The Panic Mechanic Blog

Hi everyone, it’s been a while since my last blog and boy, haven’t I got a lot of advice, stories and tips to tell you, just like this one…

I was busy servicing a family member’s car last week, (I am sure some of you can sympathise with the family freebies), and the car was due for its MOT. I took it to a garage I have used before, when suddenly at the end of the MOT I was told that the car had failed. Quite to my surprise I asked how it failed. It turns out that the MOT failure was due to the brakes needing to be changed. Well I immediately knew something was wrong since the breaks had been changed not so long ago and should have passed. When I quizzed the garage and we all took a trip out the back where I asked them to re-check the breaks in front of me, low and behold, I had proved that I was right and the car should have passed its MOT without any hesitation.

Quite surprisingly, the MOT engineer had not check the breaks properly and somehow “assumed” they needed to be changed. I am sure you can imagine that I was not impressed!

Since it is my job to repair all sorts of vehicles I make it my business to get to know the history of my customer’s car or bike and what potential areas could fail an MOT. I was able to question this garage because I have mechanics knowledge. But what if that was someone else who does not know about cars. That person would have paid out unnecessarily for a set of brakes.

Okay, this may not sound like good news, so what can you do to make sure you are not a victim of a bad MOT?

One simple thing is to ask to watch the MOT from an MOT viewing area. Most if not all garages have an area that the owner can stand or sit to watch an examination. At least then you know what is involved and how thorough the examiner is checking your car. But if you have no time to wait around and watch you could do two things: ask your own mechanic to take your car in for an MOT, or, have your car checked by your mechanic before your MOT to assess what the potential failures could be and possibly fix.

If anyone else has a similar story, please feel free to share?

Let me set the scene…my wife meets up with an old girlfriend at the pub after work. She parks in the carpark directly opposite her friend’s car. The girls have a light beverage, then leave the pub and walk to their cars only to find that my wife’s car has rolled forward and into the front of her friend’s car…oops!

This example shows that you need to pay particular attention to the the tension of your handbrake. My wife said that she thought she had pulled the handbrake all the way up, but in fact it was just one click away from the top. It came to light that for a while she was parking without the handbrake on full because she thought that she had raised it high enough according to how tight it felt to her. That last click would have been very tight and so she never knew there was a “last click.”

So how do you know if your handbrake needs adjustment? The average number of handbrake clicks from down to up should be between 5 and 8. Anything above 8 could suggest that your handbrake needs to be made tighter and likewise, less than 5 clicks means it’s too tight and can cause your rear brakes to drag.

The next time you are parked on a slope make sure you have your handbrake all the way up, otherwise you could end up in an embarrasing situation like my poor wife!

I should probably say that if you have parked on a slope and realised your handbrake needs adjustment, keep you car parked in gear to help prevent it from rolling…then give me a call

If you are ready to buy a second hand car and don’t want to be taken to the cleaners, here are my 10 tops tips for what you can look out for:

1) Check the paper work. Make sure the V5 registration document is present and match the seller’s details. Also check the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the registration document and matche it to the VIN number printed on the VIN plate on the car, (normally located under the bonnet).

2) Look over the condition of the body work. The older the car the more dings and scratches you can expect. The condition of the body however can tell you a lot about how the car has been looked after. In the UK cars are prone to rust from the rear wheel arches due to the salt during our winter season. Check the condition of the rear arches for rust but more importantly a build-up of dirt that will hold the salt!!! Another rust prone area is the bottom of the doors so be sure to check these well.

3) Accident damage could be problem so look for ripples or a change in texture of the paint that may indicate a repair and the presence of body filler. This can be easily checked using a small magnet. The magnet will stick to the metal but not to the body filler. Also look under the bonnet along the front of the car for signs of welding and repair. Paint overspray and body panels that don’t line up properly can also be evidence of a crash.

4) Have a good look at the engine – if its really dirty it could be a sign that the car has been neglected and not serviced regularly. Before starting up check the colour and smell of the oil, if it is black and smells burnt this could suggest you may end up with some problems. Also if the engine is gleaming and spotless it could have had a steam clean to hide evidence of an oil leak.

5) While you are here check the fluid levels – Oil, water and brake fluid. If the car has power steering then that will also need fluid so check that to. The water should also have antifreeze in it and should not be a dirty brown colour!

6) To test the suspension, push down on each corner of the car individually. The car should return to its normal position but if it seems to bounce the shock absorbers are at the end of their life and will need to be replaced.

7) Tyres will also tell you a lot about the car and how it’s been looked after. Uneven tyre wear on the outside edges or centre of the tyre is normally a sign of incorrect inflation. These are crucial components that need to be in good condition not only for you safety but if you get stopped with tyres that don’t meet the minimum legal requirements you will get a fine!

8 ) Start up the car from cold and it should start easily and not make any knocking or pinking noises. This could suggest very costly repairs so If you hear any strange noises get a professional to have a look. Blip the accelerator and take note of any blue smoke coming from the exhaust that could indicate worn engine components. Listen to the exhaust. If its loud it could be leaking. If the car has a recent MOT check the emissions; if they are high the catalytic converter could be in need of replacement and these are very expensive!

9) During the road test make sure that the car tracks straight and doesn’t pull to the left or right. Any strange vibrations especially at speed could be wheel balancing and although not expensive to have done go back and check that there has been no damage done to the tyres. Also test the foot brake by pushing quite hard and listen - a grinding or scraping indicates the pads need to be changed whilst a vibration while braking suggests the disks are warped and will need to be replaced.

10) Above all else – use your instinct! If it feels wrong then don’t do it. You will always find another car!

A cheap version of car air con - use a cold water spray gun to spray a fine mist of water into the air flow of the cold air blower. When air is passed over cold water it cools, so you get an air conditioning effect. Just a little tip for those who don’t have a fancy air con system in their car. It’s been so hot lately even having the windows down is still hot. Why not try out my little tip!?

Just a quick blog today. You may have noticed we are all currently going through a typical British Summertime weather system. Baking hot for days followed by rain for days, followed by sun for days, and it goes on. This is the time to be aware of the hidden dangers caused by this dry and wet period. The first showers after a dry spell will bring the oil that has accumlated on the road to the surface, this makes it potentially slippery so please take care. Even though there may not seem to be many puddles, the oily wet surface can be just as bad. My wife, who happens to be a good driver, (brownie points for me), had a slight scare today, which could only be oil on the road, I am glad she is okay.

Watch your speed limit and drive safely!

Looks like the government and those greedy oil companies are once again hiking their prices. Not content on making billions of dollars they have to make billions of billions of er…well, let’s just say, we are helping to line their pockets because we still rely on petrol for our cars! I heard about the electric car, I heard about it years ago, seems strange it has not yet become the family car, especially in this day and age of rapid technology. It must be our world leaders being too busy fighting over oil to want to help us save money and the environment too!

So in light of this our petrol blight, here are my 10 top tips to help you save a little petrol, or at least try to help it stretch further.

1. I am not meaning to sound like a cheat, but walking or riding a bicycle to work is the ultimate petrol saver! It may not help my business but it’s good for you and the environment. So for those car lovers, please read on!

2. Think before you buy. If you are looking to save money, then you will need to think more about your location and not the latest fashion accessory. If you are a city dweller, then you need a car economical for driving at low speed, short distances. Maybe look into the new hybrid cars. The car works as an eclectic car until it reaches a certain speed and then the fuel engine kicks in. If you are in the country and drive fast, long distances, maybe a diesel would help. The diesel is more expensive, but the car will go further. Although, some people still love the sound of petrol engine, so if you’re one of them, keep reading on.

3. Car sharing. I was fortunate early on in my career to be working with a colleague that lived near me. We cut our petrol costs in half and certainly helped my friend to justify why he needed his 4×4 land cruiser!

4. Some say that driving with your windows down will cost you more in petrol. I am not sure if it has been proven, but the theory is true. Having your windows down creates “drag” or more wind resistance. That means more resistance in the forward motion so the car works harder and uses more fuel.

5. If you want accept tip number 2 then you will probably use your air con (if you have it), to help keep you cool in summer. Well this definitely uses more fuel as it needs to run an air conditioning compressor. That uses power from the engine, which again, makes the engine work harder and uses more fuel. If it’s really hot I would try a combination. If you are driving slowly around town, open your windows. You get cool and there is less drag on the car. If you are on a motorway, use your blow fan on the cool setting.

6. Correctly inflate tyres. If you have ever had a bicycle and tried to ride it on a flat or under inflated tyre you’ll know how much harder your legs have to work. Same sort of principle with a car.

7. Make sure your car is regularly serviced. A good serviced car will mean it runs at optimum performance and not work harder with, for example, a clogged air filter.

8. Try to drive as smoothly as possible. If you are a bit of a “boy racer” you will probably use up more fuel and create more wear on your breaks, clutch and tyres. Try to change gear smoothly and stay constant on your accelerator. This is more efficient and means the car is not working harder.

9. Similar to the previous tip, try to observe your speed limit a little more. The faster you drive the more fuel you use. I did hear about the speed of 56mph being the most economical speed to drive. But with the range of cars out there, I can’t say that it is necessarily true.

10. Keep your car clean! How much stuff is in your boot> By reducing the extra weight in the car will help keep the vehicle light. Ever notice how slow you car feels just after you have put a full tank of petrol in? Just an example, and I am not saying don’t fill up to a fuel tank, just check you are not carrying any additional weight.

Some people may laugh when they read this, and to those people I say, keep reading. But for many others, changing a flat tyre on the roadside can seem quite daunting.

If you are stuck on the side of the road, your priority is your own safety and for that you should always keep a roadside rescue phone number in the car. But maybe you are not a member of a vehicle rescue company; maybe you couldn’t afford the extra cost to your insurance policy, or simply just didn’t think to join. What will you do when you get a flat tyre far from home or in the middle of nowhere? Do you know how to change a tyre, probably yes, but would you prefer someone else do it for you, probably yes. This is a simple case of confidence. It’s not rocket science, but it’s just not that nice to be alone in a situation you’re not comfortable with.

Here I am going to tell you how you could avoid this predicament and give you 10 steps to get out of it if you are caught unprepared. The next time you leave home on your own, you should feel a little more confident that you can get yourself back home if you suddenly get a flat tyre! Oh, and to those people who are laughing…I am sure you wouldn’t be laughing if a relative or close friend was stuck on the side of the road and you knew they were not confident. You should have told them about this blog post or even shown them how to do it instead of waiting untill they got stranded.

Flat Tyre Prevention

1 - Periodically check the condition of your tyres. The legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm. This webpage describes tyre law nicely and shows you a video of how to check tyre tread. http://www.kwik-fit.com/uk-tyre-law.asp

2 - Periodically check your tyres are inflated correctly. Tyre pressure values are sometimes shown on the inside of the driver’s door, or under your bonnet. But you should check your operator’s manual. Over or under inflated tyres can drastically reduce the life span of your tyres and create dangerous driving conditions.

3 - Check your spare tyre is inflated to the correct pressure and is in good condition.

4 - For simplicity, you can purchase a can of “tyre weld” from your local garage. If you have this handy in the car and you suddenly get a flat, this can help you avoid the 10 step procedure below. This little can has a tube that fits onto your air valve and re-inflates your tyre and at the same time the gas works its way towards the puncture and seals it. This is a temporary fix until you get yourself home and can change your tyre there. This won’t work for large holes or side tyre wall damage.

10 Step Tyre Change

1 - So you’ve got a flat tyre, the first thing is safety. If you have a warning triangle in your boot, put it out to warn oncoming traffic and turn on your hazard lights.

2 - Remove Spare tyre, wheel spanner and jack. The wheel spanner and jack are normally together and should be with the spare tyre, if not; check other car compartments, (in the boot or in the engine bay).

3 - If you are able to “chock” the wheel, which means something to place in front of one of your wheels to prevent the car rolling after you have jacked it up.

4 - Using your wheel spanner, “crack” the wheel nuts. This means, plug the end of the wheel spanner onto the wheels nuts and push anti-clockwise hard, only half a turn. If one of your wheels nuts looks different from the rest, it’s probably a “locking nut” to prevent your alloys getting pinched. You need to find your locking nut key to put on the wheel spanner, (it might be in the glove box).

5 - Locate the jacking point under your car. This point is normally 6-8 inches from the wheel arches. If you can’t find it, just look for a strong flat area that won’t damage your car.

6 - Place the jack under your jacking point making sure it is balanced and wind the jack up until you raise your car off the ground, enough so that you raise the flat wheel off the ground.

7 - Using the wheel spanner remove the wheel nuts and remove the flat tyre. It can sometimes be a little tight when pulling a tyre off the car, so don’t worry.

8 - Place the spare wheel on and screw on the wheel nuts, just with your hands.

9 - Lower the jack and remove it.

10 - Tighten the wheel nuts with the wheel spanner. JOB DONE!

Welcome to my new blog.

This is the first of a series of posts offering mechanical tips, do’s and don’t’s and a little bit of fun to! If your a bit of a piston head I invite you to post your comments and any tips also. If you have any useful advice for other readers or for the novice mechanic, your comments and pictures would be helpful.

I would love to hear from anyone who is doing their own engine conversion, or customising your car. How is it going? What problems have you encountered and what advice can you give others thinking of doing the same. Send me your comments and any pictures.

Look forward to blogging some more soon!

The Panic Mechanic