Jacking up your vehicle

I have floresant wheel nut markers like the big trucks use so a walk round to do viz check,very handy.
 
well some idiot did change the wheel on my van befoer i got it and jacked it up in wron place hence got a crease in it now the repair kit is mobile phone to rinng aa
 
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I made a comment earlier " blind leading the blind" which was perhaps unfair but not aimed at a specific poster. Let me explain what I mean.

Trevskoda amply explains why wheels should be removed, Certainly in my earlier motor trade days if I had let a car leave the workshop allegedly having been serviced and no wheels removed I would have been sacked.

Additional reasons for removing a wheel mean that pads and discs can be properly inspected, but also give good opportunity to inspect inside tyre tread for feathering (tracking) the inside walls for cuts bumps and rim damage.

One thing that will never change £50 of car or £100000 the only contact with the road is the tyres so makes sense to inspect properly and the wheels they are attached too. To do this correctly they require removal, So what has gone wrong ?

There has been leaps and bounds in quality of materials granted but the reason is far more sinister in my book.

Manufacturers compete with each other and recent years have seen reductions in service times (by not for example removing wheels) they have extended service intervals eg a transit my early days 3000 miles oil changes today ? service intervals of 20000 miles not uncommon have oils come that far ? I don't think they have it was to appease buyers the overall ownership costs and I am suggesting good engineering practice has become compromised.

Head gasket blows , good practice to skim the head, You try and get a warranty company ( manufacturer backed to stand the cost ) again good practice flys out the window.

People don't see this hence because Mr Mercedes Fiat or Citroen says it , it must be true. If you believe that then blind and leading the blind by advocating as such.

Have Volkswagen not recently be found fudging the books, Other mechanics here, how may re occurring issues have you seen , and a manufacturer blatantly denying a problem ..Any one remember the reverse gear issues on Seval product ?

As for changing a wheel at the side of the road, on a commercial vehicle no easy task, my luck car commercial or Bike it would be hard shoulder, chucking it down with rain on the M62 Friday night.

Channa
 
So far, I've been lucky, I've only had to change a couple of flat tyres on the side of the road.

I've also been unlucky enough to have a few punctures recently at night, that have been very fast deflations, in the middle of a set of long S bends on a country road with a 60mph limit, no where safe to pull off so drove to a safer place & wrecked the tyre in the process.

Last two were caused by a scalpings (bottoming stones you spread before concreting) going through a tyre causing a 1" long gash & almost instant deflation! But I'd rather wreck a tyre than kill someone!

Phill
 
My 'van has a full service annually by a highly competent 'old school' mechanic in the village.

Typically I cover around 6,000 miles in a year and doubtless the fully synthetic oil is capable of much greater distance before changing especially since I don't do short runs in the vehicle.

So this is overkill, but the complete check of the mechanical components, greasing the Alko axle, removal of wheels (ahem!) etc and planned future maintenance such as brake pad renewal gives peace of mind and reduces the chance of a roadside problem.

I have a TyrePal pressure monitoring system so the pressures are monitored constantly, and I have just replaced the front tyres somewhat before they reach the legal limit.

The expense of doing all this isn't huge and is phased. The 'van is worth a fair bit of money and my philosophy with vehicles over well over 40 years of motoring hasn't changed. Look after your vehicle and it will look after you.

Only thrice have I had a roadside breakdown and all were electrical faults that resulted in the engine cutting out.

Fingers now firmly crossed - I must be due another one!
 
POI Admin said:
So rather than follow manufacturer's service guidelines and remove the wheels annually it is better to break equipment and risk injury ...
Click to expand...

But what is their guide when I bought a Peugeot van a few years ago they told me first service due at 32.000 mls so in 4 years for me
 
channa said:
Trevskoda amply explains why wheels should be removed, Certainly in my earlier motor trade days if I had let a car leave the workshop allegedly having been serviced and no wheels removed I would have been sacked.

Additional reasons for removing a wheel mean that pads and discs can be properly inspected, but also give good opportunity to inspect inside tyre tread for feathering (tracking) the inside walls for cuts bumps and rim damage.

One thing that will never change £50 of car or £100000 the only contact with the road is the tyres so makes sense to inspect properly and the wheels they are attached too. To do this correctly they require removal, So what has gone wrong ?

There has been leaps and bounds in quality of materials granted but the reason is far more sinister in my book.

Manufacturers compete with each other and recent years have seen reductions in service times (by not for example removing wheels) they have extended service intervals eg a transit my early days 3000 miles oil changes today ? service intervals of 20000 miles not uncommon have oils come that far ? I don't think they have it was to appease buyers the overall ownership costs and I am suggesting good engineering practice has become compromised.
Click to expand...

As Channa has outlined the manufacturers have, to an extent, got themselves into a 'my service interval is longer than yours' situation.

This may save money up-front but isn't necessarily best practice.

Four years or 32,000 miles is, in my view, too long an interval for some basic checks that should definitely include removing the wheels ...

There's no harm in servicing a vehicle more often than the manufacturer advises. In my view you just need to balance the cost against benefits such as increased engine life and less likelihood of breakdown.

Part of the decision of course hinges on how long you plan to keep the vehicle. Your van is probably presumed to have a fairly short lifespan if used as a commercial vehicle. Motorhomes based on the same chassis are likely to have a very much longer life.
 
Chainsaw Charlie said:
Anyone seriously thinking that a service is only required every 4 years is only deluding themselves, many will be on an ALKO chassis which requires annual service that many dealers won't do unless specifically asked to .
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My motohome dealer just laughed when i asked if greasing the ALKO chassis was included in the service :lol-049:

He told me to " wake up and get real " and said greasing vehicles went out in the stone age because they haven`t had grease nipples for donkey`s years :rolleyes2:
 
Current Sprinters are 37500 miles or 2 years. In practice it's only the high mileage 400+ miles a day ones that get close to the 37500 interval. City multi drop vans won't get anywhere near that before service warning light comes on.
 
1 ton hydraulic jack from Screwfix. Mahoosive extention bar for the nuts. Yes, I have AA but that’s no use if you don’t have a signal.
 
I have been out the trade a few years but generally manufacturers stipulate x mileage / 12 months / 24 months etc which ever occurs first.

Some of the old school lads are stuck in their ways of dropping oil every two minutes and sometimes a bit overboard, but doing less harm than neglecting service schedules.

Channa
 
£10.00

7/8 scocket and this £10.00 @ proper job bridgwater.
20171029_132749.jpg20171029_132759.jpg
Should do the job of getting nuts / wheel off
 
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