Problems changing front tyre on 2011 Triton........What could I have done?

[topt]

Neighbour let me know last night that the front offside tyre had completely deflated - and I mean completely.

 

I have changed rear tyres at least twice on this vehicle and never had problems but it had been a while so out came manual to remind me and also to find the right anchor point for the jack. So put the jack in place and started to pump the lever - never got the tyre off the ground. Tried to put something underneath it to raise it further but still wasn't enough. The supplied bottle jack did not look like it was opening up fully so on the You tube to see if anything could be done. Tried bleeding air but that did not seem to make much if any difference. Did not have any oil so could not try that.

 

This morning went out and eventually bought another bottle jack which also had a screw thread to open it up higher. Used that and eventually got the damaged tyre off. Unfortunately in doing so of course the front suspension drops the wheel disc bit lower so could not put the spare tyre on - and could not get the new bottle jack high enough........

 

So used the old jack on a brick to raise the disc and was just able to get it high enough to put on the spare.

 

If I had been out and about I wouldn't have been able to do this.........but I guess I could have called my insurance............

 

What gets me is even if the original Mitsu bottle jack had opened to what looks like its fullest extent it still would not have worked for the front tyre. Nothing in the book about this of course. 

 

Is there something else I could have done differently to have made the process a lot easier? I will repeat I never had issues changing rear tyres in the past. 

 

PS - yes simple answer would be to get to a garage before the tyre got that flat but unfortunately I hadn't noticed it.

[foreverlomsak]

you could have tried reinflating the tire and driving to the nearest garage slowly

[topt]

15 minutes ago, foreverlomsak said:

you could have tried reinflating the tire and driving to the nearest garage slowly

Forgot to mention that a friend had one of those electronic inflators so we tried that but unfortunately would not reinflate. Also tried a scizzor type jack from a Fiesta but that did not help either.

[norbra]

Put the jack under a suspension component near the wheel

[willr]

Put the jack under the wishbone.and not the body of the car. 

[stix40]

Buy a trolley jack and place under lower arm .

[AustinRacing]

I don’t think you places the jack in the right place. The supplied jack should lift it enough to change any tyre. I suggest you look up YouTube perhaps to find the right place to lift the front. There may be a chance that the jack is faulty but it seems unlikely as you’ve used it for the back. 

[Mises]

The original jack likely also has a screw but is seized/locked.  A pair of stillsons or mole grips and a hammer is needed, grip the head and tap anticlockwise.

[Kwasaki]

The OEM bottle Jack's are a pain get a scissor jack.

[brianthainess]

As said you need to jack under the suspension, all you were doing was extending the suspension/lifting the body. 

[HauptmannUK]

Some very dangerous advice above!  Never support a vehicle by suspension components... (1) they obviously can move, and therefore the vehicle is not stable, and (2) they are not designed to take the weight of the vehicle and may be deformed by the pressure exerted by the end of the bottle jack ram.

 

The Triton, and similar vehicles with body-on-chassis construction, should be lifted on the chassis frame or (at the rear) on the axle casing. In the case of the Triton you'll find lifting points on the front chassis outriggers where they meet the main frame. At the rear you can lift under the axle - the nose of the bottle jack has a groove in it which the seam on the axle casting should align with (turn the jack ram so it lines up).  If you couldn't get a fully inflated front wheel to clear the ground then, (1) the jack was in the wrong place, (2) the jack was not fully extending or not the one supplied with the vehicle, (3) the wheel/tyre combo was a larger diameter than standard.

[Joe Farang]

Maybe you could have found a girl to change it for you?

[norbra]

4 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

Some very dangerous advice above!  Never support a vehicle by suspension components... (1) they obviously can move, and therefore the vehicle is not stable, and (2) they are not designed to take the weight of the vehicle and may be deformed by the pressure exerted by the end of the bottle jack ram.

 

The Triton, and similar vehicles with body-on-chassis construction, should be lifted on the chassis frame or (at the rear) on the axle casing. In the case of the Triton you'll find lifting points on the front chassis outriggers where they meet the main frame. At the rear you can lift under the axle - the nose of the bottle jack has a groove in it which the seam on the axle casting should align with (turn the jack ram so it lines up).  If you couldn't get a fully inflated front wheel to clear the ground then, (1) the jack was in the wrong place, (2) the jack was not fully extending or not the one supplied with the vehicle, (3) the wheel/tyre combo was a larger diameter than standard.

From the dark ages front suspensions have been taking the weight of vehicles even including torsion bars

[topt]

On 5/24/2023 at 7:50 AM, stix40 said:

Buy a trolley jack and place under lower arm .

Yes an option but I would then have to carry it round in the back to make it worthwhile so not ideal thanks.

[topt]

On 5/23/2023 at 5:59 PM, norbra said:

Put the jack under a suspension component near the wheel

 

On 5/24/2023 at 4:37 AM, willr said:

Put the jack under the wishbone.and not the body of the car. 

I was concerned about putting it in the wrong place and ending up with other issues.

 

21 hours ago, Mises said:

The original jack likely also has a screw but is seized/locked.  A pair of stillsons or mole grips and a hammer is needed, grip the head and tap anticlockwise.

Thanks I will check that out .

 

On 5/24/2023 at 7:53 AM, AustinRacing said:

I don’t think you places the jack in the right place. The supplied jack should lift it enough to change any tyre. I suggest you look up YouTube perhaps to find the right place to lift the front. There may be a chance that the jack is faulty but it seems unlikely as you’ve used it for the back. 

I am not sure you read my OP fully. I put it in the right place according to the handbook pictures - that was pretty clear. Jack was last used more than 5 years ago and according to You Tube they can and do "malfunction"..............

[topt]

6 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

If you couldn't get a fully inflated front wheel to clear the ground then, (1) the jack was in the wrong place, (2) the jack was not fully extending or not the one supplied with the vehicle, (3) the wheel/tyre combo was a larger diameter than standard.

1 - not according to the book but I am not an expert

2- I don't think it was but even with the new jack it was not enough

3 - standard spare, same sizes.

[topt]

2 hours ago, norbra said:

From the dark ages front suspensions have been taking the weight of vehicles even including torsion bars

I wouldn't really know and although I have heard of I could not tell what or where the torsion bar was unfortunately.

I think I need to ask at a Mitsu dealership where exactly it is ok to put the jack to enable changing a front tyre with the supplied jack as the supposed correct jacking point does not appear to work.  

 

Thanks for all the replies 

[quake]

check your bottle jack again

 

[topt]

52 minutes ago, quake said:

check your bottle jack again

Thanks. Yes mine is definitely faulty.

[dingdongrb]

Buy a Toyota. 

[HauptmannUK]

8 hours ago, norbra said:

From the dark ages front suspensions have been taking the weight of vehicles even including torsion bars

Clearly you don't understand the physics of vehicle suspension. Many suspension components are strong in only one plane or axis.  A wishbone is designed to be strong and stiff in the lateral plane of the wishbone. To take axial loads during cornering and to restrain the bottom of the suspension upright during braking and acceleration. If you place a jack under a wishbone and lift the vehicle you are trying to bend the wishbone. There are plenty of vehicles with thin pressed wishbones that are easily damaged.

Similarly you don't jack cars under ARBs, drop links etc etc

In the UK if you are responsible for a workshop and VOSA or HSE pay a visit and see vehicles lifted on suspension components then you'll have trouble. 

[Jeff the Chef]

Carry a can of this and an inflater, 

[norbra]

1 hour ago, HauptmannUK said:

Clearly you don't understand the physics of vehicle suspension. Many suspension components are strong in only one plane or axis.  A wishbone is designed to be strong and stiff in the lateral plane of the wishbone. To take axial loads during cornering and to restrain the bottom of the suspension upright during braking and acceleration. If you place a jack under a wishbone and lift the vehicle you are trying to bend the wishbone. There are plenty of vehicles with thin pressed wishbones that are easily damaged.

Similarly you don't jack cars under ARBs, drop links etc etc

In the UK if you are responsible for a workshop and VOSA or HSE pay a visit and see vehicles lifted on suspension components then you'll have trouble. 

I had the roadside need to jack one of these at the pointy end of the wishbone,.no problems.Enjoy

https://www.topgear.com/videos/top-gear-tv/clarkson-drives-vauxhall-vxr8-series-10-episode-8

[topt]

36 minutes ago, norbra said:

I had the roadside need to jack one of these at the pointy end of the wishbone,.no problems.Enjoy

https://www.topgear.com/videos/top-gear-tv/clarkson-drives-vauxhall-vxr8-series-10-episode-8

Thanks - envious but that video is actually older than my truck! 

[norbra]

8 minutes ago, topt said:

Thanks - envious but that video is actually older than my truck! 

Sadly I had to leave it behind so many years ago

[kwilco]

the vehicle jack should be easily sufficient in normal circumstances.

So maybe you were in act using the wrong jackpoint

or

Your wheels/tyres suspension are not standard?

[kwilco]

my vehicle was lifted with non standard tyres and rims - So I used to carry 3 jacks, 2 spares and a drill puncture repair kit.. Never needed for 10 years until one day had a catastrophic flat.  ...then found my wheel nuts were a different size to the wrench.

 

One phone call, an hour and 250 baht later I hd a guy remove the tyre, fit a spare and went to the shop to get a replacement.