Step 1:  Inspect Any Recaps On The Drive Tires

This first step involves making sure any recaps on the drive tires are properly attached. If not, they could fly off of the wheel while on the interstate and possibly strike another vehicle. 

On each recapped tire, look closely to find the horizontal seam where the recap meets. It should be hard to find if done correctly. However, if you see any gaps or edges sticking up on a tire, you will need to have it redone.

After making sure the seam is tight, look at the entire surface of the tire. You should not see any flattened areas or bubbling. If so, the recap is no longer stuck to the underlying rubber and could come off after a few miles of driving.

Step 2:  Measure The Tread On The Steer Tires

After inspecting the recaps on the drive tires, measure the tread on the front steer tires. These see the most amount of wear and tear, mostly because it is illegal to recap them. When taking your measurements, do so at four points around the tire to ensure they are all even.

For a semi-truck, the grooves need to be at least 4/32 of an inch deep. This thickness ensures the tires will not blow out under the weight of the cab or friction with the road. It is also the legal minimum for every state in the United States.

If you find even one area that is too thin, you will need to replace the tire. Doing so will keep your driver safe and your truck legal to drive.

Step 3:  Check The Color Of The Semi-Truck’s Exhaust

Once you have made sure all of the tires are sound, start the truck and let it run for about 10 minutes. After this time is up, check the color of the exhaust coming from the pipe. This will give you a good indicator about the condition of your fuel and injector system.

When the air and fuel ratio is working at optimal levels, the smoke will be light gray. If this is what you see, proceed to step four.

If the exhaust smoke is black, too much fuel is burning at one time. This is typically caused by a problem with the filter not allowing enough air to mix with it. You will either need to change the filter or unclog the air line.

If the smoke has a bluish tint, there is too much air mixing with the fuel. When this is the case, the injection system will need to be adjusted by your mechanic or the company where you bought the semi-truck.

Step 4:  Test The Brakes With And Without A Full Trailer Load

After you have ensured your fuel is burning correctly, the last step is to test the brakes. This should be done with and without a full trailer load. 

Before attaching the trailer, drive the cab 50 feet and slam on the brakes. The truck should stop fairly quickly. Then, attach the trailer and repeat. If you have a heavy load, repeat the distance and apply the jake brakes to make sure they are working properly.

If the brakes feel sluggish, you may want to have them adjusted before you send the truck out. If the brakes appear to be excessively worn down, they will need to be replaced.

Once you have completed the safety inspection and found everything satisfactory, you should be ready to hit the road. However, if you find anything questionable and are unsure of anything, you may want to discuss it with the business from which you purchased your used commercial semi-truck to discuss any solutions you may have overlooked.

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Mud

If you neglect to have your gear oil changed at the mileage recommended by the manufacturer, the lubricants will start to break down at a rapid pace. Eventually, your gearbox will be packed with a mud-like substance that cannot flow between the moving parts. As the thick, useless gear oil sits in the bottom of the transmission pan, the moving parts above will start to wear away at a rapid pace.

The increased friction will also cause the parts to heat up to unsafe temperatures, possibly leading to severe breakage. The second you find exceptionally thick gear oil in your transmission pan, have your car towed to the shop in an effort to minimize damage as much as possible.  

Chocolate Milk

In addition to the cooling properties of gear oil flowing between moving parts, manual gearboxes often have coolant lines running through their system. If the coolant lines spring a leak, they may send a watery substance flowing into the pan below. As the water dilutes the gear oil, it turns into a substance that looks just like chocolate milk.

In fact, as the transmission components rotate around in the case, it whips up this mixture to create the telltale bubbles found in a glass of milk. Unfortunately, this mix of fluids will quickly cause extensive damage, such as corrosion, to your internal transmission components. To solve this problem, technicians will need to flush out the system until every last drop of water is eradicated.

Blood

If you spot a thin, red substance on your finger during the fluid check, stay calm. Your car is not hemorrhaging out. Unfortunately, the reality is nearly as dire. Red fluid in your manual gearbox can only mean one thing: it was filled with automatic transmission fluid instead of gear oil. Automatic fluid does not have the viscosity, lubricant and heat absorption properties needed to support the manual transmission components. Without the proper oil weight, the gear surfaces could rub directly together, chewing off sections of the teeth over time.  

Getting The Fix

Your transmission expert will assess the situation and start a gearbox flush right away. Depending on the severity of the fluid problem, your vehicle may need more than one flush to remove all of the fluid residue. Removing all of the worn out, contaminated or incorrect fluid will give your transmission a fighting chance.

Brace yourself for the worst, however, if you have been driving the vehicle with the defunct fluid for any length of time. Without fresh, effective gear oil, it is highly likely that the moving parts developed worn areas much faster than normal. Thankfully, if the damage is severe, you can always have your transmission rebuilt to make it function like new. After making the necessary repairs, your technician will fill up the gearbox with the appropriate gear oil weight, as listed by the vehicle manufacturer, before sending you on your way. 

For more information, contact a local transmission repair shop. 

The post In A Fix: 3 Fluids Your Gear Oil Should Never Resemble appeared first on Auto Insurance: Comparing Terms and Benefits.

1: Left Foot Braking

Do you love your standard transmission car? As you push in that clutch and carefully choose those gears, it can make you feel like a racecar driver. However, when you transition to driving your family minivan after you get home from work, it might be hard for you to leave that left foot on your floor mat. To make driving a little more interesting, you might be tempted to use your left foot for braking.

Unfortunately, although left-foot braking might seem like a harmless practice, it can kill your brake pads. Because you might be used to pressing your clutch all the way to the floor, it can be easy to press that brake pedal a little more aggressively than you should. In addition to causing more than a few jerky stops, you might discover brake pads that run thin long before their time.

To give those brake pads a fighting chance, focus on learning to master those pedals with your right foot. Consider crossing your left foot behind your driving leg near the seat, so that you aren’t tempted to use it. If you want to keep your left foot far away from that brake pedal, park it on the foot rest to the far left of the driver’s side floor. Left foot braking can be a hard habit to break, but with a little persistence, you might be able to switch from car to car without any collateral damage.     

2: Extra Cargo

Have you ever stopped to think about how much extra cargo you haul around in your car? Although a few additional items might not seem like that big of a deal, the more weight you have in your car, the more force has to be applied to those brake pads to slow down your ride. In addition to wearing out your brakes faster, it can also kill your gas mileage. In fact, studies have shown that every additional 100 lbs. of cargo can decrease your gas mileage by one percent.

To make your brake pads last and to spend less on gas, take the time to clean out your car. Here are a few extra items that might be weighing down your ride:

• Kid Equipment: How often do you actually use that huge double stroller that you constantly carry around in your trunk? Consider removing unused car seats, strollers, and extra diaper bags from your car, especially if you aren’t hauling kids around that day.
• Emergency Kits: Everyone likes to be prepared, but that giant battery charger and 72-hour kit might weigh a lot. If you are just buzzing around town, leave your emergency equipment at home, and toss it back into your car when you go on your next road trip.
• Backpacks and Textbooks: If you are a student, you might take your backpack chock full of textbooks with you everywhere. After all, why not get a little studying in while you babysit your sister’s kids? Unfortunately, heavy backpacks can weigh down your car. Consider taking advantage of the online version of your textbooks while you are out and about, so that you don’t wear out your car.  

You might be surprised with how much junk you can pull out of your car when you really start thinking about what you need to carry around.   

Paying attention to your driving habits and how they could affect your brakes might help you to make those pads last, so you can do other things with your time and money. If you need to new brakes, though, contact a brake service immediately so you can get them safely fixed.

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The NHTSA Study

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a report to Congress in 2008 that provided detailed information about factors associated with vehicle accidents. Page 2 of this report highlights numerous details common to many collisions.

Collision Locations

Some 36 percent of vehicle crashes occur at intersections, according to the NHTSA report. When moving through an intersection or making a turn, it’s critical to be alert to what other drivers are doing. It’s also important not to attempt risky maneuvers such as speeding up to get through a yellow light — or worse, not stopping for a red light.

In addition, making a left turn after the green arrow shuts off or treating a stop sign as a yield sign may result in accidents. 

Drivers also rear-end vehicles at intersections — a problem generally related to inattention or following too closely. In addition, fender-benders sometimes occur when a red light changes to green, and an over-eager driver moves forward before the car ahead does.

Attention and Related Factors

Factors that the NHTSA categorizes as “recognition” are the most common thread in collisions, with 41 percent of automotive accidents characterized by this aspect. This can include problems such as general inattentiveness, being distracted by talking with passengers or on a phone, and being distracted by something outside the vehicle. 

Fatigued drivers are significantly more likely to make what the agency refers to as performance errors when driving, such as turning too fast and fishtailing.

Additional Research

It’s common knowledge that drinking alcohol and driving may result in accidents, but could your loved one be indulging in marijuana before getting behind the wheel? Only recently has research focused specifically on cannabis as a factor in vehicle collisions. A study published in 2012 found that people using cannabis before driving are almost twice as likely to get into an accident. 

Drug use also is connected with an increase in fatal collisions. The worst culprit is depressant medication, but drivers using narcotics, stimulants and marijuana are at increased risk as well. The situation becomes substantially worse when the driver has not only been using drugs but also drinking alcohol. 

Switching to Better Behavior

A person can make numerous changes to become a safer driver and prevent any collisions in the future. Some of these positive changes include:

• obeying the speed limit
• driving more cautiously when the weather is bad
• staying a safe distance away from the vehicle ahead
• stopping for yellow and red lights
• staying off the phone when behind the wheel
• not trying to pass another vehicle when the situation could be dangerous
• not driving when under the influence of alcohol or other drugs

If the person you’re worried about is willing to do all these things, he or she will drastically reduce the chances of an accident. 

Concluding Thoughts

Give some authoritative information to your loved one that could make it clear what behavior he or she must change. Perhaps this individual needs to allow some additional time for trips to work or elsewhere. Maybe more sleep is needed, or some stress-relief strategies are in order. No matter what the issue, changing that behavior now before something worse happens is essential. 

For more tips about how to avoid accidents or how to repair any resulting damage, contact a local collision repair expert. 

The post Driver Behaviors Commonly Connected With Vehicle Accidents appeared first on Auto Insurance: Comparing Terms and Benefits.

Clean from the Inside Out

Do you clean and vacuum the inside of the car at least as often as you wash the outside? If not, you should. A British study found an average of close to 300 germs on every square inch of more than 20 randomly selected vehicles. Some of the germiest places included the carpeting of the trunk (think about that the next time you’re loading your trunk up with groceries) the gear shift, and the steering wheel. Some of the bacteria they found were the same kinds of bacteria that are commonly found around toilets.

Cleaning the inside of your car can help keep you healthier. If it’s been awhile, why not treat your car to a professional detailing service? Have it completely cleaned, inside and out. Once that’s done, get into the habit of vacuuming the carpet (including the carpet in the trunk) and wiping down the interior surfaces with antibacterial spray or wipes. Cleaning it out every few days, or once a week, depending on how much you drive, will help keep the germ levels down. Also, try to avoid eating in your car.

Tint Your Windows

Auto window tint makes your car look cooler, and it also keeps the temperature inside your car cooler. If that’s not a good enough reason for you to have your windows tinted, though, then you should consider the health and safety benefits that come along with the window tint. Believe it or not, window tint helps you stay healthy in several different ways.

Most importantly, auto window tint offers UV blockage. Riding in the car for long periods of time leaves you exposed to the sun, especially on your left side (if you’re the driver) or on your right side (if you’re a front seat passenger). That sun exposure comes with risks that range from sunburn to skin cancer. Window tint that reduces your UV exposure helps keep you from getting sick.

Auto window tint also protects your health by protecting your safety. Reduced glare is better for your eyes and renders you less likely to get into an accident. If you are in an accident, tinting film will help hold the pieces of a shattered window together, reducing your risk of being cut by flying glass. Click here to discover more about the benefits of window tinting.  

Avoid Idling

When you’re stuck in traffic or sitting in your driveway trying to warm up your car’s engine or interior, your car is idling. And when your car is idling, at least some of the exhaust that is coming out of your car is leaking into the inside of your car. The more you idle, the more exhaust you breathe in. As you can imagine, breathing exhaust is not good for your lungs or your overall health, and doing so can exacerbate any existing respiratory conditions, like asthma.

To avoid breathing in car exhaust, avoid idling whenever possible. If you’re going to be sitting for more than 10 seconds, just turn the car off. It’s healthier, and it wastes less gas. Don’t bother idling to warm up the engine or to get the heater moving, either. You can accomplish both of those things faster by driving the car than you can by letting the engine idle.

You clean and disinfect the surfaces in your home, wear sunscreen to protect yourself in your backyard, and avoid bringing toxins into your house. Why would you behave any differently in your car? These tips will help you keep your car as healthy as any other place that you spend time in.

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