A flat tyre can be something that gets really annoying, especially if you are running late from work or in a traffic jam. Changing a tyre is an easy process and can be done in about 10-20 minutes. Here is a walkthrough of the steps involved in changing a car’s tyre.
Secure the Car’s Wheels
The first thing you need to do is make sure your car is not on a slope. It is generally better to off load any passenger in the car before changing the tyre. Use bricks or big stones to block the other wheels of the car, so that it stays firmly without rolling. Always change your car tyre on a flat surface, and never on an incline or hill. After the wheels are secured, remove the spare tyre from the boot of car along with the car jack.
Remove the Wheel Cover
If your car has wheel covers, gently remove them by using a screw driver to pry the wheel cover off. If your car has alloy rims, you could go to the next step immediately.
Loosen the Wheel Nuts
Place the wheel spanner on the wheel nuts, and apply all your weight on it. Note that you are to turn the spanner to left (Anticlockwise) to loosen the wheel nuts. Don’t remove the nuts completely, just loosen them. A hollow metallic pipe or a cross wheel spanner can loosen the tightest wheel nuts.
Jack the Car Up
Place the jack under the car. The proper location to place the jack may vary depending on the car’s make and model. If you have a hydraulic jack, all you need to do is place the jack in the proper place and pump it gently. For scissors jack, place rod over the knob and gently begin to jack the car. Jack the car to about 6 inches above the ground.
Remove the Flat Tyre
Unscrew the wheel nuts completely now and remove the flat tyre. Keep the wheel nuts in a safe place and place the flat tyre back in the boot to get it out of the way.
Place the Spare Tyre
Place the spare tyre onto the bolts of the wheel. Tyres can be quite heavy and you may have trouble lifting them, especially if you are not used to lifting heavy objects.
Tighten the Wheel Nuts
Place the wheel nuts on the wheel bolts and screw them tight. Screw them with your hands first so that you don’t damage the bolt thread. After the bolts are screwed, you should use the wheel spanner to tighten the bolts firmly. Jack the car down and place the jack back into the boot. After the car is down, use the wheel spanner to further tighten the nuts.
Replace the Wheel Cover
After the nuts are tightened firmly, gently place the wheel cover back into place by whacking it against the rim. Remove the supports (brick or stones) from the other wheels and you are good to go.
Please share your flat-tyre experiences with us in the comments!
1. Tightening is clockwise and loosening is anti clockwise. Please correct it. Looks like you never noticed it when changing the wheels yourself.
2. Ufff your terminology. You have written all sorts of random words such as support, bricks, “big stones” (the comedy, instead of calling it a rock). FYI, that thing is called a chock block.
3. Safety & quality precautions are absent. E.g. tightening in cross (opposites) rather than adjacents, placing the wheel under the side skirt of the car so that if the jack fails, the car does not drop to the ground.
4. Practically, wheel cap is usually not placed over the spare tire since you are going to change it after a few hours when yoy get your other wheel mended. Why increase your own effort?
5. Proper information such as how to know the designated point to place the jack is missing. These places are called jacking points, and a diagram is given in the owner’s manual.
6. In Pakistan most cars are older and rusty. The side skirts cannot take the load of the car. Usually the jack ends up punching a hole through the side skirt. Therefore non-standard jacking points are used, these jacking points are usually parts of the suspension.
Guest is rite….
I resisted opening the post but then went ahead anyways as articles are few and far between. Was expecting this much. Here`s a suggestion, How about making a section for basic information on car DIY and let the boys write up stuff that comes in their head there? 😛
With moderator tho..