Auto Repair

Every family, if not every individual owns a car these days and it is mandatory that one knows the do's and dont's, tips and tricks of operating one. For instance, do you know how to start your car for work in a December morning, how to remove those embarrassing stickers your teen son has stuck onto the windows, how to to drive through pools of water in severe rains or how to fix a small dent in your car? Sounds familiar? Most of f us can imagine being in these very situations which is how this article will help you in knowing exactly how to handle these situations and more.

For every auto repair problem, there's expert DIY advice and an auto body shop's link specializing in that very area (follow the links to see the listings). So bookmark this article and keep it handy for the next time your car needs some repair.

Diagnosing Engine Problems

Difficulty Level: Medium (Professional Care Recommended with Diagnosing & Fixing Engine)
Signals that usually point to engine troubles are if your car is not starting, conking out, using too much gas or is running roughly. In order to diagnose the problem correctly, isolate the area of concern one by one. If the car is coking out, check the fuel and electrical system. The fuel pump is most often the cause of concern in engines. However, once the problem has been narrowed down, pay an immediate visit to your engine mechanic to get the broken part repaired or fixed.

Removing Bumper Stickers

Difficulty Level: Simple DIY
To remove bumper stickers and the like from your car you can use one of the three commonly used tips:

1. Dip a lint-free rag in boiling hot water and soak sticker with it for 30-45 seconds. Gently peel sticker off by hand or a rubber knife and finish with buffing polish.
2. Apply lubricant to the sticker area and peel sticker off (This works best with old stickers)
3. Direct the heat of a blow dryer on the sticker area and ease off the sticker with a rubber scalpel. Be very careful to use rubber products only to remove sticker as others may cause scratches.

Fixing Brakes

Level: Medium (Professional Care Recommended for newbies)
Fixing brake lights is simple if you follow this procedure. If, however you get stuck at any point, its best to take your car to a brakes specialist who can quickly fix it for you.

1. Begin by unscrewing the lens cover
2. Remove the bulb by pressing it in and turning it
3. Match bulb with exact replica from local car store
4. Clean the connection with a lin-free rag
5. Insert new bulb and replace lens cover
6. Test your new brake lights

Dealing with Alignment

Difficulty Level: Tough (Professional Care Necessary)
To correctly diagnose your car for alignment problems, look out for the following tell tale signs of wheel alignment issues:

1. Your car drifts to the left or right unless extra pressure is exerted on the steering wheel (This could also be due to less air pressure, so check it before testing car for alignment)
2. Your car tires show uneven wear in the tire tread due to under or over inflation

In these circumstances, and also if you've recently had an accident, its best to schedule an appointment with your alignment specialist as soon as possible.

Repairing Car Scratches

Difficulty Level: Medium (Professional Care Reccomended)
To fix a scratch, you first need todetermine to extent of damage of that scratch. Car Paint has four layers; the metal body itself, the primer, the paint and the clearcoat. If the damage is only to the clear coat, follow the following DIY routine while for the rest, go to a spcecialist who will help you with a flawless job.

1. Was the panel with soap and lukewarm water
2. Dry thoroughly
3. Use ultrafine sanding paper to sand the panel till the surrounding area is the same. Be very careful to not sand through to the next layer.
4. Thoroughly clean this panel
5. Spray clearcoat laquer or enamel to finish the job

For extensive auto repair mechanic and body shop listings, add this link here to your bookmarks and keep your car in top condition!