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'