Almost time for a review of third world county tightwaddery, but this’ll have to do for now: Thirteen Car Maintenance Tips (from a third world county tightwad). Note: some tips assume either basic mechanical knowledge of some sort or the ability to read a simple instruction manual–like a Haynes *ha!* or Chilton–and decipher the cryptic comments contained therein; that is, functional literacy–a rarer and rarer capability nowadays.
1. The cheapest oil and filter are NOT the cheapest oil and filter. Unless your car leaks like a sieve or burns oil as if it were gasoline, cheap oil is a waste of money. If your car’s in good mechanical shape now, switch to an all-synthetic. At $4-$5/quart, it only seems expensive. The longer oil drain interval, engine protection and perhaps even slightly better fuel economy will more than pay for itself. And use a good filter, since you’ll only change it every six months or so with a good synthetiic. Money in the bank.
2. Cold weather–buy “gasohol”. The ethyl alcohol in a typical “gasohol” mix will absorb fuel line moisture, averting frozen fuel lines. Besides, the way the feddle gummint’s subsidizing fuel alcohol production, “gasohol” can often be less expensive (at the pump–the social costs have yet to be adequately computed) than regular unleaded.
3. Consider the new “extended life” so-called “universal” (they almost are) antifreezes, next time you do a complete drain-flush-fill of your car’s coolant system. Sure, the new “extended life” antifreezes can cost upward of 30% more per gallon, but since they are recommended for drain/replacement at three times the drain interval, if your coolant system’s in good shape, go for it!
4. NEVER buy the “50/50” jugs of antifreeze. That’s some of the most expensive water you can buy. Mix your own, but do use distilled water to mix with the new extended life antifreezes. At under $0.70/gallon all over the place, it’s worth using.
5. WHAT?!?!? You don’t check your tire pressure and fluid levels weekly?!?!? What ever are you thinking of??? Just do it. A $1.00 cheapo tire pressure gauge is money in your pocket, IF you use it regularly. (CHeck your owner’s manual and your tires for pressure recommendations.) And do at least check your oil and antifreeze levels weekly. Power steering and brake fluids are another good thing to check. Transmission fluid, as well (automatic for sure, and manual if there’s a handy dipstick). Early notice of dropping fluid levels or anomalous changes in the fluids can save you bucks, and maybe save your ride. For example, when auto transmission fluid is no longer pink but brown, get the thing seen by a competent mechanic FAST, before you are forced to replace the tranny… or the car.
6. Rain-X. Seriously. Very seriously. You’ll be much safer in any kind of precip if you’ve Rain-X-ed at least your windshield. About once a month in normal driving does it for me.
7. And while you’re at it, when you Rain-X the windshield, check those wiper blades. Heavy rains, wipers on, shredded blade. Bare metal scratching (and it will scratch) your windshield. Oh so much fun…
8. When changing brake pads (and easy, oh, maybe “two-wrench” rated job), never disassemble both brakes on an “axle” at once. Remove both wheels on an “axle” and do one brake assembly at a time. Use one as a reference for the other. Easy-peasy. Heck, brake pads aren’t the only home mechanic job; it can be less expensive to buy NEW rotors for disk brakes than having some hack mechanic do the job while hungover. Feels good knowing you saved money and KNOW the quality of the work.
9. When you need to raise your car to work on it, use a hydraulic jack that’s over-rated for your vehicle’s weight. $50 or less will buy a decent one for home use and save you tons of headaches!
10. Working under your raised car? WHERE are your jackstands??? Gotta have ’em. Stupid to learn how to maintain your car and actually do some work on it but play “Sword of Damocles” with thousands of pounds of car hanging above your head. JUst dumb.
11. Consider an inexpensive set of ramps. Neat time and energy saver.
12. Get some strong permanent magnets (those found in an old, discarded hard drive will do) and attach one to the lowest part of your oil filter and right by the drain plug on your oil pan. Think about it.
13. Keep your ears open for changes in the way your car sounds; your nose tweaked to sniff out weird smells; feel the way your car drives and note any changes; any one can avert problems. For example, the other day I felt some vibrations as I reached 60mph that grew more pronounced as I approached 70mph. Knew what it was from previous experience, so spent $10 having two tires rebalanced. Vibration gone, along with the extra stress it was causing the drivetrain, suspension and steering, as well as the extra wear on the tires it would have caused had I let it continue.
I’m sure readers will have their own tips. Heck, I guess I could have listed a few more, but then it would no longer be a Thursday Thirteen, would it? 🙂
Linked to the Thursday Thirteen Hub and Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, Perri Nelson’s Website, AZAMATTEROFACT, Right Truth, Webloggin, Stuck On Stupid, Leaning Straight Up, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Right Celebrity, stikNstein… has no mercy, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, High Desert Wanderer, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Just a few comments. All of your suggestions are great and accurate.
1. Mobil-1 5w-30 is the only thing that goes into my racecar. 5 quarts every 30 miles.
3. Those are better for animals too. The regular “green” stuff is responsible for a lot of dog and cat deaths.
5. If tranny fluid tastes bitter or burnt it’s bad too… but I doubt people want to go that far. Tire pressure is a good one too. Your tires last longer at the correct pressure, and you get better gas mileage too.
6. Rain-X is a good idea if you apply it right. Most people don’t. You have to strip the wax and silicone from car washes off of the glass before you apply it, or it’s only good for a few hundred miles in the rain. For me, that’s about a week of driving in the winter.
9. No matter how good your hydraulic jack is, NEVER, NEVER work under your car while it’s supported on the hydraulic jack. Always use a quality pair of Jackstands. Hydraulic jack seals have been known to blow out for no apparent reason, collapsing the jack. I’m really glad to see number 10, make the same point following number 9.
12. Magnetic drain plugs are great, unless you are running an all-aluminum engine. There are also places that will cut open your filter and examine it for stuff that shouldn’t be there.
I really enjoy your lists David!!!
Mine’s up today at http://perrinelson.com/2007/6/28/842.aspx
Thanks Perri. Yeh, #10 is a BIGGIE with me. I’m way, WAY past paranoid about jacks failing. (Was real lucky jacking up a house once–gotta love 8″X8″ baulks of oak… “Lucky” means “preparation” or CYA.) Love my jackstands. Made sure Lovely Daughter had a set to put in the trunk of her new car, along with a good hydraulic jack that’s over-rated for her car’s weight. SHE’S NOT changing a tire while the car’s sitting on a piece of crap OEM jack. Sure, it’s a bit more weight in her trunk. So? And yeh, it’s all in a strong, reinforced canvas bag/box with her other emergency supplies/tools.)
BTW, seen any of those OBDII kits that let ya use a Palm to read the OBD and collate/interpret codes? Yeh, yeh: a reader and codebook is cheap and perfectly workable (who can live w/o it for post ’96 cars?), but using an old (OLD!) Palm m500 as an OBDII reader… I’m tempted. 🙂 Maybe after I break down and buy my beer making kit (since it didn’t turn up Xmas or birthday. :-))
Oh, magnets can be useful even w/aluminum engines, since few are ALL aluminum. Obviously, the less ferrous material there is, the less useful they are, though.
Mobile 1? Love the stuff. Have used it for years in our family cars. And it works remarkably well. Wonder Woman LOST a water pump 25 miles from home once, one a long, windy, two-lane road with NO place to stop (well, the pump was still there… sorta, but NO coolant was in the car by the time she got somewhere she could call me–before cell phones). Had no time to do the work myself and had our fav (at that time) mechanic haul it off and install a new water pump and check for other issues. There were none. Drove the thing for a few more years, gave it to Lovely Daughter, who then got several more years solid use from it. Similar thing happened when a top hose blew on me–yeh, preventive maintenance would have… prevented that one–in my lil ole 1972 Datsun while in bumper-to-bumper freeway traffic. By the time I could get out of traffic, several miles later, and pull off: no coolant left at all, at all. Total damage: Head was slightly warped. Put another 150,000 mies on that car before the body practically fell off. *heh* It was still getting nearly 50mpg at the time. Never had any transmission work: used all synthetic lubes.
Rain-X: seriously heavy thunderstorm. Pregnant wife in car. #@$%&# Lucas electrics on the XJ-12 decided THAT was the time to have the wipers go belly up. Had a new coat of Rain-X on the glass (all around), so no problem. Nearly 30 years later, I still use the stuff almost religiously.
Oh, the rally “good for animals” antifreeze is the one treated with (I forget the chemical’s name) that’s reputed to be the bitterest substance known… to cause children and animals to avoid the stuff.
But the best way to protect children and animals from being poisoned by useful chemicals is for their use to be supervised by RESPONSIBLE adults (it’s the adjective that is the failure point… ).
Great tips! This would be very useful information especially to those who just own a car and had less knowledge about cars. Cars is investment and it needs proper care and maintenance. It is necessary to check each of the parts (ex: mazda tie rod end ) to see if there is a need for repair/replacement. This is also to ensure that our car is in good condition. Another thing, be sure to drive carefully, so as to have fun and enjoyable driving experience.