Flat tires are nightmares for car drivers, especially when they don't know how to do it! But worry not, it is a simple task that you can learn yourself. You don't have to call for help or wait for someone to come to the rescue, who knows, you might even help a fellow driver with flat tire on the road side.
First things first, you're going to need to have a spare tire, a jack and a wrench, three essential things that is needed to get the flat tire changed. Always make sure you have them, just like having a jumper cable or first aid kit at the back of your car. Now, here's a step by step tips to change a flat tire.
1.Find the suitable place place to change the car tire. Avoid terrains that are uneven, soft or hills. Don't initiate tire changing activity in the middle of the road where the traffic is building up, you can always use the emergency lane to get it done
2.Set the car to 'Park' position and engage the parking brake. If your car is comprising of standard transmission, you can set to first gear or reverse.
3.Secure the front and the back tires. To keep the car from rolling away from you, place something hard and solid, perhaps a brick or a rock near the tire, one of two of those tires will do.
4.Get the jack and spare tire. Rest the jack under the car near the flat tire that you wish to change. Make sure the jack is in touch or contact with the metal part of the car's frame. If you don't position the jack at the appropriate region, it will crack the plastic when you initiate lifting. If you're not sure where to place the jack, pull out your car owner's manual and get reading. For many cars, there will be a tiny mark or hole right behind the front wheel, it is where the jack must be placed.
5. Start taking off the hubcap and loose the nuts by turning it counter clockwise. Use the wrench to loosen up them up. Don't take them all the way off; just make sure they are not tight like before. The car tire is kept on the ground at this point, this is to ensure you are turning the nuts and not the car wheel. The wrench size is very important, if the size is wrong, it will be difficult to carry out the tire changing task. Of course, loosening up the nuts is not an easy job, you might even need to use your entire body weight to break resistance.
6.Use the jack to lift the car tire from the ground. Depending on the jack itself, you either crank or pump the jack and you need to lift the car high enough for easy changing of car tire. Don't go crazy with the lifting, make sure the stability of the car is maintained.
7. Completely remove the nuts from the wheel and the tire. You can remove the loosened-up nuts following counter clockwise. Then, remove the tire as well since it has no more nuts to hold it in place, and because it is a flat tire. In case the tire is not coming off easily, you can kick or hit the tire out using the wrench, it's probably rusty.
8. Place the spare tire. Make sure to take note on the rim of the spare tire with the bolts. Always install the spare tire the right way, the valve of the tire should be facing outward, not the other way around.
9.Tighten the nuts using your hand first, just to make sure they sit properly. Then, use the wrench to tighten even further but not too much, you can always tighten it again when the car is stable on the ground, this is to avoid the risk of the car falling from the jack's grip.
10. Lower the car using the jack. Then, tighten up the nuts even more.
11. Now once the car is lowered to the ground, remove the jack. Tighten the nuts once again before replacing the hubcaps.
Now, you can clean up, pack up and all set to continue driving. With these simple tips to change a flat tire can save you time you spend waiting for someone to help you out. You can get the flat tire stored in your car's trunk to be fixed in a workshop.
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A well planned trip saves you time and money.