Main > Automotive > Economy
Mileage: Try to purchase vehicles that get good mileage. The difference between 20 miles-per-gallon and 40 miles-per-gallon is huge.
thesource (378)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Fuel system
Renew control arm bushes with nolathane or urethane (for front wheel drive) and get a wheel alignment
Replace timing chains or belts
Renew carburettor
Renew exhaust system - get extractors instead of a manifold
Ensure engine mounts are new and preferably get nolathane
Ensure all tyres are pumped up to about 32psi
I have an early model Magna and cut down my fuel bill by at least 25% by doing all of these things - the first one being the most useful.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Economy
Don't carry unnecessary weight in your car. Remember that a full tank is equivalent to an extra human's bodyweight being carried around, and you have to pay for that in fuel consumption.
Also, don't carry anything in the car or boot that you don't need, not just for fuel use, but to prevent theft.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Driving
Drive defensively. There are a lot of unsafe drivers on the road. There are people who are very old and can hardly see; there are young people just learning to drive, and people who are ill, very tired, or emotionally unstable. There are people driving defective cars, with poor brakes and bald tires. And there are visitors who are sight-seeing, or who don't know where they are going, and who are used to driving on the other side of the road. There are people fiddling with electronic gadgets. Keep all this in mind, and drive accordingly!
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Water leaks
Replace old coolant with anti-boil, anti-corrosion concentrate and demineralized water. It shows up leaks better due to the colour and greater leakability of the fluid.
Premixed coolants often have no anti-corrosion additives in them, and are of a lower quality.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Water leaks
If the water comes out near your water pump, it may be better to buy a genuine part than an aftermarket version. The genuines fit much tighter and come as a full two hemisphere joined unit that requires no assembly, and the cost is low at least from Mitsubishi. Use vaseline on the new O-ring.
If you shine a light into the main hole of your used water pump, you may see corrosion in the center fan blades. If so, an internal seal will probably be leaking water out of the unit or about to. It's a litmus test on how long a pump has to go. It's a good idea to change the belt at this time also.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Water leaks
Always drain all old coolant out of your engine block by undoing the drain plug on the block somewhere. You can remove litres of old coolant from there, not just from the radiator and overflow tank.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Tools
The worst thing about tools is that you always need more than you thought you would have. Whatever a car manual tells you you need to do a job will not be the end of the story.
Some of the things you may need at some time are a magnetic pickup, wooden mallet, long metal tube, anvil, blowtorch, air compressor, hydraulic press, vice, thermal paste, rubber grease, angle grinder, various pullers, torque wrench, a large screwdriver used as a lever, rope, crowbar and pieces of wood.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Gearboxes
Installing heavy gearboxes: When putting in a large gearbox, balance it on a hydraulic jack with a piece of wood under it first. Tie thick rope around it twice and then as you raise the jack, tighten the rope around a crowbar sitting over the engine cavity, protected from the windscreen by several pieces of wood (remove the wiper blade on that side).
The gearbox will not fall off the jack so long as the ropes are tight as they keep it from overtilting as well as being able to fully suspend it on their own, while allowing free play for locating it on the dowels (two or more small tubes that stick out from the engine area which the gearbox sits on).
Point of Interest: For those of you who think the crowbar will be forced into the windscreen, there is no horizontal push exerted on it, only downward pull by the heavy box. This has the effect of stabilising the crowbar instead of making it a hazard to glass and other parts of the engine bay. If you have an Engine Crane, the job is even easier, and you do not need ropes, a jack or crowbar, all elements that require non-disturbance and a precision use to complete this delicate operation successfully.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Water leaks
If your windscreen wiper fluid jets don't spray water on your windscreen, it could be several things.
Leaking reservoir - take it out of the car and check especially where there are rubber seals.
Leaking pump - check for water dripping off the pump, and corrosion.
Leaking Y or T joints (the connectors for the tubing). Check near the jets for cracked tube splitters. Never use methylated spirits in windscreen washer fluid as it eats through hard plastic.
Blocked jets - use a pin to clear them while pumping water through them.
Don't be surprised if you spend around $60 fixing this because replacement parts aren't cheap.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Instrument panel
If your fuel or temperature guage never get over halfway, it could be the voltage regulator at the back of it. Remove it with a screwdriver and, for an early Magna, get a 7808 8v 1a regulator at Jaycar. Improvise a heat sink and use thermal paste.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids > Oil leaks
Check your external seals - camshaft seal, rocker cover gasket, timing cover seal.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids > Oil leaks
If your engine is burning oil, blue or black smoke will come out the tailpipe (exhaust). Replace your valve stem oil seals. Use a universal overhead valve spring compressor and a compressed air adapter to keep the valve from falling into the engine.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Brakes
Change your brake fluid every two years. It greatly increases braking power.
Add brake fluid as you see it lowering in the master reservoir tank. It is normal for brake fluid to become lower as the brake pads wear down.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Brakes
When bleeding brakes, use a tube with a one-way valve, commonly found in brake bleeding kits. It prevents air getting in the system.
Pump the pedal down three times, release the valve quickly, close the valve again and raise the pedal from the ground. Repeat a few times.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Instrument panel
If your clock doesn't work, it's better to renew the whole instrument panel from a wrecker as the individual units in the panel are usually too hard to replace.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Gearboxes
The type of transmission oil you use is a major factor in gearbox performance and durability. Genuine oil often has additives in it that protect the solenoids which other brands don't, and can be as much as 30% cheaper.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids > Oil leaks
Although technically it's very easy to change a sump gasket, it's time-consuming. It's a very large and oddly shaped gasket with usually about 20 holes in it for the small bolts. You need to spend about 1.5 hours scraping and sandpapering down the engine block surface where the sump connects to as well as the sump connecting surface (easy to do with the sump out of the car). Working under the engine scraping away at traces of the old gasket is not easy work. Then you have to install the gasket with gasket sealant completely covering both sides of it. Then, progressively putting in and tightening the 20 bolts takes a lot of time, as that is all done from under the car.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Gearboxes
Always have overdrive off on the gearstick when driving under 70km/h. It saves your gearbox end-clutch from burning out.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Selling
It's often better to deregister an old car and sell it unregistered on the internet or by the trading post. More profit than at a wrecker, but you technically need paperwork to drive a vehicle without number plates from the point of purchase to a home address.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Driving > Safety
Statistically, the safest place to be in a road crash is in the back left seat. It's least likely to be affected in a head-on smash, which often predominantly affects the right-side of the vehicle in countries that drive on the left. Also, the back of the car acts as a natural rollcage. People in the back seat have walked away largely unharmed from crashes that killed people in the front. I have seen this happen "up close and personal" with my own eyes and saw on the news that the two people in the front later died and the girl in the back right broke her femur. The guy in the back left who also was the only guy to have a seatbelt on, simply walked away with a bloody nose, and told me he would never ride with them again (how true that was!).
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids > Oil leaks
An exhaustive list of possible sources of oil leaks(I own an early Magna, but most cars have the same basic seals):
rocker cover gasket
other rocker cover rubber seals
camshaft seal
timing cover seal
timing cover gaskets
rear main bearing seal
oil sump gasket
valve stem oil seals
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Brakes
Brake Caliper reconditioning kits are generally quite cheap but solve most problems with leaks at the caliper. You don't or rarely need to splurge out and get the piston with it, which can cost six times as much as the rubbers and circlip kit.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive
It's good to shop carefully before buying a car.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Driving
Leave as much space as you can between you and the vehicle in front. It will make your drive much more pleasant and relaxed, as well as being much safer. It is also better for fuel economy, since you will be less likely to be continually speeding up and slowing down. Most people drive much to close to each other, unnecessarily.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Starter Motor
If you sometimes turn the key and nothing happens, not even the cranking sound of the starter motor, it could be a few things:
1. The car has voltage drop to the starter motor, meaning that by the time the volts get to it, they are not high enough to start it. Get an auto electrician to install a relay to boost the voltage to the minimum level required.
2. The other thing it could be is a small electrical connection to the solenoid may have slipped off its contact. Check for loose wires in the area.
3. The contact of the leads connecting to your battery may be poor. Tighten the connection, or clean the battery terminals.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids > Oil leaks
When you install a cylinder head, pay careful attention to a few areas prone to oil leaks.
Buy a compression and oil resistant sealant (I use Greymax by Loctite) and smear a reasonably thick (2mm) coat around the entire timing cover surface, including where it joins to the engine block. This area is a lot narrower than the main block to head areas, so leaks oil much more often. Wait 24 hours to let it set.
Also smear the sealant around any rubber bungs or curved areas such as where the rocker cover curves around the ignition lead chambers.
Although my car is 20 years old this year, a combination of using this sealant and replacing all the oil seals (pref. with polyurethane instead of rubber where you can) means it now leaks no oil at all, saving money. Oil leaks start small and get larger with time, so the money saved can get quite significant with current (early 2008) oil prices.
Another oil leak could be at your oil pressure sensor - just buy a new one. The rubber seal inside it leaks over time.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Water leaks
Bring duct tape with you on long trips to bandage any water hoses that may leak en route.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Gearboxes
If your automatic gearbox remains in third gear with reverse that is called failsafe third. It's a purely electrical state the box goes into when it overheats or a wire shorts out. The box itself is not damaged, most likely. Remove a battery terminal and leave it for 20 minutes to reset the internal computer. If it does it again, its a crossed wire - check the pulse generators on top of the box. If it doesn't, it was overheating - you may have been going too fast for too long for the gearbox you have.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Engine mounts
Reinforcing engine mounts by filling the gaps with polyurethane sealant (i.e. Siklaflex 220) makes the engine mounts much firmer, while still allowing enough give to not cause any problems. Also, they don't break. Standard rubber seals should be insulated this way because the small to middle-sized ones usually crack within six months, even when bought new. Once cracks develop in any bushing, its not long before they break completely.
A broken front engine mount/torque stay (360 degrees broken so that a loose rubber section floated in the middle of the mount) cost me a gearbox once. It made the front area looser and shook off vital drive plate to torque converter bolts which made the torque converter spin loosely in the gearbox housing, cutting a hole through it over time. I later threw out the box because torque converter gearbox oil would leak out of the hole, but it turns out I could have just replaced the housing cover and continued to use that expensive and otherwise good gearbox.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Window tinting
Window tinting is a great way to cut down on your worst enemy's when driving in summer - heat and light. Both increase your discomfort and contribute to slack and unsafe driving.
Also, there's no better way to get the most out of a low-to-medium performing air conditioner. The effect is identical to roof insulation cutting down on air conditioning costs in your home - the air conditioner doesn't have to work anywhere near as hard. This means less load on it so it lasts longer also.
Buy the highest heat-reducing tint on the market, and go for a full metal (fully metallised) tint. There are at least 30 tints available. The ones made of chemical dyes fade from the moment you buy them but the metallised tints do not fade.
It is illegal to tint a windscreen but you can apply darker than legal tints to the top 200mm of it.
Window socks or shades are a great addition when put over the rear door windows on a four door car. They cut out probably 35% of the light and heat on top of what is already cut out by the rear window and front door tints.
I do not recommend buying tinting kits or window socks that are not made for your model car. There are too many pitfalls in installing them, and their durability is much lower.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Car maintenance software
The best thing you can get for your car is car maintenance software. There are simply too many things to keep track of with a car. Too many things need to be checked or replaced with time or kilometers, and any decent car maintenance software allows you to plug those values in and wait for the alarm to show when each maintenance or repair task is due.
I can monitor fuel, parts and additions purchases, maintenance work, scheduled work, mechanics names and addresses and trip logs. Even a quarter of this would be too much to keep track of by memory alone, which means many tasks remain undone for too long potentially causing further collateral problems. It is also a great way to keep track of warranty expiration dates.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Shock absorbers
This is what I got out of installing both front and rear shockers:
1) Front shockers make steering a front wheel drive car much easier (almost all cars are front wheel drive today).
2) Front shockers make braking much quicker because they force the car down harder into the road than old loose shocks - even saved me from a crash once.
3) Rear shocks raise the back of the car and save a lot on fuel because the back of the car is dragged easier by the engine. They make the whole ride more comfortable and less wobbly at the back, which you can strongly feel at the front.
4) Spring compressors are very easy to use so if you want to change your shock absorbers, you can do it yourself. Just be careful that the spring isn't suddenly released by wrong use of the spring compressors or you could severly injure yourself. Some mechanics don't want much for the labour to do it, but it really isn't very hard to do.
5) You can often re-use the rubbers, bushes and bump stops from old shocks but sometimes they also need to be replaced and can be expensive.
6) If you bounce a car's bonnet or boot up and down and it takes more than one spring back to come back to its original position (i.e. it bounces up and down again), you need to replace that set of shocks or struts.
7) Always torque shocks/struts while the car is on the ground and they are bearing weight.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Water leaks
If you find that installing a new thermostat causes leaks, make sure you get the right sealant. There is a high-end red sealant on the market that is made for water leaks and aluminium flanges. Let it sit for up to 24 hours to harden. Also, you can buy thermostat housings quite cheaply. Be sure you have the right thermostat gasket and do not under or overtighten the bolts. This job can be underrated because if you make one mistake, you can very rapidly lose much or all of your coolant.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Water leaks
Before installing a new radiator, it's a good idea to run through two bottles of coolant flush through your system. This will remove sludge, mud and scale deposits from the water jackets inside your engine. Many cars have a lot of sludge in there. You need to drive for a couple of hours with the acidic solution circulating throughout the cooling system, and then you have to drain it out. The water will be noticeably muddier if there was removed sludge in it.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Water leaks
Visually inspect the round welch plugs on your engine block and cylinder head. If you see small traces of green on them, they are leaking coolant. Changing rear welch plugs usually necessitates removing the engine however, but engine cranes these days are quite affordable. Smear Stag or other water sealant around the circumference of each plug before striking it in with a piece of wood and hammer. Welch plugs do not usually last longer than 17 years, and you can have up to 11 in your engine.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Brakes
Disc rotors are the metal discs the brakes clamp to stop the car. These discs have a legally specified minimum thickness. Check them with a ruler. If they are less than the minimum, you may have problems claiming insurance if you are in an at fault accident.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Gearboxes
It is much easier to install a gearbox with an engine crane than just with a jack.
I always keep a spare gearbox because it gearboxes can fail at any time and it is annoying when you don't have one to replace it with. Ensure you get a spare gearbox with exactly the same stamped number on it. If it deviates by even one character (i.e. its a K751AOW instead of a K751AOW5) it will not work, and you will have wasted half a day's work finding that out.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Fuel system
Nulon Fuel System Cleaner for EFI and carburettors is an excellent additive to clean out your fuel lines and EFI/carbie chambers. After I used it, the car was much more responsive to acceleration as it removes carbon deposits that affect fuel flow.
Another way to improve the general performance is to go on a long (~250km each way) trip every 4 or 5 months. It's good for the engine to travel over 100km/h for an extended period every so often - this has been widely recommended by mechanics for many years.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Tools
One of handiest tools I've used in years are ratchet ring spanners. They have a built in ratchet inside the ring. Other than that they look like standard open-enders. When working in a tight spot, it's so much easier to tighten a nut on a long bolt or stud when you don't have to remove the ring from it.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Battery
Corrosion:
If you see white dust around your battery terminals, you must clean it to prevent further corrosion. When removing the clamps from battery terminals, always remove the negative terminal last, or only that terminal if just one is removed.
Remove the battery from its tray. Remove the tray. Brush all dust from the battery and tray. Use a battery brush cleaner on any terminal previously affected by corrosion. Then sandpaper it with light-grain paper.
Use baking soda (bicarbonate soda) and warm water on the white dust areas - it will react with it and deacidify it as it is alakaline. Wash all areas with plain clean water. Dry with a rag. Do all of these steps on the battery (full case), clamps and tray.
Use Lanolin or another anti-corrosion spray on the tray, terminal posts and clamps. This will help fight further corrosion from reappearing.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Panel Beating
If you are involved in a crash, or want to fix a dent, be sure that it's actually worth fixing.
Dents on replaceable panels should be fixed by replacing the panel, not fixing the dent. Doors, bonnet, boot, fenders (the side panels on the front), bonnet protector panels, plastic front and rear bumpers and windscreen trim are all removable panels. Many wreckers want little for these panels, compared with expensive panel beaters.
Where your car is an uncommon colour or model, or a very new car, wreckers may not have what you want. Also, it is usually very easy to replace all of these panels, though it can look difficult.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Headlights/Taillights
You can often get very cheap, new genuine headlights and taillight units on eBay - usually cheaper than at a wrecker.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Headlights/Taillights
Always carry spare brake and headlight globes and a set of spare fuses especially for your Stop and Back fuses (i.e. brake and reverse lights). You could be hundreds of kilometers from home and lose one or all of your brake lights (with a fuse burnout), potentially causing a crash.
Check the function of all lights monthly, with a friend for brake lights.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Window tinting
If you have tinted windows and need to change a door, simply remove the tinted glass panels and put them in the new door. Quarter glass panels on rear door can be removed also without tools any more sophisticated than a socket set and screwdrivers.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Carburettors
If you find your car suddenly slows down and goes at about 10kmh for a while before speeding up again, it could be a bad carburettor.
Other symptoms are spluttering when switching off the engine, frequent stalling, difficulty starting due to apparent fuel delivery problems and poor acceleration.
The best remedy is to get it to a fuel system/carbie/EFI specialist. You will save quite a bit on fuel so whatever you pay there will be somewhat offset by that. Over time it will pay for itself.
By your self you can check for cracked, broken or slipped off vacuum hoses on the carburettor. Your charcoal cannister may also be fully used, making it hard for the unit to breathe. Also change your air filter and adjust the idle speed to 900rpm, which is often accomplished by turning a knob on the back of it.
You should also consider a fuel tank/fuel line cleanout with compressed air or fuel additive. And replace all vacuum hoses on the carburettor every two years - by then they are all hardened and less effective.
Do not attempt to adjust the fuel mixture screws or anything designed for specialists to meddle with - they are too complicated. If one adjustment is out of sequence, you will never get it right.
You can expect a MUCH quieter and more fuel efficient car with a professional overhaul or adjustment. You may also save time as the car should start almost 100% of the time then also. Most workshops offer a six-month warranty so a large part of the cost will be returned to you in lower fuel costs over that time.
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Panel Beating
Rusty doors or panels
It is MUCH easier to change the door or panel with one at a wreckers than to try fixing the rust (if they are removable panels).
Remember that some earlier model cars did not have rust protection on the doors when they manufactured them. A car produced a year or two later may have exactly the same doors (like a 1990 TP Magna), which will fit perfectly, but with the extra benefit of factory rust protection (which the 1987 TMs and 1988/89 TNs did not have on its identical doors).
[guest]
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Battery
If your battery's tray is rusted, corrosion is more likely to occur.
To repaint it, first buy another exact same type of battery tray from a wrecker. Wirebrush it preferably with a drill and wire brush attachment, sand it down by hand and rust convert the bare metal immediately (and never forget to clean off the rust converter with the recommened materials). Then use etch primer followed by primer surfacer. Follow that with several topcoats and maybe a few clear coats. Allow to set for 7 days before installation. Lightly spray an anti-corrosive spray with lanolin on both sides before installation. Use gap filler for the underside where the bolts go through.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Shock absorbers
Changing other suspension and steering parts in a car is always worth it, i.e. front control arm bushes, ball joints, tie rod ends and power steering rack bushes and seals. Rear trailing arm bushes are particularly effective when renewed, as they are responsible for most of the entire set of rear wheels' interface to the road.
Some of these bushes require a press to remove and install. You can expect a much better wheel alignment when you renew many of these components where they are worn or broken. There may also be some short-term fuel savings. Nolathane or polyurethane is always superior to rubber for durability and performance.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Economy
Driving more slowly will use less fuel, and as a bonus will result in less costly accidents and less road-kill.
thesource (378)
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