Avoid Expensive
Breakdowns
Morgan J. Landry
EDU 652: Instructional
Design & Delivery
Professor: Lisa Marie
Johnson
October 20, 2014
Avoid Expensive Breakdowns
Many people are not knowledgeable in the car
maintenance department these days. It
used to be, at one time long ago, that mostly women lacked the knowledge to
repair, maintain, or perform emergency roadside fix-ups. Not anymore, in today’s world the number of
people lacking auto repair and maintenance know-how is about equal across both genders. Yet, just a once in the morning check over
and keeping up with a maintenance schedule can prevent expensive on the side of
the road breakdowns. It’s just a simple
matter of popping the hood open, giving the engine the old once-over and
checking fluids and hoses.
In order to stay worry free on the way to work, school,
or whatever your destination might be, it is imperative to conduct a daily once
over on a vehicle’s vital functioning parts.
These include fan belts, fluid levels, engine oil, brake fluids, and
water (engine coolant). Engine coolant
keeps a vehicle from overheating. Checking
the coolant level is of major importance before driving off in the morning. The Automobile Association (The AA) says to
check your coolant regularly, weekly if possible (para. 1). However, as a former mechanic it is important
to let you know, from experience, that checking the coolant level everyday will
not hurt anything, not even your vehicle, and it will certainly reveal telltale
signs of an approaching and possible preventable catastrophe (major on the side
of the road breakdown). The engine
coolant is housed in the expansion bottle, usually located on the passenger
side front of the vehicle under the hood, and is commonly a white plastic
container marked with the words Engine
Coolant. Some vehicles have the
engine coolant bottle on the driver’s side front of the engine compartment. One word of caution, never open this
container after the engine has warmed up or after a short or long drive. Always open, if you must, early in morning
before a drive or after the vehicle has been parked for more than an hour. Serious burns can occur if a vehicle is
running on the warm side, or even worse – running hot. All that is actually necessary, to check the
coolant level, is to look at the side of the container or at the top and view
the fill mark. There is a full when hot level mark, plus a full when cold, level
mark. Check brake fluid level,
windshield washer bottle level, and power steering fluid, if your vehicle has
that. Also, before starting the vehicle
check your engine oil level. It is
important to check this once the engine has set up for an extended period of
time or at least, at the bare minimum, after the engine has been off for more
than ten minutes. This makes sure that
all the oil has drained back into the oil pan at the bottom of the motor. It is also a good idea to check coolant hoses
for softness or wear or signs of cracks and dry rot. Check fans belts; most vehicles have one main
belt called a serpentine belt. Check the
belt for signs of wear or cracks at least twice a week. Check tire pressure once a week unless you
see a low tire, which is a sign of tire trouble on the horizon. Always keep tires inflated to proper pressure. Then finally, before starting on the day’s
journey, look on the concrete drive, if you have one, or on the ground, if you
don’t have a concrete drive, for signs of oil leaks or other fluid leaks. Never allow fluid leaks to continue it can
always make the problems worse.
The AA has an excellent video
on how to check the engine coolant. Evers
(2007) provides good information on performing the check. Then DIY autotech provides a
great and detailed video on underhood checks. Anthony (no last name available) takes you
through checking coolant, checking brake fluid, water hoses, and everything
else under the hood.
The last thing on the agenda, to finish your journey to
being a responsible car owner with fewer breakdowns is to create a maintenance
schedule. Every vehicle has to undergo
certain maintenance at certain miles accumulated. For example, it is common to check brakes
every 12,000 miles; it is common to check antifreeze/engine coolant
quality/levels plus the thermostat every six months. You can find a complete maintenance schedule
in your auto handbook that came with your vehicle. If, by chance you did not get a handbook or
lost it then finding a schedule is as easy as the click
of the mouse on this link.
Check your automotive knowledge; click here to take the test. If the link does not work, please copy and
paste the following link in your URL window.
<https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/65N9XDK>. Tests are much needed. Horton (2012) says that tests are needed to
create effective e-learning.
REFERENCES
Horton,
W. (2012). E-Learning by design (2nd
ed.). San Francisco, CA: Wiley.
Checking Your Coolant Regularly. (2014). The Automobile Association. Retrieved from
www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/breakdown_advice/how-to-check-your-engine-coolant.html
Evers, R. (May 21, 2007). Checking your coolant with AA Patrol Nick
Evers. retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rjAAeHqXW6E
How to check car fluids, belts & Perform full underhood inspection
(Nov. 21, 2011). Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSlouL8Ekgw
Factory-recommended maintenance. (2014). Retrieved from
http://www.midas.com/services/factoryrecommendedmaintenance/tabid/148/default.aspx
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