Preventive Care

Your automobile air filter operates like any home furnace filter. It collects excess dust, dirt, and other airborne particles before they can reach the internal portions of your car's engine.

'It's important to keep your car's engine at the proper temperature. Being too cold, or too hot can affect the car's performance as well as cause damage to the engine.

The rebuilding of an automatic transmission can be expensive. Modern automatic transmissions have over 3,000 parts. Doing it yourself is often no longer an option for the untrained weekend mechanic.

For years, the carburetor was the system of choice for delivering the air and gas mixture necessary to fuel your car. Today, fuel injectors have replaced most carburetors.

Cars overheat when their cooling systems go awry. This can happen on the hottest summer days or the coldest winter nights.

The cooling system in your car consists of a radiator, rubber hoses, a thermostat, a fan and a water pump. If any of these parts fails, the engine can become so hot it's permanently disabled.

Your automobile requires a variety of fluids to keep it running smoothly and it's important to keep all of your car's fluids at the proper level. Engine oil, automatic transmission fluid, power steering fluid, antifreeze, and even gasoline levels should be monitored frequently, to prevent damage.

Fuel filters are usually quite small. Their job is to catch tiny foreign particles in gasoline before they reach your car's fuel injectors or carburetor.

Getting stranded on the road can be a frustrating, even frightening experience, so it's important to take precautions. First, make sure you have an adequate spare in case of a flat tire.

Without oil, the tightly fitting surfaces of your automobile's metal moving parts would wear out very quickly. Metal against metal creates friction, friction causes heat, and heat results in wear.

Hearing rattles, clangs, rumbles, and dings emanating from beneath your automobile can be alarming. Often this is simply the result of a loose muffler fitting, clamp, or hanger.

Always check the oil in your vehicle when the engine is cold. Or, park on level ground, turn off the engine and wait at least five minutes before checking.

Cars just don't rust like they used to. Simply put, manufacturers have become better at rust-proofing cars at the factory.

The Car Care Council suggests letting qualified, professional mechanics handle most car repairs. But in the case of minor, unforeseen problems, there are a few tools you will want to keep in your car at all times.

Repairing a failed transmission is an expensive and time-consuming job. It requires the removal of one of the heaviest and largest of your car's mechanical parts by separating it from the engine.