As a car owner, there are some basics of car maintenance and repairs that are very necessary that you must do for yourself.
These prepare you for car emergencies, some of these car repairs are practical and can be done on your own. Others might require extra hands.
Changing a flat tyre
Your car tyres are a key component of your car and it’s important you know how to fix them as this skill might come in handy in emergency situations
It is important to always have;
- A functional spare tyre always
- A jack: For lifting the car.
- A wheel chock stops the car from rolling when jerked up.
- A wrench (spanner): for removing the wheel nuts.
Oil Change
Changing your oil can create a little mess when you get started but as you do it frequently, you get better at it and save yourself some money.
To do this:
- Have the new oil (make sure to get a very good brand of car engine oil) and a new oil filter.
- Locate the oil drain plug of your car.
- Drain the old oil into a drain pan.
- Close up the plug.
- Fill in the new oil.
In our previous post, we emphasis that Oil is one of the most important fluids for your vehicle’s engine hence it’s very important to change your car engine’s oil and oil filter regularly.
Change brake fluid
After a while, the fluid in your brakes can begin to collect moisture within the braking system. This reduces the performance of your brakes and also gives room for callipers and hard lines to start developing corrosion. As such, it’s advisable to flush your car’s brake fluid every two years. This helps to restore the firm pedal for cars without solid brakes.
To do this;
- Remove the old, dirty fluid from the master cylinder reservoir. Use turkey baster for this.
- Use a lint-free cloth to wipe out the reservoir
- Pour new brake fluid into the reservoir just until it reaches the “Full” line, replace the cap on the reservoir.
- Then bleed the brake,(This means ridding the brake system of trapped air by pushing brakes repeatedly while attaching a tube to the brake cylinder) you can get more information on this
- As you do this, the new fluid pushes the old fluid out of the system. Continue to bleed the brakes until you see clean, clear fluid exiting the bleeder screw.
Car battery
Your car battery is very important as you should be to replace them with a new one should your car engine go off while on the road and you should also be able to jump-start your car.
To change your battery;
- Remove any covering inactive battery.
- Disconnect the negative cables.
- Remove the clamp from the battery post.
- Disconnect the positive cable clamp.
- Remove all screws and switch the old battery with the new one.
- Reconnect all cable clamps.
To jump-start your car, You will need jumper cables (black and red) and another vehicle
- Turn off the ignition of both cars with gear placed in neutral.
- Attach the red clips to the positive terminal of your battery and then another end is attached to the positive side of the other car battery.
- Attach the black clip to the negative terminal of the other car’s battery.
- The remaining black clip should be attached to an unpainted metal surface of your car battery.
- Turn on your both car ignition and your car should work.
Replacing wiper blades
You must do as it is a matter of safety. How else can you see the road in front of you if you can’t wipe away precipitation from your windshield?
To do this;
- You must first remove old wiper blades
- Lift the Wiper Arm off the glass so it is easy to handle.
- Locate and press down tab, this is under the blade, where the windshield wiper arm connects with the blade, there should be a tab that you can press down. This will release the blade so you can remove it.
- Slide Off Old Blade, remove your old blades gently and throw them away. Be sure to put on new blades before lowering the arm.
- Be sure you bought the correct blade for your car, slide your new windshield wiper blade onto the arm until you hear a click. This click means it is securely in place.
- Lower the arm back to the windshield and you are good to go!
- Test it! Always test out your windshield wipers after replacing the blade so you know it is on correctly.
These tips will come in handy in fixing minor errors in your car but you must remember that every car is different, so it’s always a good idea to consult your owner’s manual or a mechanic when performing any DIY maintenance or repairs on your car.