So driving along the other day in the rain we went through a puddle.
No big deal - except there was an almighty crash as we hit, or rather plunged into, a huge pot hole. The car kept going, no rattles or anything so I guessed all was ok...
...until we pulled off a roundabout and there was squealing and wiggling and smoke.
I pulled onto a garage forecourt and noticed that the rear left wheel was totally flat and also coming off the rim.
Attachment:
bent2.jpg
Irritating, but no problem, just change the wheel right?
Wrong.
First problem: not only was the tyre on my spare fairly slick, but the rim had a hole in it.
So I called my dad and asked him to meet me and bring another wheel.
I thought I'd get a head start and jack the car up.
Second problem: The jack I had wasn't high enough to actually raise the car of the ground.
Called Dad again and asked him to bring a jack.
Third probelm: Garage man wouldnt let me change the wheel on the forcourt in the dry and made me move the car 'round the back.' Nice.
Dad arrives and we start changing the wheel.
Fourth problem: Nuts were on so tight we couldn't undo them at first. The combined starter handle/wheel nut socket has no leverage at all
Luckily dad had a bar with him and in the end we got them off.
We jacked the car up on the trolly jack and it reached its max length, still not enough to raise the rear wheel up off the ground.
So we used the other jack to jack the swing arm up.
An hour later the wheel was sorted and I was on my way.
Lessons learned
Check your spare tyre! Make sure you can actually use it.
Check the spare wheel. My boot box leaks so water had gathered in the wheel and rusted it through.
Carry a decent jack. Does anyone have recommendations for a good one? I've never liked the idea of jacking the car on the sills.
And lastly:
Respect and honor your father!!!
Now some questions:
Can I repair my bent wheels? One of them is obviously not forming a good seal, the front i feared would go to so have swapped it out but the replacement bumps and grinds
So I'm a little short on decent wheels.Is it safe to bash it back into shape?
Rekon its worth trying to claim back from the council? I dont want to claim on my insurance, but would FJs legal team be able to claim off the council?
