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Main Popular Mechanics Complete Car Care Manual: Updated & Expanded
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~m~·~'b ,., . , 1I!.",mB:""" 1 I \ \ \ \ MANUAL - - -- COMPLETE MANUAL Updated and Expanded Illustrations by LEONELLO CALVETTI, RON CARBONE , PAUL DIMARE, STEVE KARP, DON MANNES , RUSSELL J. VON SAUERS AND JEFF TRISH HEARST BOOKS A Division of Sterling Publishing Co. , Inc. NEW YORK COMPLETE CAR CARE MANUAL Updated & Expanded Copyri ght © 2003, 2005 by H earst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. The written instructions, illustrations, and photographs in this volum e are intended for the personal use of the rea der and ma y be reproduced for that purpose only. Any other use, especia lly commercial use, is forbidden under law witho ut the wr itten permission of the copyright hold er. Eve ry effort has bee n made to ensure that a ll the in fo rmation in this book is accurate. However, du e to differing conditio ns, tools, and indi vidual skills, the publisher cannot be respo nsible for any injuries, losses, and/o r other damages that ma y result frol11 the use of th e information in this book. Produced by Bi shop Books 777 Westchester Avenue, Su ite 100 White Pl a ins, New York 10604 Th e Library of Congress has cata loged the first hardcover edition as follows: Popular mechanics comp lete car care manua l / Illustration s by Russel]. Von Sauers, Ron Carbon e, and Don Mannes. p. cm. ISBN 1-588 16-260-5 1. Automob il es-Maintenance and repairAmate urs' manu a ls. I. Popular mechanics. TL152.P625 2003 629.28'72-dc21 2003050841 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Published by H earst Books A Division of Ster lin g Publishin g Co., Inc. 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016 Popul ar Mechanics is a trademark owned by H earst Magazines Propert y, Inc., in USA, and H ea rst Comm unications, Inc., in Canada. Hearst Books is a trademark owned by Hearst Communications, In c. www. popularm echanics.com For info rmati on about cu stom editions, specia l sa les, premium and corporate purch ases, p lease contact Sterling Special Sa les Department at 800-805-5489 or specialsa les@sterlin; gp ub. com. Di stributed in Canada by Sterling Publishing G/o Canadian Manda Group, 165 Dufferin Street Toronto, Onta rio, Ca nada M6K 3H6 Di stributed in Austra li a by Caprico rn Link (A ustrali a) Pty. Ltd. P.O. Box 704, Windsor, N SW 2756 Austra li a Manufactured in China ISBN 1-588 16-439-X Contents Maintenance Basics 2 88 138 158 214 Engine Drivetrain Electrical and Electronic Systems Chassis Interior and Exterior Appendix I '-- 254 314 Foreword or almost 100 years, the editors of Popular Mechanics have made car care and maintenance a central component of the magazine . From the very beginning, we understood just how passionate readers were abou t their cars, and just how far they would go to protect, repair, and maintain their beloved vehicles . How else to explain an exec uti ve trad ing in his workday suit for a pair of overalls and spending his Saturday afternoons hunkered down under the hood of his car? For some of our readers, saving money is no doubt a major motivation . But for most, working on their cars is a labor of love, pure and simple. That, and they want to make sure the repair is done right. The cars may have changed over the years, but the dedication of readers has been a constant. And Popular Mechanics has been a partner all the way, delivering the hand s-on information car enthu siasts need to get the job done right. We understand th at the key to any successful piece of advice is clarity. So we strive to make sure o ur instructions and our illustrations are legible and to the point. We hope yo u'll find those qualities in evidence in the pages that follow. You'll find chapters on all the basic car componentsengine, chassis, electrica l system, drive train, and interior/exterior-as we ll as an opening chapter on the essential maintenance information that every owner sho uld know. Each project is la beled "easy," " modera te," or "d iffic ult " to allow yo u to make yo ur own decision as to whether yo u have the requisite expertise, not to mention the time and energy, to undertake a given procedure. So, whether yo u're breaking out the brand-new wrenches from your first tool set, or sliding under a car on yo ur creeper for the umpteenth time, yo u'll find this book to be an indispensable reference source, packed with easy-to-fo llow, step- by-s tep instructions that take the mystery ou t of auto maintenance and save yo u money. And , should yo u decide that a given repair is a bit too tr ick y for you, the book will arm yo u with the knowledge necessary to discuss the work intelligently with your professional mechanic. Our goal is a simple one: We want to provide yo u with the information yo u need to keep that treas ured car of yo urs in peak condition regardless of its make, model, or age . We know how much yo u love yo ur car and how dedicated yo u are to maintaining it. We're hoping our book provides you with a way to put that dedication into action . F THE ED ITORS Popular Mechanics 1 2 CHAPTER ONE Replacing Wiper Blades / 4 Replacing Your Air Filter / 7 Changing a Tire / 10 Replacing Your Tailpipe / 13 Repairing Power Antennas / 16 Replacing Your Spark Plugs / 19 Replacing Spark Plug Wires / 21 Maintaining Your Tires / 24 Jumpstarting Your Car / 27 Repairing a Leaky Radiator / 30 Curing Pulsing Brakes / 34 Getting Your Car Ready For Winter / 37 Repairing a Flat Tire / 40 Servicing Your AlC / 44 Maintaining Your Battery / 48 Replacing a Battery / 51 Maintaining and Repairing Your Suspension / 54 Replacing Shock Absorbers / 58 Maintaining Your Exhaust System / 62 Replacing Your Belts / 65 Replacing Hood and Hatch Struts / 69 Resetting Your Emissions Maintenance Reminder (EMR) / 73 Passing an Emissions Inspection / 76 Changing Your Oil and Filter / 79 Search Engines / 82 Charging Your Battery / 85 3 EASY Replacing Wiper Blades hro ugh the monsoonli ke ra in , yo u see some sort of flashing lights ahead of yo u. But despite the best efforts of your w indshi eld wipers, all yo u can see are blurry blo bs of ye ll ow, am ber and red. Slow ing to half speed, yo u continue to press fo rwa rd thro ugh the deluge. Sudd enly yo u rea lize that those fl as hing blo bs are the warning lights of a sto pped school bus, and children are running across the road in front of yo u. Fortu nately, your brakes work infinitely better than yo ur windshi eld wipers. T 4 Once it's dry and sunn y aga in, grab a tape measure and hea d for the garage. Lift one of the wiper arms (it's usually easier to grab the driver's-side arm ) off the windshield against its spring tension and keep lifting unti l the pivot point locks the arm upright (Fig. 1) . Look for contaminated rubber inserts, which can be ca used by road film or ca r-was h chemica l adhesion. Inspect the wiping edges for "park set rubbel;" the term used to describe hardened finely-cracked inserts that have been exposed to the sun too long in a (Fig. 1) In 10 minutes, you can replace your streaky view of the world through a windshield with fresh wiper blades. parked position. This will cause chattering and skipping. Check for a rubber insert that has been partially torn away fro m its metal sup port. It will slap the windshield with each wiping pass. Pla in o ld dr ied o ut, cracked rubber inserts mea n they've seen better days . Yo u a lso may find rub ber inserts that are a brasio n-worn from w inter co ndi ti ons, in frequ ent car washes and/or a MA I NTENANCE BASICS HOW IT WORKS Windshield Wipers (Fig. 2) Measure your old blades before heading down to the parts store. lack of preventive maintenance. And rear-wind ow wiper blades are subjected to a lot more roa d grit than front blades. In th e rear, you get aerodynamic backwas h, with th e rear tires kicking up a ll sorts of debris. And do n't rul e out an improperl y insta ll ed refi ll. Maybe someo ne else had tried to replace the in serts before yo u got to them . Bu y a pair of full-bl ade assemblies to get a fac tory fit. Also check the wiper anTIs. If they're okay, proceed to replace the blades . Blade Runner But first, measure the length of the wiper blade to the nearest inch (Fig. 2) . Most vehicles today use blades anywhere from about 16 to 21 in. in length. H owevel; so me cars or minivans w ith very large windshields may exceed that by a few inches. Parts ca ta logs, even those for simp le items li ke w iper blades, are fu ll of all sorts of extraneo us information. You may find three different types of re fills and three different types of blades for almost every vehicl e listed . REPLACING WIPER BLADES As the rubber insert of a wiper blade sweeps across your wet windshield, a wedge of water builds up in front of the rubber-a squeegee effect-and the wiper displaces that water elsewhere_ What's left is clean, clear glass that allows you to continue on your way safely_ That's the way it's supposed to work. The illustrations to the right show some of the reasons why it may not. Other reasons may involve components that work behind the scenes-actually, behind the cowl or dashboard of your car. They include the splined shafts that the wiper arms pivot on, the mechanism that creates the back-and-f orth pivoting motion and the electric wiper motor that drives the whole system. A small nut under a cosmetic plastic cover jams the wiper arm onto the splines of its shaft. The splines keep the shaft from slipping in the arm as it turns in one direction and then the other, over and over and over. This reciprocating motion is created by a metal cranktype linkage assembly that's attached to each wiper arm's splined shaft, and to the wiper motor with another splined shaft. Picture the chugging action of a steam locomotive's piston and drivewheels and you 'll get the idea. Rear wipers-found on minivans, SUVs and some sport coupes-work the same way, except the reciprocating mechanism is much smaller and built into the motor. Wiper speed depends on the amount of voltage that's sent to the motor from the wiper switch-low voltage equals low speed, high voltage equals high speed. Intermittent wiper action is created by a separate electronic module wired between the switch on your dashboard or steering column st alk and the motor. Some cars even have electronically controlled roadspeed-sensitive wipers that wipe faster the quicker you go. TORN RUBBER PARK SET RUBBER DAMAGED SUPERSTRUCTURE ABRASION-WORN RUBBER 5 (Fig. 3) Release the tab to disengage the the straightened arm. If yo u do n 't kn ow w ha t bra nd of bl ade your ca r has, do n't bu y r ubber insert refi ll s. The refi ll s may not fit the bl ades properl y, and yo u' ll get lo usy wiper p erfo rmance . If yo u do kno w w ha t bra nd of bl ade is currentl y o n th e car, refill s are okay as lo ng as yo u bu y th e sa me bra nd a nd type. Experi ence has shown that m ixing bl ade and refi ll bra nd s doesn't lea d to o ptimulll w iper performa nce. But rea listica ll y, yo u're still better off just buying a p a ir o f bl ade asse m bli es no ma tter w ha t t he bra nd . Th e few extra bu cks get yo u new, ma tched co mpo nents th at mo unt q ui ck ly a nd eas il y. Fresh Rubber Now that yo u've got new bl ades in ha nd , it's tim e to determine w hat method to use to mo unt th e w iper blade to th e wiper ar m. T here a re ma ny varia ti o ns: hook-s lot conn ecto r, pin -type a rm , wide-stra ight end , na rrow-s traight end , side sa ddl e, pin-type bl ade, narrow-dea d loc ke r, fla t hook a nd rock to lock. At the very least, yo u'll need a sm a ll screwd r iver to gentl y p ry t he blade off th e arm o r to unl ock a ta b of so me sort. Som etim es a pa ir of needl e- nose pli ers helps too, but th e pli ers tend to ma r the w iper-arm fi nish mo re th a n a screwdr iver. Bear in mind that m ost wipers will stay ra ised in an upright positio n away from the w indshield so yo u ca n work 6 unit may simply lock o nto the pin. o n them. O thers w ill not. Sometim es, the box w ill contain an So if thi s is th e case, yo u'll adapte r that locks in to t he blade op enha ve to ho ld the bl ade off ing and accepts pins in di fferent sizes . the glass w hile yo u wo rk . T he stra ight-en d connector ca n be If yo ur ca r has w ipers tha t tricky. So metimes yo u need to lift a park behind a cow l or the ta b o n top o f the existing blade with a lip of the hood, turn on the ignitio n, turn on th e wipers screwdri ver to clear the lock ing nub o n the a rm . Yo u m ay also need to and then shut off the igni cock t he o ld bl ade a few degrees o utti on when the w ipers are in o f-pa ra ll el w ith t he a rm to slide it off mid stro ke so yo u ca n have t he arm 's end . access to them. Once th e old bl ade is off, ap plying Al ways r em e mber to a little a nti seize co mpo und to th e lay a cl ea n rag o n to p o f ar m's end couldn 't hurt. The new the w ind shield to p ro tect bl ade m ay come w ith a n adap ter to fit blade from the glass in ca se th e ba rethe a rm 's end o r it may just slide o n . meta l w iper a rm su d Aga in , give a firm shove until th e denl y snaps do wn o n th e blade cli cks in to place. w inds hi eld 's glass. If yo u' re replacing a rubber insert, For the hook-s lot co nnector, yo u just grab it with needle-nose pliers at the generally need to raise the arm off the open end . T he other end genera lly has windshield to a working height. T hen , some sort of deadstop that prevents the swing the blade perpendicular to the insert fro m sliding o ut. Yo u may need arm so tha t you have more light on the connecto r. Yo u'll find some sort of ta b to unlock a ta b o r squeeze together the locking ta ngs of the in se rt before yo u at the connector that either needs to be lifted or pushed to release the lock that ca n begin pulling. Th en, just ho ld the holds the blade p ivot in the hook slot. blade firm ly w hil e yo u pull th e insert O nce the ta b is released, a firm shove o ut like a p iece of sp ag hetti. Gra b th e new insert-m a ke sure that yo u've got to wa rd the base of the a rm will slide the blade right out of the hook slot the right end if they're different-line (Fig. 3) . Then, simpl y line up the new it up w it h the fi rs t set of g uides o n the bl ade's mo unt (there may be a n adapter bl ade, th en fee d it in ca refull y. Ma ke sure to engage eac h set of g uides as in the box to crea te this mo unt ) w ith the hook slot and sli de it in until it yo u go. Sometimes t here are as ma ny clicks. This mea ns it's locked in place. as eight guides . O nce th e in se rt is a ll Fo r the pin-type a rm , ra ise th e arm the way in , make sure it is locked in p lace. fj to a working height and ta ke a close look a t the type of lock(Fig. 4) With pin-type wiper blades, push down on the ing ta b th at holds the pin lock to release the wiper blade from the wiper arm bl ade o nto the p in. with a sideways motion. Yo u'll either have to p ush the ta b up fro m undern ea th the bl ade o r Iift the ta b from th e top wi th a screwdri ve r (Fig. 4) . Once th e tab " unco llars" the pin , p ull the blade assembl y with a sid eways m otio n away fro m the a rm. (Try to imagine p ulling t he blade up the w indshield, to picture th e motio n. ) Depending on the bl ade manufacturer, the new MAINTENANCE BASICS l ~ EA__S_Y__________ -------- ~--------------------------------------------------------------------1 Yo ur mil eage has been dropp in g stead ily for mo nths. A tun eup is in order, so a fin e Sa turd ay morn ing find s yo u on a deserted stretch of roa d . Yo u fig ure a few miles of sp irited dri ving should blowo ut tb e cobwe bs a nd restore tha t ponycar performance. Bu t w hat happe ns in stead is a lot of no ise a nd no t much performa nce a t a ll . Time to check th e air cl ea ner-w hi ch is p lugged w it h d irt, bugs a nd lea ves . Every engine ha s an a ir fi lter, a nd althoug h t here have been ma ny types of air-fi lter ing materials tried over REPLACING YOUR AIR FILTER t he years-in cluding o il -we tted plastic foa ms a nd w ire m es h-dr y, p lea ted "paper" (actu all y res inimpregnated , hea t-cured fiber ) co ntinu es to be t he mater ia l of cho ice for filter elem ents in eve ryt hin g from cars to heavy-duty trucks a nd offroad equip ment . Housing Project C hec k yo u r a ir filte r at leas t o nce a yea r. All air-filte r ho usin gs are so mewhe re und e r the hoo d (Fig. 1) . The housing cover ma y be held by w ingnuts or spr ing clips- prett y (Fig. 1) Check your old filter element for dirt, oil or moisture, cracks and proper sealing at the gasket. stra ightforward stuff. Separa te the cove r from the hous ing a nd yo u ca n li ft t he filter o ut for inspec ti on. Ma ny fil te rs, particu lar ly t he na rrow cyli nd ers use d o n o lde r rea rdr ive ca rs a nd eve n on many of toda y's tru cks, ca n be rotated. If th e re's a dirt y area nea r th e a ir intake , tap th e filter agains t a ta ble to remove loose dirt, then turn it 0 180 and expose a fresh surface t~ I 7 (Fig. 2) If a conical filter has a dirt buildup on only half the circumference, it can be rotated 1800 to equalize dirt pickup, extending service life. Clean the housing's interior before assembly. th e a ir inta ke (Fig. 2) . So m e con ica l fil te rs a lso can be r o ta ted , but o t hers ca n 't. Neve r tr y to clean a "paper" a uto motive filter in detergent a nd wa ter. So m e hea vy-duty filter s a re d esigned to be cl ean ed severa l times, but a utom o t ive filters are not. Before yo u reuse a fi lter, ho weve r, in sp ect it fo r crac ked p lea ts. Th e best way is to hold th e dirty sid e of th e fi lter in fr o nt of yo ur eyes with good lighti ng on the oppos ite sid e (w ith a cylindrica l fi lter, ho ld a troub le li ght in the middle of the openin g). O f co urse, yo u shou ld see some tra nslucence (if yo u do n't, the filter is p lugged ). But if yo u see even a single li ne of li ght, w hich ind ica tes a ha irline crac k, discard t he fi lter. A lo t of unfiltered a ir ca n get t hro ugh a c rack, a nd it's the a bras ive d ust in th e air t hat wears engines . Sure, that wea r ta kes p lace over time, but if yo u're in a du sty area th a t time ca n be a lo t sho rter th a n yo u'd li ke. Buy a q uality rep lace ment fil te r. T he top bra nd s are d iffere nt fro m th e no-nam e cheapies yo u may see. There a re ma ny grades of fi lter " p aper " a nd th e m o re expensive ones used by th e to p bra nd s have more consistent po res, so they do a better jo b of t ra pp ing dirt. In additi o n, their p lea ts are more prec ise ly spaced so the fi lter has t he maxim um surface area fo r th e size of t he ho using. Metering the Air Ju st downstream of t he filter ho usin g, perha ps conn ected by a duct, w ill be the engin e's a irfl ow meter, or sensor. (So me engines have no airflow meter. Instea d, their computer calcu la tes air intake using rpm , intake vac uum a nd baro metri c press ure.) Conta min ati on of the a irflow meter w ill give yo ur engine's co mp uter inacc ura te in forma ti o n a bo ut the a mou nt (mass) of a ir the engin e is burnin g. Th a t coul d mea n poo r d rivea bility, p oo r m ileage a nd hard sta rting. Don 't, however, tr y to clea n th e a irflo w se nsor, save fo r blo w in g loose d irt a nd co bwebs wi th yo ur brea t h. T he ca libra tio n of th ese in stru ments is fr ag il e, a nd yo u sta nd a good cha nce of muc kin g yo ur sensor up irrepa ra bly. Duct Hunting Before yo u install the new fi lter, in spect the duct fr om the th ro ttle body to t he fi lter ho using. Sprea d the flu tes of t he du ct, look in g fo r cracks. If th e d uct is cracked, it may be closed a t idle but sprea d o n acce leration, w hen t he engine torq ues. Th at not o n ly brin gs in unfi lte red air, but o n today 's engines with m ass a irfl ow senso rs, the dirty a ir also is " unmea sured ." T he am o unt of fuel sprayed by the inj ectors is determin ed by how much a ir is fl ow ing in , so if some of t ha t a irfl ow isn't meas ured by the senso r, not eno ug h fuel w ill be inj ected . T he engine w ill run lea n and hesita te and/or stum ble . Th e sam e th ing ca n occur if th e d uct isn 't properly fitted a nd cla mped a t each end . Find a crack ? Well , it's a duct, so yo u ca n repa ir it w ith duct tape (Fig. 3) . Th at's a move that no professiona l would ma ke, beca use in time th e tape w ill lose its grip in the hea t of the engine co mpartment, as the duct flexes. Bu t it's your cal; and if yo u a re w illing to rec heck periodica ll y a nd retape as necessary, yo u ca n save the cost of th e new pa rt, or a t least postpone the expense. Fit Is Important Ca refull y ch eck th e fit betwee n th e lips of th e ho using a nd the rubber ga sket rimm ing th e filter. Thi s gas ket no t o nl y sea ls the filter ho usin g's tw o ha lves togeth er, but a lso p rov id es a n a irtight a nd dirt-ti g ht sea l betwee n th e fil ter a nd the cl ea n sid e of th e ho using . Look carefully a t th e old filter's gasket. It sho uld show a smo ot h , cl ea n line 360 ar o und a t the sea ling fa ce o n bo th sid es. The rim of th e filter ho using w ill have co mpressed th e rubber gas ket if every thin g is correct . If no t, a little detecti ve wo rk is in o rd er. Is t he fil ter the co rrect pa rt ? If not , is yo ur replacem ent fil ter th e co rr ect p a rt? D on't re ly o n just a visual compariso n-l oo k up th e correct pa rt number a nd cross-refe rence. Ad it 's p oss ible a no t her bra nd w ill fit better. Are a ll of th e sp ring cl a m ps p ro perl y latched ? So me air cl ea ners use screws to hold them shut, whi le others use a large w ingnut. All of the fa steners need to be ti ght, even that one 0 MAINTENANCE BASICS 8 (Fig. 3) Check the air cleaner 's ductwork for leaks and splits, especially if you 're having driveability problems. Temporary repairs can be made with ordinary duct tape. DUCT TAPE byp ass th e f ilter and a llow dirt into the engin e. Buttoning Up yo u can hardl y see or reach next to th e battery. On a few ve hicles, the ho us ing is attached by a bo lt or spring clamp that can be removed to a ll ow the hous ing to be di splaced an inch or two, permitting big hands to fit into a na rrow space. Rea d y to install the filter element ? C lea n out th e housi ng first , wi ping th e inn er surface w ith a cloth lig htl y m o istened w ith solve nt. In sert the element so it seats properl y. A filte r has a specific side up or toward the throttle bod y, and yo u h ave to in stal l it correc tl y so the e nd seal lines up w ith the shape of the hou sing or its cover. If it doesn't, yo u won't get a good end sea l, and incom ing air ma y It's time to fini sh up. In sta ll th e cove r or th e ha lves of t he filter hou sin g. In additi o n to the sprin g clips a nd w ingnurs that ho ld th e pans togeth er, there also may be alignment ta bs in areas yo u ca n't reac h w ith yo ur fingers. Be sure the tabs are engaged as yo u fit th e halves together, so the two parts of the ho using for m an airtight joint w hen you tur n the w ingnuts or engage th e spring clips. Be sure that both encl s of any ductwork are properly sea led to both the air cl eaner body and the airflow meter or throttle body, including hose cl a mps or retaining clips. ~ HOW IT WORKS Your Air Filter The resin-impregnated , heat-cured "paper" element looks like a pleated sheet, and most of the dirt particles are stopped at the outside surface. A light coating of dirt actually improves the filtering ability of the paper. But soon the dirt builds up and even starts filling the bottoms of the pleats , restricting airflow. The paper also has multiple layers, and if you looked at it under a microscope, it would look like a forest with an irregular crisscross of vines and limbsthe fiber strands of the " paper. " It all looks random, but the premium-priced filter "papers" are more consistent in the sizes of the pores than it seems, and a quality material is a mathematically predictable barrier to dirt particles. In actuality, the layers of fibers form a maze and some of the dirt also is trapped within the layers of the paper. The inrushing air produces REPLACING YOUR AIR FILTER some static electricity, which also causes some smaller dirt particles to adhere to the surfaces of the paper fibers. A point comes when not enough voids remain to pass the air needed to supply your engine. The result is inadequate oxygen to burn the fuel at wide-open throttle. With carbureted engines, this used to mean rich running. Modern fuelinjected engines meter the air admitted to the intake and add appropriate fuel-making for a clean-running engine that eventually won 't get out of its own way. At least carbureted cars coughed and sputtered to let you know that you had a problem. But with today's engines, a filter has to be really bad to restrict acceleration . A bigger hazard is an overloaded filter rupturing and dumping 20 miles of bad road into your engine. 9 l ~ . EASY \ Changing a Tire la t tires a re never a fun thing-but this o ne takes the cake. It's late, of course, and in the middle of a frog-choking rain. You're stuck in the a nkl e-deep mud on the sho ulder of a deserted road. How deserted? Our-of-cellphone-coverage deserted, or yo u'd be sittin g in the cab of a serv ice truck w hil e so mebod y else gets drenched . That's how deserted. Yes, yo u could drive a lo ng the should er 0 11 th e rim for a few miles to civili zation, but in sura nce wo n't cover the damage to you r expens ive a ll oy rim. It's tim e to kn uck le d own an d put o n th e spare. A pressu re ca n of fl at-fix foam ca n get you ho me if the problem is a simple puncture, and that may be a viable option, especially for smaller individuals or the elderly who would have a tough time changing a tire . .lust reme mber two things: This stuff is a temporary soluti on, and the fl a t will need to be attended to by a tire technician at the earliest opportunity. Be sure to wa rn the technicia n that you've used this stuff. The propel lant is fl ammable, and unless he's wa rned, he sta nds the chance of causing a nasty explosion. Aeroso l fl atfix, however, is no help if the problem is a tire un seated from the wheel rim after an encounter with a pothole. F I/ ! (Fig. 1) Be sure to check the air pressure in your spare tire periodically. jack isn't rusted in to imm obility. C heck the manual and find the ve hicl e's jacking poi nts. You ' ll proba bly need to lie o n the grou nd to find them, but this will be a lot more palatable now in yo ur driveway than later on the sho ulder of some mud bog. Grunting Helps Furthermore, yo u' ll never be able to cha nge a tire if yo u do n't have the basics-a jack and a lug wrench (Fig. 2) . Go back into their hid y- ho le and confirm their existence (Fig. 3) . W hile yo u're there and you have enough light to read the owner's manual , fi gure Ollt how to un sh ip them and make sure the The most co mm on difficulty in c ha nging a tire is lugs that are tighten ed far too tightly. A cas ual rattle w ith a mechani c's air wrench can deli ver a tightening torgue that o nl y a pro wres tl er could remove w ith the stock lu g wrenc h. Wheel lugs need to be ti ghtened to no more th a n t he manufacturer's recommended torgue to ens ure the y won't loosen. C heck yo ur (Fig. 2) loosening lug nuts calls for a lot of upper-body strength. An inexpensive 4-way lug wrench can substantially increase your leverage and break loose overly tightened lugs. Be Prepared First of ail, remember to check the pressure in your neglected spare tire (Fig. 1) w henever yo u check tbe pressure in the other four, which yo u do faithfully every mo nth or so, ri ght? A flat spare is no help. An d if yo u' re like most people w ho save a plugged or nearly worn tire for the spare, it's likely that the spare has a slow lea k, which would leave yo u stranded. 10 MAINTENANCE BASICS LUG WRENCH (Fig. 3) Locate the jack and other tire tools and make sure you know how to use them. owner's manual, but the fi gure wi ll be 75 to 100 ft .-l b. of torq ue. Do the math-that mea ns a 200-pound adult should be a ble to tighten th e lugs by placing all his weight on top of the wrench only 6 in. away from the fastener. A few drops of engine oil or grease on the threads and the lug chamfer (where the lug touches th e whee l, not th e threa ds) wi ll prevent ga lling and seizing. When removing a wheel, first loosen all of the lugs in a crisscross pattern a half-turn or so. It may be necessary to use the mechanic's favorite cheater bar (Fig. 4)-a piece of water pipe or thick wall pipe about 4 ft. long- to add enough leverage to break the lugs loose. Remove them one at a time and lube them if they squeak . Retighten them in three stages, again in a crisscross pattern. Black And Round Many carmakers, in a n attempt to reduce vibration by making sure the wheels are more concentric with the hub, use a protruding lip that mates closely with the centerhole on the rim. This works wel l for a CHANGING A TIRE (Fig. 4) A cheater bar helps loosen lugs. Never use it to tighten them. coup le of years, but eventua lly corrosion from road grim e can make it imposs ibl e to budge the w hee ls, even after you've loosened all the lugs. Correct this now, and you won't need to try it in the field. Jack up the corner of the car to take the load off the wheel and kick the whee l, alternating sides until it pops loose. No joy, and now yo ur feet hurt? Be sure the lugs are only a single turn frol11 tight, lower the car and move it a foot forward and back, rapping the brakes smartly to break the wheel loose. A shot of penetrating oil may help in an hour or two. Clean up the corrosion with emery paper (Fig. 5) and coat al l th e surfaces li ghtly with wheel bearing grease, Va se line or, best of all, antiseize compound. You' ll need a few things besides the on-board tools for your emergency tire change. Pack a flash light with good batteri es or, better yet, a cigarette-lighter-powered trouble li ght, an emergency triang le, a coup le of road flares, some gloves and a poncho or ground cloth. Toss in three pieces of scrap 2 x 4 as well, each about a foot long, and a piece of thick plywood 2 x 2 feet. That Fateful Day Wh en changing a tire the fir st, and most important, thin g to do is to get the vehicle to a safe area, far enough from the road to save you from becoming road pizza-particularly if tbe flat is on the left side and your back sid e wi ll be poking out into traffic whi le you work. Set your triangl e or (Fig. 5) Remove corrosion from the centering hole with emery cloth or a wire brush. 11 jack, and there's probably flares 100 ft. o r so upstream. eno ugh to p ut a smidge n on the Leave the ve hicle in Park and lugs w ith your finger. Be sure to set the hand brake. Block th e get it on the mating chamfer as whee l di agona lly opposite the we ll as on the threads . flat with two pieces of wood Lower the vehicle and pull the (Fig. 6) . Loosen all the lugs on jack out. Now yo u can tighten the flat a full turn. Take the the lugs to their correct torque. spare out of the trunk and put it Check the owner's manual for halfway under the car near the the torgue specification. Measure jack. In the unlikely event the carefull y. If the lug is dry and car fa ll s off the jack, it will onl y unlubrica ted, it may take a lot fall onto the spare-not your more force to tighten the lugs. foot or head-and will leave ,/' The only accurate way to you a fighting chance of raising WHEEL CHOCKS torgue the lugs is to use a the car and continuing. If the mechanic's torg ue wrench. car falls to the gro und, yo u'll T hese can be purchased for 20 (Fig. 6) Block the opposite corner of the car to keep have no way to raise it. bucks or so . If you have expenRaise the jack from its stowed it from rolling off the jack. sive all oy wheels, yo u may want position to nearly higb eno ugh to bu y one and keep it in the trunk. wrench, aga in in a crisscross pattern. to contact the bottom of the car. If Be sure you don't have anything As yo u're putting away yo ur tools you've got a different style of jack th an (like a stone or mud) trapped and jack, be sure yo u haven't left the one pictured here (Fig. 7), check your owner's manual for specifics. between the rim and hu b, or the rim them covered with mud or moisture, which might ca use them to rust while If the ground isn't firm, put the 2 x 2 w ill wobble. In fac t, if the mud COI11presses later, th e lugs co uld lose their stored . If they're a mess, clean them piece of pl ywood under the jack point, and the jack o n top of th e wood. Be torg ue and the whee l co uld fly off. If and relubricate at your earli est opporyo u need to, remove th e whee l aga in tunit y. Don't forget to pick up yo ur sure everyt hing is level. Jack th e car up until the fl at clears the ground by in th e m orning to remove the debris, safety tria ngle. severa l inch es, beca use the spare isn't corros ion a nd ru st fro m a ll th e matNext Morning flat and will need more cl earance. ing faces and between the w hee l an d Remove the lug nuts, and put them hub, a nd then li ghtly lube. This w ill Take yo ur fl at to a competent tire technician for repair ("Repa iring A . inside the hubcap or in some other have th e added benefi t of mak in g the place where they won't get lost in the w hee l easier to remove the next tim e. Flat Tire," page 40 ). And don't let dark, or accid enta ll y sca ttered into him overtighten your lugs with hi s Hint: There sho uld be so me grease to the weeds by yo ur fee t. be found o n the jackscrew of yo ur fancy-dan air wrench. 9 Pull the flat off and put it halfway under the car. Hang the spare on the studs. No studs? You've got lug bolts (common on many Europea n ca rs) and you'll need to juggle the w heel w hil e yo u get the top one started. The easy way is to sit down on the ground facing th e hub a nd ba lance th e spare on yo ur legs w hile yo u start the first lug bolt. If yo u begin with the top bolt, the wheel will hang gracefull y from it and yo u can start the rest. Finger-tighten a ll the lugs a nd then lightl y ti ghten them w ith the lug (Fig. 7) The correct jack point on the frame of your vehicle may be difficult to reach. 12 MAINTENANCE BASICS EASY Replacing Your Tailpipe rakelights flicker sudden ly in fro nt of yo u, fo llowed rapidly by the screeching of tires. Cars before yo u swerve to the left and righ t as you slow as safe ly and rapidl y as practical. Despite yo ur best efforts, th e so urce of the pandemon ium , what appears to be half of a cement block, di sappea rs directl y under yo ur front bumper at a high speed. Thump. And as it exits from yo ur rear bumper, yo u B REPLACING YOUR TAILPIPE follow it in your rearview mirror for a few seconds. It has company. Your muffler- or at least most of yo ur muffl er-ha s apparently developed a lasting relationship with the aforemen ti oned ce ment bl ock. They' re elop ing at high speed toward the curb, in extricabl y intertwin ed. The next thing you notice is the sound of what seems to be a B-29 landing in the next lane as you press back down on the gas. Actu all y, it's your engine-minus its mufflerwaking LI p again as yo u try to negotiate through the traffic, back home to sa fety, family and so mething ta ll and co ld th at w ill make yo ur ha nds stop shak in g. To add insult to injury, yo u replaced yo ur ex ha ust sys tem from the cata lytic converter back only la st spring. Inspection of the und erside 13 of yo ur car revea ls good , so lid p ipe most of th e length of the ve hi cle, ter min atin g in sha rd s of muffl er. H ere's yo ur chance to rep lace a few fe et of pipe and th e missin g muffler yourse lf. pipes it's connected to at both ends have been crimped by cl a mps. How do yo u remove the Sw iss-c heese pipe witho ut ruining the o th er two ? By using a power cutting whee l and a very steady hand (Fig. 1). The preferred too l is an air-powered di e grinder w ith a cutoff w heel, but a hi gh-speed electric drill will work, a lbeit more slowly. oi l, so yo u can get th em o ut, pry the fl a nge from its r usty partne r and sec ure the new fl ange with a new gasket and fres h bo lts. Use antiseize compound on everything to ease removal the next time . T he other type of co uplin g is made up of a larger pipe slipped over a small er one o r a small er pipe slipped into a larger one, dependin g on wh ich Now That You 're Home Actua ll y, it may not be road debris that removes yo ur muffler and tailpipe. Rust never sleeps, and cars in short-trip serv ice m ay rust out the farth est, coolest portion s of the exha ust system in as little as 18 months. Th e following scenario is typical of vehicles that have had part of th eir exha ust system repl aced at least once. T he saga begin s with a section of the origina l exhaust plumbing behind the catalytic converter rusting o ut and m aking a ruckus. Beca use th e original exhau st pipes are welded together, however, a ll th e p ipes from th e cat back need to be (Fig. 2) Peel up the corners of the old pipe to slide in the new piece. repla ced. T here's no practical wa y to remove just the rotted section because of all the weld s. If you had the wherewith a l, you cou ld probably cut out just th e rusted portion and have a pipe custom-fitted. But th at would be extremely labor' . . intensive and not particularl y econom ica l over the long ha ul. Also, exhaus t work just isn't don e that way. So , generally, two or three aftermar ket pipes and th e muffler a re clamped togeth er behind the converter (Fig. 3) After installing all the parts, adjust for fit and tighten the clamps. to repa ir the exha ust. T hen yo u dri ve aro und for way the coupling is facin g. Both may Sizing It Up another yea r or two in peace and be present in the same exha ust sysGet the back of the car up on jackquiet-unaware that the repl acement tem. The importa nt thing to rememw ith chocks securing the front stands, pipes hangi ng under you tend to rust ber is that yo u may need to save the w heels. Be sure to wear safety gogat different rates. Sometimes, th e midpipe, so use a gentl e to uch w ith inn er exha ust systems tend to drop gles, as dl e pipe of th e three you insta ll ed goes the cutting wh ee l. If th e outer pipe razo r-sharp flakes of ru st that a re first . Other times, the muffl er at the needs to be saved, there's nothing you seemingly attracted to your eyes . end fa ll s off before the other two. Still do to keep fro m cutting it. But can Get under the ve hicl e to see what other times , the fl anged pipe bolted to why yo u're going to use a cutthat's kind of co uplings yo u' re dea ling the cat is the first to go bad. In a ll ting wheel instead of an impact chi se l. with. The fl anged type is easy. Just cases, though, yo u want to replace It ma kes for a nea ter, smoother cut. spray the rusty bolts with pen etrant onl y th e bad pipe. Problem is, the 14 MAINTENANCE BASICS o uter p ipe lik e a tin ca n. That w ill g ive yo u enough play a t t he crim ped area to w iggle the pipes apart. Spread 'em (Fig. 4) Smear muffler cement over the joint after you install the clamp. Slice, Don't Dice To begin, remove the bad pipe's cla mps. Then, ma ke a lengthwi se mark 'I to 2 in. lo ng where yo u want to sli ce open th e outer pipe. Put on a pa ir o f gogg les, get a good doubl eha nd ed grip on th e cutte r too l a ncl sta rt it up . Slow ly ra ise the spin nin g w hee l to the mark o n the pipe. With gentle pressure, score the mark. REPLACING Y OUR TAILPIPE If yo u're saving the inn er pipe, repeat this step until you're throug h the outer p ipe. It's okay for the inner pipe to get a li ttle score groove in itjust as long as you don't c ut it a ll the way th ro ugh. [f yo u' re sav in g the o uter p ipe, the second cut ca n take yo u a ll the way throug h the inner pipe. With th e cut made, use a screwdri ver or a c hi sel to pry ope n the Fitting a new pipe over an o ld o ne is no problem. Fitting a new pipe in to a n o ld o ne sometimes is, because of the crimp fro m t he o ld clamp. If you' re hav ing trouble, use a n exhaust-pipe expa nder to gai n so me ext ra cl ea ra nce . Then, simpl y fit the pipes together as if they were both new after smeari ng a little muffler cement on the joi nt. If yo u saved th e outer pipe, it now has a 1- to 2- in . slice at th e encl. Make sure to slide th e inn er p ipe in past the end of the cut, so there's no ho le between t he pi pes (Fig. 2) . in sta ll a new muffle r cl a mp, but do n 't tig hten it until the rest of th e system is hung from th e ha ngers a nd a ligned properly (Fig. 3) . Once every thin g is back together a nd c la mped dow n tight, a littl e mu ff ler ceme nt strateg ica ll y a ppli ed w ith yo ur thumb over th e c ut wi ll take care of a ny tin y res idu a l gaps (Fig. 4) . Lower yo ur car a nd enj oy th e sil ence. t; 15 MODERATE Repairing Power Antennas (Fig. 1) Scratchy radio reception might be caused by poor ground or antenna connections. Use an ohmmeter to chase high resistance pOints. t's time to kick out some jams, so you reach into the console for your favorite MC5 CD. Popping open the jewel box, yo u reac h for the CD, only to find o ut that Juni or ha s liberall y lubri cated it with peanut butter and jell y. After making a mental note to give Junior a good ta lk ing-to, you dec id e to surf the a irwaves for some good oldtime rockand-roll. Punching the FM button, yo u hope that at least one of the radio presets ha s so me Bob Seger tun es hiding behind it. But no, th ere's nothing to be heard o n any channe l except a great rushin g no ise, not even so much as CONELRAD. Time to come back to this mill ennium and find out what's wrong w ith yo ur antenna. I 16 Manual Or Power? Fixed antennas have on ly a couple of fai lure modes, and generally they in vo lve mechanical damage to the antenna mast or the ca ble. If part of the mast is still there, yo u'll generall y get so me sort of signa l. A poor connection between the antenna ba se a nd the fe nd er also cou ld be a problem. Unscrew the antenna mounting nut and check for corrosion. A cleanup w ith a w ire brush and reassembly might re-estab lish a good gro und. Powe r antenn as are more coy. If they're too shy to come o ut of the fender, yo u're li stening to static. No-Show The iss ue could be either electrica l or purely mechanical. Go back to yo ur (Fig. 2) If water that leaks down the mast can't escape, the mechanism may freeze up. antenna and tr y to pull the mast o ut with your fin gers. If it moves out readily, pull it out all the way, and then cycl e the radio power w ith the key on. If the mast moves even the slightest amo unt, or yo u can hear the motor running at a ll, the prob lem is mechanical. If the motor seems deceased, go back to basics-check the fuse. Determining which fuse protects the antenna motor may require so me detective work . It may be the radio fuse, or it may be a separate fuse, perhaps shared with the rear-window defroster grid or a trunk-mo unted CD changer. (Finding something else that doesn't work often is a good clue.) Fuse is okay? Check the antenna's mounting, as described previous ly, for MAINTENANCE BASICS (Fig. 3) A sticky or damaged antenna mast can often be replaced without accessing or disassembling the mechanism. As we show here, this can be done without removing the interior trim. assembly sho uld have o ne hot w ire o n, a nd a di ffere nt w ire hot when th e key or rad io is off. Good huntin g. Stubborn a good gro und pathway, a lth o ug h there ma y be a separate gro und w ire to a spec ific chassis gro und point. You may want to use a n o hmm eter (Fig. 1) to hunt for resistance. Inci denta ll y, if yo u tr y to meas ure th e res ista nce of th e a ntenn a cable's RF lea d between the mas t a nd the radio connector, it ma y check out as infinite. Some a ntenn a assemb lies use a capac itor in series w ith the RF lead , some don 't. T he ground shell of the a nten na cab le shou ld have a low resistance to chassis gro und , normally 5 o hm s or less . You' ll need to find a schema ti c of the a ntenna w iring to tro ubles hoot a ny deeper. But with the radio and key on, the harn ess to the antenna REPAIRING POWER ANTENNAS Does the antenna motor run briefl y but not ac tu ally move the mast up a nd down? Or does it move a few inches a nd th en grind to a ha lt? One prob lem we've seen is a kinked o r pinched drain tube. (Fig. 2) The mechanism ca n fill with water, w hich then freezes solid in cold weather, or corrodes the works and causes a jam. C heck the tube, espec ia ll y if yo u can pull th e mast o ut manually a nd it's wet. If the tube is compro mi sed an d the works are full of water, you may need to disassemble the thing, dry it o ut, and put it back together with fresh lubrica nt. Ca n yo u help the mast along in and out? If so, the sliding sections of th e mas t may be corroded or bent. Careful bending by ha nd may resto re mo ve ment, a nd po li shing with 600-grit sandpaper or rubbing compound ca n smoo th th e action. At the ve ry least, run the mast compl etely out a nd cl ea n it th oro ug hl y with a soft cloth, re lu bri cating w ith a spa rse a mo unt of silicone grease or pas te wax. What's That Funny Noise? Modern power a ntennas use a simpl e, fl exibl e rac k-a nd-pinion mecha ni sm. It's pretty reli able, but a buse and the ravages of time a nd weather ca n litera ll y st rip the gears . So if yo u hear noises that sound li ke interru pted gear meshing, there's probably some section of the rack or pinion th a t's in need of denta l work. It's poss ible to fix thi s w itho ut replacing the a ntenna asse mbly o utright (Fig. 3) . (You m ay not even have to access the mecha nism .) ~ 17 FERRULE (Fig. 4) Remove the outer nut and collar as a first step to removing or replacing the mast. Visit yo ur dea lership 's parts department. GM, for one, offers a repair kit fo r p ower a ntennas . T hi s consists of a new mast a nd rac k asse mb ly, rea d y to in sta ll. You may need to order it, as the two dea lers we tri ed didn 't have it in stock . Th ere are afte rmarket antenna pa rts to be ha d, but finding th e ri ght pa rt is going to be di ffi cult unl ess yo u have better lu ck than we did interroga ting the staff behin d the pa rts co unter a t the loca l ware ho use di stributor. H ere's how the system works: Th e limi t switc hes that stop th e motor at bo th end s of th e antenna ma st's trave l a re built in to the mech a nism , a nd yo u ca n consider them un se rviceab le. T he limit switches rely on th e a ntenn a bo ttoming o ut o r topp ing out to ro ta te a sw itch drum , a t which po in t th e c urrent to the motor turn s off. At the top of the antenna mechanism is a large nut that holds the who le wo rks onto the fender. Remove this nut. T his isn't as easy as it sounds if it doesn't have flats that yo u ca n turn with a wrench. Yo u may need to use a spanner w ith pins- a ltho ugh a pair of snap rin g pliers may work if the nut isn't w icked ly tight. At the potentia l expense of the chro me fini sh, yo u may need to fa ll back on the mechanic's friend, locking pliers. Under the nut and perhaps a plastic spacer or two there wi ll be a ferru le (Fig. 4) , which 18 is the stepped sleeve that the mast actua ll y bumps into at the end of its travel upward. Pul l o ut thi s ferru le. Now have someone else turn on the radio. The mast should elevate itself comp letely out and flop over, so you have to be there to catch it. Carefull y notice which way the teeth of the rack point as the mast clears the fender. Note the state of the teeth. M issing teeth proba bl y mea n yo u sho uld disassemble the ho using and clea r a ll the bits o ut, but teeth that are simply worn shou ld be okay. The new mast's rack has been cu rled up lik e a p ig's ta il in th e package, and it will be difficu lt getting it to mes h with th e gea rs. With yo ur fin gers or pli ers, bend th e bottom 2 or 3 in. backward to remo ve the c url. The end sho uld be stra ight now. After ma king sure tha t the ra di o is turned o ff, take a look at th e last too th-you may need to remove a sm a ll a mount o f castin g fl as h. A pocketknife does th a t job we ll. Tak e th e new ma st, wit h th e teeth of its rack a ppropri a te ly oriented, a nd in se rt it in to th e ho le unti l it bottoms . Rota te the mast a littl e to the left and ri g ht to get th e teeth to mesh w ith the pinion gea r (Fig. 5) . H ave yo ur helper turn th e rad io o n a nd off w hil e yo u pu sh th e new m as t firm ly down. Thi s wil l ca use th e limit switch to cycl e in sid e th e mecha ni sm. Now have yo ur help er turn the radi o o n, a nd if a ll is we ll , the mas t w ill suck itse lf very nea tly in unti l it bottoms o ut. All yo u need to do now is reinsta ll the ferru le, space rs a nd nut. Ligh tl y lu be the mast sectio ns w ith sili cone grease o r pas te wax. runnin g aga in. The sw itch co nsists of a pl as tic drum w ith wiper fin gers a nd electri ca l traces, so it's vu lnera bl e to moi sture a nd dri ed-out lu bri ca nt. If yo u ca n't fi x it, or th e motor itse lf is toasted, yo u'll n eed to replace t he w ho le shootin' ma tch. An afterma rket a ntenn a w ill set yo u back about $60 to $75 at th e loca l a uto p arts store, or mo re than a hundred a t th e dea lermaybe mo re for a lu x ury impo rt. The OEM parts w ill , of course, dro p in. Aftermark et pi eces m ay require a certain a m o unt of a daptation to mount properly, a nd perhaps even some crea ti ve w irin g to make th em wo rk prope rl y. Don 't forget to chec k for used pa rts a t the loca l scrapyard o r auto recycl er. t) NEW MAST Outer Limits If the limit switch mechanism stops work ing, yo u m ay be a bl e to d isasse mble it, cl ea n up a n y fore ign matter o r corrosion, a nd get it (Fig. 5) It may take a little fumbling to get the rack to mesh with the drive pinion, but when it does the mast will run completely home by itself. J MAINTENANCE BASICS ,- 0 EASY l~~PlaCing Your Spark Plugs es pite the heavy traffi c-peri ods of slow-go inte rsp ersed w ith lo nger per io ds of no-go-thin gs a re okay. Yo u've gOt tha t new Ya nni disc in th e playe r a nd yo ur java is still piping ho t. H o w eve r, as yo ur dri ve wea rs on , the CD starts skipping and th e co ffee in yo ur cup sta rts spilling ove r th e to p. Suddenl y yo u rea li ze th a t yo ur engin e is no lo nger idlin g w ith its a cc ustom ed silk y sm oothn ess. In fac t, it's getting as lumpy as cold oatmeal. Th e engin e's deve loped a ba d misfire. As yo u sit a nd jiggle a lo ng in th e ro ugh-runnin g car, yo u fi gure th a t it ca n't be the spa rk plugs. After a ll , w ith today's unl ea ded gaso line th ey can last twice as long as they used to. And th e engine's high-o utput electronic igniti o n system produces eno ugh vo ltage to fir e even a wo rn plug. Well , think aga in. D Fair is foul Altho ug h plu gs w o n 't lea d- foul w ith today's unl ea ded gasolin e, they can o il-foul , ca rb o n -fo ul o r even be fo ul ed by so m e fue l a dd iti ves. So if yo u 've go t a mi sfire, th e re's a fa ir c ha nce a plu g is th e ca use . In fac t, it's mo re like ly a plu g th a n th e fue l inj ec tor. So, back ho me, it 's tim e to take th e plugs o ut. Loo k fo r oil y- bl ac k or soo t y ca rbonbl ack dep os its. The fo rm e r us ua ll y are fro m defec tive in ta ke va lve stem sea ls, th e la tter fr o m a n ove rl y ri c h fu e l mi x ture, o r a lazy o r d e fec ti ve oxyge n (0 2 ) se nso r. T he oxygen se nso r is wh a t s ig na ls th e co mpute r to a dju st th e fu e l mix ture. It ca n be tough to hear a misfire, which is o ne reason w hy emissi o ns- REPLACING YOUR control sta nd a rd s require the engin e computer's o n-boa rd di agnostics (O BD ) to log tro ubl e codes fo r each o f th e cy linders. H o weve r, th e first ca rs equipped with that setu p (ca ll ed O BD 1I) we ren't produ ced until 1994 , a nd most cars didn 't have it until 1996 . Even w ith a n ea rlier model , yo u sho uld c heck fo r tro ubl e co d es indi ca tin g a pro bl e m with th e eng ine, pa rti c ul a rl y th ose in vo lvin g th e oxyge n se nsor. But if eng in e pe rfo rma nce is d o wn a nd yo u ' re no t seeing tro ubl e co des, a nd th e plu gs have gon e a co upl e o f yea r s o r a bo ut 30,00 0 miles, it's wo rth pullin g the m fo r a loo k. But no t so fas t-thi s ma y not be as ea sy as in yo ur las t ca r. F irst, it may be ha rd e r to di sco n nec t th e plu g wires. If th ey' re recesse d , yo u ca n ' t ju st pull o n th e w ire. Wo rse, m ost of th e s impl e spa rk plu g pull er s w e've tri ed wo n ' t w ork o n a stuck boot. You need plie rs th a t grip th e end o f th e boo t a nd g ive yo u so me thin g so lid to ho ld. Th ese pull e rs cos t $20 o r so . In a n y case, t w istin g th e boo t to brea k th e heat sea l ofte n is necessa r y, eve n w ith p li er s. Neve r tr y to p ull o n the plu g wire itself, o r yo u'll prob a bl y cau se a se parati o n in th e res ista nce wire. SPARK PLUGS 19 A second thing to watch for is whether yo ur spa rk -p lug socket really fits. To meet th e lates t standard of th e Society of Automo ti ve Engineers, many new plugs are about Ys-in. longer than yo u're pro ba bl y used to. An o lder, margina l soc ket may not fit the hex properl y and co uld slip off and break the p lug. It also helps to use a socket w ith a rubber in sert to sec urely ho ld the plug. Finally, the elbow grease Start wi th a warm engine. Clean the plug ho le recesses with compressed air, crack a ll th e p lugs loose one-quarter turn, and let the engine cool. Removing plugs from a ho t cylind er hea d ca n damage the threa ds. Once yo u have the plugs out, check them ca refully before yo u dec id e they've got a lo t of li fe left. Use a ma gnifying glass and fee ler ga uge to be sure . If the ga p is worn .005 in. over the specs, an d yo u can see ro undin g off of th e ce nter electro de and wear o n th e sid e electrode, in sta ll new p lu gs. Forget trying to fil e the plugs . If yo u're reinstalling the old p Iugs, smear a film of antiseize on the threa d s near th e tip. New p lu gs have a coat in g th at w ill lu bricate th e threa d s o n th e way in a nd preve nt the p lu g from se izin g on their next removal, but it 's o nl y good for one stab. If a ny sp ark plu gs are dry-soot black, that's from carbon-a richfuel mixture problem. If there's a trouble code indi ca ting the oxygen se ns o r is incorrectl y sign a li ng lea n, the sensor co uld be responsible. If it's correc tl y indicating a rich mixture, then yo u have to look for a cause, such as leaking fuel inj ectors or engi ne misfire, perha ps ca used by defecti ve plug wires. It wou ld seem th at mi sfire wo uld thro w a lot of raw gas into th e exha ust, whic h it does. But it also th rows in a lo t of oxygen, and th at's w hat th e sensor sees, and in thi s case it just tells the comp uter to add more fuel. No t sure or no code? Then check th e oxygen sensor, w hi ch resemb les a HOW IT WORKS The Right Plug The correct plug for your engine is, of course, the exact part number that the manufacturer installed at the factory. When it's time to retire them, you'll be forced to choose from several manufacturers' offerings, and they're all pretty much alike, right? Wrong. There are subtle differences in a plug's ability to dissipate heat that belie what would otherwise be an exact physical match. A "hot" plug has a long path through the ceramic to the (relatively) cool cylinder head. A "cold" plug has a shorter heat-conduction path and tends to run cooler. Plug manufacturers cross-reference their product lines to other manufacturers' lines, and you should be able to find a plug to fit almost anything in the cross-reference chart. More important than heat range are things like thread diameter and length, and the type of tip . Installing the wrong plug can ruin your engine instantly if the plug is too long and whacks the top of the piston, especially in today's aluminum heads. Too short a plug not only won't fire, carbon will quickly fill the threads on the cylinder's head, preventing you from installing the correct plug. spar k p lu g threa ded into the ex hau st manifold . If there's an O 2 trouble cod e a nd no apparent ot her ca use, yo u cou ld just rep lace the sensor. O r, before yo u in vest in a new one, test the se nsor yo u' ve got. You ca n do this using one of the inexpensive testers made for Saturday mechanics. With a warmed-up engine (necessar y to get the O 2 se nsor work ing) a nd the throttl e cracked open (so th e engine is running at abo ut 2000 rpm), the tes ter's indicator lights t ypica lly wi II fla sh o n and off (or w ill both glow stead il y) if the O 2 sensor is working properly. If yo u don't get the lights, or as an extra check, let the engin e coo l. Remove th e sensor w ith a tight-fitting wrench and bench-test it. The typ ica l sensor ha s a closed but slotted end and is a heat battery of sorts. If you envelop the senso r end w ith the flame of a propane torch (so it gets hot but not cherry red ), it should produce over OAv with a high-impedance digital vo ltmeter hooked up, or turn on th e tes ter li ghts. If the sensor is good, th e vo ltage should drop or the lights go o ut w ithin 3 second s after yo u pull away th e fl ame. Occasiona ll y a vehicle has a different type of sensor, and in some designs it has an open tip. This is a varying-resistance device that doesn't respond to these vo ltage-generating tests, so yo u'll have to rely on the on- board diagnostic system fo r openers, and a shop manual checko ut procedure to find out if it's bad. T hi s type (widely used on new cars) also was used on 1987-90 Jeeps, an occasional Toyota in the late 1980s and a lot of N issa ns. These days yo u shou ld ha ve access to factory service information (or a good afterma rket eq ui va lent) for yo ur car, so refer to it. Whether yo u install a new sensor or refit the one you've got, coat the th reads of the 0 , sensor wi th anti seize compound.- ~ MAINTENANCE 20 BASICS EASY Replacing Spark Plug Wires (Fig. 1) Dampen the wires with a spray bottle and clear water, and look for arcs with a grounded, insulated screwdriver. (Fig. 2) Inexpensive boot pliers allow you to remove stuck plug wires without damage. efore easing o ut of the fas tfoo d 's parking lot, you gra b a sip of the hot coffee you picked up at the drive-thru. You take yo ur time as you p lace the cup in its ho lder in the center co nso le. No hurr y. Th e a pproaching traffic may be mo ving fas t, bu t it's far enough away for you to accelerate up to cruising speed. Good thing, beca use at a bo ut half-throttl e you fee l the engine mi s- B REPLACING SPARK PLUG WIRES fire. The cl osing traffic ha s time to back off and let yo u sputter up to road sp eed . But n ow yo ur engine sputters like a H arl ey idling at the curb, eve n at norma l tra ffic speeds. And there's coffee a ll over the co nso le fro m the vibrati on. What's Up? A brief underhood inspection co nfirms that all th e vacuum hoses are o n and that none of them have been burn ed open by lea ning against th e exhaust manifold . Yo u've touched every sensor connection to see if it's o n tight, you 've even checked for troubl e codes . H owever, not everything ca ll s fo r high-tech di agnosti cs a nd the latest scan tester. Engin e mi sfire often is ca used by lea king spa rk plug wires, so visu al inspection could re veal what's wrong . Th e jackets may be damaged fr om the outside by a brasion ca used by engine vibra ti on (p articul arl y at the plug-end boots), a hot engin e compartment, spill ed fluid s or battery acid , multiple disco nnectio ns and reconnections for other service, o r even a fa mil y of nesting rodents. Run the engine in near darkness, and then look and listen. If you see littl e electrical arcs, or hear a snapcrac k, th ere is hi gh-vo ltage electrica l leakage. Of co urse, running the engine at idl e doesn 't exercise the igniti on system ve ry hard , so yo u ca n add so mething to the test by spray in g the plug wire ends with clean wa ter fro m a ho usehold spray bottle. Another test: With a jumper w ire, ground the metal shank of a screwdri ver that has a well -in sul ated handl e. Then, run the tip of the screwdriver along th e length of each wire and a ll around at the coil and plug boots. Thi s w ill often produce an arc from the wire to th e screwdriver (Fig. 1) . Now look at the wi res und er good lighting. If they are da maged by a brasion, o il-soa ked, cut, burn ed fr om contac t with the exha ust, or have a dried-o ut look with hea t cracks, it definitel y shouldn't be a surpri se if yo u see arcs in the dark under so me conditi ons. H owever, if they loo k bad 21 but th ere a re no arcs, do a res ista nce chec k. A conve nti o na l plug w ire has a res ista nce of 10,000 to 15,000 o hms per foot of length-if it's meas ura bly high er, t he w ire probab ly is bad. An a bso lutely failed w ire w ill have a ha irline brea k so mew here, a nd t he res ista nce wi ll be infinity. affect th e operatio n of underhood e lectro nics by not co nta in ing radio waves. T he ac tual method of removing the o ld wire is not a lways " ju st pull it off." Pulling o n th e w ire itse lf is sure to cause an intern a l separa tion (see p. 19). Of course, if yo u' re replacin g a ba d wire , it may no t ma tter, but if anyone of th e o ld w ires is Out With The Old, st ill good, it's bes t to kee p it as In With The New a spare . Once yo u've found a bad w ire, Grasp the plug wire by the the so luti on should be simpl e: boot at the plug end. If it's in a (Fig. 3) Some wires are secured inside the cap by Rep lace the plug w ires . recess or is difficu lt ro access for spring clips. Use needle-nose pliers here. First, yo u have to decide some other reason, use a spa rk whether yo u want to bu y from a plug wire too l. There are specia l car dea ler a t Iist price o r get A word of ca uti o n : You may no t pliers of a ll sorts designed ro reach in a qua lity aftermark et bra nd, if you have wa nt " hig h- perfo rmance" wires, even a nd grasp the boot (Fig. 2) . They' re no t that cho ice. Prices for 198 0s models if th ey fit yo ur ca r (and they may be expensive, and having them could prove ma y be under $35 for a popular make cheaper th a n a conventional type) . useful if you ever have ro discOlUlect at the parts srore. For a late-model V8 , Some high-performa nce w ires are not w ires for other underhood service. Twist be prepa red to pay the dealer up to th e resistance type, and a lth o ugh they the boot if necessary ro break the heat $200 o r mo re, even for a popul ar car. m ay do well o n racing cars, they can sea l to the plug, then pull . As yo u do this HOW IT WORKS Spark Plug Wires The spark plug wire has a seemingly simple job: Carry the high-voltage electricity produced by the ignition coil to the terminal of the spark plug. Once at the plug, the electricity travels to the other end of the plug, and jumps a gap between electrodes to produce the "spark" that ignites the fuel mixture. Because high-voltage electricity looks for an easier path to jump across than a pair of electrodes in a spark plug, containing the electricity within the wire takes a thick jacket of insulation, and some wires have an outer jacket to resist cuts, high underhood temperatures , etc. If that outer jacket is damaged, the electricity may leak out to follow the easier path. In addition, high-voltage electricity produces radio waves, with all types of on-car electronic devices, from sensors and computers to radios and other entertainment systems. So, a simple length of solid wire can create problems. The electrical conductor typically has a carbon-impregnated core of a THICK RUBBER INNER INSULATOR CONDUCTOR IS CARBONIMPREGNATED NYLON STRING [AVOIDS RADIO suitable fiber, and everything from nylon to Kevlar has been used by different makers. That conductor (often covered by a second layer of a nonconductive material such as synthetic rubber) has enough electrical resistance to suppress radio interference without unduly weakening the spark. Some premium wires may have copper or stainless steel wire wound around the carbon core to reduce resistance. In some special applications in which minimum resistance is needed for engine performance, a solid metal wire has been used as a conductor, but over the inner layer of insulation is a layer of wound wire as a shield. On other types of wires, the outer f h' h jacket 0 t e wire may ave a metallic shield to prevent D L-_W _h_i_c_h_c_a_n_c_a_u_s_e__in_t_e_rf_e_r_e_n_c _ e ________________A _N _D __TV __I_N_ TE_R _F _E _R _E_N _C _E _l____________i_n_te_r_f_e_re_n_c_e_._______________ 22 MAINTENANCE BASICS (Fig. 4) Replace plug wires one at a t ime to maintain the exact same routing as original. Use silicone grease on the boots to allow easy removal in the future. take note if you fee l some looseness at the connection (it may have been ca used by engine vib ration). The plug w ire usua ll y is more accessibl e at the co il end , but it m ay not be a sim ple p ush-on. Si nce th e ea rl y 1980s, C h rys ler plug w ires o n engi nes w ith distr ibutors have been held in the cap by spring c lips. Co mpress t he tan gs of the clip with pliers a nd pu sh out to di sengage t he wire (Fig. 3) . Some Japanese makes have t h read-in" boots." Foll ow th e r o uting of a spa rk plug wire as if it were th e road to success, beca use when it com es to engin e opera tion, it really is. Every ma nufacturer includes li tt le plastic guides, and altho ugh they may cost pe nni es to make a nd in sta ll , they're used to locate each wire so it doesn't cause crossfire (a tra nsfer of high-vo ltage electricity from o ne cy linder's w ire to th e o ne that's next in the fir ing o rd er) (Fig. 4) . If yo u see o ne wire crossing over or under a no ther a t nea rl y r ight ang les, t ha t's a n example of the ro uting strategy used to avoid crossfi re. Of co urse, o n so me engin es w ith co il -on-p lug igniti o n (COP), th ere is no w ire and the boot is o ut of sig h t, out of mind. Al th ough t hi s type is immun e to hungry rodents, a boot m ay suffer interna l d a m age from hi g h-vo ltage e lectric ity o r crack in g from engi ne hea t. It's eve n possibl e for spill ed o il to fl ow und e r th e cover a nd ge t d ow n o nto the boots o n some cars, so ha ve a rag ha nd y w hen yo u 're ad dlI1 g eng lll e Oil. It's th e engi ne running, so you've got to remove th e igniti o n cover a nd li ft t he COP modules to make a physical in specti on. T here are so me " hyb rid " des igns, w ith o ne coi l o n o ne plug t o serve two cy linders (Fig. 5) . The co il directly feeds a plug in a boot und ernea th , a nd th ere's a plug wire (rep lacea bl e) to a seco nd p lug. T he COP boots a lo ne are usua ll y (Fig. 5) Many newer cars have individual coils mounted on the plugs. Short wires connect opposite-firing cylinders. und er $25 a set, a nd are stri ct ly a d ea ler part. Ju st pu ll the co ille lectronics modu le off the plug a nd t hen pull the boot off th e mod ul e. If th e boot is integra l to the electro ni cs th e price co uld be $ 100 each. There's no mainte na nce you ca n perform to extend the li fe of plug w ires. However, before yo u insta ll th e boot o n th e p lug, coa t th e in side wit h boot re lease lube (a silicone grease) to make it eas ier to re move next time. And w henever yo u wo rk und er t he hood , avo id nic kin g th e w ires, sp illin g so lve nt on them, or mishandlin g if you have to set them as ide w hil e yo u work o n something else. And if yo u see a w ire da ngling ve ry close to t he ex ha ust ma ni fo ld, reposit io n it in its g uid e to ga in so me clearance. A penny of prevention can be worth a co upl e of hundred L-_i_nl_p_[_'a_c_ti_c_a_l _to__c_h_e_c _k _t_h_e_se__b_o_o_ts__w_i_t1_1._______________________________________________d_o_I_la_I_ ~s_0_f_c__ure. REPLACING SPARK PLUG WIRES ~~ 23 EAS"i Maintaining Your Tires (Fig. 1) Always check your tires cold. Driving even a few miles will heat them up and change the internal pressure, possibly masking underinflation. ably when the tires are overnight cold, or when it has been at \east 6 hours y kind of tire failur e- even a since the vehicle was driven (Fig. 1) . sirnp\e flat- is a h uge hassle. D on't try to "eyeba\l" a tire for norload, not what the tires are physiBut this can be avoided with mal inflation. You can't te\l the differcally capable of withstanding. careful tire maintenance. It the recent ence between a properly inflated tire Although tire pressure specificatire reca\ls and reports ot tread sepaand one that'S even 10 psi under. usually peak at 32 to 36 psi, buy tions ration have alerted yoU to the imporSome tires always look underinflated. a tire pressure gauge that reads to at tance of regular tire inspection and Some have stiff sidewalls and always ust \east 60 psi. That'S a typical pressure care, you're ready to go beyond i a look nOrlllally inflated. specificati on tor a compact spare. 1£ quick look to make sure the tires R ead the tire specification label, the vehicle manufacturer specifies a aren't flat. Most fa ilures are caused which usually is on the driver's tront pressure range, such as a minimum by underinflation, overloading your doori a or the matching surface on and a maxin"\llm, alwayS use the maxmb vehicle, or damage trom debris, curbs the pillar (Fig. 2) . T hese pressure imum. The higher the pressure, the and potholes. These are things yOU specs usually are lower than the greater the load-carrying capacity of maximum pressure allowed on the can check yourself. the tire, the more stable the vehicle's tire's sidewall, but they' re based on pref\\ght inspection each particular vehicle and its rated At least once a month, check your ertire pressures- in your driveway, pref - A 24 Inspecting Tires to a sharp edge at one or both sidesor mu ch grea ter o n o ne sid e is a sign of mi sa li gnm ent. sha rp rock, of course yo u' re going to If yo u see cuplike wear in th e look as soon as possib le for damage. But remember, even if th e exteri o r trea ds, typ icall y along one side, th e possibl e ca uses are wheels that are o ut looks fine, the tire may be damaged inside. Although it may not slow-lea k, of balance, worn -out shocks or struts, a nd loose suspen sion components. it co uld fai l suddenl y. You'd be wise The class ic sign o f unbal a nced w hee ls to get th e car to a tire shop so th e tire is high-speed (50 mph and up) vibraca n be demou nted a nd given an interti on, and it usuall y surfaces before th e nal inspection. Th e few doll a rs is a cuplik e wear becomes noti cea bl e. Susgrea t in vestment in peace of mind, pensio n problem s usuall y p roduce and if there is interna l da mage, fo rget shake at lower speeds. abo ut a pa tch. Inves t in new rubber. Look for any cuts on the surface of the tire that expose th e steel belt o r fa bWEAR ric cord. This is gro und s for INDICATOR BAR immedi ate replacement. Tires w ith un eve nl y worn trea ds sh ould be replaced , unl ess the problem is ca ught ea rl y and there 's pl enty of trea d dep th left . In tha t case, th ey co uld provid e a moderate amou nt of life o n the rea r wheels, particu la rl y on a fro nt-dri ve car. Ho w(Fig.3) Check the tread for cuts, foreign objects ever, if yo u have an a lland abnormal wear. The wear bars will indicate w heel dri ve that yo u pu sh when the tire is worn out. pretty hard, invest in an enti re set of new tires . Wheel a lignment a lso pl ays an important ro le in tire perfor ma nce. If Wheel Balancing the w hee ls are mi sa ligned , they don't Most shops have off-ca r electronic ro ll tru e down the road. T he side sli pbalancers that allow the wh ee ls to be page produces friction, which raises rotated to any position wi th out affecttire temperatures and not only ing their balance. The disad va ntage is, increases tread wear but ca uses the if there's any unbalance in the w heel wear to be uneven . So in spect the tire treads. As yo u hub, it won't be corrected. If thi s doesn't cure the vibratio n, it's wort h find do, pry o ut pebb les from the grooves . T hey reduce traction and can damage ing a shop with on-ca r equipment th e tread a rea . before yo u try something else . In add iThe tread s sho uld be deepest at ti on, make sure the shop has weights designed for your wheels. It ta kes at midpo int-at least Ys in. thick . That's )\6 in . above the tread bars th at are the least a half-dozen differentl y shaped official "replace them " indi cators weights to fit properly on th e rims of (Fig. 3) . H oweve r, yo u need tread all the p opular w heels . There are severa l so-ca ll ed "u ni versa l" we ights, but a bove th ose bars o r the tire wi ll do a poor job of shedding any water a nd th ey may not fit yo ur rim , a nd co uld slu sh it runs into o n the road. The pop off or ca use rim dama ge. wear pa ttern sho uld be rela tive ly even If the w heels a re balanced and yo u at each side, a lth ough it might be have wheel shake at medium speeds somew hat grea ter in the middle. on up, or the tires ha ve cup wear, Trea d wear th at is "fea th ered"-worn check the sh ock s and struts. If yo u hi t a road hazard such as a (Fig. 2) Appropriate tire pressures are listed on a sticker on the doorframe or the matching door pillar. hand ling w ill be, and the coo ler the tire will ru n at speed. All tires leak air press ure over tim e. Th e closer the tires are to the recom mend ed maximum press ure, the greater th e safety ma rgin for a ll op eratin g parameters. A no rm al tire lea ks about .5 to 1 psi per month. In additi o n, as ambient temperatures drop wit h th e changes of sea so ns, so do the ti res' air pressureone psi per 10°F. It might seem th at th e temperature-related drop is marched by lower operating temperatures of the tires in cold weather. But the key to tire safety is adequate pressure to carry yo ur ve hicle's load . Although hi gher rire pressures sti ffe n th e ride so mew hat, it's a small price to pa y for th e ex tra safety and the a bility of the ve hi cle to accommodate greater loa ds. Ma inta ining proper tire press ure a lso improves fuel economy, altho ugh not by much. Ca ution : Overinfl atio n increases center tread wea r. Do n't forget th e sp are. And note o ur ea rli er wa rning abo ut the higher spec ified pressure for a compact spare. If yo ur spare is carri ed in the underbody, as it is on man y minivans, yo u' ll need to craw l underneath with a pressure ga uge and air hose. MAINTAINING YOUR TIRES 25 HOW IT WORKS Reading A Passenger Tire Sidewall RADIAL A "P" or "LT" stands for passenger car or light truck tire. The 3-digit number (215 on this diagram) is the tire cross-section width in millimeters. The 2-digit number that follows (65) is the aspect ratio-the height of the sidewall relative to the cross-section. A lower number indicates a wide tread area relative to the sidewall-today's sporty look. The letter "R" means radial tire construction. The next 2digit number (15) is the wheel rim diameter in inches. A 2- ~ .• ':.. digit number following the size information is a load-versus-pressure rating. A letter that follows that 2-digit rating is a speed rating. Example: "S" is for a tire rated for speeds up to 112 mph. You'll also find maximum pressure (in psi and kilopascals), and maximum load (in kilograms and pounds). In addition, there are numerical or letter grades for relative tread life, traction and temperature (UTQG). The layout of the information may vary accordingto make. LOAD INDEX AND SPEED RATING DOT SAFETY CODE UTQG RATINGS . (Fig. 4) Minor scraping on the rim's lip is okay, but a bent bead surface may cause a leak or vibration. Sidewall Check Us ing a tire and w heel cleaning product wi ll give yo u a cl ear loo k at both th e tires and whee ls. Yo u shou ld be ab le to fin d crac ks in th e whee l, damage beyo nd surface nicks to th e tire sid ewa ll s, and dam age to th e bea d area that cou ld be res pon si bl e for pressure lea kage (Fig. 4) . Tire Rotation Every owner's manu a l has a tire rotation diagram, and tire ro tatio n ma y seem lik e motherhood and appl e 26 WHEEL RIM DIAMETER (Fig. 5) To avoid warping brake discs, tighten the lugs in a crisscross pattern with a torque wrench. pi e- a lways good. H oweve r, thi s subj ect is not so simpl e. Cost of ro ta t io n vers us longe r tire li fe is not a prec ise equation. It depends o n th e tires, th e driving, wheel a lignm ent a nd suspension cond itio n. Further, professiona l service is n ot always exp ertly done. Un less th e lu g nuts a re ti ghtened to specificat ions in three eve n sta ges, using a crisscross pat tern (Fig. 5) , the rotors may become warped, w hi ch add s to main ten ance costs. If yo u let the mil eage stretch o ut a bit, suc h as to 10,0 00 mil es or more , tires ma y deve lop a lm ost imperceptible wear patterns that w ill affec t rid e w hen th ey' re moved to a new p ositi on o n th e car. If yo u ca n 't ro tate th e tires often, yo u m ay be better off leavin g them in place and accepting the somewhat sho rter tread life. Some tire treads are directi o nal. Th ey should rotate in on ly one directi o n a nd should not be rota ted excep t by a profess iona l who can demou nt them. H ow ca n yo u tell if yo u ha ve thi s type of tire? Look for a directiona l ar row on the sidewall . fI MAINTENANCE BASICS ( I '~ EASY Jumpstarting Your Car t hits yo u like an electrica l shock just as the airliner door sla ms a nd the flight attendant oh-so-poli tely instructs yo u to turn off yo ur cellphone. Less th a n an hour ago, you parked your car in the middle of a lO-acre a irport parking lot, expecting the vehicle to take YO Ll home when you return in five da ys. Except yo u reali ze that yo u forgot to turn off tbe headlights after your predawn departure from ho me and t he warning bLlzzer hasn't worked for eons, if yo ur car has one. And if it doesn't, there's no surpri se- yo u've done thi s before. G reat. Now w hen YO Ll get home yo u'll have to ca ll the a irport-approved towing service and drop close to a hundred bucks for a jump. I JUMPSTARTING YOUR CAR Neglect Is Abuse Lead-acid a utomo ti ve batteries are ac tuall y remarka ble a t de livering extremely high current for the few seco nds it takes to sta rt yo ur engin e, even in extremes of heat a nd co ld . What t hey are no t good a t is being able to recover after delivering mo re modest a mounts of current for a long time. Irreversibl e chemi ca l changes ta ke place. Specifica ll y, sulph a te need les t hat bridge the separator between the positive a nd nega ti ve pla tes for m w hen a battery is deep ly discharged. T hese needles no t on ly intern a ll y short the plates, ca using a hi gh self-d ischarge rate, they also coat the plates a nd interfere w ith the norma l lea d/s ul- (Fig. 1) Make the last connection to a ground point not on the battery to prevent creating a spark near any venting, explosive hydrogen gas. furic acid reactio n th at makes electricity to spi n your starter motor and run yo ur fu el inj ectio n and ignitio n long eno ugh to coax yo ur engine into life. Before yo u do anyt hin g else, check to see tha t the dead ba ttery isn't frozen. Whi le a fu ll y cha rged battery is a lmost freeze-p roof, a hig hl y disc harged battery ca n freeze w hen temps hit the low 20s. If the battery has them, remove the fi ller caps and look for ice crysta ls in the electrolyte. Don't try to charge a frozen battery. It wo n't 27 CHECK FOR IMPRINTED POLARITY MARKS work, a nd will damage the battery furth er. If you need a boost start to get home, well ... life's like that. Safety First (Fig. 2) Make absolutely sure you've got the polarity correct whenever you work on a battery. If your battery has side terminals, use these adapter bolts (right) when jumping it or use jumper cables with clips shaped for side terminals. HOW IT WORKS Deeply Discharged Batteries A lead-acid car battery, like any battery, has an internal resistance, normally a few tenths of an ohm. This means that a charging voltage only a little higher than the battery's normal 12.6 volts will provide enough current to actually charge the battery at some decent rate, say, 10 to 12 amps. But as the battery discharges, its internal resistance goes up. And the curve is steep. When the battery is almost totally discharged, internal resistance can be high enough to prevent the 13.5 to 14 volts your alternator puts out from doing any significant charging. Charging current in this instance can be as little as only a few hundred milliamps until the battery's resistance goes down-and that might take many hours, or even days of charging at normal voltages. The answer is a high-voltage, high-rate professional charger that can supply as much as 25 to 30 volts for a brief period to give the battery a kick in the pants. This will generate a lot of heat, enough to cook a battery within a few minutes. Leave this business to a professional, and follow up with a normal 6- to 10-amp charge. 28 Your first task is to get jumper cables. Preferably nice fat ones with a quality, heavy-duty set of clamps . This is more than just tool envy- there'S a lot of current passing along those wires, more than an arc welder, at least for a few seconds. Resistive losses in the cable can reduce the voltage available to your stalled car's electrical system to the point at which it will still be difficult to start, even with a healthy donor battery and alternator adding their all to the mix . It's important to use fat cables and to have good electrica l connections to reduce these losses to a minimum. A set of 6-ft. cables won't do you much good if you're parked nose-in to a parking space-wlless you feel up to pushing a 3-ton SUV back a truck length to make the engine compartment available. Twelve or 15 ft. is better, which makes using heavy-duty cables more important because resistance losses are proportional to the length of the cable. Keep your cables clean and dry to prevent corrosion from becoming a high-resistance factor. Doing The Deed It's nitty-gritty time. You've got cables, you've got a healthy donor car available. Open the hoods and position the donor car nearby, so that your cables will reach. Some cars, like the one illustrated on the previous page (Fig. 1), have a remote positive terminal someplace in the engine compartment. The battery is mounted in an inaccessible area or with its terminals inaccessible even in the engine compartment. As for where to attach the jumper cable, this junction will be clearly marked and covered in a red plastic sheath. If in doubt, consult yo ur owner's manual. Wear eye protection, even if it's only a pair of sunglasses. Once in a blue moon, a battery will explode MAINTENANCE BASICS (Fig. 3) If your car or RV is in storage and chronically needs help starting, a trickle charger will keep it ready and improve your battery life as well. TRICKLE CHARGER in tb e reverse ord er. Was h yo ur ha nd s if possibl e to prevent a ny ba ttery ac id fr om bleac hin g yo ur cl othes or getting into yo ur eyes . when yo u try to jump it. Options Exp lode? Yes, explod e. If yo ur RV or second car is It's ca used by hydroge n in storage for extended gas, w hich is norm a lly periods of time, the battery vented by a ba ttery th at's will self-di scharge . The being charged or dissimplest solution is to use charged at a high rate, a trickle, or maintenance, say, when you 're trying charger (Fig. 3) . These to start a car, the battery chargers will automaticall y runs down and yo u need LEADS FOR PERMANENT adjust their charge rate to a jumpstart. H ydrogen is INSTALLATION CLIPS FOR TEMPORARY CHARGING a safe level, low enough to expl os ive, and a sp ark keep the battery at 100 fro m making a connecpercent charge without cooking it. more wh en the dead car starts, but it tio n can ignite it . It won't be a big They're not recommended for charging will help tbe donor car's battery sta rt expl os io n, but it can cer ta inl y blow dead batteries-just maintaining them. yo ur engine a little if you give it a the top of the plastic battery case off If you're not in a cra shing burry, quick shot of charge. If the dead car's and spray acid into your eyes . battery had enough charge left to make yo u might find cigar-lighter ca bl es Co nnect the red clamp on one end will get yo u sta rted (Fig. 4) . T hese of th e jumpers to the positi ve termina l the soleno id click and run th e interi or and in strument lights, then a minute or ga dgets just plug into th e two ve hion the dead ca r. Verify th e pol a rity of cl es' li ghter p lugs, p rov iding a modest the terminals by the plu s sy mbo l so is enough. If the battery was dead , leve l of ch arging, but not carr yin g molded into th e battery case (Fig. 2) . dea d, dea d, give it 5 minutes or so . Don't just use the red terminalenou gh current to start a car with a someone may ha ve insta lled an incortrul y flat battery. But if the engine w ill Crank, Zoom rect, red-colored termin al onto the almost start, a 10- or 20-minute N ow you ca n actu ally try to start your dea d car. When the car starts, let it run negative pole of the battery. Do the charge will get you o n yo ur way, out same on the p os iti ve terminal of the at fast idle for another few minutes still of th e wea ther and with cl ea n hand s. donor ca r. Start the d on or car and let connected to the donor ca r to continue Remember that the lighter socket on it idl e. Lights, bea ters, stereos and cha rging by both alternators. Idling the dea d car mu st be electricall y hot rear-w indow defrosters- all electr ica l provides onl y a modest charge rate, so with th e key off, or yo u' ll need to drains- should be off. after a few minutes the best thing is to turn o n the key in the dea d car to If possible, cover the dead battery dri ve the car at normal speeds for 30 compl ete the circuit. with a shop towel or a sheet of cardto 60 minutes. (Fig. 4) Minor board. Any acid that man ages to bubRemove the jumper ca bl es cases of won 'tble out o f th e vents will wind up on quite-start will the cl oth instea d of o n yo ur cl o th es or answer to simple-to-use the pa int on the fe nder. lighter-plug Connect to the negative terminal of starters and the donor car's battery with the black jumper cables. clamp. Verify the polarity. N ow connect the remaining black clamp to the dead car's engine block, an accessory mounting bracket or a p rotruding ear on a manifo ld. Use the battery's negative termina l as a last reso rt. This procedure will generate any sparks far fr om any hydrogen gas venting from the battery and reduce the risk of explosion. Now wait. This will let the dea d TO DONOR CAR battery recharge slightly. It will charge fI JUMPSTARTING YOUR CAR 29 MODERATE Repairing a Leaky Radiator Y o ur radi a tor is lea king . Well , it happens. If yo u have n 't cha nged the coo la nt o n a reaso na bl e schedul e, it ca n beco me corrosive a nd eat thro ugh the ra dia tor. Even normal shaking a nd vibra ti o n w ill eve ntu a ll y ca use se pa ra ti o ns bet wee n th e pa rts th at a re connected by so ld er, ep oxy or mecha nica l crimps. Therm a l forces fr om engines heating up a nd coo lin g down ca n ca use c rack s in stressed a reas . Sea lin g gas kets ca n co mpress a nd a ll ow lea kage . And if yo u have a rea r-drive ca r with a mec hanica l fa n and wea k engine mounts, the engin e ca n lurch forw a rd und er braking far eno ug h for th e engin e-mounted fa n to " ki ss " th e radi ato r. O r it co uld be ju st p la in bad lu c k-a rock gets thrown up a nd pun c hes a ho le in a tube. Wh a tever its root ca use, a lea k is genera ll y o bvious. But w hat to do about the radiator? Repl ace it? After all , today's ra di ators a re supposed to be unrepaira bl e. Thi s is no t tru e at all , a nd th e best thing yo u ca n do is ta ke o ut t he radi ator a nd bring it to a radi ator sho p fo r a free consulta ti o n. If it ca n be repa ired, you ' ll not o nl y sa ve mo ney, but th e repa ired origin a lequipment (OE) radi ator p ro ba bl y will be a lot better tha n a new disco unt pa rt. It's no di ffe rent fr o m a ny rebuilt a uto mo bile co mponent, except th a t th e radiator has no mov in g p arts. Everyt hin g star ts w ith re mov ing th e lea kin g ra di a tor. Altho ugh do in g so ta kes some ca re, it's a stra ightfo rward job. In the ea sier cases, yo u can lift it o ut w ith shro ud a nd fan s attach ed, th en compl ete the strip- 30 (Fig. 1) Loosen and slide the hose clamps on the hoses clear of the radiator necks. Then, disconnect the hoses. prepared to do a co mpl ete dra in-a nd-refill , thi s prelimin a ry step ca n help prevent trapping a lot of a ir in th e system. Air bubbl es lea d to engin e ho t spots a nd ping in summe r o pera tio n, a nd p oor hea ter o utput in the w inter. If there's an underbod y pl astic cover a t the fr o nt, remove it, even if it's not necessa ry to do so to drain the coola nt. With the cover off, yo u'll surely be a ble to collect the draining coo la nt w ith less splas h . You'll also be abl e to get to th e lower radiator hose more easil y, a nd you ca n inspect th e lowe r end of th e radi ator as well. Yo u might see a bolt-on connectio n to the cond enser o r the support member that yo u wo uldn 't otherwi se no tice . And w ith most Ja pa nese cars, which have downflow radi ators (tanks at the top down o n the garage floor. And eve n in a rea lly ti ght engin e compa rtment yo u can usua ll y get it o ut w itho ut tou chin g the alc lines, or at w orst yo u wo uld o nl y ha ve to unbolt the radi ato r from th e sa me module th a t ho lds the alc co ndenser. Begin by di sco nn ecting th e battery gro und strap (even if th e ca r has beltdri ve n, ra ther th a n electrica l, fan s) . The next step no rmally is to drain th e radia tor, but befo re you do, in spect both radi ator ta nks (Fig. 2) If you have an electrical cooling fan, you'll carefull y. If you find a need to disconnect the wiring to it. hea ter hose co nn ecti o n, as o n a few ca rs, pinc h off th e hose just a few in ches fr o m the nec k, using loc king pliers . (If necessary, use a pa ir of tongue depressors or popsicle sticks between th e jaws to get a good squeeze .) With th e hea ter hose pinched , yo u w o n 't lose coola nt fro m th e hea ter during th e drain . It can be tough to get coolant to compl etely fill the heater o n som e cars, so unl ess you 're MAINTENANCE BASICS a nd botto m ), yo u' ll be abl e to reac h a ny hoses or w ires th at yo u must di sconn ect from the bo tto m ta nk. Rea d y? ow remove the press ure cap, even if it's on a separa te ta nk or on the engine. R emove th e radiator drain p lug (or open th e dra in cock ) and let the radiator dra in. Move tb e cl a mps off th e necks towa rd the mid po ints of th e radi ato r hoses (Fig. 1) , then di sconn ect th e hoses-in cluding th e hea ter hose if there's a co nnectio n at the radiator. If th e hoses are hea tsea led to the rad iator necks but in .. .. . . REPAIRING A LEAKY RADIATOR good conditi o n, slip a thin sc rewdri ve r between th e hose and nec k, a nd wo rk it aro und to free the hose, th en twist th e hose a nd wo rk it off. D o n't pry w ith a large screwdri ver or yo u could distort a meta l nec k or even crack a plastic o ne. You may find it necessary to ca refull y slit th e hose w ith a sharp kn ife to get it to let go . Don 't sc ratc h th e neck, or it' ll lea k in th e futur e. As yo u di sco nn ect th e lowe r hose, a fa ir a mo unt of engin e coo la nt is like ly to fl ow o ut, so ma ke sure yo u have a la rge ca tc h pan und erneath. Eva lu a te th e ra di a tor in sta ll a tio n a nd begin th e wrench work to fr ee it up. A typica l app roac h is to remove t he uppe r mo untlreta iner o n each side, or the single support member across the front. If there's eno ugh clearance for th e ra diator to come up a nd o ut with its shro ud and e lectri c fans intact, just unp lug th e electri ca l conn ectors for eac h fa n (Fig. 2) . If no t, yo u' ll o ft en be a ble to just unbo lt the shro ud a nd fa ns from the radiator a nd tilt th em back to provide c lea ra nce to lift o ut th e ra diator. . . 31 (Fig. 3) A radiator shop can replace a leaky O-ring seal, one or both end tanks or the core relatively inexpensively. tanks crimped onto the core. Your nex t step is to take the rad iator to a radiator shop that actu a lly repairs plastic-tank ra diators. Th e Nationa l Autom oti ve Radiator Serv ice Associati on (NARSA) has been giv ing its members intensive training in the repair of these radiators, whether with copper/brass or al uminum cores , for several years (215/541-4500 ). So a radiator shop sho uld know how to fix it, and not simpl y try to unbox a cheap new radiator and se ll it to yo u. The chea p radi ators just don 't transfer hea t as well, and unl ess yo u can get a spectacular price on a well-made replacement, you're usually better off with a repair. Can it be repaired? Disco nn ect th e overflow hose and if th e reservoir is in the way, take it out. T hi s can give yo u your first close look at the reservoir. Many reservo irs develop hairline cracks that allow hard- to-t race lea ks, so if yo u have a lea k here, yo u just ma y have saved a bundle. If not, keep working. If yo u have an au to matic transmi ssion, th e radiator usuall y conta in s an autom ati c transmiss ion cooler. Disconnect the cooler lin es, a job that isn't always a simpl e wre nch operation. In th e easiest cases, there's a hose connecti on and a cl amp. In the most difficult, tb ere's a quick-disco nnect fittin g th at requires a specia l (but inexpe nsive) tool to separate. If YO ll have a quick-disconnect, as on most Ford products, and YO ll can't get the tool , yo u'll find tb at the radiator end of th e q uick-disconn ect has fittin gs 32 that threa d into the cool er. So a fittin g ca n be unscrewed , but be ca reful. Use a tight-fitting wrench and unthread slow ly, so yo u don't dama ge the quick-disconnect coupling. W hatever type the cooler connections are, be prepared to plu g them. Yes, yo u want to a void transmissionfluid leakage. But more critica ll y, if any amount of coo lan t gets into the cooler or its lines, it can be sayonara for the a utomatic transmission. You can plug a hose end with a bolt. Plug a fitting with a rubber eraser, vac uum hose plug or so me other cl ea n, soft, flexible materi a l th at will stay in place (but also come out easil y w hen yo u're read y to reinsta ll the radi ator). All clear ? Lift o ut the radi ato r and strip off an y parts you were a ble to leave in place. Virtually all late-model ve hicl es have radiators with plastic Almost a ll car, light-truck and sport/ute radiato rs ha ve plastic tanks, eith er with a luminum or copper/brass core sections. They're precisely engineered to cool. And given today's tin y grille openings or no-grille underbody breathers, a cheap radiator is a bad ga mble. It ma y look shiny new, but it cou ld corrode and fail a lot faster th a n a properly repaired unit. When a radiator leaks, the most conunon causes usually are readily repairable at far less than the cost of a new quality radiator. It certainly has been true with the copper/brass radiators largely out of use. It's even more likely with today's designs, particularly aluminum-core radi ators, which can run $200 to $400 for a first-rate replacement. H ere are some repair examples: • Leaking gasket between plastic tank and core: Th e shop uncrimps the tank, install s a new gasket and reet·imps the tank (Fig. 3) . It should cost less than $75. • Damaged tube (perhaps from a stone): These can be fixed for an extremely modest labor charge with special epoxy or solder. Even aluminum radiator tubes can be soldered. MAINTENANCE BASICS • Cracked plastic tank (per haps from therma l st resses): A new tank today is re lati ve ly in expensive for most makes, so th e jo b should cost less than $150. • Leak ing header: The headers are the metal pl ates at each end of the tubes. The radi ator ta nk s attach to the headers, eith er by crimping a gas ket joint or by so ld ering. O ld er Ford radiators have epoxy sea ling between th e hea ders and th e tubes . If leaks occur from cracked epoxy, a radiator shop can remo ve the old epoxy and insta ll a new sealing film using specia ll y shaped guns and other tools. Th e cost is typ ica ll y a bo ut $175 to $200 for bo th ends of the r adiator, abo ut half the pr ice of a new Ford radi ator. • Fan " kiss" or corroded radiator: the core is smashed in or leak ing from corrosion pinholes. If the tanks are good, the shop can install a new core-perhaps even an OE one- and reuse the old tanks, saving abo ut 25 to 30 % on the cost of a new radi ato r. And the resu lt shou ld be equal to a new OE radiator. If the OE rad iator is an inexpensive design, then there won't be much of a difference (perhaps less than $75), and you might as well buy new if it's in stock . However, one core fits REPAIRING A LEAKY RADIATOR many different sets of tanks, so stocking cores is simpler for a shop. Resu lt: T he cho ice may come down to a new co re that's availa ble now versus wa iting for a new radiator and having to spend up to $100 more besides. Putting It All Together When yo u're ready to insta ll , inspect the rubber support bushings for the rad iato r. Ma ny of today 's radi ato rs are held by mounting systems that allow them to shake at a frequency tha t absorbs engine vibration. Replace heat-cracked or oil-soaked bushings. Otherwise, engine idle w ill be rough a nd the radi ator may shake itself into a leak . Clea n the threa ds of o il-coo ler quick-d isconn ect fitt ings a nd app ly Tefl on pipe sea ler before reinstallati on. If yo ur drained coolant was rela tively fres h, it's okay to put it back in if it's not contaminated with dirt, oi l or tran smi ssion fluid . Otherwise, use a 50/50 coo lant/water mi x . If yo u've ta ken thi s opportunity to flu sh the system with water, th en add ha lf the system's capacity of pure coo lant a nd top off with wa ter. Always check the carmaker's instructions for filling a radiator-and th en go beyo nd that an d add a littl e more. Today's coo ling systems are notorious for convo luted passages th at ba lance heat transfer if the system is full, but trap air bubbles if not completely fill ed. If there are air bleeds, they must be open duri ng the fi ll -up. Jack up the front of th e car to raise the press ure-cap fill neck before yo u pour in coo la nt. Even if the fi ll neck isn't on the radia tor itse lf, the higher it is, the better the system wi ll burp air as yo u pour in coo lant. Make sure the reservo ir level is correct and that the air-sea ling gasket in the pressure cap is in good condition, so the system won 't draw in air as the coo la nt cools. And " thermocycle " the system, wh ich simpl y mea ns to warm it up, then let it coo l down. Check the radiator coolant level when the system is coo l, and top it off if necessa ry. Once is not eno ugh. Keep check ing eve ry day or so for a few weeks. Some air purging w ill continue, a nd the system shou ld draw in add itiona l coo lan t from th e reservo ir. The reservo ir level drops modestl y? Hey, th at's th e way it's sup posed to work. Top it off when necessary and you ca n conclude that all has gone we ll. (; 33 MODERATE Curing Pulsing Brakes he driver in the left la ne suddenl y rea li zes he's abo ut to mi ss hi s ex it, so he cuts in fro nt of yo u. Yo u mas h the brake peda l, and it vibra tes like a runnin g cha in saw as th e a ntil ock brak ing system (ABS) keeps yo u o ut of a skid. Th a nkfull y, you don't rear-end the jerk 's car, as he al so bra kes to slow down. H e's o n th e off ra mp a nd go ne, so yo u do n 't get th e cha nce to pull a lo ngs ide a nd express yo ur feelings w it h universa l sign la nguage . But that's pro ba bl y a good thing. W hil e it can be reassuring to fee l that ABS-co nn ected bra ke pedal pulsa tin g beneath yo ur firml y p la nted foo t, it's reaso n to suspect a prob lem if yo u ge t th e sa me peda l pul sa ti o n with a li g ht to medium brak in g app li ca tion. T th e titl es of a ll bull etin s fo r yo ur specific ma ke a nd m o del ca r. ABS-esque Lug Nut Torque If the brake feels like the ABS is The No .1 ca use of brake ped a l pul sa tion is uneve n lug nut torqu e. T he usua l reaso n is th a t so me m ec ha nic overtightened the w hee l lu g nuts w ith a n impac t wrench, di sto rtin g th e brake di sc. How d o yo u kn o w if yo ur torq ue cyc ling, but yo u k now th a t it's no t, check the indi vidu a l axle trigge r w hee ls in fro nt (a nd o n some ca rs a lso in back ) a nd the adj ace nt w hee l speed sensors. If yo u see a damaged w irin g co nnector, bent sensor mo unting brac ket or stone-damaged t rigger whee l, that's a likely cause. But on a lm ost a ll cars, th e ca use norma ll y is something in t he service bra ke itself, a nd the primary pro blems a re o nes yo u usua ll y ca n check a nd correct yo urself. Befo re yo u check eve n th e most likely pro bl ems o n a late model, m a ke a bso lutely sure there isn't a factory probl em with a specific fi x . Sure, this is low o n the " likely" li st, but it's a lo t eas ier to look for a bull etin th a n to pull w heels, etc. One poss ibility: th e AIID a ta Web site, a lea din g sup pli er of inform