FLAT!

[Idle_Chatter]

Well, I came out to the lot after a long day at the Peach Bottom Power Plant and when I jumped into the cab there was a note under my wiper that said "right rear is flat." So I hopped out and sho'nuff, flatern' a week old beer. Not a problem, on with the parking brake, up with the rear seat out with the jack and tubes and tire iron and the rest. Dang! that plastic hub cover with those stupid black plastic "lug nuts" is a PITA! Drop the spare, loosen the nuts, jack 'er up and the PYO wheel is STUCK to the hub! I kick it, I curse it, I kick it some more and curse it some more. It will not budge! The factory jack has about 6 square inches of baseplate and the lot I'm in is not entirely level, so I can only kick it as hard as I dare and I'm NOT crawling under to kick out on it (that's Darwin Award stuff!) Now the wind is picking up, the sun is going down and I'm getting ticked off! I rumble around in the bed and find a couple of cans of fix-a-flat in my tub-o-junk. Back on go the lug nuts, in goes the two cans of goo, jack and spare and everything else is pitched in the bed. The tire looks like it's got about 20 pounds of pressure in it and I've got about 6 miles of country road until I get to the first air and maybe cellular. To make a long story short, I get to air and spend $1.00 at one of those crappy quarter air stations to get about 50 pounds in it. Then I call Onstar for a roadside to get someone with a larger jack and a rubber mallet to get the dang aluminum wheel on and my spare aired up to 75 pounds. Three hours later, I cancel the no-show service call and limp it home 30 miles. Just got in from dousing the bugger with penetrating oil and yanking it off. Spare is on and aired up because I've got to drive 75 miles to Harrisburg in the morning. I Neverseized that rear hub darn good! Funny thing is, the removed wheel didn't lose any of the 50 pounds that I put in it over the long wait or the drive home (waiting for a belt to rip the fender off or to plunge into a ditch) and my valve cap was mysteriously missing when I started the aborted changeout. I'm strongly suspecting that someone let that tire down. I'm going to get it checked anyhow, and I'm not ready to trust it after being flat and run soft - so it may be time for a set of Michelins.

[stretch]

I admit it, It was me who let the air out of your tire. I saw that pretty pewter truck of yours and got so envious that I had to do something to make me feel better. I'm sorry... ;) :D

All kidding aside, I wouldn't be too concerned about the tire. Sure your route is the safest bet, but I have had tires run very low and filled it up and never had issues. Unless the side walls are showing some form of damage, I wouldn't sweat it. :cool:

[mackin]

Idle_Chatter

Hey the guy wrote ya a note !!!!!! Tire flat ......Felt guilty had no way to blow it back up !!!!!!

MAC :eek:

[Idle_Chatter]

Well, you gotta laugh about it, but I have to admit that if I knew that someone did it on purpose I've got another use for my tire iron in mind. Worst thing is that I bought a Chinese flat tire kit last year: 2 ton hydraulic jack, folding 4-way lugwrench, 12-volt (useless!) compressor that all fits in a nice black nylon bag. I had carried it in my bed for a long time, but OF COURSE it was in the garage when this happened. Location was the worst thing, very rural and remote area along the PA MD border. No garages or service stations (remember service stations? - man! I'm getting old!) and all twisting 2-lane 50mph blacktop roads and really crappy cellular coverage. My OEM Firestone Steeltex have been good tires for 37,000 miles, but they are getting pretty worn and cupped on the front, making noise and vibration. I was planning on running them through the Winter and going to Michelins in the Spring, but it looks like I'll be going to Sam's Club this Saturday. Thanks for fessing up, Stretch, I hope confession is good for the soul! :D

[sonofagun]

Idle,

Never ever happens in town, near a major service center or dealership. Sounds like a frustrating evening. If I were you next time I saw stretch I'd check his fingers for tire black tongue.gif ! Sometimes a guilty guy will fess up JUST to shift suspecting eyes elsewhere!! (joking stretch)

Sorry you had such a lousy night. Glad the stead stayed on the road.

Bob :D :D :D ;)

[chuntag95]

The wife told me last week that she had a tire going down. She could hear it. So, I told her to pull around back where the air compressor and floor jack are so I can put the spare on. I figured a nail or something, but no such luck. It was a brass air fitting about 1/2" in diameter poked straight through the middle of the tread. Michelins ain't cheap either. I was pulling out the floor jack and what does she do? :mad: PULLS IT OUT!! I shoved the jack under it really quick as it went from up to down in about 15 seconds. Got lucky as I had forgotten I put road hazzard on those tires, so I just had to pay for road hazzard and balancing again. :D

I have a good 12V compressor. I got one of those $50 12V compressors from Sears about 8-9 years ago. Keep it under the back seat of the truck. It worked so well for so long, I got one for my wife's truck. I burned up 3 of the cheapies before this one, so I recommend it. Has a pressure cutoff switch on it so you can set it and walk away without worrying your going to blow the tire. Worth the money IMHO.

[ 11-07-2002: Message edited by: chuntag95 (Chris) ]</p>

[Idle_Chatter]

Thanks for the sympathy and suggestions! I had to drive over to Harrisburg for the night and next day on the spare. Yesterday evening, before heading back to Maryland, I dragged the offending wheel out onto the tailgate and gave her a really good lookover. Still hardern' Chinese arithmatic, sidewalls looked fine and THEN, right smack in the middle of the tread, there's a twisted piece of metal. That fix-a-flat sure sealed it up well, but a good 12v compressor sure would have been handy! The plan now is to run to Pep Boys and have the OEM plugged, swap the tires on the rims and run the spare with the plugged one in spare until Spring when I originally planned to go to some Michelins! Thanks for the tip on the compressor, chuntag95, I'm going to check out Sears.

[hoot]

Next time (I know, there won't be) leave the lug nuts on but loose and lower the truck. The weight should dislodge it. If not, with some weight on it, shimmy the truck. Be careful, they dent easily :eek: