What is the Proper Way to Fix a Car's Flat Tire?
Tires blow-out or go flat on a regular basis. They often tend to do so at the most inopportune times and in the worst possible locations. You might be left stranded if you don't know how to change a flat tire. Auto manufacturers have worked to make changing a flat tire something that almost anyone can accomplish.
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Instructions
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Pack a jack, a spare tire and a lug wrench in the trunk of your car. Other important items include a flashlight and batteries, work gloves, a tire gauge, tire blocks and spray-foam meant for patching holes in tires.
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Pull over in a safe spot, preferably off the highway or on a flat stretch of road where you are visible to oncoming traffic. Jacking up a tire on a hill is often dangerous. Turn on your hazard lights, set the emergency break and retrieve your supplies from the trunk.
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Remove the hubcap, and loosen the lug nuts with the lug wrench. Turn the wrench counterclockwise. Stand on the arm of the wrench -- using your weight to loosen the lugs -- if they are tight. Do not remove the lugs.
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Set the jack under your car's frame, near the flat tire. Secure it in place on a solid-metal part of the car's frame. Pump the jack until the flat tire raises 6 inches off the ground.
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Remove the loosened lug nuts; pull the tire straight toward your body to remove it. Put the spare tire on the car; push it all the way on the wheel base.
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Put the lug nuts back on, but do not fully tighten. Lower the car back to the ground, remove the jack and tighten the lug nuts. Tighten each set more than once; make them as tight as possible.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep the lug nuts together after removal.
Do not lift the care before you have loosened the lug nuts.
References
- Photo Credit Heat and flat tire image by Vladimir Jovanovic from Fotolia.com
