**Tire Changing and Lug Nut Tightening: A Step-by-Step Guide**

When it comes to changing a tire, one of the most important steps is tightening the lug nuts. Properly tightening the lug nuts is crucial for ensuring the safety and security of the vehicle. In this article, we will walk you through the process of tightening lug nuts using a tire iron.

**The Importance of Tightening Lug Nuts**

Tightening lug nuts is an essential step in changing a tire. When the lug nuts are not tightened properly, they can come loose while driving, causing the tire to fall off and potentially leading to accidents or injuries. To avoid this, it's crucial to use a tire iron to tighten the lug nuts as much as possible.

**Tightening Lug Nuts with a Tire Iron**

To start tightening the lug nuts, we need to use a tire iron. The tire iron is used to loosen and tighten the lug nuts. We will begin by placing the tire iron on the first lug nut and using it to try to snug it up a little bit more. This will give us a better grip on the lug nut.

**Using a Star Pattern**

When tightening the lug nuts, it's essential to use a star pattern. This means that we need to tighten one lug nut, then move to the next one in a diagonal direction, and so on. Using this pattern ensures that each lug nut is tightened evenly and securely.

**Tightening the Lug Nuts**

Now that we have our tire iron and are using a star pattern, it's time to start tightening the lug nuts. We will begin by tightening the first lug nut as much as possible. Then, we will move on to the next one in the star pattern and tighten it as well. This process should be repeated for each lug nut until they are all tightened securely.

**Checking the Lug Nuts**

Before lowering the vehicle, we need to check that the lug nuts are tight enough. When checking, we can see if the tire is still spinning while it's in the air. If the tire is not spinning, it means that the lug nuts are not loose and can be tightened further.

**Lowering the Vehicle**

Once we have checked the lug nuts, we can lower the vehicle to the ground using a jack stand. Make sure the vehicle is securely supported before removing the jack.

**Tightening the Lug Nuts with a Torque Wrench**

To ensure that the lug nuts are tightened properly, we will use a torque wrench. A torque wrench allows us to properly tighten each bolt to the correct torque. We need to find the correct torque spec for our vehicle and follow it. The recommended torque spec for most rims is 100 foot-pounds.

**Tightening the Lug Nuts in a Star Pattern**

Now that we have our torque wrench, we can start tightening the lug nuts. We will begin by tightening one lug nut as much as possible, then move on to the next one in the star pattern, and so on. Using this pattern ensures that each lug nut is tightened evenly and securely.

**Final Check**

After tightening all the lug nuts with a torque wrench, we need to check if they are tight enough. Sometimes, the rim will seat better than expected, leaving some space between it and the hub. In these cases, the lug nuts can be tightened further.

**Covering the Lug Nuts**

Once we have checked the lug nuts, we can cover them with a lug nut cover. This helps protect the lug nuts from dirt and debris that may fall onto them while driving.

**Removing the Jack Stands**

Finally, we need to remove the jack stands and take out the old tire. To do this, we will use our hands or a tool to loosen and remove the lug nuts. It's essential to be careful not to damage the wheel or brake components.

**Conclusion**

Changing a tire can seem like a daunting task, but with the right tools and techniques, it can be done easily. Tightening lug nuts is an essential step in changing a tire, and using a torque wrench ensures that they are tightened properly. By following these steps and using a star pattern, you can ensure that your lug nuts are tightened securely and safely.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey guys ChrisFix here todayI'm going to show you how to remove a tire and put a tire back on your car although this seems verySimple this is a fundamental piece of how to fix your car most of the timeWe're gonna be taking the tire off to get to the suspension pieces to get to the brakesWhatever the case may be and if you need to take the tire off to fix itIt's important to know how to do it properly so you don't get hurt and so that you secure the vehicle safelyI'll be giving you some tips and tricks to make the job easierAnd I'll show you all the tools that I use to make my life easierLifting car should be something easy to do if you dread lifting your carYou're going to hate working on your car for . It takes a couple of secondsit's really easy to do so don't mind getting under my car and lifting it up every once in a while today going toShow you how to take the tire off a van, but it doesn't matter van car truckthey're pretty much all the same the first thing that we're going to do is we're going to go to the back tire because we'reLifting up the front you want to make sure your vehicle doesn't roll anywhere when you lift the tires upSo make sure you secure the emergency brake you have it in Parkor you have it in first if you have a stick and then get your two blocks of wood one in the front andone in the rearThis will make that the vehicle doesn't go anywhere when you lift the upSo after you do that in your secured we have to loosen the lug nutsWith the tire on the ground you can see on this rim the lug nuts are actually covered by this plateBut that's not the case on all rims with the rim on my truckYou could see the lug nuts are actually exposed so you could get right in thereBut that doesn't really matter all you do is you get your flat-head screwdriver in here?And you just pry it up a little bit in little slot that they provide youAnd you have access to your lug nuts some vehicles only have four lug nutsI'd say five is the most common and some have sixTo get these lug nuts off you use a couple different tools one of them is a tire ironThis is the classic tire ironyou can see this one is sixteenths or three quarters the nuts that come on this vehicle are 3/4 andMost of the American vehicles that are working on even the foreign vehicles. They're usually 3/4 as well so with the tire ironAll you do is find the 3/4 and you put it on now, you grab one hand here one hand down hereAnd you turn?just like that and the good thing about this is it comes off really easy because you could just spin it like that andpull the lug nut right offsometimes these lug nuts are on pretty tight on your vehicle it might be on really tight because you went to a mechanic and theyUse the impact gun they didn't torque it properlysee that all the time and then it becomes really difficult to get these off the tireIron is definitely a good toolyou torque them correctlyBut if they're too tight, you don't have a long enough bar here to get good torque to break them looseSo instead what I use. I use an actual breaker barThis is way longer then this tire iron gives you an extra almost foot lengthWhich gives you a lot torque? All you do is get an extension get your 3/4 socketYou slide the breaker bar and sock it over one the lug nuts, and it comes off easyOtherwise those would be a pain to get off you could hear some of them made a noiseI was turning it those were torqued on pretty tightAnd it might have been difficult getting them off without a breaker bar so with all these lug nuts looseWe're going to lift the vehicle the reason why we keep them on is because right nowThere's a lot of pressure on this tire if we loosen the lug nutsAnd we're on a tilt or something the tire could fall in the vehicle could dropSo here's everything you'll need to lift your vehicle. I like using a quick pump jack it makes your life easierYou can see with a couple of pumps the Jack will lift the car up really quicklyObviously the weight of the vehicle it's not that fastBut you can see it does lift it up quickly, want to make you have a pair of Jack stands that could support the weight of your vehicle. This4,500 poundsWhich is no problem for my van and just show you guys who don't know you turned the handle herecounterclockwise, and then the Jack will lower andThen when you want to raise the vehicle you twist this clockwise until you can't twist it anymoreAnd that makes it so that you could lift the vehicle upSo a little trick that I have I use pieces of wood in this case I use plywood the plywood protectsdriveway because when you have the way of the vehicle on the Jack andSpecifically when you have the way of the vehicle on these jack stand edges here that go into the groundThere's very little surface hereso these are like sink into your driveway and damage your driveway foryou're supposed to jack up car consult your owners manual in my caseI'm jacking it up from the engine cradle in the front this will lift both tires up evenly and quickly and since I'm doing aFront brake job. I'll only have to lift the car once so now we're going to go underneath the vehicle andHere's the Jack buck where you jack the car up front you want to be very careful not everything underneath the car is meant toHave pressure on it. Especially the weight of the vehicledefinitely consult your owners manual to see where you're supposed to jack up vehicleTypically if you have a front differential or a rear differentialIt's safe to jack up your vehicle from the bottom of the differential you can see I'm jacking it up right thereBut close right behind it is the oil pan and if you didn't know what you're doingAnd you put your jack on there you would crush the oil pan and maybe cause majorDamage! and right behind the oil pan is another flat surfaceThat's the transmission oil panAnother thing that you don't want to jack up on! and then right next to the oil pan is this catalytic converter another flat surface?If you try to jack it up on there, you'll cause even more damage!So definitely know where you need to jack up vehicle in my caseI'm jacking it up right from the crossmember that cradles the engineI'm right in the middle, and you can see it sits on there like that if you have a nice carAnd you don't want to damage the metalit's nice andpowder-Coated and clean use a piece of wood in the Jack and the metal so if you're going to take this method to jackYour vehicle up from the front or from the rear in the middle you want to try to make sure that your jack is inThe middle of the car so when you lift it upThe car doesn't Lean to one side or the other because sometimes if you put it too far overThe car will actually lean and you won't get the other tire off the groundfrom doing this so many times I know on this van that jack actually has to be over a little bit you can see theFord Emblem there it's over to the driver's side a little and that would be perfect, so this will lift up straightSo now you'll see how our rapid pump Jack will lift your vehicle up quickerNow with both tires up in the airWe're going to go ahead and put the Jack stands under the vehicleso you don't want to slide your whole body underneath in case that something bad happens like the vehicle falls off the Jack orThe jack gives out so to put the Jack stand in what I do is I extend my arm underneath just line Jack stands upOn to where you need to put the jack stand so you can consult your owners manual for that as well in my caseThere's a nice piece right hereThat's nice and thick that's part of that whole cross beam that I just jack the vehicle up onSo I'm just going to lift this upUntil it can't go up any more and that sides doneI'll do the same thing for the other sideSo now I'm going to make sure everything is clear and out of the wayI'm going to grab the Jack arm and I'm going to twist the Jack arm counterclockwise very slowly and let the vehicle drop slowly asThe vehicle drops on watching the Jack stands and I want to slowly fall the jack standsSo once the Jack stands are supporting the weight of the vehicleI take the Jack and I it up, but I don't lift the carI just get it so it touches the bottom so if the jack stands give out for any reasonYou have triple protection Jack stands and one Jack now before you get your tire off and do any work on your car what?You want to do is you want to shake the car?Like this give it a nice push like you don't want to be soft you want to be hard because you're going to be underThere, so shake the car back and forth and this is solid this isn't going anywhereSo now I can finish showing you how to take the tire off remember the lugs are looseSo now we're just going to take our lug wrench and twist it like that makes it really easy to get these lug nuts offandThis last lug nut you have to be careful because now there's nothing holding the tire on so the tire is going to want toPotentially slip off now to get the tireI find it easiest to get one hand and put it back behind hereAnd you can grab the tire and then get your other hands and put it hereSo just hand here and one hand on the other side of the tireAnd it comes right offThe final thing when you have your tire off what you want to do is you want to slide it underneath the vehicle?By sliding the tire underneath the vehicle that gives you another safety feature so that if the vehicle does drop it falls on your RimAnd not on you now that you safely got the tire offYou could do whatever job that you need to get done and now I'll show you how put the tire back on so beforeyou put the tire on what I like to do is I like to put this peg at the top so I know how toLine the tire properly and with that peg lined up at the topI can line the rim here and see that. I need to move theTop hole right there light tires are easyYou can easily lift light tires up because they're not heavy, but if you have a big truck tire or in this caseI guess these tires are a little bit heavyshow you a technique to use so the technique that you use is you put your two feet on the side like that withYour shoes on and just rock the tire move your foot overJust like that now the tire is suspended and you easily lift with your toes and with your legs and move it aroundJust get in under hereUse your feetRock the tire up on your shoes andmove the RimRight on to the hub now with the tire up on the hub one of the bolts is going to stick out the mostSo you just get your lug nut on that onePush down to expose more threads on these bottom onesMake sure when you put in the lug nuts on they spin on without any resistanceWhich if these are giving you resistance as you screw it in that means that your cross threading it and that's not goodSo they should all just spin on nice and easyAnd now with all the lug nuts on push the tireTo make sure that it's seated properly and it isSo now our tire is still off the ground the car is still raised upBut what we're going to do is we're going to usethe Tire Iron here to try to snug it up a little bit more you're not going to be able to tighten these all theWay up in the airSo you just want to get your tire iron on here, and just give it a quick turn like thatSo I just tighten that one and this next thing about to tell you is super importantYou want to go in a star Pattern when you're tightening down the lug nutsI just tighten that one downYou could pick that one or that one the next one so you go from this one to that one that one to that one?That one to that one that one to that one you go in a star pattern evenly tighten the wheel to the hubSo pretty much tighten the opposite lug nut so I tighten that one now let's tighten this one againYou just get it snug, and then quick jerkTighten it and then quick jerk and now tighten that one that one that one we're going to go across to this onetighten it upQuick jerk and then the last one is right down here tighten upQuick jerk and you can see also the tire actually spins while it's in the airSo you're not going to be able to tighten this all the way with the car in the air?But you definitely want to tighten it as much as you can so when you lower the carThe wheels tight against the hub and the wheel can't move outwards due to loose lug nutsthe lug nuts are loose when you lower the car on the ground the wheel could be crooked and you won't be able toGet the right torque specs when you're tightening the lug nutsSo now just the up since we have our already where it needs to beYou just give it a few pumpsTo get the Jack stands to fall down you just pull this upAnd then we can take them outThe key when lowering this you want to turn this counterclockwiseAnd you want to go slow because you don't want to drop a car on the groundGood so with the tires on the ground all the jack stands in the jack off the carwe're going to tighten these lug nuts down to tighten these down what I'm going to use is a torque wrench aTorque wrench allows you to properly tighten each bolt to the correct torque most rims are about a hundred foot-poundsknow this room is 100. Foot pounds. I've worked on an Audi, and it's 90 foot pounds my truck isit all varies, but very slightly for RimsSo you want to find your torque spec find the 100 mark here tighten it up to the hundred Mark?Once we get the zero to that line that's 100 goodtighten down the end hereWe have our 3/4 on here, and we're going to go in a star patternSo now when we torque these down we want to make sure that these are tight first if you're able to tighten these easilyThen keep tightening them and go in a star pattern so here here here here then hereWe got these lug nuts tight enough when the car was up in the airSo now we're going to tighten them all the way and torque themSo we're going to start with the top one hereAnd we're going to go in a star pattern we're going to wait for a click when we hear it click. We're doneso with this top one here now. We're going to go to the bottom Star PatternNow we're going to go to the one over hereAnd one across from that oneAnd the one downnow we're going to check one more time because sometimes the rim will seat andIt'll actually sit on top of the hub better and leave some space so these could be torqued down moreSo we're going to just check one more timeYou can see these be just a little bit morethat one was pretty tight thatOne was pretty tightAnd that one is pretty tight. So now we could get our cover. This is pretty easy this just centers thereAnd just tap it in like that. We could go back here and kick these out the front one came out really easybut sometimes one of them be really hard to get out and what you do is you just get your heel andkick it outJust like that, and how you take tire off and put the tire back on pretty much any vehicleHopefully this video was helpfulif it was give it a thumbs up if you're not a subscriberconsider subscribing if you have your ownSuggestions or some method that you use put it in the comments below on the screen or give me a couple how-to videos youcan click on those videos or find links to those videos in description below also in the description below are going to be theLinks Facebook and Twitter pages check it out\n"