Damien Edmonds
Mr. Flowers
English 111
17 February 2015
How to Change a Tire Imagine you are driving down a street by yourself; you begin to notice that your car is leaning and wobbling to one side. You finally realize that you have a flat tire. At this moment you have two options; you can either summon the help of a professional to come help replace the flat tire, or you can change the flat tire yourself. Calling a professional to come change the tire could prove to be expensive; however, if you were to change the tire yourself, you could reduce the expenses. Me personally, I know having a flat tire can be a nuisance. I always thought I knew how to change a tire, but I was thoroughly wrong. I learned how to change a tire properly when I was still in high school; taking automotive as one of my classes. My mechanics teacher, Mr. Levesque, had me show him how I would change a tire. After demonstrating to him what I believed what was the right way to replace a flat tire, the expression his face said otherwise. It was quite evident, that I didn’t know nearly as much when it came to changing a tire correctly. He then showed me the proper and safe way to complete the procedure. That is why I have created the set of instructions, which will help. When it comes to changing a tire, safety is always first and foremost. Put your hazard lights on, slow your car down and begin to make your way to the side of the road, far away from traffic. This will ensure that you will be able to change your tire safely without having the risk of danger coming to you or other drivers. Also, if possible, find a fairly level place in order to change your tire. Once you have securely pulled your car to the side of the road; put your car into “park” and turn off your engine. You will then exit your car and locate your spare tire along with the tools and items needed to change your flat tire; these items will include a jack, a lug wrench with a socket on one end and a pry bar on the other end, a tarp; in order to keep the dirt off of you, a flash; just in case it is nighttime, and of course your spare tire. These tools and items will be usually found in your trunk, within a compartment. Next, lay down your tarp to keep the dirt from getting onto your clothes, then, kneel down and locate the jack points under your car. Up under the car, you will see a metal beam that runs from the front wheel to the back wheel. This beam is mainly smooth, but has some points with grooved spots indicating where the jack should be placed in order to raise the car up. Now crank the jack until you see the flat tire is raised up off the ground about 2 or 3 inches. Now, with the lug wrench; with the pry bar side, take and remove the hubcap, exposing the lug nuts. You should see five lug nuts on the wheel. Next, with the socket side with the lug wrench, begin to remove all five lug nuts; they will be needed in order to secure the spare tire, make sure to keep track of them. Once all of your lug
