[DD]

DD

March 8, 2009 at 6:40 am #521

We spend a lot of time talking about how to prepare for and participate in a trip. We also need to consider what to check on our cars after a trip to ensure they stay in good condition. I will start the discussion and am interested in hearing what you check on your car after a trip.

1. Always check your tyre pressure the morning after a trip while they are still cold. I run my tyres at 34psi. This is what I fill them to at the end of a trip for the drive home. They can be as low as 28psi in the morning due to the temperature difference. You need to check and refill them to the proper pressure.

2. Many of us have our cars washed after a trip. While it is up on the lift have a look underneath. Does everyting look as it should? What’s that you say, you have never looked under your car so you don’t know what’s normal. Well start looking and when something changes notice it. Is anything leaking? Is anything broken or hanging down? Does anything look bent?

3. Look in your engine compartment when the engine is cold. Are the fluids (coolant, oil, clutch, brake, power steering) all at proper levels? How do the belts look? Are they cracked or frayed? How clean is your air filter? Is oil seeping out anywhere (by now you might have figured out that seeping oil is a preoccupation of most Defender owners). Is the battery clamped down tight?

4. Look around the outside of your vehicle. Are any plastic bits broken, cracked, loose? Check inside the wheel arches. Have any plastic rivets come out? It is easier and cheaper to replace rivets than to let the plastic come loose and get broken.

5. It is especially important to check any modifications or accessories you have recently had done. They tend to rub against things they shouldn’t, come loose, or just break. Fresh wiring always wants to find a way to short out. Just because you have had a professional install it don’t assume it must be fine. Take a look.

If you find anything you think is wrong, ask your mechanic. If you are mechanically inclined have a go at fixing it yourself.

With what we do to our vehicles in the desert, even the newest, best made ones need proper care and attention.

[Author]

Posts