Welcome to You and Your Car
This is the You and Your car area of the Smartdriving website.
The current topics available in this area are listed below. Click on the 'Go' button alongside the topic that you want to learn more about.
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Daily checks |
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Weekly checks |
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Changing
a wheel
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Download wheel changing instructions |
Every day - Two minutes can buy hours of peace of mind
Start with a simple look at your wheels and tyres. You are looking for cuts and abrasions or flat tyres. Next, is anything leaking - water or oil under the car can indicate a potential breakdown is on the way.
| Have you got enough fuel? It's amazing how many drivers run out of fuel soon after leaving home. Get into the habit of keeping your tank at least a quarter full. For added peace of mind, carry a spare gallon - in a safety approved container. |  |
What's that funny noise? We all get to know the peculiar sounds that our cars make - occasionally a strange noise creeps in. If you're not sure, get it checked out.
I don't know about you, but I'd rather look silly down at the garage when they find something as simple as an old Coca-Cola can stuck behind my wheel, rather than looking silly at the side of a busy motorway because I ignored a funny noise.
Check you brakes: Gently press the brake pedal soon after you move off just to make sure that it is working!
Every week - Ten minutes can save your life (honest!)
Check your tyre pressures (or get someone to do it for you). Modern tyres can withstand a lot of punishment, but that's not a reason for complacency. Tyres are less likely to burst or puncture if they are run at the correct pressure. Apart from which, it is illegal to have incorrectly inflated tyres.
While checking the pressure (the car handbook gives information about pressures) take a look at the tread - and bits of glass, nails, stones etc. stuck in there. Be careful if you run your hands around the tyre, it's easy to cut yourself on a bit of embedded glass, especially at the back of the tyre. Wear gloves!
Check the oil: This is best done before the engine is started with the car parked on a flat road. If you live on a hill, drive somewhere flat, switch off the engine,and let the car stand for five minutes. Pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean with a rag and then put it in again. Now pull it out and check the level - it should be about half way between 'min' and 'max'. If it is below 'min' get a pint of oil immediately. If it was OK last week, get a mechanic to check it.
| Some older engines use quite a lot of oil and so might need a drop every now and then. You'll only get to know if you check it. Engines that run out of oil usually die - often at inconvenient times and miles away from home. |  |
Posh readers will have oil level warning lights or gauges in their cars - these are separate from oil pressure gauges - read your handbook or make sure that the chauffeur checks the oil!
Water: Most cars now have sealed or semi sealed 'coolant' systems. There is a level indicator on the plastic tank somewhere under the bonnet - this tank doesn't need to be full - simply up to the relevant mark (if you don't have a handbook, your dealer can get one for you).
Screen wash: If you've ever run out of screenwash in the winter on a slushy motorway you'll know how important this check is. Check that your wiper blades are OK when you do this, it only takes a minute. When you can't see out of the windscreen, you crash, especially at night.
Lights: Make sure that all your lights and indicators work. This will stop you getting a fixed penalty ticket. There will also be one less reason for a stranger to stop you with a view to helping ...
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Some drivers never get a flat tyre. I find that they tend to come in threes! I can go ten years without a puncture and then I get three in the same month. You can drive around hoping that it won't happen, call the AA or stand and luck helpless at the side of the road. Or you can learn how easy it is to change a wheel. It will take about 25 minutes the first time you do it. These are the steps to take. |
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Find out about your car
On a warm sunny afternoon, park your car on the driveway or a flat car park and take out all the wheel changing bits, There should be a jack to lift the car up, a spare wheel and a wheel brace (this is a kind of spanner thing!). Take all these things out of the car before starting the wheel changing process.
| 1. | Take off the wheel trim - the wheel trim is the bit that makes the wheel look pretty. Some cars have alloy wheels (shiny grey coloured metal) - these don't usually have wheel trims. The wheel brace will often have a flat end that can be used to prise off the wheel trim, if not a screwdriver or similar tool or object will do the job. |
| 2. | Loosen the wheel
nuts with the wheel brace (spanner thing!). They are sometimes quite
tight (Join the AA, RAC or similar). By sliding a length of steel pipe,
40 to 60cm long should be enough, on to the end of the wheel brace,
you can get more leverage.
If you lack strength, for whatever reason, it might be worth investing in a long handled wrench (spanner thing!) to keep with the wheel change stuff in your boot. |
| 3. | Jack up the car. Be careful to ensure that the jack is located at the right point beneath the car - it is important that you check the handbook to locate the jacking point, it will vary from car to car. Make sure that the handbrake is on. If changing a rear tyre it is a good idea to 'chock' the front wheels with bricks, stones, wooden blocks or whatever you can find by the roadside. |
| 4. | Remove the wheel
nuts and take off the wheel. Make sure that you put the wheel nuts in
a safe place; they have a habit of rolling off into the grass, or worse,
down a grid!
Be careful when
removing the wheel, the tyre might have debris embedded that could
cause a nasty cut ... |
| 5. | Put on the spare
wheel. Note: when replacing a flat tyre you might need to raise the
car a bit higher on the jack to make room for the spare.
It can sometimes be a bit tricky to get the wheel in place, be patient (or you might damage the threads on the wheel studs - the bits that the nuts screw on to). It might help to get one stud in place and then gently swing the wheel in to place. |
| 6. | Replace the wheel nuts - finger tight at first and then just a bit tighter using the spanner thing (wheel brace). Note: if the nuts have a bevelled edge it goes on the inside with the flat edge to the outside. |
| 7. | Lower the car to the ground and then tighten the wheel nuts - generally speaking, you should get them as tight as you can (using the wheel brace) by hand. |
| 8. | Replace the wheel trim (get one side fitted and then give it a sharp thump!). In a real puncture situation you would leave this bit until you get home. |
Real life punctures
Make sure the jack is on a firm surface. Falling cars can break arms and legs and cost lots of money to repair!
Be very aware of other traffic, use a warning triangle and wear something bright (a fluorescent waistcoat only costs a few pounds and can be kept in the car).
Make sure you put everything back in the car when you finish!
If your
car has a 'skinny' space saver spare wheel keep your speed below 50 mph.
Get your puncture repaired as soon as possible and, if you are in any doubt,
have someone check that your wheel is fitted properly.
Download wheel change instructions
You can download the wheel changing instructions by clicking on the .pdf icon below.
Wheel Changing 272k
For information about downloading .pdf files, click here.
© John Farlam 1995-2001 Click for reproduction rights and disclaimer notice
