The Exhaust System Written by Kevin Schappell Continued from page 1 If you live in an area, which uses salt on roads in wintertime, make sure to wash underside of you car with water every few weeks. Salt speeds up corrosion process and getting it off as soon as possible will help stop corrosion. Make sure you run engine after washing to drive off all of water on pipes. Noticing a decrease in your gas mileage? Your oxygen sensor could be going south on you. As time goes on oxygen sensor begins to wear out and becomes less accurate. This sometimes results in a rich fuel mixture where your engine burns more fuel than is needed. Most of time your check engine light will come on and alert you to a failing oxygen sensor. I suggest changing oxygen sensor every 60,000 miles just to be safe. Even though your check engine light might not be on, you could be using more gas than is needed. Pay a few bucks and change sensor, your wallet will thank you when you have to buy less gas down road. The next part in line to go is muffler. Most of time mufflers rust through and need to be replaced. There are allot of options out there for replacement mufflers. Some cheap and some expensive. It holds true... you get what you pay for. If you plan on keeping your car for any period of time, spend extra cash and get an OEM muffler or a high quality name brand muffler. On rare occasions catalytic converter will become clogged and need to be replaced. Symptoms include loss of power, heat coming from floor of your car, glowing red converter or a sulfur smell. Never let a mechanic tell you that you can do without catalytic converter. Removing this component is illegal in most states and can lead to a hefty fine to government if you are not careful. That's about it for exhaust system; just remember that rust is biggest enemy to your exhaust system. Take above-mentioned steps and your exhaust system will last a long time Kevin Schappell maintains http://www.carbuyersclub.com where he gives advice on buying, selling, insurance, and financing. A mechanical engineer and car guy, Kevin has decided to spend his online time helping others learn about automobiles. To learn more about how your car works, Kevin has createdhttp://www.mycarwizard.com Your Cars Electrical System Written by Kevin Schappell Continued from page 1 ·Car won't start, I hear nothing. oCheck battery cables as above. oHave battery tested. There could be a bad cell causing a short. You can try jump-starting but often car will not stay running. ·Car won't start, all I hear is a horrible grinding noise. oGrinding noises point to starter not properly meshing with flywheel. This can be caused by a bad solenoid or a bad spot on flywheel. oI have also seen starters loosen up so they no longer contact flywheel at proper distance. While not common, it is something to keep in mind. ·Car starts but my headlights are dim at low engine speeds. oLook to alternator for problems. Take car to your mechanic to have alternator checked for proper operation. oCheck for loose wires going to alternator. Also check for corrosion, as this will inhibit alternator from charging properly. oCheck tension on alternator belt. If it is too loose, belt may slip and not drive alternator properly. As you can see there are plenty of things to go wrong with charging system and it is always best to take car to your mechanic and have it tested before you go replacing parts blindly. Preventing problems with your electrical system: ·Replace your battery every 4 years as a safety measure. It will save allot of headaches down road. ·If your battery is not a sealed unit, check fluid levels in each cell. Only fill with distilled water and be careful around acid, which is in battery. ·Check your alternator belt frequently for cracks and tension. Replace per your cars manufacturers recommendations. ·Clean your battery connections at least once a year. Parts stores sell a handy terminal cleaner which is basically a round wire brush, which works wonders. Once you reattach terminals, coat with a layer of heavy grease or special purpose grease sold at parts stores. This layer will block air from reacting with connectors and creating corrosion. How to jump start your car: Jump-starting your car does not have to be a hard task. First lay out cables on ground between two cars. Make sure that cable is not tangled and none of end clamps are touching each other. The car with good battery should be running. Step 1: Take positive (red) clamp closest to car with good battery and hook it to positive terminal of that car. The positive terminal will have a + sign on it and usually a red wire running to it. Step 2: Repeat this step on car with bad battery, hooking up positive clamp to positive terminal on battery. Make sure clamps are contacting well and can not fall off. Step 3: Take negative cable (black) closest to car with good battery and hook it to negative terminal of battery. The negative terminal will have a - sign and usually a black wire running to it. Step 4: This is last step and most important. Take negative clamp closest to car with bad battery and attach it to a bare metal part of engine. DO NOT hook it to batteries negative terminal as there maybe hydrogen gas present from battery and a spark from connection could cause an explosion. That's it...... turn key on dead car and car should start. If it does not, try revving engine on good car to boost charge coming from alternator. If this does not work, try wiggling cables to assure you have a good connection. GOOD sets of jumper cables are a necessity. I have had cheaper sets not jump-start a dead car. I actually had to double up two cheap sets to get enough current to start my car. The cheaper sets will have thinner cables, which cannot carry enough amperage to start some stalled cars. I would suggest buying a cable, which has 4,6 or 8-gauge wire. Kevin Schappell maintains http://www.carbuyersclub.com where he gives advice on buying, selling, insurance, and financing. A mechanical engineer and car guy, Kevin has decided to spend his online time helping others learn about automobiles. To learn more about how your car works, Kevin has createdhttp://www.mycarwizard.com     <Back to Page 1   ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005 Terms of Use