This page explains some of the weekly maintainance tasks that cars require to be kept in top condition, these tasks should be done when the engine is cold before start-up.
One of the most confusing and yet most important tasks is checking the coolant levels. I continually find myself explaining to customers how to check their cooling system, and it's normally after having had to repair their vehicle for cooling system faults. I should stress here that you must not remove any cooling system caps while the engine is hot , the system is under pressure when hot and may spray burning coolant over you and could result in severe burning.
Many cars these days (not all) have the radiator with a pressure cap on top and a separate "expansion" water bottle off to the side. Both of these need to be checked regularly.
An engine bay with radiator cap and expansion bottle cap circledWhen cold remove the radiator cap and check that the coolant is at the top, the expansion bottles have a maximum line on them approximately half way down and that is where the coolant level should be.
Other cars have there pressure cap on the expansion bottle and no cap at all on the radiator. The same care should be taken to avoid scalding and the maximum level is again marked on the bottle approximately half way down.
An engine bay with a single pressure cap on the expansion bottle and with the maximum mark circledThe coolant should be green or red in colour depending on the antifreeze used and not look dirty or sludgy. Top up if needed with clean water, but bear in mind that it's not normal to be losing coolant so having to top up could be a sign of a problem, in which case you need to check the coolant level more often and watch the temperature guage while driving. It is quite possible for a vehicle to have the correct level in the expansion bottle and yet the radiator to be be very low or empty which would cause your car to overheat so it is important to check both levels and seek professional advise if you need to top up regularly.
The next item to be checked is the oil level, pull out the dipstick, wipe clean with an old rag, replace the dipstick and pull out again to get a reading of the oil level. The level should be somewhere between the minimum and maximum marks (usually this area is cross-hatched) if the level is too low then top up immediately with clean oil of the correct grade. If the oil looks black and your'e not sure if it should be changed or not, wipe a drop on your finger and see if you can see your finger through the oil. If you can it is not to bad but if you can't then it's probably time to change the oil and oil filter.
Checking the brake fluid and power steering fluid is a good idea while you have the bonnet up, often these are in transparent containers so just a glance at them is enough to determine their level, however with some cars the power steering is not in a transparent container, in which case the lid of the container often includes a dipstick, just pull the lid off and read the level right off the stick. If you are still unsure of the correct procedure for checking your fluid levels, check in your drivers manual or come and see us at Critchley Automotive, we would be happy to help with either information or checking your fluids ourselves.
Tyre pressures are the next thing to be checked and are perhaps the hardest in that you will either need to have a handheld guage yourself or you will have to go to a service station or tyre shop to check them. You can expect tyres to lose approximately 2psi per month just through natural attririon, so after 2 or 3 months your tyres will be starting to wear unevenly through low tyre pressures. Checking your pressures once every couple of months should suffice but if you find that thay require more than 4 to 6 psi then you should check them more often, if it's only one tyre that is continually low then that can be a sign of having a puncture or "slow leak" and you need to have a tyre shop investigate for you.
Finally don't forget to check that your Warrant of Fitness and Registration are still both current and check also that your vehicle is not overdue for it's servicing which should be done every 10,000 - 15,000km's.