There are very few things in the world that men are obsessed with and cars are one of them. Moreover, Vin Diesel famed Fast and Furious franchise has made us men all the more finicky about our rides.
But, there is a huge difference between just being able to drive a car and feeling a connection or a bond with it. If your car is more than just a set of wheels for you here are 10 things you must be aware of about your ride in order to formulate an unbreakable connection with it.
Also, there is no need to run to a mechanic for basic maintenance of your ride as you yourself must know how to make minor repairs.
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Know what a car does and why it does it
Maintaining a car and fixing basic issues becomes a lot more easier if you know how a car accelerates, shifts gears, brakes and suffers engine knocking. The first and foremost thing you must do after purchasing your first car is to know its functions inside out.
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Build and organize a tool kit
Every guy with a car must carry a tool kit with a good set of socket wrenches, screwdrivers, flashlights etc. in its trunk. As mentioned earlier, you don’t have to find a mechanic for every small maintenance issue of your car,as being a man, you must know how to deal with most of the minor issues on your own. And a man is only as good as its tools.
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Warning lights and indicators
It’s irritating when your engine light turn up on the dashboard, but under no circumstance should you ignore those warning indicators. Refer to your instruction manual immediately and get the issue fixed as waiting to do repairs can turn out to be extremely costly and might even be dangerous for your own and your loved ones’ life.
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Change oils
Timely changing the engine oil of your car is crucial as it cools and lubricates the internal engine parts and traps the dirt that can contaminate it. It is also important to clean your car’s air filter regularly because a clogged air filter restricts air flow and robs your car off its horsepower and mileage. These are basic maintenance works and hardly require professional assistance.
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Keep your heater/defroster in perfect condition
If you smell a sweet and syrupy fragrance inside your car or find a greasy mist accumulating on the inside of your car windows, then your heater/defroster might be leaking. Have it checked out without delay.
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Air pressure in the tyre and changing a tyre
Fixing a flat tyre is quite simple. Just grab the jack from your tool kit, get your car airborne, loosen the nuts, place the spare tyre on its place and fix the nuts back on. On the other hand, if you feel that your car is wobbling while driving, get its air pressure checked at the next gas station. Driving a car with over or under-inflated tyres can be dangerous.
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Check fluid levels regularly
Cars need more than fuel and engine oil to function at their best. Check your brake oil, radiator coolant and windscreen sprayer levels every couple of months and maintain them according to your user manual.
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Steering and wheel alignment
If you feel that your car is not responding to your directions with the right amount of precision and accuracy and its tyres are not synchronised with the steering wheel, get its alignment checked without any delay. You’ll figure out something is wrong with the alignment if your car goes slightly right or left with straight positioning of steering wheel.
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Replacing Headlamps
It is common for headlamps to get clogged or blurry after every couple of years. Having a 100% accurate vision during foggy nights ensures a safe drive and therefore, headlamps must be changed every two years without default. Also, changing a headlamp is quite an effortless task. Just unscrewing and screwing a few nuts and fasteners is all it takes.
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Jump starting a car battery
Drained car batteries is the most annoying thing that you might have to face as a driver. Surprisingly, it is also quite common. Therefore, always carry a pair of jumper cables in the trunk of your car. Jump starting a car requires you to first turn off both cars. Put one red clamp of the jumper cable on the positive terminal of the dead battery and attach other red clamp on the positive terminal of the live battery. Put the black clamps on the negative terminal of a live battery and other black clamp on the dead car’s engine block. Once done, turn on the live car and jump start the dead car.
