21702041 basic car maintenance

7/31/2019 21702041 Basic Car Maintenance

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Basic Car Maintenance

Throughout the rest of this website you'll find in-depth articles describing

in intricate detail how everything automotive works. On this page, I've

simplified all that knowledge into a series of basic car maintenance tips,subdivided by category. Some tips have simple explanations right here

whilst others link back to the articles in the rest of the site. If you can't

find what you're looking for, try the search button at the end of the top

menu. If you still can't find what you're looking for, or have a suggestion

for something else I should cover, contact me using the contact button on

the top menu bar.

Can't fix it? Junk it for charity instead

Before we start, I thought it worth pointing out that if have the mechanicalskill of a limp banana or otherwise have a car that you can't fix no matterhow much maintenance advice you get, there is another option to justsending it to the breaker's yard. In America for example Junk-car.org is acar donation program that benefits underprivileged children. All proceedsfrom the junk cars are used to fund a vast array of services includingmentoring, parent education, and summer camp placements. With thisparticular group, if you donate your car you even get freejunk car

removal and towing.Junk-car.org will also issue a tax-deductible receiptupon donation. It's a nice solution and better than having a redneck car-on-bricks parked outside your front door. If your car is perfectlyserviceable, then lets move on to the tips:
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Wheels and tyres

Rotate your tyres!

Every 5,000 miles or 8,000km, rotate your tyres.

Clean brake dust off regularly


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Brake dust contains all sorts of nasty stuff. If you leave it too long, thecombination of road grime, moisture and heat from your brakes will bakeit on to your wheels. Brake dust normally clings to wheels with staticelectricity so a damp sponge and clean cold water is the best way to get itoff.

Check your tyre pressures

Check your tyre pressures regularly - once a week is ideal. Bad tyrepressures can affect fuel economy, handling and comfort. It's easy to doand there is no excuse not to.

Check your tread depth

Bald, slick tyres might be good for motor racing but they're no good onthe road. Most tyres come with tread wear bars built into them now - findone, examine it and if your tread is too low, replace your tyres. Four newtyres might seem expensive but they're cheaper than a fine or anaccident.

Engine

Check your belts

At the front of your engine there will be a series of rubber drive belts thatloop around various pulleys, driving everything from the alternator to thea/c compressor. Rubber perishes, more so in extreme conditions like thosefound in an operating engine bay. Get your timing belt and accessorydrive belt checked every 25,000 miles, preferably replacing it every50,000 miles. See the Fuel and Engine bible for information on

interference engines and why checking your timing belts are a necessity,not a luxury:

Fuel Economy

Check your tyre pressures regularly - once a week is ideal. Bad tyrepressures can affect fuel economy very noticeably. It's easy to do andthere is no excuse not to.

Checking your oil level


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This is something everyone can do - it's quick and easy and it'll tell you ifyour engine needs oil. If the oil is too high or too low, it can cause troublefor your engine. To check the oil, park on level ground and wait until theengine has cooled down after driving, and then locate the dipstick. Pull itout and wipe it clean, then push it all the way back in until the top of it is

seated properly in the dip tube again. Wait a moment then pull it outagain. Check the level of the oil. If it's between the high and low marks,you're fine. (If it's too low, add a little.) The high and low marks can bedenoted by two dots, an "H" and "L" or a shaded area on the dipstick. Thephotos below show a Honda dipstick which has the two dots. Why not

just read the level first time around? The first time you pull thedipstick out, it will have oil all over it and it will be difficult to tell wherethe level is. That's why you need to wipe it on a rag to get a cleandipstick, then dip it back into the oil to get a good reading. Moreinformation on why you should check your oil level is here

Checking your coolant level

Again, something everyone can do. The coolant is the other thing yourengine cannot go without. Every engine is different but if you check yourhandbook you should find where the coolant reservoir is. It will normallybe bolted to one side of the engine bay or the other, and be a white semi-transparent bottle. Wait until your engine is cool and take a look at it - theoutside should have 'low' and 'high' markings on it and the level of coolantinside should be between the two.

Do not take the radiator cap off to check coolant levels. If the coolantsystem is still hot then it is still under pressure and the pressure releasewill burn you.

Fuel / gas


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Will higher octane or premium fuel give me

better gas mileage and/or more power?

No. Sportier cars have higher compression engines which generate more

power and require higher octane fuel to prevent detonation. That's wherethe myth of "premium = more power" came from. If your handbook says"regular", use regular. See octane and powerfor more information.

Electrical

Disconnecting and reconnecting your battery
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If you're going to do any work on your car involving the electrical system,disconnect the battery first. To do this, loosen the connector for thenegative/ground terminal first, and wiggle the terminal cap off. Use awire-tie or similar to tie the cable back out of the way. If you need to takethe battery out, you can now take off the positive connector.

Why negative then positive? If you disconnect the positive side of thebattery first, the negative side is still connected to the entire car. If youdrop a tool and it lands on the positive battery terminal and touchesanything else on the car, you'll have an electrical short. By disconnectingthe negative first, you're cutting off the return path for the current. Now, ifa tool drops on to either of the battery terminals, it doesn't matter if ittouches part of the chassis or not - there's no continuous path for theelectrical current.Reconnecting your battery. Connect the positive terminal first, and thenegative second - the reverse of removal, and for the same reasons.When you slip the negative connector on, there will be a spark as it getsclose and makes contact with the negative battery terminal. Don't beafraid of this - it's nothing to worry about. Make sure the terminal caps aredone up nice and tight.

Check your battery terminals

Most modern cars run on a 12 volt negative ground electrical system. Ifyour battery terminals or contacts aren't clean, you're making it moredifficult for the current to pass around the electrical system. Remove theterminal caps as described above and clean each contact post with a wirebrush to get a nice clean metal contact surface. Do the same to theterminal caps, then reattach them as described above?


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Lights

One indicator or blinker is flashing faster than

the other

When you indicate one way and the blinker flashes quicker than when youindicate the other way, it means one of the bulbs has blown. An auto partsstore will be able to tell you what sort of bulb you need to replace it withand your manual should show you how to get at the indicator bulbs -they're different on every car.

Don't touch the glass when changing headlight

bulbs

Most headlight bulbs now are filled with halogen and have specialcoatings on the outside of the glass. If you pick the bulb up by the glasswith your fingers, you will leave trace amounts of oil and grease on theglass. When the bulb is used, that area of the glass will get hotter than therest and it will eventually cause the bulb to crack. When changingheadlight bulbs, only hold the metal bulb holder at the base, or make sureyou're wearing rubber surgical / mechanic's gloves (clean ones) if you'retouching the glass.


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Dash / instrument warning lights


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The check engine light.

Every new car now comes with OBD-II - OnBoard Diagnostics 2. This is a fault-registering

system connected to sensors all over the car,engine, fuel and emissions system. When thecheck engine light comes on, it can mean manythings. There are something like 4,000 uniqueOBD2 codes that can be stored. Handheld OBD2diagnostic tools can be plugged in to the OBD2port which is normally under the dash on thedriver's side. These tools can read out the faultcode and/or reset the system to contain nocodes. Codes are split into two categories -historical/inactive, and active. The historicalcodes are lists of things that have been detectedin the past but are no longer an issue, whilst theactive codes are things that are a problem rightnow. Codes are subdivided into B-codes (body),C-codes (chassis) and the biggest list of all - P-codes (power train).

P0440 OBD-II code.This is the most commoncode you'll find and it's the first thing you should

check. P0440 is the code forEvaporative

Emission Control System Malfunctionwhichcovers a multitude of sins. The one thing itcovers that you can check is your gas cap(petrol cap). Most new cars have a pressurisedfuel system and vapour recovery loop. If you'vefilled up with petrol and not twisted the gas capuntil it clicks, you've not sealed the fuel system.It won't pressurise and the OBD2 system will loga P0440 code. In fact, on a lot of cars, that codeis so common they'll actually have some way oftelling you to check the gas cap. In the Honda

Element, for example, if a P0440 code is logged,the dash scrolls "CHECK GAS CAP" across theodometer display. So if you get a check enginelight, check the gas cap first and see if the lightgoes off. Note: even if the light does go off, thecode will likely still be stored in the OBD systemand will show up next time it is checked.

It wasn't the gas cap.If tightening the gas capdidn't do it, you'll need to find someone with anOBD2 diagnostics tool or reader. Some garages

will charge youjust for plugging the deviceinand reading the code. If they do, walk away.


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The service engine light / Maint Reqd light.

This might indicate "Service", "Service Engine"or "Maint Reqd". It's an indicator that you're

getting close to a scheduled maintenanceinterval. On some cars it's as simple as countingmiles before it comes on, whilst on others itmaps engine temperatures, oil temperatures, airtemperatures and other indicators of probablestress to tell you when it might be time for newoil or a service. In most cars this can beoverridden or reset by you, the owner. Yourhandbook will tell you if this is the case. If youtake your car for a service, the garage shouldreset it for you.Typically this light will come on when you startyour car, and then turn off again as part of theself-check. If it stays on for 10 seconds thenturns off, it normally means you're within 500miles of needing a service. If it flashes for 10seconds, it normally means you've exceeded arecommended service interval.

The electrical fault light.

This warning light is different in every car butnormally it looks like a picture of a battery,similar to the picture on the left here. You'll seeit come on and go off when you start yourengine as part of the car's self-test, but if thislight comes on and stays on, it means theelectrical charging system is no longer workingproperly. Think of it like a cell phone battery. Ifthe cell phone is plugged into the charger, youcan use it indefinitely, but when you disconnectit from the charger, there's a limited amount of

time before your battery runs out. It's exactlythe same in your car, only bigger. Every car hasan alternator - the charger - and a 12v batteryused to supply power to the electrical system. Ifthe alternator becomes faulty or the drive belt toit snaps, then it will not be able to do its job. Thelonger you drive, the more your car will use upthe remaining juice in the battery and eventuallythe engine will die. This almost always requiresa new or refurbished alternator.


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Brake warning light 1

Most cars nowadays have a brake warning lighton the dash. Its purpose is to alert you that

something is wrong in the braking systemsomewhere. If it comes on, check your owner'smanual to find out its meaning. Unlike thesingle-purpose ABS warning light, the brakewarning light doesn't have a standard meaning;it could be used for multiple purposes. Forexample, the same light may be used to showthat the hand brake (parking brake for theAmericans amongst you) is on. If that's the caseand you're driving, you ought to have noticedthe smell of burning brake dust by now. Thelight can also indicate that the fluid in themaster cylinder is low. Each manufacturer has adifferent use and standard for this light. Which isnice? Because it would be such a drag if thesame indicator meant the same thing in everyvehicle.

Brake warning light 2

If you've got an ABS-equipped car, you also have

a second light - the ABS light. If it comes on, getit seen to as soon as possible. It means the ABScomputer has diagnosed that something isamiss in the system. It could be something assimple as dirt in one of the sensors, orsomething as costly as an entire ABS unitreplacement. Either way, if that light is on, thenyou, my friend, has got 1970's brakes. It'simportant to note that this light normally comeson when you start the car and then switches offa few seconds later. If it stays on, blinks, throbs,

flashes or in any other way draws your attentionto itself, take note. It's not doing it just to pleaseitself.


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Coolant warning light

This is normally the coolant level warning light.If this comes on it means that the level of

coolant in your radiator is low and needs toppingup. DO NOT OPEN THE RADIATOR CAP WHENTHE ENGINE IS HOT! The coolant system ispressurised and it could easily release pressureand spray you with boiling coolant. Do it whenthe engine is cold. Top up the system with eithera pre-mixed coolant bought from a shop, or withdistilled water. Don't use tap water - the mineraldeposits in it boil out in the cooling system andcalcium gets deposited around the inside of theradiator making it less efficient (which willeventually cause it to fail). It's always best touse pre-mixed coolant, or to mix your ownrather than using neat water. The coolantmixture behaves as antifreeze in winter as wellas a corrosion-inhibitor to stop your enginerusting from the inside out.

Oil warning light

Typically this light will come on if your oil

pressure is too low. Low oil pressure is seriousand if you continue to drive with this light on,eventually your engine will die. Low oil pressurecan be caused by a failed oil pump, a blocked oilfilter or strainer in the sump or by low oil levels -for example if your engine is burning oil. Eitherway, you need to get it fixed, and fast. Low oilpressure is A Bad Thing and your engine won'tthank you for leaving this problem untreated.


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Get better gas mileage - improving your fuel economy

They used to say that you could only rely on two things in life - taxes anddeath. Not true. There's three things. Taxes, death and the cost of petrolspiralling forever upwards. So consider this page your guide to making thebest of a bad situation. Follow these tips and you should be able toimprove your mpg - miles per gallon. Better fuel economy = more moneyin your bank account.

First things first: measuring your gas mileage

It seems obvious but a lot of people just don't know how to measure theiraverage gas mileage. Fuel economy is a total mystery to them. So bearwith me - I realise to a lot of you this is the age-old adage of teaching youto suck eggs.

So - a lot of cars nowadays have an mpg readout that you can select fromtheir onboard computer. Whilst these are useful, they do tend to be a bitoptimistic. I've found over the past 6 to 8 years that on-board mpgdisplays tend to over-read by about 7%. Not much but enough to give youa skewed view of reality. So how do you measure your average mpg? It'seasy. You need to start with a full tank and always fill your tank to thepoint where the pump cuts off. It's painful to your wallet, especially attoday's prices, but it's the best chance you have.


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So first - fill up. Fill your car to the point where the pump cuts off and zeroyour trip counter. Now you know you're starting from a 'full' tank. I say fullbecause each car has a different amount of dead space at the top of thetank and in the fuel filler neck, but if you let the pump cut off on its owneach time, it will generally fill to around the same level each time.

Next time you fill up, again fill the tank to the pump cut-off andimportantly, make a note of the number of litres or gallons you put in, andthe trip counter reading. Divide one by the other and you get either milesper gallon (mpg) or km per litre. Zero the trip counter again and keep anote of the mpg calculation.Each time you fill up, fill it to the pump cut-off, and make a note of theamount that went in and the trip counter reading, calculating your mpg orlitres per km each time.Once you have four or five calculations, you can start to figure out yourrunning average using some simple maths, or an online mileage trackerlikemymilemarker.comortrackyourgasmileage.com.Below is the ongoing trackerfor my current vehicle.

New car or something else?

One of the first things that people think of once they think they're gettingbad gas mileage, is buying a new car - a more fuel-efficient one or even ahybrid. But be careful - you have to do your homework here. Take intoaccount how much you could sell your existing car for and how muchyou're going to pay for the new one. It's important because generallyspeaking, going this route will normally result in a net loss - you'll end uplosing money unless you keep the new car for 5 years or more. Better fueleconomy will mean that the day-to-day running expenses will be less onceyou've got the new car. But think about it - the initial outlay to swap carswill likely be huge.So then you're left with the other option - getting better mpg out of yourexisting car. In order of ease-of-attainability then, the carbibles.com tentips for better gas mileage:

1. Your right foot
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So simple anyone can do it. If you're caning it away from the traffic lights,you're wasting petrol and your mpg will be down. If you're enduranceracing at 80mph on the motorway, you're wasting petrol. Here's the thing- your gas mileage can drop off as much as 15% between driving at orbelow 65mph and driving above 65mph. Now I love speed as much as the

next person but you have to be realistic here - do you want better fueleconomy or to get there marginally quicker? I sound like a total wetblanket telling you this of course, but driving slower absolutely willimprove your mpg. Why? Because once you get over about 65mph, you'reusing more engine power to overcome drag, which means consumingmore petrol to do it.What about when you're not on the motorway? Well consider a little lessbraking if you can. If you can see the next set of lights ahead of you arered, don't race up to them and come to a complete stop. Try to moderateyour speed a little if you can do it safely. If you can get there as they turngreen and the traffic in front begins to move, you're doing OK. That'sbecause it takes more energy to get you going from a complete stop thanit does from a slow roll. So if you can do this, it will improve your mpg.

2. Change octane if you can

Too many people drive around with medium or premium gas in their tankwhen they just don't need to. If your owner's manual says "regular", itmeans it. Putting mid-grade or premium in is just wasting money. Why?Unless you have a high-compression engine which could be prone to

detonation (pinking / pinging), you have absolutely no need for high-octane petrol. The only thing that higher octane gives you is lessprobability of detonation. In high-performance cars with high-compressionengines that means allowing the engine management system to work atpeak efficiency but for probably 75% of you, your car will quite happily runon the cheapest petrol you can put in it. Not an improvement in fueleconomy per se, but money saving at least.

3. Use the internet


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Again - not so much about improving your mpg as saving money; nomatter where you live, there will be one or more internet sites that canprovide you with petrol prices in your area. Vote with your money. Buyfrom the cheap ones, and shun the expensive ones. It's not improvingyour mpg, but it is saving you money, and in the long term, that's what

counts here. Apathy in this area is what the petrol companies rely on. Toget you going, here's a couple of examples. US petrol prices. UK petrolprices. For others, use your favourite search engine.

4a. Check your tyre pressures

This is a total no-brainer. Check your tyre pressures regularly - make itpart of your sunday routine or something. All motoring sites andmagazines tell you the same thing and that's for a reason. If your tyrepressures are low, you will be increasing the rolling resistance of the tyre

on the road and that will be robbing your fuel efficiency - your gas mileagewill be down. So make sure they're up to manufacturer recommendedvalues (at the very least) and watch your mpg get a little better.

4b. Get low rolling-resistance tyres

You might never have considered this, but manufacturers do make tyresdesigned for low rolling resistance. This means that there's less effortrequired to roll the tyre along the road surface. Less effort means fewerloads on your engine. Less load means better mpg. When I went foraftermarket alloy wheels and tyres on my Honda Element, my gas mileagedropped by about 1mpg due simply to the change in tread pattern of thetyres.

5. Get rid of the roof rack
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You go biking or skiing at the weekends. Great. When you're commutingto work, that empty roof rack is adding aerodynamic drag to your car.More drag means more power to overcome it, which means worse mpg.Take it off when you're not using it. Same goes for those 'aerodynamic'roof boxes - if you're not using it, get rid of it. Yes they look aerodynamic

but the fact of the matter is they do induce drag. And to be honest, theylook silly. Hey - I know it means getting up and doing something ratherthan just routinely getting in your car and driving off but we're talkingabout gas mileage here. Mpg. Fuel economy. It's all to do with money. Belazy? Or save money?

6. Change your air filter

Out of sight, out of mind. I'm guilty of this. Your air filter is what protectsyour engine from ingesting all the dust, dirt and crap in the air. If it's doing

its job well, it will clog up, much like the bag of a vacuum cleaner. Once itclogs up, your engine has a harder time sucking air through it. Tocompensate for the reduced airflow, the engine management system willrichen up the mixture, using more petrol to keep the engine runningsmoothly. Replace your air filter once a year and you'll guarantee bettergas mileage. So why am I guilty of this? At the time of writing I change thethree-year-old filter in my car and my mpg jumped by 2.5 overnight. Onmy car that equated to a 13% improvement for an outlay of $14. Duh!

7. Change your oil and oil filter

Whilst you won't see any massive improvement by changing your oil andfilter, you're ensuring that your engine is keeping its 'fresh blood'.

8. Get new spark plugs

Spark plugs work in an incredibly hostile environment. If you've got morethan 30,000 miles on yours, change them. Fresh plugs that aren't coveredin carbon deposits will certainly help you in your quest to become a fuelmiser.

9. Ultrasonic cleaning for your fuel injectors


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The only sure-fire way to clean your fuel injectors is to have themremoved and given an ultrasonic bath. This is like those jewellery cleanersyou might have seen. Basically it's a small tub filled with detergentsolution that is hit with ultra high frequency vibrations or sound waves.The net effect is that any carbon deposits are shaken off the fuel injectors.

Clean injectors give a more even fuel-air mix which results in a morepredictable burn in the cylinder, which will contribute to improved gasmileage. If your injectors have never been done, or you've got more than60,000 miles on them, consider getting the professionally cleaned. Itwon't be cheap but it's cheaper than a new car (by a huge margin) and itwill help your mpg.

10. Remapping your ECU - chipping and tuning

Expensive one this, but it might be worth investigating. For the most part,

chipping or remapping your engine management computer wouldnormally be done to improve performance. It is possible however to go theother way - trade off some performance in exchange for better gasmileage. Not a lot of places are advertising this yet but as the price ofpetrol continues to spiral, I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen. Forexample, a few tuning houses in America have seen some interestingresults from flashing European engine maps into US vehicles. It's a bitdodgy because it means those vehicles won't pass the emissions tests,but if you're serious, you could get a dual-map system. For the inspectionand emissions, leave it in "US" mode. For everyday driving, use theEuropean map. Of course you didn't get that idea from here :-)

What does all this add up to?

Realistically, if you religiously stick to the above points (from a regime ofpreviously doing nothing special), you should expect to see a mpgimprovement of about 15%. Doesn't sound like a lot? Let me put anumber on it. Last year I spent around $2600 on petrol throughout theyear. A 15% improvement in gas mileage correlates to a 15% decrease inoutlay to fill my car. In my case about $400 a year. How useful is that? It'sa round trip to Vegas (no hotel). 6 months car insurance. 5 weeks grocery

shopping. And so on and so on. So you can keep wasting money if youlike, but if you're serious about getting better gas mileage, these simplesteps really will help.Happy motoring and I hope you see some improvements in your fueleconomy.Oh - and if you're interested, send me your ideas. After my initial blogpost, I had some good ones come back straight away so on page 2 you'llfind the expanding list of reader-submitted tips.


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11. Weight is everything.

Clear the junk out of your car. Weight is everything when it comes to fueleconomy. Every extra kilo you carry will adversely affect your gasmileage. If your car or van has removable seats that you never use,remove them and keep them in the garage. If you're feeling brave youcould get rid of the spare tyre and jack and replace it with a can of tyre-sealing goop. If you're into modding, ditch the factory hood and replace itwith a carbon-fibre one instead. If you're ber serious, get rid of the glassin the rear side windows and replace them with perspex / lexan. Alwaysthink lighter. For that matter, go on a diet....

11b. Weight is everything - your wheels.

Following the 'lighter is better' theme, can you reduce the weight of yourwheels? Alloy wheels can weigh less than steel wheels if you choosecarefully. As well as increasing your fuel economy, this has the addedbonus of giving you more useable power because you're reducing theunsprung weight. That means the engine is wasting less energy justturning the wheels. Be careful though - if the car feels a bit sportier youmight be inclined to drive a bit sportier and that goes against tip 1 on theprevious page; your right foot is directly connected to your mpg.

12. Block gear changing.

If you've got a manual, you likely already are getting better gas mileagethan someone in the equivalent car with an automatic. But you can eakout a few more mpg by block gear changing. This is where you don'tnecessarily go from 1st to 2nd to 3rd etc. If you're careful (and thisrequires some experimenting), you can go from 1st to 3rd to 5th and soon. The key is to make sure that you don't go too high up in the rev rangein the lower gear, or too low down in the upper gear. Go to high in thelower gear and you're burning petrol for no reason. Go too low in the

higher and the engine will labour and suck petrol badly. With newer carswith 6- and 7-speed boxes, block gear changing is much easier than itever used to be, and for a lot of motorcyclists (I included), it's the norm. 1-3-5-6.


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13. Aftermarket remedies and in-the-tank products -

just don't.

Pills, stickers, fuel-line magnetisers, powders, airflow disruptors. Since thedawn of time it seems that there have been aftermarket products thatclaim massive increases in power and gas mileage. For the most part,they don't work. I've reviewed some of them on my product reviews pageand in some cases the fuel economy actually went down with the productin use. Remember the old adage: if it seems too good to be true, itprobably is. ie. when Uberjuice Industries tells you that you'll get 50%more mpg by simply pouring their food colouring into your tank, don't fallfor it.

14. Coast in gear, not in neutral.

If you need to coast while you're driving, don't slip the car into neutral butlet it coast in a high gear. Most cars nowadays will shut off the fuel supplyto the engine completely if you coast in gear. If you put it in neutral, theengine consumes enough petrol to keep it ticking over. ie. you'll get betterfuel economy coasting downhill (for example) in gear.

15. Fit a thermatic fan instead of a belt-driven one.

Fitting an electric (aftermarket) thermatic fan to replace the engine drivenfan/viscous coupling fan could help improve gas mileage. It'll be slight -it's arguable whether you'd even be able to measure it, but eliminatingthe drag caused by the extra belt or viscous coupling and the fan can onlyhelp. Ok so most modern cars are equipped with electric fans as standardnow but it could benefit older makes or those still being manufacturedwith belt driven cooling fans.
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21702041 basic car maintenance

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