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.


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?

Photograph the hole [with proof of it's width,length & depth] ....and then submit a claim to the Council.
And then go back and punch the garage man in the mouth for being a clever b*st*rd and making you move your car.

T.

A brand new wheel will only set you back about £45 so why bother trying to bodge a repair? Don't you have a drain hole or two in the spare wheel well to allow water out? I bet you will now, as well as checking your spare more often. As for a better jack, buy a cheap scizzor jack from Halfrauds and jack on a swinging arm rather than the chassis.

I do but the plugs stuck... that will be sorted out lol.


My thoughts exactly. Ecas do 4 Michelins for £160, bit of a steal. Or Ami Slots for £70 apeice.... hmmmm theres an idea



Really? You can do that?

yes but not with the standard jack, which is a dangerous device I wouldn't use myself...

Umm,
a scissor jack works OK on the front arms, but not quite so well at the rear, since the wheel tends to disappear up behind the wing, iirc.

ken

Is that the one that lifts on the sills? I've always thought it looked a bit spindly with a very small foot.

I've had two of the standard sillbender type break, both of them failed at the spotweld. I won't trust another!

Sam, don't you work for the local authority? Can you ask at work about how to claim off them?

I read somewhere, so dont take this as gospel, that the defect has to be reported to the council and they have two weeks to solve the problem before they are liable. That might be wrong though...

I do, but I work for the 'other' local authority, the one that collects bins ad taxes rather than the County council who (are supposed to) manage the highways.

I've been looking into this and apparently its worth a try to claim off the authority. I'm going to get some pictures of the pot hole and also call FJ to see what their take is.

I couldn't see the hole because of a puddle and they do have a duty to maintain the roads. I'll keep you posted.