30,000 mile service

[Sekmor]

Not sure if rotating tires is level 1 though. Taking tires out and replacement is not tough but usually folks have 1 lifter and couple of stands. I wanted to do this myself for a long time but was always afraid to over tilt the car, etc. Any ideas?

For tire rotation, a rolling floor jack works the best. Start on one corner and work your way around, one tire at a time. If you have no way to support the car after removing wheel #1, you can use the spare as a replacement until you get tire #4 off. To do it properly, a good torque wrench is nice to have.
But doing this at home is more than saving a couple bucks.. While the car is up in the air, it's nice to pressure wash the suspension, under carriage, etc. Lots of little gravel and dirt get stuck in those little hidden places. Also cleaning the inside of the rims. Look around underneath for anything unusual, inspect and put it back together. All part of the fun of keeping the car running smooth.

 

[bmninada]

This is what my friend suggested:

This set of steps has me slightly worried, since the car will be tilted. If this is okay, remaining is fine.

1. LIFT FRONT DRIVER SIDE, ADD JACK STAND, REMOVE LIFTER, REMOVE TIRE
2. LIFT REAR DRIVER SIDE, ADD JACK STAND, REMOVE LIFTER, REMOVE TIRE
3. ATTACH TO FRONT THE REAR TIRE
4. RELEASE FRONT 1 tire done

• LIFT FRONT PASSENGER SIDE, ADD JACK STAND STAND, REMOVE LIFTER, REMOVE TIRE
• PUT TIRE TO DRIVER REAR
• RELEASE DRIVER REAR 2 tires done

• LIFT REAR PASSENGER SIDE, ADD JACK STAND STAND, REMOVE LIFTER, REMOVE TIRE
• ATTACH TO FRONT THIS REAR TIRE
• RELEASE PASSENGER FRONT 3 tires done

• ATTACH TO PASSENGER REAR, DRIVER FRONT TIRE
• RELEASE REAR PASSENGER 4 tires done

 

[Strummer]

Many thanks for all the responses.
I've booked the car in for Friday 4/15 and I'll post a breakdown of the charges here...
Curious to see what you all think.

 

[edhchoe]

For tire rotation, a rolling floor jack works the best. Start on one corner and work your way around, one tire at a time. If you have no way to support the car after removing wheel #1, you can use the spare as a replacement until you get tire #4 off. To do it properly, a good torque wrench is nice to have.
But doing this at home is more than saving a couple bucks.. While the car is up in the air, it's nice to pressure wash the suspension, under carriage, etc. Lots of little gravel and dirt get stuck in those little hidden places. Also cleaning the inside of the rims. Look around underneath for anything unusual, inspect and put it back together. All part of the fun of keeping the car running smooth.

I agree. Using the spare tire is what I would do. I have a whole set of extra wheels/tires so I just use one of them.

 

[Ride92]

This is what my friend suggested:

This set of steps has me slightly worried, since the car will be tilted. If this is okay, remaining is fine.

1. LIFT FRONT DRIVER SIDE, ADD JACK STAND, REMOVE LIFTER, REMOVE TIRE
2. LIFT REAR DRIVER SIDE, ADD JACK STAND, REMOVE LIFTER, REMOVE TIRE
3. ATTACH TO FRONT THE REAR TIRE
4. RELEASE FRONT 1 tire done

• LIFT FRONT PASSENGER SIDE, ADD JACK STAND STAND, REMOVE LIFTER, REMOVE TIRE
• PUT TIRE TO DRIVER REAR
• RELEASE DRIVER REAR 2 tires done

• LIFT REAR PASSENGER SIDE, ADD JACK STAND STAND, REMOVE LIFTER, REMOVE TIRE
• ATTACH TO FRONT THIS REAR TIRE
• RELEASE PASSENGER FRONT 3 tires done

• ATTACH TO PASSENGER REAR, DRIVER FRONT TIRE
• RELEASE REAR PASSENGER 4 tires done

It's just easier to get two sets of jack stands, lift on the point indicated in the book or service manual, the ones near the center of the car to lift front the rear. I use the rippled plate in the front and the part of the transfer case in the rear. These are pointed out as the proper jacking points somewhere. Once up and on stand rotate at will.

I wouldn't worry about tipping you car over with a standard floor jack. You'd need an increadably high lift to even approach tipping height

 

[BMXDAD]

I never allowed for a rotation without a balance.

1. Used to rotate and balance at Sam's club. $15 per wheel for lifetime rotate/balance/road hazard.
2.Since the Sams club staff chew up the wheels so badly I switched to a local shop that duct tapes their equipment to avoid the dings, and scratches on the wheels. $10/wheel.
3. Rotate and balance every 10-15K miles.
4. Front to rear - rear to front. no criss-cross.

 

[yrwei52]

2.Since the Sams club staff chew up the wheels so badly I switched to a local shop that duct tapes their equipment to avoid the dings, and scratches on the wheels.

That's why I only go to tire store such as Discount Tire with the best equipment available on the market. They have tire mounting machine which won't touch your expensive rims. It reduces the chances of scratching or dining the wheel to the minimum. Duct tapes are not necessary!

 

[Crunchy409]

Its not that hard if you have the right tools. I might even do a DIY just to show the proper lifting points and tools you need.

This would be awesome. I've read all of the forum posts I can find in regards to this, but honestly what I really want is a couple pictures showing exactly where to use the floor jack and the jack stands. I also can't quite figure how I want to protect the frame from my jack stands (not sure I want to modify a puck myself).

I have another 3-5K before I need to do the rotation but I'm trying to prepare!

 

[yrwei52]

... I also can't quite figure how I want to protect the frame from my jack stands (not sure I want to modify a puck myself).

Those 19" tire is pretty heavy (to me at least). But I do use spare and rotate the tires one by one. This is pretty safe even without floor jack and stands. While the tire is off, I wash the wheel inside and check the tread taking off any stones stuck in there. For next tire rotation, I'll have to check caliper pins and apply some silicon grease (hate these additional jobs). I use a piece of 2X4 wood as the buffer between floor jack and car frame (make sure wood grain is vertical to the frame so that the wood won't split) to protect the paint. Rubber pad would be even nicer.