Well, I don’t know why I just feel I should upload this. Maybe, it is because a lady friend of mine ran into the same problem few weeks ago.
Changing a flat tyre, especially, when you are on the road, is what every driver should know how to do. Getting stranded on the side of the road with car problems can be a major bummer, but being stuck on the side of the road with a very fixable problem like a flat tyre, should not be. Changing a tyre is in fact, quite a straightforward task, that any abled person can start and complete without much ado. No specialist skill or training is required at all to change a tyre. If you can do it yourself, you will be saving a lot of time and some money.
Here are a few simple tips and steps that will teach you how to change your own tyre and get back on your way. Therefore, it is necessary to have these equipment in your car, whether you plan on using them or not: a spare tyre, a jack, wheel spanner and reflective warning props.
Safety tip: It is a good idea to remove manual transmission cars from gear and apply the hand brake. For automatic transmission cars, the gear should be in park mode and then set the parking brake before starting. Use your reflective warning props (C-caution) so that oncoming cars can see you better. If the car is on any sort of hill or grade, you should really do your best to wedge something under the tyres on the opposite side of the flat, and make sure your emergency brake is locked tight. You can use a piece of wood or something similar, place that in front and behind the tyre opposite the one you are changing to help keep the car from rolling.
Step 1: Preparation
Bring out the spare tyre, the car jack and spanner from the boot.
Step 2: Loosen the lug nuts
Place the spanner on one of the lug nuts, then place your foot on the iron and use your body weight to loosen the nut in an anticlockwise direction. You may have to spring up and down a bit on the iron to get it to move at first. NB: You have to loosen the lug nuts before jacking the car off the ground. If you put the jack under the car and lift the car first, you’ll be in for a pretty hard time trying to loosen them with the wheel floating in the air.
Step 3: Jack it up
This is the part that many inexperienced tyre-changers don’t like. But do not fret, it is just a simple part of the whole process. The diamond jack (named for its diamond shape when fully opened) is what most manufacturers provide. It opens and closes by twisting the lever attached to the jack clockwise or counter-clockwise. Some jacks may not have an attached lever to turn, but rather use the tyre iron to turn the jack. Locate where the tyre iron is attached to the jack and use that as the turning mechanism. NB: One of the most important things to remember when jacking up your car is to place the jack at the correct location under the vehicle. It needs to push up on the frame of the vehicle in order to raise your car correctly. Most frames will have a slot cut into them next to each tyre, where the top of the jack will fit. Place the jack directly under that notch and twist the lever to start opening the jack.
When the car starts rising, you will hear some creaking sounds, which are perfectly normal. Make sure to jack the car high enough so that, the tyre being changed spins freely, off the ground.
Step 4: Remove the old tyre and fix the spare
Since the lug nuts have already been loosened, simply use your hand to unscrew them the rest of the way. Pull the old tyre straight off. Take the new tyre and match up the holes on the rim with the bolts on the car. Lift it up and place it on. You’ll have to hold the tyre in place as you hand-tighten the nuts. Once you’ve tightened them as tight as they will go by brute force, lower the car down with the jack slowly.
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