Page 273 of 343
’04 Solara_U (L/O 0402)
265
2004 SOLARA from Feb. ’04 Prod. (OM33640U)
3. Remove the wheel ornament.
Pry off the wheel ornament, using the
beveled end of the wheel nut wrench
as shown.
CAUTION
Do not try to pull off the orna-
ment by hand. Take due care in
handling the ornament to avoid
unexpected personal injury.
4. Loosen all the wheel nuts.
Always loosen the wheel nuts before
raising the vehicle.
Turn the wheel nuts counterclockwise
to loosen. To get maximum leverage,
fit the wrench to the nut so that the
handle is on the right side, as shown
above. Grab the wrench near the end
of the handle and pull up on the han-
dle. Be careful that the wrench does
not slip off the nut.
Do not remove the nuts yet—just un-
screw them about one−half turn.
CAUTION
Never use oil or grease on the
bolts or nuts. The nuts may loose
and the wheels may fall off,
which could cause a serious ac-
cident.
—Removing wheel ornament
(steel wheels)—Loosening wheel nuts
Page 275 of 343
’04 Solara_U (L/O 0402)
267
2004 SOLARA from Feb. ’04 Prod. (OM33640U)
7. Remove the wheel nuts and
change tires.
Lift the flat tire straight off and put it
aside.
Roll the spare wheel into position and
align the holes in the wheel with the
bolts. Then lift up the wheel and get
at least the top bolt started through
its hole. Wiggle the tire and press it
back over the other bolts.Before putting on wheels, remove any
corrosion on the mounting surfaces
with a wire brush or such. Installation
of wheels without good metal−to−met-
al contact at the mounting surface can
cause wheel nuts to loosen and
eventually cause a wheel to come off
while driving.8. Reinstall all the wheel nuts fin-
ger tight.
Reinstall the wheel nuts (tapered end
inward) and tighten them as much as
you can by hand. Press back on the
tire and see if you can tighten them
more.
—Changing wheels —Reinstalling wheel nuts
Page 276 of 343

’04 Solara_U (L/O 0402)
268
2004 SOLARA from Feb. ’04 Prod. (OM33640U)
CAUTION
Never use oil or grease on the
bolts or nuts. Doing so may lead
to overtightening the nuts and
damaging the bolts. The nuts
may loose and the wheels may
fall off, which could cause a seri-
ous accident. If there is oil or
grease on any bolt or nut, clean
it.
9. Lower the vehicle completely
and tighten the wheel nuts.
Turn the jack handle counterclock-
wise to lower the vehicle.
Use only the wheel nut wrench to
tighten the nuts. Do not use other
tools or any additional leverage other
than your hands, such as a hammer,
pipe or your foot. Make sure the
wrench is securely engaged over the
nut.
Tighten each nut a little at a time in
the order shown. Repeat the process
until all the nuts are tight.
CAUTION
When lowering the vehicle,
make sure all portions of your
body and all other persons
around will not be injured as
the vehicle is lowered to the
ground.
Have the wheel nuts tightened
with torque wrench to 104 N·m
(10.5 kgf·m, 77 ft·lbf), as soon
as possible after changing
wheels. Otherwise, the nuts
may loosen and the wheels
may fall off, which could cause
a serious accident.
—Lowering your vehicle