How To: Change a flat tire

If you ever walk out of your dorm only to find your car has a flat tire, or if you are driving along and hear a loud bang, you will most likely have to put on your vehicle’s spare tire.

First, you will need to locate your vehicle’s spare tire, jack and tire iron. In most cars these are located in the truck, underneath the cardboard floor or in a side pocket within the trunk. If you have a truck or SUV, the spare tire is usually located either on the back door or underneath the truck or SUV itself. If you have a truck, Quick Towing Ancaster is the right tow truck service for you.

Once you have located these items, you will want to bring them up by whichever tire is flat. If you have a tire pressure gauge it is a good idea to check the tire pressure of the spare tire before putting it on, because if the spare is also flat  you will need to contact a mechanic or towing service. If it has proper air pressure continue on, and let’s get that spare tire installed.

Next, remove the flat tire. Make sure the vehicle is either in park or in gear (if it is a manual transmission), and the emergency brake is set. Also, the car should be on a flat hard surface. Do not attempt to change the flat tire if the vehicle is sitting on incline, or in dirt, as this can cause injury.

Third, use the tire iron to loosen the lug nuts. The tire iron is usually L-shaped and has a hexagonal socket at one end to remove them. This may take a bit of strength, as the lug nuts do need to be on fairly tight. Do not fully remove the lug nuts at this step, just loosen them a bit to make things easier for later.

Now jack up the vehicle. Position the jack behind the flat tire underneath the vehicle. If you are unaware where the proper jack points are on your vehicle, look them up in your owner’s manual to avoid damage to the vehicle or injury to you.

Once you have located the jack point, start to raise the jack by twisting the jack with the tire iron. Continue raising the jack until it makes contact with the vehicle, and ensure it is in the correct jack point.

After you have confirmed it is in the correct jack point, continue raising the jack until the flat tire is lifted off the ground just a bit.

Next, finish removing the lug nuts from the flat tire and set them aside. Once all the lug nuts have been removed, remove the flat tire from the vehicle and set that aside.

Now it is time to put the spare tire onto the vehicle. First, position the spare tire over the lug nut studs so they line up with the holes in the spare tire wheel. Once you have lined them up, push the spare tire onto the lug nut studs and screw the lug nuts back onto the studs. You will want to start screwing the lug nuts by hand, and be sure not to cross thread them.

Once snug, you can then start to lower the jack slowly until it is fully compressed again. After you have gotten the jack fully compressed, remove the jack from underneath the vehicle. Now you will want to tighten the lug nuts on the spare tire with the tire iron. Make sure the lug nuts are as tight as possible.

Now you have replaced a flat tire, but if you notice most spare tires are smaller than regular tires, and often they are called “rubber doughnuts” because of their size. These “rubber doughnuts” have a top speed rating that should not be exceeded.

Place the flat tire, jack and tire iron back into the vehicle, and you should be able to get the vehicle to the nearest mechanic or service station to get your flat tire repaired.