How To Change A Tire By Yourself
Oh no, you are driving to work, and now you have a flat tire. You discover that you have a flat tire and now that you are stranded. What do you do now? 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.
You will need to know how to use a jack, not all jacks are the same. Check your owners' manual on what type of jack you have and how it operates. You should familiarize yourself on the jacks to 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 great tool to have in your vehicle, is an orange vest so that passing traffic will see you. Now you are ready to learn 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 are ready, you know how to change a tire! Bit of advice, before you go anywhere else, best to go have your tire repaired. Happy and Safe Traveling!
Put the parking brake on and make sure the car is in park. If you have a 5 speed manual transmission, put it in gear. Use your emergency flashers to alert oncoming traffic that you are there.
Take all of your tools out and lay them on the ground by the tire. Take out the spare and roll it over by your tools. Don't worry about trying to stay clean, you are going to get dirty doing this job. Pay attention to the next step, this is often done wrong the first time.
Loosen each lug nut while the tire is on the ground. If you try to loosen them after you have jacked up the car, the tire will just spin. Use the "star" pattern as your loosen them, this will keep the weight properly distributed. 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.
Your jack needs to be placed in the appropriate place for your car, 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.
Place your tire on the bolts making sure the air valve is facing your direction. Again, using the "star"pattern, replace the lug nuts. Before lowering the car, give each lug nut a few turns.
Now that you know how to change a tire, You can be confident that you will be prepared.
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
