Winter Car Maintenance Tips

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Winter Car Maintenance Tips
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Take these steps now to keep your car on the road
all winter
How to Search For a Used Car for Sale
Step 1 Check for steam
Do a little research if you are contemplating to
buying an old car and wondering where to find
used cars for sale. Use the World Wide Web to
looking for used car information, used quality
cars, and used cars' reviews, or you can choose
to buy a second hand car from a localdealer On
advertisements in the newspapers, some people
also prefer to sell their used car. You must
consider your budget and accordingly search for
the car that serves your needs the best. If you
looking for a used car, thats very easy to find
a lot of information on the Internet.
The one surefire indication that youve really
got an overheating engine is that old B-movie
standby plumes of steam pouring out before your
eyes. Except it likely wont be that dramatic,
so take a closer look. If you see any steam at
all, proceed to Step 3. Steam is bad. Take it
seriously.
1. CONSIDER WINTER TIRES 2. WIPERS FOR
WINTER 3. IS YOUR BATTERY JUICED? 4. CHECK YOUR
NETHERS 5. THE ANTIFREEZE 6. CHECK YOUR TIRE
PRESSURE 7. WAX YOUR LIGHTS
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STEP 1 CONSIDER WINTER TIRES
Styling priorities have led to manufacturers
fitting wider, low-profile tires on a variety of
cars. Wide and low profile, on balance, makes a
tire worse in the snow. Pressures to improve tire
fuel economy have also worked against the snow
utility of all-seasons. Winter tires have
improved their behavior from the era of knobby,
loud "snows" that looked like they belonged on an
army truck. New tread patterns and rubber
compounds make them quieter on dry roads, yet
even more effective on frozen stuff.


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STEP 2 WIPERS FOR WINTER
Fog, snow and rain will cut down your visibility
in winter. Check your wiper blades, which have a
lifespan of about a year. If your car doesn't
have the newer "beam blade" style wipers,
consider a pair, especially for the winter
months. The beam style blades don't have an
external spring to freeze up. When snow or other
freezing precipitation threaten, make sure you
turn off the wipers when you park so that the
next time you turn on your car, the wiper motor's
not fighting to get frozen wipers moving. This
can burn out the motor.


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STEP 3 IS YOUR BATTERY JUICED?
Winter puts more stress on your battery,
particularly if you park your car
outdoors. Avoid the sinking feeling of hearing
nothing when you hit the ignition with a
proactive check of your battery and charging
system now. Repair shops don't usually charge
very much to load-test your battery, and some
car-parts stores will do it for free.


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STEP 4 CHECK YOUR NETHERS
To improve aerodynamics and save fuel, today's
cars are equipped with increasingly elaborate
underbody panels and low-hanging air dams.
These can be vulnerable to damage, and driving
over a snowdrift in the winter could turn a small
problem into a more expensive one. So before the
ground's too chilly to lie on, take a look under
the car, starting from the front, to see if
there's anything loose flapping about. Maybe you
can just pop it back into place. Maybe a zip tie
will take care of it.


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STEP 5 THE ANTIFREEZE
This is many people's first thought when it comes
to winter car care. "Flush and fill" promotional
signs abound at service stations as the weather
cools. But chances are good your engine coolant
(a better name for it) is just fine for the
winter ahead. If you've followed your car's
service schedule regularly, give this pitch a
pass. Most newer cars have been fitted with
coolants that can last as long as five years or
150,000 miles. Read your owner's manual.


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STEP 6 CHECK YOUR TIRE PRESSURE
Tires lose a pound of pressure for every drop of
10 degrees Fahrenheit. An underinflated tire
won't "bite" through snow down to the pavement as
well as one at pressure. It's similar to
hydroplaning on water -- and just as dangerous.
You may have heard the guidance to let air out of
your tires for sand or snow to get more contact
surface area. That only applies only if the
surface is bottomlessly soft, like a beach or
foot-deep, unplowed snow -- not the mix of
cleared road, ice and packed snow most of us
encounter in daily driving.


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STEP 7 WAX YOUR LIGHTS
Okay, we admit it's a little detail, but in
winter's gloom and short days, every last lumen
you can squeeze out of your headlamps is going to
improve your safety. Here's an easy two-minute
drill Make sure the headlamps are clean of dirt,
rub car wax (any type will do) on the lamps, let
it dry and buff it off. Repeat. For bonus points,
do the taillights. The slippery surface you
leave behind will be less likely to build up an
"icicle" coat when road slush refreezes on your
car -- and will make it easier to remove it if it
does.


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For more information
Quixl Auto Repairs and Services Inc 35 Railroad
Street, Brampton, ON Read more at
http//quixlauto.com/ Phone [phone] Email
quixlsl_at_yahoo.ca