Changing
a flat tyre can be a wretched experience for anyone. But if
you have a jack, a lug wrench and a spare tyre, you are half
way there.
The
following is a detailed explanation on the steps involved
for changing a flat tyre.
First Step
When
you're driving and feel the rumble of a flat tyre, slow
down, turn on your hazard lights and try to park the car
on level ground as quickly as possible.
Put the automatic transmission into park and put the emergency
brake on. If you have a manual transmission, leave it in
first gear and pull the emergency brake.
If you have to park on even a slight incline, try to find
a heavy object to wedge up against the good tyres. This
will help to keep the car from rolling when you have it
jacked up.
Once you've parked, take out the lug wrench, jack and the
spare tyre from the trunk. Make sure the spare tyre has
enough air in it.

Second
Step
Remove
the hubcap and loosen the lug nuts
Pry off the hubcap with a screwdriver. Sometimes the lug
wrench has a screw driver at the end of it. If it does,
use that. Some cars don't have hubcaps at all.
Now use the lug wrench to loosen the lug nuts, which are
the hexagonal bolts under the hubcap. If the lug nut has
an L on it, turn clockwise. If it has an R or doesn't have
anything on it, turn counterclockwise. Try to loosen the
nuts an equal amount.
Very important: Don't remove the lug nuts yet. Just loosen
them.

Third Step
Jack Up the Car
Put the jack on the ground near the flat tyre, under the
car frame. Make sure it is under something structural that
can support the weight of the car.
Start pumping the jack, so that the top of it reaches the
bottom of the car. When it does, keep going until the flat
tyre lifts off the ground. If the car seems unstable, lower
the car, reposition the jack and try again.
Very important: Never get under the car when it is jacked
up.

Fourth Step
Change the Tyre
Now that the flat tyre is in the air, remove the lug nuts
and place them in the upturned hub cap, or someplace easy
to reach later.
With all the lug nuts removed, pull the tyre off by pulling
it toward you. It will be heavy, so be careful it doesn't
fall on you.
Put the spare tyre on, positioning it so that the holes
line up with the lug bolts.
Replace the lug nets and tighten them, turning the opposite
way you did when you removed them. But don't tighten them
all the way yet.
Lower the car with the jack so that the tyre is just touching
the car but not supporting the car's weight. Now tighten
the lugs the rest of the way so they are at least as tight
as they were when you removed them. Then lower the jack
even further and remove it.
Put the flat tyre, hubcap, jack and the lug wrench back
in the trunk.
Don't forget to remove the wheel blocks.
Get your original tyre fixed as soon as you can. Your spare
may be only good for short distances at low speeds.


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