1999 CHEVROLET CAVALIER Owners Manual

yellowblue
5-19
Changing a Flat Tire
If a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage
by driving slowly to a level place. Turn on your hazard
warning flashers.
CAUTION:
Changing a tire can cause an injury. The vehicle
can slip off the jack and roll over you or other
people. You and they could be badly injured.
Find a level place to change your tire. To help
prevent the vehicle from moving:
1. Set the parking brake firmly.
2. Put an automatic transaxle shift lever in
PARK (P), or shift a manual transaxle to
FIRST (1) or REVERSE (R).
3. Turn off the engine.
To be even more certain the vehicle won't move,
you can put blocks at the front and rear of the
tire farthest away from the one being changed.
That would be the tire on the other side of the
vehicle, at the opposite end.
The following steps will tell you how to use the jack and
change a tire.

yellowblue
5-20 Removing the Spare Tire and Tools
The equipment you'll need
is in the trunk. Turn the
center retainer nut on the
compact spare cover
counterclockwise to
remove it.
Lift and remove the cover. See ªCompact Spare Tireº
later in this section for more information about the
compact spare.
Turn the wing bolt
counterclockwise and
remove it. Then lift off the
adapter and remove the
spare tire.
Remove the jack and wheel wrench from the trunk. Your
vehicle's jack and wheel wrench are stored in a foam
tray. Remove the band around the jack.

yellowblue
5-21
The tools you'll be using include the jack (A) and wheel
wrench (B).
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing the
Spare Tire
1. Using the wheel wrench,
remove the plastic nut
caps (if equipped).

yellowblue
5-22
2. On some models, a cover plate must be removed to
find the wheel nuts. Carefully use the wedge end of
the wheel wrench to pry it off.
3. Then use the wheel wrench to loosen all the wheel
nuts. Don't remove them yet.4. Near each wheel well is a notch in the frame which
the jack head fits in. The front notch is 9 inches
(23 cm) back from the front wheel well. The rear
notch is 8 inches (20 cm) forward from the rear
wheel well. As is shown in the diagram above, if
your vehicle has flared side moldings, both front
and rear notches are 18 inches (46 cm) from the
wheel wells.
Position the jack and raise the jack head until it fits
firmly into the notch in the vehicle's frame nearest
the flat tire. Put the compact spare tire near you.

yellowblue
5-23
CAUTION:
Getting under a vehicle when it is jacked up is
dangerous. If the vehicle slips off the jack, you
could be badly injured or killed. Never get under
a vehicle when it is supported only by a jack.
CAUTION:
Raising your vehicle with the jack improperly
positioned can damage the vehicle and even
make the vehicle fall. To help avoid personal
injury and vehicle damage, be sure to fit the jack
lift head into the proper location before raising
the vehicle.5. Raise the vehicle by turning the jack handle
clockwise. Raise the vehicle far enough off the
ground so there is enough room for the spare
tire to fit.
6. Remove all of the wheel nuts.

yellowblue
5-24
7. If you have a wheel cover, use your fingers to
carefully pull the wheel cover from the wheel. Then
remove the flat tire.
8. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces and
spare wheel.
CAUTION:
Rust or dirt on the wheel, or on the parts to
which it is fastened, can make the wheel nuts
become loose after a time. The wheel could come
off and cause an accident. When you change a
wheel, remove any rust or dirt from the places
where the wheel attaches to the vehicle. In an
emergency, you can use a cloth or a paper towel
to do this; but be sure to use a scraper or wire
brush later, if you need to, to get all the rust or
dirt off.

yellowblue
5-25
CAUTION:
Never use oil or grease on studs or nuts. If you
do, the nuts might come loose. Your wheel could
fall off, causing a serious accident.
9. Place the spare on the wheel-mounting surface.
10. Replace the wheel nuts
with the rounded end of
the nuts toward the
wheel. Tighten each nut
by hand or with the
wheel wrench until the
wheel is held against
the hub.
11. Lower the vehicle by turning the jack handle
counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.

yellowblue
5-26
12. Tighten the wheel nuts
firmly in a criss
-cross
sequence, as shown.CAUTION:
Incorrect wheel nuts or improperly tightened
wheel nuts can cause the wheel to become loose
and even come off. This could lead to an accident.
Be sure to use the correct wheel nuts. If you have
to replace them, be sure to get new GM original
equipment wheel nuts.
Stop somewhere as soon as you can and have
the nuts tightened with a torque wrench to
100 lb
-ft (140 N
m).