Preparing To Change The Tire; Removing And Replacing The Tire - Ford 1996 Escort Manual

Preparing to Change the Tire

1. Make sure that your vehicle will not move
or roll. If you have an automatic transaxle,
put the gearshift in P (Park). If you have a
manual transaxle, put the gearshift in 1
(First). Set the parking brake and block the
wheel that is diagonally opposite the tire
that you are changing.
When one of the front wheels is off the ground,
the transaxle alone will not prevent the vehicle
from moving or slipping off the jack, even if the
vehicle is in P (Automatic) or 1 (Manual). To
prevent the vehicle from moving when you
change one of the front tires, put a block behind
the wheel that is diagonally opposite the tire.
If the vehicle slips off the jack, you or
someone else could be seriously injured.
2. Get out the spare tire and jack.
3. Remove any optional wheel covers or center
caps covering the lug nuts by gently prying
with the tapered end of the lug wrench.
4. Loosen the wheel lug nuts one-half turn
each, but do not remove them until the tire
is raised off the ground. You should pull up
on the handle rather than push to develop
maximum force to loosen wheel lug nuts.

Removing and Replacing the Tire

1. Place the scissors-type jack under the side of
the vehicle and adjust the jack height with
the jack handle. The jack should fit under
the side sill. There are small notches in the
seam to indicate the proper position for the
jack.
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