Car Instructions

One Crappy Car – 1990 Toyota Corolla LE – $750

Car Instructions — Sat, 15 May 2010 03:19:35 +0000

For sale. One piece of crap car. It’s a 1990 Toyota Corolla LE. A few rust spots. One dent. One headlight is busted. And I think it might need a new battery soon. But it actually runs pretty well, and only has 183,000 kms. Around there anyway. The upside? I’m only asking $750. If you’ve got a teenage boy, this is the car for you. He won’t be picking up any chicks in this thing. And you don’t have to worry about him speeding. I don’t think he could if he tried.

BEST OF CRAIGSLIST

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Beware of Curbsiders!

Car Instructions — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:16:11 +0000

Beware of Curbsiders!

A curbsider pretends to be a “private seller” but is really in the underground business of selling cars illegally. Cars with a major accident history, poorly repaired, with false mileage claims are a curbsider’s stock in trade.

Watch this W5 expose and see curbsiders in action

Lexus Es300 Automatic Transmission Fluid

Car Instructions — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:41:10 +0000

Changing the transmission oil is as cheap of an insurance as it is with the engine oil.By the book on this 1994 Es 300 is required that the A/T oil is changed every 24.000km or 2 years. Lift the car and support it on jack stands, never get under the car supported with only one jack. Tools: 10mm Allen key, 4 liters of Dextron III transmission oil, an oil pan and a small funnel.

Find the transmission plug and loosen it, keep in mind that is not the same with the engine oil plug. You do not have to remove the plug completely,oil will come out right away even with the bolt in place.

Wait until all the oil is drained and put the plug back in place. Filling the transmission with oil is done thru the oil dipstick pipe, it’s located on the left side of the engine, close to the oil cap. Pull the dipstick out and place the funnel in the hole.

The manual says it takes 3.5 liters for a drain and refill but the best way to do this is to put exactly what you took out, start the car and leave it running until reaches normal operating temperature. Shift the gears from the parking to first and back few times and check the dipstick while the car is left idling.

DO NOT OVERFILL THE TRANSMISSION. Oil level should be between “Hot” marks shown in the dipstick when the car is at operating temperature.

First time that I did this on my car I had to do it 3 times in a row (oil was quite dirty), one week or few hundred kilometers apart until the oil came clean enough, after that once every two years.

How Accurate Is Carfax

Car Instructions — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 02:47:14 +0000

Today i was surfing Craigslist car section and run across this post which doubts the CARFAX VEHICLE HISTORY REPORTS. The poster states some examples in which Carfax doesn’t provide the real data on one or more vehicle history reports.

So my advice to prospective buyers is to rely not only on Carfax Vehicle History Report but to get a second opinion from AutoCheck® or Carproof. Below if the screenshot of Toronto Craigslist post.

Just a heads up for any perspective buyers who solely rely on Carfax for vehicle history, (or ScamFax as I would like to refer it) is nothing but a rip off, on more then one occasion. I have used their service and recieved nothing but fraudulent info regarding my own vehicles as well as those of ones I have been interested in buying.

On one occasion I entered the VIN on one vehicle and was notified that there were 15 important reports on the vehicle so I paid the 40.00 to get the report to find out there were inconsistent odometer reports on 2 occasions, which obviously alarmed me, but when I went here http://www.carfax.com/ and entered the VIN Number to check for possible odometer tampering the car came back with NO odometer problems, how can a website that claims to have access to databases and accurate info contradict themselves on the same vehicle???????

Not too mention Odometer tampering is a crime and should of been reported to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. The one entry regarding the inconsistent odometer reading supposedly was entered by the MTO, but upon viewing the UVIP from the MTO the car was clean with nothing regarding inconsistent mileage, funny BUT if the MTO reported Inconsistent Odometer readings how come it wasn’t on the UVIP, cause Carfax’s records are WRONG.

Not too mention if there’s a negative report about a car, rest assured Carfax will have one similar to that car listed with a clean history on the same page, nothing like blackballing a good car with a negative label so you can try and push one that some dealer pays to advertise on Carfax.. Be aware Folks, I have documented proof Carfax is a ripoff so have a little faith in the seller especially if they have a UVIP, a good history on paper of the vehicle, and if you really have any doubts about any vehicle take it to a mechanic, any honest seller will not hesitate to allow you this right..

Good luck and use your own judgement, don’t miss a great oppurtunity on a car solely based on what ScamFax claims, afterall they are based in Virginia, so gee who would I believe, the MTO where the car is registered or a website that gets their info 3rd party!

Front Discs Rotors Replacement

Car Instructions — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:20:29 +0000

Lift the car, support it on jack stands and remove the tire. Never go under the car supported with only one jack. This a Volkswagen Beetle but the procedure is the same or similar to other Volkswagen models. First you have to remove the philips screw, if its rusty and it does not come out try with a punch and a hammer or the worst case scenario just drill that thing out (it’s not an important part of the brakes anyway).

Remove the caliper bolts, you need a 7mm allen key for them.

Pry out the caliper using a screwdriver and hang it somewhere, do not leave the caliper hanging by the brake hose. If your brake pads are still in good condition and you don’t need to change them, just sandpaper them a bit.

Remove the old rotor and put the new in. Push the caliper piston down to make space for the ne rotor and pads. Pull out the caliper bolts, clean them up and lubricate them with grease.

Installation is the reverse of removal, just clean everything up using a brake cleaner spray before you install them.

Aluminum Rims Restoration

Car Instructions — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:10:29 +0000

Salt, weather, pollution and road chips take their toll on the alloys on your car.

Painting them is a relatively easy and permanent solution. Take the the rims from the car and using a flat screwdriver remove the rust as much as you can.

You will need aluminun rim paint, a fast dry grey primer and a dust mask. Also a small electric sander is recomended, sanding the rims by hand can be quite painful.

After cleaning up the big chunks of rust with the scredriver start to sand it. Try to sand the surface as smooth as possible.

When the sanding is completely finished wash the rims thoroughly and leave until is completely dry. Now, you will have to cover the tire. Use small pieces of masking tape around the edge of the rim and some old rugs to cover the rest of the tire.

Spray the primer by keeping the hand 25-30 cm away from the rim.

After the primer is dry completely start spraying the paint. Using 2 coat of paint is the best way to go, put the second coat after the first one is dry.

Wait until the paint on the rims is completely dry before installing them back on the car.

Rear Rotors Removal and Replacement

Car Instructions — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:21:04 +0000

Lift the car and support it on jack stands, never go under the car supported with only one jack. This is done on a Mazda Protege but is the same on the Mazda Protege 5 and on most of other cars.

There is one 10mm bolt keeping the caliper attached to the bracket, remove it.

Remove the retaining clips for the brake hose and the hand brake cable. Pull the hand brake cable out of it’s socket and separate the caliper from the bracket. Use a piece of wire to hang the caliper somewhere, do not leave the caliper hanging by the brake hose.

To remove the two 14mm bolts and pull the caliper support bracket out. The rotor should be free to come out now but sometimes they get rust and need some convincing with a hammer.

Clean and lubricate everything before putting them back together.

Installation is the reverse of removal.

How To Deal With Panic Attack While Driving

Car Instructions — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:52:32 +0000

There are many people who just don’t feel well while driving, others experience panic attacks which is mainly caused by fear and anxiety.

This syndrome is more common amongst those who have been involved in car accidents in the past, had difficult and unhappy childhood, and many others who are emotionally unstable, and stressed. Although panic attack might be frequent for many people, there are still ways to avoid it.

Try your best to replace negative thoughts with positive and joyous ones. Once you get into the car try not to bring sad and unhappy situations into your mind. They will distract your attention and make you more vulnerable.

If you get to a point where you can’t drive any further because of the panic attack just pull over and relax, remind yourself that you’re not experiencing an heart attack and you’re not going to die because of that.

All you need is think positive and take sometime to pull yourself together. If you stay calm for 15-20 min, the panic will slowly disappear.

Don’t try to fight it. Keep in mind that the panic attack is not going to last, and it will pass.

While dealing with it, take slow and deep breaths. Inhale through your nose and breath out through your mouth.

Have your cellphone at anytime with you, make a call to your loved ones, and talk about happy moments you have shared together, but don’t bring up you panic state, just try to forget about it and let it go.

Listen to your favorite CD, or radio station, and sing along with it to cheer yourself up and ease the driving stress.

Keep a bottle of water in the car, because not only is it healthy to drink, but in cases of panic while driving it helps you slow down rapid heart beats.

If you chronically suffer from panic attack while driving make sure to consult with your doctor and get prescribed anxiety medication with you when you intend to drive. In addition, paper bags may be helpful to regulate breathing, so consider having some of them, as well.

Dog vs Police Patrol Car

Car Instructions — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:17:53 +0000

A Chattanooga Police officer, while running radar at 1410 Workman Road on Sunday night, had his patrol car attacked by a ferocious bulldog.

Officer Clayton Holmes said he had stopped to work on a report when he felt his car shaking. He got out to investigate and what he found was a bulldog chewing on his patrol car.

The dog chewed two tires and the entire front bumper off of the car.

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Toronto Parking Ticket Secret Revealed

Car Instructions — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 03:40:06 +0000

Did you know that if you live in Toronto and have received a $30 parking ticket, you can easily avoid paying it, by simply applying for a court date?

According to court authorities, a shortage of justices of the peace, who are also judges in charge of parking tickets investigation, and courtrooms have forced them to prioritize and pay more attention to high ticket charges, giving this category of drivers the right to fight a ticket where a considerable amount of money is charged.

At the same time, the relatively large number of trials held annually in the Toronto courts, approx. 600,000 cases, and the high flux of $30 parking tickets requests for court dates, has lead court services to rule these tickets as “pretty low” priority.

As a rule, drivers who disagree and want to fight a parking ticket, must apply to one of the city offices where an officer will provide a note which confirms that a trial date will be sent via mail to their residing place.

There has been a long time now, that only a small percentage of 30$ tickets court notice have been mailed to those who have applied. According to some investigators operating in Toronto, this is a secret that local authorities such as city hall doesn’t want citizens to know of. Some of them concur that it is not right of the city hall to make people wait for their court day, in a time that it has almost ceased holding trials for 30$ parking tickets.

For many other officials , the disposition for not holding 30$ parking ticket trials is not related to judge and courtroom shortage only. The real situation is that these officials get more focused on dealing with cases where drivers have high charges, from which the city can make big profits. For example, last year city hall accumulated close to 80 million dollars from parking tickets only.

Many of those who already are aware of this toleration, park about anywhere they want because as far as the ticket is for 30 bucks, they can simply apply for a trial day which never comes up, and eventually they never get to pay for it.