# Puncture - wheel changing not so bad after all!



## spartacus (Jul 10, 2008)

Had a dreaded p******e on Saturday, heard a loud tapping noise just prior to joining the A14 in Northants so immediately pulled over and found a large screw in the front offside tyre 

First thought was to ring Fiat Assist and get a man out to do it, but the slip road was fairly quite, it wasn't raining for once and I managed to pull off the carriageway. So rather than sit and wait maybe hours, I thought I'd have a go at tackling it myself.

A warning triangle and SWMBO in a fluorescent jacket kept what little traffic there was out of harms way.

The Fiat supplied jack worked a treat, the wheel nuts easily loosened and getting the spare out was far less difficult than I first thought it would be. The supplied box spanner neatly fits on to a bolt head inside the wheel arch, a few turns unwinds the stainless steel cable supporting the spare sufficient to drag it towards yourself and "unhitch" it from the cable.

So no crawling under the vehicle required, everything worked as it should and within 30 minutes we were back on the road.

All in all a pleasant surprise to accomplish the task relatively easily and much better being in control of ones own destiny rather than waiting who knows how long for assistance to arrive.


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Its an experience getting a puncture on the motorway.
I have had two.
Both with caravans. One an older than 5 years tyre and the other brand new.
Luckily both on the nearside.

Never change wheels as fast in my life.

Dave p


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## spartacus (Jul 10, 2008)

This one couldn't have come at a better time, both fronts were shortly due to be replaced


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