I have a flat and I've decided to change it myself for the first time. I'm tired of getting men to do it for me. It doesn't look that difficult, but I've never done it before so please give me some tips! Especially other women who have done it... because we understand each other better. :)How do you change a tire?Make sure the car is on a level surface. It is OK to drive it a short distance slowly to get onto flat ground if there is a steep slope. It sounds like you are at home so this might not be a problem. Put the transmission in first or low gear and pull on the handbrake /emergency brake. Now read the owner's manual. A bit of hand cream before starting helps the clean up after.
If there is concrete or road paving under the car, you are good to go but if it is just lawn look around for a flat piece of wood about the size of a paperback novel to go under the jack. This spreads the pressure a bit and stops the jack from sinking into the ground, specially if the ground is soft. If the jack has a wide base or the ground is hard this might not be needed.
Look for the jacking points on the car. These will be holes in the bodywork under the level of the doors and just behind the front wheels and just in front of the back wheels. Some small cars have only one on each side, larger cars have two on each side. There will probably be a rubber or plastic plug in these jacking points, the points will be tubular holes extending maybe a hand's length into the bodywork.
Get a brick or even better, two and place one in front of the wheel on the far side of the car from the flat, right up against the tire. Put the second brick behind the same wheel. A large garden stone or big lump of wood will do if you have no brick. If the ground is very flat you can do without them but it is a good idea on a slight slope. This prevents the car from moving when you jack it up.
Open the luggage compartment and take out the wrench that fits the nuts or bolts that hold the wheels on.
Place the wrench on one of the wheel nuts and try to turn it anti-clockwise / counterclockwise. If you can move it you should be able to complete the job. It is OK to put your foot on the end of the wrench and push down. Do not remove the nut entirely if you can move it, just leave it there still snug. Try the three or four other nuts as well. If you can't move them, you are stuck with having to get someone else to do the job for you.
If you can move them all, get the jack and the spare wheel out. The spare wheel will be held in place in some cars by a long rod that screws into a thread below it, or it may be held in by a clamp or a spare wheel nut. Place your book size bit of wood on the ground and then put the side arm of the jack into the jacking point. You may have to wind it up or down a little to get it to go in. Put the base of the jack on the wood or just above and then wind the jack handle until the jack starts to lift the car. Keep winding until the wheel is well off the ground, but don't go too high. You have already loosened the wheel nuts so they should be fairly easy to take off. Put then somewhere that they won't be accidentally kicked under the car or away.
Pull the flat wheel toward you and let it drop gently onto the ground. Roll it away and then roll up the spare wheel. It does not matter whether the tire valve goes up or down, left or right. You will have to lift it slightly by hand. If you can't lift the wheel far enough, lean it on the inner parts and lower the car slightly until it it nearly matches, you can probably manage it then.
When it is in place, put one of the nuts on and screw it in just by hand. Then put the rest on. Tighten them up by hand.
Now lower the car part way so that the tire is in contact with the ground. Put the wrench on the nuts and tighten them. Do every second one if there are five like 1-3-5-2-4, if there are four, work diagonally, like 1-3-2-4. Since the car is still on the jack, do not use a great deal of force, but get them nice and snug, maybe like a lid on a jar.
Now you can lower the car all the way and remove the jack. Go round all the wheel nuts and get them as tight as you can without standing on the wrench. Put everything away and you're done.
Couple of days later, check the wheel nuts for tightness again.How do you change a tire?I tell my gf to do it and grab a beerHow do you change a tire?Here's the key tip in my opinion, no matter whose changing the tire. First, before you do anything else, take the lug wrench and see if you can loosen one of the lug nuts. If you can, your lucky. Then, without removing any lug nuts, see if you can loosen another one. If you can, you've got a shot at changing the tire. The final tip is SAFETY FIRST.How do you change a tire?Ok hon...
Read the Owner's Manual, it is a very useful book. Has all the info that you need about your car, even tells you how to wash it too! If you can follow the easy instructions and pay attention to the safety tips, you are good to go!
Even a caveman can do it too!
If not, call some friends or AAA if you are a member.How do you change a tire?get your mom to dew it then you can grab a beer...lolHow do you change a tire?changing tire is quite easy if u get all the instruments right
first try to loosen the nuts of the tire and if u succeeds put a jack under Ur car and lift it a bit then losen all the nuts and take the tire out .
take out ur stepney from the cars trunk and place it in the right position and tighten the nuts. release the jack and u r doneHow do you change a tire?Here's how I tell anyone to change a tyre. Good idea to do it yourself ;)
If you're using the nut wrench from the boot, I find they're often too short to get good leverage. A two foot pipe over the wrench or borrowing a decent wrench makes it easier
Also make sure it's a very good snug fit on the nuts, if it slips off try another wrench or you risk rounding off the bolt faces
Unless your on a hill wood under a wheel, handbrake and 1st gear will keep it from moving
Jack on firm surface not earth
Take the jack and find the proper jacking point, sometimes it's not obvious so take time finding the spot that is designed to safely take the weight
Loosen all the wheel nuts before you start jacking!
Then lift her up + a bit extra cause the new tyre won't be flat
If it's a disk brake take the opportunity the examine the pads,
if there's less than a matchstick width they need doing soon
Fit new tyre and do up the bolts in random order a little bit tight with the wrench, just to fix it in place
Drop the jack and do those nuts up tight (a bit of oil does no harm on a really sticky bolt that 'snatches')
How tight? With a 1 foot wrench as much as you can, if I'm using a longer one then pretty damn tight but not too tight,
I go round a few times just getting them a tiny bit tighter until I'm satisfied and swearing
ps safety tip. one jack is not enough to go under the car
Good luck all will be ok!
