5 DIY Car Maintenance Tips To Save You Money and Time

In this short post, we will share with you 5 simple car maintenance tips every driver should be able to do, to save themselves some money and any unnecessary trip to the automobile repair shop.

There is no better way to maintain your car than to read the manufacturer's car manual. These manuals often contain recommendations on how you can properly maintain your car to avoid going to the mechanic. Therefore, if you are looking to properly maintain your car, we recommend you check the original car manual. That being said, if you have lost your manual, do not worry, we got you. We will share with you some tips to help you maintain your car by yourself.

1. Changing Your Spark Plugs

This might sound difficult to do; however, it is quite easy. If you discover that your car plug is faulty due to the inability of your car to start or due to the engine misfiring, then you can easily change the spark plug. That being said, it is recommended that you change your spark plugs every 30,000 to 60,000 miles.

To change your spark plug:

• Ensure the engine is cool
• Disconnect your car battery
• The spark plug is usually located on top of the engine
• Remove the on-plug connectors
• Remove the spark plug and examine it
• Install the new plug
• Reattach the necessary wires

2. Check Your Tyre Pressure

Checking the car's pressure should be something all motor owners should be able to do. This simple process requires you to:

• Park your car on an even surface
• Then remove the tyre valve cap and then insert the air gauge into the tire valve
• Read the pressure and then check the car jamb sticker, which is a placard found by the driver's door. This placard contains information about the manufacturer's recommended car pressure.
• With the information from the placard, you can either inflate or deflate the tyre to the recommended pressure.

3. Battery Change

Changing your car battery isn't as difficult as it may seem. If your car battery is faulty, you can easily change it by yourself while saving up to $100. To replace your battery, all you need to do is to:

• Locate the battery and then gently remove any cover, if there is any.
• Remove the terminals while wearing gloves
• Secure your new battery in place and tighten the terminals
• Get into the car and start your engine, and you should be good to go.

4. Check Your Engine Oil

Another quick check you can do is to check your engine oil. Obviously, if you are using an electric car this doesn't apply to you. The engine oil ensures that every moving part moves smoothly, and slows down the effect of wear. It is worth noting that you should only check your engine oil when the car's engine is cold.

So, how do you do this?

Well, it's simple, the oil dipstick can usually be found on the left side of the engine, and it is yellow and in some cases orange. Also, the dipstick has an oil can symbol, which makes identifying it easy.

Once you identify the dipstick, carefully pull it out, wipe it out, dip it back in and pull it out. On the second pull, you want to check for two things:

• The colour of the oil: It should be caramel, tan or amber. If it is black, then it means you need an oil change, and this should be done by an oil change technician.
• Secondly, there are usually two dots and if the engine oil is below the dots, then it means you need to top up with about 5 to 8 quarts of car oil. However, if the oil is above any of the marks, then it means it is full.

5. Adding Windshield Fluid

Windshield fluid ensures that the windshield is clean and clear, ensuring maximum visibility when driving, And filling the windshield reservoir with some windshield fluid isn't much of a headache. All you have to do is to open the hood of your car and search for a white and almost translucent container, If the container is low on liquid, then you want to go ahead and fill it up. It is important that you fill the reservoir to 3/4th the volume of the tank.

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