Do I need to use jack stands to swap tires?

[gravyface]

I'm thinking crack all the lugs, jack up the rear with a floor jack, and put on both the rear tires.  Rinse and repeat for the front.

Intarweb can't agree on whether to use jack stands (which I don't have... yet) or just jack up one side at a time with the scissor jack, or do front and rear as I described above.  

Don't want to die on my first job fellas.

[monty23psk]

Well if you are swapping tire, are you rotating tires, or swapping rim and tire. If just swapping, jack up from diff mount to raise rear end and thats it. From the front, you would need to do it from subframe, but I am not a fan, and just do one side at a time from the chassis point on the frame.

[gravyface]

I'm putting my summer wheels on (already mounted), so shouldn't take long.  Was just going to jack each wheel/side at a time, re-jacking for each wheel, but keep reading that you shouldn't keep it up on a jack for too long, not really knowing how long is "too long".

[PumpItUp]

redundancy is the rule when jacking a car up. never trust your life, nor your car, to a single jack or jack-stand for any length of time. because they fail all the time. there's plenty of stories of experienced people being crushed to death, or at least losing some extremity. people are so stubborn when it comes to this, everyone thinks they're special and it won't happen to them. dont worry about buying jackstands, you can get em later for bigger jobs. you'll probably put yourself in greater danger just putting them in place. just use what you see around you. get the spare out of the trunk, place it flat, and slide it halfway under the sideskirt. then place a some planks on top of it to close the gap. this isn't to take the weight off the jack, just something to give you time in case it gives.  that's for the side that you're taking off. the side with the wheel still on it just put some blocks under the tire. they say you shouldn't use wood, cement, and such. sure they might deteriorate but they're more predictable than jackstands. you're not using them to hold the car up for weeks, mass = piece of mind.

don't forget to block off the front tires when lifting the rear, as the parking brake is useless in that case.

dont' forget to check for lsd when lifting the rear :cool:

[gravyface]

Thanks guys.

[BlueBMW]

I'll second the spare under the sideskirt idea.  Good insurance just in case!  A spare is easier to replace than yourself.

[LeeThompson]

Do side to side not front to back.
If the jack malfunctions you want to see it happen so you can get out of the way

Just jack the car up enough to take off both tires.
Putting new tires on the car should not be dangerous. You should not be under the car to put on tires. You should be beside it. If you are going to work under the car YES use jack stands. But you are not working under the car so you do not need them.

[gravyface]

Well it was pissing rain all weekend and the two bays at work are filled with equipment so I haven't had swapped them yet.

I was thinking front and back as I was going to use a trolley jack to lift it up from the rear diff housing after loosening the lugs on both rear wheels first, rinse/repeat for the front wheels, so basically only lifting it twice instead of four times, but I'm thinking it's probably safer to lift it more often, but for a shorter duration, to put less strain on the jack.

I know I'm putting way too much thought into this, so thanks for everyone's advice (and patience) so far.

[monty23psk]

Rotate tires, driver side to driver rear and driver rear to driver front, not driver to passenger. If you do this you way you will have to lift the front or rear and leave it on jack stands until you do the opposite side if you want to do it in 2 lifts, not possible your way.  Way I have done is, works great, just need to be quick, takes about 5 minutes per side, and need a jack that goes up high is loosen all lugs on one side of car. Then using the jack, jack from the front of the car, under the chassis, as far back as you have the chassis lift rail. This will actually lift both tires off the ground and high enough on the rear. Then put a jack stand for safety. If you dont have stands, then one wheel after it has been remove.

[LeeThompson]

You can get both tires off the ground if you go side to side. Just jack it up a bit more from the back jack point. You only need to jack it up twice. Do you see what I am saying?

[PumpItUp]

how are you going to see a jack malfunction. :confused: wouldn't you see the car moving as well... if anything you will hear it, and you'd like it to be far away, not right next to you. a floor jack is less likely to have a problem if you jack it up from the center. moreover if you use blocks as fail safes nothing bad will happen.

is jacking it up side to side really safer than jacking it up in the center (front & back) with a floor jack?

one is even, and barely requires any jacking, like 2 pumps
while the other requires you raising the car to the limit of a regular jack (stock trunk one or scissor type)... all so the other end of the car finally gets off the ground, terribly uneven.

remember he's not rotating tires he's swapping summer tires on, which have their own rims. he could just as well do this one by one. but it makes no sense (to me) to place jackstands just to swap some wheels. unless you're more worried about your car than yourself, it seems more dangerous to reach in with your arm, (and maybe head) just to place/remove them. as long as the car doesn't move jacks are safe.

basic steps:
-put the wheel chocks/stops in front of the not-to-be-lifted tires
(especially important when lifting the rear which house parking brake & diff the front will roll away)
-in neutral slowly roll the car into wheel chocks, then pull e-brake hard (sort of pointless if lifting rear)
-then jack the car up. technically its better to lift as little as possible (easier to mount wheels, and safer in case of drop).
-if a wheel is lifted and doesn't have to be taken off, put blocks under it. -when a wheel is off, especially when you're working on it, take a spare rim, slide it sideways under the sidewall/sideskirts of the car, and use something like wood planks to close the gap.

Obviously you don't have this luxury of fail safes if you're on the side of the road with a flat tire, but its unlikely you'll get a flat tire and even more so that a jack will fail. Usually the car rolls, (result of badly secured wheel stop), and causes the jack to bend. When it's bent it doesn't take much force for the car to come crashing down

[LeeThompson]

How many Gear heads does it take to change a tire. 100. 1 who actually needs to do it and the rest to describe a "better" way to do it

HAHA just kidding

No you will see the jack begin to slip or loose pressure and begin to fall (Hopefully) But changing tires should not be this hard HAHA.
Save time.
Break the bolts or nuts on the right side
Jack the car up on the right side
Take off nuts or bolts off front right tire
Take off right tire
Put on replacement right front tire on
Hand tighten nuts or bolts
Take off nut or bolts from back right tire
Remove back right tire
Replace back right tire with new tire.
Hand tighten back right nuts or bolts
Lower car
tork all nuts or bolts on  both right tires
(not criss cross when tightening)
Then repeat for the left side

You could raise and lower the car several times but I do not see a point in that UNLESS you use the scissor jack. Changing tires like I said is not dangerous as long as you are not underneath the car. But when replacing tires you should not be under the car. and your hands would be away from the rotors anyway.

Look just use common sense. I prefer to jack the car up from the side because I can see the jack and the car. I know what is around that jack. If some one goes near it or I see it fail for some crazy reason I can get away quickly. I just do not trust jacking the car from the back. Yes you will not have to jack up as high but you can not see it. Still as I described before you should not be under the car to start so if I fails you will just have your nose to your car ha ha. You will see that spot you missed when you cleaned it for your date




Look... let me just answere your question.
Question: Do I need to use jack stands to swap tires?
Answere: No

[Choking Hazard]

My rule is that I must have jackstands if I go UNDER the car.  Tires are swapped alot for AX, so I just hope the car doesnt tumble someday.  Jacks DO fail.  It is always best to have a jackstand if you could be involved in the unexpected failure too.