How To Change A Tyre Of A Flat Car

On the road again. Traveling down the long, quiet roads is something which a lot of us love. Although it seems like a fairly easy thing to do, there is an intricate mystery hidden deep inside of it that makes it harder as the time passes instead of making it easier. The statement “with practice, you get better” doesn’t really hold for your vehicle. Although your driving skills and experience are certainly increased, your vehicle itself deteriorates and if not taken care of properly, there might be some unexpected results popping up out of nowhere.

For example, let’s say that you are traveling through a remote area where there is no sign of human life anywhere nearby except for the two cars on the road; one of which passes you by and disappears shortly. Suddenly, you hear a disturbing sound and slightly lose control of the car and before long, you realize that you have a flat tyre. Assuming that no one ever taught you how to do it, the first question that comes to your mind after a few curses is probably “how to change a tyre of a flat car?”

Well, worry not. Even if you never had such a drastic experience before and are just preparing as a precautionary measure, or you are doing it because you love cars and want to know everything about them (in which case, you should also read our other articles), we are here to help you. Ranging from how a tyre goes flat, to how do you prevent a tyre from going flat, we will tell you everything there is to know about cars and tyres. Prepare for take-off, commander.

Why does a car tyre go flat?

Mainly when exasperated, you would have asked yourself the question regarding the reason for such a problem occurring in the first place. There are a lot of reasons so as to why that happens. A car tyre puncture is one of the most common reasons. Puncture usually occurs due to a sharp object when it comes in contact with the tyre and makes a small hole in it. Other flat reasons (pun intended) of car tyres going flat are:

1- Damaged Valve

2- Worn-Off Tyre

3- Over-pumping

4- Road Debris (cause of puncture)

5- Intentional Air-Leaks.

You can easily figure out which reason caused your car tyre to go flat because they are all unique and very easy to remember. A damaged valve is associated with a faster leakage of air from your tyre as compared to a puncture. Worn-off tyres are visible as their quality is hazardously low (if this happens, change your car tyres immediately because if not, they may blow).

Over-pumping might result in your car tyre blowing up too, so always check it before you take your sweet ride out for a drive. Road Debris causes puncture, so a hole in the tyre would be obvious (using certain techniques, of course). Vandalism, or intentional air leaks, is caused when someone punctures your car tyres or takes out the air valve holds. Once again, be sure to check your vehicle before you go out. We will now move on to learning how to change a tyre.

How to change a flat tyre?

Back to the situation where your tyre got all messed up and you are stranded in the middle of the road with no local tyre or automobile repair shops nearby. Assuming that you have all the necessary tools required to fix a flat tyre, you just need to follow the steps mentioned below. However, if you do not have the required tools, you’ll have to make do with things that you do have.

In order to fix/change a flat tyre, you need to have the following items in your car, ready to be used at a moment’s notice:

1- Car Jack (Hydraulic or Scissor)

2- Wrench

3- Spare Tyre (Stepney)

When you are going to replace your car tyre, follow the steps mentioned below in order to be successful. These are pretty easy, so you should be able to do it perfectly on your first try:

1- Park/Push your car at a side and on an uninclined surface:

If your car is in the middle of the road and comes to a halt, push it towards aside in order to keep the traffic flowing. Also, never change your tyre on an inclined surface, it is very dangerous to do so since your vehicle can roll-off. Always choose an uninclined surface and park at aside in order to prevent any unwanted accidents.

2- Secure your car:

To further prevent your vehicle from rolling off or moving while you are changing tyres, you can put something like a stopper in front of and behind the other tyres. A brick would suffice, but if you have a wedge or something of a similar sort, you can also use that.

3- Take off the wheel cover:

This is an easy task. Your wheel cover is located in the middle of your tyre and is a plastic cover. It can be taken off simply by inserting your fingers in its holes and pulling it towards yourself. If it doesn’t get off, insert a screwdriver, or any small but long object and then try pulling. Most of the times, that does the job. If it still doesn’t work, do not break it by applying so much force, instead, check the sides to see if something is preventing it from being taken off.

3- Lift the car:

Insert the jack underneath the car. The correct position to place the jack is right underneath the long metallic bar located on the underside of your car. You can try finding it by touching your car and if you still can not find it, lie down and see if you can see it, then position the jack accordingly. When the jack is placed properly, pump it and the car will slowly start to lift up from that side. If something feels off, remove the jack after lowering the car and reposition the jack. Anyhow, keep on lifting the car until it is about eight inches in the air.

4- Unbolt the bolts/screws:

Once your car is lifted up, use the wrench to loosen the large screws inserted in your tyre to keep it in place. This is the most difficult part to do since it requires patience and a lot of force to be performed completely. 

5- Remove the flat tyre:

Grab the flat tyre and pull it towards you. It should come off if you apply some force. If not, then apply some more force. Tyres do not get stuck once they are unbolted.

6- Place the spare tyre:

Replace the flat tyre’s vacant position with that of your spare tyre. Make sure it goes all the way in, otherwise, you would not be able to bolt it back properly.

7- Bolt again:

Bolt the spare tyre in the exact opposite way of how you unbolted. It is relatively easier than unbolting since it requires much less force. However, tightening the bolts does require an extra amount of force.

8- Lower the vehicle:

When the tyre has been attached properly, lower the vehicle through your jack. Most of the jacks have a button that releases the pressurized air, otherwise, there are other mechanisms that depend on what kind of jack you have. They are engraved/printed on the jack itself, so you can check them.

Now that you know how to change a tyre of a flat car, you should mark yourself as a person with sound knowledge of crisis management as long as the crisis is a flat tyre. If you want to learn more about driving, or anything related to car, head over to Easy Driving Tests as they offer a variety of services that prepare you for anything car-related, especially driving tests.