# How to repair automotives

As soon as you see a problem, fix it, since tiny problems can quickly become expensive to repair later.

If you see smoke coming from the exhaust, the color can give you some indication of what's wrong:

- Black smoke means the engine is burning too much fuel ("running rich").
- White smoke usually means coolant is burning inside the engine, which is a *very* bad problem (likely a blown head gasket), and will mean the engine will overheat.
- Blue or gray smoke is because the engine is burning oil, which often comes from a leak into the combustion chamber, and could come from many places (e.g., leaky valve seals, bad piston rings). The vehicle may also shake more than normal when idle or misfire when starting the car.

If you're willing to research, you can swap out most parts on your car *without* a garage full of equipment.

- Once you learn how, brakes, oil, air filters, and spark plugs are easy to change.
- Keep your auto on a level area, and secure it with chocks or a sizeable rock.

Get essential equipment *before* you need it.

- Jack and jack stands
- Latex gloves
- Air tools and an air compressor, which can be a few hundred bucks
- Scan computer(s)
  - Learn how to read them online if you don't understand how they work
- Shop manual for your model that shows a complete teardown of the entire vehicle
- If you live alone, a steering wheel holder and pedal depressor

To keep the engine running well, routinely change the oil.

- If you have a place to change the oil, it only takes about an hour if you don't know what you're doing.
- Since engine oil comes *from* the ground, you can dispose of old engine oil by digging a hole in the ground and filling it with fine gravel, then covering it up after you're done.

You can also often improvise solutions:

- Many medium-sized dents can be removed with a high-quality plunger.
- In small cars, pantyhose can temporarily serve as a fan belt.
- Use a spackle gun to hold brake calipers.
- Screw straight pieces of metal onto the wheel hub on both sides and use a measuring tape to do an alignment yourself.

Try to buy replacement parts with a lifetime warranty, and keep the receipts in a safe place.

- If you need a new battery, take the old one with you to test to be certain, since you can get some reimbursement from giving them the old battery, and it may be an alternator issue instead.

Only replace the tires when you need to.

- Unless you live in a mountainous area, you can still drive with nearly bald tires.
- Test tire treads with a penny (replace when you can see Lincoln's head through the groove).

Buy the specialized tools you need, since a $200 tool is less than a $500 mechanic's repair, and you can use it later.

### Technological Problems

The newer design features in autos have created issues for many drivers:

- [UX](engineering-design.md) that favors adaptive panels over buttons can create risks when the driver is trying to change a configuration while driving.
- [Auto-assist AI](computers-autos.md) which doesn't work correctly can create risks for drivers.
- Automation designed to make life easier can, sometimes, make life more difficult (e.g., automatically re-locking doors after a few seconds).

New technologies designed by a [dysfunctional corporation](mgmt-badsystems.md) will give new ways to make life more difficult.

The best solution is to deactivate those features whenever possible:

- Deactivate any [network-based components](networks-computer.md), such as [GPS](logistics-navigation.md) or [cellular network](engineering-radio.md) communication.
- Disable any automated features, such as auto-locking or auto-closing.
- Disable the driving assists, or diminish them to alert-only status.

The design of the vehicle may make deactivating features difficult or impossible, and you might have to find a [clever hack](hacking.md) to deactivate them.

- Delete or modify parts of the [computer code](computers-software.md) that run subsystems.
- Reinstall an [open-source](legal-ip-floss.md) [operating system](computers-os.md) created by a developer community to run your vehicle.
- Retrofit the vehicle's engine to a non-computerized system.

To dramatically improve the life of your car by avoiding overheating, install an oil cooler.