Category: Car Maintenance
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Preventing Rust from Road Salt
Why Salt Is Used on Roads Human beings can’t live without salt. It’s a necessary nutrient, it’s used to seed rain clouds, soften household tap water, make chemicals and, most important, to make ice cream. In those parts of the country with freezing winter temperatures, drivers know that warming the cars up in the morning…
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Pre-trip Maintenance
Road Trip! Taking a long trip by car is an adventure. It’s the best way to see America and a wonderful way to learn a little about the country and its highway culture. You’ll experience it all, too, from the ambiance of a truck stop to the sublime swank of five-star restaurants. Each city, town,…
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Often Overlooked Tire Maintenance
It is not difficult to torque wheel fasteners properly. Just find the vehicle manufacturer torque specifications in the owner’s manual of the vehicle in question and follow those instructions to the letter. By simply following those specifications, you can avoid unwanted comebacks. Tire maintenance Today’s wheel fasteners are primarily a straight-tapered seat type, which is…
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Maintaining Your Wipers and Washer Fluid
Under the hood of your vehicle is a plastic container that contains the fluid for your windshield wipers. Is it full of liquid? If not, you can fill it with any one of a variety of windshield washer solutions — you can even use a home window cleaner. Just don’t use detergent, which can leave…
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Maintain Your Car before New Year
It’s going to be here before you know it. It’s time to start making some resolutions for your car, truck or SUV in the New Year. Not sure where to start with your car maintenance checklist? Here are some of the best commitments you can make to keep your vehicle in better condition, enjoy a…
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Keep your car tires cool in summer heat
Record heat has raised more than temperatures this summer, as the nation struggles to retain its cool. Just as heat takes its toll on people and electric bills, it also impacts car reliability and safety. By some accounts, tire blowouts are on the rise, creating dangers for travelers. But you can reduce this risk, if…
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Is It Bad to Let Your Vehicle Idle?
Old habits do die hard. Since the earliest days of the automobile, idling has been something of a necessary evil. Back then, the question of whether or not a vehicle would start again was secondary to the odds of drivers breaking their wrists on the cranking handle. In these days of $4-a-gallon gas, with modern…
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Does Saving Pennies on Gas Put Your Car’s Engine at Risk?
Gasoline is expensive and you’re looking for every way possible to save money at the pump. You already shy away from premium fuel, knowing that your car doesn’t require it. You’d like to save a few pennies per gallon more by going to an off-brand gas station. But you can’t get rid of the nagging…
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Irregular Tire Wear: Causes, Indicators and Remedies
Irregular tire wear is a frustrating little gremlin that can steal your tires’ performance and tread life if you let it. The problem is that irregular wear comes in so many different flavors. The causes of strange tire wear can range from air pressure to improper balance, from misalignment to bent wheels. Here’s how to…
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Stop Changing Your Oil!
Oil chemistry and engine technology have evolved tremendously in recent years, but you’d never know it from the quick-change behavior of American car owners. Driven by an outdated 3,000-mile oil change commandment, they are unnecessarily spending millions of dollars and spilling an ocean of contaminated waste oil. The majority of automakers today call for oil…