Oh no, you are driving to work, and now you have a flat tire. 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.
You want to always make sure you have a spare with the tools to replace it with in your car. 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 do this for all your vehicles.
Check to see if any of your 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.
Lower the car and then tighten all the lug nuts with your wrench. Put away your tools along with your flat tire. Now you are ready, you know how to change a tire! But remember, it is wise to head to the a station that can repair your tire before you go anywhere else. Travel safe!
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. Put your emergency flashers on to warn oncoming traffic.
Get your tools out and lay them by the flat 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.
Before you start to jack the car, loosen each lug nut. If you try to loosen them after you have jacked up the car, the tire 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. Replace the lug nuts using the same “star” pattern. Before lowering the car, give each lug nut a few turns.