Types of Bolts Used on Car - Marshall Ritchie

Hello, I'm Marshall Ritchie, friend and roommate of Mark Freeze.

I am employed by a company called Fastenal, an industrial supply company, and Mark asked me to create a post explaining the differences in bolts and nuts. I don't have a blog or anything for you guys to follow but Mark felt I had more expertise on the subject and could give you guys a quick summary.

Most nuts and bolts used in the automotive industry are using a hex (six sided) style head that are standardized and require sockets to remove. Though you will occasionally find ones using a phillips head and even more rare is the flat head. The hex style can come is all sorts of different sizes in either the Imperial system or Metric.

Another difference can be whats called thread pitch. This essentially is how many threads there are across one inch of the bolt. They are commonly called either coarse thread (few threads) or fine thread (lots of threads).

I had Mark fabricate a little diagram here to give a basic visual representation of what I just talked about.

There's definitely more styles out there, but in the favor of simplicity I decided to stick with the basics. Hope this helps and have fun working on your cars!!!

- Marshall Ritchie

How to Change Your Spark Plugs

This is different for every car, but typically you need to change these every 50,000-100,000 miles.

Go to you parts store and get the spark plugs you need.

Tools needed for a 2007 Honda Fit
Flat head screw driver
10mm socket
Spark Plug Socket (cheap at parts store. Size depends on car, usually 5/8")
Ratchet for sockets
Extension for use with spark plug socket.


Step 1
Remove the plastic cover. The two 10mm bolts on the top and use the flat head to turn the plastic screws 90 degrees and remove cover.

Step 2
This car uses what is called a Coil On Plug design so I have to unbolt each ignition coil on top of each plug. These are located on the back of the motor and require the removal of one 10mm bolt each as well as unplugging the electrical connection.

Step 3
Remove each coil and keep track of which one went where. Not necessarily important but better be on the safe side to keep the engine from running oddly.

Step 4
Stick the spark plug socket onto the extension and then put them into the plug tube of the motor and make sure it is in the proper place. Then attach the ratchet and loosen the plug. It may be stuck so use some force if necessary. Remove the plug, it usually gets stuck in the rubber grommet in the socket and comes out with it. Mine only did this for the first plug, then I had to use a magnet for the rest. My socket is a bit worn out though.

Old vs New

Step 5
Insert new plug into socket, then using just the socket and extension, screw the new plug in BY HAND so as not to cross thread, until it stops. Then attach the ratchet and tighten it the rest of the way. Tight, but not too tight, you don't want to risk stripping the threads out. Install them all.

Step 6
Reinstall everything you removed in reverse order of removal. Start car and make sure its running fine.

DONE

Removing Interior Stains

So my mother just bought a new(ish) Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, well there was a stain in the back seat from the previous owner. So I will attempt to remove it. You don't have to take your car to an expensive detailing place to get clean carpet. Sometimes all you need is this product here or something similar:

Step 1
Shake can and spray the foam on the dirty area.

Step 2
Use the attached brush to scrub the area.

Step 3
Wipe away excess moisture with a dry rag.

Step 4
Allow the area to air dry or you can vacuum it. Unfortunately whatever this stain is, it is permanent. Because this did nothing to it. I could use a heavy duty degreaser, but there is a risk of taking the color out of the fabric with such a product and seeing as how my mother has had this car for a week, I won't risk that. And I keep my car rather clean so I have no stains to demonstrate me cleaning. But I know this stuff works. Haha

Putting air in your tires

An important maintenance task is keeping the proper pressure in your tires. Consult your owners manual for the appropriate pressure. This is sometimes different for both the front and rear tires.

Tools Needed
Tire Pressure Gauge

If you don't know anyone with an air compressor, go find a local gas station that has an Air Station like this:

Check your tire pressure to see if it is low. You do this by finding the valve stem and unscrewing the cap.

Then connect the tool to the valve stem and it will shoot a stick out the bottom. The highest number shown is the amount of PSI your tire has.

Mine was a little low, I tend to keep it around 38 PSI, it read 34 PSI.

So grab the end of the air hose, called the Air Chuck, and push the end onto the valve them, this will pump air into the tire. A good rule of thumb is one second per PSI, though this is not a guarantee.

Check your pressure again. Don't worry if you put in too much. The knob on the back of the gauge can be used to push the valve stem in and release some air.

It is usually wise to be quick because these machines normally cost money and are on a timer and you don't want to have to put more money in it.

How to Jump Start a Dead Car

One thing that a lot of people don't know how to do is jump starting a car with a dead battery. Everyone should keep a pair of jumper cables in their car.

Step 1
Connect the black ends to the Negative post on the batteries for both cars. On most cars it is black and labeled with a - symbol.

Step 2
Connect the red (yellow on mine) ends to the positive posts on the batteries for both cars. Almost always red with a + symbol.

Step 3

Start the car with a good battery. Turn off the radio, lights, anything electronic. Attempt to start the dead car. If it is slow to turn over, wait a bit for the dead battery to charge off the running car.

Step 4

Disconnect. Then either let the car sit for a little while (10-20 minutes) if you aren't driving it immediately. This will allow the alternator to charge the battery.

WARNING DO NOT EVER LET THE NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE ENDS OF THE CABLE TOUCH WHEN CONNECTED TO THE BATTERY AT THE OTHER END. BAD THINGS HAPPEN!!!

How To Change Your Fuel Filter

The fuel filter is responsible for cleaning any remaining sediment that is in your fuel before it is pumped into the engine via the injectors or carburetor.

Tools needed
Varies depending on the car.
Mines only needed a phillips head screwdriver

Mine is located on the wheel well in between the washer fluid tank and brake master cylinder.

Step 1
On some cars, you need to relieve the fuel pressure before attempting this. To do this, find your fuse panel and pull the fuse or relay for the fuel pump. Then start the car until it dies from lack of fuel. I don't need to do this on my Subaru because I know they don't have high enough fuel pressure to make much of a mess.

Step 2
Unclip the two hoses that are attached to the filter but don't go into or out of the filter.

Step 3
Disconnect the fuel lines. On my car all I have to do is use a phillips screwdriver to loosen the two fuel clamps

Step 4
Pull lines off of filter inlet and outlet. Mine were kind of stuck on so I had to use pliers to grip and twist the hose to loosen it.

Step 5
Unclip the bracket that hold the filter on and remove old filter.

Step 6
Remove the plastic clip from old filter (the one that held the first two hoses) then reattach them to the new filter.

Step 7

Install new filter in reverse order of removal.

Step 8
Reinstall fuse if removed. Turn the key to the ON position, but do not start. This allows the fuel pump to put pressure in the lines and for you to check for obvious leaks. Then start the car and check for leaks again.

DONE!

How to change your tail light

Having a burnt out tail light (especially the 3rd one up top) is a serious safety hazard to others on the road. Be courteous to other drivers and maintain and use all of your lights and indicators. Also be sure to inform someone when you see their light is burnt out. I've done this to people on the road even, and they're always appreciative. I mean, you can't easily check your brake lights.

Step 1
Locate the appropriate bulb for your car. Is it the brake light (the one when you hit the brakes) or the tail light (the one when the headlights are on).

Step 2
Locate the bulb. Mine is easily accessed via this panel.

Step 3
Grab the back of the socket and twist it counterclockwise to remove it.

Step 4
Remove this particular style of bulb by pushing it into the socket and twisting it. You can see that notch that the bulb locks into. Be sure to use as many fingers to apply pressure so as to reduce the chance of breaking the bulb.

Step 5
Replace the bulb with a new one. BE SURE NOT TO TOUCH THE GLASS! I used a paper towel to do so.

Step 6
Reinsert the socket and then whatever covers were in place. DONE!

How to apply RainX

So a little known product is something called RainX. This is a silicone liquid that you apply to your car windows to make water roll off of the glass better. Let me tell you, it works wonders and its easy to use.

Step 1
Clean your windshield. I cleaned mine yesterday so I skipped that step today.

Step 2
Apply RainX to a soft and clean cloth.

Step 3
Rub it on the glass in a small circular motion until the entire window it done.

Step 4
Allow it to dry to a dull haze.

Step 5
Wipe away the haze with another clean rag. You need to be rather diligent in this step because if you don't get it all you will have annoying smears on your glass. These bother the hell out of me while driving.

ALL DONE!!!

When pumping gas....

When pumping gas I notice a lot of times when the pump clicks off saying its full, people will pump it a few more times to get that extra little bit of gas. DON'T DO THIS!!! Most car's have a device called a charcoal canister that is there to help with the emissions system. When you add that extra bit of gas a lot of times it will poor down the tube connected to the filler neck and the charcoal canister. This will cause it to become saturated with gasoline and cause it to malfunction. So don't do it. When the pump clicks off the first time, you're done.

Repair Manuals

I somehow managed to forget about mentioning this, most important of tools, the repair manual.

Any autoparts store will carry these and they exist for most cars out there. These are the Chilton brand of manuals sold at Oreilly's, but I personally like the ones made by Haynes more, I find it to be more detailed and easier to follow.

Here are some links so you can search to see if a manual exists for your car:
Chilton
Haynes

Filling Your Windshield Washer Fluid

Super easy.

Go to your store and buy some washer fluid, you can simply use water but it isn't recommended. There are brands that advertise removing bugs from your windshield, I don't recommend using these because they often contain chemicals that cause damage to the paint of the car. The plain old blue stuff works great.

Pop your hood and find the reservoir. In most cars its the largest plastic tank under the hood. Some cars hide it under the fenders or behind the bumper and the only thing visible is the filler neck. You can see mine there on the right side. Pop the cap off and fill it up! Thats it!

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!