kiiMMJ. k 4 -
daily nebraskan
page 7
pit slop
Car owners warned to winterize before cold
hits
By Jim Williams
No funny stuff this week-just cold,
hard facts because it's time to prepare your
car for cold, hard winter.
Winter affects almost the total car
usually for the worse. To fight back, you
need an organized defense.
Hi talk Snow tires are an obvious need.
They should have a good tread and
shouldn't leak. Filling a low tire on cold
days may make the tire valve freeze open
and all the air will escape.
' If your car's summer tires are radial-ply
(it says so on the sidewall) there's no
excuse for not having radial snows. Never
mix radial and conventional tires on the
same car.
I'm no longer a studded-tire booster.
New rubber compounds have cut down
their advantages over nonstuds, and on dry
pavement they may give a little less
traction. For heavy going, there's no sub
stitute for tire chains.
Sluggish oil Changed your oil lately?
Cold, thick oil circulates through the
engine sluggishly, so it takes more strain.
You may want to check the levels of trans
mission and rear-end lubricants as well as
brake fluid. ,
Cold oil also makes it harder for the
battery to turn the starter. Service stations
can test the battery to see if it stands up to
the higher drain.
Short winter days make the lights more
important, so the head, tail, brake, turn
and instrument-panel lights should be
checked.
Staying warm-Another obvious item is
radiator antifreeze, important because it
keeps the engine cool and the heater warm.
Antifreeze may last several years, but may
be replaced annually when the system is
back-flushed. Back-flushing forces water
through the system backwards to clean out
rust clogs.
A car's heater core is a small separate
radiator, which also can become clogged.
It must be back-flushed separately through
the heater hoses.. If the heater works
poorly, back-flushing may be worth trying,
but a more common cause is a defective
thermostat.
The thermostat regulates the tempera
ture of the engine coolant, and it can go
bad in as little as two years. When it does,
the engine will never reach normal operat
ing temperature and its life will be
shortened. The thermostat is cheap and
easy to replace.
Checking the exhaust system for leaks is
a must. It is part of the state safety inspec
tion, but it's worth doing again because
fumes from leaks can kill you.
Even after the check, it is wise to drive
with a window down several inches, no
matter how cold it is.
Any body damage should be fixed, too.
Even minor scrapes will let in road salt,
causing massive rust.
Just in case An emergency kit containing
extra windshield-washer fluid and sand or
kitty litter for traction is a good idea. A
light shovel in the trunk and a stout ice
scraper and long-handled snow brush in the
cockpit are invaluable. If you're taking
long trip it's not so silly to toss in a few
blankets and some candy bars-blizzards
can hit any time, although you're less
likely to be caught in one if you call the.
State Patrol's road-condition hotline
(477-9202) before you start.
One more thing-no matter how well
youVe prepared your car, there may still
be a day or two when you're better off
staying home. If you are snowed in, poke
up the fire and enjoy it.
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WINTER SAFETY
without noisy studs...
0LIZZA0D traction
with Uotzcbr
STEEL RADIAL
at! now IGE BLUE tread.
Outperforms regular snow
tiros even with studs!!!
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Kighways Highway
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on Wet 10S 100 105
Highway
Told Evaluation 635 &3 543
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LhccI.Vr. Vanter Tira Contcr