How to Change a Tire
A flat tire always comes when you least expect it and usually at the most inconvenient time. A flat tire can come from a nail in the tire, brushing the side of your tire over a sharp object, or even a blowout from the bad tread.
When you first encounter the flat tire, if possible, you want to pull your vehicle to a level location. This helps with being able to safely change the tire and preventing the car from rolling off the jack.
After you have successfully parked your vehicle on a flat surface, gather all the supplies needed, such as a jack, spare tire, four-way (or any form of a socket to take off lugs), and blocks to chalk your tires (optional).
The first step to the tire changing process is to block the tires. This is done so that when the jack pushes up on the vehicle, it doesn’t have a chance to roll with the change in incline. This can be an optional step on a flat surface, but it will be necessary on a sloped surface. After the tires are firmly blocked, the second step is to place the jack under the vehicle and find a solid piece of the frame to place the jack. This is important because if the car is jacked up on a piece of plastic or a moveable piece, you could break something on your vehicle, but a larger hazard is that it could fall off the jack and onto the ground when the tire is off. After your jack is placed properly, it will be time to start lifting the car. Before your tire gets lifted entirely off the ground, it is helpful to break free the lug nuts and loosen them, so the tire doesn’t spin when loosening them. When the tire gets to be one to two inches off the ground, you have lifted high enough and can begin to take the lug nuts fully off. Be sure to keep these in a cup or somewhere where they will not get lost. After all the lug nuts are off and have been put in a safe place, remove the flat tire and put it to the side. After you have removed the flat tire, you will repeat the steps backward to put on the spare tire.
The first step to putting the tire back on is to hold the tire up next to the car and line up the holes to the rotor. After the holes are lined up, it will simply take a small lift to put the tire onto the rotor again. Next, you will start all your lug nuts and tighten them one at a time opposite of each other as you go around the wheel. This assures that your wheel will be mounted straight and not at an angle. After your lug nuts are all tightened, you can now lower the jack slowly and remove the jack. Your tire is changed! The final step is to simply clean up and pick up all your supplies, returning them to their respective spot.
