Engineering Magazines

Your car may be one of the possessions that you rely on every day; to get to and from work, to collect your weekly grocery shopping or just to visit friends and family. Keeping it in tip-top condition should therefore be high on your priority list so you avoid inconvenient breakdowns or problems.

Keeping your car in check also makes it safer for you and your passengers when you’re out and about. When it comes to selling your car in the future you may also find that a well kept vehicle will sell for a higher price, so there are numerous benefits to carrying out a spot of regular car maintenance.

When it comes to safety you need to make sure your tyre threads aren’t wearing too thin, so periodically check their thickness – there are specific tools you can purchase to help you do this. In Britain it is a legal requirement to have a tyre thread thickness of at least 1.6mm so use this as a guide.

Rotation is another useful tyre maintenance tip. Uneven tyre treads can result in uneven braking and poor handling. To avoid this simply start rotating your tyres; especially on front wheel drive cars where the front tyres wear faster. You should also check your tyres on a weekly basis for any wear, tears or bulges – and don’t forget to include the spare tyre as you never know when you might need it.

Engine oil is another safety essential that needs to be regularly maintained. If you were to run out of engine oil it would probably mean the end of your engine and a very costly bill to pay before your car was back on the road again. Keeping engine oil levels topped up should be one of your main priorities when it comes to car maintenance.

To check the oil level of your car, make sure the car has fully cooled down and always have the engine switched off. Locate the engine oil dipstick, remove it and wipe it clean in order to get an accurate reading. If levels are running low then get yourself to the nearest garage and top-up immediately.

It is also an idea to keep your car as clean as possible – especially during the winter months when salt is used on the roads – to help protect the paintwork. You can invest in all sorts of car cleaning tools from alloy cleaner to wax polish that won’t leave unwanted scratches behind.

What’s more, if you are trying to keep an eye on your budget then parking your car in a garage can protect it from any natural elements that could cause damage, whilst also helping to lower the cost of your car insurance cover at the same time.

As you can see, taking care of your car does not have to be a chore and from doing so there is potentially a lot to be gained.

Save at least $30 by changing your oil yourself every time. When it comes time to change the oil of your Ford Tempo, doing it yourself could save you up to $30 or more. How do you know when to change your oil?

Change your oil every 3000 miles or about every 3 months, whichever comes first. SAE 5W-30 motor oil is the preferred motor oil to use for all weathering conditions, but if you are like me and live in moderate to hot temperatures then SAE 10W-30 motor oil is also acceptable.

Never change your engine oil while the engine is hot. This should be common sense. If your engine is hot, wait 2 hours. You could suffer terrible burns from your car’s engine or oil drainage. We don’t want any hospital bills over here.

Locate your car’s oil pan drain plug. Place an oil pan underneath the plug so you don’t spill any oil on the ground. Unscrew the drain plug and let the oil drain out for about 20 minutes to ensure all oil has poured out. Screw the plug back in. If you start pouring oil in without the plug tightly fastened then you are in for a greasy mess.

Locate the oil filter, unscrew it, and take it off. The oil filter is the piece that is shaped like half a cylinder. Be careful because oil will want to leak out of it after you unscrew it so keep it upside down. Then screw the new oil filter in.

Pour the correct amount of oil in for your vehicle. For a 2.3L engine, the oil amount should be 5 quarts. If you have a 2.3L engine, make sure the oil filter says FL-300. For 3.0L Tempo engines, you will want to put only 4.5 quarts of oil in, and make sure the oil filter says FL-400A.

If your car has a lot of miles on it (lets say +80,000), it might be a good idea to use oil that is specifically designed for cars with high mileage. I use Valvoline High Mileage and it seems to work pretty good for my 1993 Tempo (+120,000 mi).

A quick auto maintenance tip to keep in mind is to periodically check the ground underneath your parked vehicle. Look for any liquids that look like they are new. If it looks like fresh liquid, there could be a chance that it is coming from your car. Be sure to keep an eye the next time your car is parked for a while to confirm any suspicious liquid.

Just for reference, reddish liquid will be power steering fluid, brownish liquid will probably be oil, and if it is a bluish liquid it is most likely radiator coolant.

Check your oil level every couple of weeks. Make sure your oil level is within the regulated guidelines located at the bottom of your oil dip stick. Your dip stick is the stick with a round, usually colored ring at the top. All you do is pull it out, wipe off excess oil with a rag, stick it back in, pull it out again, hold it level, and decipher where the oil line stops.

Don’t be an idiot. Always properly dispose of any used oil. Local auto parts stores and service stations usually have a receptacle in the back of their store where you can recycle any used oil. Start recycling now before we jack Earth up anymore and there is nothing left to protect.

Car maintenance can be expensive, and the rising cost of gasoline in the United States can really drain, so to speak, the funds available for car maintenance and related costs.

According to Rich White, executive director of the car care council, loose or missing gas caps, under inflated tires, worn spark plugs, and dirty air filters all contribute to poor fuel economy.

Here are some tips, courtesy of the car care council, to help you save money on gasoline, even as the prices continue to climb.

Do not drive aggressively. This can actually lower gas mileage by up to 33 percent on the highway and five percent on city streets, resulting in a cost of 7 to 49 cents per gallon.

Take care of your tires. A smart care maintenance tip in general, since driving with an under inflated tire is the equivalent of driving your car with the parking break on, and can cost you a mile for each gallon.

Watch out for worn spark plugs. Vehicles have four, six, or eight spark plugs, and these fire as much as three million times every on thousand miles, which creates heat, electrical, and chemical erosion. Replace your spark plug regularly for proper care maintenance, and gas conservation as well.

Change your dirty air filter. Air filters clogged with dust, dirt, and bugs cuts off the air and results in more gas than necessary being burned. This wastes gas, and causes the engine to lose power as well.

Watch those gas caps. Approximately 17 percent of vehicles, according to the CCC, have gas caps that are damaged, loose or missing, and this causes 147 million gallons of gas to vaporize each year.

Do not idle excessively. Idling gets you zero miles to the gallon, and you really only need to warm up your vehicle for about one to two minutes.

Watch that speed. As your cars speed increases, gas mileage decreases, and each mph over sixty results in an additional ten cents per gallon cost.

Lose some weight. By simply removing unnecessary items from your vehicle, you could reduce the weight by 100 pounds, which in turn will reduce your MPG by up to 2 percent, based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the weight of the vehicle.

Proper car maintenance is the best way to get the most out of your car, and to make sure that it remains fuel efficient. Do not skip regular visits to the auto mechanic the health of your car depends on them.