How to Change a Tire

You're driving down the road, top down, listening to your favorite CD a few decibels too loud. It's just another sunny summer day for you, not a care in the world. Suddenly the car seems a bit funny and the next thing you know your tire blows. Thoroughly freaked out, your heart is beating like drum sending blood rushing through your body. So many thoughts are racing through your mind. If only you had paid more attention to your dad all those years ago. You begin racking your brain, what was it he said to do first? Finally you decide to go look in the trunk. How hard could it be? Hidden away under the gray carpet you find a compartment with a tire and some strange looking metal apparatus. You soon realize you are way over your head and call information to get the number of someone who can come help. Don't let this happen to you.

Changing a tire isn't nearly as daunting of a task as you might think. By preparing yourself for the unexpected, the interruption in your drive will be just a mere hiccup. Changing a tire requires only a few essentials. There is a few things you will need, a car jack, a spare tire, lug nut wrenches and, if desired, some penetrating oil from your local hardware store. Penetrating oil can be a big help when it comes time to loosen those lug nuts.

* You will want to do when you need to change your tire is to park the car on level ground. Check to make sure you are not sticking out in the road and then proceed to engage your parking brake and turn your hazard lights on. You will probably want to turn your engine off now since you won't be in the car.

* The next thing that you will want to do is to block the wheel diagonally across from the one you are changing with a wheel chock or a large rock to prevent the car from rolling back. Refer to your owner's manual to locate where the spare tire and car jack is located. If your car has a hub cap now is the time to remove it.

* Now comes time to start removing the tire. The first thing you will want to do is to loosen all of the leg nuts up a bit. Doing this before jacking up the car makes things easier. Don't forget that counterclockwise is the direction to loosen the lug nut, this will save you from some frustrating struggles with the wrench and the usage of some profanity.

* Now it is time to carefully jack up the car. There are many variations of car jacks so make sure you are well versed on how to use the one that came with your car. Proper placement locations for the jack can be found in your owner's