Just a quick venting thread

I’m no novice with basic car maintenance. But for the first 40k miles, it’s been easier with family and work to just drop it off at the dealer for regular maintenance. Today I did my own simple tire rotation, should take less than an hour, right?

1. Dealers tighten the lugs WAY TOO TIGHT!!!! WTF!?
2. Since I put on 32” tires, my trusty floor jack couldn’t raise the frame high enough now, so I had to use the crappy stock bottle jack. That thing is the absolute worst!
3. My metric socket set only went up to 19mm, but the 13/16 “lug nut” socket is just big enough to get the lug nut jammed in the socket on all 24 lugs. I had to spike the thing into the driveway to get the lug nut to release from the socket.
4. Took two hours to do a simple left front to left back, right front to right back rotation.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

 

Opposite of TED talk.
You just complained you did not have the right tools to do a tire rotation. Right?

 

Get yourself a nice piece of of 2" x 6" wood to put under your bottle jack. It may save you on the side of the road. Guess it's time for a more trusty floor jack, since your 32" tires only gave you 1/2" lift.

 

I don't rotate tires but do all the fluid/plug changes. tools are the key. a block of wood helps with the jacking

 

I had the same problem after I swapped the suspension. The excellent but way old floor jack that my wife bought me just couldn't do it. I got a new Long Reach Daytona with Rapid Pump that I had been looking for an excuse to get for a very long time. So much nicer.

Also, pick up a set of metric impact sockets from HF and be happy for decades to come.

 

1. They often do. Speed > correct is usually their priority.

2. Get better/correct tools for the job.

3. See above, and for stuck fasteners use a brass punch/drift to drive them out through the square-drive hole in the socket instead of throwing shit at the ground like a Neanderthal.

4. Maybe just keep letting the dealer do the work?

 

Sounds like you're enjoying your new truck.

Lugs should be 21mm IIRC.



For what it's worth as someone who used to work at a dealer the hobo's (often quite literally) on the lube/tire line that have never heard of a torque wrench and believe 9ish ugga-dugga's 'aughtter be gewd' are not the same quality as the Toyota mechanics on the maintenance line who are usually still a far cry from the handful of Master Techs that get to pick and choose their jobs.

And they ain't choosing oil changes and tire rotations...

Unless of course the yahoos on line 2 can't figure it out and it gets dumped on someone who's trained tested and actually knows what they're doing.

 

The hell with rotating tires in the driveway, buy tires from a place that offers free tire rotation

 

I'd rather smash my nutz flat with a mallet. ....dealers never touch any of my Toyotas

 

I use these under my bottle jack and they’re adequate for bigger tires and lifted trucks.

 

LOL, loved it! I think people don't understand the meaning of "sarcasm" and that you are just venting, not blaming anything or anyone (besides yourself). Good Job sir, always happy to hear you vent. We've all been there Now drink a beer and watch the opening of F1 racing. It looks like Ferrari is back this season . They are looking strong!

 

And yet you dont have the right tools for the task at hand.......

Guessing next time will go better for you.

 

bought!! .....thanks for the tip

 

A real floor jack, a pair of jackstands, a 1/2" impact wrench, and of course a torque wrench... I can usually rotate all 4 in about 25-30 minutes while drinking a beer after work. I had a beefy RCI skid plate on the front of my old 4Runner and I could just slide the jack anywhere under it and lift the truck up. It was nice. Super quick and easy. The lugs should be 85-90 foot pounds. If you couldn't break them free I would have a discussion with the service manager. Bubba needs a torque wrench.

 

Even they are prone to hiring hobos often…

Do get the right socket.

Use a 2x8 / 2x6 base at home and lift away!

Get a plug kit and tiny compressor for road emergencies. (Unless you daily carry a proper one for airing down…)

 

Yep, got all that stuff.

 

Or just got to America’s Tire/Discount Tire. They’ll rotate them for free even if you didn’t buy them there

 

this! Or just get it done with every oil change..ymmv

 

sounds about right.

i always plan for a full saturday to do anything on 1 vehicle. even an oil change. stuff always happens, i get distracted, they give me the wrong parts, the tools i use/expect to work either suddenly elope from the tool box, or break at the wrong moment. and any parts store run is at least a full hour round trip, despite the stores being 10-15 minutes away...

 

Tool