25 Car Maintenance Tasks You Can Do on Your Own
As Leonardo da Vinci once said, “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” So, if you have been trying to live a minimal life, being able to do the maintenance of your car could be a great advantage for you.
If you just take a moment to think about how much money you get to spend per year in conducting y, you would be surprised.
Now, imagine what if you could keep all those money in your pocket and still be able to conduct the maintenance. Yes, we are going to make that possible for you. And today, we will share 25 car maintenance tasks you can do on your own.
25 Car Maintenance Tasks You Can Do on Your Own
It’s not a tough job to look after your car after all. Just go through the list to find out how easy it can get!
Fixing the Tears in Leather
If you ever have to fix tears in your seats, it may cost you around $200. And you know, you can do all that just by yourself, all you need is a vinyl and leather repair kit which will cost you less than $20. Yeah, you may have to struggle a bit with the color mix but, it’s much better than driving with torn seats.
Replacing the Cabin Air Filter
You can replace a broken cabin air filter just by yourself by spending around $30. Finding a cabin air filter won’t be that difficult at any auto repair shop; just remember to ask the assistance to print out the installation instruction.
What you have to do is remove the access cover then slide out the broken filter. After that, reinstall the new one by following the direction of the airflows.
Changing the Power Steering Fluid
Changing the power steering fluid is not as difficult as you thought. It becomes a lot easier with the turkey baster method of removing the old power steering fluid.
Turn the engine off and take out all the fluid. Then refill your reservoir with the old fluid. Start the engine and keep it on for 15 seconds and repeat the process until you have used the full quart.
Swapping Out the Brake Fluid
It is recommended to replace the brake fluid once in two years or after driving 24,000 miles. Maybe you won’t be able to do a complete replacement of your brake fluid with fresh but, you will be able to refill enough new fluid to bring performance improvement.
You can make use of a basket to suck out the old fluid. Then spritz it into the recycling bottle. Refill your reservoir with fresh brake fluid then, drive your car for a week to let the new fluid, get mixed with the old. Repeat the process for the next few weeks.
Using Chalk Marker Under Hood
You can use chalk market to keep track of your oil, spark plug, air filter data. Remembering these important details will come in handy.
Cleaning the Air Vents
The louvers attract dust like some magnet. You may not be able to get rid of them by using a brush attachment. Here’s a simple trick for you, grab a typical artist’s paintbrush then, apply a light shot of furniture polish. Use the brush into crevices to catch those dust. Then utilize a rag to get rid of the dust from the brush.
Replacing the Gas Lift Cylinder
You can find a new lift at any auto parts store. Use a liftgate to hold the hood when you are replacing the worn lifts. Most styles do unbolt using a metric socket set. Some are connected with a ball and, you will see a spring clip in socket style connection.
When you have taken off the spring clip, just push a little flat blade screwdriver between the cylinder and clip. Then you can pull the cylinder out of the ball stud.
Replacing Non-Headlight Bulbs
Replacing bulbs is easy. All you have to do is remove the retaining screws then withdraw the lens. After that, take off the bulb out of the socket and hold the fresh bulbs wearing gloves.
Be careful with skin oils coming in contact with the thin glass as it can lead to bulbs fusing earlier. Attach the bulb into the socket and reinstall the lens.
Replacing the Broken Antenna
It won’t be that difficult to replace a broken antenna. Get a new antenna from the auto parts store and unscrew that remaining part of the mast. After that, disengage the antenna cable from the radio and attach a heavy string.
Add the new antenna to your string, get the cable back into your car, and plugin with the radio. And you are done.
Fixing the Leaky Sunroof
Open the sunroof of your car and search for any drain holes and if you find any, prepare a plastic tube or small rubber with duct tape and use it to take out the debris clogged in the drains. Just don’t push too hard, as it may puncture the drain tubes.
Pipe Insulation Hack
It’s quite annoying when your keys or phones drop between the seats. Also, it becomes quite difficult to retrieve those. Even it could be dangerous when you are driving. So, what you can do here is use foam pipe insulation in those gaps. This will block the spaces and prevent your materials from getting stuck.
Lubricating Your Window Tracks
You can lubricant your car windows easily by using dry Teflon spray lubricant or spray silicone. You have to lower down the windows and apply the sprays into the front and rear window tracks.
Open and close the windows several times to let the lube spread all over the track. Then use a paper towel or glass cleaner to remove the spray.
Using Saltwater on Your Car
It’s not like you will have a windshield scraper in your car all the time. So, in such a scenario, you can make use of saltwater. To remove the thin layer of the ice, you may apply road salt mixed water. After that, use the wiper to clean them off.
Hands-Free Light
What you will need here is a LED rechargeable flashlight, rubber band, and piler. Put the flashlight between the jaws of the piler then, wrap up its handle using the rubber band, and you are done.
Cleaning the Carpet
Firstly, you will have to buy a carpet cleaning machine. It will cost you around 90$. You may clean fabric-made seats as well. You will need a solution of water and cleaner. They spray it using the machine.
Cleaning the Seats
First and foremost, spray on the leather cleaner on your seats and use a clean terry cloth towel to rub them off. Give the seats about an hour to get dry properly then, apply a leather conditioner such as Lexol to make the leather supple.
Washing the Windows
You might have noticed those lines of grime on top of your windows, especially when they are a bit rolled down. Most people would ignore these details while doing a quick wash of their car. But it’s no trouble at all; all you need is a couple of minutes of Windex and a clean rag.
Keeping Your Tools Safe Using Rolling Cart
Back in the day’s people had to use a fender pad to lay out their tools. You can buy a sloped fender and put all the necessary tools there. So, they stay right at your fingertips.
Stubby Impact Wrench
It will be hard at times to keep a typical air impact wrench into congested spaces. So, you need something compact there, and that’s where an ultra-compact stubby impact wrench appears as a gamechanger.
Professional Impact Socket
When it comes to fixing any parts of your car, you may have to do some dissembling such as, zipping things apart or busting rough bolts free. Having professional Impact sockets will save you from a lot of trouble.
Proper Vacuuming
You will have to fold the seats backward the clean all the darts and junks underneath. Use a vacuum machine to get rid of all those. Don’t forget to remove the mats and vacuum the carpet.
Don’t Forget the Recesses
Get a worn screwdriver and wrap it around using cloth then, spray an all-purpose cleaner on it. After that, run it through the trim lines gently to catch up the dirt. Use a fresh cloth to wipe off that remaining dirt.
Scrape Off Old Stickers
If you have got high-quality stickers stuck on your car, then it won’t be that difficult to get rid of them. Just get a corner and pull them off carefully at a 90-degree angle.
The low-quality ones will leave a gummy residue so, in this case, you need to use an old towel to cover the dash and apply a bit of cleaner. Then just wipe it off using any soft cloths.
Making Use of a Stethoscope
Are you hearing a ticking or knocking sound but can’t figure out where it’s coming from? Here you can use a stethoscope to track the source of the sound. Just put it on the most suspected part and, you will be able to track the source just like a search dog.
Using Torque Wrench
A torque wrench can turn out to be your savior in many cases. For instance, with a torque wrench, you can tighten or loosen fasteners or nuts in no time. That’s a real big deal when fixing your car or replacing a tire.
Final Words
As you can see, you won’t have to spend tons of money on fixing your cars as you can handle a lot of those by yourself. But remember, the most important thing to know here is knowing when you can’t do it by yourself. So, in such a case, you can seek a partner or neighbor.
Truth be told, as long as you know these 25 car maintenance tasks you can do on your own, you won’t have to reach out for expert help in normal circumstances. Again, that’s how you will be able to save your hard-earned money.