Basic maintenance

One of the may classes that automotive will offer starting next month will cover basic maintenance

A local artist just stopped by my store to ask about replacing a turn signal assembly on his son’s 2001 Toyota truck…when I saw the battery I asked other BASIC maintenance items…

He is an “artist” that explains it ! (some folks are clueless, some of them are artists too…this guy is both at times)

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@uglyknees How cool is this, an automotive class for artists! I must be an artist … I changed my battery last week (same group size - 35) sorta looked like this, not as bad, but then again my artistic skills are limited.

Tom: I think a good class might be just the charging system: battery maintenance (properly cleaning and installing/removing cables on terminals without damaging battery terminals, water levels], right size battery for car, using the analyzer we have for the battery and the alternator, so your know which is really out. Checking belt tension. etc. Good basic class for a very common maintenance problem where you don’t have to rely or some crook mechanic at the dealer trying to sell you an alternator at same time as battery.

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Dave,

I see you have a sense of humor too!

My hope for automotive classes to help those that want to learn about everyday transportation and to reduce the thievery when one takes a car in to a retail garage for repair or “service”.

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Easily prevented by installing these on the battery terminals before putting on the cables.

http://www.autozone.com/batteries-starting-and-charging/battery-terminal-protector/duralast-battery-terminal-protector/8170_0_0

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I learned to do the disc brakes on my Faurnont years ago
When a brake chain kept fixing my brakes and the some thing
else would go wrong in 2 wks, Then a friend helped me realize
that I was getting taken to the cleaners by them. No more issues
after I started doing my own brakes

Some of these classes are ones that us ladies really need

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Great idea for a class.

Other things to cover:

How to check and top off oil.

How to check and adjust air pressure in tires.

How to check and top off windshield washer fluid.

How to check and top off coolant overflow tank.

How to inspect hoses and belts.

How to replace a fuse.

How to replace a tail lamp, turn signal lamp or back up lamp. This may be very easy with some vehicles.

How to replace a headlamp or front turn signal lamp. This may be ridiculously difficult with some vehicles.

How to change a flat tire.

What does it mean when the turn signal flashes abnormally quickly or slowly?

How to replace a wiper refill. Removing the blade from the arm can be tricky until you have done it once.

Do you need premium fuel?

When does something not look, sound or smell right?

Maybe how to defog a headlamp lens. I really need to do this.

Hint: Replacement tail lamp, turn signal and back up lamp bulbs used to be all clear. Now they come in clear, red and amber. Use a clear one unless the lens is clear, then use a red or amber one as appropriate. If you have a broken tinted lens, replace the clear bulb with one of the appropriate color. Even if that is not sufficient legally, it may help to not be noticed until the lens is replaced.

Bonus hint: Use a reflection in a glass storefront to inspect the lamps at the rear of the vehicle without needing another person

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A class on buying tires and what the letters/numbers
mean and such could be a money saver,

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Thanks for that list Bill!

I know it may be hard to believe but those in automotive that met at the Space just over a week ago spoke abut covering all the above in BASIC automotive classes along with routine maintenance and other popular repairs and other events as well.

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This information along with other important information can be found in the owner’s manual - which is definitely the least read printed literature on earth.

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Yeah, I’ll be bringing my wife’s car up to the space to use the lift. You have to go in through the wheel well to get to the lights. :frowning:

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THIS one can get interesting. Our VW has these plastic caps that look like wheel locks and stymied us when we had a flat. There’s a key ring looking ring with a metal hook sticking out of it that was in the manual case in the glove box. You use it to stick the hook down into the “lock” and pull the plastic cap right off to reveal real lug nuts underneath.

Once that was figured out the rest was easy!

Some cars have special slots for the jacks to fit into or grooves in the jack to fit around pinch rails (Miata!) so you don’t squish them.

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Used cars often lose their manuals, Hubby mentioned
we need a couple of tires, that is why I thought of it,

Sue may have gotten a replacement one for the Durango
(double used car!)

That is true and when that happens - most tire websites have online catalogues where anyone can look up the standard tire sizes that the vehicle manufacturer installed when it was built.
One example is here
www.tirerack.com
For the record - I do not buy from the tire rack, but I use it as a price guide. It is not perfect (nothing that uses software is) but most of the time it works for most vehicles made in the last couple of decades.

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I purchased from them and it was an incredible price. :slight_smile:

My previous Miata had Enkei 18" rims on it and tires that were only used on a Volvo. I got some nice 17" SSR Comp C ultra light forged rims on clearance and new tires mounted and shipped for about 50% more than just the 18" tires would’ve cost.

The car lost a lot of weight on each corner, had much more pep off the line, and I saved a lot of money buying 17" tires that were a far more popular size than a skinny 18" rubber band.

True story…

My first day of in-car Driver Ed, our car had a flat tire. We had to change the it before we could do any driving. I wondered whether they did that on purpose, but nobody I asked reported the same.

It is probably a good idea to do a dry run with every new car: get the spare and tools out, jack the car up and pretend to change the tire…

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I’d like to keep this on STOCK BASIC Maintenance.

Wasn’t suggesting anything otherwise… just saying I’ve purchased from Tire Rack before. :slight_smile:

There is no pretending if you’re a first time future driver in Germany.

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Most online tire retailers if you go to their site will ask for the Make, Model (engine size & 2 or 4 wheel drive), and Year. Then it will give you a selection. e.g. I have a RAV4, this is the NTB site:

Now I can see the tire sizes and these are what you can use to find your tires where ever.

When I select it’ll show the various brands of tires, tread styles, etc. You can probably download the owners manual from the manufacturers site.

So I guess side wall repair with a boot is out of the question? Lol.

I repaired my side wall on my now spare with high test fishing line, rubber cement & a boot(patch). My local sources were being finicky with re-vulcanizing my side wall.

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