On a Sunday morning during car wash, I noticed that one of rear tires was noticeably running out of gas. A close inspection confirmed my suspicion that a puncture has occurred, thanks to a nail. Being a virgin in tire replacement, I count myself lucky that the incident occurred when my car is parked nicely in the carpark rather than in the middle of the road.

After the car wash was completed, I proceed to retrieve the car manual and informed my dad about the puncture. He said this was a good training opportunity for me and so basically he became the supervisor and I became the worker. Here are some points that I noted after my first lesson in tire replacement and would like to share them with those who are as green as me in such matters:

1.) Loosen the nuts slightly using a spanner before jacking up the car. The rationale behind this is that if the car is jacked up before the nuts are loosened, the wheel may turn as you try to loosen them, making the task rather difficult. However, do not remove the nuts completely as the wheel may risk falling off unexpectedly as the car is being jacked up, causing injury.

2.) Do not lay underneath the car. Serious injury can occur if the jack gives way.

3.) Make sure there is sufficient ground clearance space not just to remove the punctured tire, but to install the spare tire. Take note that the inflated spare tire would require more ground clearance space than a deflated tire.

4.) After the spare tire has been positioned nicely on the disc rotor, gently secure it using your hands with the nuts. Use the spanner to tighten the nuts only after the jack has been lowered. Otherwise, the wheel may turn as you try to tighten.

Finally, get the punctured tire repaired as soon as possible before another tire becomes unserviceable. You never know when Murphy