Posts Tagged ‘do-it-yourself’

Minimize your car break downs

Sunday, September 4th, 2011

It is but natural for every car to develop problems as they run over miles and miles on the roads. However, it is a matter of luck or misfortune that while some cars run thousands of miles without a small problem, some give a frustrating experience to the owner’s right from the beginning.

There might be several reasons for repairs. Some accidents may lead to multiple problems that crop up one after the other. Sometimes repairs may also be caused by design flaw or defects caused at the time of production. Engine life might also get shorter if you have the practice of driving over small distances every time without allowing the engine to get warmed up fully. Cars parked in damp areas with high humidity for a long time will have more problems due to corrosion of parts when compared to cars that are used every day.

More than anything, the most obvious cause of car breakdowns is poor maintenance. If the engine oil is not changed for a long time, the engine develops faults in a series and gives very less mileage for your fuel. When properly maintained, cars might not need repairs even after running over thousands of miles.

There are a few regular practices that can help you keep your car in a good shape. More than the fuel, engine oil is the life breath of every engine and changing it at regular intervals will ensure the sound condition of the engine. In fact, you can change the oil more frequently that what is prescribed in the owner’s manual. While running over long distances, give short breaks allowing the engine to cool down. In this way, never allow the engine to get overheated.

Sudden breakdown of cars might be caused by small parts like air filters, spark plugs and timing belts. It is better to change these parts at regular intervals, which will eventually avoid expensive repairs and maintenance issues. Make it a practice to fix up even small problems as and when they arise as they might eventually get complicated and injure the wellness of your car.

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About the author:

Vivek is a mechanical engineer and has more than 7 years of experience as a writer. He blogs about various topics; entrepreneurship being one. His interests range from poetry, music to photography and travel. He can be reached at sdkrdk@gmail.com

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Posted in car service | No Comments »

Tips to save fuel to make your car go extra mile

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Saving your car fuel will help you go extra miles shelling out the same amount of money from your pocket. Saving fuel has two benefits: Saving the planet besides saving your hard earned money. If you are thus going to bring down the number of times you ply to the petrol pump with your car, it is again going to save your miles for another useful trip.

There are a few ways in which you can help your car generate millions for you over a period of time by adhering to effective fuel saving practices. Some of them are listed below.

Imagine that you have defective bearings so that you will limit your speed on the highways leading to fuel efficiency. Above 60 kmph, most of the car’s fuel is wasted on assisting the vehicle resist the air particles bombarding on it. It is not funny though it might look. Unbelievably, driving behind a huge truck will help you save fuel since the vehicle running in front of you has done the job of resisting the air. However, don’t stay too close since your desire to resist the air free of cost should not end up letting your car bombard with the truck. At any speed, you should ensure that you are at least two seconds below the truck in front of you.

There is another trick that will regulate your speed to an optimum level. Driving too fast or too slow will cost more fuel. Therefore, imagine that your exhaust has a hole and your car sounds horrible so that you don’t drive fast to get caught due to over noise or get caught by being slow since the traffic personnel will be able to catch you quickly.

Launching the cars with a spurting speed at the start might sound good for racers, but not for you if you are conscious of saving fuel. Raising the car speed gradually has proven to save fuel. Over and above, racing out with great speeds on the city roads is not only unsafe; rather, it will also necessitate applying sudden brakes at times burning up more fuel.

Saving fuel is not something that every car owner practices on daily drives. However, the benefits of this for yourself, your car and the planet at a larger extent cannot be underestimated.

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About the author:

Vivek is a mechanical engineer and has more than 7 years of experience as a writer. He blogs about various topics; entrepreneurship being one. His interests range from poetry, music to photography and travel. He can be reached at sdkrdk@gmail.com

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Posted in aftermarket | No Comments »

Some fitness tips for your car

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Every doctor will be able to tell you the few essential things like food habits and regular exercise that will keep your body fit. In the same manner, you need to cultivate certain good practices to keep your car in perfectly good condition. You must understand that no compromise can be excused in exercising a regular care for your car since it would cost you a huge amount at a later time besides pushing your proud possession to a bad shape very sooner than you can imagine. Over and above, when the sole purpose of your car is to help you complete your travel chores and daily routines, certainly you would not like to see yourself strangled helplessly with a breakdown on an important or crucial drive.

Though uncertainties are a part of everyday life, yet regular car maintenance will help you significantly bring down the number of breakdowns besides lengthening the life of your car and ensuring a smooth and safe drive.

A few important tips on car maintenance will help you to care for your car in a better way.

  • If you want to keep your car engine in a good condition, the first thing you must do is to perform a regular oil check-up and change the oil whenever it is deemed necessary. You must understand that leaving your engine with overused oil is equal to letting it ruin itself during every turn of the car wheels.
  • Take delight in washing your car regularly. In addition, you can wax it over the weekends to maintain it in a shining condition and let it stay free from corrosion. Stick on to regular service intervals.
  • Never neglect even minor niggles that can worsen in course of time and lead to other major problems. You can remember the quote, “A stitch in time saves nine”. You must not end up burning your pocket which would have otherwise cost you a few bugs in the earlier stage.
  • Though it might cost a bit more, make it a strong practice to use only original spare parts. Never look for cheaper alternatives that might not last longer as the original ones. You will appreciate that your peace of mind is worth more than the few coins that you will be able to save on duplicates and imitations.

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About the author:

Vivek is a mechanical engineer and has more than 7 years of experience as a writer. He blogs about various topics; entrepreneurship being one. His interests range from poetry, music to photography and travel. He can be reached at sdkrdk@gmail.com

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Posted in car repair | No Comments »

Do-it-yourself can make you out-smart your car mechanic

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

I met somebody at AutoExpo 2010, he made comments while talking about car servicing trends in India. He said “next 10 years dog may know how to maintain cars”. I try to understand what he was saying that India still need lots of awareness about do-it-yourself car maintenance and knowledge will grow at level that car mechanics would not be able to make them fool and everybody would know basics. I am talking about basics services which you can perform at your home garage.

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) exists in all other countries but people do not know how to open bonnet in India. Calling emergency helpline for basic things which were not checked and on-road assistance company charges heavily to tow vehicles. Driving habits are still to improve.

Recession has taught many in the world. Last year according to survey, majority of car owners missed their car servicing to avoid heavy charges in UK. Do-It-yourself is good for knowing if your car need major checkup and save you from heavy expenses occurred while things go road on the way.

Here is a list of the most common Do-it-yourself (DIY) tasks which you can do with little practice. It will save a big chunk of money.

1. Changing Oil
2. Change Air Filter
3. Replacing Fuel Filter
4. Replacing Spark Plugs
5. Change Battery
6. Replacing Your Disc Brake Pads
7. Replacing Your Drum Brakes
8. Replacing Your Ignition Coils
9. Jump-Start a Car
10. Replace Your Electric Fuel Pump

In your leisure time read manual which comes along with your new car, that would great help for your to understand few basics. It is not only save money but also increase your car value when you want to sell it. Happy DIY!

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Posted in car service | 6 Comments »

Imagine doing car servicing at home in India? Do-It-Yourself Car Servicing!

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

No car owner can think of doing car servicing at home in India when recent survey shows do-it-yourself (DIY) car servicing has increased in UK. Recent Kwik-Fit’s survey of 2,000 people showed that 2.5 million fewer cars were serviced at a garage in the past year to save money. (Source:Telegraph UK)

Do-it-yourself does not work here in India when you can find road side car workshops to do car servicing at cheaper. With increase in inflation, petrol prices, sophistication in car technology, servicing at road side car workshop may not work. How would car owner save money on car servicing? The knowledge is the key. Car owners need to be aware about basics about car servicing. Checking car bonnet at home may be routine at home during weekend in India. Use of car maintenance software can help doing minor checks at home.

As per the report, proper service will highlight issues which could cause a future breakdown and also cover areas too complicated for most DIY mechanics, such as timing belt replacement. (Source: Telegraph UK)

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Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments »