15 December 2005
It is surprising how many people do not
know how, or simply do not want to change a
flat tyre.
And everyone will experience one sooner or
later, it goes with owning a car and driving.
A trend is emerging to call a road service
organization or a mechanic to come and do the
job.
If you look at it rationally, changing a flat
tyre is relatively simple but it has to be done
safely.
It would be beneficial to make changing a
flat part of licence testing.
When you get a flat tyre, the most important
thing to do is to get the vehicle off the road and
away from fast moving traffic as much as
possible.
You can move the car a little but not much
otherwise it will damage the tyre.
The ground should be hard as it’s almost
impossible to jack up a car on soft ground.
Apply the hand brake and put the transmission in gear, P if it’s an automatic.
If the car has a safety triangle, it should be
deployed about 10 meters behind the vehicle to
warn other road users.
And here’s a trick, carry a pair of cloth
gloves in the boot to wear when changing a flat
otherwise you will need hand cleaner after the
job is done.
You can also use the gloves at the service
station when refelling.
Dealing with anything involving wheels and
tyres on a car will produce grime on your
hands.
If the rear of the car is going to be raised,
chock the front wheels (stop them rolling) if
possible.
Take out the jack and follow the instructions
to the letter with special attention to the correct
jacking points under the car. These will be
indicated with small diagrams on the jack.
Place the jack under the car and wind it up
a little but before the wheel is off the ground,
remove the wheel cover – usually levered off,
and then use the wheel brace (large socket
spanner) to loosen all the wheel nuts.
If the nuts are on tight, stand on the longer
arm of the wheel brace to free them. They undo
anti-clockwise.
Jack up the car until the flat tyre is well off
the ground, about 10cm would be good.
Undo all the wheel nuts and take the tyre off
the studs (the threaded bits).
Keep the wheel nuts in one place. Roll the
flat tyre out of the way and lay it on the side so
it won’t roll away.
Take the spare from its holding place and roll
it to where it’s needed.
The tricky bit is to line up the holes in the
wheel with the studs. It requires some strength
but if you line everything up fairly closely, the
lift isn’t too great.
Put the top wheel nut on to secure the spare
in place but you will probably have to place
your foot against the bottom of the spare to
hold it there until a couple of wheel nuts are on.
Tighten them all finger tight and then snug
them up with the wheel brace before lowering
the jack and tightening them properly but don’t
stand on the wheel brace to do this, just use your
hands.
Replace the wheel cover, put the flat in the
boot together with the jack, wheel brace and
safety triangle and off to the tyre dealer to have
it repaired. Try and do this straight away
otherwise you might forget until the next flat,
then you will be in some bother.