We're gonna need a bigger puncture repair kit ...

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BTB 500

MB Club Veteran
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Joined
Aug 7, 2005
Messages
22,795
Location
Shropshire
Car
R129 SL500, W639 Vito 120, S205 C300
In the middle of the storm last night I got a call from Mrs BTB:

"The Vito is making a funny noise. Oh, it's stopped".

After a bit of diagnostic Q&A we concluded that it had a flat tyre. She'd only gone a couple of miles (all at 20 mph or so - unlit single-track lanes) so I loaded up the C300 with a work light, tyre inflator, socket set & breaker bar and went to the rescue. She wasn't kidding about the flat tyre ...

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She'd heard a 'pop' (presumably as the outer edge of the tyre came off the rim) and the ASR/ESP basically stopped the van. We'd done a 250 mile motorway run in it the day before with no problems?!

It was blowing a gale, raining, pitch dark and the van was stopped in a muddy passing place on a single-track lane ... so the perfect opportunity to practice my wheel changing skills (luckily the Vito does have a spare - a tyre inflation kit wouldn't quite have cut it). Found the wheel nut key, cracked the bolts, got the jack out, and went to get the spare. This is in an under-slung cradle behind the rear axle, which is winched down using a long rod that inserts into a hole above the bumper:

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The end of the rod engages in a hex. socket on the winch, at the bottom of the hole. Except this time it didn't. It was impossible to see down the hole, but it felt like something was blocking it at the far end. The only thing I could think of trying was a pick-up tool:

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So back home again to get one. After a *lot* of fiddling around I eventually managed to pull out ... an acorn! No idea how it got there as the hole is sealed by the tailgate when it's closed, but all good from there on. New tyre going on tomorrow as I suspect the old one is beyond saving :D
 
I'd be interested in how many times you swore when you saw this and then during the removal 😂

This is one of the reasons I prefer to have a spare in all my cars rather than some foam
 
Haha lots of swearing! When I finally managed to lower the spare it sank into the deep mud under the back of the van, so it was absolutely filthy by the time I got it out. The smaller 'Compact' Vito doesn't have room behind the back axle for a spare, so you either have one hanging inside the van or just get a repair kit (depending on the interior trim options).

Still not entirely sure how the tyre got so wrecked after such a short distance at low speed.
 
Still not entirely sure how the tyre got so wrecked after such a short distance at low speed.
Glad the good lady was unharmed ...
What does the inner edge of the other tyre look like?
 
That's just what you need in such foul weather .... NOT
Well-done !
 
I hope she was taking notes so she can do it herself in future.
I'm the boss here & she does what she's told. S##t she's just come back & I havn't done the dishes, I mean get ready to meet my pals. Must go.
 
What does the inner edge of the other tyre look like?

The other one is fine (and both the front tyres). I couldn't see anything obvious in the tread (nail, screw, etc.). Main thing is that the rim looks OK.
 
I hope she was taking notes so she can do it herself in future.

To be fair she was watching quite carefully. But I think she'd have struggled with the wheel nuts anyway!

We do have roadside assistance but that would likely have taken longer, even with my extra trip home to get the pick-up tool. We were also on tiny un-named lanes out in the middle of nowhere, so finding us (particularly in the dark) would have been a challenge. I have 'What 3 Words' on my phone but don't know how widely this is used.
 

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