You should not ignore a damaged or punctured tire. If you repair or replace your tires in delay, your tire may bust right in the middle of the road. Such risky accidents can be dangerous to the lives of your family, friends as well as drivers and passengers on the road.
Luckily, it is not so tough to change a damaged tire. However, most of the time, we don’t have the essential tools or the facility for changing our tires harmlessly.
Here we are going to present some essential dos and don’ts that you should remember while replacing your tires.
By finishing the article, you will know what things to do and not do when changing a tire, basic tire changing tips, and how to change tires.
Let’s crack on now.
What to do When Changing a Tire
Here are some of the important things that you should do while changing tires:
Changing Tires in a Large Space: In a large open place you can move around and use your kits smoothly. And, you can change your tires in a large garage or driveway. But, if you are in a small space, you had better take your car to an auto repair service that can help you to change the tires.
Automobile repair and service agencies have big spaces to change their customers’ defective tires comfortably and conveniently.
Jack Position: Different companies make cars differently depending on the manufacturer and model. So, you must know where the jack needs to be placed. Before you start replacing your car’s tires, check out its manual to find where the car jack needs to be placed. As the jack doesn’t slip off, make sure you place the jack correctly.
Using the right Sized Jack: For small standard-sized cars, usually a one-and-a-half ton jack works. But, for mid-to-large-sized cars, this jack will not cut it. For larger cars, make sure you get a three-ton floor jack.
A jack with lower ability may become defective under the weight of the car and you would rather not want that to happen.
Using Two Pairs of Jack Stands: Jacks can break down under the heavyweight of your car and can lose height greatly in an hour. However, a single jack may be enough to change a tire, it is safer to have an extra jack. Also, it is not a good idea to bend the frame of a car for a long time, so two jacks can help you to easily lift the side of the vehicle you are working on.
Pressing Brakes: Ensure not to forget applying the brakes on your vehicle, or it may move when you are replacing your tires. It may cause serious injuries.
Using Wheel Blocks: Your vehicle may move forward because of gravity, especially on a slope, even if you press the brakes. For making your vehicle remain stationary, you can apply 8-inch-long rubber or wooden wheel blocks.
Wearing Protective Gloves: Tires are covered in dirt and filth. Wear a pair of leather gloves, or latex gloves, while handling the car’s tires. There is no reason why you should have dirt under your nails while changing tires.
What Should you Not Do When Changing A Tire
5 Things you Shouldn’t Do When Changing A Tire
Here are some of the things you need to stay away from while changing tires:
Never Loosen the Nuts After Jacking the Vehicle: When you try to loosen the nuts after jacking up the tires, your tire will simply spin and the nuts won’t come loose. This is also totally hazardous as you can injure yourself. On the other hand, the common-sense method is to loosen the nuts when the tires are on the ground for the required friction.
Not to Tipping the Vehicle to One Side: Tipping your car on the side and balancing it with a couple of jacks is one of the most unsafe things. Tipping your cars at risky angles just to remove a tire is certainly wrong. Risking your life like this is not worthy. If you are ignorant about the process of changing your car tires, then you should take your car to an auto service and get them changed.
Not Depending On the Jack: You should not depend on the jack while working under a vehicle. A lot of injuries and death took place because of ill-manufactured jack stands that defaulted during unfortunate moments.
Taking the New Tire Out First: Before you start jacking your car, make sure to take out the spare tire from the trunk of the car. Unless it may be a risk because of the bigger height and leaning angle of the car.
Not Installing Dry Nuts: Do not forget to get your nuts correctly greased before tightening them in place. The nuts can get rust because of water and different temperatures. You can prevent these types of problems in the future by applying a small amount of anti-seize or penetrating lubricant on each nut.
When It’s Time to Go for Professional Mechanics?
Tire mending and replacing are very common, and the tools you need to perform them are easily available. However, there are certain ways in which you should and shouldn’t use them.
Still, If you hesitate to do it on your own or you are not skilled to change tires safely, you may call professional mechanics.
How To Change Tires
Tools that you will need:
- Spare Tire
- Vehicle Owner’s Manual
- Flashlight with working batteries
- Wheel Wedges
- Hydraulic Jack
- Lug Wrench
- Hubcap
- Mechanical Hand Gloves
- Safety Goggles
5 Easy Steps to Change a Flat Tyre by your own
1. Get your spare tire and jack to start replacing the flat tire.
You can generally find the spare tire in the trunk of your vehicle. You can get the spare tire and jack in a chamber below the trunk floor. Carefully put up the spare tire. Then keep it on the ground close to the flat tire. Car jacks normally carry a built-in lug wrench. You need to take off the lug wrench from the jack to use it to loosen the hubcap on the damaged tire. After removing the hubcap, you have to keep it to that side.
Note: You should wear Safety Goggles in your eyes and Hand Gloves to protect yourself from corrosion or accidents.
Buy the Hand Gloves from Amazon.
2. After removing the hubcap and before using the jack to lift your car wheel off of the surface, take the lug wrench to detach the lug nuts on the flat tire wheel. To loosen some of the nuts, you might need huge strength. Then, place the lug wrench onto each nut. Then apply force to the handle in a counterclockwise fashion. After loosening the nuts, do not remove them fully. If you face difficulties loosening a lug nut, you can use your foot or knee to get leverage on the handle of the lug wrench.
Amazon Basics Universal Folding Wrench-14-Inch
3. Now, you are ready to use the jack to lift the wheel off of the surface. Jacking up a car with the hydraulic jack. You need to position the jack on a strong part of the vehicle’s frame. You can find specific information about the perfect placement of the jack on the owner manual of your vehicle. Turn the jack in a clockwise fashion by using your hand until it reaches the vehicle. Then keep turning using the jack’s handle until the damaged tire is a few inches over the ground.
4. After lifting the vehicle, pull out the lug nuts that you have taken off by using the jack by using the lug wrench.
You must not lose any lug nuts. So, keep your lug nuts safely from not losing them while changing the tire. Carefully remove the flat tire and keep it away from the road. Place your spare tire onto the wheel by backing up the empty holes with the bolts. Place the lug nuts back onto the bolts then spin them clockwise. After tightening the lug nuts by hand, use the lug wrench to make sure each lug nut is secure.
5. At last, place your car in the right direction by the jack turning it clockwise. Get rid of the jack once the spare tire is placed on the ground. Use the lug wrench to tighten the lug nuts on the spare tire after the jack is removed. This ensures that it is fixed to drive. Once the spare is fully installed, keep the hubcap, flat tire, lug wrench, and jack back into the trunk of the car.
You may need a digital tire pressure gauge to do this task. Check AstroAI-Digital-Pressure-Settings-Non-Slip on Amazon.
Safety Precaution:
If you have a manual transmission vehicle, keep it in the first or reverse gear. And, if you have an automatic transmission car, then you have to put a parking brake before starting the process. Plus, to stop your car from rolling, there you will need a wood piece. Keep that piece in the front wheel.
Things to Consider While Changing Tire
You know how dangerous it is to work on the road. So, park your car totally out of the street. And do not lay down under your car until it’s stopped.
However, if you are in doubt about your tire-changing skills, try in your parking lot first. In this way, you will be experienced in the appliances needed to accomplish the task. Finally, you can proficiently change your tire once needed.
Final Thoughts
The National Highway Transportation Association published research that shows tire blowouts are responsible for more than tens of thousands of accidents. So, it is never safe to go on with a spare tire.
This is why you should regularly check your tires. And obviously, we all should be careful about the dos and don’ts of tire changing.