On the Job: Delaware Tire
The smell of rubber, greasy hands, and hundreds of tires lying around is a pretty normal scene, for a mechanic. This week “On the Job” 47 ABC visits Delaware Tire in Salisbury to experience all of that first hand.
If you’re in need of some new tires, or you need an oil change, Delaware Tire has you covered. Around since 1968, the company offers services in both Maryland and Delaware. Walking into the garage, you are immediately surrounded by several mechanics, lots of cars, and a lot of noise. And before we get started, we must put on safety goggles to protect our eyes.
Before you get started, all mechanics refer to a ticket which has all the information about the vehicle. On the list, a synthetic oil change, a tire rotation and balance and an air pressure check on all the tires.
But before any of that, we had to lift the car on a mechanical lift and you must position the lift bars properly under the car so it wont fall off. Next we had to pop the hood to remove the oil cap and the dip stick. By doing this, it relieves pressure when you do the oil change. Right before lifting the car, for safety reasons, you must check the weight of the car, just to make sure its not too heavy for the machine. And all of that information is listed on the inside of the drivers door.
After lifting the car to a good height, she was ready to be worked on. Ok, time to unscrew some bolts! Next we had to take the screw off of the actual oil tank to allow the oil to drain. Then after changing the oil filter, it was time to move on to the next job, rotating tires. After lowering the car to where we could reach, we used a tool called a torque gun to remove the screws easily from the tires.
After each tire was unscrewed, you take it off the car and over to a tire machine. Next after securing it on the machine, you have to remove the old wheel weights. They keep the tire from moving side to side and up and down, and to make things super easy, the machine will actually spin the tires and take measurements and everything is touch screen.
After getting our proper weights for the tires, it was time to hammer them on! And the goal is to line it up down the center as best you can. After both weights were on, one on each side, the machine will spin your tire again to let you know if the weights are in the correct spots. Once you have the ok for all four tires, you can put them back on the vehicle, and of course, we used the torque gun to screw the bolts back on.
When using the torque gun, Zach says its best to go in a star pattern rather than a circle, to ensure the tire is secured on evenly. And last but not least, you must secure the bolts again with a torque wrench and you have to turn it until you hear a click. The average weight is 100 pounds on each tire! And finally we were done.
Next week, 47 ABC heads to Marty’s Playland in Ocean City to help out with all the arcade games. So be sure to tune in for that.
