How to Rotate Tires With One Jack? – [7 Steps Guide]
To balance the treads of wheels, tire rotation is one of the simplest ways to make sure that all tires are evenly worn down/rubbed across the four corners of the vehicle.
As you might know, if we delay the rotation schedule, the front, and rear tires don’t wear down evenly because of the weight distribution and vehicle type, resulting in less performance and more repairs.
We rotate the tires, particularly after every 5,000 – 6,000 miles of drive or in 6 months to get decent traction, avoid any incidents, and also for saving excessive fuel costs.
In this guide, we will share the safest way to rotate the tires of your vehicles by using a single jack and a few jack stands for safety reasons.
Required Tools and Safety Concerns:
How to Rotate Tires With One Jack? – [7 Steps Guide]
- Apply the Parking Brake/Handbrake of Your Vehicle
- Wear the Safety Gloves
- Lose the Lug or Wheel Nuts
- Raise the Car With One Jack
- Support the Car With at Least 2 Jack Stands
- Rotate the Tires as per the Manufacturer’s Suggested Pattern
- Remove the Jack Stands
1. Apply the Parking Brake/Handbrake of Your Car:
Park your car at a safe place preferably a garage or a less crowded area; apply the parking brake and make sure that the car is parked on an even surface; the uneven surface may trigger the car to roll when you raise it with a jack. Also, place the wedges at the bottom of the tire for utmost safety.
2. Wear Safety Gloves:
Safety gloves will not only protect your hands from dirt but also from sharp objects. Additionally, prepare the required tools.
3. Lose the Wheel Lug/Nuts:
Take a lug wrench and lose the lugs, don’t ever raise the car and start losing the lugs and studs because once you apply the force of the wrench the tire makes rotations due to the no opposite force, hence the tire needs to touch the ground.
4. Raise the Car With One Jack:
Open the user manual of your car and figure out where the jack should be placed, as the different cars have different designated places for placing the jack you will have to skim the user manual first.
In the case of Electric cars (EVs), you have to be extra careful as they have the placement of batteries under the floor.
5. Support the Car With at Least 2 Jack Stands:
Typically for lifting one end of the car 2 jack stands or enough, however for lifting both ends you need another pair.
Like in the case of the jack, you have to figure out the designed place where the jack stands should be placed. Hopefully, you will also get that spot from the owner’s manual.
After placing the jack stand at the right spot, slowly lower the jack to shift the whole load on the jack stand.
6. Rotate the Tires as Per the Manufacturer’s Suggested Pattern:
Every car owner should strictly follow the rotational pattern suggested by the manufacturers, you can find it in the user’s manual.
Additionally, you have to raise the two tires that need to be rotated in case your vehicle needs X-Pattern, rearward cross, or forward cross tire rotation I suggest you use two jacks and 4 stands to save both stamina and time.
7. Remove the Jack Stands:
After successful rotation, tighten the lugs a bit, raise the car slowly with the jack, and remove the jack stands. After removing the stands, lower the car and tighten the screws with full torque.
Remove the Wedges/Chocks. your car is now ready for the drive.
How Long Does It Take?
Depending on the experience and tire rotation pattern, a newbie could definitely take 25 – 30 minutes, however, an experienced person could do the job within 10 – 15 minutes.
Also, depends on the number of jack stands if you have 4 and uplift the whole car you will surely save time.
Check out our detailed guide about how long tire rotation takes.
Is It Safe to Rotate the Tires With One Jack?
One jack tire rotation is prohibited by both industry experts and the manufacturer, however with at least two stands; the risk of an accident could be reduced by 90%.
Additionally, you need to put Wedges beside the tires.
How Often Should You Rotate Your Tires?
Give a read to the user manual and see what they are suggesting, however, some of the industry experts have made a general thumb rule of rotating the tires right after the 5,000 -7500 miles or 6 months.
As per our experience, the time and distance of rotating tires vary according to the driving styles. We have seen some dudes do the tire rotation after 6,500 – 7,500 however some rotated right after 4,000.
What Happens if Tire Rotation Is Wrong?
As per the research of NHSTA and consumer reports the insufficient amount of tire treads is responsible for 25% – 50% of all tire-related incidents.
They further added that almost every vehicle has at least one tire with insufficient treads.
If the directional or non-directional tires are mounted in the wrong pattern the special threads can’t do the work perfectly hence you will get less amount of traction(road grip).
Furthermore, the treads of a tire can be worn down faster as a result you will find the following problems.
Read this guide about What Happens if You Don’t Rotate Your Tires?
Do I Have to Rotate the Tires Myself?
Every DIY guy saves $20 – $30 and spends it on tasty food, however, if you are facing the following problem you need to take your car to the professionals.
- The car’s parking/hand brake is not working.
- You have a heavy car that can’t be handled by you.
- You don’t have jacks, jack stands, safety equipment, tools, etc.
Verdicts
Rotation of tires with a single jack isn’t a safe task unless you have a proper less crowded area and at least two jack stands with working parking/hand brakes.
Safety comes first, make sure to wear a pair of safety gloves, place the jack and jack stands properly, and don’t go under the vehicle in any case unless you have 100% surety that the weight of the vehicle is balanced by the jack stands.
Lastly don’t have to rotate the tires, if the parking brake isn’t working or you have a heavy vehicle, spending $20 – $30 could save you from a horrible accident.
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Use One Jack Stand at a Time?
Use of one jack stand is extremely dangerous as you are lifting 2600 – 3600 lbs. of weight depending on the size of the car.
Can Tire Rotations Affect My Wheel Alignment?
As the wheel alignment is a completely different process through which we align the wheels with the wheel steering, the Tire rotation does not affect your already aligned vehicle, however, if your car is already drifting towards any direction, make sure to book a slot for the wheel alignment.
Recommended Read: Does Tire Rotation Affect Alignment