Garage

[The March Hare]

To stop windscreen wipers squeaking rub a slice of apple onto the blades.

[The March Hare]

When cleaning electrical components in your car i.e. fuses etc. use an electrical contact cleaner such as "DeoxIT" as it actually improves the conductivity of the metal. Although fairly expensive it can be used elsewhere and a little goes a long way.

[juicyjude]

Liked the windscreen one Bob, I could do that doesn't involve grease

[The March Hare]

My engine has overheated, what do I do now?

The two signs that your engine has overheated are the temperature gauge shows "Hot" or the coolant warning light comes on when you are driving.

Stop driving as soon as possible and allow engine to cool down for at least 15 minutes before checking. If you remove the radiator cap before the engine has cooled down you could get scalded.

If you use a cloth or rag bunched around the cap when opening this will reduce the risk of any mishap should it not have cooled down completely. Most radiator caps come off in two stages, a quarter turn will allow most of the pressure to release without letting blast of steam out into your face and the second quarter turn will completely release the cap.
When the engine has cooled down, check the level of coolant, either in the radiator by slowly removing the cap using a glove or cloth or some cars have a plastic expansion tank where the level can be seen easily.

In many cases you can get going again by topping up the water level to the mark on the expansion tank or just below the filler cap on the radiator.

DO NOT TOP UP AN OVERHEATED ENGINE WITH COLD WATER, WAIT UNTIL THE ENGINE HAS COOLED ENOUGH TO TOUCH, OTHERWISE IT COULD BE DAMAGED.

[The March Hare]

Ignition key won't turn in lock and wiggling the steering wheel does not work, try spraying some WD40 onto the lock.

[The March Hare]

My car battery is flat, how can I start my car?

If your vehicle has a manual gear box it may be possible to get it started by a push-start.

Switch on the ignition and release the handbrake. Put into third gear and hold the clutch pedal fully down while someone push the car along at a brisk walking pace. Once momentum has been achieved let in the clutch sharply, and providing there is nothing else wrong, the engine should start.

An alternative method is to use another car and some jump leads. CHECK YOUR CAR'S HANDBOOK TO ENSURE IT IS PERMISSIBLE TO JUMP START THE ENGINE as serious damage can be caused to some cars with electronic engine management systems.

Jump leads are heavy duty, red and black, electric cables with clips at both ends.

Park another car with a healthy battery next to your car so that the jump leads can reach both batteries, obviously don't let the cars touch each other.

The red cable is positive and the black, negative. Connect them between the terminals on the two batteries in this order - BLACK LEAD FROM NEGATIVE (-) TO NEGATIVE (-) THEN THE RED LEAD FROM POSITIVE (+) TO POSITIVE (+).

When connecting the negative lead to the car with the faulty battery you should clamp it to a bare metal body part or an engine component that is at least 30 cm (1 ft) away from the battery.

[The March Hare]

Subject: garage

A liquid spray called "Muck off" sold to clean mountain bikes is great for cleaning soiled alloy car wheels.
This product is apparently available in Halfords in the U.K., presumably there is something similar available in other parts of the world.

[The March Hare]

Whilst waiting for the engine to cool down, check for any obvious signs of a leak. A leaking coolant hose can be temporarily repaired by binding with tape. A leaking radiator can be temporarily sealed with chewing gum stuck over the hole.

Check the belt that drives the water pump and radiator fan on many cars. All cars have at least one belt to drive the generator and water pump and perhaps a power steering pump as well. A slipping or broken generator drive belt will not allow the battery to be charged efficiently. On many cars the same belt drives the engine water pump and fan, so the engine may overheat. If the belt is slipping it will make a screaming noise when the engine is running. This means it needs adjustment and is wearing badly and should be replaced as soon as possible, otherwise, it could break. Some belts are fairly easily replaced, however, as many are difficult (if not impossible by the amateur), it is probably best to seek advice

[The March Hare]

Tips: In winter one of the tell tale signs a car is running without enough cooling water is when the heater starts to blow cold air into the car instead of hot.

Whilst