flat tire - Montana Owners Club

c214dick · 02-08-2012, 04:22 AM

So here I sit at our stick house in Fl with nothing to do. Monty is parked in the back yard just waiting for us to hook up and go back north to Illinois. Because I have nothing to do, I decided to check the tire pressure and do a few other things to prepare for the trip north.

I removed the tire cover on the curb side, knocked off some spider eggs and found one of the tires to be flat. Now that should not have surprised me because when we pulled Monty out of storage, in the spring and brought it to it's new home, the same tire was flat. We put air in it at the time and it seemed to be fine, NOT.

Because we have the Lippert 6 point system and knowing that it will lift the side so I can remove the tire, I went about loosening the lugs. The first three, at the top, no problem, the rest OUCH.

I have sprayed them in the hopes of breaking through any rust but my 4 way lug wrench doesn't quite fit the lugs. I do have a socket which is the right size but not thin enough to get all the way on the nut. I'm afraid I might strip it if I try too hard. I'm pretty sure this happened when my axle was replaced and they put the wheels back on with an impact gun. Shame on them and shame on me for allowing it.

Any suggestions? I'm not in a big hurry as I do have 6-7 weeks b4 we leave.

bncinwv · 02-08-2012, 05:00 AM

Sounds like a trip to Harbor Freight may be in store. I have their 1/2" drive torque wrench that I use in combination with a cheap set of deep well sockets that I got there. Perhaps the Chinese sockets are not as thick as other ones, but I have not had a problem getting them on the lug nuts completely. I have been known in the past to use a 1/2" breaker bar with a piece of pipe on it for troublesome lug nuts. Just gotta be careful not to twist off the entire stud and lug nut assembly.
Bingo

racerjoe · 02-08-2012, 05:04 AM

I would go get a 1/2 drive deep socket,breaker bar and either a 3 or 6 inch extension,that should do it very well. you could also put a small pipe extension to give it a little more. Should have that on hand when traveling anyway.
On the flat tire issue,if you can I would pump the tire back up and take a little soapy water and check the valve stem and core. i had a leak this fall and after taking the tire off,checking the tread and wheel for leaks with water,I found the core had a slow leak. replaced core and all okay.

capn chris · 02-08-2012, 05:13 AM

Call roadside assistance?? ERS?

Art-n-Marge · 02-08-2012, 06:02 AM

This happened to me once, when I allowed some gorilla at the tire station to replace the tires on a prior rig. As I watched the Technician I saw that as he used the impact wrench he did NOT stop when the nut was on the stud and continued to let the rat-a-tat-tat go on for quite a few seconds. DOH! I should have stopped him, but I wasn't thinking. Usually the tech will stop at this moment and then complete the torquing with a wrench.

Some time later I needed to remove the nuts and you guessed it, I never had such a workout. I was able to work all the nuts off except for the last one. It broke off at the stud!!! The ONLY solution was locating and paying over $100 for a new brake drum (with studs). Nowadays I watch the techs and talk over the procedure FIRST prior to tire mounting. No problems so far and they are understanding of my concerns.

c214dick · 02-08-2012, 07:45 AM

Chris, if I was on the road I would call ERS as I have done in the past. Because it is in my backyard I would be afraid for my neighbors to see.

Good news is 7 down and 1 to go. I have already partially rounded off part of the last nut. I am using a 6" extension with my 1/2" drive torque wrench. I did see on line that someone used a floor jack under the breaker bar and that put enough pressure to break the nut loose. Louise is out with our truck and my jack is in the misc box. Until than I am obviously not doing anything but playing on the computer.

I will go to Harbor Freight and look for the proper socket (Chinese), at least a deep socket. I was able to tap my reg socket on, with a hammer, enough to grab the nut (wheel's). I can never find enough reasons to go to Harbor Freight so thanks again.

I guess while I'm waiting I will go and put air in the flat and look for a leak at the valve stem.

HOOK · 02-08-2012, 10:07 AM

When we owned a towing co., we changed tires for people at their residense. Worth a try. Larry

NCFischers · 02-08-2012, 11:45 PM

You can ruin a torque wrench if you are using it as a breaker bar. Not a good idea.

c214dick · 02-09-2012, 01:08 AM

Thanks Jim, I'll buy the appropriate tool. I found a really cool tool store less than a mile from my house. It's like a condensed Harbor Freight. Lots of stuff in a smaller store.

racerjoe · 02-09-2012, 01:48 AM

If I can throw my 2 cents in on tools, a cheap socket has a good chance of breaking putting a good amount of stress on it. If it breaks you are going to hit the ground. when it comes to tools,quality does matter. personally I like my hands.

Tom S. · 02-09-2012, 02:52 AM

If you are still having trouble, I can send you a socket that will fit, and can be used with an impact wrench or big breaker bar if you have one.

c214dick · 02-09-2012, 03:17 AM

Thanks Tom. I went to my new favorite tool store and bought a set of impact sockets which seem to fit with a little tap tap from my hammer, also bought a giant breaker bar, that's the good news. The bad news is it still will not budge. I'm going to try using my floor jack to put a little more pressure on it and save my back in the process. If that fails I will be calling ERS. I'm sure glad I renewed it.

c214dick · 02-09-2012, 05:08 AM

IT'S OFF!!!!!!!!!! Think 2 words POWER BLASTER. I don't think it's the valve stem as I can't detect any leaks from it. However my junk compressor from Harbor Frieght only got my tire pressure up to 15 lbs which is almost enough to blow up a balloon. I guess I'll keep it here to fill up the bikes and blow out the lines of the trailer.

So now it's off to get the tire repaired and buy a real compressor so I can fill up the rest of the tires.

Hooker · 02-09-2012, 07:06 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by racerjoe

I would go get a 1/2 drive deep socket,breaker bar and either a 3 or 6 inch extension,that should do it very well. you could also put a small pipe extension to give it a little more. Should have that on hand when traveling anyway.

That's what I have...Harbor Freight has them.

Waynem · 02-12-2012, 05:45 AM

Go for a good set of deep well impact sockets. The don't have to be used on an impact gun and can be used on a 1/2" drive. The impact sockets are case hardened if you get a good set. Who knows, you may never need them again, but you'll have them. But if you don't have them, you will need them. Isn't that the logic?

c214dick · 02-12-2012, 07:46 AM

Thanks Wayne and that logic always works. I bought a set of deep well impacts so I could get the last lug off along with an x-long breaker bar and a can of PB. The bad news is that the tire shop says the tire is leaking from the inside side wall and showed me a bubble just under the area that is leaking. He's sure that when it was mounted it got screwed up. A new tire is on order and will be here Monday.

The leaking tire has less than 50 miles on it. It was ordered as a replacement when my bent axle was replaced. The new tires were mounted at a shop down the street from the axle shop. That was a year ago. After the axle replacement we brought the Monty back to the cg for a couple of weeks and moved in 1 site over to store. When we came back in May we found it flat and suspected that it was the neighboring full timer. We filled it up and moved it to our new home in Fl, parking it in our back yard. Now almost 9 months later, after removing the tire covers, to prepare it for the trip back north, it's flat again and the rest is history.

I don't have the documents here from the repair but my son is checking my files in Illinois to see if he can find them. I know there's nothing I can do against the shop that mounted the tires but I my be able to get some kind of warranty from the original retailer. I only hope the wheel is OK.

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