1996 Mercury Tracer Owner's Manual - Page 221

Preparing to Change the Tire 1. Make sure that your vehicle will not move or roll. If you have an automatic transaxle, put the gearshift in P (Park). If you have a manual transaxle, put the gearshift in 1 (First). Set the parking brake and block the wheel that is diagonally opposite the tire that you are changing. When one of the front wheels is off the ground, the transaxle alone will not prevent the vehicle from moving or slipping off the jack, even if the vehicle is in P (Automatic) or 1 (Manual). To prevent the vehicle from moving when you change one of the front tires, put a block behind the wheel that is diagonally opposite the tire. RWARNING If the vehicle slips off the jack, you or someone else could be seriously injured. 2. 3. Get out the spare tire and jack. Remove any optional wheel covers or center caps covering the lug nuts by gently prying with the tapered end of the lug wrench. Loosen the wheel lug nuts one-half turn each, but do not remove them until the tire is raised off the ground. You should pull up on the handle rather than push to develop maximum force to loosen wheel lug nuts. 4. 221