Your Car’s an Investment – Protect It

November 24th, 2016

You rely on your car every day, and you have a lot of money tied up in it. It’s probably one of the more valuable things you own…so make sure you get the most out of that investment:

Oil changes: Changing your motor oil at regular intervals will ensure long engine life by cutting wear and friction and helping to prevent the buildup of sludge Antique Carand carbon on internal engine assemblies.

Cooling system: Older cast-iron engines could overheat with no serious consequences, but not so with today’s aluminum blocks and heads. Your engine’s coolant has a finite life and should be changed and flushed at regular intervals to prevent accumulation of scale and corrosion in the radiator, heater core and water pump.

Finish: ...[more]

  Posted in: Auto Repair 101

What To Do With Those Old Tires

November 10th, 2016

Every year, about 290 million tires are discarded; of those, about 233 million are recycled in one way or another. Shredded tires can be used for playground surfaces, welcome mats, hot-melt asphalt, bark mulch and even made into building material for “green” construction.

But what can you do with your old tires? Here are some ideas:

--Fill a tractor tire with sand to make a great sandbox for kidsTire swing

--Hang a tire from a rope as a tire swing

--Stack a couple of tires on top of each other, bolt them together and paint them a cheerful color, then use them as a planter

--Lay two rows of tires next to each other, somewhat staggered, and use them for broken-field running as part of football conditioning

--Bolt two tires togeth ...[more]

  Tags: tires
  Posted in: Tires 101

So…Many…Kinds…of Tires

October 27th, 2016

Different Types of TiresEver think about all the different vehicles that use rubber tires? Tractors, industrial equipment, everything else that rolls on rubber?

Each specialized type of tire requires a specialized design for its specific purpose. Aircraft tires, for instance, have to be very robust and handle a great deal of weight and stress, but for only a short period of time. Aircraft tires are often filled with an inert gas such as nitrogen, for more stable inflation levels, and are designed with specialized fusible plugs which provide a safer failure mode (rather than a sudden, catastrophic tire explosion).  

Off-the-road tires, for vehicles such as graders or mining equipment, operate at low speeds but have to be able to withstand severe service conditions while ha ...[more]

  Tags: tires
  Posted in: Tires 101

Make Sure Your Car's Ready For Winter!

October 14th, 2016

You know that winter and bad weather are coming. Is your car ready? Here’s a quick checklist of things to get up to speed on:

Motor oil: Motor oil has a tendency to thicken in cold weather, making it harder to circulate to upper engine parts at startup. If you haven’t ever used synthetic oil Driving in the winterbefore, this might be a good time to start. The flow properties of synthetic oil are a lot more consistent, meaning it doesn’t thicken in sub-freezing temperatures or thin out when it’s hot outside.

Wipers: Even the best windshield wipers only last about a year. If your wipers are showing cracks or chips or losing strips of rubber, go ahead and replace them. Don’t forget to refill your washer fluid reservoir…you’ ...[more]

  Posted in: Auto Repair 101

No Spare Tire?

September 29th, 2016
Believe it or not, many new vehicles come without a spare tire. Manufacturers have a few different reasons for that, including weight savings, space efficiency, Spare Tireand cost. When you're stuck by the side of the road, though, none of that really matters much, does it? 
 
Instead, these vehicles come equipped with an inflation kit and/or a can of sealant. 
 
Sealant is a gooey substance in an aerosol can that's designed to coat the inside of the tire due to centrifugal force once you get rolling again, hopefully sealing the puncture. These products, such as Fix-A-Flat, have been on the market for decades and tend to work pretty well on a minor puncture. They're not a permanent fix, however. Your speed should be limited after using ...[more]
  Posted in: Tires 101

Things To Look For When Buying a Used Car

September 15th, 2016
Buying a used car is somewhat less of a crapshoot than it was at one time. You can get detailed information on a vehicle's history via the CARFAX report, and a Car for saletechnician can use onboard diagnostics to get a good picture of what's going on under the hood and what problems might be coming up. 
 
It's always a good idea to get a mechanic to look over any prospective purchase, but there are things you can get a look at yourself before you spend the money for a professional inspection. These are things which will give you a pretty good idea of the kind of use and maintenance a vehicle has seen before you got it. 
 
-- Put your head against a fender and sight down the side of the vehicle with one eye. Look out for ripples or ...[more]
  Tags: auto service, mechanic
  Posted in: Auto Repair 101

Which Type of Tire Tread Do You Need?

August 25th, 2016
There are so many tire designs on the road -- all-season, high performance, touring, light truck -- and even within a specific tire design, there may be several Different types of tire treadchoices of tread patterns. What differentiates them, and what are the pros and cons of each tread design? 
 
-- Directional tread has a pattern of grooves and chevron shapes, all pointed in one direction. This design makes it easy to direct water away from the tire's contact patch and prevent hydroplaning in wet weather, and also offers low noise and great road manners. The directional design means tires can only be rotated front-to-rear and not side-to-side or diagonally. 
 
-- Symme ...[more]
  Posted in: Tires 101

Tips On How To Keep Your Car Organized!

August 11th, 2016
For some, the idea of an "organized car" is almost blasphemous, but having your vehicle set up so you can actually find things can be pretty nice. The bigger the vehicle -- minivans, SUVs -- and the more people they haul, the more disorganized they can get. Don't let your minivan turn into a rolling dumpster -- here are some great ideas for keeping it organized. 
 
-- While newer vehicles have come a long way in terms of driver and passenger ergonomics and an abundance of cubbies and cupholders, you can use a simple shower caddy across the back of a seat and make it easier for back seat passengers to keep toys, snacks, and other stuff within easy reach. 
 
-- Doesn't it always seem like you have way, way too many plastic groc ...[more]
  Tags: tips
  Posted in: Auto Repair 101

A Brief History of the Tire

July 28th, 2016
The tire is such a commonplace item -- it's on every car, every truck, every bicycle, every aircraft. It's easy to not give the tire a second thought, but like every other technology, the tire has an interesting history of advances and failures. 
 
In the 19th century, carriages and wagons used steel strips for "tires" on their wheels, with the punishing sort of ride that you'd expect. In later years, they were shod with strips of natural rubber, which was an improvement but was still problematic. Solid rubber still rode pretty rough, and the natural, uncured rubber would get gummy in hot weather and shrink and harden in cold temperatures. Charles Goodyear was able to help with the invention of vul ...[more]
  Tags: tires, tire, tire technology
  Posted in: Tires 101

What's Leaking From My Car?

July 14th, 2016
You go out to your car, start it up, pull out of your parking space and see a puddle of...something...where you were parked a moment ago. This is never a good feeling. What could it be? 
 
Fortunately, some automotive fluids are dyed different colors to make this a little easier to narrow down. 
 
Does it appear to be water? Were you recently running your A/C? Chances are that's just condensation from the A/C system, which drips out through a rubber tube and is perfectly normal. No worries there. 
 
For years, antifreeze was dyed a bright green to make it easy to identify. Today, other antifreeze formulations can be colored pink or orange, but it's still not hard to figure out -- antifreeze has a swe ...[more]
  Posted in: Auto Repair 101
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