Before you take off in your vehicle on any trip it’s important to check several things and in this case, I’m talking about fluids under the hood. These are in no particular order but I believe they are all equally important for their own reason so don’t forget to perform these checks. Video
Number one you should always check your antifreeze you don’t want your vehicle overheating on the road this could ruin your trip and your day and could potentially be very costly.
The second fluid you want to check under the hood of your vehicle is your engine oil this is another one of the lifeblood fluids for your engine keeping the parts lubricated and helping to keep it cool on long drives I would also recommend changing the oil prior to a trip if it hasn’t been done so recently.
It’s also important that you are able to stop in your vehicle so another fluid to check would most definitely be your brake fluid and if you’re unfamiliar with any of these things make sure you consult your owner’s manual or advice from a professional but again breaks are extremely important as you know so make sure you check the fluid before you leave on any trip.
Now this is one that can be easily overlooked and that’s your windshield washer fluid it’s important to see driving down the road and typically when we think of that, its when it’s raining out or there is dirt coming up onto the windshield. Anybody living in the North East or anywhere where there is snow and salt being used on the roads knows exactly what I’m talking about driving in these conditions is not the time to find out that you are out of windshield washer fluid so another important fluid to check under the hood of your vehicle.
Something also tells me that you will find that it’s important to be able to steer your vehicle with that said make sure you check the power steering fluid again this is another one that’s overlooked on a regular basis but in my opinion is very very important to take a minute and check to make sure it’s at the proper level.
Last but not least is your transmission fluid if you have an automatic transmission this is something you want to check with the engine running and the vehicle warm to get a proper reading on the dipstick again refer to your owner’s manual to make sure you do it correctly for your vehicle. If you do not have an automatic transmission then you want to check the fluid by crawling on the vehicle and finding the fill plug every vehicle is a little bit different so this one you will most certainly have to refer to your owners manual but again it’s another important fluid to check before heading out on a long trip. If you feel uncomfortable with any of these that I strongly suggest you bring it to a mechanic and have them check these things for you before you leave.
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