How To Repair Brake Light Switch
The brake light switch on your vehicle serves an important safety function. Acquire how to test it and determine when to supervene upon information technology.
The restriction light switch on your vehicle serves an of import condom function. When yous press the brake pedal, information technology supplies ability to the indicate lights at the dorsum of your vehicle to warn other drivers you have slowed.
Where is a Restriction Light Switch Located?
Every bit part of the brake-pedal associates, you can observe this switch nether the dashboard or on the firewall almost the top of the pedal lever. Replacing ane is piece of cake.
What should I do when the brake alert light comes on?
Once driven by hydraulic pressure in the brake line (a organization prone to failure), vehicle manufacturers transitioned to the more reliable mechanical brake light switch by the end of the 1960s. At present, information technology is rare for a switch to fail. Current designs use a relay, assuasive a lower-voltage control circuit to operate the main power supply switch for the brake lights. This configuration creates a reliable switching mechanism with a long lifespan.
Here are 14 means to get your motorcar gear up for winter.
How Exercise Y'all Know if Your Brake Light Switch is Bad? Diagnosing the Problem
Y'all won't go much alert before a brake lite switch fails, possibly some flickering or inconsistency in calorie-free stability. Most likely, the restriction lights just stop working.
Chances are, someone else has alerted you to the issue. Check for yourself at dark. Looking through your side mirror. Light intensity should increase behind the vehicle equally you engage the brake. Alternatively, you tin dorsum up to a wall or garage door, put the car in park and spotter through the rear-view mirror as you appoint the brake. Or fashion a device like this that will employ pressure on the brake pedal.
Acquire 10 easy DIY automobile upgrades.
Broken Brake Lite?
Identify a faulty restriction light switch through a process of elimination. Check the lite bulbs for cracks or cleaved filaments. Make sure the bulbs and wiring harnesses are connected and seated tightly. Did both lights neglect at the same time? If so, a bad switch is more likely.
How Much Does it Price to Supervene upon the Brake Light Switch?
A replacement brake light switch generally costs around $30 to $75, depending on the make and model of the vehicle. Getting a brake light switch stock-still at a shop will add typically $80 to the repair.
Yep, you lot tin change your own brake fluid. Hither'south how.
Learn the things you lot should never do to your car in the video below.
Run into the 105 Super-Simple Car Repairs You Don't Need to Get to the Shop For
Employ a Lawmaking Reader
Diagnose car issues without going to a mechanic with an motorcar code reader. Simply plug information technology into the car'south computer system, and then translate the problem code readout to run into what repairs you might need to do. See how to crack the code of a code reader here.
Replace Your Wiper Blades
It's easy to tell when your blades need replacing. Simply press the washer button and see if your blades wipe clean. If they streak, they're toast. The motorcar parts shop will have lots of economy blades, merely go with a proper name make instead (ANCO, Trico or Bosch). They cost more than economic system blades, only their higher-quality rubber wipes better, has amend UV protection and lasts longer. Follow the installation instructions on the package. Exist sure you take a business firm grip on the wiper arm once y'all remove the one-time blade. If it gets away from you lot, information technology can hit the windshield with enough force to crack it.
Service Your 'Constrict-Under' Spare Tire Elevator Now!
Loosen and lubricate a corroded spare tire elevator so yous can become to your spare tire when you demand it. See how to go along that spare tire lift loose and then you can go the tire when y'all need information technology.
Solve Rough Idle past Cleaning EGR Valve
Rough idle? A expert dousing with throttle body cleaner may be enough to restore your EGR valve to near-mint condition, transforming a harsh idle into a soothing hum. Clean an EGR valve with these instructions for one of those easier car repairs.
Fix a Leaking Valve Comprehend Gasket
Replace a leaky gasket cover on a 4-cylinder engine hands and in less than an 60 minutes for less than $25. We show you how to fix a leaky gasket here.
Supplant Sway Bar Terminate Links
Fixing a clunk when your car hits a crash-land is a trial and error process. Commencement with the stabilizer bushings and then the bar end links, using a special tool. Replacing sway bar links is way cheaper than yous remember, meet how to replace sway bar links and how much it costs.
Repair a Dim Headlight
Just clean the basis connectedness to restore the brightness of dim headlights. And apply a piffling dielectric grease. Or replace the bulb if you see a gray/brown film on the inside of the glass. See how to locate the basis connexion and how to make clean it.
Supervene upon Headlights
The hardest function of the job is choosing a new bulb. You can spend more than time shopping for the bulbs than it takes to install them. The choices are mind-boggling. Every seedling manufacturer has its own disruptive names for each fashion, making comparisons hard. But information technology boils down to four upgrade categories—brightness level, life span, light color and energy consumption. Run across which bulb to pick and how to install a new headlight.
Fix a Stuck Power Antenna
Prepare a stuck power antenna past replacing a burned out motor or bad cable/mast. Y'all tin can do both in about two hours, and y'all'll avoid the $l - $100 dealer service fee. You need just one special tool, an antenna wrench. See how to fix an antenna hither.
Set up a Horn Problem
Utilise a elementary fused jumper to pinpoint the problem with a bad horn. Often the set is elementary and cheap. Check out how to fix a car horn hither.
Articulate Up Cloudy Headlights
Clear your fogged or yellowed headlight lenses in 45 minutes for less than $15, rather than spending $100s to replace them. Learn the secret to cleaning headlights hither.
Remove a Stuck Phillips Screw
Frustrated by a Phillips spiral that'due south starting to strip out? Salvage the situation with 1 of these tips earlier yous become through the misery of drilling out the screw.
Supplant a Thermostat
Replacing a car's thermostat (or T-stat) is an easy and cheap repair, and in nigh cases will cure an overheating or no-heat problem, sparing the time and expense needed for expert diagnostics. Learn all the steps to supercede a thermostat here.
Troubleshoot Windshield Washers
A windshield washer that doesn't pump enough fluid is abrasive and even chancy. Notice the solution to fixing a troublesome windshield washer.
Make clean Your Air/Fuel Intake System
Practise you lot get a crummy idle or poor engine response when you lot put the pedal to the metal? You may have soot and carbon buildup on the valves, intake manifold and throttle trunk assembly, also as clogged fuel injectors. Shops charge $fourscore and up to perform a fuel induction cleaning service. But you can do the same thing in about 30 minutes with the 3M No. 08963 Do-It-Yourself Fuel System Tune-Up Kit; $35 from amazon. com. Scout the instructional DVD. So grab the kit, a screwdriver, goggles and rags and you're set to bust crud.
Fix Your Ability Door Locks
Repair broken ability locks by replacing the actuator, which is a mutual problem on late-model Fords. You lot'll save on the shop fee plus some of the new role toll. Find out how to prepare ability door locks, you could relieve up to $100.
Supervene upon a Cleaved Wheel Stud
Tightening lug nuts without a torque wrench tin be a recipe for disaster. If worse comes to worse and yous break the bicycle stud, hither'southward how to replace it.
Notice and Replace a Blown Fuse
Cars run on electricity besides equally gas, and almost all of it runs through fuses. Learn where they are, how to spot a blown fuse, and how to replace them. Information technology takes nigh five minutes, costs about $ane, and it'll save y'all the hassle of a trip to the repair shop.
Recharge Your Machine'due south Air Conditioner
Amend the cooling of your car'southward air conditioner with an easy-to-use A/C recharge kit. You can do information technology in four simple steps.
Change Your Spark Plugs
Change your spark plugs yourself to maintain peak performance and loftier gas mileage. In most cases it'southward a simple chore equally long as yous have the correct tools. See how to supervene upon spark plugs.
Replace a Serpentine Belt
Automatic belt tensioners, standard in most cars now, brand changing a serpentine chugalug a simple DIY repair. Check out how to supersede a serpentine belt in about xv minutes.
Refinish Wheels and Wheel Covers
Sometimes a middle-aged car can still expect fine except for wear and tear on the wheels and bicycle covers. Fortunately, you tin prepare this yourself for little cash. Removing the rust and painting your wheels take a full 24-hour interval. (Don't panic—generally you lot're waiting for paint to dry out.) Then the wheels must dry for 24 more hours after painting before you remount them. So make other arrangements for transportation for a day. The supplies price nearly $50 from whatsoever auto parts store. See how to refinish wheels at home.
Replace Struts Yourself
If you've put fourscore,000 or more miles on your struts, they're worn out and must be replaced. We know they're expensive (well-nigh $700 for front struts replaced at a shop). But in the long run, driving on worn struts actually costs yous more. You could salvage $300 doing struts yourself, see how to do it.
Supersede a Pickup Bumper
A rusty or dented bumper can drag down the whole appearance of a pickup that's in otherwise good shape. Having it replaced by a pro will fix you back $1,000, just yous tin can save $500 or more in labor and parts by doing the task yourself. It takes only a few hours. Get complete instructions here.
Free Up a Sticking Hood Latch
If your hood doesn't latch and unlatch easily, chances are it'southward just rusty and dry. You tin set up the problem in about ten minutes with spray rust penetrant and spray lithium grease. Pop the hood and saturate the unabridged latch machinery with rust penetrant. Latch and unlatch the hood several times until the mechanism works smoothly. The rust penetrant won't last long, so you'll have to apply a better lube. Open the hood and spray all the moving parts with white lithium grease. Latch and unlatch the hood several more times and you're good to go. There is a difference betwixt rust penetrant and WD-40, which is nevertheless swell at scaring abroad spiders, believe it or non.
Free Up a Stuck Trailer Hitch
When the ball mount on your trailer hitch is rusted in place, don't whack at it with a sledgehammer. Here's what to do instead. Purchase a can of penetrating oil ($6) and an air chisel fitted with a "hammer" bit. The air chisel will run nigh $15 and the extra flake will be about $8. Spray the opening to the hitch receiver. This newest style of penetrating fluid chills the metal, causing it to contract to help break the rust seal. Then use an air chisel fitted with a hammer fleck to knock everything loose. The air hammer will break up the rust, spread the penetrant and gratis up the ball mount. Once it'due south costless, just tap out the rusted ball mount with a regular hammer. If you plan to reuse the rusty mount, coat information technology with a rust converter or waterproof marine grease. Cheque out these keen trailer upgrades!
Change Your Engine Coolant
Y'all tin can alter your coolant yourself in about an hour. Yous'll need to invest in an air-powered refilling tool to remove air pockets from the cooling system as you fill. You'll save well-nigh $50 on your outset coolant change and almost $100 on each ane afterward that. Cheque out how to change your engine coolant hither.
Remove a Stubborn Oil Filter
We've all done information technology—overtightened an oil filter and then much that it'south a deport to remove. If yous think yous can remove it by jamming a long screwdriver through the tin and twisting, recall again. The screwdriver will just rip the can open and yous'll be drenched in oil. When you're done dealing with that mess, the filter will still exist stuck and you'll be even more frustrated. To remove a stuck filter, use a ring-blazon wrench that y'all've lined with coarse-dust adhesive-backed sandpaper. Larn what you need to know nigh irresolute your oil filter here.
Blast Off Seized Bolts
This tool and a tin of rust penetrant are the secret to removing stubborn rusty seized bolts. Load the driver tool into your air hammer and slide on a socket and wrench. When you hitting the trigger, the driver applies the impacts to the middle of the bolt caput, demolishing the rusty buildup. Plow the wrench and socket during the impacts and y'all'll loosen the bolt or nut in no time.
Lubricate Window Tracks
Freezing h2o can seep into the window tracks and create elevate when you try to open up the window. That drag can impairment the window regulator cables, costing you near $300. You tin can avert the problem entirely by lubricating the window tracks with spray silicone or dry teflon spray lubricant. Lower the window and shoot the spray correct into the front and dorsum window track. Apply enough lube so information technology drips all the way down the track. Then operate the window through several open and close cycles to spread the lube along the entire rails. Apply glass cleaner and a paper towel to remove whatsoever spray that lands on the glass. Want more in-depth advice? Plus: Learn how to set up a leaking sunroof hither.
Swap Out Brake Fluid
Some carmakers recommend replacing brake fluid every two years or 24,000 miles. Others don't mention information technology at all. But it's piece of cake to test your brake fluid. Just dip a examination strip into the fluid and compare the color to the chart on the packaging. You can't practice a consummate brake fluid flush yourself, but y'all tin do the side by side best affair—a fluid swap. This procedure won't supersede all the erstwhile fluid with fresh, merely you lot'll introduce plenty new fluid to make a divergence. Use a baster to suck out the dark dark-brown brake fluid (brake and power steering fluids are incompatible, so utilise a unlike baster for each). Squirt information technology into a recycling canteen. Refill the reservoir with fresh brake fluid as shown. So bulldoze the vehicle for a calendar week to mix the new fluid with the old. Echo the procedure several times over the next few weeks until the fluid in the reservoir retains its calorie-free honey color. Annotation:The brake fluid may impairment the baster'south rubber seedling, and so don't suck the fluid all the way into the bulb.
Alter Power Steering Fluid
In that location aren't any test strips for ability steering fluid, so y'all'll have to rely on the manufacturer's service recommendations or general rule-of-thumb (ii years or 24,000 miles). Apply the turkey baster method to remove the old ability steering fluid. Suck out all the fluid (engine off) as shown. So refill the reservoir with fresh fluid. Start the engine and let it run for about 15 seconds. Repeat the fluid swap procedure until y'all've used upwardly the full quart. Note:Never substitute a "universal" ability steering fluid for the recommended blazon, and never add together "phenomenon" additives or end-leak products. They can clog the fine mesh filter screens in your steering system and crusade expensive failures.
Supercede Your Cabin Air Filter
A clogged cabin air filter can damage your car's blower motor and cause your AC to run longer and harder in the summertime. Cabin air filters are piece of cake to access and replace and you'll save about $thirty by doing information technology yourself. Information technology'due south one of at least 100 motorcar maintenance tasks you can practice on your ain. Buy a replacement cabin air filter at any auto parts shop and ask the clerk to print out the installation instructions. Motel air filters are usually located in the air ducts behind the glove box in late model vehicles. Still, some auto makers locate them in the cowling or console expanse. But remove the access covers and slide out the sometime filter. Note the management of the airflow arrows so y'all can install the new filter in the proper orientation. Then reinstall the covers and you're done. See how to remove and supplant your cabin air filter here.
Set up Tears in Leather and Vinyl
Upholstery shops charge almost $200 to fix tears in your seats. You tin do information technology yourself in a few hours with a vinyl and leather repair kit (less than $20) from whatever auto parts shop. You'll take to practice a bit to get the right color mix and it might not exist a perfect match when y'all're washed, but it's a heck of a lot better than driving around with torn seats. Start by gluing reinforcing fabric onto the underside of the torn vinyl or leather. And so mix the heat-set filler to match your fabric color and apply it to the tear. Next, notice a textured mat that most closely resembles the texture of your vinyl or leather and place information technology onto the liquid filler. Heat the patching tool with a wearing apparel iron and printing it onto the textured mat. Remove the patching tool, but leave the textured mat in identify until the patch cools. So peel it off. Learn more nearly the footstep by footstep process of leather repair.
Fix That Leaky Sunroof
If raindrops keep falling on your head, it's probably because your sunroof drains are clogged. That's something yous tin can fix yourself in just a few minutes. Open the sunroof and look for drain holes in the front end and rear corners of your sunroof. In one case you locate the drains, duct tape a small rubber or plastic tube to the cease of your shop vacuum and suck out any debris stuck in the drains. Then distill water into each bleed and check under the machine to see if it'due south draining onto your driveway or garage floor. If the drain is yet plugged, buy a speedometer cable from an car parts shop. Insert the cablevision into the drain and gently push button it downwardly the drain equally y'all spin the cablevision with your fingers. Don't push too hard because you lot can puncture the drain tubes and they'll dump water into your dash surface area. Flush the drain after snaking it with the speedometer cable. If it now runs free, you're done and shouldn't have whatever more water coming inside your vehicle.
Replace That Broken Antenna
Replacing a fender mount antenna mast is piece of cake. Just unscrew the remaing portion of the mast and buy a replacement mast at any motorcar parts store. Replacing a colonnade mount antenna is a bit more involved but is still a DIY fix. Disconnect the antenna cable from your radio and connect heavy string to the cease. Then unscrew the antenna mountain from the pillar and pull the old antenna and the string directly out. Attach the new antenna cable to the cord, pull the cable dorsum into the vehicle and connect it to your radio. Then secure the new antenna to the colonnade using the screws provided. Become step-past-step replacement instructions here.
Supersede Non-Headlight Bulbs
To access burned out license plate, side marker and fog calorie-free bulbs, just remove the retaining screws and pry off the lens. Pull the bulb straight out of the socket. Handle the new seedling with gloved easily or concord information technology with a paper towel to foreclose skin oils from depositing on the thin drinking glass — that can cause premature bulb failure. Then push button the bulb into the socket until it clicks. Reinstall the lens and you're washed. Get more info on changing auto calorie-free bulbs here.
Gas Lifts
Why adventure your noggin when you tin can replace gas lift cylinders yourself? Simply purchase new lifts at whatsoever auto parts store. And so accept a helper hold the hood or liftgate while y'all disconnect and replace the worn lifts. Many styles simply unbolt using a metric socket set. Others connect with a brawl and socket style connectedness held in identify with a spring prune. To disengage the jump clip, simply shove a small flat blade screwdriver between the clip and the cylinder. Then pull the cylinder off the ball stud. Get the step-by-step guide for replacing your gas lifts here.
Supersede Engine Air Filter
Inspect and replace your engine air filter. But unscrew or unclip the air filter box retainers and remove the old filter. Then cheque the filter to see how much light passes through past holding a shop light behind it. If the filter blocks l percent of more than of the calorie-free, replace the filter. If not, put it back in, secure the air filter box embrace and go on driving. It'southward one of the easier things you can do to set up up cars.
Repack Trailer Wheel Bearings
Repack trailer cycle bearings to prevent the nigh common breakdown. It's an easy and inexpensive maintenance chore. Cheque out how to repack trailer wheel bearings here.
Battery Terminals
Replace your car'due south badly corroded battery cable terminals with new ones in most an hour. New terminals cost less than $xx. It's easier than you think.
Clean Corrosion From the Battery
Clean corrosion from the top of the auto battery offset and then clean corrosion from around the battery cables with a post cleaner.
Bank check the Level of the Electrolyte
Gently pry off the covers of the battery cells. The water and acrid mixture in the bombardment (electrolyte) should be near 1/2 in. deep or to the lesser of the fill hole. If information technology needs water, use clean distilled water, being careful non to overfill the cells, and then inspect the battery case for cracks. If you find a crack, replace the bombardment. If y'all added h2o, allow the water mix with the electrolyte for a few hours before the next footstep. (You may need to reconnect the bombardment to maintain your retention functions.) Bank check out more battery care tips here.
Replace Windshield Wipers
Practise your windshield wipers get out unwiped spots for no apparent reason, fifty-fifty after yous replaced the blades? Chances are the hinge is binding from corrosion. We'll show you how to replace the wiper arm and prepare this problem.
Modify Your Transmission Fluid
Extend the life of your engine past changing transmission fluid. It'south much easier by using a special transmission fluid pump, and you'll save $100 in shop costs when you do it yourself. We show yous what you demand and how to practice it.
Check the Alloy Door Actuator
Does your car heater just blow common cold air when yous plough on the fan? It might be as simple as recalibrating the heating system or replacing the actuator. Nosotros'll show you how.
Clean a Throttle Body
Try this x-minute throttle cleaning ready to solve a crude idle problem and salvage the cost of taking your car into the store.
Prepare a Dingy Mass Air Flow Sensor
Clean your MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor when information technology'south muddied rather than replace this $300 part. It's quick and easy.
Repair Rust on a Car
Sure, you tin lower your adventure of rust by applying paint protection film to chip-prone areas like the front edge of the hood, and by oft washing off road common salt and waxing your vehicle regularly. Merely fifty-fifty then, you lot're still going to get rust spots. If y'all ignore them, they'll spread and turn your sheet metallic into Swiss cheese in no fourth dimension. However, if you deal with rust early, yous can stop it from spreading and squeeze a few extra years out of your vehicle.
Change a Flat Tire
Knowing how to change a flat tire on a car is an essential life skill. Flat tires usually come with piddling or no warning and they often happen at the worst possible time. This video gives y'all tips and tricks for fixing a flat tire that make the job safer and easier on your knees. Watch the video and adjacent fourth dimension you have a flat tire, you'll know what to do.
Set a Leaky Tire Valve
Fix a leaky tire valve in five minutes using an inexpensive valve core tool and replacement cores.
Fix a Brusque Circuit
Automotive electrical problems might seem insurmountable, but they're not. All y'all have to practice is locate where the current stops flowing. It's piece of cake with today's tools. Here'due south how to fix automotive electrical brusque circuits.
Replace an Alternator
If your machine or truck won't hold a charge, you probably need a new alternator. Learn how to test it, how to replace it, and where to find the best deal on a new i.
Set a Bad Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor
See the crack? This sensor didn't set off a trouble code or "check engine" light. But the possessor had to pump the pedal to keep the engine running. The computer in every fuel-injected automobile must know two things before it can figure out the correct cold-first air/fuel mixture: the engine coolant temperature and the outside air temperature. Your symptoms are a expressionless ringer for a bad engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT). The figurer is computing an air/fuel mixture that is likewise lean. That's why pumping the gas pedal keeps your engine running. Y'all can take a bad sensor fifty-fifty without a "check engine" lite or trouble code. They're so inexpensive (about $xv) and easy to replace, that it makes more sense to just replace it. Ask the machine parts store clerk to find the right sensor for yous (you may have 2—ane for the computer and i for the temp gauge on your dash) and to prove you where it installs on your engine. Check out how to replace the coolant temperature sensor here.
Clean the Basis Cables
Ground cables tend to corrode and cause various electrical malfunctions. A simple cleaning will clear upwardly many issues. Here'southward how.
Supervene upon Dashboard Lights
Supplant dashboard lights by removing the trim panel and instrument cluster. It sounds intimidating, but it's simpler than you might think with an online mill manual.
Repair Damaged Nuts and Bolts
A rethreading kit is an of import part of any automotive toolbox. Employ information technology to restore stripped threads on old, rusty nuts and bolts when you lot don't have time to search the stores for a replacement.
Repair a Car Heater Hose
A leaking heater hose will stop your car expressionless in it's tracks, only with a basic repair kit y'all can fix the hose yourself, even out in the middle of nowhere, and be driving over again in an hr.
Repair an Intermittent Wiper and Turn Bespeak
Turn signals and intermittent wiper controls are the most common failures on the multifunction switch in belatedly-model cars. Save money past doing the repair yourself—it's not equally complicated as information technology looks.
Replace a Transfer Case Shift Motor
Diagnosing a shift motor problem is easy. Refer to a shop transmission wiring diagram and follow the process for checking for power at the motor. If the motor is getting power but not responding, supervene upon it. Information technology takes less than an hr, and if you use an after-market place replacement motor, yous can save almost $200 by doing the job yourself. Check with an auto parts shop, dealer or online for replacement motors.
Modify Transfer Case Oil (four-cycle drive only)
The transfer instance is located at the rear of the manual, and its job is to "transfer" power to the front and rear bulldoze axles when yous shift into four-wheel drive. But the gears within the transfer case spin even when you're in 2-bike drive. Then it's important to change the oil on schedule, even if y'all don't use four-cycle drive very often. Here's how to do information technology.
Modify Differential Oil
If you have a pickup or an SUV, hither are a few maintenance tasks you can do yourself to forbid expensive repairs. Nosotros'll show you how to change the oil in 2 frequently-neglected members of your power train. Do it yourself on a Saturday morn and salve $150 in shop charges.
Fix a Blower Motor
Restore multiple speeds to your machine heater/air conditioner blower by replacing a resistor module. It'southward a elementary, quick alter-out.
Fix Bad Boat and Utility Trailer Light Wiring
Be a prophylactic driver. We show yous how to diagnose and ready trailer lights that are dim or don't work. Most fixes are quick and like shooting fish in a barrel.
Install New Car Carpet
Supplant the old dingy carpeting in your car with new pre-formed car rug. It'll merely cost about $200 and have iii to 4 hours to do a first-charge per unit job.
Repair a Cleaved Automobile Window
A broken power window can be an expensive repair, but if you have basic car repair tools and access to an online service manual you can fix it yourself and save big bucks.
Supplant a Broken Side Mirror
Replacing a broken side view mirror is easier and cheaper than you might think. Once you take the correct tools, the hardest function is only finding the hidden fasteners. Here's how to exercise information technology.
Replace a Cleaved Taillight Assembly
Supersede a broken taillight associates past ordering a new 1 online and installing it using 2 ordinary hand tools. Bank check out how to replace a broken taillight assembly here.
Supervene upon a Broken or Missing Spoiler
The plastic air dam (aka "spoiler") that'south cleaved or missing wasn't but for a sporty wait. If your car had an air dam, driving without it or with a damaged one can reduce your gas mileage. The air dam literally "dams off" airflow to the undercarriage of your car, forcing the air up and over the hood. That helps your auto cutting through the air with less elevate. It also increases airflow to the A/C condenser and radiator, reducing the load on your car's electrical system. Contact a junkyard or visit certifit.com to go a replacement air dam. Here are some other tips on how to save money on gas.
Replace Your Oxygen Sensor(s) Before the Lite Goes On
Oxygen sensors monitor the efficiency of combustion by tracking the amount of oxygen remaining in the exhaust. But they degrade over time and that can price you upwards to 15 pct in gas mileage. When they fail, the computer lights up your "service engine soon" light, forcing y'all to incur an $fourscore diagnostic fee. On pre-1996 vehicles, supercede your oxygen sensor every lx,000 miles to keep your mileage at its peak. On 1996 and newer vehicles, replace the sensors every 100,000 miles. Oxygen sensors toll about $60 each. Some vehicles have every bit many as iv, just the sensors installed behind the catalytic converter rarely fail.
Repair Weather Stripping
Repair torn weather condition stripping on automobile doors quickly and easily, and treat information technology with silicone spray to prevent wintertime freeze-upwards and further weather stripping damage.
Add a Window Coating
Research has proven that drinking glass treatment products can improve your view through your windshield in rainy atmospheric condition past as much every bit 34 percentage. The improved vision can increase your response charge per unit by upwards to 25 percent. That could hateful the departure between avoiding an accident or being part of one. Hither's how to add a window coating.
Supercede Worn Spark Plug Wires
Worn spark plug wires and boots can starting time to leak voltage to nearby engine parts, causing arcing and creating performance problems. Supplant them earlier that happens in a few steps by following these steps.
Fix Upwards a Rear Window Defogger
Fix your rear car window defogger rapidly and hands with an cheap repair kit. No special skills needed, nosotros'll bear witness you how to do it.
Refurbish Car Body Side Molding
Reattach rubber or vinyl side molding on your motorcar before it comes loose. Auto trim on late model cars is notorious for peeling off—hither's how to reattach it earlier it ends up on the highway.
How to Bear on Up Chipped Auto Paint
If you don't cover paint chips with touch on upwards pigment, they'll rust so you'll take a much bigger problem on your hands. Repairing chipped automobile pigment is easy. Just purchase touch up paint, fine tip paint applicators and wax and grease remover from whatsoever machine parts store. Clean the chip with the wax and grease remover and allow it dry. And then dip the applicator in the pigment and dab information technology onto the flake. Don't add too much or the paint will drip. Let it dry completely and apply wax afterward thirty days finish your car paint affect-upward.
Fix Small Dents and Door Dings
If you can patch a wall, you tin patch a dent in your motorcar. You'll demand various sandpaper grits, a pocket-sized can of autobody filler and foam paste and plastic applicators. Start by sanding the dent down to bare metal with fibroid grit sandpaper. Then feather the edges. Clean the dents with wax and grease remover. And so mix the body filler and apply a very light skim glaze to fill in the sandpaper scratches. Allow the filler to prepare up then build up the repair with addtional layers no more than 1/4-in. thick per application. Feather the last glaze and then it levels with the painted areas. Later on information technology cures, sand until smooth. And so apply a foam filler to the entire area to fill in any pinholes. Allow information technology cure and do a last sand. So you can pigment the area with touch upwardly paint. Learn more than nigh fixing car dents here.
Remove Pocket-sized Paint Scratches
Eliminate squeaky doors
If the door squeaks every time you open it, the hinges could be leap by corrosion. If so, squirt the hinges with WD-40 to free them, and movement the door several times to work in the lubricant. Once the hinges are in working condition, but squirt them with white lithium grease or motor oil, operate the door several times and then wipe whatsoever excess away. Check the door latch for corrosion. Many door latches now have a nonmetallic composite mechanism, which should be lubricated with a shot of silicone spray.
Modify Your Oil
One of the most critical maintenance chores for cars is changing the oil regularly. Learn how to alter your own oil rapidly and without getting likewise dirty. Yous'll relieve money and extend the life of your auto by thousands of miles. Here'due south are the things y'all do to go an oil change done.
Change a Car Battery
Avoid an expensive service or tow charge (and the worry of being stranded!) by keeping your car battery working at tiptop operation. This article volition show you lot how to perform a simple step-by-step 10-minute seasonal bombardment check-up so you lot know whether your battery is performing well. This commodity will also explicate how to supplant your battery if it's declining, then y'all're non left stranded out in the middle of nowhere with a car that won't start.
Loose Frazzle Pipes
The archetype DIY fix for loose tailpipes has always sort of seemed to be wrapping a coat hanger around the pipe. But these car repairs can be fast.
Rear View Mirror
Sometimes the agglutinative from a rear view mirror will lose its grip and that'south when it'south time to pick up a kit at an auto parts store. It's a straight forrad DIY task. One less of those car repairs to have to pay shop labor costs for.
Speakers
Souping up the sound system of your vehicle is something that can be done relatively easily on your own if you know how to detach a door panel and reassemble it. Just practise a lilliputian research prior to starting the job.
Jump Start
Dead or weak battery? Jump-starting a vehicle is easy and safe if you follow these iv unproblematic steps.
Tire Rotation
Tire rotation is one of those car repairs that tin can exist pretty routine work simply it'south important work to go on your tires lasting as long as other components of your vehicle. Hither's how often you demand to rotate your tires and some full general tire info.
Fuel Filter
Depending on the location of your fuel filter, irresolute it can exist i of the eaiser car repairs you can do.
Fuel Gauge Sender
If your gas gauge doesn't seem to be accurate you might need to supercede the fuel gauge sender. Information technology'due south 1 of those auto repairs you can do with a trivial know-how.
Inflate Tires
Inflating car tires is i of those uncomplicated motorcar repairs but but be certain to follow the right aggrandizement levels.
Benefactor Cap
If your vehicle has a distributor cap information technology's possible to supervene upon one on your own. It's not i of the things you do to a car that qualifies as a complicated car repair.
Chipped Windshield
But as fries in your paint can cause rust, chips in your windshield can spread out into annoying impairment, so it'south best to fix them correct away. The adept news is that you tin can order or pick upwardly windshield repair kits that use resins to block the crevice or chip before it causes more damage. With the right tools, you tin can also replace side ability windows!
Plug A Flat
If you're not confident that you or the commuter can change a flat tire, ane of the things you do is buy 2 cans of aerosol tire sealer from any car parts store (Fix-a-Apartment is one well-known brand) and keep them in the vehicle. The cans are sold in several sizes for meaty, standard and truck-size tires. Tire sealants work on tread punctures 3/sixteen in. or less in diameter for fast automobile repairs. They won't work on sidewall punctures, blowouts or any other catastrophic failures. You've got little to lose by trying sealant every bit one of your car repairs.
Install a Remote Starter
Install a remote starter for your car yourself. It's one of the things you do that works as a cracking, inexpensive upgrade and a project y'all can do yourself with elementary tools and the supplied wiring diagram.
Spiff Up Your Ride With 3M Motorcar Wrap
If you're just itching to airbrush flames, stripes or logos on your car or truck, put the brakes on the paint and bank check out "motorcar wrap." 3M vehicle graphics dealers now offering custom design services for 3M's Scotchprint Wrap Films. The dealers will take your design (or help you create i) and fabricate it out of pressure level-sensitive motion-picture show that applies right over your paint. Then you can become the look you want without destroying the pigment finish. Alter your listen and want to go with a different look down the route? Only peel off the old design. Go to 3mgraphics.com/1080 to run into all the colors and finishes. And so click on "locate an installer" to detect a dealer well-nigh you
Set a Spark Plug Gap
Spark plugs don't come gapped for your particular engine. For the best performance, yous must gap the plug to the engine manufacturer's specs. If you're ownership a plug for a small engine, one of the things you do is ask the parts store to look up the gap size info for you. If the plugs are for your vehicle, find the info in the possessor's manual to figure out one of the more important car repairs you tin do.. Then adjust the gap as shown in this story.
Silence a Squealing Belt
A squealing chugalug is a sign of improper belt tension, a misaligned or worn pulley, a worn belt or a sluggish idler roller begetting. Since about late-model vehicles use a spring-loaded self-tensioning mechanism, bank check that beginning. Attach a socket or ratchet to the tensioner and rotate it. It should turn smoothly and return to its original position on its own. If you experience any binding or have to manually move information technology back into position, replace information technology. If the tensioner checks out, use an automotive stethoscope to identify the source of the squeal. Remove the probe from the cease of the stethoscope and hold it next to each belt-driven component while you run the engine. Then listen for the squealing sound. Supervene upon the noisy component. Never employ "chugalug dressing" to silence a squealing belt. The gluey spray never fixes the root cause of the bleat. Worse nonetheless, the viscous goo collects road dust and sand and grinds up the belt and pulleys. That'll cost you lot far more when the squeal returns
DIY Paintless Dent Repair
Have you lot seen those paintless dent repair tools advertised on TV? Do yous know anyone who'south actually pulled a dent with one? We didn't think so. If you really want to try pulling your own dents for auto repairs, consider buying this reasonably priced professional person-class paintless dent removal kit. The Lock Technologies LT-820 ($209 from tooldiscounter.com) comes with two adjustable pry rods, thirteen interchangeable tips, a magnetic reflector board and a training DVD. We won't kid y'all—paintless paring repair is an art. Practice on your kid'due south junker before tackling the dent on your Cayenne. Torso-shop friends tell me that once you've popped about 6 dents, you lot'll get the hang of one of the more frustrating car repairs. — Rick Muscoplat
Rescue Those Hoses
After years of beingness clamped in place, most radiator and heater hoses are normally welded to the pipe. If you want to reuse the hose, y'all tin easily spend 30 minutes finessing the hose off so it's still in good plenty condition to reinstall. That's where this absurd hose remover tool pays off in automobile repairs. Just slip the pointed terminate into the lip of the hose and pull the tool around the pipe. The rounded edge breaks the hose gratis. And then use the tool to pull the hose off. This baby volition save you a lot of time and at least 25 good expletive words for later on use on a different one of your car repairs.
How to Splice Automotive Wires
Use a professional person crimper and electrical moisture sealant to make quick, solid connections in auto wiring. Here's more than on how to splice automotive wires.
Fix a Tire Pressure level Sensor Alarm Lite
Driving with extremely depression tire force per unit area is one of the most common car problems and driving on low tire pressure level can put yous and your family at adventure. That's why all newer vehicles include a Tire Pressure level Monitoring Organisation (TPMS). If you fill your tires to the pressure listed on the label near the driver's door pillar only the light doesn't turn off, here'south how to fix the trouble. Drive your car at varying speeds for up to 10 miles to brand the light turn off. If the light is still lit, double bank check the spare tire's force per unit area. Spare tires usually require a much higher inflation pressure. If it's low, your TPMS light volition never plough off. Make sure your tires last with these tips.
Add Graphite to Door Locks
Graphite pulverization keeps frail lock mechanism working. We don't think much about our door locks until the primal breaks off in the cylinder. Keep these delicate mechanisms moving freely with a nail of dry graphite powder. Y'all may need to button the dust protector flap back slightly with a small metallic boom file to get at the lock. A quick pump of the tube volition dispense enough graphite. Move the lock cylinder with your key several times to piece of work the graphite into the mechanism. Do this to your trunk lock as well. Check out other amazing ways to loosen upwardly locks on cars.
Remove a Car Radio
Remove your motorcar radio/CD unit and ship information technology in for repairs rather than ownership a new one. The trick is getting it out without wrecking anything. Hither'due south how to replace an old car radio.
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