KeepitinsidealockedgaragewithanarmedguardandDobermanonduty!Or,driveacarthatnobodywouldwanttosteal.Seriously,therearesomecommonsenseprecautionsyoucanusetominimizetheriskofyourvehiclebeingstolenorbrokeninto:Neverleavethekeysintheignition,andneverleavetheenginerunningwhileyourunintoastoreordropsomethingoff.Youcarmightnotbetherewhenyoucomeback,andyoumightevenbeissuedaticketforsuchstupidity!Alwayslocky...[
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Firstandforemost,donotattemptrepairsthatarebeyondyourability.Ifyoufeelunsureaboutarepair,youshouldseekoutacompetentprofessionaltodotheworkforyou.Bettertopaysomeonewhoknowswhatthey’redoingthantoattempttofixityourselfandscrewitup.Manysystemsonvehiclestodayareverycomplex.Repairsoftenrequireconsiderableskillandexpertise,nottomentionspecialtoolsandequipment.Asimplemistakecouldruinsensitive(andexpensiv...[
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For"ordinary"antifreeze,thevehiclemanufacturersgenerallyrecommendcoolantchangeseverytwotothreeyearsor30,000miles.Otherssayit’snotabadideatochangethecoolanteveryyearformaximumcorrosionprotection--especiallyinvehiclesthathavealuminumheads,blocksorradiators.Butsuchrecommendationsmaysoonbeobsolete.Severalantifreezesuppliershavejustrecentlyintroduced"longlife"antifreezeformulationsthatclaimtoprovidepr...[
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Itcouldbeanyofanumberofproblems.Aheaterthat’sworkingproperlyshouldblowairthat’sabout75to100degreesF.hotterthantheoutsideair.Ifitdoesn’t,anyofthefollowingmightbeatfault:Alowcoolantlevel(oftenduetoaleakorweakradiatorcap),butmayalsobetheresultofnotgettingthecoolingsystemcompletelyfilled.Ifyou’vejustrecentlychangedtheantifreeze,checkthecoolantlevelintheradiatortoseeiftheradiatorisfull.Anairpocketi...[
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Notnormally,butitshouldbeifthesteeringrackorpumpareeverreplaced.Undernormalcircumstances,thefluidinthepowersteeringsystemshouldlastthelifeofthevehicle(orthelifeofthemajorpowersteeringcomponents,whichevercomesfirst).Butasthesystemaccumulatesmiles,microscopicparticlesofmetalandrubbercanbuildupinthefluid.Theseparticlescanactlikeanabrasiveandacceleratepumpandgearwear,sothefluidshouldbechangediftheorig...[
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Youcanifyoucangetyourhandsonthecorrecttypeofrefrigerantrequiredforyourvehicle.Butthatisnowamajorproblemfordo-it-yourselfersbecausefederallawprohibitsthesaleofR12andR134automotiverefrigerantsto"noncertified"individuals(tobecomecertified,youmustpassawrittentestapprovedbytheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)--somethingwhichallprofessionalA/Ctechniciansmustdobeforetheycanlegallyworkonyourvehicle).This...[
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Thetypespecifiedbythevehiclemanufacturerinyourowner’smanual.Formostpassengercarandlighttruckgasolineenginestoday,it’sanyoilthatmeetstheAmericanPetroleumInstitutes"SH"rating.Asfortheviscosityofoiltouse,mostnewenginestodayrequireamultiviscosity5W-30oilforall-rounddriving.Thelighter5W-30oilscontainfrictionreducingadditivesthathelpimprovefueleconomy,andalsoallowtheoiltoquicklyreachcriticaluppervalve...[
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Mostvehiclemanufacturerssayit’sokaytowaituntilthelevelreachestheaddmarktoaddoil.TheaddmarkButconsideringthatthecrankcasecapacityonmostpassengercarstodayisonlyfourquarts,runningtheengine25%lowonoil(onequart)maynotbewise.Here’swhy.Oilnotonlylubricatestheengine’sinternalparts,butalsohelpscoolthebearings.Thetotalamountofoilintheengine,therefore,servesasaheatsinktohelpcontrolheat.Undernormaldrivingc...[
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It’shardtogiveaspecifictimeormileagefigurebecausethelifeofthefilterdependsonhowmuchcruditingests.Afilterthatlasts20,000oreven30,000milesonavehiclethat’sdrivenmostlyonexpresswaysmaylastonlyamonthortwoinaruralsettingwherethevehicleisdrivenfrequentlyongravelroads.Changingitannuallyorevery15,000milesforpreventativemaintenancemaybeagoodrecommendationforthecitydriver,butnotitscountrycousin.Regardlesso...[
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Youneeda"brakejob"whenyourbrakeliningsareworndowntotheminimumacceptablethicknessspecifiedbythevehiclemanufacturerortheapplicablestateagencyinareasthatsettheirownrequirements.Theonlywaytodetermineifnewliningsarerequired,therefore,istoinspectthebrakes.Youmayalsoneedabrakejobifyou’rehavingbrakeproblemssuchasgrabbing,pulling,loworsoftpedal,pedalvibration,noise,etc.,orifsomecomponentinyourbrakesystemh...[
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