How do you remove a flat tire on a 2002 Chevy Cavalier?

Answer 1

Make sure the vehicle is parked where you won't get hit working on it. Set the parking brake. Get out the jack and handle and the lug wrench. Remove the wheel cover (if there is one) with a screwdriver. It should just "pop off" the wheel. Before you jack the car up, put the lug wrench on the lug nuts (or lug bolts, if your car has them) and loosen them all a turn or two. Now put the jack under a "hardpoint" on the frame or chassis of the car. Your owners' manual will show you where they are. Jacking the vehicle up must be done from a place where the frame is strong enough to support the weight, and in a way that the jack won't tip over and "jump out" from under the car. It is important to use the jack correctly or the car my tip off its support and seriously injure you or someone else! Jack the car up til the flat tire clears the ground. Now use the lug wrench to finish removing the lug nuts. Loosening the lug nuts with the affected wheel off the ground may allow the wheel to turn. That's why you loosen those lug nuts before you jack the car up. Remove all the lug nuts and slide the wheel off the hub. You're done. To put a wheel back on, use the reverse process. You may have to jack the car up a bit more so the fully inflated tire will clear the ground and allow the wheel to go back on. And you'll have to snug the lug nuts up pretty well before you lower the vehicle to the ground. You can finish tightening them with the tire in contact with the pavement, but tighten all those lug nuts pretty well before lowering the jack. If the wheel is not all the way on the hub and you take it off the jack, there is a good chance the wheel won't get pulled up against the hub once the weight of the vehicle is on the wheel and tire again. Be safe, get help if you need it, and good luck.