Recipes for Car Care:
The Consumer's Guide to Auto Health

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Item # DEL-28387  ISBN: 0766828387




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Preventive care isn't a mystery known only to professional auto mechanics, but rather a set of simple steps you can do yourself if you understand the "ingredients" that go into making your vehicle run. Recipes for Car Care is designed to enable you to perform preventive maintenance on your vehicle to lengthen its life while saving you money. This book covers everything from locating the hood latch to performing basic maintenance tasks such as oil changes to dealing confidently with professional mechanics and car manufacturers.

Whether you are a novice at do-it-yourself automotive care or an experienced home mechanic, Recipes for Car Care will show you how to complete necessary car maintenance as easily as you would follow the "recipes" of a cookbook.

Product Benefits:

• Accomplish do-it-yourself maintenance tasks by following "recipes" presented in a format that includes: time and tools needed, level of difficulty, plus step-by-step instructions.
• Become an educated consumer and learn to deal with auto mechanics and car manufacturers.
• Discover how much you can do yourself and how easy it is to save time and money by performing some preventive maintenance services yourself.
• Learn to detect problems early to avoid multiple part failures and more costly servicing and repairs.
• Make well-informed decisions when purchasing a vehicle to maximize its lifespan, and avoid roadside breakdowns.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Finding the Latch - Looking Under the Hood! Front hood opening; under the hood basics.

Chapter 2: Safety. Basic safety considerations.

Chapter 3: The Engine and Its Combustion Recipe. Basics; Maintaining oil, coolant/antifreeze, belts, dash gauges and lights; diagnosing oil, coolant, compression, noise, dash gauges and lights.

Chapter 4: Air. Basics; maintaining air ducts, air filter, throttle plate; diagnosing IAC motor testing, TPS (MAF, MAP) sensor testing; PCM trouble codes.

Chapter 5: Fuel. Basics; Maintaing fuel filter, fuel injector; diagnosing; no start: fuel pump, fuel pressure output check; poorly-running engine.

Chapter 6: Spark. Basics; maintaining: battery terminal cleaning; fuse checking; battery jump-starting; coil output testing; worn spark plug wire detection.

Chapter 7: Emissions and Exhaust. Basics; maintaining: PCV valve replacement; exhaust pipe examination; diagnosing: dashlight, catalytic converter, PCV valve, EGR valve.

Chapter 8: Transmission. Front wheel drive; rear wheel drive; four wheel drive; all wheel drive; wheel bearings; automatic transmission: fluid inspection; manual transmission: fluid inspection, clutch slip test, engine mount inspection.

Chapter 9: Suspension. Basics; shock absorbers; springs; torsion bars; ball joints; tires.

Chapter 10: Wheels. Basics; maintaining: tire inflation check, tire leak detection, tire changing.

Chapter 11: Brakes. Basics; maintaining: brake fluid inspection, brake pad inspection, brake test driving; more.

Chapter 12: A Smorgasboard. Air bags; air conditioning; buying a used car; choosing a mechanic; door hinges; driving ideas; lights; more.

Chapter 13: Symptom Diagnosing. Seven categories.

Chapter 14: Maintenance Checklist. Personalized car data form; maintenance checklist.

Chapter 15: Car Manufacturers. Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, a cornucopia of others.

Recipes for Car Care: The Consumer's Guide to Auto Health