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60% of male respondents check their oil and water regularly compared to the 40% of women who wait for someone else (possibly a male!) to check the scheduled service. Maybe a contributing factor is that you don’t see too many women working as mechanics or vehicles maintainers. Vehicles aren’t a real top priority when it comes to women’s interests. But that leaves women to still be dependant on men for vehicle services. What if women could gain absolute independence from men, by changing their own tyre or services their own vehicles. Wouldn’t that be great?
HOW TO CHANGE A TYRE
So you’ve got your license and you know how to drive, but can you change a tyre? South African Roadside Assistance agencies responded to nearly 10,000 wheel and tyre-related calls in 2006. A real damsel in distress case! If you don’t know how to change a tyre, here is how to do it:
FIRST THINGS FIRST
- Move your car safely out of the road or out of the way of traffic. Pull the handbrake up and unload the spare tyre. Check beforehand that it is adequately inflated.
- Before jacking up the car, use a wheelbrace to loosen the wheelnuts or bolts on the flat wheel. If the wheelnuts are very tight, use your foot to apply pressure on the wheelbrace and carefully press down with your full weight to loosen them.
JACK IT UP
- Consult your owner’s handbook to see when to position the jack, and then jack the car high enough to allow the spare wheel to be fitted. This is usually about 120mm clear of the ground, depending on tyre size.
- Remove the wheelnuts or bolts on the wheel to be change, remember to note the way they were fitted.
- Remove the wheel and place it in a safe area on the ground.
NUTS AND BOLTS
- Fit the spare wheel and tighten the wheelnuts or bolts firmly (no need to tighten them fully at this stage)
- Remember, when tightening wheelnuts or bolts the sequence in which they are tightened is important. If the wheel has four wheelnuts, they should be tightened in diagonally opposite pairs. If there are five, every second one should be tightened until all are tight.
- Note that if the car has four alloy wheels but a steel spare wheel, there may be special nuts or bolts to use with the spare.
THE GRAND FINALE
- Lower the car and tighten the wheelnuts or bolts fully. Repeat the tightening sequence at least two more times. Again, you may need to place your foot on the wheelbrace and use your weight to tighten the nuts.
- Replace any wheel trim, and stow the tools and the removed wheel.
- Remember to remove the wheel chocks before driving off.
- As soon as you can, check the pressure in the new tyre and have the removed wheel repaired or the tyre replaced.
MORE TIPS
- Ensure you always have a good spare tyre in the boot, plus a jack and wheelbrace. If you bought your car recently, it pays to check that everything is there – especially if you bought it second-hand.
- Before starting, make sure the car is safely clear of passing traffic and you can position the jack on a firm, level surface.
- If the wheelnuts were over-tightened when the wheel was last fitted, you will probably need assistance. To avoid this situation, practice the above steps at home. If you can’t loosen your wheelnuts, take your car to the mechanic and have the tension adjusted.
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