I wanted to prepare my Jeep for the summer driving season, so I checked the tire pressure, the oil level, and the transmission fluid level.
First the tires: I wanted to inflate them to correct tire pressure. Being an American I like to use pounds per square inch—the way God meant pressure to be measured. I like to keep tire pressure at 30 psi. I got out the air pump I keep in the Jeep’s rear cargo area. The dial pressure gauge on the inflator is calibrated in Kg/cm2 (Kilograms per square centimeter). Dang it, metric units. I pulled out my stick pressure gauge. It’s calibrated in kPa (kiloPascals). I looked at the dial gauge. I looked at the stick gauge. Then I made the only rational decision. I hooked the compressor to each tire and pumped in 5 minutes worth of air. Kidding! I put in 30 psi. Tires: check.
Next I checked the oil. The level was a half quart below the Add mark. It so happened I had two half-full quart containers of 10W30. I also had a funnel but I didn’t feel like walking around the Jeep to the shelf where it was stored. I removed the bottle cap and poured the oil into the filler hole in the right valve cover. I figured I might spill a little at first but counted on the fact I could quickly adjust the pour to go into the hole in the valve cover. To my dismay, the stream of oil was not a nice, steady stream. It wiggled and wavered, hitting the valve cover on one side of the filler hole, then a split second later hitting on the opposite side of the filler hole. Back and forth the oily stream went without hitting the filler hole. Finally I got the flow rate adjusted so that oil flowed more or less in a straight pour into the filler hole. That brought the oil level up to halfway between Add and Full. Oil: check.
I checked the transmission fluid. The transmission fluid is supposed to be checked with the engine warmed up. My Jeep’s engine was not warmed up. But how far off could the fluid level be just because of engine temperature? I thought the level might be a bit low because I’ve never added transmission fluid. With the engine running and my foot on the brake pedal, I shifted the transmission through its range: Low, Drive, Neutral, Reverse, Park. Then I pulled out the transmission dipstick and examined it. Close to the end of the stick was the Add mark. About an inch and a quarter above that was the Full mark. Above the Full mark was an inscription, “DO NOT OVERFILL”. And about 5 inches above that was the actual transmission fluid level. Hmm. I wondered briefly if someone was sneaking into my garage at night and adding transmission fluid. I resolved to recheck the fluid level after my next trip in the Jeep when the tranny was warm.
Tomorrow, if it’s a warm day, I’ll check the a/c and see if it needs refrigerant. I’ll check the coolant level, the power steering fluid level, the brake fluid level, and the windshield washer fluid level. I’ll pull the Jeep out of the garage into sunlight and check underneath the hood for anything that looks funky. I’ll look for cracks in hoses and in the serpentine belt that drives the water pump and all the accessories (alternator, power steering pump, and a/c compressor).
I might also check the air filter. Though, it’s hard to know if the filter has become too dirty. And if you ask a garage mechanic, he’ll always tell you it’s too dirty. It’s best to just replace your filter every 15,000 to 30,000 miles.
Prepping the vehicle doesn’t eliminate the possibility of a breakdown on the road. But it does lessen the chance of a breakdown that could have been prevented by a simple under-the-hood inspection. Every driver should know the basics of an automobile engine. Every driver should know where the tire jack is located and how to use it to change a tire. In my Jeep it’s in a compartment under the rear bench seat. I think the original purpose of the compartment must have been to smuggle drugs across the border. If you didn’t know that compartment was under the seat, you would never guess by eyeballing the interior of the vehicle.
That’s it. Checking your vehicle isn’t so hard. You might want to think about doing it once in a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment