Steering Wheel Vibrates When Speeding
June 6, 2007 by Admin · 2 Comments
When you drive at certain speeds over 40 km/hour, you feel that the steering wheel suddenly begin to vibrate. This is even when your tires are still in good condition and free of bulges and damaged threads. Sometimes you’ll feel slight vibration but other times you could hear thundering sound which only stops when you slow down your car.
When you drive at high speed, you must know that the balance of each wheel and tires are very important. Wheels will begin to vibrate if they are out of balance. The vibration is transmitted to the steering linkage and the suspension that holds the wheels to the car. If wheel-balance vibration is left unrepaired, the life span of the front and rear suspension will reduce. Apart from that, a wheel-balance vibration also causes premature tire wear, tire failure and damage tire tread.
There are 3 basic ways to diagnose and to solve this problem.
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Sound at Tailpipe Out of Tune or Uneven
A good condition car normally produce even or smooth tone at the tailpipe as the engine idles. But if you notice that the sounds are no longer even, where the tone changes rapidly then there’s something wrong.
The simple explanation to this is maybe the spark plugs are not in good condition anymore. It could also caused by worn valve or piston ring.
All internal combustion engines are designed to work as a unit. The power contributed by each cylinder must be the same and in balance. The engine might still run even some part of the engine malfunction but it diminished its overall performance.
We are able to detect the problem by the change in sound or loss of power of the engine.
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What’s The Use Of Engine Or Motor Oil?
December 17, 2006 by Admin · Leave a Comment
How long have you drive a car? How often do you replace your engine oil? Do you know what’s the purpose of an engine oil?
The purpose of an engine oil is primarily to stop friction between all the metal surfaces in your engine from grinding together and tearing themselves apart and also to dissipate the heat generated from this process.
Another purpose of an engine oil is to transfer heat away from the combustion cycle and must be able to hold in suspension the malicious by-products of fuel combustion, such as silica (silicon oxide) and acids. It keeps the moving parts coated in oil and cleans the engine of such nastyy chemicals and buildups.
Exposure to oxygen will be minimised and thus oxidation at higher temperatures. The engine oil does all of these things under tremendous heat and pressure and for the most part without succumbing to fatigue or black death, the ultimate engine destroyer.
I’ll explain about Black Death next time.
How To Repair Punctured Tubeless Tyres
October 26, 2006 by Admin · Leave a Comment
My car left rear tyre was punctured today because of a nail but luckily it was a tubeless tyre. Tubeless tyre doesn’t punctured or become deflate immediately compare to tubed tyre.
I found a website that shows you how to fix the tyre yourself if you want to DIY provided you have the tyre repair kit. From the website, Unipatch Rubber Ltd repair Kit is used. The kit consists of (1) Spiral cement tool; (2) T-shaped handle tool; (3) Needle for permacure plug; (4) Allen key; (5) Omni vulcanizing fluid and (6) Permacure plugs.
To fix the tyre, you need to:
Step 1:
Identify the leak area. If it’s because of a nail, I assume you can easily locate it.
Step 2:
Pull out the nail or foreign object. Then determine the direction of the tear by carefully working the tip of the spiral tool. Do take care to ensure you do not aggravate the tear.
Step 3:
Cement the injury thoroughly using the spiral tool with the vulcanizing fluid using a clockwise rotating motion. Repeat the process at least thrice.
Step 4:
Insert the Permacure rubber plug in the eye of the needle which needs to be inserted in the T-shaped tool for better leverage. Also a slight application of the vulcanizing fluid is suggested here. Take care that you do not dip the Permacure into cement can or tube.
Step 5:
Place the tip of the needle in line with the open abrasion and then push the Permacure plug into the tyre until about 25 per cent of its length remains above the tread surface. See that the plug is right through and through and then pull out the needle from the tyre. Let it set and seal for about five minutes and then inflate the tyre to manufacturer recommendation and inspect the repair for more leaks.
Step 6:
Once inflated you can snip off the visible portion of the Permacure plug by a pair of scissors. In case the puncture is big and the Permacure plug has not completely sealed it, simply insert a second Permacure plug at the point of air seepage.
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How To Inspect The Brake
October 15, 2006 by Admin · Leave a Comment
Your braking system will gradually begin to lose some of its effectiveness as your car ages and the forces of friction and heat take their toll on brake components. You need to keep your brakes properly serviced to keep your vehicle safe, and the first step in that process is a brake inspection.
The main elements of the brake system should be checked about every 10,000 miles or so. How frequently you check may depend on a number of factors such as the age of your vehicle, the type of braking system, the terrain where you live and the manner in which you drive. Someone who lives in a hilly area will wear through brakes more frequently because of constant braking to slow or remain stationary on hills. Likewise, people who tend to ride the brake pedal will cause their brakes to wear out prematurely. Mileage that you put on your car driving in city traffic — with all of its stops and starts — is harder on brakes than highway mileage. On average, it’s a good idea to check your brakes at least once a year, but it certainly won’t hurt to do it more frequently.
The braking system should be checked if the brake pedal loses its firmness or goes almost to the floor before engaging. It could mean that the brake-fluid level has gotten low or is leaking. Vibration or shaking in the pedal or steering wheel may indicate that rotors are in need of replacement or resurfacing. Also, listen for signs that the brakes are worn. A squealing sound indicates that the pads are wearing thin. (Some pads, in fact, have a squeal pin specifically to let the driver know when the pads are wearing down.) The sound of grinding or metal-on-metal can be a sign of even more serious problems. Letting that condition continue is likely to ensure that you’ll be needing to replace your rotors as well as your brake pads.
Check the level of the brake fluid in the master-cylinder reservoir. Checking the level is easy and should be done at least once a month because most reservoirs are translucent. Top it off by pouring fluid into the reservoir if the level is slightly low. Brake fluid needing to be topped off frequently may indicate that there is a leak in the system, possibly in one of the brake lines.
Before adding brake fluid to the reservoir, wipe the top and lip of the bottle clean to prevent contaminants from entering the system. Also, avoid spilling brake fluid on painted surfaces, since it will damage automotive paint.
Fresh fluid is clear or translucent. Fluid that is old and beginning to wear out takes on a dark, dirty appearance because of contamination by brake dust, dirt, moisture, etc. It’s time to have the brake fluid replaced if the brake fluid appears dark.
Check the brake lines underneath the vehicle. Both the flexible-hose lines and the metal lines should be free of any signs of leaks. The metal lines run the length of the vehicle, so check them all along their span.
Also check the rubber lines that deliver brake fluid to the brake calipers. Make sure that they are flexible, that there are no cracks, kinks or leaks, and that they are clear of any moving parts or heat-producing elements such as the exhaust system.
Check the parking-brake cable i.e hand brake cable to make certain that it is clean, undamaged and able to operate properly.
Inspect the condition of the rotor, making certain that the disc brakes are not damaged or showing early signs of wear. Gouges or scratches to the rotor may indicate that contaminants (e.g., gravel or sand) have lodged between the pad and the rotor and caused damage. Heavy scratches or scarring should be repaired by having the rotor resurfaced — or “turned”– by a brake specialist. Check condition and overall thickness of the brake pads inside the calipers.
Carefully remove the drum, For drum brakes, so that you can examine the inside. It’s advisable to wear a particle mask during this procedure to avoid breathing brake dust. Inspect the interior of the drum and look for damage or glazing to the surface.
Other trouble signs to check for when inspecting the brakes include excessive brake dust; a warped drum or disc; a defective or damaged wheel cylinder or caliper; and grease or fluid in the area of the pads, shoes, drum or disc.
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How To Service Windshield Wipers
October 14, 2006 by Admin · Leave a Comment
When windshield-wiper blades lose much of their effectiveness when they become worn or damaged. Common problems caused by this include streaking, chattering and the inability to clear the windshield of water. Wiper blades should usually be replaced once a year.
Wiping the edge of the blade with washer fluid may help recondition the rubber and improve performance if the rubber blade refills in your wipers are dirty but not badly worn. However, if the blades are cracked, split or severely worn this won’t help.
The most economical repair is to replace the wiper refills, which slide in or attach along the edge of the blade.
You may need to replace the entire wiper blade if you’re having trouble to find the problem. Lift the wiper arm so that it’s perpendicular to the window. The blades usually snap easily into a hook or a fastener on the end of the wiper arm. Remove the old blade, and replace it with the new one. A firm click indicates that the blade is seated properly.
Some rear-window wipers have a wiper arm that also houses the washer spray-nozzle. To replace this type of wiper, lift the cover and remove the nut that holds the wiper arm.
Detach the washer-fluid supply tube, and remove the wiper-arm assembly. Reverse the process to install the replacement arm.
High-performance wiper upgrades are available too, including some that incorporate a triple edge or a wind spoiler to increase down force at highway speeds and create better contact with the window.
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