Perform Routine Car Maintenance
Are you tired of paying mechanic fees for a routine car check? Have you ever wondered how to turn off that pesky check oil light? Luckily for you, routine car maintenance isn’t a difficult task to master and can save you a great deal of time and money in the long run. These step by step instructions can take less than an hour to complete and are directed for any car owner looking to save some money.
Contents
Steps
Routine Light Checks
- Check for signs of physical damage.
- Wipe all lenses clean and check for cracks. If a lens is cracked cover it with clear adhesive tape while not obscuring too much of the glass.
- Replace damaged lenses quickly for safety reasons and to prevent moisture from entering the lens. Water can damage the light’s reflector and corrode wires which can fully disable the headlight.
- Determine if a light is in working order. When checking small bulbs. Always use a voltmeter, otherwise, the bulb will short circuit and have fuse failure.
- Test a sealed beam unit. Attach a crocodile clamp labeled ground/earth to the beams ground/earth. Connect the other crocodile clip to the live battery and tap the live terminals on the headlight. If any live terminals do not work the unit has failed.
- Fix corrosion or dirt. Unbolt the connection and use an emery cloth to clean the terminal and washers. Use a wire brush to clean the bolt. Clean the surface where the hole is drilled. Reassemble and tighten.
- Replace any bulbs with broken filament or glass. Check your owner's manual for the correct bulb needed. Use two pieces of foam on either side of the bulbs. Make sure to cut an outline of the bulbs into the foams.
Routine Tire Checks
- Perform a tread depth test. This is important to make sure your car will maintain balanced handling and traction while driving. 4/32 or deeper - good; 3/32 - replace tires soon; 2/32 or less - replace tires immediately (measurements are in inches).
- Use the penny test. Place a penny in the tire tread with Lincoln's head upside down. If you can see all of his head your tire tread is less than 2/32 of an inch.
- Using the quarter test, place a quarter in the tire tread with Washington's head upside down. If the tread touches the top of his head you have at least 4/32 of an inch left.
- Check your tire pressure. Check the recommended tire pressure for your car's make and model.
- Tire pressure should always be done with cold tires, driving will heat the tires, so try to check the tires in the morning after the car has been off for a couple hours.
- Use an accurate tire gauge, air hoses and gauges at gas stations can often be wrong.
- Add or release pressure until the pressure matches the recommended number.
- To add squeeze the lever on the end of the hose, you will hear the sound of air going into the tire.
- To release pressure press down on the needle in the middle of the valve. Most gauges have a knob for this, but a pen or nail would also work.
Routine Fluid and Oil Checks
- Check by spraying your windows. If the low washer light turns on the windshield wiper fluid should be changed.
- Buy windshield wiper fluid at the store.
- Find the fill to the line and using a funnel, pour the fluid until it reaches the line. Put the cap back on and you have successfully changed windshield wiper fluid.
- Check and change the oil once a month. Depending on the car, oil usually needs to be replaced every 3,000 miles or 6 months. When the oil needs to be changed, take your car to the shop and get it changed.
- This can be checked by opening the hood and finding the dipstick. The dipstick should generally be yellow and has a loop on it. Remove the dipstick and wipe it off with a rag or a paper towel. Put the dipstick back in, then quickly remove it and observe where the oil goes up to on the stick. If it is below the low line and it is not the time to change the oil yet, then you will need to add oil.
- You can add oil by finding the engine oil cap and removing it. Using a funnel, pour oil in and then repeat the steps until the oil is at the full line.
- Check transmission fluid monthly. Usually changed between every 50,000 to 100,000 miles. When the transmission fluid needs to be changed, take it to the shop.
- Change transmission fluid. Locate the transmission fluid pipe and remove the dipstick. (Check owner's manual to see what this looks like and where it is located) Pull out the dipstick and observe where it fluid is on the stick. If the fluid is below the cold line, it means there is probably a transmission leak and you should take the car to the shop as soon as possible to get this fixed.
- Check radiator fluid. This should be checked twice a year, once before winter and once before summer. Radiator fluid needs to be changed every 2-3 years.
- Cool the car down. Open the hood, and look for the cap that says engine coolant on it on the radiator. Using a glove or rag, remove this cap.The coolant should be near the top, if not you should check the coolant overflow tank. If the overflow tank has a lot of fluid in it and the level is low in the radiator, you need to take the car to the shop as soon as possible.
- Check brake fluid. This needs to be replaced every 2 years and should be taken to the shop to be changed.
- Open the hood and locate the brake fluid reservoir. There should be lines that mark min and max. If it is low, you will need to buy the correct brake fluid that your car needs. Open the cap. Then using a funnel, pour the fluid up to the maximum line.
- Check power steering fluid. Should be checked monthly. You will know its low, if it becomes very hard to turn the steering wheel.
- Fill. Unscrew the cap and use a funnel to pour in the fluid until it hits the maximum line. If it seems to be running low often, you should take your car to the shop to get it checked out.
Routine Brake Pad Check and Replacement
- The initial signal that will tell you the brake pads need changing is the feel of the car. When you press on the brake pedal, it pulsates. Also, the car pulling to one side or the other when the brakes are applied indicates that the brake pads are wearing unevenly and that they need to be replaced. If the car pulls while the brakes are not being applied, that indicates a different repair issue and not an issue with the brake pads.
- Check for audio indications. If the car makes a clicking or screeching sound when the brakes are applied, this could be an indication that the pads are thinning and need to be replaced.
- Visually inspect the brakes. Know the year, make, and model of the car and the automotive store will be able to provide you with brake pads that will work.
- Loosen the lug nuts shown in Figure 5 on one wheel of the car using the wrench most likely provided in the trunk of your car. After the lug nuts are loosened, jack the car up so that the wheel is off the ground. The jack will most likely be located in the same position as the wrench.
- Finish loosening and remove the lug nuts. Once these are removed, you can pull the wheel off of the car.
- Remove the caliper bolts off the back of the caliper. The caliper houses the brake pad and is connected to the rotor. The caliper is shown in Figure 6 as the red component attached to the rotor. Once the caliper is removed, place it somewhere it will not fall and cause damage to the connecting cords.
- Remove the old brake pads on the front and back of the rotor by pulling away from the rotor. Once the old pads are removed, place the new pads in by pressing them towards the rotors. Put the caliper back into place and put the bolt back in.
- Place the wheel back onto the car and screw the lug nuts on by hand. Then use the jack to lower the car and once the car is on the ground, use the wrench to tightly screw the lug nuts onto the wheel.
