April 16th, 2009 admin
How To Detail Your Car’s Interior
It’s easy to become so immersed into your daily life that cleaning the inside of your vehicle is demoted lower and lower on your “to do” list. Eventually, the dirt, debris, and grime (not to mention a few fast food wrappers) accumulate to the point that your friends refuse to get in. Fortunately, detailing your car’s interior is simple with a little preparation.
This article will give you an easy-to-follow blueprint for making the inside of your vehicle look practically new. Whether you’re cleaning it for personal satisfaction or because you’re planning to sell it, the following 3 steps will put a new shine on the interior.
Step 1: Remove The Junk
You might be surprised by the items which are stuck into the nooks and crannies of your vehicle. This is especially true if you have young children. Besides your own shopping receipts, wrappers, and errant paperwork, you’ll discover toys and trinkets buried under your car seats.
Take everything out. Depending on the disarray, you may even want to wear gloves. After all, if you find food that has been driven into the carpet, you’ll want to protect your hands. Plus, while you’re digging around in the dark crevices, you may have to deal with paper cuts and other annoyances.
Step 2: Get Out The Vacuum
Once you’ve removed the junk from your car’s interior, it’s time to let your vacuum do its job. Put one of the brush attachments on the nozzle so you can break loose some of the debris. Just like washing the exterior, start high and work down. Begin on the surface of the dash before moving down to the gauges. And don’t forget the panels of the doors before vacuuming the seats. Finally, remove the floor mats before turning your vacuum onto the carpet.
When you’ve finished vacuuming, use a damp cloth to wipe the dash, console, steering wheel, and doors. Chances are, the vacuum will have kicked up a bit of dust.
Step 3: Clean The Surfaces
Applying a little polish and wax can give the surfaces a new look and feel. You can use an off-the-shelf polish like Pledge. Or, visit your local auto supply shop to pick up a polish and wax combo (anything sold by Mother is a good choice).
You’ll notice that despite having vacuumed the surfaces, dust still remains in the corners. You can dislodge it by spraying a soft toothbrush or thin paintbrush with polish. Lastly, use Windex on your vehicle’s windows. Your auto supply store will have a number of window cleaning products, but Windex is inexpensive and effective.
Detailing your car’s interior isn’t hard or complicated. It’s merely a matter of setting aside the time and going about the process methodically. Follow the 3 steps above to help the inside of your vehicle regain its vibrancy and attractiveness.
Muscle Cars
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April 2nd, 2009 admin
Four-Wheel Drives And How They Operate
Four-wheel drive allows even the inexperienced driver to conquer slippery roads and treacherous weather conditions. But, understanding how it works makes it easier to operate safely. In general, a 4WD system distributes power to every tire on the car, not just the front or rear set. This broad definition also suggests that every car manufacturer has a unique four-wheel drive system with different power distribution to match.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how the power is distributed. We’ll explain how the parts which contribute to its operation work together so you’ll have an appreciation for the system.
Differentials And Locking Hubs
A four-wheel drive has three basic units: the differentials, transfer case, and locking hubs. The differentials are assemblies that take the torque from the transmission and route it to the tires. In addition, differentials allow the wheels to spin independently of one another when turning.
Locking hubs are devices used to preserve the front wheels. In every car, each tire is bolted to a hub, but in a 4WD vehicle when the front wheels are not receiving power, the differential and half-shafts are still spinning. With locking hubs, the front tires are disconnected so they avoid causing undue wear and tear on the drive shaft, differential, and half-shafts. A sliding collar is employed that connects the hub to the half-shaft and is moved depending upon whether the car is in two-wheel drive or not.
Many years ago, locking hubs were manually operated. If you wanted to switch to 2WD mode, you needed to exit your vehicle and manipulate a knob on the front tires to lock and disengage them. Today, the mechanism is completely automatic and can be activated when the car is moving.
The Transfer Case
The transfer case is responsible for splitting the power between the front and rear tires. These can vary depending upon whether your car is all-wheel drive (which means all wheels are permanently activated) or part-time. In a part-time vehicle, the transfer case binds both the front and rear axles together so everything spins at the same speed. However, this is not usually recommended on dry concrete or otherwise stable road surfaces as it will cause your tires to slip, needlessly wearing them down.
In some transfer case systems, the mechanism contains a set of gears known as a low range. The low range transfers large amounts of torque while operating at a very low speed. This is especially useful when driving in very slippery conditions or on steep roads.
Most motorists enjoy driving their 4WD vehicles without realizing how they operate. Long-time readers know that I always recommend learning as much as you can about the parts under your car’s hood. When the time comes to visit a mechanic, you’ll have a deeper understanding about your vehicle.
- Only in a Jeep (writteninc.blogspot.com)
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March 24th, 2009 admin
What To Do When Your Car Needs Repairs
When your vehicle breaks down or begins running roughly, it’s probably time to take a closer look under the hood. You can either do it yourself, or take it to a repair shop. If you choose the latter, you’ll need to decide whether to take your car to the dealership or to a local mechanic. Each has inherent advantages and drawbacks. Plus, there’s a lot of misinformation which confuses and misleads drivers into making the wrong decision.
In this article, we’ll discuss auto parts and repairs in the context of cost and training. We’ll look at the differences between dealership service shops and independent mechanics. I’ll also explain why some types of work may be better-suited for the dealer while others should be done in a local auto shop.
Cost Factors
It won’t come as a surprise that auto maintenance and service work is typically less expensive in an independent garage than at the dealership. Independent shops have less overhead. They don’t need to pay top salaries to their mechanics. Nor are they under as much corporate pressure to generate sales and revenue. With a loyal base of repeat customers, an independent repair garage can thrive. By contrast, dealer service shops have enormous overhead and staff costs. Their facilities are larger and they often pay their auto technicians more. These costs are reflected in the prices their customers pay for auto maintenance work.
Are Dealership Mechanics Better Trained?
There’s a common fallacy in the automotive world: auto technicians who work at the dealership are better trained than local mechanics. To their credit, the dealer’s technicians receive professional training about their specific models. However, it’s important to note that most of the mechanics who work in independent garages have a wide breadth of knowledge about all popular vehicles. While a technician who works at a Toyota dealership may have received specialized training about Corollas, the local mechanic probably knows just as much from experience.
Also, a lot of auto technicians who work at dealer service shops leave their jobs in order to work in independent garages. They take their training with them.
Repairs, Maintenance, And Warranties
When you buy a new car, the warranty will often require that certain types of repairs are performed at the dealership. For example, if your transmission needs to be overhauled, you’ll probably need to have the work done at the dealer. Taking your car to a local garage may cause your warranty to become void.
Ask your dealer to clarify which type of work needs to be done at their shop and what can be performed elsewhere. Oil changes, air and fuel filter replacements, and minor maintenance work will be less costly if you have a local repair garage handle it. And chances are, the quality will be just as high.
Find your used auto parts and used engines from the leader in parts, http://www.everdrive.com
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