Jack for spare tire

R

Robert_Alabama

Well-Known Member
I know a couple have or have bought small hydraulic jacks for use with the Clarity since it is heavy. I opted for buying an Accord jack and tools from Ebay. The car is heavy though, and using the scissor jack isn't a lot of fun in hot weather with the amount of force required to turn the jack. I just bought a couple of the adapters that sell on Amazon and Ebay for the two Claritys in the family...
https://www.amazon.com/TONDA-Scisso...ocphy=9012570&hvtargid=pla-574529756132&psc=1

as well as a 1/2" ratcheting torque wrench from Harbor Freight:
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-Drive-Click-Type-Torque-Wrench-63882.html

There are usually coupons for this torque wrench for $9.99
https://www.google.com/search?q=har...AUIESgC&biw=1440&bih=789#imgrc=Zo7atwY7LEaXRM:

Anyway this combination with a 6" 1/2" extension is an easy way to raise the car without breaking a sweat. The torque wrench is also handy to remove and retighten the lugs. At $10 each, I keep one in all my vehicles, with an extension and the correct socket for the lugs of course.
 
The Clarity has 19mm lug nuts. Most Honda cars use this size. Pilot, Ridgeline and maybe others use a 22mm (I think?) lug nut. Honda vehicles with 19mm lug nuts use 80 ft-lbs torque to tighten.

Plug kit (and razor knife to cut off excess plug,) air compressor, torque wrench (I use deep-well 19mm socket with mine,) and a basic floor jack and you're set. These will easily fit in the trunk under-floor compartment.
 
My alternative method due to a bad back and inherent laziness is throw in my cordless drill along with the eBay sourced Honda jack kit that comes with chocks in a nice storage bag whenever I add the doughnut spare for a long trip. That works like a charm with a modified eye bolt that resides in the jack bag. (They also sell adapters for this purpose, but I’m too cheap to buy them.) When I really get decrepit, I’ll have to buy the cordless impact wrench which would also make the lug nuts easier. Hmmm, I’m putting that on my Christmas list!

Other tips I’ll share are to keep a short length of deck board or other lumber to set the jack on for better stability and use a cheap zippered cover for the spare. Not so much to keep it clean, but to then use on the removed dirty tire to keep the trunk clean.

It all fits (well, not the tire!) in the trunk cubby along with a plug kit and a Li-ion jump starter. I’m a big believer in self-reliance and self-rescue whenever possible.

I installed strobes in the parking lights of my last truck but don’t want to drill out the light boxes in my new Clarity, so I’m considering getting a 12v LED suction mount emergency flasher.
BTW, the safety tips posted previously are excellent.
 
KentuckyKen said:
My alternative method due to a bad back and inherent laziness is throw in my cordless drill along with the eBay sourced Honda jack kit that comes with chocks in a nice storage bag whenever I add the doughnut spare for a long trip. That works like a charm with a modified eye bolt that resides in the jack bag. (They also sell adapters for this purpose, but I’m too cheap to buy them.) When I really get decrepit, I’ll have to buy the cordless impact wrench which would also make the lug nuts easier. Hmmm, I’m putting that on my Christmas list!

Other tips I’ll share are to keep a short length of deck board or other lumber to set the jack on for better stability and use a cheap zippered cover for the spare. Not so much to keep it clean, but to then use on the removed dirty tire to keep the trunk clean.

It all fits (well, not the tire!) in the trunk cubby along with a plug kit and a Li-ion jump starter. I’m a big believer in self-reliance and self-rescue whenever possible.

I installed strobes in the parking lights of my last truck but don’t want to drill out the light boxes in my new Clarity, so I’m considering getting a 12v LED suction mount emergency flasher.
BTW, the safety tips posted previously are excellent.
Click to expand...
@KentuckyKen, you are certainly well-prepared to rescue yourself from a flat tire! The tire cover is pure genius of forethought. I'll kick myself for not doing what you've done when I find myself sitting by the side of the road pondering: "Goop or tow? Goop or tow? Goop or tow?"

Alternatively you could use your other advantage. After suffering a flat you could just blast away on your air-horn until the locals came and fixed your tire just to regain peace and quiet. You could then reward them with sample bottles of Rain-X that I assume you carry with you at all times.
 
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Robert_Alabama said:
The torque wrench is also handy to remove and retighten the lugs.
Click to expand...
I have heard that it's not good to use a torque wrench to loosen bolts. Not sure if that's true or not, I'm sure many will say they do it all the time with no problem, but as always we need to define "no problem". Does it bust the clutch so it no longer clicks and just spins? Probably not. Does it affect calibration? Maybe, and that would be hard to know without taking it in for inspection. Not really knowing for sure I just always use a regular L-shaped lug wrench to remove, and for the initial tightening, and use the torque wrench only for torquing. I use the same approach on the oil drain plug, I use the torque wrench only at the end to torque the plug.

Never thought of carrying the torque wrench in the car. I just incrementally tighten in a star pattern using the L-shaped lug wrench that's already in the car, then torque it when I get home. I doubt if I would use enough force with an L-shaped wrench to warp the wheel. Although maybe on long trips I probably should bring my torque wrench. Then again I wouldn't be going that far anyway on a donut, but if I had the tire repaired or replaced I would probably want to check the torque myself rather than trust the tire repair shop, which is what I do at home and what I would probably want to do 1,000 miles from home.
 
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Great idea about the torque wrench. I’ve only got a very good used electronic Snap-On one that I don’t want to bang up in the car or subject to the rain. So I’ll use the universal German torque on the the road, guttentite, and torque when I get home.
@insightman, thanks for the laugh, I needed it. Don’t knock my RainX too much, I get 0.00000001 better EV range from not having to use my wipers and they are still streak free after one and a half years.
 
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