How To Change A Tire? A Guide For Flat Tire Changing

Tires are punctured in the middle of the road, run out of air, and have to change the spare tire, which requires the drivers to change the tire themselves. Changing a spare tire is one of the basic car repairs that every driver should know, including women. If you have a flat tire in a deserted place, no residential area, no service workshop, now you have to become a temporary worker. Changing the spare tire is not complicated, but it is important for the driver to understand the small notes. So, how to change a tire? Below is a step-by-step guide for changing a tire that can be beneficial for you.

Why Does The Car Have A Flat Tire?

The main cause of car tire puncture, the puncture is mainly due to sharp iron objects such as nails, stones, iron pieces … punctured. However, this is only a direct cause, behind there are also indirect causes such as:

• Under-inflated tires: Car tires are designed with sufficient pressure to be able to lift the total weight of the vehicle. If the tire is underinflated, the tire casing will be under great pressure. At this time, the contact area between the tire surface and the road surface is also larger. This makes the tire easy to puncture if it encounters a sharp object.
• Old tires: When the tire is old, the tire surface often wears a lot, the rubber fibers begin to separate, making the tire weaker. If you encounter a sharp object, the tire will easily be punctured.
• Overloading: Each type of car tire is designed to withstand a certain amount of load. If overloaded, the tire will be under great pressure, the possibility of a puncture is very high if it encounters a sharp object or hits a pothole.

How To Change A Tire?

• Preparing process

To change tires safely, pull over to the side of the road. You need a firm, level surface to prevent the vehicle from rolling while changing tires. Turn on the emergency lights, go to P, pull the handbrake. If there is an emergency post or triangle, you should leave behind the vehicle a few dozen meters away to signal to other vehicles. Try to park your car away from the traffic and turn on the emergency lights. Avoid soft and sloping ground.

• Block tires with objects

Depending on what is in front of you to block the wheel, you can use stone, concrete, or even the fastest and most convenient is a spare tire to block both the front and rear tires. This helps keep your car balanced when you do anything.

• Find a spare tire

Usually, the spare tire is located in the lower compartment of the trunk or under the car. Depending on the vehicle, there are different ways to remove the spare tire, the driver looks at the instructions inside the trunk to remove the spare tire.

• Lightly remove the damaged tire

The driver began to use tools to remove the damaged tire. In this step, only tighten the screws to separate, loosen, not completely remove because if you remove all and pull out the wheel, you will not be able to set the jack to raise the car, taking space to install the spare tire.

• Install car jack

Place the jack under the car near the tire to be changed. Make sure the jack is in contact with the metal part of the chassis. Many vehicles have molded plastic parts under the vehicle. If the jack is not placed in the right place, it will break the plastic when starting to lift the car. If unsure, read the user manual. With most modern chassis, there is a small notch or marker located behind the front wheel or in front of the rear wheel to place the jack in. For most trucks or older vehicles, find a place to place the jack in one of the beams of the frame, just behind the front wheel or in front of the rear wheel.

• Completely remove the flat tire

After lifting off the ground, the driver completely removed the screw and pulled the punctured wheel out. Place the flat tire under the vehicle to prevent damage to the jack, the car will fall right on the old wheel, possibly causing injury to the tire changer. In most cases where the jack is placed on a hard, level surface, problems are unlikely to occur.

Tires can get stuck due to rust and be difficult to remove. Try hitting the inside of the tire with a rubber hammer to loosen it, or use the spare tire itself to hit the outside.

You can invest in a cheap tire replacement machine that is available in the car so that you can use it anytime. Then removing and installing tires will be much simpler.

• Install spare tire

Put the spare tire on the axle, turn the screws diagonally, that is, do not screw the two side by side, but one screw apart to ensure that the wheel is not cornered. The screws are just right to fix the wheel, do not tighten all the way.

• Be very careful when aligning the spare tire rim with the nuts and then screwing them in.
• Note to install the spare wheel in the right direction, avoid reverse rotation. The spare tire valve head must be facing out of the vehicle.
• If your vehicle uses crown bolts, it’s also fairly easy to install the nut upside down. Notice how the chamfered portion of the nut will point into the wheel when you screw it in.

• Complete

Lower the jack until the wheel touches the ground, pull the jack out. Then, the driver uses the tool to tighten the screws all the way to the end again. Use the wrench to tighten the bolt as much as possible and should be in the shape of a star. To make sure the tire is level, do not over tighten each screw one by one. You should screw the bolts in a star shape, that is, in the diagonal positions, and turn each screw a little bit in turn until the tightness of the screws is the same. If so, you have completed the process of replacing the spare tire.

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Notes On How To Change A Tire

• If your wheels have locking nuts, you must keep the key in an easy-to-find place because every time you want to change a tire, you will need a key to open the nut.
• Sometimes the wheel clings to the axle, making it very difficult to change a car tire. If this happens, you must use a hammer and a piece of wood to remove the wheel rim. Rotating the wheel will periodically prevent this from happening.
• When performing the removal of car tires, you should place the cross tube in a position that can be pressed down (to take advantage of gravity).
• When reinstalling the bolts to the car, remember to screw the beveled side of the bolt to the wheel, then the wheel will be centered and the bolt will stay in place.
• Remember the steps to change a large car tire and the detailed characteristics of your car before you encounter a puncture situation so you do not have to learn how to change a spare car tire when in that situation.
• The crosshead can generate much greater bolt torque than a standard single-handle wrench.
• Remember to check from time to time to make sure the spare tire has adequate air pressure.
• Remember to replace the tire with a new one after replacing the spare tire because the spare tire can usually only be used temporarily, not a complete replacement for the main wheel.
• Rotating tires after the time recommended by the manufacturer can prevent wheel jamming when changing tires.
• Most spare tires today are smaller than the main wheel, not designed to allow faster than 80km/h or long distances. If you go faster than this specified speed, the spare wheel may be damaged or have other problems. After changing a car tire yourself, you should drive slowly until you see a car repair shop to patch or change the main tire.
• Never use a self-made jack. The weight of a car is very heavy and if you use anything else that is not specialized to jack the car, both you and the vehicle can be in danger.
• After installing the tire, it is necessary to find a secluded place for a test drive and ensure it is as safe as possible, avoid running fast immediately after changing the tire.

What To Do In Case There Is No Spare Tire?

So in case your car does not have a spare tire to replace or the vehicle tool cannot remove the tire, what do you do?

• Patching

Patching is one of the most effective methods to help you fix nailed car tires. To patch the awl, you don’t need to remove the tire, just pull the nail out of the tire. Then use the drill screw into the punctured location. Insert the young rubber thread into the rubber screw, then seal the hole and cut off the excess rubber with scissors. This measure is quite quick but only temporary, the tire has the ability to reduce air quickly. So after patching, you also need to go to the nearest repair center or garage for technical staff to check it thoroughly.

• Use self-healing glue

When car tires are stuck with nails, the use of self-healing glue is also a very effective and quick measure. This fix is ​​quite convenient because you just need to bring self-healing glue, inject glue into the punctured tire position without removing the tire. If the tire is inflated too much, then just use the auto-inflator to inflate the tire.

However, this method has the major disadvantage of reducing tire life. Due to long-term storage, the chemicals in the self-healing glue will gradually corrode the tires and wheels. Especially when moving, the tire heats up, which will cause the adhesive of the glue to melt into water, the additive in the glue will cause the tire’s grip to decrease, potentially dangerous. Therefore, using self-healing glue is only a temporary measure. It is important that you still bring your car to the nearest garage for timely inspection and handling, to ensure safe driving.

• Find a gas station

If you see a gas station and luckily you haven’t blown a tire, you can drive carefully to the gas station and have your tires inflated. Usually, at the gas station, there are some basic car repair items such as tire patches. Gas station staff are also often trained in how to change tires for punctured tires. Gas stations are one of the few destinations you can trust if you have a puncture. However, do not try to get to the gas station if the distance to the gas station is too far, instead, pull over to a safe place.

• Call a tow truck

If you can’t go to the garage to repair or change the tire yourself, you have no choice but to call a tow truck. Towing service will come and take your car to the nearest repair facility, helping to solve the problem quickly. In some locations, service personnel can even help repair a punctured tire on the spot. Usually, you will have to wait 45 minutes to 1 hour for the tow truck operator. That time is probably not much longer than it takes you to change the tires yourself. When traveling, remember to have your phone charged in case you need to call service if there is an emergency.

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Preventing Cars From Flat Tires?

To prevent cars from having a puncture in the middle of the road, you should note:

• Check tire pressure regularly

Over time, tires will naturally release air. Therefore, it is advisable to check tire pressure regularly and inflate it when necessary. If possible, it should be equipped with a tire pressure sensor to easily monitor as well as promptly detect if the tire has abnormal deflation.

• Do not try to use old tires

According to recommendations from the manufacturer, usually car tires have a shelf life of only 5 – 6 years from the date of manufacture. Therefore, if by this time or the tire shows signs of excessive wear, you should take the initiative to change the tire early. This not only prevents the car from having a puncture, a tire explosion in the middle of the road, but also helps ensure safety when operating, especially driving in the rain, driving on slippery roads…

• Use Runflat tires

Runflat tires are a type of tire that allows the vehicle to travel a certain distance despite punctures or air leaks. Runflat tires are designed to be able to temporarily carry the weight of the vehicle when the tire pressure is low. Many luxury cars of brands such as Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Lexus… are equipped with Runflat tires.

For those who have a car equipped with enough spare tires and have enough skills, changing a tire is completely possible, but for those who are not equipped with enough tools, especially for women with less car-related knowledge, this is a very difficult problem to handle. So, we hope that the above article on how to change a tire has given you more effective tips while driving.

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