WELCOME TO OUR Changing a wheel PROJECT
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Summary: In this guide you will learn how to identify your cars wheel and components and change it for a new one.
How to change a wheel
Please note that this is only a general guide and is not specific to any one make or model of vehicle. For more detailed information on your own particular car, please consult a workshop manual specific to your own make and model!Please read this first
If you have recently driven your vehicle, please leave it for at least an hour for the engine and other components to cool down. If you do not you may risk injury!
Required Tools:
1. A wheel brace (there should be one of these included with your cars' tool kit. If not use the correct size socket and a brace bar)
2. A jack (preferably hydraulic, if not, the one that came with the car)
3
. A pair of axle stands (if this is an emergency job you may not have these with you. If not, be very careful about what parts of your body you place under the car as most jacks should not be trusted!!)
4. 2 bricks or rocks
5. A spare wheel (this should be located in the boot or underneath the boot)
6. A pair of latex surgical gloves (not essential, but useful if you've got them)
7. A flat head screwdriver
8. Wheel nut cover key (some cars have this, some don't it depends on your make and model)
9. Locking wheel nut key (if your car features locking wheel nuts)
Step 1 - Select a work area
The first job is to select a level, hard surface to to work on as this will make your job a lot easier (If this is an emergency job on the side of a road you may not have this luxury. Use your judgment, but do not travel for miles on a flat attempting to find a suitable spot as this may damage the wheel rim and possibly your suspension). Once you have selected a suitable spot, stop the car, pull on the handbrake and put the car in park (for automatics) or first gear (for manual). Now take your bricks/rocks (again if this is an emergency change there should be some handy rocks lying around) and chock the rear wheels (or front wheels if your going to be working on the rear of the car).
Step 2 - Loosen the wheel nuts
Before you go ahead and jack the car up you first have to loosen the wheel nuts (as you will find this task extremely difficult if the car is up in the air). Depending on your make and model there may be a cover over the wheel nuts. In this case take your flat head screwdriver and carefully prise the cover off (some vehicles also feature a key lock on their wheel nut covers. If this is the case, make sure you have a key)
Now take your wheel brace and slot the socket end over a wheel nut and loosen the nut off, but do not completely remove it (remembering to turn anti-clockwise to undo). If your wheel nuts have been tightened with an air gun at some point this may require a lot of effort as they will be very tight. you may want to step on the wheel brace but be careful as they have a tendency to slip off of the nuts.
With one now loose, repeat this step for the rest (there may be 4 or possibly 5 wheel nuts/studs depending on your make and model).
NOTE: Your wheels may feature locking wheel nuts. If this is so, there should be one per wheel. To remove these you should have a special adaptor that will fit onto the end of your wheel brace. If you don't have this and you have locking wheel nuts on your wheels your only option will be to call a garage or break-down service for assistance.
Step 3 - Jack the car up
Now, move to the front of the car and look underneath, just behind the front tyres' (if your changing a front wheel. If you want to change a back wheel then look just in front the back wheel) Locate a secure point (one that will support the weight of the car. If you have your cars user manual then these should be indicated) and slide the jack under, positioning it directly under the secure jack point or making sure that the jack support is located securely into the jack point (if you have this type of jack).
Jack the car up and then take one of the axle stands and slide this under (if you have an axle stand), positioning it beneath another secure point (one that will support the weight of the car. As the jack has taken up one point already, you might want to use the base of the sub-frame, or rear axle if your working on a rear wheel)
With the axle stand in place, lower the jack until the car is resting securely on the axle stand. If you don't have a stand, make sure that the jack is secure and stable.
CAUTION: Never climb under a car that is being held by a jack alone! Always support a vehicle with axle stands if you can.
Step 4 - Remove the old wheel
With the car now jacked up securely you can remove the old wheel. By hand, unscrew and remove all the wheel nuts (put these in a safe place!), being careful with the position of the wheel as they do have a tendency to drop off and crush your fingers. With all the nuts removed take off the old wheel and put it to one side.
Step 5 - Fit the new wheel
With the old wheel now removed, you can now fit the new one. Roll the new wheel up to the hub (the part of the car you removed the old wheel from) and carefully lift it up, onto the hub (Remember, this will be rather heavy so lift it correctly!). For the wheel to fit correctly you will have to line up the holes with the threaded studs (or threaded holes depending on the make a model of your car). Just spin the wheel slowly until they are lined up and push it into position.
With the wheel now positioned on the hub screw each nut or stud back into or onto its respective stud or hole (this is easier done by hand as you will be able to feel whether the nut or stud is threading correctly as you do not want to cross-thread anything). You only need to screw them up so that they pinch, don't worry about tightening properly as we will cover this in a later step.
Step 6 - Lower the car back down
With your wheel and nuts/studs back on the car you can now lower it back onto the ground. Make sure that there is nothing left under the car, screwdrivers, wheel brace etc....
Remove the jack and put to one side once the car is down.
If you need to change more than one wheel, repeat steps 2 - 6
Step 7 - Tighten up the wheel nuts/studs
This is probably the most important step as if you forget this 100 yards down the road your wheel(s) will probably fall off!
Firstly, you may find it easier to turn your steering wheel roughly 45° to the right (or left depending on whether you are working on the passengers or drivers front sides). This will give you a little more room to work in as often if you are working on the front of the car you may end up scraping the wheel brace across the wing or the bumper and causing some less than desired damage (if you are working on the rear of the car, be aware of this as obviously you cannot turn these wheels to give yourself any more room).
Now, take your wheel brace and slide the socket end over a nut/stud, making sure that you push it on firmly. Proceed to further tighten each nut/stud (turning the brace clockwise). When each of the nuts/studs is as tight as you can get it you may want to go around them again but this time step on the brace to give them that little bit extra. NOTE: Don't go too mad here as you don't want to end up stripping any threads.
If you have changed more than one wheel make sure you tighten all nuts/studs on all the wheels you have changed.
Step 8 - Finishing up
With your nuts/studs tightened your nearly done! If you removed a wheel nut cover then you can re-fit this now along with anything else such as wheel trims, hubcaps etc....
Also, remember to pick up all your tools and put them back in the boot of your car. If your at home its not too bad but if your in a lay by at 11 o'clock at night and all you want to do is get home, this is all too easily done. If you do forget to pick them up, you wont have them for next time!
NOTE: Now that you have used your spare, you do not have one. Either get the old one repaired or replace it preferably the same day or at minimum the next day.
It is also a good idea to periodically check your spare tyre to make sure that it is fully inflated and in good condition.
With age, a tyres' rubber begins to perish and degrade and cracks will start to appear in the walls. Although this should be ok to get you home it's not recommended that you travel too far on a tyre displaying these symptoms.
You have now successfully completed this project.
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