I actually had to work on a car!

[Photojeep]

Jeep owners tend to take pride in "doing it ourselves" and since retiring, I've started attempting more and more myself.

About a month ago I installed some offroad lights on my grill guard and a switch in the cab.

Having said that, I can say I'm in NO hurry to change a tire! It's entirely true - they're MUCH heavier now!!

Best,
PJ

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by KenL

The tire pressure display on my Honda Ridgeline warned me on Thursday that one of my tires was low. Sure enough, I found a nail right in the middle of the tread; slow leak.

As luck would have it, I was planning to go down to Colorado Springs on a Costco run the following day. I bought these tires at Discount Tires in CS just a few months ago, so I decided to pull the tire off and take it with me and drop it off for a free repair.

So there I was, Thursday evening, jacking up the truck and removing the tire. I got to thinking about the last time I pulled a tire.... Maybe on my Miata about 15 years ago? Can't recall. It's been a long time, for sure.

I got it done. The lug nuts were perfectly torqued, and loosened up easily enough. Popped the donut spare on, and threw the leaky tire in the other Honda. Got it fixed the next day, and back on the truck as planned.

The one thing I noticed is that tires must be way heavier than they used to be. I could hardly lift the thing!

Anyway, it's done. Can't tell you the last time I worked on a car, other than washing/waxing and air filters. Also can't tell you that I've missed it.

Had to google "ridgeline2 as Honda don't sell pick-up trucks here.

I'm assuming you removed the wheel, rather than the tyre!

I drive a '14 CRV and rely on the sensors to tell me if there's an issue, but Jane's mini copper drives her (which means us) with tyre pressure warnings even is low by one bar!

[KenL]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Had to google "ridgeline2 as Honda don't sell pick-up trucks here.

I'm assuming you removed the wheel, rather than the tyre!

Well, yes. A perfect example of English vs. American!

What's the old saying? "Two cultures separated by a common language."

Also, I've had 2 CRVs. Great cars, especially in an urban environment.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by EZYPIKINS

...As you get older, everything seems heavier.

Same thing I'm noticing when I try to lift my hindquarters off the couch - and the scale at my doc tells me I haven't gained any weight in a few years...

[Murphy Slaw]

I still do my own oil/filter changes (at 64) on my Ram and use Amsoil.

This Hemi will probably be the last one I service myself.

[joe white]

Just replaced the front wheel bearings/hubs and brake pads on my aging ride last weekend. Did the rear wheel bearings/hubs, drums and brake pads about a year ago. 160,000 miles currently and shooting for 200,000. Quite impressive for a 2004 GM.

[KenL]

Originally Posted by joe white

Just replaced the front wheel bearings/hubs and brake pads on my aging ride last weekend. Did the rear wheel bearings/hubs, drums and brake pads about a year ago. 160,000 miles currently and shooting for 200,000. Quite impressive for a 2004 GM.

Impressive! I've been told that replacing brake pads on a vehicle with disc brakes is pretty simple, but I've never attempted it.

Probably never will at this point. I've found a mechanic that I like, and am happy to pay him to do it.

[Horsehockey]

Originally Posted by KenL

The tire pressure display on my Honda Ridgeline warned me on Thursday that one of my tires was low. Sure enough, I found a nail right in the middle of the tread; slow leak.

As luck would have it, I was planning to go down to Colorado Springs on a Costco run the following day. I bought these tires at Discount Tires in CS just a few months ago, so I decided to pull the tire off and take it with me and drop it off for a free repair.

So there I was, Thursday evening, jacking up the truck and removing the tire. I got to thinking about the last time I pulled a tire.... Maybe on my Miata about 15 years ago? Can't recall. It's been a long time, for sure.

I got it done. The lug nuts were perfectly torqued, and loosened up easily enough. Popped the donut spare on, and threw the leaky tire in the other Honda. Got it fixed the next day, and back on the truck as planned.

The one thing I noticed is that tires must be way heavier than they used to be. I could hardly lift the thing!

Anyway, it's done. Can't tell you the last time I worked on a car, other than washing/waxing and air filters. Also can't tell you that I've missed it.

If the nail is right through the tread is not damaging the sidewall, you can fix tubeless tires now relatively simply with a cheap worm or a string tire repair kit. Remove the nail, insert theGummy worm, pump the tire up. No wheel or tire removal required. Just for future reference.

[imwjl]

It's simple economics that has me not working on cars and other things as I once did, but we did take the time to teach our kids important basics that include car, home and bicycle repair plus kitchen skills. Add some other life skills to the mix.

There have been some big smiles when my worried wife's had me go help or join the kids solving some sort of problem and the kids didn't need help.

From the volunteer work I do and lots of young staff where I work I feel there is not such a big difference if any in "helpless" across generations the way some complain about it. Mechanical and craft hobbyists keep happening, and at work we would be a dead enterprise if a lot of stereotypes for younger generations were true.

What the younger people want to work on and who does it is really interesting. In my closest group of work associates the stand out as "gear heads" are young women. My kids are currently into furniture restoration and home repair/remodel stuff and that seems popular in their cohort.

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by Horsehockey

If the nail is right through the tread is not damaging the sidewall, you can fix tubeless tires now relatively simply with a cheap worm or a string tire repair kit.\

I had special, mushroom-like plugs for my motorcycle which were even easier to apply. The one time I needed it (found what looked like a silex arrow head right in the middle of my rear tyre) the hole was big enough that I still had to inject the goo.

IIRC you need to leave the nail in when you do use injectable repair stuff, otherwise it will pour out. The idea is of course that you get a proper repair ASAP.

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by Birdbrain

The Big Wheels movement began with valid lessons from racing cars. Like all good things, it was taken too far.

Yep. Wide and low is nice if you want to go track racing or you take the Nürnberg Ring every day to go to work. If not, they're uncomfortable, you better take extreme care with sidewalks and potholes (my partner exploded one of her fancy Dunlops at 5k km), they're more expensive to buy and operate (higher fuel consumption) and they're not for extreme wet or snowy conditions (larger area of contact means more chance of aquaplaning and less pressure on the surface which is not what you want in snow).

My partner's car becomes an instrument of torture on the badly kept big-cobblestone streets in my village, even when driving at a crawl.

[KenL]

Originally Posted by RJVB

IIRC you need to leave the nail in when you do use injectable repair stuff, otherwise it will pour out. The idea is of course that you get a proper repair ASAP.

Isn't the tire ruined if you use that Fix-A-Flat stuff? I would think the tire would be unbalanceable. I thought it was just to get you to the tire shop.

My 2000 Corvette came with a can of that stuff and no spare. I was never comfortable with that.

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by KenL

Isn't the tire ruined if you use that Fix-A-Flat stuff? I would think the tire would be unbalanceable. I thought it was just to get you to the tire shop.

No and yes. The stuff that doesn't seal the leak remains fluid and get distributed all over the inside of the tyre when you drive. The one time I used the stuff I was over 500km from home which I think I didn't cover in 1 day, and I think I also couldn't get a repair or replacement done at once.

I do know that the repairpeople appreciate if you tell them what's waiting for them on the inside

[Horsehockey]

Fix a flat is the crappy mass that hardens and unbalances your tire and makes it hard for the next guy to change that tire or repair that tire. Slime is the stuff that does not harden overtime and is water soluble for easy cleanup. And it works.

[Mandobart]

Decades ago as an inexperienced youth I finally had enough of being ripped off by "mechanics" - untrained, uncaring and unconcerned people who I paid my meager earnings as a junior enlisted sailor to while they learned how to damage my vehicle.

I figured "hmmm - Uncle Sam trained me to maintain a submarine power plant. I bet I can figure out my car and motorcycle." So I spent my money on tools and manuals and learned by trial and mistrial.

Eventually I became an incorrigible DIYer. I do the bulk of the maintenance on the family cars, boat, motorcycle, trailer, camper and home.

Just last weekend, routine oil change on the old Explorer that somehow was last serviced by a "professional." I could not get the old oil filter off with the usual tools.I used a cheater bar. I used every curse word I knew and invented new ones. I finally pulled out the Ingersoll-Rand pneumatic impact with 3 reverse settings and it just spun the filter wrench around the immovable filter.

Just before resorting to destructive maintenance I experienced a moment of growth and decided to take it to a mechanic I trust. He got it off and lubed up the underside while he had it on the lift. I happily paid him $37 and asked the other family members to please never take a vehicle in to another "jiffy lube" type place. It again reminded me why I do my own work as much as possible.