Top 5 Tips – DIY Car Maintenance
Good car maintenance is a prerequisite for a smooth running and a longer life of our prized possessions. While there indeed are automobile service stations to take care of them when they fall sick, you at your end can do a lot for your car’s upkeep and stitch it in time so as to save nine. This post offers 5 essential tips you can implement yourself, and which should pretty much ensure your car’s good health.
1. Check Engine Oil
Critical to an automobile’s lubrication system, the engine oil lubricates a car’s moving parts, cleans and inhibits corrosion, and also cools the engine by carrying heat away from the parts.
To check engine oil, Turn off the car’s ignition. Locate the dipstick, in case you don’t know where it is take the help of the owner’s manual and then remove the dipstick. Most dipstick carry the label “engine oil.”
Wipe off any excess oil and then check dip it another time to see if it reaches the “Full” mark or not. If not then you need to fill up to reach the “Full” mark.
Now, observe the color of the engine oil. A black an opaque appearance means time for a change. Dark brown but somewhat transparent means you’d need to change it after some time. A clear appearance means it’s OK, but be wary if it appears to be whitish, as that might indicate a need for a professional check up.
To replace engine oil, choose the product that’s already inside your car. Pour in slowly allowing it time to settle down. After you’re done, replace the dipstick properly.
2. Check Automatic Transmission Fluid
To run a check for automatic transmission fluid change the transmission lever’s position to Park of ‘P’ position. Locate the transmission dipstick, in case you don’t know where it is take the help of the owner’s manual and then remove the transmission dipstick. Wipe it and dip it again to check the levels.
Also look at the appearance of the fluid. A black fluid with a burnt smell is a sign that it needs a quick change. If its brown in color, then there’s still some life in it. In comparison a newly replaced fluid is red in color.
Aside from the appearance, refer to the owner’s manual as well. As some manufacturers specify the number of miles you can drive before a refill is needed.
3. Check Engine Coolant
This is a simple procedure. To perform the check simply locate the coolant overflow tank and note the levels.
Low coolant level will cause the engine to overheat, which may cause serious damage to the engine. If the levels are between “LOW” and “FULL” markings, then it’s OK. If it’s below the “LOW” marking, then naturally a replacement is needed.
4. Check CV Joint Boots
A majority of modern day automobiles are front wheel drive, wherein a CV joint’s job is to help in transmitting power to the wheels.
To check the CV joint for breakage or damage, you’d need to inspect the internal sides of the wheel. To make it easier for you, first turn the wheel to one side as much as it can turn. Now, look at the inside to inspect the front wheel arch. If your inspection reveals oil or greasing on the boot, it means that it’s broken. If it dry then there’s nothing to worry about. If it’s broken, then treat it as an emergency and arrange for a replacement.
5. Check Tire Pressure
Taking good care of wheels & tires is simple, very basic and very important. The point is to check air pressure without fail at least once a month. It might be a good idea if you purchased a tire pressure gauge, so that you can check the pressure any time by yourself. Another key consideration is to ensure the ideal tire pressure (as has been prescribed by the car manufacturer).
In addition to the basic checks outlined above, don’t postpone going to a professional mechanic if you sense trouble. Further, regular checkups too would ensure that an impending bigger trouble is forestalled before it blows out of proportion.
About Author
I am a journalist with 7 years of experience. Though, as a professional I’ve reported on myriad topics, my favorites are the auto and the healthcare industry. Two of the platforms I’ve previously worked on are Themedica and Automotive-Online. I now blog at: Smiling Health and Automobile Hotspot as it offers me a platform to write about my interests.
Tags: automobile, Autos, cars, DIY car maintenance, ship, transport, transportation, truck, wheel & tires
By afreshpath_admin, November 14, 2009 @ 6:59 am
It's going to be darn hard to "de-focus" too much using a digital camera while keeping the main subject in sharp focus. The smaller the sensor, the greater depth of field you will have. Generally speaking, the smaller the camera, the smaller the sensor. Your Z740 has the smaller of the two more common sensors out there – 1/2.5". Most of the pictures you take with your camera are quite sharp from near to far distances and there is a reason for that which I will explain.
While we speak in terms of the 35 mm equivalency of digital lenses, don't forget that the digital sensors are usually smaller than a full-format 35 mm frame. Most of the more popular point and shoot cameras have the smaller sensors. It's only about 5 mm wide and 4 mm high. The lens on required to cover that angle of view on your camera is an ACTUAL 6-63 mm zoom lens. At these focal lengths, the background is going to almost always be in pretty sharp focus.
In other words, if you WANT to defocus the background, you are going to have to work pretty hard at it. You would have to zoom to the longer end of the lens and set the aperture open as wide as it will go, if your camera even allows you to control the aperture, and get pretty close to your main subject while having the background a fair distance away.
The bigger the sensor, the easier it will be to achieve pleasing bokeh. This means moving to a dSLR, which all have sensors about 20 times bigger than the typical P&S digicam. If you want to really go for brokeh (very bad pun intended), you can get a Canon 5D and you will get exactly the same effect you are accustomed to in a 35 mm camera, since the sensor is the same size as 35 mm film.
You can see some example of what is rather easily attainable with a DSLR at http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/tags/bokeh/ Read the captions, though, because a couple of these are done with point and shoot cameras. Study the set-up to see how I did this. It's only doing exactly as I said in my answer above. If you like this effect, I agree with Anotoni that you are probably ready to move up to an SLR.
Wikipedia does pretty well on the subject of depth of field. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field
See also: http://www.photo.net/learn/optics/dofdigital/
By pita4670, November 14, 2009 @ 7:08 am
gallon zip lock bags filled with ice and a small hole put in the side of the bag and there you have a automatic drip system it works for me
By ~*Latina Bonita*~, November 14, 2009 @ 9:32 am
Yes the game is old, but VERY fun. I still have the first copy of it I bought.
But yea, there is one on the first Island called "The Pig Pen".
Located North East. Near Jefferson, I think. (Not too hard to find.)
There is one on the 2nd Island WAY up north, near the bridge that leads to the 3rd Island.
Then there is one on the 3rd Island (Kinda hard to find) You gotta find the desert, and then travel along a single road, that leads to a strip club thats in the middle of no where.
What I like to do is get the bombs you can throw and they stick to anything Including people. Then, after I throw them all, I step back and blow everything up. If I dont do that, I just goof around, ramping off stuff, shooting people.
FAVORITE thing to do is to get into an airplane, fly up really high over the city, and then sky dive back to the ground. But, instead of using the parachute I like to try and hit someone when I hit the ground. LOL.
Its a fun game, they should make another San andreas game.
By Zaiya M, November 15, 2009 @ 11:20 am
I have the same car. Mine has the Nav system. I can't recall the exact steps, but if you play around with settings through display you can adjust it down or make it turn off when you turn off the car. Mine is set for 15 seconds I believe. Kinda nice when you come into a dark garage at night to have the lights stay on until you find the door to the house.
By SAINTintheCITY, November 16, 2009 @ 1:17 am
dude if its auto then ur not drafted rit
By Eddie, November 16, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
eeeh i looked and couldnt find any :/
By bradley, November 16, 2009 @ 6:35 pm
this one should help.
good luck.
By dmarie_333, November 17, 2009 @ 2:07 am
Hire the best and treat EVERYONE including your employees like they are the best. When your customer see what a good atmosphere is in your business and you are providing them with the best service they cant help but tell their friends and family.
By kellymm83, November 17, 2009 @ 12:04 pm
Break the game