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Tips For Changing Your Own Tire On The Side Of The Road

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Nobody likes to experience car trouble when they are out on the road. It can cause you to feel helpless while you have to wait for somebody to help assist you with getting your car up and running again. One common problem that is easy to repair is a flat tire. If you have a spare tire in your trunk, it will help to know what to do in order to change your tire and get yourself to a tire replacement service where you can have the spare replaced with a brand new one.

Put On Hazard Lights

The first thing that you should do is pull off to the side of the road and turn on your hazard lights. This will let other people know that something is wrong with your car and you are potentially working on it. Drivers should use this as an indication to move over a lane when passing by your car to ensure that they do not hit you or the vehicle.

Place The Jack Correctly

You'll need to elevate your car off the road so that you can remove the flat tire. You can't just put the jack anywhere, since there are a few places where the jack is designed to go. If you put the jack in the wrong place, you could end up cracking the body of your vehicle or damaging the axle.

Some cars will have a piece of metal that sticks out past the bottom of the car's body, which is designated as a safe place to put the jack. You'll be putting the jack against metal, not plastic, and should be able to safely raise the car. When in doubt, get out your vehicle's user manual and see what it says about where to place the jack. It is also possible to find a search result on your smartphone by looking up your car model, since the information is sure to be online.

Replace Lugnuts In A Star Pattern

It does not matter how you remove lugnuts when taking the old tire off your vehicle. However, it does matter with how you put the lugnuts back on your spare tire. You can loosely put all of the lugnuts on at once, but when it comes to tightening them, you want to do it in a star pattern. This means crossing over to the opposite side to tighten the lugnuts rather than doing it in a circle pattern. This helps ensure that the wheel is secured evenly for smoother driving. 


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