Comments on: Grease Monkey: Do It Yourself or Pay a Mechanic (4 of 4) http://www.primermagazine.com/2008/learn/grease-monkey-do-it-yourself-or-pay-a-mechanic-4-of-4 Not Your Typical Men's Magazine. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:48:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: J. Boone http://www.primermagazine.com/2008/learn/grease-monkey-do-it-yourself-or-pay-a-mechanic-4-of-4/comment-page-1#comment-10795 J. Boone Tue, 28 Jun 2011 01:40:40 +0000 http://www.primermagazine.com/?p=81#comment-10795 Look, I guess that this series isn't that popular with readers of this website, but that leads me to believe that many of the guys probably DO NEED this info. (I don't mean to rant. Lord knows I value the fashion advice found here.) However, I must disagree on a few points. One is that you can't advise people to pay for someone to change the oil, but then tell them to change the filter. If your going to change the filter, you have to drain the oil pan and anyway and obviously (hopefully) you would only put new oil back in. Two, I'm really going to have to disagree to pay someone else to change your tire. If you can do anything beyond put gas in your own car you should be able to change a flat. EVERY man, no matter how gentlemanly, NEEDS to know how to change a tire. Hell, I made sure my sister could do it. Which would you rather have? Your sister or mother stranded, waiting 30 minutes or an hour waiting in the middle of nowhere at night for the AAA guy or if no considerate chaps about, having her be able to change it quick and get the hell out of there before she gets raped? Also I need to point out that you missed a couple of important things when changing a tire. If you can push it to flatter ground its safer and above all make sure you block the tire that is diagonally opposite the tire your changing. Many cars have compact wedges with the jack. Otherwise use a brick, good rock, your Law Textbooks, or something. The only real dangerous thing that can happen is to rock the car off its jack while tightening the lug nuts. Which leads me to another point. Do not tighten the nuts with the tire iron until you've put it back on the ground. (Do hand tighten first.) It will be a hell of a lot easier and safer. Also many newer cars have at least one security jug nut on each wheel to make it harder to steal your low profile Mercedes wheels. It requires a key nut that fits over the regular lug nut to put the iron on. If it's not with the jack it might be in your glove box, but your owners manual will tell you. Another thing the author was right about; where you put the jack and its important it's on the actual frame. Most every car since the 90's has a specific notch that the jack fits in. Again, if you can't find it, it'll be in the owner's manual. Like the he said, you NEED to practice if you've never done it before. Once you've done it, you'll seem a whole lot smoother to a damsel in distress and won't look like a douche if you don't know how and your date does. Also, make sure you have a spare, know where it is, and that it has full pressure before you put it on. Putting on a full-size spare that is just as flat as the one you took off is a big waste of time. . . . been there. Hope this is beneficial. I enjoy the articles. Thanks. Look, I guess that this series isn’t that popular with readers of this website, but that leads me to believe that many of the guys probably DO NEED this info. (I don’t mean to rant. Lord knows I value the fashion advice found here.) However, I must disagree on a few points.

One is that you can’t advise people to pay for someone to change the oil, but then tell them to change the filter. If your going to change the filter, you have to drain the oil pan and anyway and obviously (hopefully) you would only put new oil back in.

Two, I’m really going to have to disagree to pay someone else to change your tire. If you can do anything beyond put gas in your own car you should be able to change a flat. EVERY man, no matter how gentlemanly, NEEDS to know how to change a tire. Hell, I made sure my sister could do it. Which would you rather have? Your sister or mother stranded, waiting 30 minutes or an hour waiting in the middle of nowhere at night for the AAA guy or if no considerate chaps about, having her be able to change it quick and get the hell out of there before she gets raped?

Also I need to point out that you missed a couple of important things when changing a tire. If you can push it to flatter ground its safer and above all make sure you block the tire that is diagonally opposite the tire your changing. Many cars have compact wedges with the jack. Otherwise use a brick, good rock, your Law Textbooks, or something. The only real dangerous thing that can happen is to rock the car off its jack while tightening the lug nuts. Which leads me to another point.

Do not tighten the nuts with the tire iron until you’ve put it back on the ground. (Do hand tighten first.) It will be a hell of a lot easier and safer. Also many newer cars have at least one security jug nut on each wheel to make it harder to steal your low profile Mercedes wheels. It requires a key nut that fits over the regular lug nut to put the iron on. If it’s not with the jack it might be in your glove box, but your owners manual will tell you.

Another thing the author was right about; where you put the jack and its important it’s on the actual frame. Most every car since the 90′s has a specific notch that the jack fits in. Again, if you can’t find it, it’ll be in the owner’s manual.

Like the he said, you NEED to practice if you’ve never done it before. Once you’ve done it, you’ll seem a whole lot smoother to a damsel in distress and won’t look like a douche if you don’t know how and your date does.

Also, make sure you have a spare, know where it is, and that it has full pressure before you put it on. Putting on a full-size spare that is just as flat as the one you took off is a big waste of time. . . . been there.

Hope this is beneficial. I enjoy the articles. Thanks.

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