Have you ever gone on an exciting road trip and found yourself stranded beside the road before you’ve reached your final destination? Don’t let that happen again! Doing proper car maintenance regularly is all it takes to prevent dream trips turning into nightmares.
We’ll share some easy to do maintenance tips that you can perform periodically on your car to give you more pleasurable miles. It’s easy to do and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Brake Pads
Replacing your brake pads is essential and should be done after every 25,000 miles traveled. The DIY brake pads kits you find these days are simple to install and shouldn’t take more than an hour to do.
First, you need to jack up your car and take off the wheel. Locate the brake caliper and remove the old brake pads. Glide the new brake pads in position and secure with clasps.
You will need the following tools to complete the job:
- Car jack
- Wrench that can be adjusted
- C-clamp
Windshield Chip Repair
Most of us know the dreaded feeling of having a chip in your windshield. You most probably can’t even remember when it happened but found it staring back at you when you arrived home. Dread no more. You might think that a windshield chip repair could only be done at a reputable glass shop, but there are other options as well.
Due to modern innovations fixing the chip in your windshield can be done in no time. You can simply use an acrylic compound that fills the chip easily and acts as a bonding agent. It will stop the chip from spreading and save you some cash as you won’t replace your entire window.
You can find this at any hardware store or ask an expert to make sure it’s done right. After all, your windshield determines how well you see on the road so don’t take chances on this one.
Check Your Oil Filter
When you visit the gas station, the attendants often ask to check your oil and water, right? They do this because gauging how your oil levels are is important. Experts claim that changing your oil filter after every 3,000 miles will increase your car performance, though with newer cars you may be able to wait a little longer. But you can’t ignore the fact that it’s a necessity! Not doing so will slow it down and cause a negative ripple effect on other components of the car.
It’s relatively easy to replace your old oil filter with a new one and will take approximately 30 minutes to do. Firstly you will have to drain the old oil before putting in a new oil filter. Make sure that the car engine is cooled down before attempting this process.
Again, you need to jack up the car a bit to get under it. Locate the oil pan and drain out the old oil. Using your wrench, replace the old filter with a new one. Fill up the new oil filter with clean oil and use a funnel to pour oil in the engine as well.
Final Thoughts
If you follow these easy car maintenance tips regularly, being stranded beside the road will be a thing of the past. Let us know in the comments below if you have other helpful tips to share. Safe driving!
