Connect with your inner grease monkey

5 things every guy should know how to do on his car

It doesn’t matter if you own a car, truck or SUV.  There are a few things that you can do to your ride that will help the vehicle run longer and look better.  Working on your car also helps you feel better about yourself by developing skills and increasing your confidence.  As any mechanic can tell you, routine maintenance is the number one thing you can do to keep you car running smoothly, and for a lot longer than than you might think.  So, set aside some time in your busy schedule to spend a few hours and a few dollars every three months and learn these five skills.

Clean, detail and vacuum your car

This is one of the easiest things you can do to give your car, and your self esteem, a good shot in the arm.  While it can be tedious to clean your car, especially if you live in a location where the weather can be inclement, it’s worth it.  Not only will your car look better (and more attractive to women BTW), as you clean it you will become more familiar with the systems of the vehicle.  You might even learn about a new feature your car had that you didn’t even know about.

Start with the vacuuming. If you don’t have a shop vac, and don’t want to borrow or purchase one, you can always pump a few dollars worth of quarters into one of those automatic machines at the local carwash.  Pick up any large loose items before you begin to avoid damaging or clogging the vacuum. Be sure to hit the floor mats and seat cushions extra well, and eliminate any food scraps that might have fallen on the floorboards.

Give the interior of your car a through detailing after vacuuming.  There are plenty of products available that you can purchase right off the shelf.  A large box of shop towels or old rags will help tremendously with this.

Once you have the inside sparklingly clean and smelling good, you can start to clean the outside of the car’s body.  Now is a good time to make sure all of your widows are rolled up all of the way.  Upon completion of the wash, give it a quick wax job too.  Even if your car is only worth a couple of hundred bucks, a deep cleaning will make you feel like millionaire.

Change the oil

Every motor has moving parts, and that creates friction.  Just like the burns in the palm of your hands at the end of NO NUT NOVEMBER, moving parts create heat.  Keeping the engine in your car lubricated with clean oil is absolutely essential for its long life.

Purchasing a few basic tools at your local hardware or big-box store, and five quarts motor oil is a lot cheaper than replacing a engine. The tools will vary based your make and model of your car, and any parts salesman at your local car parts store can help you with this.

Here’s a short list of what you will need:

• Basic socket set (metric and/or SAE), and ratchet
• Funnel
• Oil filter wrench (*See below)
• Oil pan (Collects the oil)
• Shop towels

Rotate the tires

The tires on a car or truck are some of the most important items on the vehicle. They are what makes contact with the road surface and allows for acceleration and braking. Rotating the tires on your car not only improves the wear and tread on the tires, it also helps the car run more efficiently and saves money on gasoline.

You will need at least one 2-ton jack and four jack stands. You may also want to borrow your buddy’s (or mechanically inclined neighbor’s) air-powered impact wrench to help speed up the process of removing lugnuts. To ensure your safety, make sure the car is properly stabilized, on level ground, and the brake is set before removing any tires.  Each car will vary on the manufacture’s recommend tire rotation pattern.  Check your owner’s manual (if you have it) or do a little research online before you pull the wheels off.

Change the oil filter

While your under the engine changing the oil, you might as well change the oil filter too.  Most oil filters are less than ten dollars, can be purchase online or at big-box stores, and are easy to change.  There are usually reference guides at the stores to look up which filter you need.  As stated above, a good oil filter wrench (aka a strap wrench), can be extremely useful when you have slippery hands and the filter won’t break loose.  Be careful not to apply too much pressure when cranking on it.  Before you re-install the new filter, dip your finger in the used oil that drained from the engine and lubricate the rubber gasket that is located on the new filter.  This will help the new filter fit tightly and ease in the process of installation.

Change the air filter

Here’s one way to multi-task better than pornstar at a gang bang; You can change the air filter on your car in a few minutes while the oil drains from your engine.

After you remove the oil plug, allow some time for it to drain completely.  While you are waiting for the oil to drain, replace the air filter.  Accessing the air filter on your car is usually easy, and many cars don’t even require any tools to get to the filter.  Automobile air filters, just like tools, motor oil, etc.. can also be purchased online or at local big-box stores.

Take a minute to vacuum out any debris that might have snuck into the filter housing before installing the new filter.  Once the new air filter is snuggly in place (correct side upwards), be sure to properly re-close the housing and fasten all connectors.  Save the box that new filter came in, and you can use it to neatly dispose of the soiled air filter.

Bonus: Top off fluids

Here is one extra item that every guy who owns a car or truck should do regularly.  Check the primary fluids in your car and top them off as needed.  This will help you become familiar with your car and the engine, as well as alert you to any problems that may be arising.  When checking the fluids under the hood you will want to check at least the following five critical engine fluids:

• Power steering fluid
• Brake fluid
• Coolant
• Washer fluid
• Oil (*See Above)

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