subject: Changing A Flat Tire Can Be Easy [print this page] We all know how it feels to get stuck with a flat tire. Whether it's on a quiet country road or a rushing freeway, it always seems to happen when you least expect it.
You cannot control when or where this unexpected problem happens, but what you can control is if you are prepared for it or not. Chances are that it will happen (not if, but when).
This situation can either come out of nowhere and ruin your day, or it can be a minor bump in your busy schedule. You can be in control of it.
Whichever of these situations you encounter, there is a small of set guidelines that can help make this problem nothing to sweat about. Here are some tips that will make it a breeze:
Even before you drive, make sure that you have a jack, wrench, and spare tire in the back of your car. If you don't have these materials in the first place, you will be out of luck!
When you sense that you may have a flat, make sure to ease off the road and park the car a safe distance on the shoulder, so that you will not be a hazard to other vehicles on the road. If you are too close to the driving lanes, you might create a problem for speedy cars that might not see you on the side of the road.
Also make sure that your hazard lights are blinking, so as to alert other vehicles on the road of where you are. This will give added protection to you and your car in relation to the dangers around you.
All this needs to done be in a quick amount of time, because the longer you drive on the flat, the more dangerous it becomes. Continued driving can bend the rim and create further dangers.
Once you have pulled over, take the jack, wrench, and spare tire out of the back of your car. Your first priority is to loosen the lug nuts.
On some tires, you may need to remove the hubcap to reach the lug nuts, but either way you should proceed to loosen each of the lug nuts with the wrench. You can loosen them by turning the wrench counter-clockwise.
At this point, you don't need to take the lugs nut off. The next step is to place the jack on your car.
The owner's manual of your car can tell you the proper place to put the jack. Once you find the spot, jack up your car about six inches off the ground.
Remove the lug nuts and put them off to the side where you can find them later. Remove the flat and replace it with the spare tire.
With the spare now on, you can take the lug nuts and screw them back on. You can start by hand and eventually use the wrench to finish it off, but make sure that you don't screw them on too tight.
This will save you the hassle of having to strain to remove the lug nuts again when you put another real tire on. After you have placed the lug nuts back on, make sure to put the hubcap back on if you had to take it off.
Lower the jack and put the flat tire and all your equipment back in your car. You're now ready to roll!
Even though your crisis has been averted, you still need to be cautious when you turn back onto the road. Most spare aren't as safe as regular tires and only allow your vehicle to go certain speeds until it becomes unsafe.
Take extra precautions when you are driving with the spare tire. Use the same provided steps to change to a new tire as quickly as possible.
Now you can see that you don't have a mechanic to change a flat tire! It is relatively easy and almost anyone is capable of doing it.
If you don't think you can remember all of these steps on the fly, you can practice them at home several times. Do it as many times as you need until you can feel comfortable to dealing with the problem, whenever it may come.
With that in mind, you now know how to change a flat! Instead of dealing with a huge crisis that will cause you lots of stress, you can rest assured that having a flat will be no sweat.
