The ability to replace wheels will never be excessive. Moreover, the process itself takes 10-15 minutes, and everything you need is usually in the trunk of any car.
How to understand that the wheel is broken
You can indicate a damaged wheel by extraneous noise from the outside and poor handling. If the car drives away, and to keep it on the road, you have to make efforts, then, most likely, a puncture on one of the front wheels. If the rear of the car starts to enter, then the problem is there.
When this happens, you will understand what the matter is. In no case, do not panic. Level the car and, gradually lowering speed, pull over.
How to replace a damaged wheel
1. Park on the side of the road
You can’t continue driving with a damaged tire, but stopping in the middle of the road is also not a thing. Therefore, do not be afraid to drive a couple of tens of meters and choose a flat, dry place on the side of the road.
It is best to get away from moving vehicles so as not to provoke an accident and not risk your life.
Drivers of cars with a manual gearbox need to engage first gear, and owners of automatic gears must put the lever in the parking position (P).
And in any case, you need to put the car on the handbrake.
2. Set the warning triangle and prepare the tools
When you park the car in a safe place, do not forget to turn on the alarm and set the warning triangle in the trunk. In settlements, it is put 20 meters behind the car and on the highway - 40 meters.
In the same place, in the trunk, find a spare wheel and a jack with a balloon key. Typically, the manufacturer has it all in a specialized niche under the floor, where you can get by lifting the bottom panel.
It is useful if you have a pump and a pressure gauge with you to check the pressure, as well as wheel chocks. Well, and, of course, gloves do not hurt, because you still have to get your hands a little dirty.
3. Remove the wheel
Having taken out all the tools and the spare wheel, put them next to the broken wheel and ask all passengers to get out of the car. Even if there is severe frost or heavy rain outside, safety comes first.
Despite the handbrake and the gear engaged, before installing the jack, you must additionally fix the wheels with the stops. Any stones or pieces of brick, however, will come down for them.
If you need to replace the rear wheel, stops are placed on both sides of the front wheels, and vice versa.
Now you can begin to remove the wheel. First, remove the disc from the plastic cap and use a balloon wrench to loosen the bolts. To move them away, you will need a lot of effort, which can be provided by the weight of your body, only by pressing the key with your foot. It is not necessary to completely unscrew the bolts: it is enough to extract them one turn.
After that, you need to raise the car with a jack. In no case can you install it anywhere. Especially for these purposes, the bottom has small reinforced seats that are usually located behind the front wheel or immediately in front of the rear. The manufacturer designates them using triangles or cutouts at the bottom of the thresholds. If the weld is closed with plastic pads, they will be interrupted at the points of installation of the jack.
Bring the jack under the bottom and start twisting its handle clockwise. Be sure to make sure that the jack rises evenly and does not roll.
Do not raise the wheel too much. It is enough to stop 5 cm from the ground. After that, you can completely unscrew the bolts and remove the punched wheel from the hub. It is better to push it under the car like insurance and put the bolts somewhere on a cloth so as not to get lost.
4. Install and check the spare wheel
It remains to put a spare tire instead of a damaged wheel.
It is essential to install the nuts fastening the wheels to the hub with the curved side to the disk, and not outward.
Remove the broken wheel from under the machine, lower the jack and finally tighten the bolts. You need to do this correctly. In wheels with four or six holes, the opposite bolts are tightened in pairs. If there are five holes, then you need to pull in this order, as if you are drawing a five-pointed star.
It remains to assemble the tool, remove the jack and stops, and also check the pressure in the mounted wheel and, if necessary, pump it up. If there is no pump at hand, you can ask for assistance from passing drivers.
If you use a small reserve, the so-called Stepney, then do not forget about caution: usually, it can be moved at a speed of no more than 80 km / h and a maximum distance of 100 kilometers.
Well, of course, try to fix the punched wheel in a specialized tire fitting as soon as possible so as not to tempt fate and not drive without a spare wheel.
Read how to change your winter tires to summer tires.