Changing a Flat Tire

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Save yourself the hassle of waiting around for a tow truck or for AAA. Learn how to change your flat tire quickly and easily!

To change a flat tire, put your car in park and make sure you are on level ground. If you are driving a manual car, put it in gear. If you cannot get to level ground then it may be best to have a professional change your tire. Pull off to the side of the road and turn on your hazards. You may also want to open the hood of your car, to signal to other drivers that you are broken down. If you have a wheel chock, place it behind one your front tires to prevent the car from rolling in the downhill direction, even on a gentle slope.

From your car, remove the spare tire, lug wrench, and jack. You may have to pop the hub cap from the wheel in order to get at the lug nuts. Be careful not to break the hub cap, as some of them are plastic and break easily. Loosen the lug nuts BEFORE you jack up the car. Turn in a counter clockwise motion to loosen. You should loosen in a star pattern. Choose a lug nut to loosen first. Then loosen the one opposite it. Continue this pattern until all nuts are loose.

Now carefully jack up the car. You should check the owners manual for the correct place to place the jack and how far up to jack the car. Make sure you jack it high enough so that the new full tire can be placed on. You can now safely remove all of the lug nuts, as they should be loose enough to remove by hand. Place them somewhere safe, so that they do not roll away, otherwise you will not be getting home easily!

Remove the flat tire and place into your trunk or to the side of the road. Lift the new tire and place it on the bolts. The valve stem of the tire should be facing out. Push the tire completely onto the bolts so that it is flat all the way around. You may now replace the lug nuts and tighten them by hand, but wait until the car has been lowered to finish tightening them. Once you have lowered the jack, tighten them with the lug wrench, using the same star pattern as above. Your flat tire is now history and you are ready to drive home on your spare tire.

How to Change a Flat Tire -- powered by eHow.com