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Get the best out of your Car (Part-IX)

Preface

In Part-VIII of this ‘series’, I shared with you some of my thoughts and experience about various problems one can run into while maintaining one’s Car - as the true ‘ownership experience’ of any make or model begins and ends here.

With such info at the back of one’s mind, let me share with you some more ……

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1) Noises on rough roads

Such noises in a car can arise due to any of the following :

i) Loosely secured Spare wheel/tools etc in the hatch/boot.

ii) Likewise, Music System Head Unit/Speakers - front/rear.

iii) ‘Rubble’ in the glove compartment and elsewhere.

iv) Loose or damaged Power Train Mountings incl the Exhaust line.

v) Worn out front/rear suspension.

While for an average DIY person, it may be possible to detect and set right (i) to (iii) above by process of elimination, the rest will require skilled assistance from an Authorised Service Centre. Take your pick !

2) Causes of Engine Stall

The main reasons for a petrol engine to stall are either i) under or over supply of fuel, ii) Loss of ignition iii) mechanical locking while shifting gears etc. or iv) un-sustainable low idling rpm.

It’s useful to know that if (i) is the culprit, then the engine will cough and splutter before conking out. On the other hand, if (ii), then it’ll die down without hiccups, as if you’ve switched off the ignition while cruising smoothly. If it’s (iii), then there’d be some jerks before it stalls and if (iv), then it’ll die down either while waiting, say, at traffic lights or while shifting gears.

3) A ‘Shocking’ Car

This happens to all of us and with all Cars - during times of the year when the Temps are < 30*C/no 'seat/back dampness' due to lack of body sweat and the atmospheric 'Relative Humidity' is low – say < 60%.

As a result, coz the car's shell is insulated from the ground via its rubber Tyres, there's a build-up of 'Static Electricity' between our bodies' due to mostly semi-synthetic clothing that we wear these days and car's synthetic material upholstery. Such a static electricity build-up can get to as high as 15-20 KV !

Having got ‘charged’ thus, upon alighting from the Car, we get electrically 'grounded' and therefore, the 'Opposite-Charge' so left on the insulated Car jumps across to 'earth' through our fingers/body to ground !

It’s precisely due to these reasons that when an Aircraft comes in to land, the first thing they do is to 'clamp' it to 'earth' - to drain all the static charge it acquires while slipping-in through the warm/dry lower atmosphere.

Although I haven't personally tried it, a possible solution to this nuisance would be to tie an electrically conducting 'braid' made out of aluminium tassels from the Car's under body such that it 'trails' the road when in motion – ‘eqvt’ of the aircraft example above.

4) Ineffective Brakes

If the brakes are ineffective inspite of new pads/shoes all around, the following could be the causes - in that order :

i) Over-aged Brake fluid - drain/flush all the lines, refill and ‘bleed’ all the 4-wheel brake cylinders with the recommended grade - preferably 'DOT-4'.

ii) Worn-out front discs/rear drums - replace or refurbish as practicable at a competent m/c shop.

iii) Faulty Servo/Booster - may or may not be repairable and also be beyond the competence of the friendly neighbourhood mechanic. They way to check its working is as follows :

a) With the gear/neutral, parking brake fully engaged and the engine off, 'gently' push the brake pedal as far as it'd go.

b) Hold it there with the ‘required’ foot-pressure.

c) While maintaining the pedal-pressure as above, crank the engine. As soon as it fires, the brake pedal should 'sink-in' a bit - say by 1/2 an inch. If it does, your Booster is fine. If it doesn't, it's not !

5) Maintaining Coolant

The main functions of a Coolant are to - i) prevent corrosion/scale formation in the system, ii) provide lubrication to the 'Water' Pump Seals, iii) aid 'Heat Transfer' capabilities of the same volume of fluid in the system by increasing its ‘specific gravity’ and iv) work as 'anti-freeze'.

Coolants are ‘Glycol’ based formulations and somewhat like engine oil - prone to wear and tear and molecular de-generation while in use. Their efficacy is measured by the 'specific gravity' of the composite – recommended to be between 1.10 to 1.15 – using a purpose built ‘hydrometer’ somewhat like the Battery electrolyte ones.

If the Coolant has deteriorated/got diluted beyond limits, then the very purpose of its existence is lost.

In view of this, it's recommended that the entire mixture be drained and refilled with 1-part coolant and 2-parts ‘pure’ water every 30 kkm or 2-yrs - whichever occurs first. During this time, as only the water part of it evaporates, it's ok to top up the Reservoir upto the recommended level using plain/soft water - preferably distilled water - including in the initial 1:2 ratio fill. Alternatively, the 'pre-mix/diluted' ones can also be used for the purpose.

On the other hand if there has been an appreciable loss due to some mishap, then after fixing the cause of leakage, one needs to top up the Radiator as well as the Reservoir with fresh 1:2 mixture.

Normally, it's sufficient to top up the reservoir alone, assuming that the Radiator Cap is ok and there are no fine leaks in the system. The latter can be double checked by looking into the Radiator neck first thing in the morning by taking the Cap off BEFORE starting the engine.

If the level is upto the brim, it means there are no fine leaks and the Cap is ok. If the level is not upto the brim, one or both shortcomings are in evidence.

Author: S K Gupta

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