Holding the spare wheel, try to line up the holes in the center with the threaded shafts that they fit over. Shift and slide the spare wheel over the shafts until it's seated properly, and can't be pushed any farther onto the shafts.

If there's not enough clearance to mount the fully inflated spare tire, put it aside and turn the jack handle a few more times to raise the car body.

The next key step is to tighten the lug nuts in the proper order:

• Take the lug nuts and spin them onto the shafts with your hands. Use the lug wrench to turn them so that they all rest against the wheel, but don't tighten them down yet.
• Lower the jack so that the tire just rests on the ground.
• Tighten one of the lug nuts well. Give it one good turn with the wrench, but don't crank it on. Next, go to the nut opposite to the one that you've just tightened, and tighten in the same way.
• Tighten the remaining nuts in the same way. If you have five nuts, tighten every other one until they're all tight.