flat tire question (tire change)

[toddjb122]

turns out I RTFM and under the tire change instructions it mentions that you should put the car in off road height and set the transmission to LOW range before jacking up vehicle.

I would guess that the off road height just limits the amount of height adjustments the car can do when jacked up since the suspension is pretty well extended already, but will the car still try to level itself when you have it jacked up? seems like that could be dangerous.

Second, why the LOW range directions?


The reason for my question (not important to above)...
I'm wondering for when I change the tire myself and also wondering what mode I should put the car in when I hand the keys to a non-LR tire place for any future tire related work. I did get a nail in the tire this weekend and opted to use the LR roadside assistance so I could continue getting ready for my trip while my car sat in the driveway. It turns out that I should have just changed it myself as it took them 3 hours instead of the quoted 1 hour to show up. At the time I was also remembering posts on this forum that the jack which comes with the car is a piece of junk and can barely support the vehicle weight (?) so I had all that going through my head, with an offer of a free change, so I embarrassingly had someone change a friggin' tire for me because I was uncertain about the questions above and the LR tire change equipment, FWIW. Next time I'll do it myself, but just don't want the truck to come crashing down. Thanks.

 

[Houm_WA]

I've changed a tire...on a trail no-less !

While you might have the car in off-road height initially to place the jack, it makes little to no sense to leave it in that suspension mode. Doing so will only increase the distance that you have to raise it and actually approaches the limits of the LR jack. I wound up putting it in Access mode once the jack was secure, and proceeding from there.

LR should revisit that section of the manual and see if that's really the guidance they intended to give us.

 

[nwoods]

I can't comment about the modes, but the jack is adequate, provided that care is used. It must be lined up very accurately, without any sort of angle or off camber tilt under it. Be sure to chock the wheels to prevent the truck from ANY amount of roll, EB alone will not suffice.

If everything is all squared up, and the truck is absolutely immobile, the jack will work just fine.

Interestingly, my coil sprung LR3 actually comes with a bottle jack, but it's a very lite duty contraption and I trust it less than your flimsy sissor jack

I replaced mine with an 8 ton bottle jack.

 

[xcursion]

My wife had a flat the other day. She drove to a tire shop and have them patched up the tire. I am sure the shop did not put the car in off-road mode or low gear. Turned out just fine. Have no idea why LR specified it that way.

 

[roverman]

The low range may be added protection against vehicle roll? I jacked mine up, actually had two wheels up at same time when I rotated tires. I left it in standard height and it worked fine.

 

[Houm_WA]

...xcursion, at a tire shop it really wouldn't matter since they have floor jacks and car lifts.

 

[Houm_WA]

...and one final thought: If you are in any mode but offroad, and then the tires come off the ground (or one) the LR3 will think it's in extended mode. That may even happen in offroad mode as well....but that may be the motivation for the manual saying what it says.

 

[toddjb122]

Thanks for the great feedback.

So, when jacked up, did the car ever try to level itself?


As a nice dealer experience story; I took my LR3 to LR during lunch on Monday for them to fix the flat and relocate the tire. I figured I'd give them one chance, suck up a hefty fee if needed just to know what they'd do, AND avoid the risk of a non LR shop messing up my lug nuts (see other post) or doing something else silly. Turned out LR turned it around for me in less than an hour, no charge.

 

[Houm_WA]

...well that was simple. The only time I had to change a tire I was off-road !

Not only do those HP's suck in terms of traction, their sidewalls are not very durable !

 

[roverdawg]

I had tires changed at a Discount Tire (dealer's local recommendation). As I watched through the store window, I suddenly remembered the manual's suggestion to place the vehicle in off-road mode. Too late. I watched the mechanic's jaw dropped as he continued jacking the left rear higher and higher and the wheel just sat on the ground untouched. The articulation on our vehicles is truly amazing. Up on the lift it went.