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Daily Checklist for your vehicle

02 August 2012

Triniwood Magazine

TEN POINT DAILY CHECKLIST BEFORE YOU HIT THE ROAD

by Errol Singh 1. All lights are working.

2. Break fuel is at the right level.

3. Engine oil is topped up to the right amount.

4. Transmission oil in the transmission is at the right level.

5. Wind Shield Water is filled up.

6. Battery water is topped up and battery poles are not corroded.

7. Water and coolant in the radiator are topped up or at the right level.

8. Jack and spare tyre are in place and in good working condition with enough pressure.

9. Insurance and driver's license are good and not expired.

10. Safety Kit is in place with: Flash lights, fire extinguisher, break fluid, clean water, engine oil, transmission oil, battery water, handy clothe, necessary tools such as pliers, Phillip and flat head screw drivers, spanners and jumper cables.

Triniwood Magazine

Learn to Drive Defensively

Defensive Driving

August 2012 03

TIPS

1) WHEN STOPPING BEHIND A CAR In traffic or stopping behind another car, never stop so close to the car in front you that you cannot take over the car without reversing. If the car in front stalls and you are too close to it, cars behind you may begin over taking both you and the car that stalled. It will then be difficult to move with the traffic taking you over and you have no room to turn or reverse.

2) APPROACHING A STALE GREEN TRAFFIC LIGHT When approaching a traffic light and you find it green, you must exercise caution because you don’t know how long it has been on green, therefore it will be risky driving through at a fast pace while the lights starts to change back to red.

3) DRIVING AT HIGH SPEED The space you maintain between the vehicle in front of you and behind you is dependent on the speed you are driving. The faster you go, the farther you keep from the car in front of you. This is hard to do sometimes in Trinidad and Tobago because while you might be keeping the safe space between you and the car in front, another car comes in between yours and the one you were keeping the distance from. Think about how long it will take you to stop if you have to and that will give you a guide as to how far you should be from the car in front of you.

DRIVE SMART

4) IF A CAR IS TAILING TOO CLOSE BEHIND YOU If a car is tailing too close behind you the best thing to do is allow that dangerous driver to pass you by signaling him when he can take over. If you need to stop, you cannot stop suddenly, you will have to start slowing down as soon as you can get the ‘ego’ driver to slow down as well.

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04 August 2012

Car Overheating?

Triniwood Magazine

What to do if you car is overheating

Y

ou are driving, going about your normal regular activities or maybe you are in a hurry or in a strange place and you notice your temperature gauge in the dash board is reading hot, more hot than normal. Want should you do? Well, while the car is still running, you have a chance of dealing with the problem before it reaches the point where you may have to spend hundreds in repairs or put out a fire.

If you have to drive slowly or moderate speed or even in traffic to get to where you heading then you do not want to take the chance to reach where you are going with an overheating engine. If you have to drive down a highway you may be able to go, up until you have to stop because the breeze hitting the radiator at that pace will cool it until you slow down again. However, try to deal with it or assess the problem if you can before taking any chances.

Stop the car immediately and switch off the air condition and check to see if the fan, which has to blow on the radiator, is working. If it is not, switch off the engine. If you can run a line from the current directly to the fan it may be a temporary solution to the problem. If the fan is not working completely then you have to tote the car to get it fixed or have it repaired where it is. If the fan is working you may still have to switch off the engine and then proceed to see if the radiator has water.

enough check that there is water in the radiator. Remember to be extra careful, a hot radiator will spray up hot water if you attempt to open it, and you may get serious burn. Once it is safe to open (cool enough), open with a large enough piece of cloth over the cover. Turn the cover very slowly, exercising caution in case any water spraying takes place. Turn the cover slowly thereby releasing pressure from the radiator a little at a time. When it is opened, fill up the radiator with water.

Assess the radiator cover and the engine oil cover to see if there is any residue on it. If it is clean then you are lucky that your engine head gasket has not been blown as yet. If you see residue stuck to the radiator cover or the engine oil cover then you will have to buy oil, oil filter, head gasket and have a mechanic change the head gasket and oil and filter for you.

If there is a leak anywhere around the radiator or hoses going to or from it, you will have to check how bad is the leak before deciding if it is worth taking the risk of driving again once you have topped up the water. If the leak is bad or streaming out, you will need to have a mechanic change the leaking hose or seal. In some cases the problem can be the water pump is not working properly and needs to chance.

When the engine or radiator is cool

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627-TYRE

All About Tyres

August 2012 05

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Published by Triniwood Films, Level 3 Ramsingh Plaza Building II, 12 Southern Main Road, Chaguanas. Tel.: 740-7133 Fax: 671-7440 and email.: Triniwoodfilms@yahoo.com Printed by Guardian Media Ltd. 22-24 St. Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, West Indies