Archived Flat tire, and frozen wheel at work . . .

[BMH95]

Yup, I heard the dreaded hiss as I got out of the truck at the office this afternoon. The driver's rear tire went flat in about 2 minutes from a good sized puncture wound. So I jack up the axle, get the lugs off, get the spare down, and . . . .



Wheel is frozen to the axle / rotor assembly. I have no hammer or mallet with me, and the thing isn't coming off with my hands.



I called roadside, and they said nothing tire or wheel related was covered, but they'd be happy to send a truck at my expense.



The truck is an '05 2500 4x4 QC SB. It has a hair over 21,000 on her, and she's had the tires rotated twice. There is no excuse for a wheel being frozen at only 7 months old.



What should I do?



1. Get a ride and buy a 3lb mallet to beat the wheel with,

2. Call the clossest dealer

3. Call DC and bark at them

4. Other?



Thanks!!

 

[bulabula]

I'd lower the wheel to the ground, loosen the lug nuts a little and move the truck back and forth a little to jar it loose.

 

[BMH95]

I'd lower the wheel to the ground, loosen the lug nuts a little and move the truck back and forth a little to jar it loose.

I actually semi-tried that already. I put the wheel back on the ground, and then moved it in and out of gear several times, and then backed up a couple of feet, and then forward again. No dice. I'm afraid of ruining the tire or rim, since it is flat-flat.

 

[Joe Mc]

Jack up so both rear tires are off the ground, loosen all lug nuts on the tire you wish to remove - emphasis on "loosen" and not remove. Leave lugs on at least 4 full turns. get the wheels going forward then apply the brakes. You should hear a "pop" come from the side with loose lugs. If not, try it in reverse. Don't go hog wild, just work it back and forth. If you call roadside assitance again just say you have a flat - don't give more information or you will get answers you don't like. If the guy came out to change your tire he would have figured a way to get it off.



You should really fill out a signature. Do you have rear drums, or disc? auto or stick? Makes it easier to help out. Good luck with the tire.



Oh another thing - if you can get an air tank, stop by the local parts house and for $10 or so pick up a tire plug kit. Fill the tire up then put a plug in it then when you take it in to get the tire fixed the shop can deal with taking it off . . . .

 

[BMH95]

Jack up so both rear tires are off the ground, loosen all lug nuts on the tire you wish to remove - emphasis on "loosen" and not remove. Leave lugs on at least 4 full turns. get the wheels going forward then apply the brakes. You should hear a "pop" come from the side with loose lugs. If not, try it in reverse. Don't go hog wild, just work it back and forth. If you call roadside assitance again just say you have a flat - don't give more information or you will get answers you don't like. If the guy came out to change your tire he would have figured a way to get it off.



You should really fill out a signature. Do you have rear drums, or disc? auto or stick? Makes it easier to help out. Good luck with the tire.



Oh another thing - if you can get an air tank, stop by the local parts house and for $10 or so pick up a tire plug kit. Fill the tire up then put a plug in it then when you take it in to get the tire fixed the shop can deal with taking it off . . . .

I will fill out my sig, thanks for the reminder.



Can I put the whole back end of the truck on that little floor jack? It's an 05, so it has rear disks, and an auto.

 

[rweis]

Where are you? State, City, general location.



Bob Weis

 

[BMH95]

I'm in Schaumburg, IL. I had a buddy run me over to an auto parts store, where I aquired a heavy mallet. 3 whacks and it's off. Thanks for the responses, guys.

 

[Nightram]

Or, be very careful! I mean very careful, and kick the bottom of the tire repeatedly. This is very common for Ford's to do this, then when you get a chance, get all the tires off and apply liberal anti-sieze to the mating surface on the hub for the wheel, and the wheel mating surfaces itself. Good luck!

 

[BMH95]

Well, the tire is at the NTB nearby getting patched and rebalanced. Now for the fun story. The part where the truck falls off the little factory jack and lands on the rotor. Yup, my buddy pulled the tired off (after I beat it with the mallet), and the jack popped out from under the axle tube. The little cupped tab bent, and the truck just popped it out. So it fell onto a pavement parking lot, and put a nice gouge / dent where the rotor landed on the ground. Do I need to worry about something being bent? I drove the truck at 65mph on the way home with the spare, and didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. Do you think that damaged something? Now I don't trust that little jack for anything. Certainly, DO NOT GET UNDER THE TRUCK WHILE USING THAT LITTLE JACK!!

 

[testraub]

Your story touches me to the heart. That itty bitty jack they give us anin't worth spit. I don't get under my truck without at least 2. 5 ton jack stands. I get a flat on the road... . Hello "Triple A" and a 5 ton jack

 

[rweis]

I had an 5er rv axle problem and now carry 2@ 20 ton bottle jacks and 4@ 6 ton stands. The 20 ton bj fits where the OEM (I hate to say jack) thing went. Some guys carry a floor jack for same reason. Falling anything with you under it is NOT good!



Bob Weis

 

[Joe Mc]

I will fill out my sig, thanks for the reminder.



Can I put the whole back end of the truck on that little floor jack? It's an 05, so it has rear disks, and an auto.

:--) :--) NOOOOOOOO! Heavens NO



I think the only time I ever used that "thing" was to jack the front differential away from the frame to fit the 2" spring spacers in. Oh, and once on vacation in a campground to switch to the spare.

 

[Cummins360]

I carry a 5 ton hydraulic floor jack under the back seat of my ram... . The Back seat passengers can deal with sitting on a floor jack under there behinds. That little piece of crap metal thingy that they gave you fron the factory is pathetic and insulting... . if I wasnt selling the truck it would be in the garbage can!!

 

[Joe G.]

Believe it or not, the poor excuse for a jack that came with my truck does work. Shortly after I bought the truck I was going fishing with my son-in-law in the mountains in Utah. He was showing me the way to a good spot. Messy muddy road. We came to a small turn in the road with a lot of water. Looked kind of bad to me, but he said it was just a mud hole. The lake is right around the corner. It turned out we were on the wrong road and the mud hole was a spring. When I drove into the mud hole the right front tire fell and all the weight was on the frame on that side. I could turn the tire with my hands. The only jack we had was the brand new thing in the truck. It took six hours to get the truck out of that hole and every flat rock for a half mile in any direction. The biggest problem was that the truck was not comeing up. The flat rocks were going down! They finally hit bottom or something and we were able to raise the truck and pile all sorts of things under the front. All of this up over our knees in ice cold muddy slop in the water running out of the spring. Needless to say, I don't enlist the services of my son-in-law as a fishing guide any more.

 

[Cummins360]

LMFAO!!!! That must have sucked!!!! Omg I'm glad that wasnt me in that situation... . I would have made him walk and go get a tow truck!! LMAO