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Blowout / Flat
11 Mar 2020 21:46Was heading to book club tonight and I turned a corner and heard a bang...the road is rough on that street, and I thought that I had just hit a hole since the car was driving fine. A mile or so later, I was stopped at a light, and when I started again, I heard a 'whooshing' sound. So I turned into the gas station at the corner and sure enough, the tire was flat!
Thank goodness it was still light out -- it helped a lot that I could see what I was doing!
Currently I don't belong to an auto club -- I used to but had decided to get rid of it. My plan had been that if I ever broke down and needed a tow, I would just use my phone to sign up right then and there, and then place a service call.
At first, I seriously thought about signing up tonight because I am lazy and because I was certainly not in working clothes. But I thought to myself that a flat tire is something that I should be able to definitely accomplish, so I fished out the spare tire and the jack...read the manual and changed the tire -- first time I have done that as an adult! Actually, I don't ever remember an instance of changing a tire, but since I knew how to do it already, I must have at some point.
I was pleased with myself that I generally remembered the procedure. I did have a few minutes of deciding where the 'spot' under the car was that I was supposed to use for the jack, but I finally found it.
Getting the lug nuts off was a little hard, and I expect my hand will be sore tomorrow from hitting on the lug wrench. I did learn pretty quickly to position the wrench in a way that I could use my weight to push down as I was hitting the wrench to loosen the nuts.
After I got the flat off, I originally put the spare tire on wrong side out, so it would not go back onto the screws. When I flipped the tire around, it fit onto the wheel just fine.
Things I had not realized until I read the manual: 1) It told me to hand tighten the lug nuts on the newly installed spare before I lowered the car. If I had not read that, then I would have just tightened them with the wrench and then lowered. 2) There is a sequence you follow in tightening the lug nuts -- it's not just 1 after the other. There is a star pattern that it told you to tighten them in.
I am safely back home from book club, and I'll have to handle the tire issue tomorrow!
Between moving the lemon tree, digging holes and planting plants today and changing a tire, I'm feeling much more toned! I did notice in the shower tonight that my muscles are a bit more pronounced, so at least there is some benefit in all this! I mean, some people go to the gym...I guess I just have different kinds of exercise!
Thank goodness it was still light out -- it helped a lot that I could see what I was doing!
Currently I don't belong to an auto club -- I used to but had decided to get rid of it. My plan had been that if I ever broke down and needed a tow, I would just use my phone to sign up right then and there, and then place a service call.
At first, I seriously thought about signing up tonight because I am lazy and because I was certainly not in working clothes. But I thought to myself that a flat tire is something that I should be able to definitely accomplish, so I fished out the spare tire and the jack...read the manual and changed the tire -- first time I have done that as an adult! Actually, I don't ever remember an instance of changing a tire, but since I knew how to do it already, I must have at some point.
I was pleased with myself that I generally remembered the procedure. I did have a few minutes of deciding where the 'spot' under the car was that I was supposed to use for the jack, but I finally found it.
Getting the lug nuts off was a little hard, and I expect my hand will be sore tomorrow from hitting on the lug wrench. I did learn pretty quickly to position the wrench in a way that I could use my weight to push down as I was hitting the wrench to loosen the nuts.
After I got the flat off, I originally put the spare tire on wrong side out, so it would not go back onto the screws. When I flipped the tire around, it fit onto the wheel just fine.
Things I had not realized until I read the manual: 1) It told me to hand tighten the lug nuts on the newly installed spare before I lowered the car. If I had not read that, then I would have just tightened them with the wrench and then lowered. 2) There is a sequence you follow in tightening the lug nuts -- it's not just 1 after the other. There is a star pattern that it told you to tighten them in.
I am safely back home from book club, and I'll have to handle the tire issue tomorrow!
Between moving the lemon tree, digging holes and planting plants today and changing a tire, I'm feeling much more toned! I did notice in the shower tonight that my muscles are a bit more pronounced, so at least there is some benefit in all this! I mean, some people go to the gym...I guess I just have different kinds of exercise!