How To Change A Tire The Easy Way
You are on your way to work and you feel something weird on the right side of your car, your car is now driving a bit wobbly. You find a flat tire and suddenly you are now stranded on the side of the road. After reading this, you will know how to change a tire all by yourself.
Always, make sure you have the tools to change your tire and a spare in your trunk. You should have a spare tire, a jack and a lug nut wrench. Be familiar with these tools and where they are located.
First thing to know is how to use a jack. Check your owners' manual on what type of jack you have and how it operates. You should do this for all your vehicles.
Some vehicles have "wheel locks". You will not be able to use a regular lug nut wrench, so make sure you have the "key" if your vehicle does have "wheel locks,"
A can of "Fix a Flat" is another great tool to keep in your car. This will usually seal the hole and put in enough air to get you to a station.
Another tip is to have an orange vest on for your protection from oncoming traffic. Now lets teach you how to change a tire.
Once you have the tire lowered back to the ground, tighten the lug nuts with the wrench. Put away your tools along with your flat tire. Now you know how to change a tire, good for you! Bit of advice, before you go anywhere else, best to go have your tire repaired. Travel safe!
Put the parking brake on and make sure the car is in park. If your car is a manual shift, put it in gear. Put your emergency flashers on to warn oncoming traffic.
Get your tools out and lay them by the flat tire. Get your spare tire and roll it over to your work area. And don't worry about whether you get dirty or not, because you will. Pay attention to the next step, this is often done wrong the first time.
Before you start to jack the car, loosen each lug nut. If you do this after the tire is lifted off the ground, it will just spin. Loosen them in a "star" pattern so the weight will be even. This is going to take a lot of strength, so use your body weight to help you. You will need to use your body weight to give you strength needed to loosen the lug nuts.
Place the jack in a stable location for your car, you may want to recheck your manual. Raise the car up so that the tire is off the ground a couple of inches.Remove the lug nuts and then the tire. Now time to remove the lug nuts and the tire.
Lift your spare and place it on the bolts and making sure the valve is facing you. Again, using the "star"pattern, replace the lug nuts. Give each lug nut a few turns before lowering the car back down.
Now you wont need to be worried if your tire blows out because you will know how to change a tire.
Discover the tricks of the trade to save hundreds of dollars every year by doing your own car maintenance at Car Care Tips.
Published October 3rd, 2007
Filed in Auto




