Mechapedia

All cars in recent times are fitted with air cleaners. Air cleaners are materials fitted in a car to prevent dust and unwanted materials from entering the combustion chamber. Air cleaners also acts as silencers which muffles the hissing sounds from the carburettor air intake. Many cleaners have summer and winter settings. In winter the air cleaner entry tube is swung round to pick up warm air from the exhaust manifold. This helps cold starting and prevents carburettor icing. NB: make sure your air cleaners are cleaned at regular interval, lets say , clean air cleaners during engine service. Blow paper air filters with pressurized air to remove dust from it. If you don't clean your air filters at regular intervals, it will reduce the amount of air going into the engine which can cause the check engine light to come up. So it is advisable to clean or replace(if it is too bad) as the case maybe. Types of air cleaner: 1. Paper : This filters are more efficient , easy to s...

The brake system is one of the most important controls in a car. Some car owners don't know when to change the brake pads. Some times you might not need to remove the tyre of a car to know if the brakes are gone. An eye inspection is all you need. Check the brake pad and see if the it has reduced. There are some cars that you may need to pull out the tyres to inspect the brake pads. You can also know if you brake pads are worn from the kind of noise it makes. if you hear a screeching noise while driving, that is probably the wear indicator on the brake pads telling you ' I need to be changed'. You can also open the hood of your car to check the level of your brake fluid, if it is lower than expected your brake pads are probably worn out. Please don't wait until the brake pad wears out completely before you change it. 

To troubleshoot a car that is not starting , one must know if it is a no crank/no start issue or a crank no/start issue. No crank/no start means when the key is been put in the ignition the engine doesn't revolve. While a crank/no start means that the engine revolves but doesn't start. Troubleshooting no crank/no start case: When the key is turned into the on position and the car doesn't start rather a click sound is heard. Check if the car has security. Open the hood of your car and check the connector wires if they are well fitted on the battery head. If they are not,tighten the nut and start the car. If the no start/no crank continues check if the terminals are corroded. If they are, make sure they are cleaned. If the car doesn't start after cleaning the terminals and tightening the connectors, the battery might be faulty. Put on the head lamp and see if it shines bright, if its dim the battery is probably low or bad as the case may be. Check the voltage of...

The level of your car's automatic transmission fluid ( ATF) should be checked every morning and topped if need be. ATF should be changed according to the millage specification by the car's manufacturer. Some manufacturers demand you to change it in every 30,000 miles. While changing your ATF your self, the following steps should be be followed; 1. Drive the car around to make the fluid hot and less viscous. 2. Jack the car and support it with axle stands. Never go under a car that is not supported with axle stands, it can cost you a lot. 3. Unscrew the drain plug under the gear box and drain the ATF. 4. Screw the drain plug back 5. Open the hood. 6. look for where the dipstick for the ATF is located. This is for honda cars and some Toyota. 7. Remove the dipstick. 8. Fill your oil gun with the ATF. 9. Use the gun to fill the gearbox via the hole for the dipstick. 10. constantly check the gauge of the ATF.  

To improve the life span of your tyre, one must ensure that the correct pressure is what is filed into his tyre. Every car manufacturer writes the pressure that should be filled into the car's tyre. This pressure which is in either kilopaschal or bar can be found on a sticker by the door. When a tyre is not well gauged it causes: 1. irregular wear on the tyre tread; when a tyre is over inflated it causes the tyre to wear very fast at the center and if under inflated it wears faster by its sides. 2. It can also cause the steering to be stiff which in turn causes high consumption of fuel. 3. It can also reduce the stability of a car.

Changing car batteries can really be dicey,so one must be careful. Changing batteries can also be easy and fun, if you follow this easy steps. 1. Make sure you buy a battery with the same amperage with the used one 2. Loose the fastener holding the battery. 3. Unscrew the nut holding the negative terminal and remove it. Make sure the terminal is not touching any metal in the car. 4. Do same thing to the negative terminal. 5. Place the new battery on the position of the old one 6. Connect the positive terminal first and screw the nut. 7. Do the same to the negative terminal. Make sure your car is not on .

There are many causes of vibration in a car, some simple while others are complex. So when next you notice that your car is vibrating you  don't have to get all worked up. 1. bad spark plugs. 2. loose air hose. 3. bad engine mount. 4. bad gearbox mount. 5. little or no oil in the gearbox. 6. broken fan. 7. bad or loose timing belt. 8. leakage or block in the fuel intake system.