Golf Cart Repair: Changing A Golf Cart Tire

Tips for changing a flat tire on your golf cart.

Changing a flat tire on a golf cart is not that difficult a job, especially if you have all the correct equipment. First, you must find a jack that fits under the golf cart. Not all jacks will work, because the golf cart is so low to the ground. Most screw jacks and hydraulic jacks will be too large and not fit under the golf cart; however, a small floor jack will do the job. The small floor jack is perfect because of its size; it will fit under the golf cart and is safe because the golf cart is not very heavy. The next piece of equipment will be a tool to remove the lug nuts. A socket and ratchet wrench or a tire tool will do this part of the job. You will also need some kind of blocking material to keep the golf cart from rolling while you are working on the flat tire.

The next step after collecting the materials needed is to block the tire on the opposite side of the flat tire, by placing something such as a brick or board in front and back of the tire to prevent the golf cart from rolling and causing an accident. Be sure to turn the key off and the set the foot brake to further prevent an accident. Also, make sure there are no passengers in the golf cart, because if it were to fall off the jack they could get hurt.

After blocking the wheels, place the jack under the golf cart frame near the tire that is to be changed. The correct socket and ratchet wrench, or tire tool that fits the lug nuts found on the flat tire's hub is now used. Loosen all four lug nuts counter- clockwise. Do not remove them; you do not want the tire to come off while you are raising the jack. Raise the jack up until the tire is barely off the ground. Remove the loosened lug nuts. Remove the tire and for safety, lower the jack until you return with the fixed tire. Now take the flat tire to a place that will fix it.

After getting the flat tire fixed, carefully replace it on the hub. To do this, raise the jack back up high enough to place the tire on the wheel hub. While replacing the tire, keep hands from under the golf cart--it could still fall. Reattach the lug nuts and hand tighten them just enough to keep the tire on the hub. Now, lower the jack until there is some pressure on the tire. After lowering the jack, use the same socket and ratchet wrench or tire tool to tighten all the lug nuts. At this point, check the all the lug nuts to make sure they are as tight as you can get them. Then completely lower the jack and remove it. Remove the blocks from the other tire and you are ready to go back to your golf game.

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