Parked in the basement car park of my condo yesterday and the handyman pointed out that one of my tyres was partially deflated. I think he was hoping I would slip him a few baht to fix it; but I was determined to do it myself. I am a stubborn old bugger who likes to do things for himself when possible; and having a practice tyre change in the relative comfort of a car park would prepare me for the inevitable day when I had to do itmyself when stuck out in the country in the dark in a rainstorm.
There were a few problems to overcome. I assumed there was a spare wheel but I had never seen it; and I assumed there was a set of tools, but ditto. So it was out with the million page owner’s manual which is written in Thai, and the search commenced for clues. From the diagrams in the manual I could see that all Mitsubishi truck owners are considered idiots. There are two pages on how to pick up the ignition key, insert it into the appropriate slot, and detailed instructions on which direction to turn it. No wonder the manual was so thick.
About two thirds of the way through I found a hint to where I might find the tools. Depending on the model, they were either under the back seat, or behind the back seat. I tried pulling both panels but nothing moved. I tried pulling the back of the seat much harder and it partially came away from the cab; but in a way that said “you have just pulled too hard and broken something”, rather than “pull a little harder and tools will be yours”. So I pulled harder on the seat itself instead, and it broke free with a ripping noise that did not speak of a design intention. Further examination revealed that the seat was retained with Velcro, but the staples that held the Velcro to the seat were not a match for the sticking power of Velcro; so now the seat was retained by nothing. But never mind, removal of the seat revealed a little flap under which were the tools of the trade.
The jack was a proper hydraulic model, painted red as all hydraulic jacks should be. Then there was the usual wheel nut remover which never removes wheel nuts because it is too small and the nuts are too tight, Finally there were two lengths of metal, which actually deconstructed into three lengths of metal and then built again into a single long piece which clearly had a role in raising the jack, but also spoke of other, more exotic applications.
So far, so slow. Back to the manual for advice on how to remove the spare wheel which had been found nestling under the rear bodywork. Apparently I had to stick the long piece of metal through a small hole in the back of the truck, then into another hole which I could not see, and then turn the metal rod to make the wheel descend. Looked easy in the diagrams, but reality meant a trip under the car with a torch and much swearing before everything was connected and the wheel sunk to the ground on the end of a chain. Disconnected the chain and slid the wheel out from under the truck. I think it was at this point I buggered my back, although there were plenty of other points in the process where I could have done damage. Suffice it to say I am hurting today.
Next job was to loosen the wheel nuts and, as expected, they were not going to move; even with all of me jumping up and down on the pathetically small wrench. Back to my tool box for sockets and extension and a bloody big hammer.
So all I had to do now was jack up the wheel with my lovely red hydraulic jack. The manual provided several drawings from several angles, all showing the point where I should mount the jack; and none bearing any resemblance to the underside of my truck. So I chose what looked to be the strongest point on the axle and spent several sweaty, dirty minutes manoeuvring the jack into position. But finally, up with the wheel, off with the wheel nuts and then off with the wheel (after a few heavy swipes with the hammer to loosen it). Lifting the spare into position was another back breaker, but finally I had the spare wheel in place and the original wheel in the back of the truck ready to be fixed.
It takes a Grand Prix team 3.5 seconds to change four wheels. It took me more than an hour to change one, and I staggered back into the condo, covered in dirt, dust and sweat. I wondered if she who must be obeyed would like the rough and ready sweaty look. She didn’t.
Obstinate me intended that I would get the puncture repaired and then reverse the process to get the wheels back where they belong (the spare is on a crappy wheel so can only be used as a spare). But this morning we drove to a garage and left the truck with them for twenty minutes while we went for coffee. They fixed the puncture, put the repaired wheel back on the car and the spare wheel back where the spare wheel should go, checked all the pressures and even tidied up my mess of tools which I had left on what remains of the back seat. The cost was 100 baht. A bargain.
There is a fine line between self-reliance and stupidity; and I think I crossed it. Now that I know how to change a truck tyre, I have decided that I never want to do it again.
Comments 🔗
2010-05-07| Barry saysOne of the great things about living in Thailand is that getting stuff done on a car costs peanuts. Think of all the time you wasted that could have spent doing things with your iPad.
2010-05-07| Farang Jai Dee saysMay I ask if the handyman was secreting hiding watching all this with glorious glee. And at the right moment popped out to make his presence known with the smirk on his face that only Thai’s can do?
2010-05-07| Pete saysThere’s a reason some people are engineers and some people are(were) accountants. Leave the bloody wheels alone and get in a professional next time!
2010-05-08| Jamie saysI hear ya. There are times when my wife asks “why don’t you do it?” in relation to painting or fixing a car or gardening. The answer is right there - “100 Baht”. Back in the UK I would always do basic maintainance on the car, coz they’d charge you 50 quid in a garage to change the oil.
Last year we got our 2 kids bedrooms repainted. Cost 1000 Baht for labour for 2 days work, 2 guys working.
Not everything is cheap here, but it is certainly nice to take advantage of things that are!
2010-05-08| Spike saysBarry, but I learned so much. Like, never ever do this again.
Fang Jai Dee, he caught me on the way out of the car park, studied my dishevelled appearance, and indeed gave me that little smile that said so much.
Pete, I am really good at counting the wheels, even if I don’t know where the spare is kept.
Jamie, actually I did end up doing painting myself, couldn’t stand the thought of clearing up after the mess that the “professionals” would leave.