Change a Tire the Easy Way

Got a flat? Got a friend around who's proud of their flat-changing skills? I'll show you how to get that spare on in one easy step!

So you've got a flat tire, and your friend is standing around...

All you have to do is start musing about how long it's going to take to fix the flat, and how you might as well just call AAA and have them send a tow truck out. Your friend should say something like "Oh, I changed the tire on my Volvo in five minutes!" At that point your tire is practically changed. Just say "Wow, I find that hard to believe. Five minutes?" Your friend should say, "Here, I'll show you!"

Stand back and watch the tire get changed effortlessly!

Sheesh.

Keep in mind that I'm not the one changing the tire here. Heck, it's not even my car! Make sure your friend is competent before you try this yourself! She (or he) should know all of this stuff already. Have him (or her) check out Trebuchet03's Instructable instead of this one.

Get your friend to "break" (loosen) the nuts holding the wheel on before he jacks the car up. Otherwise when he tries to turn them, the force he applies may rotate the wheel instead of turning the nut.

Make sure your friend checks that the parking brake is set, and sets a chock in front of the other tires so the car doesn't roll away. Have him look at the diagram in the owner's manual to determine which points in the frame are solid enough to place the jack under.

Have your friend crank the jack up until the wheel is off of the ground.

They should be loose from Step 3, so your friend should have an easy time unscrewing them the rest of the way.

Have your friend pull the wheel off of the axle bolts.

Have your friend put the spare onto those same axle bolts.

Have your friend tighten the nuts by hand to get the wheel squarely on the axle.

Have your friend tighten the nuts a bit more, so the wheel doesn't fall off.

Have your friend lower the jack.

What? It took 13 minutes, instead of the 5 he claimed? He'll have to train up!