How to change one of your Festiva‘s wheels?

How to change one of your Festiva‘s wheels?

Changing a wheel seems easy, but it may be risky if you do not have certain precautions. This article will tell you how to safely change your car’s wheels step by step.

Before you begin, you must check that you have all the elements you need for this task:

1. A fully inflated spare wheel

2. A jack. It is generally stored in the trunk, inside of a compartment which is covered by the floor cover that can be easily removed. Some spare wheels are also stored there.

3. A lug wrench (also known as wheel brace) to get the nuts off

4. Anti-theft nuts adapter (if your car has them)

5. Road signs: a warning triangle, a reflective vest, traffic cones and/or lights

6. Gloves

Once you have all of these items, you should follow these steps:

  1. Make sure that your Festiva is in a firm and safe place. This will be essential at the moment of using the jack to lift it without any difficulties.
  2. Place the warning devices at a prudential distance from your car so that they can reflect the lights of the incoming cars. This step is really important for safety reasons.
  3. Turn your car off, and set the parking brake. If you have an automatic car, it should be in the P (Parking) position, or in a low gear if it has a manual transmission.
  4. Look for your car’s jacking point. This point will be marked with some arrows or some reliefs. They are generally in the chassis under the doors. Check your Festiva‘s owner's manual to make sure that you have found the right spot. If you place the jack in the wrong place, you may dent your car’s bodywork. If you cannot find it, place the jack against the most solid surface next to the wheel you want to lift. Pickup trucks are usually lifted from the rear axle.
  5. Place the jack in the right place and then lift your car just a little until it is steady but do not lift the wheel yet.
  6. Remove the nuts by turning the lug wrench anti-clockwise until they are loose; do not remove them yet.
  7. Now, you can keep on lifting the car with the jack until the wheel is around 4 inches (10 cm) above the floor.
  8. Use the lug wrench to turn the nuts anti-clockwise and remove them completely. If your car has anti-theft nuts, you should use a specific adapter.
  9. Remove the wheel from the car. Be careful because it is heavy.
  10. Mount the spare wheel in its place. You should place one foot under the wheel and then lift it until it is lined up with the wheel hub assembly. Like this, you will not have to strain yourself (and this is why you should not lift your car too much with the jack).
  11. Make sure that the wheel is secure by putting just one of the nuts, and then you can put the rest. Tighten them clockwise as much as you can. It is important that you check that the nuts are all the way in inside of the lug holes.
  12. Lower the car with the jack and remove the jack.
  13. Tighten each nut completely as strongly as you can. You should tighten them crossways, in the order you can see in the following image:

Just to make sure, the following day or after you have driven your car for a few miles, use the lug wrench to check if any of the nuts are loose. Check the nuts one by one by turning the wrench clockwise.

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Ford Festiva problems: wheel change



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