Here's a little tip that will come in handy. Get the mat from your car to kneel on, just to save your knees, wear and tear, the whole thing.
Step 4:
Items Needed
These are all the things you need to change the tire of a car. This is the triangle which warns oncoming traffic. Stick it behind the car 30-40 yards back.
Another very important piece of equipment is a nut spinner, obviously to untighten the nuts at will. There's two sorts of nut spinners. This is a straight nut spinner, but you also have one's that are the right angle nut spinner. I actually prefer the right angle one for the leverage.
This is the jack. You know what that's for, don't you? You got it - raise the car up and take the wheel off. Anyway, you know that, don't you? Here we go. And, last but not least, a spare tire.
Step 5:
Jacking Point
Now, this is where we attach the jack to the car. It's called the jacking point. Some cars, like this one, have two jacking points for different types of jacks. Make sure that the jack fits the jacking point you are trying to use.
I can't stress the importance enough of affixing the jack to the correct point. If you miss, the jack will go right through the bottom of the car. This could be a real expensive piece of damage.
Step 6:
Loosen The Wheel Nuts
Before we raise the car, we will need to take off the wheel trim and loosen the wheel nuts. We'll take them off completely after the car is raised.
Now, if the car is raised up in the air before the nuts are loosened properly, you'll find it almost impossible to get the right amount of leverage to loosen the nuts. Sometimes, the nuts might even be rusted on. If so, depending on which wheel you are changing, you might find it difficult to keep the wheel from spinning.
Step 7:
Jacking
Let's look at jacking up the car. Why are you doing this? You are raising up the car so you can get the damaged wheel off. Have you ever tried to pull a wheel off a car when the car is not raised up?
The car will fall on top of you - broken bones or even worse; a damaged car. At least, that's my opinion. Wind the jack in a clockwise direction until the car goes up in the air. Anti-clockwise and you'll get nowhere fast.
Step 8:
Winding
Next, it's time to take the wheel nuts from the old wheel. What you need to do here is attach your spinner to a wheel nut on the old wheel and I'm winding it. This is done by winding the nuts in an anti-clockwise direction. I find it's a great to use the hubcap to put the wheel nuts in as you take them off. If the nuts are sticking, push off but don't over-force them. It's always worth having a can of lubricant just to spray on particularly stubborn nuts.
Step 9:
Take Off The Old Tire
It's now time to take the damaged wheel off the car. It's going to be heavy, so be careful. Try not to roll the car into oncoming traffic. We have, of course, checked that the tread is OK, and the new tire is pumped up. Some cars only have mini tires which can be used for just a few miles at low speed. Check your car's handbook. Don't take risks with your safety.
Step 10:
Fit New Wheel
As you can see, I'm jacking up the car a little bit more now to make it easier to fit the new wheel on. Now, put the spare wheel onto the wheel studs. Match the four holes. Remember, folks, the air valve always faces outwards. When you are happy with the wheel in place, it's time to put the nuts back on - all four bolts.
Cars can fall off jacks. Never get under a car with only a jack holding it up. Hold the wheel in place, then gently by hand tighten the nuts in a clockwise direction. Turn them until they are hand tight. Another handy little tip is maybe you always have a set of gloves in the boot of the car because this is a very dirty job, as you'll see later on. Once you have all four holes in line securely by hand, it's time to use the spinner to tighten the nuts not completely, mind you, just a little bit more than before. We'll tighten things fully when the car is lowered on the ground.
Wind the spinner in a clockwise direction to tighten the nuts. Remember, the car is still raised so don't force the nuts tight or the car will come off the jack.
Step 11:
Lower The Car
The next step is to lower the car. Basically you need to jack down the car by winding it in an anti-clockwise direction. Next remove the jack. It's time to tighten the wheel nuts with the spinner. Turn the nuts in a clockwise direction until the nuts are nice and tight, and then tighten them a little bit more without forcing them. We don't want to have the wheel falling off as we drive into the sunset, yeah? And put the hubcap back on. Lovely job. Well, we're finished. |
