglyad portal will tell.
To change a punctured wheel with minimal time, effort and nerves, it is better to stock up on a reliable tool. Preparation, as they say, is the first step to solving a problem.
First of all, you should pay attention to the jack. In regular tool kits for most cars, they put a screw rhombic. It is lightweight and takes up relatively little space. This is one of the pros, but it also has a lot of cons.
To work with this mechanism, only a perfectly flat road surface is suitable. It has a very small footprint, and on loose soil it will sink into the ground. On an inclined surface, there is a high risk that the car will fall off it.
It is more convenient and safer to use a rolling hydraulic jack, correctly selected for the weight and height of the car's ride height. There are three main disadvantages here - a non-budget price tag and the weight of the device itself, in addition, such a jack takes up more space.
As a balloon wrench, it is convenient to use a hinged knob with a long handle. It is known that the longer the lever, the easier it is to unscrew the stuck or overtightened nut. It is not cheap, but as practice shows, it is reliable, and is made of durable alloys.
Of course, the canister from his father's "Moskvich" is also quite durable - you can't argue, but its handle is much shorter. If there is free funds, then you can purchase a torque wrench to tighten the bolts with exactly the force recommended by the manufacturer.
A hexagonal head is selected for the key, the owners of a car with alloy wheels need to approach the issue especially carefully. The latter have deep wells around the nut, which come in different diameters. And the first “head” that comes across runs the risk of simply not getting in. The store may offer a supposedly more comfortable multi-faceted head. You should not buy it, since on a stuck nut you can simply “lick off” the edges.
Separately, it is worth mentioning secrets. Poor-quality "secret" bolts tend to break, like the keys to them. And the latter, sometimes, are also lost. And such cases are not uncommon. And even the use of proprietary fasteners does not guarantee protection against long and painful attempts to remove a broken nut. A good service will cope with the problem, but not everyone will take up such work. As a result - minus money, time and nerves.
However, even with a balloon with a long handle, it is far from always possible to easily unscrew the stuck nut. The first assistant in this matter is a penetrating lubricant, popularly known as a “liquid key”. It is necessary to pour abundantly the soured nut and wait a while. In general, proceed according to the instructions on the can.
If neither the “liquid key” nor the balloon extended by the pipe help, it’s time to put the “heavy artillery” into action - a portable gas burner. The fasteners should be heated very carefully so as not to spoil the decorative coating of the disc. Of course, you need to take into account elementary safety rules and, for example, do not use the burner on the site of a gas station.
Do not forget that you need to rip off the stuck nuts on an unjacked car.
By the way, it is better to support the head from below so that all the applied force goes into rotation. For this purpose, the same rolling jack may well be suitable.
