Top 5 DIY Car Maintenance Tips
Your car needs quite a bit of attention during its lifetime. You’re going to see various malfunctions over the years and not every little problem needs the expertise of a mechanic to fix. There are DIY (Do it yourself) car maintenance tips with a budget. Here are some crucial examples.
Changing the air filter
It’s recommended that you swap out your air filter every twelve thousand miles or every twelve months, whichever one of those come first. Most people take their car to a mechanic and they usually charge about forty dollars for the job. You would be surprised by how easy it is to replace the air filter on your own when you’re familiar with the job.
You simply have to dig up a black rectangular box under your hood and find the filter inside of it. Open up the casing and remove the old one from its socket. The new one should fit inside pretty snuggly. The whole process takes about ten minutes and you don’t need to visit a mechanic if this is your only problem.
Swap your windshield wipers
Wiper blades are something you don’t think about until the rainy season rolls around. You might be thinking they are pretty difficult to replace, but that isn’t quite true. You’ll often see mechanics sell wiper blades along with free installation as if the installation requires any skill at all. You would be surprised as to how easy it is to actually install new wiper blades by yourself.
You should consider replacing them every half a year or so. If you get yourself some quality wipers, it’s very likely they’ll last you over a year. Still, you should check them out before it becomes a necessity. If you get caught in a rainstorm and they fail, you’re probably not going anywhere any time soon.
Radiator Flush
The cooling system of your radiator needs to be clean in order to work efficiently. Due to the regular wear and tear you can expect, you’ll find that the radiator often builds up residue that can disrupt the cooling system. Luckily, a radiator flush is all that’s needed to put it back on track.
Most vehicles require a radiator flush every year or two. You should check your manual for the exact timeframe.
Before you start cleaning it, you should make sure that the car isn’t still hot. You don’t want to get burned at this point. You should replace the drain plug and try to find and remove the radiator cap. Use a funnel to pour in the radiator cleaning solution. Start the car for a couple of minutes and then let it cool off again. Let the radiator cleaning solution drain out and dispose of it. The whole process takes about half an hour but it will save you quite a bit of money.
Maintain your battery
If you want your car to run smoothly every time you turn on the ignition, you need to properly maintain your battery. Occasionally, you might see some white specks of dust and residue that surround the battery posts which might make it difficult to start your car. Whether or not cleaning them allows you to start your car depends entirely on the age of the battery itself.
There are very few things that are as inconvenient as a dead battery. You can run into this problem if you accidentally leave your lights on during the day, and then the only fix you can apply here is to simply change the battery on the road. There are quite a few services that can help you if you’re stranded somewhere with no power.
Take care of the lights
All those nightly drives are going to require completely functional lights if you don’t want police officers to stop you along the way. Headlights are a good place to start. They are often dimmed by dirt and debris that accumulates during long drives. If you have cloudy headlights, you might want to get yourself a headlight restoration kit. They aren’t easy to clean and the only other alternative is replacing them.
Brake lights get busted all the time and their malfunctions are nothing to scoff at. A busted brake light can get you pulled over, but it can also pose a danger for any drivers behind you. In most cases, you can fix this all on your own without a trip to the mechanic. Break lights themselves cost two to five dollars, so you won’t have issues replacing them.
Also, check out car interior cleaning methods at homeviable
Conclusion
Car Maintenance is a daunting task, but it’s not as difficult as it sounds. A lot of the things you need to regularly fix are just small changes that require a bit of know-how. It can be pretty expensive to visit a mechanic too often, which is why DIY car maintenance tips can save you a lot of money.
