Have you ever in your life become caught on the side of the street with a flat |
|---|
|
Darren Carr
Articlesbase
July 7, 2011
Author: Darren
Have you at any time become trapped on the side of the path with a flat, or do you dread someday becoming trapped in that kind of situation? Do you want to be equipped to switch a car tire with out having to ask for help? Thankfully, changing a wheel is a relatively basic undertaking, if you do not mind a tiny bit of elbow grease!
1) Find a steady and risk-free position to get the job done. You need a reliable, level surface area. Keep away from soft surface and slopes. If you are near a highway, park your car as far from traffic as feasible and switch on your disaster flashers (hazard lighting).
2) Try to make positive that the motor vehicle is unable to roll. Utilize the auto parking brake and put the automobile in "Park" position or in 1st or reverse if employing a common transmission. If possible, it is a very good suggestion to place a quite heavy object (such as a brick) in the front of the prominent wheel (if switching a backed tire), and vice-versa.
3 Take out the spare wheel and the jack.Take out the spare tire and the jack. Position the jack underneath the framework around the tire in which you are looking to change. Try to make positive that you space it in which it will meet up with the metal section of the structure.
Quite a few vehicles have molded plastic along the bottom, and if you tend not to put the jack in the correct place, it will crack the plastic material whenever you begin lifting. If you are not sure concerning the proper position to fit the jack, study your owner's guide book.
For almost all modern day unibody cars and trucks, there is a little notch or tag just behind the the front wheel wells or in the front of the back wheel wells where by the jack is expected to be placed.
For most pickup trucks or more aged cars that have a framework, look to place the jack on one of the cross-bow supports of the structure just behind the front tire or in the front of the rear tire.
4) Bring up the jack right up until it is boosting, but not raising the vehicle. The jack need to be completely in position towards the underside of the car. Make sure that it is lifting straight up and straight down.
5) Get rid off the centre cap and undo the nuts by turning counterclockwise. Never take them all the way apart. Simply just break the resistance. Having the wheel upon the land surface usually means that you're rotating the nuts rather of the tyre.
Use the wrench that came with your car or truck or a standard corner wrench. Your wrench may possibly have completely different dimensions of openings on several ends. Position the proper size of the wrench on the lug nut. The proper size is the one that slides quickly over the nut but really does not rattle.
It can certainly require quite a bunch of force to bust your lug nuts free. If all else fails, you can use your own entire body weight or stomp on the wrench (always be certainly certain you are rotating it the appropriate way).
6) Pump or turn the jack to lift up the tire off the surface. You need to elevate it high enough to remove the flat wheel and to place the spare on it. As you elevate, try to make for sure that the automobile is stable. If you discover any lack of stability, decrease the jack and take care of the situation prior to whole raising the car or truck.
In the event you recognize the jack lifting at an angle or angling, lower and reposition it so that it can lift straight up.
Take a look at the auto tires if you detect the vehicle beginning to roll. You can easily use firewood, huge boulders or other heavy, solid objects to help hold the automobile in position.
7) Take away the nuts the rest of the way. Immediately turn them counter clockwise until they are unfastened. Repeat with all lug nuts, then do away with the nuts completely.
8) Get rid off the tire. Position the flat tire below the vehicle so in event of jack failure the automobile will fall on the old wheel, hopefully preventing injury. If the jack is placed on a flat, sound base, you need not have any problems.
9) Place the spare tire on the centre. Take care to align the edge of the free tire with the tyre bolts, then place on the lug nuts.
Firm up the nuts by hand up to the point they are all tight. They must turn very easily at first.
Using the wrench, make tighter the nuts as much as possible. To make certain the tire is nicely balanced, don't completely tighten the nuts one at a time. Going in a star pattern around the tire, one nut across from another, give each and every one a entire turn until they are similarly tight.
Refrain from using so much force that you risk unsettling the jack. You will make tighter the lug nuts yet again once the automobile is down and there is no probability of it falling over.
10) Lower the car to the terrain. Do not put entire weight on it at this point. Finish securing the nuts as much as achievable.
11) Lower the automobile to the floor entirely and take off the jack. Tighten up the nuts again. Replace the hubcap.
12) Set the unwanted wheel in your trunk and bring it to a auto technician. Smallish punctures can usually be repaired for less than $10. If the tire is not repairable, they can dispose of it the right way and sell you a replacement.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/have-you-ever-in-your-life-become-caught-on-the-side-of-the-street-with-a-flat-4998807.html
About the AuthorDarren Carr is a car mechanic and lives in Gloucester.