2013 Ram 1500 flat tire

WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES
CONTENTS
HAZARD WARNING FLASHERS ...........571
 IF YOUR ENGINE OVERHEATS ............571
 JACKING AND TIRE CHANGING 1500 SERIES
TRUCKS ............................ .572
▫ Jack Location ........................ .591
▫ Removal Of Jack And Tools (1500 Series) .....573
▫ Removing The Spare Tire ................593
▫ Preparations ........................ .596
▫ Jack Instructions (1500 Series) .............579
▫ To Stow The Flat Or Spare ...............585 ▫
Reinstalling The Jack And Tools (1500 Series) . .587
▫ Hub Caps/Wheel Covers — If Equipped . . . .589
▫ Wheel Nuts ........................ .590
 JACKING AND TIRE CHANGING 2500 AND
3500 SERIES TRUCKS ...................591
▫ Jack Location ........................ .591
▫ Removal Of Jack And Tools
(2500, 3500 Series) .....................591
▫ Removing The Spare Tire ................593
▫ Preparations ........................ .596
6

WARNING!(Continued)
•Only use the jack in the positions indicated and for
lifting this vehicle during a tire change.
• If working on or near a roadway, be extremely
careful of motor traffic.
• To assure that spare tires, flat or inflated, are
securely stowed, spares must be stowed with the
valve stem facing out.
CAUTION!
Do not attempt to raise the vehicle by jacking on
locations other than those indicated in the Jacking
Instructions for this vehicle.
1. Remove the spare wheel, jack, and tools from storage.
2. Using the wheel wrench, loosen, but do not remove, the wheel nuts by turning them counterclockwise one
turn while the wheel is still on the ground.
3. Placement of the jack:
4x2 Series Trucks Front Jacking Location
There is a jack location indicator on the rear portion of the
lower control arm.
Jack Warning Label
580 WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES

NOTE:Do not oil wheel studs. For chrome wheels, do
not substitute with chrome plated wheel nuts.
To Stow The Flat Or Spare
NOTE: Vehicles equipped with aluminum wheels can-
not be stored under the vehicle because the wheel
retainer will not fit through the wheel pilot hole. Secure
the flat tire in the bed of the truck. Have the flat tire
repaired or replaced immediately.
WARNING!
A loose tire thrown forward in a collision or hard
stop could injure the occupants in the vehicle. Have
the deflated (flat) tire repaired or replaced immedi-
ately. 1. Turn the wheel so that the valve stem is facing the
ground and toward the rear of the vehicle for conve-
nience in checking the spare tire inflation. Slide the
wheel retainer through the center of the wheel.6
WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES 585

WARNING!(Continued)
you may experience abrupt stopping, rapid accelera-
tion or sharp turns. A loose jack, tools, bracket or
other objects in the vehicle may move around with
force, resulting in serious injury.
Hub Caps/Wheel Covers — If Equipped
The hub caps must be removed before raising the vehicle
off the ground.
CAUTION!
Use a back-and-forth motion to remove the hub cap.
Do not use a twisting motion when removing the hub
cap, damage to the hub cap finish may occur.
You must use the flat end of the lug wrench to pry off the
wheel skins. Insert the flat tip completely and using a back-and-forth motion, loosen the wheel skin. Repeat this
procedure around the tire until the skin pops off.
Replace the wheel skins first using a rubber mallet. When
replacing the hub caps, tilt the cap retainer over the lug
nut bolt circle and strike the high side down with a
rubber mallet. Be sure that the hub caps and wheel skins
are firmly seated around the wheel.
Wheel Nuts
All wheel nuts should be tightened occasionally to elimi-
nate the possibility of wheel studs being sheared or the
bolt holes in the wheels becoming elongated. This is
especially important during the first few hundred miles/
kilometers of operation to allow the wheel nuts to
become properly set. All wheel nuts should first be firmly
seated against the wheel. The wheel nuts should then be
tightened to recommended torque. Tighten the wheel
nuts to final torque in increments. Progress around the
bolt circle, tightening the wheel nut opposite to the wheel
590 WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES

Jack Instructions (2500, 3500 Series)
WARNING!
Carefully follow these tire changing warnings to help
prevent personal injury or damage to your vehicle:
•Always park on a firm, level surface as far from the
edge of the roadway as possible before raising the
vehicle.
• Turn on the Hazard Warning flasher.
• Block the wheel diagonally opposite the wheel to
be raised.
• Set the parking brake firmly and set an automatic
transmission in PARK; a manual transmission in
REVERSE.
• Never start or run the engine with the vehicle on a
jack.
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
•Do not let anyone sit in the vehicle when it is on a
jack.
• Do not get under the vehicle when it is on a jack. If
you need to get under a raised vehicle, take it to a
service center where it can be raised on a lift.
• Only use the jack in the positions indicated and for
lifting this vehicle during a tire change.
• If working on or near a roadway, be extremely
careful of motor traffic.
• To assure that spare tires, flat or inflated, are
securely stowed, spares must be stowed with the
valve stem facing out.
598 WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES

CAUTION!
Before raising the wheel off the ground, make sure
that the jack will not damage surrounding truck parts
and adjust the jack position as required.
NOTE: If the bottle jack will not lower by turning the
dial (thumbwheel) by hand, it may be necessary to use
the jack drive tube in order to lower the jack.
4. By rotating the wheel wrench clockwise, raise the vehicle until the wheel just clears the surface.
WARNING!
Raising the vehicle higher than necessary can make
the vehicle unstable and cause a collision. It could
slip off the jack and hurt someone near it. Raise the
vehicle only enough to remove the tire. 5. Remove the wheel nuts and pull the wheel off. On
single rear-wheel (SRW) trucks, install the spare wheel
and wheel nuts with the cone shaped end of the wheel
nuts toward the wheel. On 3500 dual rear-wheel
models (DRW) the wheel nuts are a two-piece assem-
bly with a flat face. Lightly tighten the wheel nuts. To
avoid the risk of forcing the vehicle off the jack, do not
fully tighten the wheel nuts until the vehicle has been
lowered.
6. Using the lug wrench, finish tightening the wheel nuts using a crisscross pattern. The correct wheel nut
tightness for a cone type wheel nut is 120–140 ft lbs
(160–190 N·m) torque, for a flanged type wheel nut is
130–160 ft lbs (175–215 N·m) torque. If in doubt about
the correct tightness, have them checked with a torque
wrench by your authorized dealer or at a service
station.
602 WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES

WARNING!
A loose tire or jack thrown forward in a collision or
hard stop could injure someone in the vehicle. Al-
ways stow the jack parts and the extra tire and wheel
in the places provided.
7. Install the wheel center cap and remove the wheel blocks. Do not install chrome or aluminum wheel
center caps on the spare wheel. This may result in cap
damage.
8. Lower the jack to its fully closed position. If the bottle jack will not lower by turning the dial (thumbwheel)
by hand, it may be necessary to use the jack drive tube
in order to lower the jack. Stow the replaced tire, jack,
and tools as previously described. 9. Adjust the tire pressure when possible.
NOTE:
Do not oil wheel studs. For chrome wheels, do
not substitute with chrome plated wheel nuts.
To Stow The Flat Or Spare
NOTE: Have the flat tire repaired or replaced immedi-
ately.
WARNING!
A loose tire thrown forward in a collision or hard
stop could injure the occupants in the vehicle. Have
the deflated (flat) tire repaired or replaced immedi-
ately.
6
WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES 603

1. Turn the wheel so that the valve stem is facing theground and toward the rear of the vehicle for conve-
nience in checking the spare tire inflation. Slide the
wheel retainer through the center of the wheel.
2. Lift the spare tire with one hand to give clearance to tilt the retainer at the end of the cable and position it
properly across the wheel opening. 3. Attach the wheel wrench to the jack extension tube
with the curved angle facing away from the vehicle.
Insert the tube through the access hole between the
lower tailgate and the top of the bumper and into the
winch mechanism tube.
604 WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES