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Economizing By Replacing Your Cars Air Filter And Wiper Blades Yourself

Posted: July 20, 2011 | By: | In: Autos and More

In terms of changing wiper blades and air filters, virtually all people use the schedule suggested by their local oil change service provider. The problem with this is that you are squandering funds by using their service. Read on to learn how you’re wasting money by letting the oil change facility dictate when to replace filters and wiper blades and how you will be able to do it yourself for a lot less money.

For one thing, did you realize that the normal manufacturer recommendation is that you change your air filter every 20,000 miles? This is certainly all your automobile needs in most circumstances. Still, it’s not essential to change your air filter every 20,000 miles if it’s not really dirty. Now when you visit an oil change place these companies advise that you change the air filter every 2nd oil change. Because they make easy money replacing air filters, it makes sense that they would recommend this. Most of these garages also charge you up to $70 to replace a $10 air filter. Some fantastic latest cars and other car related information.

If you’re fed up with paying too much at the retail oil change places, why not learn to replace your own air filter and save lots of money. Take a trip to your local auto parts store where you can purchase an air filter for under $10. At many retailers, they may actually help you to change the air filter. Nevertheless, the method of replacing an air filter is quite simple as all you usually have to do is release the clamps or wing nuts that are holding the cover in place. Then, you merely take out that old filter and replace it with a new one. So rather than pay an oil change facility $240 every 2 yrs to replace your air filter, you can spend a mere $10 to $20 every two years by doing it yourself.

Replacing your cars old windshield wipers operates the same way. It makes hardly any sense to pay an oil change place $40 for a couple of wiper blades when you can purchase them yourself for less than $10. And replacing your wiper blades is no more complicated than changing the air filter on your auto. Just so you know it happens to be better to change the entire wiper blade unit than it is to just replace the blade itself. So when purchasing the wiper blades make sure you get the whole unit. Most wiper blades can be simply replaced by using a little screwdriver. With wiper blades, you’ll immediately know when to replace them because they will no longer work properly. The people at these oil change places have no idea how your blades are performing they just go by what their computer tells them. Thus, if they have never replaced your wiper blades, they will continue to recommend that you buy new blades from them. This is for you if you want classic cars.

Just pursuing these two suggestions and undertaking the work yourself can save you quite a bit of money. You might possibly even like to consider learning the best way to change your own oil. Despite the fact that it’s more of a challenge, it will save you even more money in the long run.

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    The Curiosity Of The English Winter The Issue For Car Owners Is That It Is Probably Not Severe Enough.

    Posted: January 10, 2011 | By: | In: Autos and More

    Through the last several weeks in Britain, we have gone through perhaps the nastiest winter conditions for many years. Possibly the worst part of these winters is that they just aren’t harsh enough. If this seems to be something of a contradiction, just think about it for a while. A really harsh winter for us in Britain is when the weather stays below in a row.

    As a result of that our problems are twofold. To start with, we simply don’t invest in infrastructure to cope with frozen conditions. We have relatively few snow ploughs and gritters, and almost nobody, even the emergency services fits snow tires. Secondly, when we do get for us frozen conditions, the temperature very seldom goes lower than a few degrees below zero centigrade in turn means that the moisture levels remain pretty high, and this in turn causes frozen wiper blades, windshields, door locks and door seals on our cars.

    I first realised the peculiarity of our winter conditions when I was visiting Finland one year at the beginning of winter. Everyone complained of feeling very cold, and we suffered all those humid winter issues with our cars in the mornings. However, the locals surprised and dismayed me with their tales that it would all improve as soon as the temperature fell another 10° or so. At that juncture, they said, the sea would freeze over and the damp level would drop.

    As this happens, there’s so little dampness in the air that there’s little or no condensation to settle and then freeze on your vehicle overnight. This means that the car’s windshield is clear and clean, the Wiper Blades aren’t frozen to the screen, the locks all work, the door seals aren’t frozen, and most importantly, the ignition system is nice and dry. You don’t even really need winter screen wash additive, because there’s no nasty wet spray being thrown up onto your windshield by other cars. In fact the one and only problem you could have is that your wiper blades, if you are using rubber ones, may be frozen solid.

    So, it appears that we Brits are victims of our own moderate weather. Once I realised this fact, I looked into what I could do to lessen the problem. Preparing a vehicle for the Uk winter is nothing like the same as preparing it for a proper Nordic|Arctic|Alpine|Scandinavianrarely see temperatures as low as minus eight degrees centigrade, but we will often get damp conditions in the day followed by overnight frost.

    For these reasons, I always do the normal pre-winter checks on my car: anti-freeze, drive belts, lights, windshield and wiper blades, battery, alternator and ignition system etc. Additionally, I make sure to lubricate my car’s locks with a quality water repellent lock lubricant, then I clean and polish the rubber door seals with silicone wax. Most “Cockpit Shine” type products are an excellent source of silicone. Apply enough to leave the rubber shiny black. Remember that lots of cars have 2 door seals: one on the door frame and the other on the door itself.

    Lastl but not least, so as to avoid the risk of breaking my windshield wiper transmission or motor, I have permanently moved over to Silicone Wiper Blades. These remain flexible down to minus sixty degrees Celsius so they ensure a clean wipe in even the toughest conditions, and they don’t crack or split with the cold. Additionally, silicone is more water repellent that rubber, so it ensures a much reduced risk of your wiper blades becoming frozen to your vehicle’s windshield. Silicone wiper blades also enjoy excellent resistance to the chemicals used in winter screen wash antifreeze, UV and Ozone, making them an excellent choice for summer use also.

    I discovered a brand called XOPC. These are manufactured for Russian winters. They are very competitively priced and come with a 12 month guarantee.

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    Silicone Wiper Blades The Top Cold Weather Wiper Blades Specially Useful In This The Worst British Winter In More Than Forty Years

    Posted: December 29, 2010 | By: | In: Autos and More

    The freezing conditions are really and truly with us at the moment. In fact it seems like it might be a winter to equal the last properly cold one we had in the UK. That was 1963. It was so bitter cold then for such a prolonged period of time that even my cautious and protective allowed us to go on the frozen canal. That said; I believe we are still a long way from there yet, and I’d certainly advise NOT walking on any ice that’s on top of water deep enough to come over your knees.

    Back to business: if you will pardon the pun; we’re just about snowed under with orders for and enquiries about winter wiper blades. Many people are struggling with Wiper blades that have gone rigid to such a dgree that they can’t bend to the form of the windscreen any longer. Another issue is that the ice can really get a hold of get hold of the rubber, and as the motorist tries to free the wiper blade, they end up shredding the rubber; so rendering the windscreen wiper unuseable.

    We specialise in Silicone Wiper Blades, and they really come into their own in extreme conditions. They often don’t cost any more than premium quality rubber wiper blades, but unlike rubber wiper blades, any reasonable brand of silicone wiper blades will come with a 1 year warranty.

    Silicone wiper blades have much greater resistance to ice sticking to them than rubber wiper blades, so they seriously reduce the risk of burning out your wiper motor or breaking the windscreen wiper transmission system.

    Additionally, silicone wiper blades remain flexible down to -60°C, so they continue to bend even in the coldest UK weather, this helps them to shake off any ice that does stick, and to follow the form of the windscreen, so sweeping away the snow much better.

    On top of that; silicone wiper blades are impervious to attack from the anti-freeze chemicals that we must use to keep our windshield washers flowing in arctic weather.

    In deep snow; I still recommend removing the most of it with a brush before you start your wipers, because the additional weight of the snow may damage your wiper motor or transmission. Doing this also avoids a build up of too much compacted snow at the end of the wiper blade’s sweep. When you get such a build up; it prevents the wiper from completing its full sweep, and this puts extra load on the wiper motor and the wiper transmission system. By not dealing with this issue you risk a burnt out wiper motor or wrecked wiper transmission system. Neither of these are cheap to replace on modern automobiles.

    Even when I have silicone wiper blades fitted on my car, when it’s frozen; I just routinely lift my silicone wiper blades off the screen, and let them snap back. This makes sure they are free and clear, and helps shake off any ice. I also brush off any excess snow, so that I know I’m not going to overload the wiper motor or transmission system, and that’s it. Clearer vision, longer lasting wiper blades, and when we eventually, I can rest assured that my silicone wiper blades won’t be damaged by the ozone or ultra violet in the sunshine, nor will they melt and stick to the windshield, even in the hottest sunshine .

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    Volcano Problems An Authentic Risk To Replacement Wiper Blades.

    Posted: September 25, 2010 | By: | In: Autos and More

    It may seem silly to think of things like volcanoes displaying a hazard to your automobile and wiper blade but the recent eruption in Iceland has proved that the fallout from an eruption is a very real hazard. Volcanoes do in fact demonstrate a very clear and present danger to the condition of your car, things like the material on your wipers, the paint on the body work and even the metal itself are in threat of being scratched and even dissolved by the ash from a volcano. When a volcano erupts with spectacular violence and force the explosion projects a countless multitude of very hard and very small particles into the sky. As the air cools and condenses clouds developes and these dangerous shards are sent back down to earth in rain. The temp and pressure from inside the earths core absolutely causes rock to melt and become red hot magma, this heat and pressure is adequate to turn many rocks into glass which are shot up into the atmosphere during an eruption. When they return to earth they mix with water and form a very acidic solution composed of sulphuric acid. This liquid will dissolve the rubber components of your car especially the wiper blade and will dissolve the metal of the body work in a similar activity as salt. Your wiper blade are especially vulnerable as the rubber here is very soft and fragile, even without the use of acidic chemicals rubber wiper blades are known to have an very short life expectancy.

    In fact, it’s not just the windscreen wipers at risk, anything assembled of rubber is in danger of being damaged, this includes the rubber seals covering your doors and windows and even the tyres. Under the bonnet things like belts and tubing are in risk of springing leaks and tearing. Motorists need to understand the significance of removing this dangerous particle as soon as possible in the event of a volcanic eruption. Care should be taken however because if this step is done incorrectly it could result in breakage to your car especially the delicate paintwork and windscreen wipers. In order to clean away this insidious trouble it is vital that you completely saturate your car with water before to cleaning. It is also absolutely cruical to change the water in your bucket as often as possible to avoid re applying the hazardous shards with the sponge. Motorists should also remember to wipe the windscreen wipers and the area completely adjacent and under the replacement wiper blades.

    If any particles remain there they could scratch the glass on turning on of the wind screen wipers. Once you have given the car a good rinse, you might like to try adding a wax covering which can be picked up from any garage this will accomodate an thick barrier to any future dirt and sharp glass. Once done dry your car and wipers with a soft wash cloth and give it a good buffing, your car and wipers will be looking pretty amazing right now, celebrate by giving yourself a pat on the back and considering yourself fortunate to have read this amazingly penetrating guide on the internet regarding wipers.

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    Windscreen Wiper Health Danger Revealed.

    Posted: September 21, 2010 | By: | In: Autos and More

    It may approach being far fetched but wiper blades on all modern cars can in some cases pose a dangerous public health risk and here’s why. It has been estimated that as many as thirty percent of cases of Legionnaires disease is created by wiper blades water in both England and Wales. This is according to a study made by the Health Protection Agency which went on to highlight the dangers of wiper blades fluid which provides a warm stagnant environment for the hazardous bacteria to reproduce rapidly. The bacteria in question is known to be a causal agent in things like pneumonia and can be quickly killed simply by combining a screen wash to the water in the wiper blades washer tank. This link was found by in depth statistical analysis of full time drivers who were seen to be much more likely to catch the disease. In two thousand and nine there were about three hundred cases recorded and those most at risk were guys who spent a lot of time in their car, did not use screen wash and who left their window open. The concern with adding screen wash is that rubber based wiper blades will soon begin to break down in the presence of these astringent chemicals.

    This is a common thing with rubber based windscreen wipers and is only exacerbated by other issues such as ultra violet and pollution in the vacinity. When a rubber created windscreen wipers starts to break apart it will give off some tell tale signs that it needs switching, the first of these is that it will begin to make a noise, either a squeak or a judder, this is an sign that the windscreen wipers shape has been badly compromised. Once the delicate leading edge is malformed then the windscreen wipers no longer adheres to the wind screen effectively and instead skips over the surface causing vibrations and hence sound waves, which are then picked up by your ear. Another sign that the windscreen wipers has been compromised is that it wipes the wind screen unevenly and leaves a streaky mark about the length of the wind screen.

    This is just another sign of the first condition being that the wipers no longer fits well to the wind screen and instead contacts the glass intermittently. The only answer to this problem as using screen cleaner is absolutely vital to avoid contamination of the water source by dangerous bacteria is to buy some new wipers; preferably you should get some made out of a substance called silicone. Silicone based wipers do not ablate in the presence of water, ultra violet or an array of other chemicals. It is a polymer which is heat resistant and has a unique non stick property. The next time you change your wipers however you should be aware of the risks of catching a disease and take the right precautions. Wear a face mask, give your wipers a nice clean, and wash your hands after handling them. If you are using screen fluid you have nothing to worry about concerning this but better safe than sorry in this observer’s opinion.

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