Winter checks

This post is a little behind the curve when it comes to those winter checks. Those who were on the ball would have dealt with these important checks part way through the autumn months. Then again with the way the climate is going you could have snow in the middle of summer.  Knowing when to do it has become a bit of a guessing game. Let's just say that historically the autumn is the time to do it.

 Things that should be checked:

•         Anti-freeze,

•         Battery,

•         Wind screen wipers and screen wash.

•         Tyre pressures and tread depth.

Anti-freeze

The most critical thing you should be checking is the strength of the anti-freeze. Nowadays it is more than an additive that stops the engine freezing, popping a core plug and/or stripping a cambelt. It also stops sludge building up causing blockages and retards corrosion in the engine block.

It is quick and easy to check with an anti-freeze tester.  Which is basically an overgrown eye dropper with discs in it. With the cap off the expansion tank, you place the tube of the tester into the fluid and draw it up into the clear tube once the flow has stopped and the discs have stabilized into two groups some floating and others sinking you can work out how strong the mix of anti-freeze is. It is far better to have more dices floating, giving you the protection needed nowadays for double minus figures. Over recent years this has become more important with temperatures dropping to an unprecedented minus twenty-five degrees centigrade.

 Battery.

Most modern-day batteries are sealed and filled with a gel, so the main check here is to see if the terminals are clean, tight and not corroded. If they are, you can use boiling hot water to remove it. Be careful using this method and only do one terminal at a time so you do not short the battery out. Once done smear a small amount of petroleum jelly on each terminal to stop the corrosion coming back. If you have the older lead acid batteries that need to be topped up with de-ionized water, you are more likely to find the terminals corroded. The same clearing method applies. You will also need to check that the level of the water in the cells is covering the plates, if not they will need topping up with deionized water.

Windscreen Wipers and screen wash.

Windscreen wipers are one of the most neglected items on a vehicle along with tyres. Some people will not replace their wiper blades until they are hanging off and even then, wait till the next service. It beats me how they see out the window to drive in the pouring rain and not hit what is in front of them. The freezing weather destroys the efficiency of your wipers faster than at any other time of the year. When they slide across that ice cover screen it makes minute nicks in the wiping edge. That is if they have remembered to un-stick them from the screen not burning out the wiper motor, it still surprises me how often this happens. You have been warned. When the temperature drops so the strength of the screen wash should go up. This prevents it freezing so you can use it.

Tyre's. 

What can I say, Tyres are the most neglected safety item on the vehicle! You should check the pressures regularly as the right pressures will save you money on fuel. If the tread depth is down to the wear bars (one point six millimetres you should replace them as this increases the chances of aqua planning and increases fuel consumption among other things.

If you look after your vehicle, it will look after you.

The smell of burning!

Overheated rear brake disc.

I was in a hurry the other day to get the dog to the vet. It was not until I was part way up the bypass that I realised that the handbrake had stuck on. Even though the hand brake leaver in the cab was completely off, the smell of brake linings was overpowering. It's just as well the vets was not too far, even so the back wheels were so hot you could not touch them. Just before we made the return journey I slipped under the van and pulled back the little arms that operate the handbrake on the back of the callipers. Man, they we tight! This does not bode well for those new wheel bearings that were fitted earlier in the year. A sticking hand brake is one of the reasons why the bearing failed in the first place!

 

Showing handbrake arm on Calliper

With the back of the van up in the air and both the wheels off, it is time to get to grips with sorting this problem out. On further investigation it turns out that the shaft that sticks out of the back of the calliper with the handbrake actuation arm on, has rusted tight. Even though there is a little rubber cup that sits between the calliper and the arm to protect the shaft from the weather. I believe this is its downfall because once the water gets behind the seal it remains there helping the rust to build up causing it to seize. 

 

Once the handbrake cable has been loosened you can remove the end of the cable from the arm more easily, with a bit of fiddling. To free the arm off you will need to tap it backwards and forwards with a medium weight hammer. Do not over do the amount of force you use when hitting the arm with the hammer. The idea is not to do it in one hit but to keep moving it up and down until the sprung loaded arm moves back to the off position on its own. When it feels like it has freed off enough to move it easily by hand, you need to check it's at the off position. If not, it is time to take a closer look at the spring. If the metal of the spring is pitted and heavily rusted it is possible that it has lost some of its tension. For the three or so pounds each it costs to replace these springs it is not worth messing about. Removing the spring from the arm is a bit annoying but straight forward with a pair of pliers.

Handbrake arm spring old and new

 

There is one last thing to do as a suggestion before you box it up and that is to get some white grease and push it in behind the little rubber seal that protects the handbrake arm shaft this will help to keep things moving and the weather out.

 

I have used this method on my van and so far, the hand brake has not stuck on again.

 

Related post   rear wheel bearing replacement.

 

 

 

A glow in the dark before you start.

Glow plug not working. 
Note the reading on the meter.

The glow plugs are a preheat device allowing the engine to start more easily from cold. There is an icon on the dash to show that this is in progress when the light go's out the van is ready to start. This sign does not tell you that the glow plugs are in working order. Most people only notice there is a problem when they have trouble getting the engine to start and stay running first time which is something I have been experiencing with the van.

 

It is a quick and easy test to do with a voltmeter if you have one. The air filter housing needs to be removed first.  Set the voltmeter to resistance (ohms) on the meters dial. Touch the two probes to gather, this will give you a reading which will also show that the meter is working. Remove the wire connection from the top of the plug place one probe on the top of the plug where the wire was attached. It does not matter whether it is the black or red probe. Then touch the other probe to the hex nut that is part of the plug. Be careful not to touch the same area the other probe is already attached to as it will give a false result. If the meter gives a reading the heater element is OK. No reading means that it is a dud and needs to be replaced.

Working glow plug.
note the reading on the meter.

 

Be careful when removing the glow plugs from the engine. Remove any debris from around the base of the plug before removal otherwise it will fall into the cylinder. If you have trouble loosening the plug, try not to be to heavy handed you can round the nut off or snap the top off (they are made from aluminium) leaving the rest of the plug stuck in the head - which will be a whole lot of trouble. If the glow plug feels that it is over tight, spray some easing oil on the plugs thread and try again. If it still will not move, put it all back together and run the engine till it is hot and try again.

Tool for the job

 

To remove the glow plugs you will require: a 10 mm deep socket, Wobble head extension bar - at least 150 mm long, a ratchet and or tee bar. The glow plug at the front of the engine (left hand side) may need the top engine mount removed to allow proper access to the plug this depending on engine fitted. The torque settings for the glow plug are Fifteen to Twenty Newton meters.