How Do You Change A Tyre On Zetec S?

[sparticus5]

In true Andy Gray style, I'm not a woman nor am I blonde :D

I need to remove the front wheel from my 2010 Zetec S. I loosen the wheel nuts, take out the temporary jack, take a peek under the sill to see where the jack point is located and... well I dunno, there are no markings.

So I consult the manual. If I have side skirts I'm supposed to remove the plastic flap then locate the jacking point on the sill which is identified with a U-shape cut out in the sill.

Well there ain't no U shape cut out on my sill. As for removing the plastic flap!!! According to the manual I just pull it toward me and that's it. Well I've pulled, pushed, looked if there are any clips to undo... If I pull any harder the whole !Removed! sill is going to come off. (The whole design is naff by the way, shows real signs of cost cutting by Ford).

So can anyone help. What am I supposed to do to get this flap thing off? Took a look at the other three corners - they all look alike - bare no resemblance to the pics in the manual.

Cheers.

[iNath]

You have to pull VERY hard to get the skirt flaps off, it will feel like you're breaking it but it will give eventually. Once you've done it once they loosen up and become easier to remove.

[mark t]

Don't need to take the flap off, just slide the jack underneath and do it that way, I did it last weekend to take both front off!

[sparticus5]

Cheers guys, I'll try Mark T's solution first. I daren't pull those flaps any harder - felt like the whole skirt was about to snap off.

I had similar skirts on my BMW and Volvo. The skirts were connected to the bodywork each side of the flap thus the whole assembly was ridged.

[DanGull]

Woah woah woah - you do not want to jack a ton and a half of Fiesta up using only the sills. Ok, it may hold - but then again it may not and imagine if your jack drops the car either with you near it or with a wheel off...

Very very very bad idea. Remove the sections of sill - or take the sills off entirely

[mark t]

not on the sills, underneath where it is supposed to go (not good on cars) the bit which hangs down, which the jack sits either side of!

[iNath]

imagine if your jack drops the car either with you near it or with a wheel off...

Mine did :( I have a gravel drive and the jack slipped & car fell off. Took out a little chuck above the flap (where the skirt landed on the jack) the back passenger wheel was off, lucky car landed on axle (maybe?) rather than brake drum.

[mikester]

there is a marked section, it us double the width of the sill, it's directly behind the skirt flap funnily enough. You can't miss it, it feels different/stronger than the rest of the sill.

Also you are perfectly fine to jack the car up here and work, put the wheel flat under the sill/skirt area for extra security if you're having the car up on a jack for a while.

In future consider getting a trolley jack and raise the car on the pint where the wishbone joins the chassis, then you are free to put an axle stand where the standard jacking point is :)