How to jack/remove wheel

5 minute read

Hello,

I wanted to share my jacking up procedure. It is pretty straight forward, and once you get the hang of it you can start digging deeper into wrenching on your ride :)

As well, I prefer to handle my wrenching by hand. There are plenty of great tools out there to help make the job quicker, and easier. I just like doing it this way personally.

Start first by parking on a level surface. Put car in gear and or use e-brake as well.

Use some wheel stops for extra protection from having your ride roll. I used bricks as they are available. 

NOTICE! Make sure to move your stops after completing each wheel, raising your car from different angles will mean that said wheel may not be on the ground anymore. I keep them on the opposite angle of the car, example: working on Front left tire, blocks on Rear right tire.

Start by loosing your lugs, my manufacturer recommends 100 ft-lbs so they are on pretty snug.

Using a breaker bar as well the lugs are 19mm, using an impact socket.

Get them slightly loose, don't unscrew by any means. You just want it easier to remove once the wheel is off the ground, and you won't have the weight of the vehicle helping you.

Next is to find your jack mount, on the Focus is is pretty noticeable. You will need to get on the ground and look underneath to insure you are jacking from a solid point. You can feel and see the metal frame, most everything else in the area is plastic so it is pretty easy to manage.

Position the jack and slowly start jacking up, it doesn't hurt to check to make sure it is going up properly on a solid mount.

Place your stand on the metal rail and lower your jack. I like to put the weight on the stand, however pump the jack back up a little so it can help be a backup support.

Next use a socket wrench to remove all your lugs.

Proceed to pull the wheel off, if your wheel is stuck or not budging. Use a dead blow or rubber mallet and hit along the outside rim of your tire to loosen from the hub.

Now is a good time to inspect your assemblies and any areas of concern. One thing I always do is inspect my tire for any nails or abnormalities. Just roll it on the ground and look carefully.

When you are done, it is time to put the wheel back on. 

Start by mounting the tire on the hub, I use a little force to hold it flush against the hub while I tighten it down with lugs by hand with the socket. This allows me to screw them on properly, and feel how things are tightening up.

Once all are on, I switch to the socket wrench and hand tighten them as much as possible. Make sure all tools, items are out of the way are proceed to lower your vehicle.

Raise your jack up to remove weight from the stand. Remove your stand and slowly lower your car down.

I proceed to use the breaker bar to tighten things up with half of the weight down.

Lower all the way and remove jack. Time to bring out the torque wrench and tighten to spec, 100 ft-lbs.

Just to be safe, I usually re-check all my lugs torques for the next couple drives. I tend to keep them low miles and local, incase something goes wrong. I did notice that I had two lugs that had slightly loosened,  twice and everything is now secure and safe. Happy wrenching!