Car Maintenance

Do it yourself car maintenance need not be a daunting task. If you can perform basic car maintenance y0ourself, the savings can be enormous. We all know how most mechanics love to charge and arm and a leg for such simple tasks as an oil change, so what if you could do this yourself?

With 3, 4 or more oil changes per year that’s hundreds of dollars in savings. Not to mention all the other little tasks that you can easily do yourself rather than relying on a mechanic.

Of course it would be of benefit if you had some interest in car maintenance before embarking on a do-it-yourself decision. But anyone can do it so don’t be afraid to get a little dirty under your car! After all, your wallet will thank you for it.

Basic car maintenance includes things like oil changes, spark plug checks and changes, fluid top-ups and coolant flushes. All of these tasks can be performed by you at home with a minimum amount of simple tools.

For example, all you’ll need to complete an oil and oil filter change on your car is:

- A socket/spanner to undo the sump plug
- Oil filter clamp (these are very cheap)
- New Oil
- New filter
- Tray to empty oil in
- Funnel to pour in new oil

That’s it! And this task literally takes a few minutes of your time. The oil can take some time to drain, but you need not sit and watch. Just open the sump plug, place a tray under the car and come back once the oil has drained.

Other simple tasks, as mentioned above, include coolant changes and spark plug checks. To check spark plugs you simply unscrew the rocker cover (the main cover on your engine) and purchase a spark plug socket (this is a long socket to reach into the spark plug chamber). Unscrew the spark plug and pull it out. If it looks burnt out or white, then its time for a change. Keep in mind that spark plugs can also indicate other troubles in your car so if your spark plugs look sick or are covered in oil, show a mechanic and he can advise on what may be wrong with your car.

Coolant changes, one of the most important aspects of car maintenance, should be performed around once per year. This stops your car from overheating. You simply undo the hose where it connects to the radiator and let all the coolant drain out. Then do up that hose and fill up with coolant again. Easy!

I hope you now realize the ease and simplicity of do-it-yourself car maintenance.

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