There are some skills that people may think are not important until they have a problem in their life. Imagine you are driving in the middle of a motorway and you have a flight to catch, but suddenly your tire goes flat and you realize you are in a difficult position because you do not have any idea how to change a tire. You have to phone call and wait for help, but, in the meantime, you miss your flight. Knowing how to change a tire may not sound very important, but it is an ability that can help you a lot if your tire punctures, especially in a remote area where no help can be received immediately. That is why in my essay I want to focus my attention on this topic.
Before starting to change a tire, make sure to take some necessary precautions. The first thing which should be done when there is a flat tire while driving down the road is to find a suitable spot to stop the car. It is important to choose a flat area away from traffic, completely off the road. If it is possible, it is better to take the park into a car park. Driving with a flat tire can ruin the rim, but the car needs to be out of danger from other vehicles. Choose a suitable place that has level ground. Failure to roll the wheels will not damage the vehicle. If the car has an automatic transmission, put it in the park, or if it has a manual transmission, it should be in the opposite direction. Turn off the engine. Apply the hand brake. If possible, place a heavy object in the front and back tires in case the car starts to roll. Turn on the hazard lights to let other cars know the car with a punctured tire is there. Start setting the road flares, especially if it is dark, to make the car more visible in order to prevent an accident. Another important point before changing a tire is to check whether there is all equipment, which includes a spare tire (inflated properly), a lug nut wrench with a socket on one end and a pry bar on the other, and a jack.
Now that the area is checked, all necessary precautions are taken and the spare tire and tools required for changing the tire are ready, the tire can be changed. In order to remove the flat tire, the car must be lifted up with the help of a jack. For this, the jack is placed in the metal section under the car close to the flat tire. Then the car is raised a little bit. Make sure the tire is still touching the ground. Then loosen the nuts with a lug wrench. Continue to pump the jack-up until the tire is off the ground. Loosen up the nuts completely. Before twisting the nuts completely with your hand, use the lug nut wrench to start loosening the nuts up, as it takes a lot of power. Once all the wheel nuts have been removed, the tire should also be easily removed. If the tire is difficult to remove by hand, hit the tire to loosen it, and lift it slightly to remove it. If the car is not high enough, the tire may not come off. If this happens, lift the car a bit more.
When the flat tire is removed, the spare tire is replaced. Alignment of the rim of the spare tire with the wheel bolts is necessary for correct tire positioning. After the lug nuts are put on, tighten them by hand as much as possible until snug. Then tighten them well by using the lug wrench. After that, put the car down. When the car lands on the ground, tighten the nuts more with the jack so that they are as tight as possible. Then put all equipment and the flat tire into the car trunk.
Changing a tire is not the hardest job, but it can be difficult for people who have never experienced it. It is a useful skill to learn if there is a flat tire on the roadside and nobody around is helping. Almost every car trunk has spare tires and tools in case there is a need for changing a flat tire. When changing a tire, the most important issue is safety, and applying the steps correctly will make this process easier and quicker.