How to Change a Tire in a High School Parking Lot

"Bandit" (2bandit)
02/27/2014 at 18:35 • Filed to: Bandit has Problems

Step 1) Go outside and realize your truck has a flat

Step 2) Complain, go inside, and text mother of problems, complain to teacher, have teacher remind you that you should have a spare tire (There isn't one in my T/A)

Step 3) Open your hatch, remove the spare that you remembered to fill with air a few months ago (you don't have a tire cover because it looks better and the PO lost it), set E-brake, and find a hat because it is cold

Step 4) Have classmate laugh at you and ask if you need help - you decline it because you are a man and men don't ask for help

Step 5) Look around for factory jack until you find it

Step 6) Find jack, stare at it for 5 minutes trying to figure out how to remove it from its metal and plastic coffin

Step 7) Have attractive BMW driving girls laugh at your pitiful situation. Remember the "dead battery in front of a bored girls tennis team" situation from last year and think it could be worse

Step 8) Successfully remove jack from the hidden spot behind the spare tire carrier and under some 90s-tastic plastic trim

Step 9) Find tire iron

Step 10) Wonder why tire iron is rusty looks like it is from the 70s. Also wonder why the factory wheel chocks are missing (find your own pic)

Step 11) Disregard step 10 (same)

Step 12) Go to remove lug nuts and find out there are plastic things that cover the lug nuts

Step 13) Complain about GM's stupid ideas and think about that back when your Trans Am was built, they didn't have lug nut covers

Step 14) have another attractive girl laugh at you

Step 15) Try to remove real lug nut. For some reason the 70s tire iron that came with the truck is too big for the nuts

Step 16) Complain about previous owner (no picture for you)

Step 17) Go inside the school and borrow a tire iron from the shop teacher, don't forget to have the shop teacher mock you and ask why is it always you who has the car troubles

Step 18) Successfully remove flat tire and install the spare

Step 19) Go back inside and return tire iron

Step 20) Drive home

Step 21) Get home, park, and find coolant leaking out of the radiator

Step 22) Complain, don't bother with it, go inside, take a nap

Step 23) Wheel swap! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

DISCUSSION (21)

scoob > Bandit
02/27/2014 at 18:37

In my high school, I'm pretty sure 90% of people don't know the difference between a whole wheel and just a tire.

PushToStart > Bandit
02/27/2014 at 18:40

Well at least you know how to change a flat. Kids at my school would just call their daddy to buy them a new BMW because their Mercedes was obviously defective.

And disregard the girls laughing, their husbands will be pathetic Prius drivers who can't even check the oil level.

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > Bandit
02/27/2014 at 18:44

nice new trans am wheels

CRider > scoob
02/27/2014 at 18:47

Most people, high school students or fully frown adults, don't know the difference.

D > Bandit
02/27/2014 at 18:47

Yeah keeping your spare inflated is key, I learned. First time I ever got a punctured tire, I was a long ways from home. Pull out the donut and found that it was flat. By pure luck, some stranger had a compressor on him, whew.

Bandit > Vince-The Roadside Mechanic
02/27/2014 at 18:47

Thanks! That is the one rim of the 12 I have that I have had time to refurbish. I had the center cap lying around, its for a 80s GTA car. I'm looking for a set of 8" wide snowflakes for my TA but am having a hard time finding them. http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/i-am-of-liking…

lonestranger > Bandit
02/27/2014 at 18:49

Fuck. Thanks for reminding me that I might have a coolant leak.

Straightsix9904 > Bandit
02/27/2014 at 18:49

I think we need a "How to Charge a Battery in a High School Parking Lot" write up.

Mathias Rios > Bandit
02/27/2014 at 18:50

The trans am wheels look AWESOME. At my school, no one drives a car, let alone thinks cars are even important :(

Bad Idea Hat > scoob
02/27/2014 at 18:51

An unreasonable number of people here don't even know the difference.

Bandit > Straightsix9904
02/27/2014 at 18:51

I have pictures... just not of the tennis team. It took 2 hours to charge my battery, t'was an adventure.

Straightsix9904 > Bandit
02/27/2014 at 18:52

8" wide Snowflakes....I'll keep an eye out for 'em. Do you have a budget? What years did they come on the TA?

Straightsix9904 > Bandit
02/27/2014 at 18:53

2 hours to charge a battery? Was it even there?

Bandit > Straightsix9904
02/27/2014 at 18:55

$200 or less which is substantially more than the $40 I paid for my spare set of 7" rims. 8 inch rims came on most WS6 Trans Ams from 1977 to 1981. You can tell the 8" rims from the 7" rims by looking at the edge. The 8" ones have a nice "pie dish" surround (see pic)

Kinja'd!!!

Bandit > Straightsix9904
02/27/2014 at 18:56

Unknowingly my cables were burn through. It's a story for another time.

Takuro Spirit > Bandit
02/27/2014 at 19:40

I have like, 3 sets of GM truck wheel chocks I stole from my parent's old Astro, and several used cars I worked on back in my technician days.

Not sure why.... but I thought I needed wheel chocks.

Bandit > Takuro Spirit
02/27/2014 at 19:41

You bastard

Frank Grimes > Bandit
02/27/2014 at 21:57

I work in a high school auto shop I can tell you from experience this is not how you do it. It takes twice as long and I need to be there to hold your hand every step of the way. You dont listen to me and want to learn the hard way instead of learning the easy way so it takes four times as long and a crowd gathers and wonders why you are so stupid.

BeholdTheCamaro > Bandit
03/02/2014 at 15:28

There are a lot of bad things about going to an all guys school like I do, but at least when your car breaks down girls aren't around to laugh at you.

Dr. Strangegun > Bandit
03/03/2014 at 00:36

OHHHHH I've been there with that particular coolant leak. It will get *bad*, park nose uphill for a while until you get a new radiator.

Yes, I said new radiator. When you get things out of the way enough to see, you'll find a big vertical crack up one side or the other of the plastic side tank.

Bandit > Dr. Strangegun
03/03/2014 at 17:42

It's been leaking for a while now. Not enough yet to warrant a new rad though. I just fill it with water once a week. Stupid cost cutting measures leading to plastic radiator tanks. I wonder if my spare all Aluminum Trans Am radiator would fit...