Can you change your car tyres?

Late for the appointment, late at night, alone in the middle of nowhere- flat tyres. What to do? Lift up your thumb, put a smile on your face, call your partner or a friend for help?  Or take off your high heels and get down. It's just such a crisis that you have to deal with, but can you change a car tyre? Do you know if you have a spare wheel and how to get to it? And is it inflated? Have you ever practiced changing a tyre? If not, now's the time.

Firstly, you must have your working tools, which are:

  1. Spare wheel with inflated tyre
  2. Tyre jack
  3. Wheel brace
  4. Wheel chocks (or brick/large stone)
  5. Warning triangle
  6. hand gloves ( to protect your hands and nails)
  7. cushion (to kneel on)
  8. overall (to cover your outfit)

Changing a flat tyre needn't be complicated if you follow these handy steps.

Step 1

If you experience a puncture whilst driving, pull your vehicle over to a safe area away from the traffic – ideally a lay-by or car parking space, and preferably near a light if it is dark. Switch on the "hazard" or "parking" lights and remember to apply the handbrake. If you have a manually geared car put it into gear, if you have an automatic put it into "Park".  Turn off the engine of the car.  As an additional safety measure, put a piece of wood or brick behind the wheel on the opposite side of the car to the flat tyre.

Step 2

If you have one, put down a warning triangle down about 30 meters away. Opening your bonnet can also help indicate to other drivers that you are making repairs on the vehicle.

Step 3

You will need a jack and a wheel brace to replace your flat tyre, both of which should be in the car's boot. Once you have located them, put on your gloves to protect your hands, and your overall or apron so you don't get dirty. You can then put down your cushion near the tyre you are going to remove and kneel down to look for

small notches or grooves on the underside of your car (right) – this is where you need to place the jack. Remember, the jack needs a hard surface under it. If you have pulled over onto soft ground, place a solid object underneath the jack.

Once the jack is in place, slowly turn the handle until you remove some of the car's weight from the flat tyre.

Step 4

Place the wheel brace on one of the wheel nuts (right) and, with a straight arm and a straight back, 'crack' each of the wheel nuts in turn in an anti-clockwise direction (looking at the wheel). You can use your foot on the wheel brace if the brace is a good fit on the nuts and doesn't slip off.

This can be a hard step, as the nuts can be extremely tight. You might need to use all your body weight to loosen them. Bending your knees and pulling is better for your back but if you still do not have the strength, place your foot on the left handle of the wheel brace (without any extensions on it) and use your body weight to drop the handle to the floor carefully whilst supporting yourself using the roof of your car.

Step 5

You should now be able to remove the wheel nuts one by one. Once all the wheel nuts have been removed, start to jack up the car and as soon as there is enough room (but before the wheel is off the ground), place the spare tyre under the body of the car to add extra support just in case the jack slips. Continue to jack the car up a bit higher than is necessary to remove the flat wheel as you will need enough room to fit the fully inflated spare.  Gently remove the wheel and place it on the ground, safely out of the way.

If the wheel will not come free, it could be that corrosion has caused the wheel to stick. If this happens, lower the car by unwinding the jack until the wheel is almost touching the ground, tighten one nut back onto the wheel and give the wheel a firm kick in order to free it.  Ensure that you do not kick the wheel so hard that the car becomes unstable on the jack.  Once the wheel feels loose use the jack to raise the car again.

Step 6

Lift the spare wheel onto the wheel studs. To make sure you're fitting it the right way round, check that the air valve is facing out.  Then tighten all the wheel nuts by hand. If you tighten the bottom nut first, it will hold the wheel in place. Using the wheel brace, give all the wheel nuts a small 'nip' to tighten them. The idea is not to tighten the

nuts completely at this point because the car is not totally stable while it is still on the jack.

Step 7

Unwind the jack slowly until the new wheel takes the weight of the car and then remove the jack (right). Remember to keep a straight arm and back, and with the wheel brace horizontal to the ground, use the weight of your body to tighten all of the wheel nuts. Lower the jack so that the tyre rests on the ground. Replace the hubcap or the plate.  Place the flat wheel into the boot of your car, with the jack, your warning triangle, wheel brace, wheel chocks (or brick/large stone), gloves, apron and cushion.

 You are now ready to drive again.

Points to remember

  1. Use your body weight rather than the strength of your arms to loosen and tighten the wheel nuts.
  2. When you place your flat tyre in the boot, remember to secure it to the car. Leaving an unrestrained tyre to slide around can be dangerous.

Sources:

Updated: 03 February 2010