A Thing for Cars

If you drive regularly chances are you will need to know how to change a tire sooner or later. I was faced with this dilemma when my young son and I were going over Cloudland mountain on our way to Weiss Lake. This was before cell phones and there was very little traffic on this road. I did eventually get the tire changed with the help of my son but it would have been a big help if I had known the correct way to change a tire.

You should always keep tools in the trunk of your car, include a flashlight, hammer,large screw driver,and work gloves.

When you feel the tire give ease the car off the road. Take your foot off the accelerator and steer in the direction you want to go. Make sure you are on a hard flat surface. Put the car in park and turn off the engine. Set the parking brake. Turn on your hazard lights.

Image via Wikipedia

Get out your jack, lug nut wrench, and spare tire. Check to be sure the spare is inflated. It should bounce when you stomp on it with your foot. You’ll need to unloose the tire by unscrewing the lug nuts that holds it in place. If you use a small doughnut tire it should be replaced as soon as possible.

First remove the hub cap. You can use the opposite end of the lug wrench to pry it off or use a screw driver. There will be four or five lug nuts on the wheel. Some new cars have special lug nuts which cannot be removed with a lug nut wrench alone. To remove this nut, you’ll need a special key that fits on the nut and attaches to the wrench. This key should have been given you when you bought the car. Keep this key in your car. Using the key, loosen the lug nuts, but do not remove them.

Jack up the car. Wedge a rock or solid object under the grounded tires to prevent the car slipping back and rolling off the jack. Elevate the car near the flat tire by jacking up the car far enough to take the flat tire off the ground. Jack should be as near tire as possible and at least a foot from the bumper.

Remove the lug nuts. Always do this before you jack up the car. Since you have already loosened them simply unscrew them completely and store them in the hubcap for safe keeping.

Image by Alicia Nijdam via Flickr

Pull off the flat. This may require some effort if the wheel is heavy and hasn’t been removed for awhile. Be careful and don’t jar the jack out of place.

Put on the tire. Slide the tire onto the axle, fitting the wheels onto the studs that are jutting out. Make sure the wheel is pushed in as far as it will go.

Screw the lug nuts back on. Don’t tighten them yet. Screw them on with your hands and get them as tight as you can without using the wrench. Most nuts have one rounded or cone shaped end that goes on first and fits snugly inside.

Lower the jack. Remove the rock or object scotched under the wheel.

Image via Wikipedia

Tighten the lug nuts. Screw on the nuts as tightly as you can. Don’t tighten in a clockwise or counter clockwise order. Rather, tighten in a crisscross pattern. This will keep the pressure on the wheel even. Replace the hubcap.

Put your flat tire in the trunk and replace your tools. Drive slowly and carefully to be sure the tire is secure.

http://quazen.com/recreation/autos/how-to-detail-your-car-and-save-money/

http://socyberty.com/advise/prevent-the-theft-of-your-car/

http://gomestic.com/personal-organization/organize-your-garage/