Changing a wheel - easy ?

[Niborn]

I was just wondering , given the weight of the Cali , if it was easy to change a wheel with the jack supplied ? Any experience of this would be appreciated - many thanks

 

[Meoncoast]

the two flats we have had I pumped up with a small compressor I carry and limped to local tyre centre.

 

[Pineweasel]

I've changed one of my front wheels using the supplied jack with no problems.

 

[Teejay]

Same here, provided a stable base it works OK.

 

[Ignazio]

Used the jack 8 times per year (!!), just to switch from summer to winter tyres and back again. No problem. It does its job. Just be careful, as always. Nothin else. Ps. Beach always almost loaded. It's ok.


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk Pro

 

[bigmac77]

As @Ignazio I use it for all four tyres twice a year swapping between summer and winter tyres. It works fine but I always carry a piece of wood to go underneath the jack to make sure it is a bit more stable.

 

[Hotel California]

Exact thesame here as above mentiont by @bigmac77 .
If you don't have two left hands there is nothing what should stop you swapping the wheels with the supplied tools.

Lots been discussed in treads by summer/wintertyres .
I even made a small movie on it.
Will look it up later , now still at work...

 

[WelshGas]

I was just wondering , given the weight of the Cali , if it was easy to change a wheel with the jack supplied ? Any experience of this would be appreciated - many thanks

It is adequate for the purpose, even on a fully loaded vehicle. It would be a legal nightmare if VW supplied something like this that wasn't.

 

[rod_vw]

Nobody has mentioned removing the spare wheel from its carrier and even more so replacing it in the carrier. It is a difficult job to get the wheel back on the carrier plate even on a good flat, solid and even surface, it would be almost impossible on a rough uneven surface.
If you have the space inside the vehicle the 'flat' can always be carried there temporarily BUT be aware that if you put a wheel & tyre down on the van floor it is likely to stain the floor from the compound of the rubber. I dumped mine in the back on an upturned mat just in case and it left a permanent black ring on the back of the mat!

Rod

 

[Hotel California]

I was just wondering , given the weight of the Cali , if it was easy to change a wheel with the jack supplied ? Any experience of this would be appreciated - many thanks

Here's a tread with some usefull info
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/wheel-changing.16241/#post-179893

@rod_vw , nobody asked about taking out the spare wheel.....
But you are fully correct on your statement , i took out the spare wheel to see how it goes , in my garage in ideal situation and it is not that easy but doable.
You can always first jack up the verhicle on the rear and than have a easyer acces to the spare wheel and then replace the jack , if the pucnture on the front.
If the punture is on the rear the verhicle goes up anyhow giving easy(er) acces.

I would also not bother putting the punctured wheel in the carrier and as you say put something underneed the dirty wheel when putting it in the Cali.

Do not forget to fix the sparewheelcarrier propperly when you don't put a wheel back in there !!

 

[Velma's Dad]

Nobody has mentioned removing the spare wheel from its carrier and even more so replacing it in the carrier. It is a difficult job to get the wheel back on the carrier plate even on a good flat, solid and even surface, it would be almost impossible on a rough uneven surface.
If you have the space inside the vehicle the 'flat' can always be carried there temporarily BUT be aware that if you put a wheel & tyre down on the van floor it is likely to stain the floor from the compound of the rubber. I dumped mine in the back on an upturned mat just in case and it left a permanent black ring on the back of the mat!

Rod

+1 for what HC just said. Putting the spare wheel back in its cradle is quite easy if you jack up a rear corner of the van first. If you don't, it's a real pig.

 

[sidepod]

Just back the van onto your levelling blocks. Makes removing/replacing the spare in the cradle easier.

 

[califonication]

Seeing an AA man with a van full of tools struggling to change the tire convinced me to never want to have to do it!! biggest problem is as everyone has said getting the spare back in the cradle.

 

[Hotel California]

Just back the van onto your levelling blocks. Makes removing/replacing the spare in the cradle easier.

Agree , but i am not jacking up a Cali when it is on leveling blocks , why put it on levelingblocks when the next step is jacking up? Leave the blocks in the Cali .

 

[sidepod]

Agree , but i am not jacking up a Cali when it is on leveling blocks , why put it on levelingblocks when the next step is jacking up? Leave the blocks in the Cali .

Now HC I had you down as a clever bloke. I wasn't suggesting jack it when it's on the blo........oh whatever.

 

[briwy]

Seeing an AA man with a van full of tools struggling to change the tire convinced me to never want to have to do it!! biggest problem is as everyone has said getting the spare back in the cradle.

Thats why you should take the wheels off and lightly grease the hubs then they come easily.

 

[Gavrobb]

Agree with all of the above but specifically with Briwy's comment above. Having just failed spectacularly to get my 'winter' / all season wheels off the hubs this last week then worth checking in advance / keeping the center spigots well greased.
I wasn't going to bother changing out this year (Nokian Weatherproof's - great) but a big trip to France coming up (Home to the Pyrenees - see you there Briwy?) figured I'd get my moneys worth out the 'summer' tires...
Glad I checked - I was far from gentle with the hammers but there was no way any wheels were coming off while it was on the factory stand..
Also worth noting to carefully observe how the jack fits in the foam - getting the handle folded just right and back in is easily the hardest part of all of this!!

 

[sidepod]

If the wheel is seized on the hub centre then just let it down slightly on the jack with the wheel nuts backed off a bit till you hear it crack.

 

[Gavrobb]

Not tried it - not much side loading so I'm not convinced the spigot wont just take the load but will bear in mind for next time. Thanks

 

[sidepod]

Not tried it - not much side loading so I'm not convinced the spigot wont just take the load but will bear in mind for next time. Thanks

Not so. At full droop (tyre clear of the ground) there is plenty of camber induced. As you lower the van the camber applies side load.
Camber returns to normal once the van rolls forwards.

 

[Loz]

Mine took a severe kicking to get off this weekend...

 

[Teejay]

What I found this weekend.

If you have a Sparesafe and the rear offside tyre is flat are you are unable/unwilling to jack it up, (e.g. parked near a major road) the Sparesafe is very awkward to remove. Due to the angle of the supplied wrench, it drags on the ground, and the recess of the security bolt in the Sparesafe. So I have added a 1/2" ratchet and a extended socket to make things much easier. I can now whip out the spare wheel cage and change wheels much quicker, with a lot less swearing. If you need any extra leverage use the towing eye in the tool kit, and to cap it all the ratchet fits on top of the towing eye in the toolkit. "Not and inch wasted", Dave Lister 1998

I've checked unscientifically but with the ratchet and the towing eye I can apply the 180Nm of torque or more for the wheels.

This would have been better with picture or video but hopefully if anyone reads this they will get the idea.

..message ends...

 

[Niborn]

Thanks for the post , I understand what you are saying but because I'm not very good with tools can't imagine the details ... if any one does get a chance to post pics it would be great ....I just bought a sparesafe .... thanks

 

[flying banana]

Just changed mine at the side of the road. Got a bolt through it. Tried to get home. Bolt came out and bang. See ya later tyre. Was glad of my good spare and good tool kit. I had a proper socket and bar on board rather than that weedy wheel brace.spare safe also came off and went back on without issue.took me about 30 minutes to do. But got very dirty. Might be worth carrying some gloves somewhere.

 

[Vagophile]

But got very dirty. Might be worth carrying some gloves somewhere.

Pleased that you got it sorted. At least it wasn't raining.
Arising from bitter experience, I carry a boiler suit and a pair of industrial gloves, they don't take up much room.