As a car owner there are some basics that we all should know, but have either never taken the time to listen or we were told what to do. So right now is your chance to have the opportunity to say “oh yeah I forgot to do that last time… Here are some helpful hints of what you should “Do”: Know your tire pressure, and take the time each month to check that pressure… no I don’t mean check just one of the four tires on a random section based process, check them all. In order for you to do this you will want to buy an inexpensive pressure gauge and keep that little dude in your glove box, that way when your spouse and or kids are rummaging around in your tool box (or tool drawer, whichever the case may be) your tire gauge will not come up missing. Now for those of you who believe that having the best gauge is the only way to go, well not in my book because having the best gauge is not going to do you much more for you, but if that makes you feel better by all means get the best (but as far as I know there are only so many ways to measure the pressure of air and that is PSI pounds per square inch after all you are looking to be in the ballpark on this one). Oil types now this is sort of complex, but I will give it a shot. Oil has a weight and that weight is referred to as the oil’s viscosity. The type of oil weight your car will require depends on the area in which you live. If you want to put a number on the weight, here you go: 10 W50; 10 W40; 10 W30; etc. You notice that there is “W” in each of the weights and that “W” stands for (you guessed it) weight. Now later on we will discuss oil changes, but for now just remember that oil has different weights and for your local area consult your local auto parts dealer and they will let you know which oil weight is best for the time of year. “Oh no my idiot light just came on… now what…” Well, first of all, relax: the sky will remain blue (if it’s not raining that day). Now that you have composed yourself, look in your service manual, if you have one. Like the oil weight this is a very complex topic due to the fact that every vehicle made after 1989 has a computer. And when that idiot light comes on is when you should take a drive to the auto parts dealer and ask them if you can rent or borrow their computer. What does this computer do? It sole purpose in this world is to read your on board computer, which controls every function that your car’s engine does. For example, it meters the air flow, gas flow, rpm’s, exhaust gas temperature, etc. and each little function has a certain code. In short, this computer receives a signal of which code is out of range and shows up on the computer as a possible cause to the error that the computer on your car is reading…see it’s all computers these days.
DON'ts Let me start this section on by telling each and every one of you that you should NEVER mix diesel and gasoline. If you do, your car will not work. Why is that? Gas and Diesel don’t mix, take my word for it. One more thing on this subject, some gas stations have a green rubber handle cover on the diesel pump, so if you drive up to a gas pump and you see green take a good look at what you are about to pump into your tank… please trust me on this one I’ve seen in done and it was not an easy fix! Now types of gasoline, well there are many types of gas sold on the market today, and unless your car’s warranty will be voided unless you use the high grade fuel I would use the “regular”. Having said that, what the difference is has to do with the chemicals and/or additives the oil company mixes into to fuel you are using. Now I have even seen some places where water was mixed into the fuel, which is a real problem and causes a lot of damage to an engine. Not to worry, once these stations get thousands of complaints they are forced to come clean (so to speak). Now I am only letting you know because it happens and you should be aware of it. Have you ever been driving at night and your radio, head lamps, and blinkers go out? Well don’t panic all at once and start a hate campaign against your car’s computer like I do. Pull over and pull out the handy dandy flash light your sister-in-law gave you for Christmas (because she is too cheap to buy you anything else) and find your fuse panel. Once you locate it (now-a-days it’s located on the driver’s side just under the dashboard near the door) open the door, which will be imprinted into the plastic “fuses” and look for what could be blown out. Now these fuses come in amps and are all color-coded for people like me who never take the time to read the instructions, so pull out the fuse you think it could be and take a look at the center of it. If you see the metal making contact with the other side, it’s good. Put it back and keep looking. Now don’t worry about getting electrocuted handling these fuses, there is not enough juice to hurt you, at most you might feel a buzz but that has never happened to me.
