Dads saving dollars by DIY at home

You don’t need to have a huge knowledge about cars and their parts to maintain a car. A little bit of knowledge and some DIY can save you from spending hundreds of dollars. You can use scheduled maintenance guides, fact sheets and watch instructional videos on YouTube to familiarise yourself with cars, their parts, tools, and accessories. There is a brand new website called Partsales that allows consumers to conveniently purchase parts and accessories that fit their car. All you have to do is enter your vehicle’s make, model, and year into their compatibility tool and you’re on your way. It is definitely a site to visit if you’re in the market for parts and accessories.

With a simple set of basic tools, you can easily replace and repair parts on your vehicle that a mechanic would happily charge you big dollars for. Let’s discuss some easy ways by which you can keep up your car in a very good condition.

1. How to change your brake pads

Brake shops and mechanics charge hundreds of dollars for changing your brake pads but you will be surprised to know that this is a very simple job and you can do it by yourself. Industry has made a mind set for others that it’s a very tough job to change brake pads but they are much easier to supersede than those old drum brakes. First of all you must have a jack, wheel lung wrench and a jack stand to get under the car and to change or replace the brakes. You must be having pliers and some wrenches also.

Your new brake pads will cost a fraction of the price by DIY although you can compare the prices in market. Lift the wheel off first of all and move out the hardware. Draw out the broken pads and press in the caliper piston. Put in the new pads and set up the hardware again. It will take only one hour to do all wheels.

2. How to replace the battery?

Among several DIY repairs, replacement of the battery is the easiest one. A battery normally lasts for 5-6 years . If your battery needs to be changed, pick a battery according to your car’s model. You need a set of basic wrenches to swap the battery. You must be careful about the order of the cables you remove and reinstall. Remove the black cable having negative charge first and set up the battery. After replacing the battery install the black cable in last. If you don’t follow the order you will experience a short circuit in the positive terminal of your car.

How to replace spark plugs?

Replacing spark plugs is another very easy task which you can do by yourself. A spark plug wrench is used along the set of regular tools to replace spark plugs. You can search online and use the cars make and model, which can be found in the owner’s manual. This is another great DIY task that will save you a lot of money.

3. How to interchange a taillight?

Its always a great idea to walk around the car every so often just to confirm that all parts of the car are working properly and they don’t need a repair or replacement. If your vehicle’s headlight or taillight is not working it can affect your safety not to mention your insurance invalid. You will need a person to check the taillight. If any of your car’s light is not working you can easily replace it with the new one. You can find them online too. It’s always best to use cotton or plastic gloves when handling bulbs.

4. Replacement of air filters

Dealerships and mechanics usually increase the bill by the replacement of air filters with labor and high cost of air filters. Air filters can be fixed quickly and leisurely. In the replacement process, open up the bonnet of the vehicle and with a couple of screws turned and filters interchanged you can save your time and dollars.

There are so many parts and accessories that I’m sure you can DIY by just having a go and a little confidence. Good luck!