slipangle.org / car repair

Tips

• use dielectric grease on most any electrical connection. inside spark plug wires, connectors, smear it on battery terminals before making a connection
• use anti-seize compound on most heavy duty, or high-heat threaded situations: lugnuts, exhaust manifold bolts, spark plug threads...
• rotate and balance your tires relatively often (I think 7000 mi. is normal). you'll get more life out of them by far.
• using a thicker oil on older cars can help with leaks and compression. I've generally had good luck on my old clunkers using 20w-50 or even straight 50 (usually marketed as racing oil).

Car Questions

What do different oil numbers mean?

The first number is how it acts in the winter. A lower number indicates that it's a thinner oil. In the winter, when the oil is cold, it's not as viscous (slippery). The opposite is true for the summer when it's hot: it kinda thins out from the heat. So the ideal oil would be one that acts thin in the winter and thick in the summer. Well, wouldn't you know that some fart smeller, I mean smart feller, would come up with it? That's what happened. So a 20w-50 oil would act like a 20 weight in the winter, and a 50 weight in the summer. 10w-30 is a pretty common weight. Some of the newer cars with their tighter tolerances use even a 5w-30.

What type of gas should I use

Whatever your owner's manual says. Most cars: 87 octane

What is octane?

It's sort of like a quality rating on gasoline. Higher octane is more refined. It burns more consistently. It doesn't make any more power than normal gas. Race cars and the like use high octane (usually 100+ octane) not because it's magical but because it's higher quality. They can't tolerate detonation and inconsistent burning that would come from pump gas.

Do you recommend Rain-X for your windshield?

Absolutely. They even make window washer fluid now that does pretty much the same thing?

What about fuel system treatments?

I use 'em, but only every now and then. I've never dumped a bottle in and said "Wow! I can feel an extra 10 horsepower now!"

What about antifreeze?

Always use a 50/50 mixture of antifreeze. 100% antifreeze actually performs worse than when mixed with water. By the same token, 100% water doesn't cut it. The antifreeze, on top of keeping your engine from freezing and cracking, has stuff in it that lubricates and keeps your internal bits and pieces happy. It's a good idea to change your antifreeze once a year. Most Jiffy-Lube-type outfits have a radiator flush that's pretty cheap, and you can avoid some cooling system headaches by doing this simple thing.

Is there such thing as too much horsepower?

No

How do diesel engines work?

Diesels are mostly like gas engines, except they don't have spark plugs. The piston compresses the fuel and air so hard that it explodes and forces the piston back down. Diesel fuel is much less refined than gasoline too. You can even use kerosene in a pinch. Both aren't very refined, and usually cheaper because of it. I'm not exactly sure why diesels are so much torquier than gas engines, but they are. You could never win a drag race in a diesel, but you could pull a stump out of the ground with it. They tend to get pretty good fuel mileage too. I wish more vehicles had them.

One of the nice things about a seal driver is that it is made of steel and the weight of the tool helps hammer the seals into place. PVC pipe would work in a pinch but for what it costs to have one fork leg seal replaced, you can own the correct seal driver.

I have NEVER been able to get leakproof seals to work and heaven knows I tried. I won't use them. I would suggest getting a cartridge holder also. This tool makes it possible to remove the cartridge without air tools. If you're going to replace the fork seals, remove the cartridge and flush out all the old oil. Removing the cartridge is the only way to correctly change the fork oil. You can not get out the contaminants by turning the fork upside down and pumping the damper rod.

One alternative to the seal is the business card trick. Try this before you spring for a new seal. Remove the fork guard. Gently pry the dust seal down so you can see the oil seal. With the bike on a crate type stand; remove the air bleed screw to relieve any pressure. Now take the end of a business card and push it between the fork tube and the sealing lip of the seal. With the end of the card under the seal lip, rotate it around the tube, trying to drag any dirt out with the card. Take some aerosol brake cleaner and rinse out the area between the oil and dust seals. You'd be amazed at how many seals can be brought back to life with this method.