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!