Top off your coolant

So I made the mistake of driving my car well beyond its operational limits (and legal....oops). As a result, some antifreeze was pushed out of my radiator and I needed to top it off. The antifreeze/coolant is crucial to the operation of the engine by keeping it cool. This is done via the radiator in the front of the engine bay.

Go to the store and buy some antifreeze. There are two kinds of antifreeze sold in the store. 50/50 Premixed, which is ready to go in the motor. Full Strength, you'd only need to buy this if you were draining your coolant fully. Its meant to be mixed 1 gallon of coolant to 1 gallon of water.

Well here is the radiator cap where you fill the radiator. DO NOT EVER open this when its hot, you could seriously burn yourself on hot antifreeze.

Open the cap and pour in the antifreeze until its full.

Thats all!

How to polish your headlights

NOTE: This ONLY works on plastic headlights. If you can't tell the difference between plastic and glass headlights then return your tools and never touch a car again.......haha. But seriously.....

Tired of those nasty cloudy headlights? Mine aren't too bad but thats because I maintain them.

Well polishing them up wont always bring them back to looking new, but it definitely makes an improvement. Why do this? besides the fact it makes your car look better, cloudy fog lights are a safety hazard and limit the light passing through the lens.

Tools needed:

Toothpaste

Rags/paper towels

Yup, toothpaste, its a basic abrasive paste and EVERYONE has it. And if you don't have it then you're disgusting.

Step 1

Apply toothpaste to your rag/paper towel and then rub it in a small circular manner while firmly applying pressure.

All done with that

Step 2

Grab a wet rag/paper towel (or hose if you have one) and wipe it all away. You may have to repeat this step with new rags to get it fully clean. And VOILA looks way better! Well not really on mine, but thats because I've done this before to all of my vehicles so I didn't have a good example to work with.

Before

After

Common Road Etiquette

So I would've thought this was common knowledge, but no, seems people still don't know how to properly behave on the road. Hopefully this post will educate at least some on how to be more courteous on the road.

Turn Signals
- Turn them on BEFORE you begin braking for the turn.
- ALWAYS use them when changing lanes.
- In a parking lot? You should still use them there too.

In traffic? Well if you need to get over and someone lets you over, provide them with a thank you wave. Also, trucker will flash their hazard signals as a thank you for letting them over. Let people over, they need to get where they're going just as much as you.

Headlights. I personally think they should ALWAYS be on, even in the day time. It makes it easier for people to see your car and let them know it is running/moving. Think its not necessary in low light because you can "still see the road?" Well that's all well and good, but it doesn't mean everyone on the road can see your car, turn them on.

Also, its not always about other drivers. Be mindful of your passengers as well and whether or not your driving makes them uncomfortable.

Something electrical not working?

Cigarette lighter not working? Radio? Windows? Could be a bad wire, motor, or something else. But, the easiest thing to check is something called a fuse. A fuse exists to break the electrical connection in the event of a power surge to prevent damaging the components. Locate your fuse panel in the car. Its somewhere under the dash or under the hood.

Heres where mine is in the Subaru Outback. Its behind the pocket in the dash on the drivers side.

Remove the pocket and you can see the fuses there in the plastic panel.

I don't have a picture of this, but on the back of the pocket there is a diagram showing which fuse controls which component. Some cars have a fuse puller tool in the panel for easy use. Mine doesn't so I have to use long nose pliers to pull the fuse.

Here is a fuse. This one is called a Mini ATO fuse, there are larger versions of this fuse. This fuse is functional, if the metal in the middle of the fuse was broken then it would need to be replaced.

ALWAYS replace fuses with the same fuse, they are rated by what Amperage (electrical current) they can carry and they have corresponding colors, with the numbers printed on the top.

If you change a bad (or blown) fuse and it blows again, then you have another problem.

How to change your air filter

Always check your air filter every few oil changes. Its SUPER easy to change on most cars.

Tools needed: depends on the car, some require none to change. I just used a 10mm socket and ratchet.

Go to your local parts store and get the filter you need.

Step 1

Locate the housing for the air filter, which on my Subaru is the black box towards the back of the engine bay.

Step 2

Here's the only bolt I had to remove on the right of the housing. Remove that, then unclip the three clips holding it in. Could be different for your car.

Step 3

Pull back the back half of the house (again could be different for your car) then pull out the old filter. Here you can see the old vs new.

Step 4

Insert new filter and then reinstall in reverse order of removal.

DONE!

How to change your head lights

Don't drive around with your car looking like its winking at oncoming traffic. Its a road hazard, be respectful of the others on the road.

No tools needed for most cars. Some cars require removal of certain components to access the back of the headlights.

Go to your parts store and ask them to look up what bulbs your car takes. Some cars have separate bulbs for the low beams and high beams. My Subaru does, but my old Honda only had one. Also, get a small pack of Dielectric grease. This prevents corrosion on the electrical connectors.

Step 1
For my car, there is a weatherproof cover that covers the electrical connectors to protect them from moisture. Because of this I personally don't use Dielectric grease to protect my electrical terminals. If you have one of these, remove it. Mine comes off by simply rotating it and pulling back.

Step 2
Unplug and remove the old bulbs. I have H1 bulbs which are small and held in by a metal clip. Some bulbs are in a plastic housing and twist out. Disconnect both electrical terminals, one is the ground and you don;t necesarrily HAVE to remove it but its easier out of the way. You can see the metal clip on the left, push it in and down. Then it will rotate out of the way.

Step 3
Remove old bulb. Reinstall new bulb in reverse order. This is where you would apply the dielectric grease to the terminal on the bulb. DO NOT TOUCH THE GLASS OF THE NEW BULB!!! The oil on your bare fingers will cause the glass material to burn out faster.

I used Sylvannia Silver Star bulbs to make them a bit brighter.

Heres the before

Heres the after

Enjoy having an illuminated road at night!

How To Change Your Wipers

Something that is often over looked but is SUPER easy to change, windshield wipers are really important, for obvious reasons.

No tools needed.

Step 1
Go to your local parts store and you can either ask them to look up your wiper sizes (typically the drivers side is longer than the passengers side). Or you can use one of these machines that are typically set up where the wipers are displayed.

Step 2
Raise your wiper arms up, they typically stay up because of the springs at the joint.

Step 3
Remove your wiper. This is different for each brand/style of wiper. Typically theres a clip to push. On mine, you have to first grip the cover.

Then pull it up.

Then slide it down to remove it.

Step 4
Install new wipers in reverse procedure. DONE! Enjoy having a clean windshield in a rain storm.



Note: Just because your wipers are leaving streaks doesn't necessarily mean that they are bad. There could be dirt clogging the blades that push the water, breaking the seal and leaving streaks. Simply raise them up and clean then off gently with your finger. Also, it is crucial to keep your windshield clean as well. Sap and other road grime builds up and causes an uneven surface for the blades to run across. Also, not to mention a dirty window is a safety hazard while driving, especially at night because it can cause lights to glare on the glass, impairing your vision.