Just hit a pot hole and the wall of my tire is fucked. Popped the trunk to replace it but I forgot the scisor jack that came with my car doesn’t work. Long story short, I had family who lived near by pick up my floor jack and ratchet kit. Now I am looking into tire replacement, but also how I can just solve this on my own the next time.
Are bottle jacks good for emergency tire replacement, or should I just look for a scisor jack? I feel like bottles are easier, but theres always a few people saying they are junk when I look into them. I have a tire iron but had them grab my ratchet set just in case since it was next to the jack.
I just feel like a dumbass now and want to make sure I’m not a dumbass in the future
One potential issue with a bottle jack is that the seals can rot and fail. I don’t know what keeping one in the back of a car will do to it, but it’s something that’s not a problem with a scissor jack.
Also if your car is too low getting the bottle under it might be difficult, especially on uneven terrain.
I have a low car (13 Honda Fit) and I can see the clearance being an issue
Especially if the tire is deflated, that’ll bring the car even lower. A good thing to check on.
And it won’t be as stable on uneven terrain or even an incline/decline.
A scissor jack isn’t necessarily any more stable, the “footprint” where it’s in contact with the ground isn’t necessarily very wide.
Make sure to chock the wheels of the car as thoroughly as possible before jacking it up. Ideally you could stash some cheap plastic chocks in the car, but failing that just anything you can firmly wedge in there will do in a pinch.
Depends on the type of bottle jack. It’s a broad term that can mean both the hydraulic kind and the mechanical screw driven kind, which used to be more common in older american cars (lots of fords had them).
Both do have the issue of getting under low cars, but they are safer and more stable than scissor jacks. Scissor jacks fold and crumple extremely easily if the load shifts perpendicular to the arm direction. Bottle jacks will tilt but not collapse until they fall over center.
I agree a hydraulic jack should not be kept as the emergency spare. When they sit the seals dry out and if they tip over they can empty all their hydraulic oil out into your trunk. Plus they are not safe to be under a vehicle with as hydraulics can fail and drop the vehicle without warning.
TIL about screw driven bottle jacks, thanks
And, yeah, I’d only use any jack to change a tire and would never get under a car without using high quality jack stands.
If you go the bottle jack route it wouldn’t hurt to keep a jack stand as well, so if the bottle fails for some reason the jack stand is a backup.
Having a jack stand is essential anyways for any under-car work, like changing your oil.
Fortunately not likely to be something you’d need to do in an emergency on a roadside. Changing a tire shouldn’t require going underneath the vehicle.