Four Inexpensive Items For Your Car

Battery Charger

You can purchase a battery charger for around $20 at any general retail store. This can be a real life saver. A battery charger connects to your battery posts and plugs into a wall outlet. If you leave your lights on overnight (it happens to the best of us) having a battery charger in your garage will feel like the best $20 you ever spent.

Breaker Bar

is a long metal tool that is similar to a socket wrench, in that it uses bits. It is great to have on hand if you get a flat tire, because it is a long bar that can give you additional leverage when trying to get your lug nuts loose. Lug nuts are usually over tightened by mechanics and difficult to get off without the proper tools, such as a breaker bar. You can pick up this great item for around $20 at any tool or hardware store.

Tire Pressure Gage

One of the best ways to save money is to keep up on your regular maintenance. Regularly checking you tire pressure can prolong the life of your tires and possibly prevent a potentially dangerous flat or blown tire. There are several versions of tire pressure gauges. The purpose of this instrument ($5-$20) is to test the pressure in your tires and ensure that you are driving with the optimal pounds per square inch!

Pump Compressor with Pressure Gauge 

The pump compressor with a pressure gauge ($20-$50) is like a tire pressure gauge on steroids. There is no need to stop at the gas station to add air to your tire with this item. The compressor plugs into the car’s power outlet to add air to your tire while checking the tire’s PSI. This is not just a product for your car; it is also great for pumping up bike tires, sports gear and inflatable toys.

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Symptoms of a Bad Timing Belt

 

Signs of a Bad Timing Belt: 

 

If you think your car has a bad timing belt, get it checked out ASAP.

• Your check engine light comes on.
  
• The timing belt is making a whining, slapping or other unusual noise.
  
• Your engine is misfiring or running poorly.
  
• The car has trouble starting.
  

The average timing belt should be replaced every 60,000 –100,000 miles. If you are going on 120,000, you might be playing with fire. No matter what kind of engine you have, interference or non-interference, your car will not run without your timing belt. It just makes sense to have the belt changed at your convenience as opposed to when it breaks.  Check your cars maintenance schedule to see how often your timing belt should be changed.

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Symptoms of a Troubled Cooling System

With the hot summer temperatures on the rise, knowing the symptoms of a sick cooling system are critical to your summer driving plans, since cooling system failure is a leading cause of vehicle breakdowns. 

The most noticeable symptoms are:  

• Overheating
• Leaks
• A sweet smell of antifreeze
• Repeatedly needing to add coolant

The primary job of the engine’s cooling system is to remove the heat that is generated during the combustion process. The coolant temperature can be well over 200 degrees and that heat has to go somewhere, otherwise engine components are going to start failing. The key parts of the cooling system remove the heat from the engine and automatic transmission and dispel it to the air outside. The water pump circulates coolant through the engine. The coolant absorbs heat and returns it to the radiator where heat is dissipated. The thermostat regulates the coolant temperature to keep it consistent for efficient engine operation. 

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Ways To Avoid Car Sickness

Blame your eyes and inner ear for sending conflicting messages to your brain. If you get car sick, you most likely dread every single extended road trip. Dizziness, fatigue and nausea might make the trip miserable. So how do you go about preventing car sickness in the first place? Here are some ways to enjoy the ride, sickness-free.



 
Look out the front window.  

Watching the scenery can confirm your balance system's detection of motion and help resolve the mismatch that causes car sickness. Focus on a non-moving object in the distance, such as the horizon. Don't do anything that involves focusing on a fixed spot, such as reading or playing a card game. Don't turn around or look from side to side much

Close your eyes.  
Sleep if you can. If your eyes are closed, you don't see anything, and that removes the cause of motion sickness. In addition, sleeping will do wonders for taking your mind off of the motion sickness.
 
Take breaks.
Go outside to stretch your legs. Sit on a bench or under a tree and take some deep breaths in through your mouth, breathing deeply from your stomach to help relax. This is especially important during journeys that involve a long distance of curvy roads. Not only does stopping frequently help alleviate car sickness, but it is also good for the driver to take a break.
 
Take steps to prevent nausea.  
Since nausea is the most debilitating symptom of car sickness, it's always good to take precautionary measures. Ginger root is a classic remedy because of its widely recognized anti emetic (nausea-preventing) effects. Keep in mind, however, that many medications which are normally effective against nausea might not work against nausea caused by motion sickness.









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Four Best Alarm Devices For Your Car

Lo-Jack
Lo-Jack, a GPS based vehicle recovery device, is a great choice but is only effective if the car is already stolen. That said, the Lo-Jack sticker alone might be a deterrent enough against theft. If your car is stolen, a signal is sent to a designated monitoring station, eventually leading to your vehicle's recovery.

Viper
The Viper 3303 alarm system is a top quality alarm that will keep most thieves at bay and may even discourage all of them. The Viper has an extremely loud 6-tone siren sure to create a scene. It emits a warning sound from light impact then screams with harder shock. However, there is debate as to whether or not people respond to car alarm-sirens any more. It comes standard with a starter kill that disables the vehicle if a hot-wire is attempted.

Power lock
Most stolen vehicles are hot-wired. The Power lock, which connects to your starter under the hood, cuts off the power to the starter. Using a pre-coded electronic key and inserting it into a mounted box is the only way to resume electrical flow to the starter, allowing your vehicle to come to life. The mounted box is typically installed in an unusual place, nonetheless the unit does work. 

Ravelco
The Ravelco, anti-theft device is a dash mounted electrical kill switch that disables the vehicle until the head is inserted into a permanently mounted plug completing the circuit. Ravelco boasts that no one has every beat the system. The install is difficult and time consuming. That said the statistics speak for themselves.






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How To Save Money On Car Maintenance

Always Buy Gas at the Same Place
Make sure when you purchase gasoline for your automobile that you always purchase from the same place. This helps in a couple of ways. The first being that if there's a problem with the gasoline you purchase you will know where it came from and be able to avoid that store in the future. Problems with gas can be that it has water in it which can be problematic for cars. The second being that some gasoline has detergent added and switching from non-detergent to detergent gas can sometimes cause problems.

Check your Oil Level and Tire Pressures Routinely
Although it's a good idea to keep an eye on your gauges some cars are not equipped with oil pressure gauges, so it's best to check your all with each fill up. Having the proper amount of oil in your vehicle is critical. Not having enough all can cause major engine damage. You’ll also need to make sure the tire pressure on your vehicle is correct. By having underinflated or overinflated tires you may damage the tires and cause premature wear. Your fuel mileage may also suffer when tires inflated properly.

Get a Quote for Car Repairs from Several Places
Car repairs are just like any other business transaction. Sometimes there is room to negotiate the price and by doing so you could save lots of money. Contact a few auto repair shops in your neighborhood when you need the repairs done and find out the best price each would offer on the repairs. 

Take Advantage of Warranties if it's Available
Your car may still be under warranty so is best to check with the dealer first. Some car dealers also offer free maintenance such as oil changes, tire rotations, and tune-ups. Be sure to check if your vehicle is under warranty so you can get service done for free rather than paying for it.




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