Corolla wheel rotation

I think this is the last time my dealer will rotate my winter summer tires -- they charged my $30 -- an increase of $10 over last year!

I drive a 2007 Corolla CE. Is it safe to use the scissor jack that came with the car to rotate the wheels for the long term, or will it wear out or fail prematurely? Do I really need a jack stand, and if so, where is the exact placement for the stand under the car ( a photo link would be helpful ). The scissor jack has dedicated grooves under the side of the car, but I am unsure of exactly where to place a car stand after lifting the car.

Finally, is there a dedicated torque wrench available to ensure the nuts are re-tightened correctly?

I do not have a garage, and storage is limited. I want the least equipment to do the job safely in my driveway and as efficiently (cheaply) as possible.

Reply to
homepc
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It's safe to use the jack that came with the car. Well, it's not all that safe, but wear and tear on the jack isn't the issue. The issue is that the car can move, and fall off of the jack.

Loosen the lugnuts on the tire of your desire. Just make them so they are not at full torque, do not make them so loose that you can spin them off by hand.

Raise the car.

Remove the lugnuts that you pre-loosened.

Change the tire. spin the lugnuts tight by hand. Set them as tight as you can BY HAND. (the goal is to make the wheel fit the hub flatly and fully, and not knock the car off of the jack.)

Lower the car.

Use your torque wrench to set the lugnuts to the correct torque. You gotta look this up, but 75 ~ 80 pounds is the general ballpark of this sort of thing.

Move to the next wheel and repeat.

When you are changing a tire on the side of the road, you should follow the same process -- loosen the nuts, raise the car, remove the nuts, change the tire, install the nuts by hand, lower the car, tighten the nuts to spec.

You can, and some will say you should, leave the weight of the car on the jack, but lower the car until the tire touches the ground, when you torque the nuts. If the tire is not fully against the hub, but the car is still on the jack, then the torque process will pull the tire in. If the weight of the car is on the tire AND the tire is not against the hub, you can reach the torque setting of the wrench but the nut can still not be tight.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Or, he could just remove the lugnuts that he loosened.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

he's trying to rotate the tires, not change a tire on the side of the road.

I see no good way to use the scissor jack that came with the tire as a tool to rotate the tires, unless he has five wheel/tire sets that he's rotating around and can raise one corner at a time.

Scissor jacks are not meant to do anything *but* raise one corner at a time.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

For ensure the lug nuts are tightened correctly, is this an OK torque wrench to use for my purposes? I have read the correct torque is 76 lbs.

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KDT2957 1/2" Drive Torque Beam Wrench

Reply to
homepc

I am asking about doing a winter/summer tire change over. One wheel at a time will be fine. I have two sets of tires on rims.

Reply to
homepc

Go f*ck yourself asshole shit

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Reply to
That Randy Guy

He has to wait in line behind you and your mom.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

Yes, raise one corner at a time.

He does not want to rotate the tires, he wants to change from winter to summer tires, and it appears he has more than one set of wheels. One can change from winter to summer tires ONE CORNER AT A TIME, it's not the most efficient way, but it can be done, and the scissor jack can do the job. A floor jack is far better to use for this, but he does not want to buy and store a floor jack.

Personally, I think he should pay the ten bucks, or whatever, to have the tire store do this job for him. but his question was on avoiding paying the tire store.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Sure. That will get the job done. It's not rocket science. Haviing said that, if the correct torque spec is at the limit of the wrench, then the wrench is not sufficient. You want the torque that you are looking for to fall in the middle of the range of the tool. Instead of a tool that has a max of 80 pounds, you want one with a max of 150 pounds so the 75 that you need fall into the middle of the scale.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

He said he took the car to a dealer. Maybe it would be more economical if he took it to a tire store or independent mechanic. I am sure that the job would be done equally as well, if not better.

Reply to
hls

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