Things to check this summer
By H.Kishie Singh

IS your car running as well today as it was a couple of months ago? Have you noticed any change in the performance? Did you know that only unleaded petrol is available now in Chandigarh? Regular petrol has now become a thing of past.

And summer is here. It came rather suddenly. The hot weather does put stress on the engine. It usually takes about 5 km of driving during the winter months for my temperature gauge to just register the engine temperature. These days it happens in 500 meters. This quick rise in temperature expands all parts, quickly. Most easily affected are the rubber parts — Hose pipes, AC and fan/drive belts. Once you have the bonnet open, check the coolant and the battery water level. A dry battery heads for the graveyard.

For the maximum efficiency, coolant should be replaced every year. There are a number of radiator flushing products available in the market. They do help. And to prolong the life of the radiator it must be cleaned annually. The coolant has anti-freeze and anti-rust properties. These also help preserve the radiator.

Check the oil. If necessary, change it. The engine oil is subjected to enormously high temperatures and a good quality oil, like the coolant, will enhance the life and performance of the engine.

Once a car is in the "bonnet up" mode, a careful visual check is important. Check if the wiring is in place — look for loose connections, unravelling of the electric tape, anything out of place. The area around the carburettor should be dry and clean. Look for oil leaks. An oil leak is a sure indication of things about to go wrong. The garage floor is another place to look for oil leaks.

A car parked in the sun for a couple of hours has the inside baked to an intolerable temperature. You will never put your cell phone, discs, tapes and other valuables in the oven. So don’t leave them in the car either. The end result will be the same. My wife says that she could bake biscuits in a car parked in the sun. You could certainly do that in the engine as well.

When you park the car in the sun, leave a window open just a wee bit. Enough to allow the hot air trapped in to escape. But not enough for a hand to squeeze in.

And never leave a briefcase in the car. It’s a sure invitation to disaster. A brief case is a prime target of the baddies. It’s sure to contain credit cards, money, cell phone, important papers, may be a passport and airline ticket. Stick to your briefcase.

Diplomatic couriers have the briefcase handcuffed to their wrist. Must be having a good reason for doing so.

I don’t allow smoking, drinking and eating in my car. Nevertheless chewing gum found its way under the passenger seat and stuck to the carpet. Here’s how I got it off. I applied an ice cube to the gum. It contracted sort of shrivelled up, and let go off the carpet fibres!

Happy motoring.

This feature was published on May 15, 1999