Changed my first Maverick tire today

[TJAY]

What a nightmare! 66 year old widowed grandma with severely arthritic hands here. I picked up a nail in the front passenger side tire yesterday and woke up to a very flat tire this morning. I did some quick research and, being a visual learner, found a YouTube video that made it seem quite straightforward.

I easily lowered the spare but removing the cone to release the tire from the cable was ridiculously difficult. I actually ended up breaking it as it was not flexible enough. So there's that I'll have to deal with.

On to the lug nuts. Despite all my efforts I could only loosen two of the five. After an hour of some seriously disgusting cursing* at the Ford service tech who battened them down to the nth degree, I texted my awesome neighbors. Now Dan can fix anything. He is a retired welder who restores cars and can manufacture just about anything. It took him 30 minutes to get those three &$#*@#s off and less than two minutes to put the spare on.

It's been a good 30 years since I changed a tire and it was on my '68 VW Baja. Dad taught me the basics of car maintenance which came in handy with two husbands over 45 years - one lazy AF and the other who couldn't get his hands dirty.

I'm rethinking my all my life choices now. Every muscle in my old bod hurts like a, well, you know. But the tire is repaired, back on 'Fern', and I'm off to the Y's heated pool to sooth my muscles, soul, and sanity.

2025 XL, FWD w/spare, Hybrid, Eruption green, with a bumper sticker that says "Póg Mo Thóin". Which purty much sums up what I'd like to say to the Ford tech who rotated my wheels.

*14 years dealing with inmates will do that to a person

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[Glen Baker LLC]

AAA. ?
Post #7 is a better answer.

I would call Ford road assistance

This video shows how to lower the back tire and get that blue cone off without breaking anything.
Skip to the 5-minute mark of the video. To see how to remove the blue cone.

 

[TJAY]

At this stage in my life I'm considering it.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

At 70+ I'm not ready for AAA yet but I'm not far from it.
I'm fan of my well used four-way lug wrench and homemade breaker bar. I keep behind the rear seat.
When I took possession of my Maverick and reading the post about how tight the lug nuts were I decided to be proactive, while I was still a few years younger.
I loosened and re-tightened all of the lug nuts.
I wanted to be sure, in an emergency I could remove them.
Maybe one of these days my OCD will kick in and I'll buy me a torque wrench.

I using a four-way lug wrench.
If it gets stuck, you can wiggle it with both hands in order to release it.
And if you don't have a breaker bar, you can use both sides of the 4way lug wrench by pulling and pushing. If you are very careful and can get it in the correct position, you can use your foot while you're pulling.
It stores nicely behind the seat.

 

[OleFordGuy]

Well Tammy, I'm Extremely Impressed!!!! I'll admit I'm ahead of you by a good number of years but my wore out ole body won't even try that kind of stuff nowdays. I've got folks in my contact list - adult kids, late high school/college age grandkids and a long time mechanic on speed dial for stuff like that. You m'am qualify for a metal in my opinion!

 

[Busa789]

They are torqued to 150 ft-lbs, so yeah, they will be tough to remove, especially with arthritic hands. I pulled a wheel off my new Mav to check the fitment of my winter wheels and the 1/2" ratchet wrench was too much of an effort, so I got my breaker bar out.

 

[Cancunbadlands]

I would call Ford road assistance

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

I would call Ford road assistance

Great post thank you.
I never thought of it.

 

[Master Blaster]

What a nightmare! 66 year old widowed grandma with severely arthritic hands here. I picked up a nail in the front passenger side tire yesterday and woke up to a very flat tire this morning. I did some quick research and, being a visual learner, found a YouTube video that made it seem quite straightforward.

I easily lowered the spare but removing the cone to release the tire from the cable was ridiculously difficult. I actually ended up breaking it as it was not flexible enough. So there's that I'll have to deal with.

On to the lug nuts. Despite all my efforts I could only loosen two of the five. After an hour of some seriously disgusting cursing* at the Ford service tech who battened them down to the nth degree, I texted my awesome neighbors. Now Dan can fix anything. He is a retired welder who restores cars and can manufacture just about anything. It took him 30 minutes to get those three &$#*@#s off and less than two minutes to put the spare on.

It's been a good 30 years since I changed a tire and it was on my '68 VW Baja. Dad taught me the basics of car maintenance which came in handy with two husbands over 45 years - one lazy AF and the other who couldn't get his hands dirty.

I'm rethinking my all my life choices now. Every muscle in my old bod hurts like a, well, you know. But the tire is repaired, back on 'Fern', and I'm off to the Y's heated pool to sooth my muscles, soul, and sanity.

2025 XL, FWD w/spare, Hybrid, Eruption green, with a bumper sticker that says "Póg Mo Thóin". Which purty much sums up what I'd like to say to the Ford tech who rotated my wheels.

*14 years dealing with inmates will do that to a person

Yeah, the stupid little wrench that they put in the toolkit is way too short to do 150lbs for 90% of the population. Its one of those little things that Ford could improve. Make sure you carry a real breaker bar and torque wrench as a workaround.

 

[Cancunbadlands]

Great post thank you.
I never thought of it.

I've been using it a couple of times.
If you're not in a hurry
It might take up to 2 hours to reach your location even if you're in town

 

[Mr Clarity]

What a nightmare! 66 year old widowed grandma with severely arthritic hands here. I picked up a nail in the front passenger side tire yesterday and woke up to a very flat tire this morning. I did some quick research and, being a visual learner, found a YouTube video that made it seem quite straightforward.

I easily lowered the spare but removing the cone to release the tire from the cable was ridiculously difficult. I actually ended up breaking it as it was not flexible enough. So there's that I'll have to deal with.

On to the lug nuts. Despite all my efforts I could only loosen two of the five. After an hour of some seriously disgusting cursing* at the Ford service tech who battened them down to the nth degree, I texted my awesome neighbors. Now Dan can fix anything. He is a retired welder who restores cars and can manufacture just about anything. It took him 30 minutes to get those three &$#*@#s off and less than two minutes to put the spare on.

It's been a good 30 years since I changed a tire and it was on my '68 VW Baja. Dad taught me the basics of car maintenance which came in handy with two husbands over 45 years - one lazy AF and the other who couldn't get his hands dirty.

I'm rethinking my all my life choices now. Every muscle in my old bod hurts like a, well, you know. But the tire is repaired, back on 'Fern', and I'm off to the Y's heated pool to sooth my muscles, soul, and sanity.

2025 XL, FWD w/spare, Hybrid, Eruption green, with a bumper sticker that says "Póg Mo Thóin". Which purty much sums up what I'd like to say to the Ford tech who rotated my wheels.

*14 years dealing with inmates will do that to a person

Not sure how many miles u have on it but Ford Roadside Assistance is free for 3 years/36,000 miles whichever comes first. I have used it to change a flat in my driveway…. Super satisfied with the service.

 

[asylus]

Yeah, the stupid little wrench that they put in the toolkit is way too short to do 150lbs for 90% of the population. Its one of those little things that Ford could improve. Make sure you carry a real breaker bar and torque wrench as a workaround.

have any links or recommendations? I have AAA but I still like to be prepared.

 

[sprubs]

They are torqued to 150 ft-lbs, so yeah, they will be tough to remove, especially with arthritic hands. I pulled a wheel off my new Mav to check the fitment of my winter wheels and the 1/2" ratchet wrench was too much of an effort, so I got my breaker bar out.

I saw this and had to look it up to confirm. Holy hell! Most vehicles I owned before this were 80 ft-lbs.

 

[Busa789]

I saw this and had to look it up to confirm. Holy hell! Most vehicles I owned before this were 80 ft-lbs.

Yep. It's an M14 stud, same as an F150. Bolts/studs require enough torque to actually elastically stretch them a little bit in order for them to stay tight. The bigger the stud, the more torque (in general).

 

[Ferta McDaniels]

have any links or recommendations? I have AAA but I still like to be prepared.

Reasonably priced and longer than most.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-25-in-breaker-bar-62729.html

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