I AM SO ANGRY re: oil change!!!

Anyone can damage expensive wheels/parts etc. if they are not careful. If care is used, a impact type wrench can be used safely, and correctly. I have used many impact tools over the years with torque limiter's and I have found they work properly if care is used and they are set properly. It is like any other tool, it can used or misused. It boils down to the operater and the operation thereof.

 

You always got my back Ron. I appreciate that!!!!

 

An impact wrench, even with a torque limiter will still damage aluminum lugnuts. There's a conversation like this on NASIOC: Torque Wheel Lug Nuts - Impact Wrench - NASIOC (where most won't use an impact wrench for installation, only removal) and Bimmerforums: Torque Limiting Impact Socket -- Worth it? - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum (where one guy has had no problem with using an impact wrench, but others will still install with a proper torque wrench)

Do whatever you want - it's your stuff.

 

I laughed at all the mentions of metal pipe to use as a breaker bar.

When I swapped spark plugs on my Saturn a couple of months ago I needed a breaker bar so I just reached over and grabbed a long PVC pipe of the appropriate thickness that happened to be nearby. It bends but it gave me enough leverage even with the bend to break loose the spark plug I couldn't free with the metal tool alone.

PVC might not work for your worst case need for a breaker bar but it is also good to keep an open mind so you aren't freaking out on a weakend or dark night.

 

Hmmm, after reading both pages on both links, what I got out of it was that folks were not concerned about the lug nuts being tight enough if they used torque limits of say 80 lbs. Most of them were still following up with a torque wrench. Only a couple of post's even mentioned that old used flex torque attachments were not accurate. I don't understand where you are getting "damaging aluminum lug nuts" from unless the operator of tool is allowing the impact wrench to hammer excessively. Then there could be a possibility of over torque.

Like I said earlier, in my opinion it boils down to the operator and the operation thereof.

I base this on this example. I can overtorque anything, even with a torque wrench. How would I do that? Simple, keep tightening after the click or after the dial/beam reads the specified torque. However, by my actions I have incorrectly used the tool. Hence my statement of operator and operation of the tool. If you don't know how to use the tool, then you really should not be doing the work at all.

Ron (dorunron)

 

Can't add anything to the talk of tools, etc. But I do have some experience with tires. My first car was a Ford Pinto. It came with a particular type of Firestone radials that had splitting sidewalls. Usually they split when I was barreling down the freeway at 70 MPH, but sometimes they surprised me in a parking lot. I was right out of high school, living in a dorm room, and had little money and no tools beyond what came with the car. I couldn't afford to buy a new set of tires of some other brand. But Firestone kept replacing them for me, until eventually they were recalled and I got a whole new set just before I traded the car in.

I became quite proficient at changing tires. In my heyday, I could jack up the car, whip a tire off, put the spare on, throw everything in the back, and be on my way to the nearest Firestone store in about 10 minutes. I loosened the lug nuts with a good kick, and tightened them the same way. Never had a problem with them falling off. (I know some of you guys are shaking your heads, out there.)

The last time I changed a tire on that car, my right arm was in a cast because of a broken wrist. I had to lever the spare up using my left arm while holding it in place with my right knee. Same process to get the flat into the back. It's amazing what you can do when you have to.

I do not miss that car in any way. I was never sure if the potentially exploding gas tank or the Firestone tires would kill me. Now I have AAA.

 

Ok, in an effort to assist the OP and any others interested/in need of some of the tools mentioned in this thread, I figured I'd try to get us back on topic a little bit.

I got my Harbor Freight flyer in the mail today, and there are 2 coupons that are VERY good for the torque wrench and for a floor jack. They also have very reasonable shipping costs, although the floor jack may not be covered due to the weight. I don't know off hand if they allow for in store pick-up of online purchases or not. If you prefer to go to the store to get your items, they usually have flyers with coupons sitting right at the door.

Torque Wrench: 67636113 for $9.99 1/4", 3/8", or 1/2"
Floor Jack: 95148478 for $69.99 - rapid pump 3 ton steel floor jack

It states the floor jack weighs 74 lbs, so for our OP she might have to "HULK UP" first!

 

I own all three of the torque wrenches. For most, the 3/8 inch one is most useful. They compare well to my Snap ON and KD models.

I would, however, buy their aluminum racing jacke. I have two of them. They weigh just over 20 pounds each, and I cary one in my Prius"v." One is over 10 years old and still works just fine.

 

I agree with the aluminum recommendation, but I don't have the coupon code readily available on that one. It's usually $79.99-99.99 at various times. I figured at $69.99, it might be worth the deal for Julia or others. I'll see if I can find a coupon code for the aluminum one - they're in almost all the magazines I get.

 

Oh man now they got you buying torque wrenches. Save your money.
I own a couple of breaker bars that I never use. I used one of mine 2 years ago to fix my other car. Front wheel bearing required 212 ft lbs to get a 32 mm nut off. 1/2 bar and 6 feet of pipe and it was still a struggle.

I've been thinking about you doing a tire rotation and I think you better off not doing it yourself. Its just to physical.
Its very hard. Not only do you have to jack the car up on all sides you have to remove the lug nuts which will be a struggle and then the fun begins getting the tire off the hub. Plan on having to kick the crap out of the tire to break it off the hub. Prius wheels tend to get stuck on the hub from galvanization.
Most people have to loosen all the lugs and then drop the car on a loose wheel to break it off the hub.
Thyen remove and re-instal all 4 tires and 20 lugnuts. Lots of kneeling. And there pretty heavy little wheels. To re-install the tires you basicly have to hold the tire out in front of you to line it up with the wheel studs while you sitting on the ground. Its not easy and takes alot of arm strength. If your determind find something around 35 lbs in your house and hold it out in front of you for 20 seconds while sitting cross legged on the ground. Thats what its like x's 4.
Nothings really accomplished if you hurt yourself. Pull a muscle in your arm or back and it takes months to heal.
Just not worth it.
I do applaud your spunk though.

 

Have you ever tried putting a tire on like the trucker's do?

Try this.

If you have a large pry bar you can place the pry bar under the wheel and raise the pry bar and this will raise the wheel to the axle. You will just need to lift it on the studs once the wheel is on the axle.

I think in Julia's case, she might find that if she tried that, she could mount the tires very easily.

 

The little center hub with the castlenut does not allow you to hang the wheel on it. Still have to hold it free air to find the studs. Would be very hard for a 110 pound lady. Hell it doesn't feel that good for me.
And with a pry bar she would have to hold the tire with one hand while wrangling a big pry bar in the other . Now she's buying a pry bar? Hold the tire up on a pry bar while jiggling it back and forth to hit the studs. And how do you get the car so perfectly aligned height wise you only need to pry it up an inch or 2. Any higher than that and then your balancing the tire on the end of a pry bar up in the air against a pry block. That sounds really hard.

 

Look at what the guy is doing at 2:17 in the video.

Yeah, it looks hard, but the theory is there. It eliminates having to lift the tires with the legs. Use jacks and stands are have the tires just off the ground when you are removing and replacing them. With the Prius tires, it should be very easy.

Also, a 2X4 would work just fine so she would not have to buy a pry bar.

 

I have a little trick I use for holding the wheels up while I mount them. I don't raise the car up more than enough to remove the wheels. When I am ready to mount the wheel, I sit in front of the hub with my feet straddling the wheel. I then lift the wheel with my feet. It is really easy.

 

I need a motrin after that.

 

So the car is not on a jackstand just on a jack?

 

Yeah but the hub is only a fraction of an inch above the wheel on the ground in the video. Thats's how it has to be because the wheel is so heavy you can't lift it. And its much safer than just a jack as its on a lift adjusted low.

How do you get that exact distance SAFELY without alot of jacking and fussing in your driveway?
Unless your mounting a wheel with just a jack holding the car up.

 

Break the lug nuts down first.

Raise one side up until the front wheel just clears the ground, and set the first jack stand. Then raise the back wheel until it clears and set the second stand. Naturally, the front wheel will be a little higher now than the back, but you can still work with it. Remove the lug nuts, knock the wheels off if they are stuck, and rotate the tires. Use the pry bar (lever) to lift the tire up and slip it onto the studs. The only trick is having the lug nut hole lined up with the studs. All you have to do is visualize the clock position, and then rotate the tire a little bit one way or the other, then pick it up with the lever.

I think you know how to finish the job.

Think of it like this. The Egyptians built the Pyramids using levers. All we are doing is lifting a tire, they were moving stones.

One final point, the reason we are using the lever method is because the OP Julia may not be able to lift the tires. Using a lever, she should be able to lift them easier.

When I was a young man, I did this sort of work. That is why I know about it. I still utilize the trick today if I have to change a tire as I am too weak like the OP might be to lift the tire.

 

A couple general rules in this vein:
1) If you find you need a lot of strength to do something, you're probably doing it wrong... and you might break something in the process.
2) If you are using a lot of strength to do something, you're not using the right tool(s).

Let me get this straight. You're greasing the bolts that are holding the wheels onto your car... so they come out easier? Can you paint a big red X on your car so we all know to stay away from you?

Yes, many people have been able to survive driving around with greased wheel bolts, but that doesn't make it a great idea. Be careful torquing those wheel bolts (you are torquing them, yes?) Manufacturer torque specs are generally for dry threads, and greased threads require less torque.