Archive for June, 2010
Hoses And Belts: Monthly Automotive Maintenance Part 8
All of those fluids that we learned about in the previous editions of our automotive maintenance how to series they travel to their designated engine destinations through hoses and most of the engine parts have a belt that assists them to do what they are supposed to do. During the times between regular tuneups you need to make sure that all of your hoses and belts are in good condition and are securely connected to the parts of your engine that they need to be connected to.
Accidents and breakdowns can occur if a hose is leaking a vital fluid or comes loose and also if a belt that powers an engine part snaps or slips off. Checking to make sure that none of these things are likely to happen is an easy task and one that could save you from being stranded somewhere or least save you some money on repairs.
How to check your hoses
1. Open up the hood while the engine is off and cold. Never try to touch any hose in your engine while the engine is running or hot you could easily be burned.
2. Not all cars have the same number of hoses or use hoses for the same parts. But every car will have at least three the upper radiator hose the lower radiator hose and the heater hose these are the coolant hoses.
3. These hose provide a flow conduit between the engine and the heating block and the radiator and the engine.
4. Visually scrutinize each hose for any noticeable cracks rips and loose connections.
5. Squeeze each hose if the hose feels spongy brittle or lumpy the hose needs to be replaced.
6. If any of the hoses are coming disconnected tighten the clamp or the connector. You can tell if they are loose by pulling lightly on the ends or if you can see that the hose is wet or leaking where it is attached.
There are various belts for different parts of your engine not all cars will need the same type for the same component. Knowing what types of belts are in your engine will help you know where and what to look for when performing this maintenance check.
Timing belt/Gilmer belt/Camshaft belt
A notched rubber belt that allows the crankshaft to turn the camshaft. If the timing belt snaps or slips your engine will stop working completely. A damaged or stripped timing belt causes a great deal of costly repair work.
Serpentine belts/Drive belts
These belts provide the power to the power steering pump the air conditioning compressor pump the air injection pump the cooling fan the clutch the brakes and other engine parts as well depending on the make and model of vehicle. Any engine part that uses a belt will stop functioning if its belt slips or breaks
To check the condition of your belts.
1. While the engine is off and cool do a visual and a touch test to check the condition of the belts. Trying to check a belt while the engine is running could cost you a finger or your entire hand.
2. Look carefully at all of the belts that you can see check for any sign of stripping cracking fraying and slipping.
3. To check the tension of the belts refer to your owners manual in most cases no belt should have a give of over an inch. Pull or push lightly on the belt to judge the amount of give.
4. Any belt that feels spongy fragile or brittle should be replaced.
That is the last bit of monthly maintenance knowledge that the average car owner should have to keep their car running smoothly between recommended tuneups. You are now ready to give your car a very thorough maintenance check.
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Hondas New Hybrid Battles With The Prius
The first ever hybrid car made for the US car market was from the Japanese car maker Honda Motor Corporation. The Honda Insight was first seen in 1999 on the US auto market. But after Toyota revealed the Prius the Insight made an exit. Toyota Prius has ever since become the consistent number one hybrid car in the auto industry.
The presence of the Insight on the US car market was not as impressive as the Toyota Prius. Although Honda Insight also has the same fuel efficient features as the Toyota Prius the two seats hybrid car soon vanished on the auto industry. Toyota has many buyers because of its quality yet affordable rates.
Later Honda revealed two new breeds of hybrid cars the Accord and Civic hybrids. However even if they made it more effective than the Insight these cars are still not enough to sway the Prius out of the market. The Civic hybrid had a distinctive hybrid features but it failed because of its “performance hybrid” nature that later resulted to scanty fuel efficiency gain as compared to the conventional Accord V6. The news was from the Daily Tech yesterday.
Honda tried to bring out the best vehicle to match with the ongoing Toyota Prius but the world famous hybrid car continues to receive more fame because of its real time fuel efficiency. The design as well as the appearance may not be as powerful as the other hybrids out there but Americans recognizes Prius as the best hybrid car in the market.
Toyota was able to sell 110000 units on the first seven months of this year. Honda also gained a few but not enough to compensate for the efforts they made to sell both Civic and Accord Hybrid. But even with the combination of its sale Toyota Prius still ranks the best seller hybrid car in the US market.
Honda Senior Vice President John Mendel said “The Prius has become synonymous with hybrid; it’s the Kleenex of hybrids. We feel Honda should be synonymous with the most fuelefficient company in America.”
Honda Motor Corporation is maybe tired of being the second rate which is why they are looking forward on building new hybrid car that could give the Toyota Prius a serious battle. Honda will build the so called “Global Small Hybrid” soon. This new car is a fivepassenger car with a price tag of only 22000 or below and scheduled to hit showrooms this coming 2009. Honda car maker did not mention about the car parts like Honda strut bar if they are making it available on the new hybrid car.
Honda also released that the “Global Small Hybrid” is even better than the Toyota Prius in terms of fuel efficiency. The company has undergone several tests in terms of the Insight so they are pretty sure on what to do this time.
However while Honda is doing car that battles up with Prius Toyota is also planning for more high tech hybrids for the future. By the year 2020 Toyota is also looking forward to meet the highest emission standards set by making more hybrid cars and cleaner diesel cars for the US market.
About the writer: Evander Klum is a Business Administration graduate who hails from Alabama. He enjoys extreme sports and he is also a car racing fanatic. At present he works as a marketing manager at an advertising agency in Cleveland.
Hondas Diesel-powered Accord Can Match Hybrids
Its not so long ago when everybody wants to own a hybrid vehicle because of its claimed benefits like better fuel economy and lower emission of harmful gases. But surprisingly the new results of the J.D. Power survey reveal that most car owners now prefer diesel cars over hybrids.
Sales of hybrids are observed to be declining reaching an overall drop in sales by almost 7 percent however for buyers with age ranging from 16 to 25 the drop is much higher at 13 percent.
With the turn of events it seems like the whole point of shifting to using hybrid vehicles seems to be fading without us noticing it. This is quite sad especially for the environment which is the main reason why buying hybrid vehicles was advocated. It seems like consumers now refused to pay the additional 2396 for a hybrid version vehicle especially when it takes a while before the promised savings on fuel offset the high price tag of their purchased hybrids.
And speaking of diesel in the past diesel was considered a notorious type of fuel ask an environmentalist if you dont believe. Diesel was then used in big trucks that are known for spewing really black and toxic smoke that pollutes the air. This is also one of the reasons why diesel was not very popular in the American market.
But after years of being ignored diesel is springing back with better performance and power boosted by newly developed engine and fuel technologies. Honda the producer of quality Acura catalytic converter is one of the automakers that have been working to develop better diesel engines that are as ecofriendly as the next hybrid vehicle in the market.
Japans second largest automaker Honda has developed a dieselpowered Accord which it plans to offer in the United States by the year 2010. The new highly fuel efficient Accord gets 63 miles per gallon or 62.8 mpg to be exact. And unlike hybrids the new dieselpowered Accord does not sacrifice power.
Details on the dieselpowered Accord sourced from http://www.hondaukmedia.co.uk
Drivetrain
* 2204 cc 4cylinder allaluminium engine
* Constructed using pioneering semisolid casting techniques
* Second generation common rail injection
* Variable nozzle turbocharger with intercooler
* Euro IV compliant
* Second order balancer shaft and offset cylinders
* 140 PS 4000 rpm / 340 Nm 2000 rpm
* Combined cycle fuel consumption 52.3 / 48.7 mpg saloon/Tourer
* 5speed manual transmission
Chassis
* Double wishbone front suspension
* 5link double wishbone rear suspension saloon
* Trailing arm rear suspension Tourer
* Revised geometry for greater stability and precision
* Performance enhanced by aerodynamic efficiency and dynamic stiffness of bodyshell
* Sharpened rack and pinion steering
* Executive models equipped with VSA for exceptional security optional on Sport models
* ABS EBD and brake assist standard
About the writer: Evander Klum is a Business Administration graduate who hails from Alabama. He enjoys extreme sports and he is also a car racing fanatic. At present he works as a marketing manager at an advertising agency in Cleveland.