I am planning to remove my winter tires/wheels and replace them with my all season tires/wheels. I would like to do this myself rather than hire someone and had a few questions about car jacks (fyi: i've never changed a tire or used a jack before).

1. Is the jack that comes with the car sufficient for this purpose, or would it be advisable to buy a different type of jack? (the jack that comes with the car doesn't seem particularly sturdy to me...)

2. I was looking at some Michelin jacks rated at 3000, 4000 and 5000 lbs. Since my car is 2869lbs, is it sufficient to buy the 3000 lb jack, or should I move up to 4000? Also, does the lbs rating on a jack refer to the weight of the car itself, or the actual amount it can lift (keeping in mind that when you jack up a car, the jack is not lifting the entire weight of the car; the weight is being shared between the jack and the ground).

 

Mr Bond, I do this every year with a different car, and have chosen to use a floor jack, they are quicker and simpler to use than the jack that comes with most cars.

Remember safety, of course, and we are supposed to use jack stands, although I do not use them since I am never under the car. I do block the car to keep it from rolling, changing the block after each wheel, it WILL roll if you raise the wheel that the car uses to remain immobile, then you can get badly hurt, and your car will be damaged.

Michelin or Sears floor jacks are good quality and as you say, the capacity is of the jack itself, and as you note, normally do not lift the entire car. The 3000 lb (1 and a half ton) jack is more than adequate for this task (ie it will lift 3000 lbs safely).

When doing this, it is good practice to loosen lug nuts prior to jacking, do one tire at a time, swap out the summer or winter tire and rim, then finger tighten the lugs. Lower the car to the ground, then ALWAYS tighten lug nuts ONLY with a torque wrench to manufacturer requirements. From experience, using a socket set alone is NO guarantee that the wheel will stay on, and over tightening lugs results in warped brake discs (on the front of the HCH2 hybrid only) which leads to the incredibly annoying pulsating brake pedal. My 2006 HCH2 owner manual says 80 ft-lbs of torque is required. Tighten your lug nuts in a star pattern as is displayed in the owner manual. Its important to get this detail correct, as the HCH2 uses lightweight alloy wheels which are probably more sensitive to over or under tightening.

Should you choose to take it to a professional, insist on them hand torqueing the lug nuts, or they will end up warping your brakes for you (and will be delighted to repair them too). Ask that they use the air gun only to remove the nuts, and replace the lug nuts by had and a torque wrench. The better stores already do this.

Get into this good habit, and what sounds complicated in this post is actually quite a breeze.

Best wishes,

 

Thanks for your response carsd. I do have a couple follow up questions though...

Could you elaborate on your statement "it [the car] WILL roll if you raise the wheel that the car uses to remain immobile"? Don't all of the wheels (aside from the one being jacked up) prevent the car from rolling if the car is in Park and the parking brake is set?

Also, what do you mean by "blocking the wheels"?

Thanks.

 

MrBond, usually only one or two wheels are what keep the car from rolling when in park or the park brake is engaged.

When the car is in park, only the front drive wheels are locked on the HCH2, and it could be only one of the two. With the park brake engaged, usually the two rear wheels are locked. From a safety perspective, assume that the car will roll the second you raise one wheel from the ground. To prevent the car from moving when one wheel is jacked up, wedge a heavy block (4x4 piece of lumber for example, something the car cannot roll over) behind the tire diagonally opposite from where you are jacking from rolling. For example, if you are jacking up the driver side front wheel, block the passenger rear tire from rolling. Auto parts stores and even WalMart sell wedge shaped wheel blocks (or "chocks") for a few bucks.

You should only attempt this on a level surface. Avoid working on a slope, all this becomes very difficult and dangerous.

Mechanic friends of mine have taught me not to trust a parking brake or even a locked transmission to prevent the car from rolling. They are known to suddenly give way, especially on older cars. A car will move and take your jack with it unless the car is prevented from moving with blocks.

Hope this helps.

 

I have found on the Civic that if you use the front jack point to raise the car using a regular hydraulic jack, you can lift both wheels off the ground just fine.

If you do the lifting on a flat level surface, make sure that the car is in park, and the rear brake is set, that you can remove both wheels without any fear that the car is going to have a mind of its own and take off.

If fact, you want the car to move a little as it goes up on the jack so that it pivots itself to stay centered on the jack pad. After you get it up where you want it, then would be the time to chock the wheels.

 

Thanks again for the responses. I bought a Michelin jack over the weekend and had a couple questions about it (which aren't specified in the instructions) which I was hoping you may be able to answer.

First, the jack includes a rubber saddle pad that fits into the saddle. Should the pad be used in all situations, or is it only appropriate for certain types of jacking points? I guess my real question is should the pad be used when lifting a HCHII?

And second, the instructions refer to an "oil filler plug" but it isn't actually shown in any of the diagrams, so I am trying to identify where it is. There are two slotted screws in the area where the plug is supposed to be (that both have a red plastic "do not adjust" cap covering them). Would one of these screws be the oil filler plug? And if so, which screw is the correct one? (one screw is flush with the metal surrounding it and has a shallow slot. the other screw extends above the metal surrounding it and has a deeper slot).

 

Leave the jack saddle pad on, it will keep the jack from scraping off the paint on the jack point on the car.

Your second question was a little baffling until I figured out that you were talking about the jack and adding oil.

The oil plug is usually a threaded plug, and are not the bleed adjusting screws. But, unless you get a seal leak on the jack or oil leaks out somehow, you will never need to add oil to it.

 

MrBond, its best to ue the jacking points described in the owner manual. Jacking elsewhere on the unibody or suspension could damage the car.

Be sure you are familiar with how to gently lower the car on the jack when complete. Also, prevent the jack handle from being anywhere near the car, don't want to scratch it.

 

All good advice above. Esp about using the front jack to get one whole side up. I recently tried with the rear point to no success.

I wanted to add:
Invest in a box of latex gloves! Your wife will thank you.
Use some anti-seize compound on the lugs and wheel hub. This will help with future wheel removal.
Re-torque your wheels after 50-100 miles of driving. Aluminum wheels expand and contract with temp and the lugs can loosen.
Lastly, I use a $20 2-ton jack from Autozone with no problems.

Glad you are doing it for yourself.

 

Hi HCH II owners,

I was searching for something else when I ran across this bit of bad advise in your forum and thought I would point it out in case anybody runs across it in the future. While applying anti-seize to the wheel hub is a good idea and will help prevent the wheel from freezing on the hub, applying anti-seize compound other any friction modifying material to wheel lugs/nuts is a big NO-NO. You can do a quick google search for verification of this.

Cheers