Monday, February 09, 2009

Tire-changing

I have mad tire-changing skillz. Which is good. Saturday I finally got around to putting some air in a tire I noticed was getting low. Then on the drive to my house I had a little self-congratulating for remembering to do it, about taking care of the car in general and so on. I drove up beside my house, getting out and I heard the noise. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh. At first I thought it might be just water from the many puddles that are about my house steaming on the hot engine. But it was not to be. The very tire I had filled was hissing and deflating rapidly. Ah well, I wanted something new to do that day. I changed a tire at least once a month while I was in college so I wasn't daunted, just annoyed. The only thing that really gave me trouble was the locking hubcap. You take off the little cap on the front and then get the special powder blue hubcap unlocking wrench to take it off. Why it's powder blue, I haven't a clue. You'd think they would mention that in the instructions. I got the tire off, and of course it was covered with mud so I thought I'd spray it off before I put it in the trunk. I did that and looked a little closer at it and realized the steel belts were coming through the rubber on the inside edge. No wonder it went flat. I'm surprised it hadn't been flat ages ago. So it's not worth fixing. The good news is that I inspected the other tires and they don't seem to be the same.

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