One of the biggest causes of sidelined vehicles is a flat tire. Even brand new vehicles can’t escape the inconvenience that comes with accidentally running over a nail or bounding over a pothole, and when they do, the tire is going to weather most of the damage.
Despite being a leading cause of roadside issues, however, many people aren’t educated in the right way to change a flat tire, let alone how to handle themselves when they’re pulled over onto the shoulder. As a result, the default action for most people is to pick up the phone and call for towing in Williston, ND.
It’s important to realize that changing a tire isn’t all that difficult if you have the understanding of how to approach it. True, there will be some elbow grease involved with getting the faulty tire off and securing the new on in place, however if you’re confidence in the approach, you’ll eliminate quite a bit of strife for yourself overall.
Let’s take a look at the proper way to change a tire and what you can do to make sure the process is as easy and seamless as possible:
- First, you’ll need to jack up the vehicle. Place the jack in a position where it will contact a solid piece of the vehicle’s frame, then start jacking! Keep in mind that you only need the tire to clear the ground a few inches or so, so there’s no reason to go any higher than that. In fact, it’s important you keep the car’s center of gravity low while you’re working, to minimize potential instabilities.
- Once the car is braced up and you have access to the free-spinning tire, you can get to work untightening the lug nuts. This is where the elbow grease comes in! Give them each a good twist to get them started and spin them off one by one. Be sure to keep track of them as well—a missing lug nut isn’t going to do you any favors!
- Remove the tire carefully and place it in the trunk or back seat of your vehicle. Then, slide the spare tire into place. Make sure your spare isn’t showing any signs of damage before you start to tighten it in place.
- Put the lug nuts back on to each screw and screw them all down into position—do not tighten them yet, however! This is just to make sure the tire is secure before you start to bolt it in place.
- When screwing the lug nuts down tight it’s important to follow a pattern. Pick one and screw it firmly into place, then, pick another nut directly across from that one and do the same, repeating the process until every nut is tight. Then, go back to the first one and really crank it into place, following the same pattern for all of them. This will prevent wobbling and instabilities that might cause the spare to become loose or misaligned while it’s in place.
Release the jack slowly and lower your vehicle back onto the ground and you’re done! Make sure you’ve got all of your tools inventoried before you go. As a final note, make sure you head to a tire shop in the near future: your spare isn’t made for going great distances on.
And remember, if you’re uncomfortable changing your tire, ill-equipped to get the job done or you encounter an issue while you’re trying to change it, you can always call for towing in Williston, ND. A tow professional can assist you or, if the problem is too complicated, get you towed to an auto body shop where they have the tools needed to fix things.