There is a oh so much simpler way, just take your Ridgeline to your local Discount Tire store and they will rotate those tires for free.
Bill
Bill
Tire/wheel lift when rotating tires - (for the old guys)
Looking for a device that can help lift my mounted tires when rotating for easy remount.
I just did my first tire rotation and determined by the time I got to the 4th tire - I was struggling. At 68 I’m guessing this is only going to become more of a challenge. I love doing my own maintenance as much as possible and plan to join the 265 tire club as soon as these Firestones wear out.
That said - I’m wondering if anyone can recommend a tire/wheel lift that helps position the mounted tire correctly to easily remount. I’ve seen a few on Amazon, but they range from $125 - $500. Is anyone using a tire lift that you’d recommend? I know I can always go to Discount tire - and that is likely where I’ll buy my 265s when the time comes - but it’s still fun to do some of my own work. I torque just right and don’t over tighten. Besides - I just bought a Dewalt battery powered impact wrench. Gotta justify that purchase! Thanks for any advice or recommendations.
I just did my first tire rotation and determined by the time I got to the 4th tire - I was struggling. At 68 I’m guessing this is only going to become more of a challenge. I love doing my own maintenance as much as possible and plan to join the 265 tire club as soon as these Firestones wear out.
That said - I’m wondering if anyone can recommend a tire/wheel lift that helps position the mounted tire correctly to easily remount. I’ve seen a few on Amazon, but they range from $125 - $500. Is anyone using a tire lift that you’d recommend? I know I can always go to Discount tire - and that is likely where I’ll buy my 265s when the time comes - but it’s still fun to do some of my own work. I torque just right and don’t over tighten. Besides - I just bought a Dewalt battery powered impact wrench. Gotta justify that purchase! Thanks for any advice or recommendations.
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Ramasun7, I am with you in the "older crowd" and will be 74 next month. I just rotated my stock tires/wheels after a 7200 mile trip. What I do is jack the truck up and rest it on my 4 3 ton jack stands about 2" off the floor of my garage. I use a simple rolling adjustable height mechanics stool that I have set to the lowest position. I use the ground as my primary support for moving the tires around and attempt to do as little physical lifting as possible.
I rotate the hub so that one of the lug nut bolts is in the 12 o'clock position. I again use the ground to wiggle the wheel close to the axle. While seated on my stool, I align the wheel such that one of the holes is in the 12 o'clock position. With my rubber gloved hands, I place the wheel close to the hub and then use by sneaker covered feet to help lift the wheel/tire up to the lug pattern. I had major surgery done on my right shoulder and so I do not use the old technique of sitting on the ground and using my shoulders to lift up the wheel/tire which is the easiest way for alignment. The foot action does the trick and I have my lug nuts close at hand to secure the wheel when my foot lift and very little arm use gets the wheel into place.
Hope this helps. I have found that using the ground most of the time as the primary support is the key to not having to exert much effort in rotating the wheels/tires and I do not suffer any difficulties. I forgot to mention that I also place an abdominal wrap around me to reinforce my back and abdominal muscles which seems to help with the overall task.
BTW, I do not trust the tire shops to properly use the front cross technique on the tire rotation and I do a two-step lug nut tightening technique to eventually torque the lug nuts to the 94 lb. ft. spec. I also check the lug nuts after 100-200 miles to insure that everything is torqued to the proper spec.
I rotate the hub so that one of the lug nut bolts is in the 12 o'clock position. I again use the ground to wiggle the wheel close to the axle. While seated on my stool, I align the wheel such that one of the holes is in the 12 o'clock position. With my rubber gloved hands, I place the wheel close to the hub and then use by sneaker covered feet to help lift the wheel/tire up to the lug pattern. I had major surgery done on my right shoulder and so I do not use the old technique of sitting on the ground and using my shoulders to lift up the wheel/tire which is the easiest way for alignment. The foot action does the trick and I have my lug nuts close at hand to secure the wheel when my foot lift and very little arm use gets the wheel into place.
Hope this helps. I have found that using the ground most of the time as the primary support is the key to not having to exert much effort in rotating the wheels/tires and I do not suffer any difficulties. I forgot to mention that I also place an abdominal wrap around me to reinforce my back and abdominal muscles which seems to help with the overall task.
BTW, I do not trust the tire shops to properly use the front cross technique on the tire rotation and I do a two-step lug nut tightening technique to eventually torque the lug nuts to the 94 lb. ft. spec. I also check the lug nuts after 100-200 miles to insure that everything is torqued to the proper spec.
Agree 100% — just head to the closest Discount Tire store!There is a oh so much simpler way, just take your Ridgeline to your local Discount Tire store and they will rotate those tires for free.
Bill
One has to ask, why you want to do this labor yourself OP?
He adequately explained his reasoning for wanting to do the tire change himself - for self gratification and knowledge the job was done correctly. We have used DT multiple times, but they have messed up a couple of times.
How can you mess up rotating tires, with the possible exception of not getting the lug nuts torqued properly? But even that is easy enough to confirm after the heavy stuff has been done?We have used DT multiple times, but they have messed up a couple of times.
Bill
Bill, Because my local Honda dealership stated that they were going to move my front tires to the back and the back tires to the front. They did not seem to understand that Honda recommends a Front Cross method of tire rotation for AWD RTL's that do not have directional tires on the truck. They also advised that their air guns only torque to 90 lb. ft. Additionally, the clowns set the tires pressures on warm/hot tires. How many cumulative mistakes can one take before they decide that these folks do not have the proper skills to do a simple tire rotation correctly?How can you mess up rotating tires, with the possible exception of not getting the lug nuts torqued properly? But even that is easy enough to confirm after the heavy stuff has been done?
Bill
I have a home made tire lifting fork...Its a Y design made out of 3/8" round stock...My neighbor, back when I was growing up had one made for his daughter and I copied his design...(I'm 80)...
I can take pictures with my smart phone, BUT I'm not smart enough to post them here???
larryd
I can take pictures with my smart phone, BUT I'm not smart enough to post them here???
larryd
Same here, I had to request the proper tire rotation (arrows to the correct location) and usually they didn't mess with tire pressure but last trip they reset my tires down to 35 (warm) so that when cool the pressure was too low. I also re-torque the lug nuts (I have even stopped in the parking lot at the dealership before I left to check the lug nuts and also the oil level). I also mark my oil filter with a sharpie so that I know it was actually changed (since Honda recommends/allows oil filters to be changed every other oil change) and I pay for and WANT the oil filter changed every time I double check it. So far they have changed it each time. Am I a little OCD about maintenance? Perhaps but in my decades of car maintenance I have avoided any maintenance related failures and see no need to change my regimen now.Bill, Because my local Honda dealership stated that they were going to move my front tires to the back and the back tires to the front. They did not seem to understand that Honda recommends a Front Cross method of tire rotation for AWD RTL's that do not have directional tires on the truck. They also advised that their air guns only torque to 90 lb. ft. Additionally, the clowns set the tires pressures on warm/hot tires. How many cumulative mistakes can one take before they decide that these folks do not have the proper skills to do a simple tire rotation correctly?
There's two schools of thought on tire rotations. Front to back or Front side to rear back side. I always do front to back. And the reason is then you know much better if a tire position is out of alignment. For example when the tires are new you rotate them at 6k. Then if you do it again at 12k and then again at 20k by that time you are not sure what tires are where and if you see (finally that a tread pattern is wearing) then you aren't sure which position it came from . Hence why I do just front to back and only do them myself to ensure I know what position they were in the whole time. When I took the Auto class that was how they taught it back in the early 80's. So I've stuck to it since.
"" How can you mess up rotating tires ""
Answer: Cross threaded bolts
Answer: Cross threaded bolts
Thank you Steve for your common sense!There's two schools of thought on tire rotations. Front to back or Front side to rear back side. I always do front to back. And the reason is then you know much better if a tire position is out of alignment. For example when the tires are new you rotate them at 6k. Then if you do it again at 12k and then again at 20k by that time you are not sure what tires are where and if you see (finally that a tread pattern is wearing) then you aren't sure which position it came from . Hence why I do just front to back and only do them myself to ensure I know what position they were in the whole time. When I took the Auto class that was how they taught it back in the early 80's. So I've stuck to it since.
Bill
Steve, I like your reasoning for front to back and back to front for alignment assessment. You state that you learned this back in the early 80's. Back then, they generally did not have AWD vehicles. I wonder if the Honda recommendation for Front Cross is based on the AWD issues? In terms of figuring out alignment issues, if I see that my tires are wearing improperly, my inclination is to get a 4-wheel alignment and hopefully ameliorate the problem. In older trucks or ones that sustain some kind of damage, the alignment may be going out due to wear and tear on other suspension parts that an alignment will not fix by itself.
I forgot to mention that my two-step method of tightening the lug nuts is to prevent over-torque of any individual lug nut by a technician either not following the tried and true method of tightening opposite lug nuts and just really cranking down on the first lug nut and thereby increasing the possibility of rotor damage due to improperly mounted tires. I am glad that TopWater also brought up the situation of cross threading lug nuts. Some technicians don't put the nuts on by hand and this can occasionally lead to cross threading. I have had it happen on my wife's car.
I forgot to mention that my two-step method of tightening the lug nuts is to prevent over-torque of any individual lug nut by a technician either not following the tried and true method of tightening opposite lug nuts and just really cranking down on the first lug nut and thereby increasing the possibility of rotor damage due to improperly mounted tires. I am glad that TopWater also brought up the situation of cross threading lug nuts. Some technicians don't put the nuts on by hand and this can occasionally lead to cross threading. I have had it happen on my wife's car.
We did an alignment in class on the test vehicle. A AMC Eagle Awd at the time.
Or in my case once: multiple missing lug nuts on a wheel! 😱"" How can you mess up rotating tires ""
Answer: Cross threaded bolts
Note: this was not at a dealer or Discount Tire, it was at an unsurprisingly now-closed independent shop.
So excellent. Thank you very much. A great write up and solution.Ramasun7, I am with you in the "older crowd" and will be 74 next month. I just rotated my stock tires/wheels after a 7200 mile trip. What I do is jack the truck up and rest it on my 4 3 ton jack stands about 2" off the floor of my garage. I use a simple rolling adjustable height mechanics stool that I have set to the lowest position. I use the ground as my primary support for moving the tires around and attempt to do as little physical lifting as possible.
I rotate the hub so that one of the lug nut bolts is in the 12 o'clock position. I again use the ground to wiggle the wheel close to the axle. While seated on my stool, I align the wheel such that one of the holes is in the 12 o'clock position. With my rubber gloved hands, I place the wheel close to the hub and then use by sneaker covered feet to help lift the wheel/tire up to the lug pattern. I had major surgery done on my right shoulder and so I do not use the old technique of sitting on the ground and using my shoulders to lift up the wheel/tire which is the easiest way for alignment. The foot action does the trick and I have my lug nuts close at hand to secure the wheel when my foot lift and very little arm use gets the wheel into place.
Hope this helps. I have found that using the ground most of the time as the primary support is the key to not having to exert much effort in rotating the wheels/tires and I do not suffer any difficulties. I forgot to mention that I also place an abdominal wrap around me to reinforce my back and abdominal muscles which seems to help with the overall task.
BTW, I do not trust the tire shops to properly use the front cross technique on the tire rotation and I do a two-step lug nut tightening technique to eventually torque the lug nuts to the 94 lb. ft. spec. I also check the lug nuts after 100-200 miles to insure that everything is torqued to the proper spec.
Same here - OCD can be a strength. I bought a lifetime warranty for my Jeep (totaled in February). Never had an engine problem (122K miles) and got well over 60,000 miles on my original tires because I rotated every 5K. Most got 25 - 30K on theirs. And I went off road often.
Thanks for your post.
Thanks for your post.
OUCH - I’ll pay some one and watch them in my garage! Prob cheaper. But amazing equipment!
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