5 Basic Car Repairs Everyone Should Know

Cars are a core part of our existence. They have become almost indispensable to our daily lives. Almost all our activities outside home are centered on the ease of mobility they offer.

Like so many other things, cars fail us now and then. This is further compounded by the fact that we have to visit the mechanic every now and then to get our cars fixed for every minute fault they develop. The worst part is that you sometimes may be in the dead middle of the road

This article is here to help you put a stop to this energy sapping routine of having to visit the mechanic every time your vehicle develops a fault in case you have not had access to a basic car repair tutorial before. Some necessary fixes you could quickly go about yourself are well examined to help you save time and some money. Acquiring an essential driver’s training class might help you learn some of this handy knowledge.

Five of these basic car repairs we would be looking at include;

•    Changing oil
•    Changing a flat tire
•    Changing spark plugs
•    Replacing brake pads
•    Changing a car battery

Having a good knowledge of how to perform these simple tasks will save you some embarrassment some day

Changing oil

This is essential in ensuring that your engine is continuously at its optimum state. By doing this, you are doing your engine the favor of prolonged life. The only reason why you shouldn’t do this yourself is if your car’s oil filter and drain plug are not where hands can easily reach. It is one of the essential skills you should know as a car owner.

You need to drain the oil first. You do this by removing the oil drain plug. After this you would need to loosen the oil filter by unscrewing and of course, you would empty it. Fix backs the stuff you earlier detached which are the drain plug and oil filter. Remove the oil filter cap and replenish with some fresh oil again. Different cars have different inner structures; you could easily check how to go about yours from the tons of available resources at your fingertips online.

Changing a flat tire

A car without a tire could as well be referred to as a toy car. The wheels of a vehicle are very crucial to it. Without it, you cannot move your car.

Changing tires requires just a few steps. You must be familiar with what a jack stand is already. Use your jack stand to lift your car, unscrew the log nuts and the remove the tire. Place the spare tire on, fasten the lug nuts back on and lower your vehicle. Finally, ensure that the lug nuts are firmly screwed. To Know more about outstanding drivers tips and trainings you must visit this website of NatioanlDrivingSchool. They have curated their 25 years of experiences on driving lessons.

Changing a brake pad

There’s no need to spend a significant amount of cash on getting this done. You could as well do it in just an insignificant amount of time yourself in your home.

The break pad of most cars can be easily fixed or changed. Here are the things you’ll need to get this effectively done;

•    Lug wrench
•    Hammer
•    Bungee cord
•    Allen wrenches
•    C-clamp
•    Open end adjustable wrench

The Allen wrench and the open end wrench depend mainly on the kind of car you are using. Make sure you have all the necessary things in place before you remove your old break pad. Jack your car up and make sure it’s sitting comfortably on a jack stand. You are about to perform an automobile surgery. Break the lugs before elevating the vehicle on a jack stand it’s quite easier when the car is still on the ground. You have to be very careful; jacks do slip.

First thing you’ll need to do is remove the wheels since you broke the lug while the wheels were still touching the ground, they should be easy to remove. This step is very crucial. You cannot replace brake pads without having removed the wheels.

The next thing you will have to do is to remove the brake caliper, not a lot of cars allow brake pads come out before removing the caliper. The brake caliper is usually at the top of the lug bolts. You will find a bolt at either side of the caliper, remove the bolts you find. Remove the caliper and push it slightly away.

Remove the old brake pads and take a mental note of how it was before you removed it. Since we have earlier detached the caliber, the brake pads are sure to come out easily; you may on occasions need a tap of the hammer.

Push the piston back to the starting point. Take the c-clamp; place the end already having a screw against the piston. Carefully tighten so that as the pistons move a distance you can fix the calipers back where they ought to be over the brake pads. You can easily slide the caliper over the new pads. Fix back the bolts you removed and to ensure you have a reasonable brake pressure, you could press the brake pedal a few times. Replace the wheels to their rightful position and quicken the lug bolts firmly.

Change your spark plug

We should be quite familiar with spark plugs. They are the little magic always inside cylinders; they create sparks that ignite the gasoline and put the car in motion. They are essential to the movement of vehicles. The thing is, they wear out and the effect of the wear out could be bad. Acceleration wouldn’t be a smooth experience; spiting and sputtering are regular occurrences when the spark plug has a problem. The life span of spark plugs depends on your kind of engine, driving habit and other things.

Overheating, oil contamination and carbon are some of the reasons that could render your spark plug faulty.

If you ever find yourself in this awful situation requiring you to change your spark plug, you need to locate the spark plug, detach the spark plug wire, get rid of the faulty spark plug and replace with the new one. Don’t forget to connect the spark plugs cable back.

Changing the battery of your car

This does not require any special knowledge, or so it’s as basic as basic can get. All you need to do is find where your batteries are located. They are usually located in the corner of the engine bay, though some manufacturers decide to differ at time. Your manual will reveal where your battery is.

Your battery is connected to your car through some wires (metal terminal ends). They are usually two, one being negative and the other being positive. Most cars allow you to release the terminal ends easily, if not you might need to use wrenches. Detach the terminal ends starting first with the negative side. The negative side might have a symbol to help you recognize it.

The battery might be a bit heavy, so prepare your mind. Before you put in the new battery, you might find some colorful particles, clean them to keep your car functioning in its optimum state. Connect the positive terminal and then the negative. Check if you haven’t left any equipment in the bonnet before closing it. Start your car, all things being equal, it should function accordingly.

These are some of the basic car repairs all automobile users should be familiar with. It doesn’t have to be the repair shop always; you can be your own repairman.