If you want to advertise your business or are in a car caravan celebration or protest, you may consider buying car stickers, car decals, or car magnets, but a lot of times these events are one-time events — you may not need the signs afterward, and you don’t want to damage your car. So here are the easiest and cheapest ways to put up your signs.
This DIY idea is very quick, simple, cheap, causes no damage to your car and there is no clean up afterwards. Just recycle your cardboard and reuse your shoelaces!
Also, although it may seem quite unrelated, this same technique used for hanging signs can be employed in the winter to reduce overnight ice buildup on your windshield, so check out our other video which discusses that topic: https://youtu.be/Sv-UbOkAy_U
It does not take a genius to replace a car’s wiper blade. Even if you don’t know how to change your engine oil, you may be able to replace the wiper blades because it is easier. In fact anyone can do it and it does not take time at all. The only questions you may have are: How likely is it that I will damage something? If it is so easy to replace the wiper blade, how is the blade held on so that it does not come off when in normal operation?
Since your wiper blade may be different than those on your friends’ cars, the more variety of the design the less confidence you have because it can be confusing to even talk about it.
In this video, we examine 9 different cars, Japanese made, American cars and European designs. Once you learn the principles through these examples, even if it is something you have never seen before, you can figure it out easily.
Did you know if you have your oil changed at a non-dealer garage, they might install the wrong oil filter? Last time I had my Subaru oil changed at a non-dealer garage, they installed a wrong filter because it has the wrong bypass pressure for a Subaru. So it is important that you use a correct filter.
Most of the time going to a dealer for service is more expensive. So in this video I am showing you the easiest way to change your oil in under 20 minutes. You want it to be quick, but also safe. For a Subaru Forester, there is no need to jack up the car, the SUV is high enough, and the oil drain plug is within arm’s reach from the front. If your head is too large or your car’s clearance is too low, watch my other video on how to raise your car safely without a jack:
You need to loosen the drain plug first. If your arm is not strong enough, watch my other video on how to use your foot to loosen it:
I put an oil pan in a box. The box will catch oil splashes and it also lets me adjust the pan under the car more easily. If you don’t have an oil pan, watch this video about how to make a zero cost oil pan:
My oil filter socket fits the correct oil filter from Subaru, but it is too small for the Metrostreet filter. If you don’t have an oil filter wrench, watch my other video on how to remove the filter without purchasing a filter wrench:
Lastly, when you pour oil, there are various ways to do it without using an oil funnel:
What is the difference between a Hydrometer and a load tester? Can epsom salt recondition a battery with sulfation? Depending on what is the problem and what tools you have, there are different ways to resolve your problem. Some of these may work for you, some won’t, this video will explain to you the “why” part, i.e. what are conditions under which the solution will work for you and what are the limitations.
We propose various steps for you to diagnose your car battery problems, and suggest alternative ways to test if you don’t have the best tools.
Diagnose car battery problems & find proper fix, everything you need to know about a battery.
Note, with my old cars, when I did not have a voltage meter, I used the method of disconnecting the battery when the car was running. But now new cars may have more sensitive devices, and since the voltage may spike without battery connected, it may cause some electronics malfunction. So it is safer if you use a voltage meter (if you have one) instead.
We should also remind you that the charge-discharge cycle will shorten the battery life. When your battery passes hydrometer specific gravity test but fails the load test, you have no other option but to perform the charge-discharge cycle. But if it is something other than this condition, don’t cycle unnecessarily.
When you need to replace your battery, if a bigger battery costs the same as the smaller one, you can choose the bigger one even if it is wrong sized, check out my other video on how to replace with the least cost: https://youtu.be/hymGI0ra7gE
A bigger battery may mean either the dimension is bigger or more importantly the weight is higher which means it has more lead.
Another important factor is the price. Big stores such as Costco, Walmart, Home Depot have high volume, and can sell the same quality items at lower price. The smaller stores auto specialty stores such as AutoZone, O’Reilly, Pepboy may give you better service, but higher price for commodity products.
In addition to the weight, sizes, and prices, you should also pay attention to the number of years warranty the battery provides. Note that free replacement is more valuable than the pro-rated “warranty” which may only take about a few bucks off the price of the new one, if you buy it from them again.
Below some samples prices:
Walmart:
$50 ValuePower brand: 12V car battery with 1-year free replacement warranty.
$94 EverStart Maxx brand: An included five-year warranty (three years free replacement and two years prorated) provides peace of mind.
homedepot:
$89 Exide brand. SPRINTER 12 volts Lead Acid 6-Cell 35 Group Size 550 Cold Cranking Amps (BCI) Auto Battery
2-year free replacement
$99 Exide brand. SPRINTER MAX 12 volts Lead Acid 6-Cell 35 Group Size 650 Cold Cranking Amps (BCI) Auto Battery
3-year free replacement
Costco:
$79 Interstate brand: three years free replacement.
Sooner or later your car is likely to have light problems. It could be caused by bad light bulbs, fuses, switches, relays, battery , or simply loose or shorted wires. The light problem might be that one side is on and the other side is off. It could be that lights are always on or won’t turn on at all. Or they could be flickering. This video discusses ways to test and eliminate possibilities so that you can quickly focus on the real faulty components.
