Most of us are not mechanics, and while we might wish that we knew more about cars or even posture as though we do, for the vast majority of the population the inner workings of any vehicle is pretty much a mystery.
As such then when something goes wrong we will often find ourselves in trouble and seriously inconvenienced. If you have the number of a good break down service or mobile mechanic then you should be able to get someone out to help, and if you’re insured then you may not have to pay for it, but even then you will have been forced to wait on the side of the road for a long stretch of time making you late to whatever social engagement you were heading to and potentially causing you to get cold or even put your health at risk.
Worse we might sometimes end up carrying on driving and ignoring whatever problem our car has which can be dangerous and bad for the environment. Take for instance an oil leak – it’s a potentially simple problem to fix, but it can be dangerous and damaging to ignore.
Next time then, here’s what you need to do to fix it…
Gaskets
The first thing to do is to check the gaskets. To do this you need to look under the hood and then consult your car owner’s manual to find them. If you don’t know what they look like, these are essentially like little metal frisbees that are flat disks, often arranged in a line. If you have a car with a high mileage engine then you will probably be required to change the gasket more regularly, and all cars require them changing them from time to time. However in the short run all you’ll need to do is to find the screws and tighten them up with a screwdriver. In most cases this will be enough to keep your car from leaking until you can get to a garage.
The Oil Pan
If your gaskets are fine then you probably have a problem with the oil pan. This is normally located again inside the bonnet, this time at the front of the car by the bumper. Get a torch if it’s dark and look for leaks in the pan which is meant to catch oil. If you do find one then you should remove the pan (carefully so that you don’t spill oil out everywhere) and then clean it up. Next get something like a cloth or some masking tape and seal the hole or plug it as much as possible to stop the leaking. This of course is only a temporary fix, and when you get home you might want to instead use a silicone sealant so that you can more permanently plug the hole, or you might want to call in the mechanics and have them permanently replaced.
Obviously you should make sure you’ve pulled over somewhere safe and out the way of traffic before you begin doing this, and if you can’t fix the problem easily do still call in a professional to help.
The article is written by Joseph Corris who is a car blogger and often writes guest posts on tips related to cars and its maintenance.