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Summer has come – the time for road trips and long trips. How to prepare a car for the summer – heat and other weather disasters, told Anton Shaparin, Vice President of the National Automobile Union.
If everything is thought out in advance, long trips will not cause much trouble and will only be a joy and pleasure. There are 8 basic rules for preparing a car for summer travel:
1. Install summer tires
For long trips, the rules are exactly the same as for short trips. Because it is not known on which trip the problem will find you. You need to know the weak points of your car. Most often, problem situations are associated with tires. In the rain, a car on bald tires cannot cope with the flow of water and the car skids. Therefore, it is required to check the condition of the wheels and be sure to install summer tires.
2. Carry out maintenance
It is imperative to carry out maintenance, since once a season you need to change the oil and check the technical condition of the car: this will save money on car repairs in the future. The service will carry out all routine maintenance, replace oil, air filters, check the presence of coolant, its leakage and, if three years have passed, they will also replace it – in summer conditions, checking antifreeze is especially relevant.
3. Wash the radiator
Usually a lot of poplar fluff and dirt accumulate there. It is best to wash the radiator with removal – this guarantees a 100% result. Without removal it is necessary to wash the radiator with steam. In no case should you clean it yourself at home, for example, with a washing vacuum cleaner, otherwise you will crush the soft honeycombs and the radiator will work much worse than it should.
4. Check battery
It is necessary to check the battery for the presence of plaque, oxidation. The battery “lives” in a car for 3-5 years. It is good if a charged booster is in the car all year round, in which there is enough energy to start the car.
5. Fill up the air conditioner
There is a risk that the air conditioner will not produce the required low temperature. Refueling takes a matter of minutes, is inexpensive, and is done everywhere at a specialized service. The tightness of the system is checked, the presence or absence of leaks. After that, the air conditioning system is considered serviceable.
Be sure to disinfect the air conditioner from various microorganisms. It’s no secret that during the Vietnam War, more American soldiers died from the harmful effects of air conditioning and pneumonia associated with it than from combat. Therefore, all living creatures from these devices must be etched. For this, there are special chemistry and services at car washes. You can use a homemade recipe. For example, I use chlorhexidine to clean the evaporator of the air conditioner – there is nothing complicated.
6. Pack the Essentials for the Road
Put a regular set in the car: a fire extinguisher, a triangle and a new first aid kit (its composition has changed). In any case, this will be required later during the inspection.
7. Prepare spare wheel
Check the tightness and condition of the spare wheel, put a working compressor in the trunk and monitor the condition of the “banana”. You can’t save on this.
8. Take a can of gasoline
It sounds like an anachronism in modern conditions, but when you drive a car, for example, to remote corners of the country where there are few civilized gas stations, it is recommended to have a canister of good gasoline with you.