Non-Mechanics Guide To Changing A Tire
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I’ll start by saying that I am not an expert. I’m not even a car guy. So if anything that should give you hope that if I can do it, you definitely can. No confusing lingo here, just a dude trying fix his wife’s flat tire.
These are instructions for a Toyota 4Runner. The same steps apply for most cars, but there are some specific steps for the 4Runner that might not apply.
Don’t park on a hill. Find flat ground. You’ll thank me later when you’re trying to Jack the car up
Open the secret back hatch in the far back left compartment of the trunk.
In there you’ll find really all the tools you’ll need.
Put together the rod needed to undo the spare. It’s essentially a long “key” or “crank”. You put it in the tiny hole on the rear bumper of the car and turn until you feel it set in place.
Than it and lower the spare.
Unhook the spare and pull it out.
Set up the jack as indicated in the manual with where you have the flat. For me it was the rear driver side wheel. The jack went in the rear left of the car to lift up that side.
Loosen the nuts of the wheels so that when it’s off the ground you can lightly unscrew and take the wheel off
Use your crank and turn the jack to raise the wheel off the ground
Take the wheel off and place the spare on
Lightly tighten the screws then lower the car and take the jack out
Finish tightening when the car is on the ground
Done
All in all, this took me about an hour. The concepts are simple enough to understand, but I don’t often have to change a tire, so it was a lot of back and forth to the manual and YouTube through the process.
The key here came down to me having both the desire and time to figure this out. For example, the water heater igniter went out the other day, and THAT is beyond my range of capabilities. Pick your battles.
Experiences like these shape us. Not that this particular skillset is an absolute necessity, but the willingness to take on a challenge that’s unfamiliar, uncomfortable and for a lack of a better word, messy, does.
There will always be things that happen that are inconvenient. Things that are obstacles in the way of what we want or need to do. The 3” piece of metal in that tire was that obstacle for me. It pushed me to figure it out and do something that I would have otherwise not done.
Sometimes that obstacle comes in the form of a workout. Other times it might be a job interview. Maybe it’s learning a foreign language. Perhaps it’s asking the girl you like out. Obstacles come on all shapes and sizes, but the FEELING of running into and obstacle remains the same. And the best way to overcome that feeling is by doing it over and over. Soon, that uncomfort will become comfort and what was once difficult, will be a walk in the park.
While I am still not an expert, not by a long shot, I am now confident in my tire changing skills and welcome the next.