CHECK YOUR BELTS
At the front of your engine there will be a series of rubber drive belts that loop around various pulleys, driving everything from the alternator to the a/c compressor. Rubber perishes, more so in extreme conditions like those found in an operating engine bay. Get your timing belt and accessory drive belt checked every 25,000 miles, preferably replacing it every 50,000 miles. See the Fuel and Engine bible for information on interference engines and why checking your timing belts is a necessity, not a luxury: arrow Interference engines
FUEL ECONOMY
Check your tyre pressures regularly – once a week is ideal. Bad tyre pressures can affect fuel economy very noticeably. It’s easy to do and there is no excuse not to. arrow Checking your tyre pressures
CHECKING YOUR OIL LEVEL
This is something everyone can do – it’s quick and easy and it’ll tell you if your engine needs oil. If the oil is too high or too low, it can cause trouble for your engine. To check the oil, park on level ground and wait until the engine has cooled down after driving, then locate the dipstick. Pull it out and wipe it clean, then push it all the way back in until the top of it is seated properly in the dip tube again. Wait a moment then pull it out again. Check the level of the oil. If it’s between the high and low marks, you’re fine. (If it’s too low, add a little.) The high and low marks can be denoted by two dots, an “H” and “L” or a shaded area on the dipstick. The photos below show a Honda dipstick which has the two dots. Why not just read the level first time around? The first time you pull the dipstick out, it will have oil all over it and it will be difficult to tell where the level is. That’s why you need to wipe it on a rag to get a clean dipstick, then dip it back into the oil to get a good reading. More information on why you should check your oil level is here arrow Checking your oil level.
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