If you get a flat tire while driving, your first instinct may be to panic, and forget what to do. However, if you stay calm, pull off to the side of the road, you can easily change your own with the right set of instructions.
Find the spare tire, jack, and lug wrench. The first and most important item you will need to change a tire is a spare tire-make sure you know where yours is.
The jack and lug wrench is most passenger cars are placed in the tire well where the spare tire is kept. Trucks might have these items placed behind the seat or even under the hood.
Read where to place the jack. The vehicle's owner's manual or the jack that was included with the car should have printed instructions of where to place the jack.
Remove the hubcap wheel cover. The lug wrench should have a flat end with which you can pry the wheel cover off with.
Loosen the lug nuts. You will want to loosen the lug nuts but not remove them completely.
You want the tire still on the vehicle when you jack it up. You are loosening the lug nuts while the car is on the ground because the weight of the car will keep the tire stable so it will be easier to break the lug nuts loose.
Jack the car up. There should be a part on the car's frame that is reinforced so that the jack can be placed there.
The jack should be placed on level ground use the handle to start jacking the car up. Go slowly and make sure the car is stable as it goes up.
Remove the lug nuts and wheel. Once the car has been raised off the ground you can finish taking off the lug nuts.
The lug nuts should have been loosened earlier so now use the lug wrench to finish taking them off. Once they get "finger loose" you can indeed use your fingers to take them completely off.
Once the lug nuts are off, put them someplace safe so you can find them when it is time to put them back on. Put the replacement tire on.
Put back on the lug nuts. Once the new tire is put on find the ones you have just taken off.
Put them on so that they are secure but you will not finish tightening them until the car is back on the ground and off the jack. So just start them by hand and put them on as far as you can.
Let the car down from the jack, and tighten them. Jack the car back to the ground slowly.
Most cars have five, which would make you tighten in a sequence call the star pattern. It is called the star pattern because it is like drawing a star.
If you have six, the pattern is the same as when you had four just with two more. No matter how many you have, do not just tighten them by doing one after the other going in a circle that will not allow the wheel to be tighten on properly.
Replace the hubcap or wheel cover. Put the hubcap or wheel cover back on.
This should be a simple snap on task. Replace the wheel lock mechanism if your vehicle had that extra.
Put away your jack, wrench, and blown tire. Do not just leave the tire on the side of the road.
If you had a road hazard warranty on your tire you might be able to take the tire in and get a new tire pro-rated. Your replacement tire should be put on fine.
If it is a small spare, you will want to get it replaced with a normal size tire as quickly as possible. You also should not run the spare at high speeds.
Nothing above 50 mph is recommended. If the spare feels low stop at a gas station and check the air pressure on it before continuing on your journey.
Do not expect yourself to have a NASCAR style tire change. You will get better each time, though hopefully this won't happen to you too often!
Author Resource:-
Jack R. Landry is a certified technician and has been repairing broken and cracked windshields since the 80s. He has written hundreds of articles about windshield replacement Provo.
Contact Info:
Jack R. Landry
JackRLandry@gmail.com
http://www.DiamondGlass.com
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