Dare To Repair Your Car: A Do-It-Herself Guide to Maintenance, Safety, Minor Fix-Its, and Talking Shop

by Julie Sussman, Stephanie Glakas-Tenet

Overview

We're back! And this time we've got your back when it comes to you and your car.

In Dare to Repair: A Do-It-Herself Guide to Fixing (Almost) Anything in the Home, we opened the door for you into the world of basic home repairs. Now, we're opening a different one — a car door.

Dare to Repair Your Car is a basic car care and safety book written by women for women ... and men, and new teen drivers, and senior drivers. Okay, it's for every person who dares to drive a car.

Here are just some of the things that will keep you and your family safe:

• Changing a flat tire
• Maintaining fluids
• Jumpstarting a battery
• Replacing a headlamp
• Finding a great mechanic
• Installing a car seat
• Driving tips for teens and seniors
• Preparing for a road trip

Filled with detailed illustrations and easy-to-follow instructions, Dare to Repair Your Car will help you shift gears and get you moving in the direction of maintaining your car — yourself. You'll be so excited about what you've learned you'll want to toot your own horn!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060577001
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/30/2005
Series:	Dare to Repair
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	7.38(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Julie Sussman and Stephanie Glakas-Tenet, authors of the national bestseller Dare to Repair and Dare to Repair Your Car, have been featured on the New York Times, Washington Post, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon bestseller lists. They have appeared on Good Morning America, Today, The Early Show, and FOX & Friends, and have hosted their own PBS special. As spokeswomen for the Lowe's and Habitat for Humanity Women Build program partnership, the authors have committed themselves to helping address the crisis of substandard housing by engaging women in the construction and maintenance of Habitat homes. In addition, they have partnered with the U.S. military and Lowe's to provide Dare to Repair clinics, teaching home repair and car care to military spouses managing the home front.

Julie Sussman and Stephanie Glakas-Tenet, authors of the national bestseller Dare to Repair and Dare to Repair Your Car, have been featured on the New York Times, Washington Post, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon bestseller lists. They have appeared on Good Morning America, Today, The Early Show, and FOX & Friends, and have hosted their own PBS special. As spokeswomen for the Lowe's and Habitat for Humanity Women Build program partnership, the authors have committed themselves to helping address the crisis of substandard housing by engaging women in the construction and maintenance of Habitat homes. In addition, they have partnered with the U.S. military and Lowe's to provide Dare to Repair clinics, teaching home repair and car care to military spouses managing the home front.

Read an Excerpt

Dare To Repair Your Car

A Do-It-Herself Guide to Maintenance, Safety, Minor Fix-Its, and Talking Shop

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By Julie Sussman

HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Copyright © 2005 Julie Sussman
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0060577002

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Chapter One

Hood and Trunk

Popping Open and Closing the Hood and Trunk

You can open a jar of pickles with one twist, a container of crescent rolls with one bang, and plastic packaging with one pull, but you're all thumbs when it comes to opening the car hood. Not anymore.

We can't possibly begin this book without the first basic step -- learning how to open the hood and trunk. It may sound (and is) easy, but there are a few things to keep in mind before exploring the great beyond.

Popping Open the Hood

Note: If you're opening the hood after the engine has been running, be careful because the engine and other parts will be very hot.

Exterior Latch

Older cars typically have just one release mechanism for the hood, located on the exterior of the car. The mechanism may not be visible, so stick your fingers under the edge of the hood, in the middle of the front of the car, and feel for the latch. Move the latch and lift open the hood.

Some cars also have a thin metal prop bar that lays flat on the front of the engine. It acts as a kickstand so after you've lifted the hood, you just prop up the metal bar and let it rest in its designated spot on the interior of the hood.

Interior and Exterior Latches

Note: Some interior hood latches look and feel like the parking brake release mechanism.

Most car manufacturers install two release mechanisms -- one interior and one exterior -- to ad as a theft deterrent, and more important, to prevent the hood from opening while driving.

If your car has two release mechanisms for the hood, you have to release the interior one first, and then the exterior. The interior release mechanism is located on the driver's side, below the steering wheel and to the left of the pedals (typically, there's an illustration of an open hood on it). Pull up on the latch to release. This will only open the hood enough for you to find the exterior release.

The exterior mechanism may not be visible, so stick your fingers under the edge of the hood, in the middle of the front of the car, and feel for the latch. Move the latch and lift open the hood.

Closing the Hood

There's no need to slam down the hood of the car. Instead, just guide the hood down a few inches above the front of the grille and let it drop. The metal used on newer cars is much thinner than the metal found on its older counterparts; therefore, when you close the hood, be careful not to use the palms of your hands to force it down because you could leave permanent indentations. If your hood uses a metal prop bar for support, be extra cautious once the bar is removed because the hood will come down fast.

Opening and Closing the Trunk

A trunk typically has one release mechanism, which can be opened with a key, a remote entry, or an interior latch. Follow the same guide -- lines for closing the hood as for closing the trunk so that you don't dent the metal.

Continues...

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Excerpted from Dare To Repair Your Car by Julie Sussman Copyright © 2005 by Julie Sussman.
Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	xi
	Introduction	xvi
	Pit Stop	2
	Unden the Hood	5
	Maintenance	55
	Safety	226
	Finish Line: Resources	326
	Index	328

Editorial Reviews

Before your car breaks down...before you even go shopping for a car — get this book.” — Library Journal, starred review

“This easy-to-read primer is for anyone...looking to cut repair bills or feel at ease dealing with mechanics.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Ladies, start your engines. Each year, women make 50 percent of all new car purchases and spend approximately $300 billion each year on used cars, maintenance, repairs, and services. But despite this clout, many women feel no sense of empowerment once the keys are in their hands. That will change with the advent of Dare to Repair Your Car, another sure-shot troubleshooting guide by the women who brought us Dare to Repair. The book's step-by-step instructions and detailed illustrations guide you through common repair and maintenance problems. A savvy way to stem auto-ignorance.

Sussman and Glakas-Tenet have already tackled the female-unfriendly world of household repairs with their first book, Dare To Repair. Here they take on automotive repair with the same panache. Each section includes a list of required tools, safety notes, and numerous tips. Especially insightful is advice on finding a good auto mechanic and understanding car warranties. The basics of car systems are broken down into understandable terminology that is far from insulting. This book is not going to help you rebuild a car; rather, it's a guide to upkeep and maintenance. Before your car breaks down on the side of a dark highway-before you even go shopping for a car-get this book. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal