Round and Round: Tire Rotation for Novices

Rotating your tires is a normal maintenance activity usually performed every other oil change - about every 6,000 miles. Rotating tires is not difficult to understand, but it is hard work. My local shop will rotate tires for about $10.00. Every time I do my own, I ask myself, "Is this really worth saving $10?" With the big wheels on even a stock Jeep, hauling around those tires and lifting and lowering the vehicle repeatedly is dangerous work that requires quite a bit of sweat. But, you can do it by yourself, there is no magic or mystery to it.

The directions that follow are for rotating only four of your tires. It is documentation of the worst case scenario. If you have five identical tires and wheels, then you can rotate in your spare, using the pattern given below. I don't do this because I don't have a matching spare.

WARNING: READ THE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS BEFORE YOU UNDERTAKE ANY TASK THAT REQUIRES JACKING UP YOUR JEEP.

I am very methodical, and I am a parent, so I am safety conscious. I am no manly-man trying to prove anything to anyone, so I never, never hurry through anything like this, and I never allow myself to underestimate the potential for the jack, stands, or Jeep to betray me and kill me. If you don't like going slow and being safe, or if you are one of those guys that thinks cars never fall off of lifts, you will hate this write up, so forget it now and go somewhere else. I watched my grandfather walk with a stiff leg for 37 years after he dropped a car on himself, and I don't plan on joining him in that horror. Jeeps are heavy, and they will squish an arrogant or impatient, smug mechanic like a roach. =

Required Tools

Torque Wrench. You will need a torque wrench that can measure up to 150 lbs of torque to put your wheels back on your axles. The lug nuts on your wheels must be tightened to between 85 and 100 lb each, and you have to torque each lug nut to the exact same torque. Before you use your torque wrench, check to make sure it is not set up for more than 10 lbs of torque. If it is, unscrew the handle until it reads zero, and let it sit for a while. Otherwise, your measurements could be inaccurate, and wheels coming off of Jeeps is bad.

Jack Stands and Hydrolic Floor Jack. You will need a jackstands if you only plan to rotate four tires. If you plan to rotate five tires (rotating in the spare), then you don't need jack stands. Don't do what I did. Buy yourself a 3 ton floor jack, and buy the jack stands separately. It costs a little more, but you want the 6 ton jack stands, not the 3 ton jack stands. In fact, 12 ton jack stands are even better, but my 6's are great compared to the 3's.

X Wrench. You will need an X Wrench to remove your lug nuts quickly. You will love using an X Wrench after you have tried pulling off lug nuts with the horrible wrench that is fastened underneath your passenger seat. This is an essential tool.

Breaker bar - You don't have to use an X-wrench. You could just get a 1/2" 19mm socket and put it on your big breaker bar, but it won't spin around quickly like your X-wrench will.

Wheel Blocks. You will need blocks for your wheels to prevent the car from rolling while it is jacked up - whether all four wheels going up, or if just one goes up. You could use a 4x4x6" wood block on each side of your wheel blocks, just like they use at an airport around the wheels of airplanes. However, the commonly available tool looks like this: You should get 8 of them, imo, just because they are too inexpensive to not have the extra safety.

Bolt Size & Torque Specifications

Bolt	Size	Torque
Wheel Lug Nuts	19mm	85-115 ft-lb I prefer 90 ft-lb all the way around.

Lug nuts on a Jeep Wrangler are 1/2x20 with a 60 degree cone, should you need to get more and replace them.

Directions for Rotating Four Tires

1. Set my parking brake. I make sure it is pulled up really good and that the car cannot roll. If I can pull the handle past half-way and the brake doesn't set, then I STOP NOW. I must have my rear drum brakes serviced before I continue. I want a fully operational parking brake before I do something like this.

2. Put the transmission into park. Automatics must be in park.

3. Block all four corners. I place the wheels blocks in front of and behind each tire so that they are touching the tire. This will provide extra safety against the Jeep rolling away from me and coming off of the Jack.

4. Place the floor jack under the rear differential. I've noticed that most people like to place a flat block of wood over the jack's cradle to prevent metal on metal contact. I copy them. Soft wood seems to dent in and allow for a sort of cushion for the differential. I make sure everything is centered nicely.

5. Place all four jackstands beside the frame mounting points. I go ahead and set the jackstands in their places next to where I will be placing them under the frame. My goal here is to minimize time under the Jeep.

6. Loosen lug nuts on all four wheels. It is only necessary to crack the nuts loose, not to remove them. I want the tires on the ground when I do this, so that the wheel won't be getting away from you as you try to turn it, and also so I won't be straining against your Jeep while it is lifted up on stands. I use my X wrench and the 3/4" socket for this. It might not be perfect, but it works fine for me.

7. Lift the rear of the Jeep up. Pump the hydrolic jack carefully into place, and then slowly keep it going up, keeping myself in a position where I can dart away like a coward if necessary. Can you tell I'm afraid of the Jeep falling on me? Once it is lifted, I check to make sure it the jack is not set to release the load the instant I let go of it. YOU DID READ THE DIRECTIONS FOR YOUR JACK STAND, CORRECT? YOU DID READ THE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS, RIGHT? Normally you only lift the jeep high enough that the tires come off the ground. Not so, today, because you are using the rear differential, when you remove the jack and the frame for support, the axle will go back down and the tires may touch the ground. I have had to experiment to get it right. It has to go up higher than I usually think it does.

8. Quickly place jack stands under the mount points. Go to one side then the other, scooting the jack stand under the frame rails in the spot shown.

9. Very slowly lower the Jeep down onto the jack stands. And I mean so slow that molasses would fly past and blow your hair back. Really, really nice and slow. Patience! The Jeep should set down very easily on them. I scared the ____ out of myself once by releasing the jack's lift power too fast and dropping my jeep about an inch onto the stands kind of hard. It was really quite astounding as to how frightening that was. Luckily its a tough little booger.

10. Look at my work. I like to pause, take a deep breath, and make sure I am not hurrying. If I have to hurry, I will get killed, so I slow down here and relax a little. I check each stand. I make sure it is flat on the ground and solidly connected to the frame, and not on the edge of anything. Remember, if this puppy falls off the stands, you've had it, and it's really going to hurt more incredibly than you can possibly imagine.

11. Lower the jack. Now lower and remove the jack. When you lower it, if the tires touch the ground, you've goofed. Go back and raise it up higher, pull out each stand, never putting your head under the jeep BECAUSE THE JACK CANNOT BE TRUSTED and set the height on them higher. Then again try to lower the Jeep down onto the raised stands.

When you can remove the jack and the wheels are off the ground, you did it correctly. Now let's do the front wheels.

12. Lift the front end of the Jeep. Place the jack and the block of wood under the front differential. Whoa! A little weird, ain't it? The front diff is off-center, so one wheel comes up and the other acts like it never will. When I get it up high enough, I make sure your front and rear jackstands are at the same height. If I adjusted the rear, I could end up with my Jeep unlevel up on stands. That's bad. Very bad. A recipe for a slip, sliding 4,000 destructo tank headed right for my legs. No thanks. Once you are confident they are level with the rear stands, I put front jackstands under the same mounting points in the front under the frame rails.

13. Lower your Jeep onto the front stands. Very, very slowly.

14. Check your work. Stand back and take a look at your jeep up on these stands. I usually push mine a little to see if anything bad will happen before I start working on it. If it feels solid, then I take a deep breath and keep going. Remove the wheel blocks away from the Jeep. You don't need them right now.

15. Unbolt the lug nuts. Go around and pull off the lug nuts on every wheel, including the spare, if you are going to rotate it in. Put the nuts where you can find them again in groups of five. You did loosen them before you put your Jeep up on stands, right?

16. Begin moving wheels through the pattern. When you rotate your tires, generally you put the rear ones on the front, and then you cross the front ones over and put them in back on the opposite side from where they were. If you rotate in your spare, you usually put it on the left rear wheel, and then simulate the same pattern, putting the last wheel on the spare tire carrier.

If you are rotating in the fifth wheel, you don't even have to put your Jeep up on stands! You can just lift each wheel one at a time, and stick a new wheel on it, and then lower it, tighten it, and move to the next. How cool! My spare is a mismatch, so I have to do all of this ridiculous crap to rotate my tires. Thus, the write up.

17. Tighten lug nuts using star pattern. As you attach each wheel, use the X wrench to tighten the lug nuts only gently - do not tighten them down tight - just spin them in until there is resistance. Also, remember to put the lug nuts back on in a star pattern. If you don't use the star pattern, you're rotors will possibly warp.

18. Lower the front, then the back. Raise the jack up high to get the front off of the jack stands, and then remove them, then slowly lower the Jeep down to the ground. Check to make sure the blocks are not in the way or under the wheels. I like to replace them after the front is lowered, but the rear ones I leave off entirely. If you don't, I won't laugh at you. When in doubt, block your wheels, just because you plan to live to see next Spring.

19. Torque the lug nuts. I set my torque wrench for 90 lbs, following a recommendation from a friend, and I then go put some tightness on those lug nuts. Again, use the star pattern to tighten them so you don't warp your rotors.

20. 100 mile check. After driving around for 100 miles, you should check the torque on the lug nuts again just to be safe, but keep in mind, a shop would never do this for you anyway, so its just an extra precaution. This is one reason to do things yourself. If you own a car, you may as well own a torque wrench and check your own lug nuts.

21. Check for tire tread wear. Like I have to tell you this. Surely you are salivating over the possibility of getting bigger wheels, and therefore are hoping your tires wear out so your wife cannot object. I check mine, just the same, for uneven wear, holes, worn out places, etc. Especially these Goodyear GSA's, which I think suck.

YOU DID IT! Now begin strutting about mercilessly gloating to family and friends about what a stud you are! Way to go! Remember, there are two kinds of people in the world, those that make things happen, and those to which things just happen. You can either be adrift in a sea of confusion, batted about like a life raft without paddles, or you can take charge and do things yourself. You should feel proud of yourself. You deserve a pizza now.

Directions for Rotating Five Tires

1. Set my parking brake. I make sure it is pulled up really good and that the car cannot roll. If I can pull the handle past half-way and the brake doesn't set, then I STOP NOW. I must have my rear drum brakes serviced before I continue. I want a fully operational parking brake before I do something like this.

2. Put the transmission into park. Automatics must be in park.

3. Block all four corners. I place the wheels blocks in front of and behind each tire so that they are touching the tire. This will provide extra safety against the Jeep rolling away from me and coming off of the Jack.

4. Remove spare tire. Pull off the spare and put it near the wheel that you are going to replace with it using the pattern for five tire rotation given below.

5. Jack up one wheel by lifting up the axle tube as recommended in the owner's manual diagram. Place a jackstand under the axle tube. Pull off the wheel. Put on the spare. Put on the lug nuts until the wheel is on. Do not torque the lug nuts down tight yet. Just put them on until they begin to resist and the wheel is flat against the hub. Tighten them in a star pattern.

6. Lower the wheel. Remove the jackstand and slowly lower the jack so that the wheel sets back down on the ground.

7. Torque the lug nuts. Tighten the lug nuts to the correct torque in a star pattern as the graphic shows.

8. Repeat 5, 6, & 7 on the remaining wheels working your way around using the five tire pattern in the graphic.

Did I Do Something Wrong?

Warped Rotors. Steering Wheel vibrations when slowing down from high speed to exit the expressway while braking mean that your rotors are warped. The rotors are metal disks on your front axles that sit behind the wheels. They are shiny and the brake calipers grip them to stop your Jeep. When you tighten lug nuts on your wheel incorrectly by using uneven torque or by putting the lug nuts on in the wrong order, that stresses the wheel and the rotor. The rotor warps a little, and you get violent vibrations at high speed when you hit the brakes. Always use the correct order and a proper torque wrench with the right torque.

Balancing Your Tires. Shops always offer to rotate and balance your tires. They love for you to not know what this is. When you balance a wheel, you put it on a device that spins it round and round and checks it for uneven weight. All tires have uneven weight on them, so they put a few little metal clips on the wheels to balance the weight out as it spins. This prevents a rough ride where out of balance wheels spin and feel like they are riding over small potholes all the time.

However, there is a little rule that tires, once balanced, tend to stay in balance. I usually have mine balanced when I buy them, and then after that, I never have them balanced again unless I experience the vibrations above. Balancing is not an at-home kind of thing. So far, I've owned four cars, and each one I drove for 100,000 miles plus without ever having tires balanced after they were put on the first time.

So, just say "No, thanks!" to balancing when you get your tires rotated unless your car vibrates going down the road. You'll save around $40 off of the job.

I once took a car in to have the tires rotated. When they were done, I went to the desk and they were charging me for rotation and balancing. They assume you don't know what balancing is, since most people really don't, and a dishonest mechanic might try to insist it is part of rotating tires, but it isn't. It is only part of installing new tires, or fixing vibrations. I told them to remove the charge, since I did not order balancing, and told them my tires were already in balance. They argued. I argued back. They removed the charge, and I never went there again. This sort of thing is an excellent test of the honesty level of your mechanic.

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