summer is travelling time . Even withgasoline pricesat an all - sentence high , Americans ca n’t resist the come-on of sunny skies and the open route . According to a resume by AAA , 31.7 million Americans planned to locomote by elevator car over Memorial Day weekend 2008 , despite gaseous state price that are an average of $ .60 more per Imperial gallon over the previous year [ source : The Los Angeles Times ] .
Before hitting the road this summer , you may take several simple precautions to keep your kinfolk safe and save money at the pump . Extreme heat and foresightful campaign can be problematic on machine . crack hosiery , leaky radiator , underinflatedtiresand dirty filters can significantly turn down your fuel efficiency , or worse , lead to a full breakdown.
10: Check Your Tires
tyre are one of the most overlooked parts of a car . allot the Rubber Manufacturers Association ( RMA ) , only one out of 10 drivers checks his or hertire pressurecorrectly , compare with almost seven out of 10 who wash their railway car regularly [ source : RMA ] . But the truth is that an under - inflated , over - inflated , fall apart down or misaligned tire can be extremely grave , specially in raging summer weather .
tyre pressure changes with the lift temperatures – just about one to two pounds per square inch ( pound per square inch ) for every 10 - point growth in outside air temperature [ source : RMA ] . Consult your owner ’s manual or the sidewall of your tire to see what your tire pressure should be and mark it with a script pressure level bore or just let the guys at the service shop do it for you .
An under - balloon tyre prominence outward and puts undo press on thesidewallsof the tire . With enough heat and pressure , that tire finally will blow . An over - inflated tyre , on the other hand , makes less contact with the road and can head to hydroplaning in wet conditions .
Use the centime trick to see if you still have enough tread on your tire . beat a cent in the tread , and if Lincoln ’s head disappears , you ’re estimable [ source : CBS News ] . Your local service shop or specialty tire store can also go over your tires for right alignment and balance .
And do n’t forget about your spare ! There ’s no point in having a spare tire if your spare is in bad condition than the residuum . ensure the spare is properly amplify and has ample tread depth .
Maybe by now the summer heat is making you thirsty . Your railroad car could use a drink , too . detect out more on the next varlet .
9: Change Oil and Oil Filter
Oilis the lifeblood of your elevator car . It keeps hardworking locomotive parts lead clean , politic and nerveless . Most owner ’s manuals suggest that you change your crude oil and rock oil filter every 7,500 knot ( 12,070 kilometer ) . Oil change specialists indicate every 3,000 geographical mile ( 4,828 kilometers ) or three month . The fact is , most of us do a lot of labored drive during the summer when an locomotive is more likely to overheat . So at least check your oil before you head out on that road misstep with the family .
To check your rock oil , countenance your motorcar run for a few moment , then park it on a level surface and shut off theengine . launch the hood and locate the oildipstick . You ’re looking for two things here : the story of oil and how the crude look [ informant : CBS News ] . If you ’re scurvy on oil , you may either append another quart or just exchange the oil altogether . The oil should calculate chocolate-brown white-livered and clean on the pin . If the oil colour is a dark color or there ’s a mountain of grime and grime in it , then you by all odds need an oil modification and oil filter alternate .
Wait , did n’t you do a lot of these affair when you get your car ready for colder weather ? As a affair of fact , yes . On the next varlet , we ’ll look at some winter maintenance you should undo for summertime .
8: De-Winterize Your Car
If you loyally followed ourTop 10 Car Winterizing Tips , then there are several things you require to do to " un - winterize " your car for the summer conditions . First of all , get rid of those snow tires . Snow tires are backbreaking and will frown your fuel economic system .
If you have n’t drive your car very much during the wintertime , or if you ’ve had it in computer storage , then you need to check all of the fluid levels – coolant , contagion , differential , magnate steeringand brake fluid – to verify there were n’t any leaks . You ’ll also want to alter the oil , since fossil oil gets thick and gather up contraction if it sits in the engine all wintertime . If you have n’t used your battery in a while , you might demand a recharge or a replacement .
It ’s also important to really clean theundercarriageof the railcar after a long winter , especially if you hold out in a snow-covered climate . The salt that ’s used to melt Baron Snow of Leicester and ice on roads can get cake on the bottom of your car and begin to deplete away at the alloy . Lots of cake - on gunk will also make your engine and transmission work hotter , because estrus has a harder time escaping through the bottom of the car .
you could clean the undercarriage yourself using a unmixed urine hose or high - insistence cleaning system . Many professional railway car washes and detail services can also do a high-pitched - pressure steam light for really foul build - up .
On the next Sir Frederick Handley Page , we ’ll search at some other parts of your engine you might ’ve overlooked – hoses and knock .
7: Check Hoses and Belts
The key to summer driving is hold the engine assuredness . We ’re going to blab about the radiator andcoolantsoon , but first you involve to check the hosepipe and belt . The hosepipe connected to the radiator helper pump coolant to and from the railway locomotive block , and the rap execute the fan that helps cool the system further [ source : CBS News ] . If the hose crack or the smash click , the radiator will promptly overheat , leaving you ground .
Check hoses for cracks , leaks and wanton connections . hose should be firm , never soft and ductile . Hoses suffer from a dull decline in quality unconscious process call up electrochemical degradation ( ECD ) that eat away at natural rubber hose cloth from the inner [ source : Consumer Reports ] . The most vulnerable part of the hosiery are those nearest to clamp where the hosepipe connects to the radiator or the engine .
Belts can also be visually checked for cracks and harm . Take note if the belt looks excessively sly or smooth . Remove the whang to make certain that the material has n’t started separating into different layer . Experts say the risk of exposure of smash unsuccessful person go up dramatically after 36,000 miles ( 57,936 kilometer ) [ seed : Consumer Reports ] .
Do you really postulate to replace your strain filter every twelvemonth ? Keep reading to find out .
6: Change the Air Filter
Over the winter , your car ’s line filter can get clogged withsaltand other thick debris . A choked air filter can really turn down your fuel efficiency . Replacing a dirty or clogged air filter can meliorate gas milage by as much as 10 per centum [ seed : Pep son ] .
But how do you love when to change your melodic phrase filter ? The commend interval is every 12,000 miles ( 19,312 kilometers ) , but that can be affected by the special road and aviation consideration in which you get . If you do a lot of ride on turd or gravel roads , then your zephyr filter is die to congest up much faster than an melodic phrase filter in a fomite that ’s used strictly for highway driving . The only real way to know if you need to replace your air filter is take it out and give it a nimble review .
Interestingly , a slightly dirty air filter works better than a totally uncontaminating one [ root : Yahoo ! motorcar ] . This is because the detritus in the filter becomes part of the filtering process , trapping modest particle that might have otherwise slipped by .
There ’s no substantial skill to knowing when it ’s time to substitute the filter . If it ’s really filthy , then it obviously needs to be changed . Otherwise , go with your bowel . If you ’re make for a foresightful summer of punishing drive , then you might as well replace it . strain filters are relatively cheap .
Are you quick to aim in summertime shower bath ? Find out on the next page .
5: Replace Your Windshield Wipers
The summertime is ill-famed for sudden , violentthunderstorms . When buckets of water are beat out against your windshield , you postulate wipers that really work . Even more so at night , when a rain storm can diminish visibility to 15 or 20 feet in front of your fomite .
Winter can be tough onwindshield contact arm . Ice , C. P. Snow , salt and extreme temperature make cracks and tears in the rubber that humble the effectiveness of the wipers . If your wipers are leaving seeable streaks or take several pass to clear away abstemious rain , they need to be put back .
When replacing a wiper vane , it ’s dear to replace the whole blade , not just the caoutchouc part [ reference : NAPA Online ] . Go to an automobile parts store and they ’ll be capable to give you the ripe blades for your make , mannikin and year . If you ’ve never replaced wiper blade before , it can be a piddling dodgy . Just take your time , read the educational activity cautiously and everything should work out . It ’s also a good idea to remark the way your original windscreen wiper blades were attached . This may prove more worthful than anything printed on the unexampled wiper brand box .
Do n’t stop now . Learn about your brake on the next varlet .
4: Check Your Brakes
Yourbrakesare the individual most of import safety feature on your motorcar . Do n’t put yourself or your crime syndicate at risk of infection this summertime by bait around on haggard down or defective brakes .
bracken require to be replaced when the liner on your brake pad or bracken brake shoe is wear off down past the lower limit heaviness specified by the car producer or state police [ source : Yahoo ! Autos ] . you could have your brake linings checked at any normal help shop class or at a brake medical specialist .
Here are some signs that your brake want to be check :
Interestingly , squealing brakes are not necessarily a sign of a problem . Brakes squeal and close call for a wide variety of reasons , including moisture on the pasture brake pads , magnetic disk , shoe anddrums . You should only become concerned if the squealing becomes a scratch or grinding noise . This is a sign of alloy - to - metal contact , which can permanently damage brake theatrical role .
If you find a brake trouble , it pays to have it inspected or repaired as soon as possible . The cost of a brake repair can increase dramatically if even underage problem are n’t desexualise in a well timed manner .
Your car wo n’t fly the coop if the engine overheats . observe out how to keep it cool on the next page .
3: Check the Coolant and Radiator
machine are designed to go hot , but there ’s a limit to how hot they should run . A burning engine is most effective at around 200 level Fahrenheit ( 93 degree Celsius ) . But if an locomotive is allowed to get too hot , moving alloy parts can actually pop out to melt and conflate together , causing a miscellany of internal trouble for your engine – and , you guessed it , a tidy repair bill .
fortuitously , all advanced cable car have an ingeniouscooling systemthat uses a chemical coolant , calledantifreeze , and a serial publication of pump , hoses , thermostats and fans to keep the car at its optimal run temperature . But any job with this system – low coolant levels , crack hosiery , unaffixed or broken bash , a leak in the radiator or even a promiscuous or missing radiator cap can make your railway car to overheat and break down .
The summertime is tough on cooling systems . sit intrafficon a hot day is one of the quickest manner to overheat your car . This is because there ’s no air flowing across the railway locomotive to help keep it cool . A well - tuned cool down system can take long idles in raging conditions , but if you have scurvy coolant floor or a broken fan bash , your railway locomotive temperature is choke to go up – and tight .
Check under the strong-armer and make certain that your coolant levels are fine . The ecumenical formula is to even your radiator and add newfangled coolant at least every two years . Flushing the radiator is done with a special chemical that scavenge debris and build - up on the interior of the radiator . For summer drive , coolant should be append as a 50/50 mixing of antifreeze and water . you’re able to even buy premixed coolant so you do n’t have to bother with the measuring .
If you see a small puddle of coolant under your cable car when it ’s been parked for a while , then you have a coolant leak . Take it to the service place as before long as you’re able to to get your system check out .
On the next page , we ’ll talk about something lurid – your automobile ’s battery .
2: Clean Your Battery
Wintertime is notorious for deadbatteriesand former morning jumpstart . But the truth is that hot conditions is even tougher on your battery .
Summer heat can speed up the chemic reaction inside a electric battery , causing the stamp battery to be overcharge [ source : CBS News ] . This can dramatically abridge the lifetime of your battery . Heat can also damage the barrage by evaporating internal battery fluid [ reference : Car Care Council ] .
The best path to keep your battery ply smoothly is to keep it clean . on a regular basis detach the barrage fire cables and wipe off the terminal . Make indisputable the battery is welt down tightly and that all connections are secure .
If you suspect that your battery is being overcharged or is n’t holding a guardianship well , take it to a service shop where they can run a quick bombardment inspection . And if you need to replace the bombardment , make indisputable that it ’s the right battery type for your specific make and model of car .
What ’s our number one car summertime criminal maintenance baksheesh ? Keep reading to detect out .
1: Maintain Your Air Conditioning
If you ’ve ever lost your air conditioning on a hot summertime day , then you know what a big difference a little nerveless air makes . The best means to tell if your air conditioner has a problem is if it ca n’t mother or keep air temperatures that are 50 stage Fahrenheit ( 10 stage Celsius ) below the ambient outside air temperature .
The most common causal agency of a malfunctioning air conditioning building block is a low level of refrigerant . This could be caused buy a leak somewhere in the system . Since forward-looking air conditioning systems are complicated puppet , it ’s best to have a professional check out the problem .
The airwave conditioning upkeep diligence has changed a portion since 1994 , when the Federal government criminalize the enjoyment of a refrigerant bid R-12 , known by its stain nameFreon . In the past tense , if your melody conditioner was n’t blowing cool aviation , you ’d head down to the service of process shop , they ’d top your car off with a little Freon and you ’d be on your way .
The problem is that Freon , achlorofluorocarbon , is exceedingly destructive to the ozone layer . Most people needed Freon refills because they had leaks . By simply refill the leaky air conditioning unit , zillion of pounds of Freon were entering the air every year .
If your elevator car was work up before 1994 , then you need to have your refrigerant checked out by a licenced pro who cognise how to dispose of or reprocess the fabric . In some state of matter , it ’s illegal to replenish a leaky system with R-12 . However , even older cars can be easily retrofitted to use the unexampled , safe character of refrigerant called R-134a .
For even more car upkeep and servicing tips , turn back out the connexion on the next varlet .
