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1500 questions
53
votes
4 answers
Reviving a vehicle that has been idle for a long time
Some related topics:
How to maintain a sometimes-used vehicle?
How long does it take for gas to go bad?
The first related topic addresses preparing a vehicle for long-term disuse, and maintaining it during those periods. The second related topic…
Iszi
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50
votes
6 answers
Why don't rally cars have airbags?
Why don't rally cars have airbags?
Other competition cars, including Ken Block's don't have airbags either.
Is it just for weight reduction, are they redundant or is there another (major) reason?
Andrei Rînea
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50
votes
6 answers
What is the most efficient method of getting your car unstuck from snow?
If your car is stuck in snow and you don't have any chains, what can be done to get it out? This can be an unnerving problem to have and it happens pretty easily with normal driving on ice. You wind up in a snowbank sliding into it at 10 mph or…
DucatiKiller
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47
votes
14 answers
How do I save myself from a sinking vehicle?
Every year in Arizona there are monsoon storms and somebody inevitably get's killed in a car that is sinking in water.
It appears the primary issue is getting free from the vehicle. After that, there's an entire set of other issues. Aside from…
DucatiKiller
- 32,976
- 22
- 150
- 267
46
votes
4 answers
Jump starting a dead battery: Connect black wire to negative pole of battery or grounded metal?
Most of the advice I've seen for jump starting cars instructs to connect the black wire to a bare piece of metal on the car with the dead battery. However, I've always just hooked up both poles to the corresponding poles on the other car's battery.…
JohnFx
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44
votes
3 answers
Is there a way to put Prius with dead battery into neutral?
I own a 2010 Prius. It has a dead battery, front facing forward in my garage. I do not have long enough jumper cables.
I’ve searched the Internet. Did Toyota really create a car that cannot be put into neutral if the battery is dead? I need to move…
Agile Scout
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44
votes
4 answers
How far can I drive with 1 gallon too much oil?
I have way too much oil in my Acura TSX. Do I need to take care of it without turning it on or can I drive it to a service station?
If I need to do it in place, I don't have the ramps or a pan or the daylight left and my wife needs the car in the…
Jason Kleban
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42
votes
7 answers
what is the difference between DOT3 and DOT4 brake fluids?
What is the difference between DOT3 and DOT4 brake fluids?
What could possibly go wrong if I use a (4 times cheaper) DOT3 brake fluid instead of the DOT4 which manufacturer recommends (but allows adding "some" DOT3 occasionally)?
What will happen if…
ria
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42
votes
15 answers
Why don't people hand pump their tires?
My bicycle tires go to 60 psi, and I can easily fill them up from nothing with less than 10 pumps.
My car tires are at 32 psi, so shouldn't they be even easier? Yet I have never heard of anyone hand pumping their car tires. Why not?
Morce1946
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41
votes
9 answers
When do brake rotors really need to be replaced?
I need to replace my rear brake pads. A mechanic suggested I also replace my rotors because they are rusted around the edges. The rotors are in fact quite rusted, however, there is no rust on the actual surface that touches the pads. Running my…
ESultanik
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41
votes
6 answers
Why is a motorcycle's neutral between first and second gears?
The gear pattern is selected by clicking a lever with your left foot and is typically laid out as follows:
6th gear (if applicable)
5th gear
4th gear
3rd gear
2nd gear
NEUTRAL
1st gear
What is the technical reason engineers decided motorcycle…
kiss my armpit
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40
votes
10 answers
Is it necessary to 'burn in' or 'break in' a new car?
I've just bought a new 2011 plate car. I've heard stories of people 'burning in' engines for the first few hundred or couple thousand miles using methods such as:
Not driving above 50 mph.
Varying the revs more than usual throughout the entire…
Alex Humphrey
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39
votes
10 answers
How do I remove a destroyed lug nut?
A neighbor friend of mine offered to change my brakes on my Pontiac Torrent, well my husband had the proper tool to remove the lug nuts off my car in his truck, and the neighbor along with some other helpful bystanders took it upon themselves to…
Victoria Dixon
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39
votes
8 answers
Is tire rotation important?
I just bought new tires for my car and included was free tire rotation every 7,500 miles for the life of the tires.
I have heard many things about tire rotation, including:
it's a worthless practice, don't bother
tires should never be rotated from…
JSmitty
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38
votes
3 answers
What does a water-like drip coming out of the exhaust of the car signify?
Sometimes while driving in the traffic, I come across a car or two which would be dripping water-like drops from its exhaust steadily in 4-5 second intervals. I tried to ask a couple of people at the local workshops; they say, and I quote, "The car…
Sandman
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