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Showing posts with label MAINTENANCE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MAINTENANCE. Show all posts

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Tips How To Change Your Boat Oil


Just like cars, boats need to have their oil changed. Four-stroke outboards, inboards and stern drive boats require regular oil changes. Follow these quick steps to change your boat oil.

Steps

  1. 1 Determine how often you should change the oil. The frequency will vary by model, but a good rule of thumb is to change the oil every 100 hours of operation or at least once a year.
  2. 2 Decide whether you should bring your boat to a dealer or do it yourself. Unfortunately, there aren’t any quickie oil change shops for boats, so you have to change your boat’s oil yourself or take it to your local dealer.
  3. 3 Learn that if you decide to go it alone start the engine to warm it up.

    • Turn off the engine.
    • Remove the drain plug.
    • Drain the old oil.
    • Change the filter
    • Replace the drain plug
    • Fill the engine with new oil, using marine grade oil. Boat engines work much harder than car engines and automotive oil isn’t made to protect marine engines.

     Thanks :)
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Some Tips How To Improve the Performance Your Motorcycle


Taking your bike to the next level of performance does not mean that you need to know master all the technical secrets. There are 3-basic approaches to improve its performance. The simplest approach is to ensure that your bike is working appropriately.

1. By taking better care and switching over to superior quality oil, you will get improved gas mileage, power and handling.

2. Another approach is to link the power with the performance and modify the bike accordingly, so that the horsepower is more than the factory set power.

3. Customize the motorcycle based on specific functions like racing, cruising, off-roading, etc. The racing bike has its own characteristics, which is not same as the touring bike.

You can apply all the approaches on the same motorcycle. However, not many riders would like to change the performance that their bike originally gives.

Simple Ways to Enhance the Functioning of Your Motorcycle
You need to follow a few simple steps to improve the performance without any major modifications.
1. Properly Inflate Tires: If the tires are too full, it makes the bike difficult to handle. However, if they are not full, it leads to poor fuel efficiency and poor handling. 34-38 PSI is ideal.

2. Check Tire Tread: Check the tires frequently and replace them if the tread is worn out. Worn tread, especially if it is uneven leads to poor handling.

3. Regulate throttle cable length: The motor response will be quick, but it cannot be controlled easily if the slack is too little, or if the slack is too much. Then it will not respond swiftly.

4. Lubricate cables, control pivots and replace worn out cables - With proper lubrication, the controls will become more responsive.

5. Set suspension sag - It is important to balance the rear and front suspension systems, without which the handling will be poor.

Motorcycle Oil Filter
6. Use high quality filter or motorcycle specific oil - Good quality and clean oil will help the engine run cleaner. Besides changing the oil, also change or clean the filter when required.

7. Lubricate and adjust the chain - Handling will be poor and the bike loses horsepower, if the chain is dirty or rusty. Also, loose chains can break easily.

A Few Other Points to Consider
Some of the basic changes like getting a brighter headlight or a comfortable seat will also help you get the most out of your bike. Besides increasing the visibility for the rider, a brighter headlight will also make them visible for others.

Louder horn is another good safety precaution. Few riders choose loud engine, so that the truck and car drivers are aware about them. However, it is not necessary for a bike to have a loud engine, in order to be safe on the road.

It is possible to alter the engine in order to have more power, provided that you take care of the above-mentioned basic requirements. These steps can easily increase your motorcycle performance. You can also learn motorcycle repair through step-by-step instructions available online.

Motorcycles are fun. Every rider wants the most powerful and the best machine possible. Some people enjoy upgrading and maintaining their bike. Someone with less skill can also customize the bike, with the help of a professional mechanic.
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This Is The Reason Why Important To Change Your Oil

Doing regular maintenance to your vehicle is very important, and it will help you keep your vehicle on the road longer and running better, but why is oil the one we have to change so often? I mean no other fluid or part of the car has to be changed every 6 months of 3 thousand miles. You add gas more often probably, but that doesn’t require a mechanic or a special waste process.
Let us think about how the engine works. Your engine has a lot of metal parts that work together to push your car forward. We should review the most important ones.


Cylinders – Most cars have 4, 6, or 8 cylinders and some random cars have 3 or 10, but what do they do? Well, the cylinder is a space inside the engine block where gas and oxygen mix and eventually combust.

Pistons – They fit inside the cylinder and are what is used to suck in the gas and air mixture into the cylinder, and then compress the oxygen and gas mixture to create an explosion. Cars have a 4-cycle process to make the engine work properly. For the 1st cycle, the piston will slide down the cylinder and suck in the gas and air mixture. The 2nd cycle is to push it back up and compress the gas and air mixture inside the cylinder. The spark plug will ignite the mixture, which pushes the piston back down making the 3rd cycle. The final and 4th cycle is when the piston moves back up to push out the combusted gasses. There are two up and two down steps to complete the entire piston combustion process, which reaches 4-cycles.

Valves – Engines require gas and oxygen to mix and then explode to push the car forward. The valves are positioned at the top of the engine above the cylinder and help control how the mixture gets into the engine, but also provides a tight seal so the pistons can compress the gas and air mixture in the cylinder. The valves move at an extremely fast pace to make sure there is always a tight seal.



Camshafts – The valves mentioned above need to be opened and closed at a very fast pace with precise timing. This is accomplished by connecting them all to a rotating camshaft. The camshaft has multiple grooves with different heights that are custom made to match the speed of the pistons. This prevents the valves from colliding with the pistons and damaging the engine



Crankshaft – This is main metal rod that runs through the center of the engine and connects everything together to push the car forward. When an explosion in the cylinder pushes the piston down, it turns the crankshaft. The crankshaft is connected to your transmission and is what connects the engine power to the rest of the car and makes the wheels turn.
Now all of these parts work together to make your car move forward, but they are also all made of metal. If you were to take two pieces of metal and rub them together at thousands of passes per minute, you would create a lot of friction. This friction will create heat and start to soften the metal, and cause it to stick together. Imagine if all of this metal was rubbing together inside your engine with no lubricant.

This is where oil comes into the equation. The oil in your engine prevents the metals from coming in direct contact, and reduces the amount of friction that have with each other. Obviously this prevention of friction is also preventing your car from seizing up and stopping. If you tried to run a car with no oil, it would only take a few seconds for the engine to seize and become locked together.

But why do we have to change the oil so much? Well, oil in your car is being exposed to extreme conditions all the time. It will eventually breakdown and get filled with gunk. Your engine is creating an explosion every 100th of a second, and this explosion leaves behind burnt gas and air particles that get trapped in the oil. Your mechanic would call this gunk or sludge. You can tell if your car has gunk when your oil is a dark black color. Trust me, it did not go in your car that color. Fresh oil is a clear gold, like a less brown maple syrup.

In conclusion, oil is the most important fluid to keep your engine working. It provides the lubrication all the metal pieces need to keep moving. If you don’t change your oil it will break down and get filled with gunk, and eventually slow your engine down. Old oil will make your car work harder and create more stress on its parts. That means things break faster, and you burn more gas, hence why you have to change your oil so often.
Thanks.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

7 Car Maintenance Tips Every Girl Should Know

Check your tire pressure! 

Right, I know that’s important—and yet I’ve no idea how to put that thingy on my tire. (Do I even own one?) I watch the girl in The Fast and the Furious with slight awe.
We’re powerful women, we juggle jobs, sports, cooking, kids, and even our cars. Maintenance can be intimidating, but it’s not as hard as we think. Here are 7 tips that every girl can do to make sure her car is in tip-top shape.


1. REFILL WINDSHIELD WIPER FLUID
Sure, you’re supposed to have this “taken care of” for you with your oil change. But especially if you live in an area with lots of snow, it’s important to make sure you don’t run out. If the light turns on showing you need more, open the hood and look for the washer indicator to know where to add the fluid. It’s also smart to have a jug of it in your trunk for emergency refills. You can go through quite a lot of it driving in a snow storm.
Car maintenance isn’t overwhelming with these quick tips from Fuelzee.


2. REPLACE YOUR WIPER BLADES

More than once I’ve had someone ride with me and ask “How can you drive with blades that bad?!” When you feel tension looking out the windshield or you find yourself squinting because the wiper blades are doing a poor job, it’s time to change them out. Don’t stress yourself out wondering which ones to buy. Most auto stores actually have a guide for you! The packaging usually comes with directions right on it too. If you’re nervous changing them out for the first time, just ask for help in an auto store.

3. CHANGE A FLAT TIRE

Flats happen. It’s part of life. So avoid the anxiety you’ll feel when you hear that ominous “bump, bump, bump” and instead make sure you’re ready ahead of time. Do you have a spare tire or a temporary “donut” in your car? If not, get one pronto. Also, get a tire jack and iron. Changing a tire is not complicated, but having someone run through it ahead of time with you (even if that someone is YouTube) can make you feel more calm in the moment.

4. GIVE A JUMPSTART
Maybe you left the lights on, maybe your battery is just old. Sooner or later you’ll be faced with a dead battery. Make sure the problem really is the battery first. Check the headlights and other interior lights and see if they are dim. Check the manual for the location of the battery. (Some cars put them in the back.)
  • Park the cars facing each other and turn off everything in them both.
  • Connect the positive terminal (+) with the red wire on the dead car.
  • Connect the positive terminal (+) with the red wire on the car with a good battery.
  • Connect one black clamp to the negative (-) terminal of the good battery.
  • Connect the other black clamp to a piece of grounded metal on the dead car. (Look for a bolt where the thick negative cable from the battery connects to the car. If you can’t see this, usually a nut, bolt or other protruding shiny metal will work.) You may see a small spark when you connect to a good ground.
  • If you can’t find any nuts or bolts to connect it to, you may connect it to the negative (-) post of the dead battery. (This risks igniting hydrogen gas, so it’s last choice.)
  • Start working car.
  • Start car with dead battery and let it charge about 5 minutes.
5. CALL A TOW TRUCK

Do you have AAA? Does your insurance company offer roadside assistance? Many car insurance companies offer this for just a few dollars a month.
If your car breaks down, turn on your hazard lights and get your car safely off the road. Then call for assistance or a tow truck service. Take a few minutes (yes, right now!) to make sure you program the number for a tow truck or your roadside assistance into your phone. Also, take time to put in your mechanic’s name and address. If you don’t have a mechanic, think about where you’d want your car taken in a breakdown. Home? Your brother’s house? A mechanically-minded friend?

6. CHECK YOUR OIL

Oil changes are so economical these days it’s not really a bargain to do it ourselves. However, you should still know how to check your oil. And where to add more oil if your engine is running hot and you need some.






7. CHECK YOUR TIRE PRESSURE

Tire pressure is important. If your tires are under-inflated or over-inflated you’ll drain your gas mileage and risk accidents. DMV.org has a great explanation of PSI and how to make sure your tires are correctly inflated. Always carry a tire gauge in your car. Also consider carrying a can of air, just incase you can’t get to a station or don’t have the change for the machine in a pinch.
If you don’t know how to do all seven of these maintenance tips, now’s a great time to learn! Let 2015 be the year you take power of your car maintenance. You’ll feel incredibly proud knowing you’re able to care for your car on your own.
 
Thanks .
Please Always Visit Our site at http://tentangautomotive.blogspot.com

Monday, December 8, 2014

Car Maintenance Tips

1. Wheels and tyres

Rotate your tyres!

Every 5,000 miles or 8,000km, rotate your tyres.

Clean brake dust off regularly

Brake dust contains all sorts of nasty stuff. If you leave it too long, the combination of road grime, moisture and heat from your brakes will bake it on to your wheels. Brake dust normally clings to wheels with static electricity so a damp sponge and clean cold water is the best way to get it off.

Check your tyre pressures

Check your tyre pressures regularly - once a week is ideal. Bad tyre pressures can affect fuel economy, handling and comfort. It's easy to do and there is no excuse not to.

Check your tread depth

Bald, slick tyres might be good for motor racing but they're no good on the road. Most tyres come with tread wear bars built into them now - find one, examine it and if your tread is too low, replace your tyres. Four new tyres might seem expensive but they're cheaper than a fine or an accident.

 

2. Engine

Check your belts

At the front of your engine there will be a series of rubber drive belts that loop around various pulleys, driving everything from the alternator to the a/c compressor. Rubber perishes, more so in extreme conditions like those found in an operating engine bay. Get your timing belt and accessory drive belt checked every 25,000 miles, preferably replacing it every 50,000 miles. See the Fuel and Engine bible for information on interference engines and why checking your timing belts is a necessity, not a luxury.

Fuel Economy

Check your tyre pressures regularly - once a week is ideal. Bad tyre pressures can affect fuel economy very noticeably. It's easy to do and there is no excuse not to.

Checking your oil level

This is something everyone can do - it's quick and easy and it'll tell you if your engine needs oil. If the oil is too high or too low, it can cause trouble for your engine. To check the oil, park on level ground and wait until the engine has cooled down after driving, then locate the dipstick. Pull it out and wipe it clean, then push it all the way back in until the top of it is seated properly in the dip tube again. Wait a moment then pull it out again. Check the level of the oil. If it's between the high and low marks, you're fine. (If it's too low, add a little.) The high and low marks can be denoted by two dots, an "H" and "L" or a shaded area on the dipstick. The photos below show a Honda dipstick which has the two dots. Why not just read the level first time around? The first time you pull the dipstick out, it will have oil all over it and it will be difficult to tell where the level is. That's why you need to wipe it on a rag to get a clean dipstick, then dip it back into the oil to get a good reading. More information on why you should check your oil level is here.


Checking your coolant level

Again, something everyone can do. The coolant is the other thing your engine cannot go without. Every engine is different but if you check your handbook you should find where the coolant reservoir is. It will normally be bolted to one side of the engine bay or the other, and be a white semi-transparent bottle. Wait until your engine is cool and take a look at it - the outside should have 'low' and 'high' markings on it and the level of coolant inside should be between the two.
Do not take the radiator cap off to check coolant levels. If the coolant system is still hot then it is still under pressure and the pressure release will burn you.

3. Fuel / gas

Will higher octane or premium fuel give me better gas mileage and/or more power?

No. Sportier cars have higher compression engines which generate more power and require higher octane fuel to prevent detonation. That's where the myth of "premium = more power" came from. If your handbook says "regular", use regular. See octane and power for more information.

4. Bodywork / paint

Keeping your paint finish in good condition

Only choose superior car detailing supplies to keep your car's interior and exterior like new. There are plenty of decent quality waxes and polishes on the market today and if the last time you waxed or polished your car was over a decade ago, things have changed considerably since then. The wax and polish compounds are far more sophisticated both in terms of protection from fading, the look of the finish, and the ease of application. For example Turtle Wax Ice gets rid of that old problem of white wax residue. Is a clean car a vanity thing? Partly, yes, but if you park under a tree where birds help repaint your car with recycled blueberries, that guck will come off a lot easier if it falls on a waxed paint job.
Tip: If you find a bird has pooped on your car, wash it off as quick as you can. There are compounds in bird waste that can damage most car paint jobs. If you leave it in the sun and the poop bakes on, you could end up with a dull spot in the paint.
Also: If you want to show your support for a cause, car magnets are better than bumper stickers. They don't damage the paint and are easy to move around and ultimately remove when the fad has passed. 

5. Electrical

Disconnecting and reconnecting your battery

If you're going to do any work on your car involving the electrical system, disconnect the battery first. To do this, loosen the connector for the negative/ground terminal first, and wiggle the terminal cap off. Use a wire-tie or similar to tie the cable back out of the way. If you need to take the battery out, you can now take off the positive connector.
Why negative then positive? If you disconnect the positive side of the battery first, the negative side is still connected to the entire car. If you drop a tool and it lands on the positive battery terminal and touches anything else on the car, you'll have an electrical short. By disconnecting the negative first, you're cutting off the return path for the current. Now, if a tool drops on to either of the battery terminals, it doesn't matter if it touches part of the chassis or not - there's no continuous path for the electrical current.
Reconnecting your battery. Connect the positive terminal first, and the negative second - the reverse of removal, and for the same reasons. When you slip the negative connector on, there will be a spark as it gets close and makes contact with the negative battery terminal. Don't be afraid of this - it's nothing to worry about. Make sure the terminal caps are done up nice and tight. 

6. Lights

One indicator or blinker is flashing faster than the other

When you indicate one way and the blinker flashes quicker than when you indicate the other way, it means one of the bulbs has blown. An auto parts store will be able to tell you what sort of bulb you need to replace it with and your manual should show you how to get at the indicator bulbs - they're different on every car.

Don't touch the glass when changing headlight bulbs

Most headlight bulbs now are filled with halogen and have special coatings on the outside of the glass. If you pick the bulb up by the glass with your fingers, you will leave trace amounts of oil and grease on the glass. When the bulb is used, that area of the glass will get hotter than the rest and it will eventually cause the bulb to crack. When changing headlight bulbs, only hold the metal bulb holder at the base, or make sure you're wearing rubber surgical / mechanic's gloves (clean ones) if you're touching the glass.

Thanks :)
Source : carbibles.com