Essential Car Care

Things You’ll Need:

• Hand Soaps
• Brake Fluids
• Car Manuals

Step 1:
Find the brake master cylinder. This is usually located under the hood on the driver’s side of the car, toward the back of the engine compartment. Imagine where your brake pedal would end up if it went all the way through to the engine. The brake master cylinder is a small (about 6-by-2 inches), rectangular piece of metal with a plastic reservoir and a rubber cap on top, and small metal tubes leading from it.

Step 2:
Check your manual if you aren’t sure that you’ve found the master cylinder. The rubber cap will usually read “use only DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid from a sealed container.”

Step 3:
Note that on most newer cars the reservoir is translucent and you can see the fluid level without removing the cap. There will be a “full” line, the brake fluid should be at this line.

Step 4:
In older cars (pre-1980) the brake master cylinder reservoir may be made entirely of metal so that you must take the top off to check the fluid level. The top is held on by a metal clamp, use a screwdriver to pop off the clamp and lift the lid.

Step 5:
Add brake fluid to the “full” line. Use the correct brake fluid for your car: Check the rubber cap and your owner’s manual to find out what grade of brake fluid your car requires. Most cars use DOT (Department of Transportation) 3 or 4. If the reservoir has 2 parts, fill both halves.

Source
Pic Links

via Honda Cars DIY

Changing a flat tire, step by step

• Park your car on level ground along the shoulder, or somewhere safe, and apply the hand brake. If it’s a manual transmission car, put it in gear (first gear is good). If automatic, put it in Park. Turn off the engine and activate the hazard lights. You can open your hood to help people see you’re fixing your car. If you have an early-warning device (EWD), place it at the rear and front of your car. This lessens the likelihood of people mistaking your car for a moving vehicle, and possibly hitting you.

• Place a wheel chock or a large rock behind (if facing uphill) or in front (if facing downhill) of the wheel with a flat tire to prevent the car from rolling. You can now get out the spare wheel, a lug nut wrench (tire iron) and the car jack.

• Remove the hubcap or wheel cap, if necessary. Some brand cars have a special tool for doing this. Before jacking up the car, loosen (but don’t remove) the lug nuts, by placing one end of the lug nut wrench over a lug nut. Use a hollow pipe as a lever by slipping it over the end of the lug nut wrench. Lug nuts are loosened with a counter-clockwise turning. Loosen the lug nuts in a star pattern–first loosen one a few turns, then loosen the one opposite. Do this until all the nuts are slightly loosened.

• Carefully jack up the car. Check your owner’s manual for the correct and safe place to put the jack. You can usually put the jack somewhere below the car’s underchassis (and not under the body, as you might dent it. Check your manual for correct jack usage. Pneumatic and screw-type jacks may have different instructions. Jack the car up until you have about four to six inches ground clearance, so you have room to put the new, full tire on.

• Remove the lug nuts all the way and set them aside at a safe place where they can’t roll away. The flat tire should be hanging from the studs now.

• Remove and set aside the flat tire. Set it underneath the car, just in case your jack fails.

• Lift the new tire onto the wheel studs. If you’re confused about which is the right way, check for the valve where you add air–it always faces out.

• Replace the lug nuts the same way you loosened them. Tighten them first, and then give each nut a few turns–first one, then the one opposite, working around the wheel in a star pattern. Try not to tighten adjacent nuts consecutively, as this might result in an unbalanced tightening.

• Slowly lower the jack and remove it.

• Tighten the lug nuts again as much as you can, again in a star pattern.

• Put the hubcap or wheel cap back on, if necessary.

After this, you can already stow your flat tire in the trunk. Be sure to have it checked at the nearest service station.

Source

Tires though made tough, need inspection from time to time which can give the driver an overview of their health. Unlike the other parts of your car, these rubber wonders of technology are the ones in contact with the road thus the ones that are sure to suffer even with normal driving. Have a tire that seems to get flat once too often, there might be a leak with the tire valve or a puncture that is too small to cause a major flat. There could also be a leak in the side walls where the rim meets the tire, this can be corrected easily by having it re-mounted. Technicians use a sort of sealant that makes the tire stick to the rims thus preventing leaks.
Erratic wear might be an indicator of unbalanced wear or a problem with the suspension, mention that to the mechanic next service appointment for inspection. Treads have a maximum wear indicator in the form of a bump (three or more) in between the tread impressions. Once they line-up with the tread’s surface, it’s time to get new ones. This is more a safety issue, for a worn out tire would not be able to grip the road properly in wet weather sending you hydro-planing across the road. Buckle Up and drive safe.

Image Source: www.importcarsfromjapan.blogspot.com
Yes Indeed. When people buy cars, one significant factor to think is safety. By that, we mean car features that can guarantee safety or at least minimize injuries during accidents and other road disasters.

MSNAutos.com reports that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a research and communications organization funded by auto insurers has come up with a list of safety picks for 2008 to conduct car shoppers in getting the safest vehicles possible. The safety picks were chosen from among the various car segments: small cars, minivans, SUVs and pickup trucks. The crash assessments were made in the front, rear and side of the cars and measurements were done on the intrusion into the passenger compartment, the injury on dummies, and the control of restraint systems.

Fourteen Japanese cars have completed it to the list such as Honda Accord, Subaru Legacy, Subaru Impreza, Honda Odyssey, Acura MDX, among others. Way to go, Japanese cars!

After you have applied and dried up the car polish, it is recommended that you apply car wax after. It may not be as strong and lasting as car polish, but continuous application can give your car a much deeper shine, glossier look and good finish. Applying it after a good car polish can multiply the shine which will produce an outcome that is almost unbelievable for some. Here are some important pointers in applying car wax:

• Apply in the same way as you apply car polish
• Car Wax is either in paste or liquid form
• Paste form is a bit more difficult to use. Let it dry to a haze and then buff dry after.