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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 1982)
6 - G ra h a m Outlook Wod Juno 16, 1982 Sondy Po»» Thur* Something to hiccup about Jun* 17 1982 Tune ups: Know when you need help "Years ago, I used to have a mechanic tune my car twice a y e a r.” said the young woman “ Once in the spring and once in the tall " B u t who can afford that anymore ’ W ith the cost of labor what it is today, I found I was spending $30 and more every time I had someone else give me a tune up '* This, better than anything, explains what the trend to do- it-yourself tune ups is all about Il's been estimated that more than a third of all U S inotonsts do th e ir ow n tune-up w ork today— and that number is spi raling upward. The savings’ Simply chang ing your own plugs can save you anywhere from $20 to $40. ac cording to a recent estimate by Family Handym an magazine And that s in addition to the im proved mileage per gallon a new set o f plugs provides Manufacturers o f automotive tune up com ponent* and equipment generally welcome this trend — hut with some res ervations C h a m p io n Spark Plug Company's director of au tom otive technical services. David L W alker, observed. “ The best advice I can offer anyone planning on doing a tune up is to know when you need help ” Operations such as adjusting the engine tim ing, for example, can prove tricky for the unin mated, and novices may quickly find themselves in over their beads. That 's when it pays to have die phone number of a profes sional mechanic, the service sta tion down the block or a friendly local garage right at your finger tips L e t's start w ith the basic equipment you're going to need for the- job Have a spark plug wrench handy and a few combi nation wrenches (open-ended on one end and a box on the other) as well Also, you'll want to have a feeler gauge on hand to set the points if your car has them and a gauge to gap the Plugs In addition, certain basic in struments such as timing light, a tach, dwell meter, and a com pression tester w ill assist you in performing a tune up o f profes sional caliber N A II. IN S PA R K P L U G W AS C A U S E O F IN D IG E S T IO N . I l ’» a common nail - in a not so-common spot The owner of the car. a California man, was having a problem keeping Ihe air cleaner in place because the hold down holt was wobbly and insecure A temporary fix was to ef fect a wedge by tapping a nail alongside (he bolt in the carburetor bousing But the fix was sh o rt-lived The nail just wouldn't stay put The carburetor choked on K; the engine later swal lowed it; the piston attempt ed to digest it. and the spark plug got stuck w ith it— literally Surprisingly, there was no engine damage The car owner said that in future he'll channel his in ventive bent in other direc tions It's being dry that wears car wipers out W hich w ill cause your windshield wipers to wear out faster, a wet spring or a dry spnng'’ If you answered a dry spring, you're correct In fact, labors lory tests have shown that it is not the am ount o f use that causes wiper blades to wear out. hut simply exposure to the air In test* conducted by A N C O , a manufacturer of windshield wiper pn ducts. <»zone a mat« it component of air pollution was found to be the single nx.si im po rtant factor in causing wiper blades Io deteriorate When windshield wiper rub her is exposed hi ozone. a chem K ai change similar hi metal rust ing occurs, says Ron Kennchs. manager of A N C O '» quality control testing laboratory This oxidation process causes the o ib b e r to b e c o m e dry and brittle and more prone Io wear "Mohatst* shcwld think in term* of how long they've had the blades on their car. not how often they've used th em .” M r ffennehs says ‘ Ih e rubber re fill portion of the Made needs hi be replaced at least once a year. rraistly because of exposure to pollutKm m (he jut ” M r Kennchs notes that for a number of years, ozone damage was minimized (banks hi au hwnoüve styling, In lb- late I ‘tolls cars with the hiddrn wiper' feature were p ig w lar,” he says T h e effect TOYOTA F □ □ JNOeet WITH TOYOTA QUALITY SERVICE A N D PARTS. was that, besides being hidden from view , the wipers were shielded from constant exposure to o z o n e "B ut styles change, espe c ia lly as m ore cars are d o w n s iz e d Now, m any m an Toyota quality. Made of fade-resisting semi-metallic compound. ufachirers have eliminated the hidden w ip er’ feature and the blade* are exposed to the air all the time ” M r Hennchs savs that every wyter blade manufacturer adds jfai anti ozonilr and anti oxidant* hi the rubber compounds hi slow down the natural process of deterioration *13” 'However, no one can pre vent ozime from attacking (he rubber,” he aautums “ It is a natural process that affects all rubber products, in clu d in g overshoe* and bicycle tires. ” Rubber wiping elements aged by exposure h> ozone may streak or chatter across the windshield, failing to clean it effectively and seriously lim itin g vis ib ility Ibese symptoms are partuu larly notkeahic in spnng. when wet weather makes it necessary to use the wipers frequently Mr H en n ch s advises inotonsts hi watch carefully for signs of wear <wt wiper blades, and to replace the blades i m mediately if the rubber portKm appears brin k dry or cracked. A f in d rule of thumb is that the rubber w ip in g elem ent should be replaced at least once a year. and uccaatonally as often as every six m onth*, ” M r Hen nchssays ONE STOP SHOPPING FOR TOYOTA QUALITY SERVICE AND PARTS GRESHAM TOYOTA 9 5 0 NE H o g o n C o rn e r o f 2 4 2 n a (H o g a n ) & D iv is io n Call 667-1135 mm Ì 9'
