I am going to try to rotate my tires with the help of my husband this weekend. My question is this: do I need to get a second jack so that the car stays raised while I switch the tires? Or will the rear/front of the car raise enough, and remain raised, when I jack up the other end? Sorry for posting what is probably a dumb question, but I thought it would be better to ask before I started and got myself into a jam . . .

thanks!

 

If you jack the car up on the front jack point you can raise it high enough the rear will will be off the ground.

Note for safety, please don't use the factory scissor jack. I've seen them fall and I don't want you to get hurt or scratch your MINI. Get a real jack.

 

You don't "need" a second jack but that's what I do because I don't like to flex the body any more than I have to. I simply pop off the center wheel cap, loosen the lug bolts, jack up one side at the same time with two hydralic jacks just to where the tires just barely touch, remove the lugs bolts, remove the wheels, wash the wheels/tires, then put the front to back/back to front. I torque the bolts to what the owner's manual says after I lower the jacks. I put the caps back on and I check the pressure. I reset the tire pressure monitor if need be. Simple Simon! You can also use one jack at either jacking point or use a 2" x 4" between them and jack in the middle it like I did my first time. I just prefer the two jack method just because I can.

 

Don't forget to re-torque all the wheels after you've driven a few miles on them.

 

99.9% of the time jacking up a car with just a jack and rotating tires will occur without incidence. It's that .1% that you plan for.

Yes you can jack up one side of the car with just the front point. It works, but isn't ideal.
Your car only weighs 2700lbs. An inexpensive 2 ton hydraulic floor jack, a 36" long 2x4, and two jackstands will make the job much safer for both you and your car. It also makes it much quicker. The cost to buy a jack and jackstands is much less than what it would cost you if you dropped your car with no wheels and tires on one side. Besides, you'll need them for your first brake job anyway
I used to have a strongback for my Saab to lift at both points on one side, and then put the jackstands under the strongback. I haven't found one for a mIni yet.
I know the percentages are a gross representation. It's just to point out that we've all rotated tires with the jack alone, until we eventually have the tools to do it more properly.

 

See if you can find another car owner with a floor jack. If you can then use that because it can handle more weight than the jack that comes with the MINI and is more solid.

Loosen the wheel bolts on both front and rear wheels. Using a breaker lug wrench is best. If you have only the MINI lug wrench then you can find a pipe to use over the wrench handle to extend the handle length and it will be much easier to loosen the tight bolts.

Use the front jack point and crank it up until the rear tire leaves the ground enough. Chalk the wheels on the other side so it won't roll.

Put the front wheel on the rear of the same side and rear wheel on the front. Rotate every 4000 miles or so for best treadwear.

Ask your neighbors or co-workers if they have a floor jack like this-


Don't forget to use a torque wrench to tighten the bolts down at the end.

 

thanks for all your helpful replies! My husband and I will be attempting the tire rotation after I wash it. . . Hopefully it will go as smooth as you all say.

update: well, the tire rotation went very smooth! We got a real jack, as suggested, and some jack stands. I was surprised to see how much wear I had on the front tires already. I had always previously had my tires rotated at 7000 or 7500 miles, but on this car, perhaps 5000 is about right. I took the time to thoroughly clean the rims, and we did not forget to check use a calibrated torque wrench after rotation. Thanks for all the help, guys.

 

I have one follow-on question with respect to tire rotations. On my Honda's with lugnuts, I always applied a little grease before reinstalling them. I'm new to lug bolts. Do I need to apply a little grease to the lug bolts before reinstalling them?

Thank you,
Tim

 

Grease!

Bad idea....... if anything, use anti-sieze and VERY sparingly....... Great for sparkplugs too.

Save the silicone grease for rubber parts like sparkplug boots and door weather seals etc...

 

Thanks MCS! That looks like a much better route than what I was using.

 

Be sure and use a torque wrench, and re-torque to spec after 50 miles.

The wheel changing studs linked in my sig come in very handy on a MINI, I have 2 pair of them. Nice to have the right tools for the job!

 

Yep, I always use a torque wrench and tighten in that pattern.

And I bought some wheel hangers from Robin Cassidy last week in preparation. I wanted those anodized red ones because they look cool, but went with Robin since he (he is a he, right? No offence intended...) is a NAM member! Oh no, are those wheel hangers being sold by you? If so, sorry about that - I wish I had known.

So tonight I'm actually swapping off my summer wheels/tires for my winter setup that I just bought - black crown spokes with Bridgestone G019 Grids all seasons. Living in Atlanta, I don't need full snows.

Thanks again MCS!

 

Be careful - anti seize does alter torque values.

Alex

 

Yep - And guess where you can find good info on wheel torque.....

TIRE RACK WHEEL TORQUE INFO

Alex - I have to say I learn more about tires and wheels from TireRack.com than any other site! Just today I received the email newsletter about running 3-5 lbs more pressure in the winter in your tires due to lower temperatures. Something I have never considered, and I have been working on and restoring cars since 1973.



And due to reading up on tread depth on TireRack, I am eye balling a set of Michelins by next Fall for the kid's car. He's away at college over a snowy pass and is down to 6/32" this year. By next year his tires will be 4/32" - good enough for wet use - but not for snow use from what I have learned on TireRack. Knowing this I can shop the sales/rebates, getting the tires between now and then and having them installed right before he returns to school in the Fall.

 

The idea is to keep these things on tight in general, not to anticipate taking them back off. As well, for S's and JCW's, there isn't going to be a (factory) spare to change on the side of the road ever either. I have also never had an experience across hundreds of wheel changes of something being overly hard to get off if it is an aluminum wheel. Steel to steel can be a greater challenge if untouched for years.

Antiseize is a good thing for stainless to steel, but that is more a boat trailer thing where it is either steel to steel or stainless to steel.

Finally, yes on the antiseize (applied carefully and NOT to the lug bolts/studs) between the brake disk and the wheel hub. Those do tend to rust up/together over time and can be difficult to break free.

 

More anti seize discussion:

http://brakeandfrontend.blogspot.com...-lug-nuts.html

http://www.engineersedge.com/wwwboard/posts/13070.html

 

Its personal preferance. I don't use anti sieze on my lugs, because it causes addional torque as noted. This may contribute to addional lug stud stretching & or stud fatigue. I also keep anti sieze off my stub axels - I clean everything including stub axels and lug bolts with a wire brush-and keep them completely dry.

As far as air pressure goes, I will drop my garage for 45 minutes to the cold, pre-dawn temperature for 45 minutes prior to filling my compressor - just to set tire pressures (regardless- use a good airline dryer - and allways fully drain your compressor)

I tend to take maintainence pretty far. I make my own tire pressures by hawking my tire wear. None of my cars run stock pressures.



Alex

 

It would have to be a car with corrosion already on the lugs for me to put anything on the threads, and then very sparingly as stated.

Heading out to run some errands - one errand to Discount Tire for +3 psi free nitrogen service in the MINI's tires........