Battery replacement dead or alive.

 TOOLS NEEDED: gloves, terminal cleaner, steel brush, socket set, screw driver

1.) Get a replacement battery
2.) Locate battery on vehicle (under hood, under rear seats, fender well, trunk)
3.) For inspection reasons batteries must have a hold down, decide how to loosen or remove hold down
4.) Then disconnect negative ( - ) terminal first
5.) Now disconnect positive battery ( + ) terminal
6.) Remove battery, Install new battery
7.) Use cleaner ( even baking soda) and clean the terminals making for a good contact surface
8.) Install hold down, then the positive terminal
9.) Now re-connect negative terminal and tighten both terminals
10.) Make sure vehicle starts and go cruising with your new energized battery!

Let your vehicle breathe!

TOOLS NEEDED: socket set, assorted screw drivers, air filter,

1.) Go to the nearest auto supply store with your vehicle info and pick up an air filter

2.) Most vehicled will be like abve , so locate the air filter assembly

3.) Decide how to get it out, either clips, screws, or bolts

4.) After that pull up on filter housing, revealing air fuilter and replace

5.) Re-install in opposite of removal and enjoy your quick, money saving work!

Tire pressure, better you MPG, ride comfort, and tires.

         


  TOOLS NEEDED: tire pressure gauge like above or any gauge that reads psi, air source

1.) Find a local air compressor
2.) Locate door jam sticker( driver side), will have correct psi rating for your vehicle front and back
3.)Locate valve stem on selected wheel
4.) push gauge on stem till it gets its full reading, i always do it twice
5.) Add or release air if needed
6.) Re-check after done
7.) Repeat for each wheel

Make your tires last and rotate.

Depending on the variables like alignment, high way driving or gravel vs. pavement, eventually you will need to rotate tires if you want to get the most life out of them.

TOOLS: Floor jack, jack stands, lug nut wrench, penny.
1) Use the penny and compare tire tread height and wear in the front vs. the rear.
2) You want the best tires at the drive wheels, and if all-wheel drive then you need to decide if you want the front wheels or rear wheels to have the most traction.
3) Decide if tires are directional( have arrows saying they can only spin in one direction) or if they can be rotated to either side.
4) All-wheel drive do a X with the wheels. Front wheel drive cross the rear wheel to the front and move fronts straight back. Rear wheel drive cross front to the back, and move back straight up to front. Directional wheels can only be moved front to rear on the same side.
5) Re-tighten each wheel making sure to do a criss-cross pattern with the lug nuts, 80 foot-pounds is a good ammount.
6) Lower vehicle and re-check each nug nut.
7) Check air pressure, and put to factory specs.
8) Enjoy your knowlegable tire rotation and brag to your friends.

Flush your coolant, your vehicle likes to be hydrated!

If you do not know the last time your antifreeze was flushed, or if it looks brown and dirty then its time.

TOOLS: catch bucket, pliers, screw driver, new antifreeze.
1) Any parts store can tell you what type of anifreeze your car needs and how much.
2) Find the petcock which will look like the one above, always at the bottom of the radiator on either end.
3) These will either twist out, twist and pull, or twist and pull.
4) Position the catch bucket under the petcock and loosen the petcock, but not removing it.
5) Next remove radiator cap allowing the fluid to escape quicker.
6) Once all the fluid is drained it is always a good idea to close things up and fill coolant system with just water and let vehicle run and re-drain again.
7) Once completely drained close things up and refill to spec.
8) Top off both radiator and resovoir, then start vehicle and aloow to idle till fans run with radiator cap off for the first few minuets.
9) Once fans run turn off vehicle and allow to cool for 20 minutes then recheck antifreeze levels and adjust as needed.
10) Enjoy you you new hobby and be proud of your work!

No oil leaks = safe and long lasting engine.

The most common engine oil leaks usually are from the valve cover, oil pan, oil filter or drain plug.

TOOLS: common metric socket set, rachet, pliers, allen keys, flat head screw driver.
1) Locate the oil leak, if it starts at the top of engine adress the highest placed gasket first and work your way down till you have fixed the leak.
2) Go to auto parts store and get the gasket you need; valve cover? oil pan? oil pressure sensor? drain plug? oil filter?
3) If it is oil pan or valve cover then you are in for a little more work as you need to remove components to access these, like exhausts or intakes and pipes and coolant lines all depends on vehicle.
4) Remove component thats leaking( if oil pan drain oil first), clean that component after removing old gasket which is not always easy.
5) Clean all surfaces that the gasket comes in contact with.
6) Install new gasket on the component and not the engine, finger tighten bolts first.
7) Usually snug is more than enough when tightening these.
8) Re-fill oil if needed, check all components to see if you have everything where it is needed and start the vehicle.
9) Check for leaks.
10) Enjoy your work and be proud!

Headlights replacement, vision is the key!

Whether your headlights screw in or clip in, if its out you should replace it and save your time and money!

TOOLS: Unfortunately every vehicle is different, the average socket set and screw driver selection shall be enough.

1) Once you have purchased your new headlight, take a look at it and decide if it is one whole unit or a single bulb.

2) The one whole unit style usually requires removing a trim piece or even a grill, while the single unit can usually be replaced in the engine compartment area.

3) Both designs use a electircal connector, the sealed beam is pretty simple, while the Halogen bulb usually has a connector and twist in holder or clip that holds it is place which are not always easy to get to.

4) Make sure to wear gloves while installing the new bulbs , as the oil from your fingers can create hot spots which in return can decrease the life of the bulbs.

5) Be carefully not to touch the electrical connector while its off creating a short.

6) Re-install in opposite of removal and be proud of your work!

Cabin Filter, fresh air is the best air!

 The tools necessary are usually only your hands, but there is possibilty of coming across vehicles that would need certain types of tools.

1) The first step is checking your owners manual to see if you have a cabin air filter, if so head to your local auto parts store and pick one up.
2) Once you figured out you have one, use your owners manual to figure out its location, usually the air duct under the hood or behind the glove box.
3) Find cabin air filter and either remove glove box and pop retaining clips and replace, or unclip air duct under hood by windshield and replace.
4) Sometimes these are very well hidden but use the size of the new one as a reference and then decide if it would fit at where you think it is, usually has easy pop clips to un-install it.
5) Once your figure out how to remove the old one, install the new one and in reverse order re-install all components.
6) Enjoy your work and appreciate the money you have saved and the fresh air you will now be consuming.

Brakes so simple, even you can do them!

         TOOLS: metric socket set, metric wrench set, floor jack, jack stands, c-clamp, new brake supplies.

     Brakes are another easy repair that you can do yourself. The automtive industry uses a disc brake setup like above, and a drum brake setup, disc brakes will be what I help walk you through as drum brakes are for the more experienced and I will not be talked about in this tutorial. Now you need to decide how much of brake repair you want to do, most of the time if you dont feel and vibrations while applying the brakes, you can just replace the pads, but if the rotor is extremely rusted or causes vibrations then just replace along with the pads. All parts will need to be purchased from a local auto parts store and if you go there with your vehicle info they can help get you what you need.
     1) Always use a wheel chalk or brick along with emergence brake before jacking any vehicle into the air.Break lugnuts loose but do not remove, then jack up the the vehicle and place certified jackstands under the correct location usually the pinch weld on the underside will do.
     2) Remove the wheel and place it to the side.
     3) Locate the backside of the caliper, will be 2 bolts holding caliper to the spindle, remove these bolts.( remember there are multiple caliper designs some need to be removed some don't)
     4) Either use a bungee and hang the caliper or set it to the side on something, being careful not to let it hang or slip cause a brake hose damage will be caused making for even more repairs.
     5) After you removed the caliper off the bracket, remove the brake pads from the current location, either in the caliper or on the bracket.
     6) Now clean and lube the resting points where the pads lay on the bracket, and also the sliders, the things around the 2 bolts you took out earlier, do not get any grease on the rotor as this will cause serious stopping problems.
     7) Use the specified tool, or in modern day cases a c-clamp and compress the brake caliper piston back as far as possible to install new pads, some calipers use multiple pistons so make sure the keep pressure on each one as they are compressed.
     8) Re-install pads in reverse order of removal, along with caliper over the rotor and tighten bolts to manufacturer specs.(Little more than snug will do)
     9) Re-install wheel making sure using a criss-cross pattern to tighten lug nuts which should be tightened no less than 80 ft/lbs
     10) Lower vehicle back onto the ground, If needed, re-tighten lug nuts after vehicle is back on the ground, and pump the brakes untill you have a nice firm pedal. Now do a couple routine stops but with a little more force to insure pads are broken in an on your way you go!
     
   

Tired of paying someone to do your tune-up, maintenance?

      The main purpose of a tune-up on your automobile is to help maintain a well running engine and to also make sure you get the most power and gas mileage as possible. Due to the latest model automobiles the maintenance may only consist of spark plugs and air filter, but the conventional engine uses spark plug wires, spark plugs, gas filter, air filter and cap and rotor to help maintain a stable engine.
1)Online is the best source to do your own automobile work, with tutorials and blogs, online you can pretty much find walkthroughs to anything you want to do.
2) The first step to your tune-up if to find out the year/make/model of your transportation which is all in your owners manual, and go to your local auto parts store and give them your information and they will help you get the parts you need to start your tune-up
3)Start your tune-up with the spark plugs, these are located on the cylinder head/s and they use a special tool usually 5/8 and remove and install making sure not to overtighten.
4)Next in line is the spark plug wires, these are a bit more difficult due to if you mix up wires your car will not run properly, so due each wire at a time making sure to pay attention to its location.
5)If your vehicle consists of a cap and ignition rotor then these are located at the opposite end of the wires than the spark plugs. Usually a couple screws and bolts to install.
6)The gas filter. Start by opening your gas cap and relieving the pressure, next locate filter if you have one and it will either use a nut union or a plastic disconnect.Either way you want to barely loosen it to let the remaining pressure and fuel to empy out. Reinstall in opposite of disassembly.
7) Drive belts and transmissions services are all up to the owner, these tend to be alot more difficult and a hassle than a save but with the right tools and mindset you can accomplish it if willing too.

The great ways to saving money when it comes down to your automobile

The oil change is the easiest way to save money and can be done for a very cheap price along with nothing more than a half an hour of your time

1) Place a wheel chalk behind a rear wheel.

2)Find out the vehicles specified jacking points and use certified equipment and a jack to properly and securely place the vehicle on the stands.

3)Locate the oil pan and place any kind of catch equipment to catch the used oil, then loosen and remove the drain plug.

4)Locate and remove the oil filter carefully trying not to make a mess.

5)Lubricate the new oil filter and install hand tight along with the oil drain plug being extra carfull not to overtighten

6)Now fill the vehicle with the correct oil and ammount and start and check for any leaks.

7) Turn off the vehicle , wait a minute and recheck level and if everything checks out lower vehicle and enjoy your own work!

If you are willing to work to save some money, then your should be willing to read some tips on how simply you can do just that when it comes down to your automobile.