How to change a flat tire in 10 simple steps
You may choose to call for roadside assistance in order to change a flat tire but if you choose to do it yourself just follow these 10 simple steps:
1. Safety first! Make sure you will not be hit by traffic passing by, wear a safety vest, set up a warning triangle and turn on four blinker emergency signal. Also, make sure you are parked on terrain which is both level and solid enough.
2. Set up all you will use next to the wheel in need of changing. The essentials are jack, wrench and spare tire, you may also find a rag and work gloves handy. If it’s dark you may find it impossible to proceed without a flash light, preferably one mounted on your forehead.
3. Undo each of the nuts holding the wheel you are removing in place a half a turn anticlockwise. You may have to remove a hub cap to get at the nuts.
4. Place jack at the spot designated for it, you should find it somewhere near the middle and just under the side of the car (if there’s any doubt, you will be lifting the side on which the flat tire).Make sure the jack rests on a solid surface.
If there is no designated place for a jack make sure you position it under a spot that can sustain the weight soon to be loaded on it.
5. Use the jack to lift up the car until the flat tire is at least four inches off the ground.
6. Undo all the nuts and remove the wheel. Mount the spare tire in place of the wheel removed and secure it in place using the nuts.
7. Tighten all nuts as far as you can without jerking the car.
8. Lower the car and remove the jack.
9. Tighten all nuts, in cross fashion order. You may need to step on the wrench for that final locking in place.
10. Return all the tools you used back to their place in the car. Do not forget to have the flat tire fixed and put back in place instead of the spare.