Owning a vehicle can be a large expense. Keeping track of everything from your tires to your coolants can seem overwhelming. Despite this fact, there are many maintenance tasks you can easily learn to do yourself. Here are a few you can easily master.
Coolant
An article written for readersdigest.ca states, “Coolant doesn’t last forever. You have to change it every 40,000 kilometres (green coolant) or 160,000 kilometres (extended-life coolant). If you keep driving on worn coolant, expect to replace the radiator, heater core and water pump.” Follow these step-by-step instructions so you can change it yourself.
Air Filter
Changing your air filter is something you can easily learn to do yourself. Luckily, it’s a bit of maintenance that you only have to do once a year. When you neglect your air filter, it can put added strain on the heating and A/C system in your vehicle. Avoid this by reading the following article written for readersdigest.ca. It has simple to follow, step-by-step instructions to accomplish this task.
Rotate Tires
Pepboys.com provides an excellent resource for completing this DIY vehicle service. They state, “The front and rear tires on your car wear differently. Your front tires carry more of your car’s weight, which causes front tires to wear down faster than the rear ones. Also, making turns wears the front tires at different rates. For instance, in the U.S., we generally take left turns faster than we do right turns. This puts more load on the right front tire, which results in the right tire wearing faster than the left. After thousands of miles of driving, uneven tread wear is bound to happen. When you rotate your tires from one position to another, you equalize these natural wear patterns. Tire rotation helps give you a smoother, safer ride. Plus, you extend the life of your tires, which saves you money in the long run.”
Change Fluids
There are a plethora of fluids your car needs in order to run. Brake fluid, transmission fluid, coolant, battery fluid and oil. Changing these regularly is a vial aspect of helping your car function. Failure to do so may result in a hefty repairs to the tune of about $1500+. If you want to avoid this monumental cost, and learn to test your fluid levels, you can read the article posted here.
Clean Headlights
The above mentioned readersdigest.ca article also states, “If you have cloudy headlights, you don’t have to replace them or live with them. Buy a headlight restoration kit at any auto parts store ($20) and follow the sanding and buffing instructions.” You can also find one on amazon.com by clicking here. This is an extremely easy and cheap way to improve your vehicle. It makes a big visual impact by keeping your car looking nice.
Doing some basic maintenance yourself can help cut down your vehicle expenses. A little time and some elbow grease will keep your car running smoothly for years to come.
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