removing wheels : beginners advices please

[Luc Bernier]

I know these are very basic questions, but every info will help...
I will be removing the wheels in order to repaint them
I will probably remove them one at the time

1-is using the original jack will be enough ?
2-should I put blocks in front of the other tires ?
3-should I put something under the car in case the jack fails ?
4-Do I need a gun to put back the nuts, or doing It manually is enough ?
5-tightening them as much as possible ?

I know that I have to start by loosening the nuts before jacking the car...

all advices are welcomed

thanks

Luc

[will hung]

Originally Posted by Luc Bernier

I know these are very basic questions, but every info will help...
I will be removing the wheels in order to repaint them
I will probably remove them one at the time

1-is using the original jack will be enough ?
2-should I put blocks in front of the other tires ?
3-should I put something under the car in case the jack fails ?
4-Do I need a gun to put back the nuts, or doing It manually is enough ?
5-tightening them as much as possible ?

I know that I have to start by loosening the nuts before jacking the car...

all advices are welcomed

thanks

Luc

Luc,

I admire your ambition in attempting this DIY project. Be careful anytime you put a car in the air.

1-is using the original jack will be enough ?
It is, but do yourself a favor and buy your self a good jack. Additionally, purchase yourself 101 Projects for your Porsche written by our host.
Pelican Parts.com - 101 Projects for Your Porsche 911
I think the first project is how to properly jack your car.

2-should I put blocks in front of the other tires ?
You should always chalk your tires. When you are buying your good jack, buy yourself some tire chalks.

3-should I put something under the car in case the jack fails ?
Never rely on the jack alone to hold the car in the air. Besides the risk of the jack slipping, it can loose hydraulic pressure and drop the car. When you buy a good jack and tire chalks, buy yourself some jack stands too. These should always be used to hold the car in the air. Additionally, I always place my removed wheels/tires under the car on their side.

4-Do I need a gun to put back the nuts, or doing It manually is enough ?
Never use a gun to remove or tighten your lug nuts. OEM lug nuts are aluminum and can fail as a result of using a gun on them. Purchase yourself a good torque wrench to tighten the lugs. Only tighten with it though, never remove bolts with a torque wrench. I believe 94 ft-lb (might be 96, somebody help me here) is the recommended tightening torque.

5-tightening them as much as possible ?
See the answer to question #4.

All the tools I just recommended are basics that anybody with a vintage car should own. Believe me you will use them so often, you'll wonder what you ever did without them.

[coldstart]

Bienvenue to the world of Porsche ownership! You have a good looking targa.

1. Do not use the original jack. By a modern jack from Canadian Tire or an automotive store. The original jack is poor. Cost: $25-50

2. Buy some jack stands at the same time. I recommend 4 and repaint all the wheels at the same time. The jack stands go under the car. Do not get underneath the car without the jack stands present. Test to make sure the car is secure before ever getting underneath.

3. There are many threads where it is discussed how to jack the car up in the air. On my car, there is a jacking tube on each side. I don't think it is exposed on an SC. You can also jack the rear-end up from the engine.

4. You need to buy our host's book '101 Projects for your 911'. All of these items are discussed thoroughly in the book. The article on jacking your car up is one of the few that is found online.

Pelican Technical Article: Jacking Up Your Car - 911 (1965-89) - 930 Turbo (1975-89)

Best of luck and nice car!

Richard

[coldstart]

As per above, you need to buy:

1. Modern jack
2. Jack stands
3. Long bar 1/2" wrench
4. 19mm 1/2" socket
5. Tire chalks (I use paving stones)
6. Torque wrench

All of the above should cost around $200-$300 and last for the course of your ownership. They come in handy for other cars too.

[Jerome74911S]

1. Generally, the original jack is only for emergency use. Better to use a floor jack if you have one, or borrow one. The original jack is not stable enough.

2. Yes, block all the other wheels.

3. Best to use a jack stand. Inexpensive at Canadian Tire.

4. Never use a gun to tighten the lug nuts. Tighten by hand and use a torque wrench - again, borrow one if necessary.

5. What kind of wheels? Tighten to around 90 foot pounds.

Edit: I said around 90 pounds. Opinions on this vary, and some say less torque for aluminum wheels. Anyway, I tighten to 96 with Fuchs wheels.

[Ronnie's.930]

Originally Posted by will hung

4-Do I need a gun to put back the nuts, or doing It manually is enough ?
Never use a gun to remove or tighten your lug nuts. OEM lug nuts are aluminum and can fail as a result of using a gun on them. Purchase yourself a good torque wrench to tighten the lugs. Only tighten with it though, never remove bolts with a torque wrench. I believe 94 ft-lb (might be 96, somebody help me here) is the recommended tightening torque.

Respectfully, this is simply not correct information (not using a gun) . . . while not necessary, like countless others do, I have been using an impact gun on wheel nuts, of all variations, for over twenty years and have never had a problem either taking them off or putting them on with it. . .of course, I always do the final torquing of the nuts with a torque wrench.

[Jerome74911S]

Originally Posted by Ronnie's.930

Respectfully, this is simply not correct information (not using a gun) . . . while not necessary, like countless others do, I have been using an impact gun on wheel nuts, of all variations, for over twenty years and have never had a problem either taking them off or putting them on with it. . .of course, I always do the final torquing of the nuts with a torque wrench.

Noting the original poster's other questions, I believe he asked about a gun in order to get the nuts as tight as possible. That would not be called for. A gun is quick, but another hand tool is usually fine, especially in this case.

[rusnak]

NEVER USE THE EMERGENCY JACK in the shop. That thing is dangerous.

Invest in quality jack stands, and you have to learn safe lifting points and jack support points. I like to pad the floor jack with rags in order to safely lift from the front.

Definitely buy a "soft socket" for the alloy wheel nuts, and get a good quality torque wrench for the wheel re-installation.

Loosen the lug nuts with the car on the ground, and remove them when the car is on stands.

No need to remove "one wheel at a time".

[Ronnie's.930]

Originally Posted by Jerome74911S

Noting the original poster's other questions, I believe he asked about a gun in order to get the nuts as tight as possible. That would not be called for. A gun is quick, but another hand tool is usually fine, especially in this case.

Good point - an impact gun, or any air tool for that matter, is not something a novice mechanic sould be using anyway!

[ivangene]

OK I'm gonna say it - WAY TO GO guys for putting in a large amount of useful info on this....one thing that makes this a great place is no matter how complex or simple the problem - someone will take the time to put the answer in terms you should be able to work with.

bravo !

now how about some pics of this car and those wheels...I wanna see!!!

[dshepp806]

I don't even want to see a gun anywhere when I'm doing it..manual is just fine.

Best,

Doyle

[CCM911]

Originally Posted by rusnak

NEVER USE THE EMERGENCY JACK in the shop. That thing is dangerous.

Please heed this advice. I had a flat on my Targa about a month after I bought it. So I used the factory jack....which promptly collapsed under its own weight.

Factory jack is for emergencies only.

[eauboy]

One other piece of advice since I did not see it mentioned yet above:

When you are putting the wheels back on the car, tighten the lugs in a star-pattern, rather than one after the other in a circle.

[86 911 Targa]

Originally Posted by Luc Bernier

I know these are very basic questions, but every info will help...
I will be removing the wheels in order to repaint them
I will probably remove them one at the time

1-is using the original jack will be enough ?
2-should I put blocks in front of the other tires ?
3-should I put something under the car in case the jack fails ?
4-Do I need a gun to put back the nuts, or doing It manually is enough ?
5-tightening them as much as possible ?

I know that I have to start by loosening the nuts before jacking the car...

all advices are welcomed

thanks

Luc

Some one posted a very neat idea.

Place Saran wrap between the lug nut and the "soft" socket to prevent scratching the lug nuts.

It worked for me.

[McLaren-TAG]

Hey Luc, everything everyone has already said... you're probably going to use the jack, the stands, the torque wrench countless times, so do it now and you'll begin to get the most out of your investment.

Oh, and if English is not your first language, just so you don't get confused by what some have referred to as tire chalks here... it's a tire chuck and yeah, get those as well. The heavy duty dense rubber ones, not cheap plastic hollow ones.

[rnln]

Too many horrible stories on jacking up car, which made me feel scared everytime doing this. That's I have been jacking up my cars probably million times.
I would jack up the car using floor jack, put jack stands at jack mount areas, a pair at a time. And I don't like to use air gun for 911's lugs/nuts.

[Ronnie's.930]

Okay, maybe I am just nitpicking about nothing, and certainly do not mean to offend, but to those that say they would not go near a 911 wheel nut with an impact gun, I ask why in the world not (and I am not talking about advising a novice mechanic with no air tool experience to use one)? An impact tool does absolutley no harm to the wheel nuts , aluminum or not, and is quick and easy to use. Maybe you are concerned about damaging the finish on the nuts? In my experience, this finish comes off if you even fart on it so this is really not a concern for me (I strip the finish off the aluminum ones and just leave them raw). . .

[ivangene]

hard anodize wont come off from farting - even if you have some really fricken nasty farts

[Jerome74911S]

I hope nobody gets their blood pressure up here, we're all just trying our best to offer advice.

Anyway, Luc, the original poster: Your written English is good, but if you feel more comfortable writing in French, go ahead. There are plenty of Pelicans in Quebec who may see your post and answer in French - or Pelicans from France, for that matter.

There is no harm in trying.

[porwolf]

I am somewhat surprised about the advice from so many here that the factory jack cannot be used to lift up the car to get the wheels off. I don't know how many times I have done just that. Either to change from summer to winter wheels or vise versa and to "rotate" tires (switch between front and back) on my older Porsches. Never had a problem with the jack. I always secured the wheels with both emergency brake and transmission in 1st gear. I suggest if you want to keep the car on the jack for longer times to put a secure pile of wood pieces under the jack receiver, just in case. To loosen the aluminum lug nuts I always used the tool that came with the car. Yes, there are better tools like special soft sockets, but the factory tool does fine and the wear on the lug nuts is minimal if you don't let it slip. All the other suggestions are, of course, a lot more professional and safer. Do that if you plan to go the "professional" route. But do tighten the nuts in the pattern of post No.13, that is important. If you don't have a torque wrench you can tighten the nuts kind of hand tight on the long arm of the tool and then give it a little extra twist until you feel a ratcheting by the nuts in their seats. Loosen the nuts ever so slightly when the car is still on the ground so you don't jerk the car to loosen the nuts. When you tighten them do so just hand tight while the car is jacked up, then lower it to the ground and do the final tightening. That is done best also with the wheels on the ground. It is not that difficult.