Tips and Advice Archives - Polishventure

Bad driving habits that you need to stop

POLISHVENTURE — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 04:39:36 +0000

We all develop bad driving habits over the years. And it’s not just driving at high speeds or braking late.

Driving with the fuel light on

If you run the fuel down and push your luck with the warning light, then don’t. A near-empty tank generates heat and can cause the fuel pump to fail. You may also damage the catalytic converter and if there’s dirt in the tank, the fuel filter can block. So, the moral of the story is: don’t risk it! Refuel immediately.

Not using the parking brake

See that hand brake? It’s not just for hills. Even if you have an automatic, you should use the parking (or ‘emergency’) brake every time you park. This provides a safe and secure hold, as well as helping to protect the parts and transmission.

Resting your foot on the clutch

It’s tempting to ‘ride the clutch’, but this keeps it partially disengaged. You can cause unnecessary wear to the clutch plate if you rest your foot on it rather than on the floor. Coasting is a risky habit, as you have no control if you need to swerve or maneuver.

Speeding over bumps and holes

You may think your car can handle it, but drive slowly and carefully when there are bumps or holes in the road. As well as being highly dangerous, hitting road hazards can cause wheel misalignment and damaged suspension parts.

Revving when the engine is cold

Even if you’re in a rush, let your engine warm up gradually. High RPMs on a cold engine create undue stress – whether you have an old or brand-new car.

Driving in too high a gear

Keeping revs low can save fuel, but too high a gear will bog down the engine. Especially on hills, you need enough revs for torque for the car to drive at its optimum.

Source: Moog

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Muffler Theft In Kenya

POLISHVENTURE — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 11:59:25 +0000

What is a catalytic converter? (or muffler as we call it here in Kenya)

The muffler turns harmful gases from your exhaust into less harmful gases.

Why is the muffler stolen?

The catalytic converter contains valuable metals like Platinum, rhodium and Palladium. The muffler is sold on the black market, It is easy money for the thieves.

How to prevent the muffler from being stolen.

Avoid places that are notorious for muffler theft e.g. Grogon on Kirinyaga road.
Two, ask a garage, to bolt the catalytic converter on the body.
Three, always supervise what your local jua kali mechanic is doing to your car since some of them are suspect.

What do I do with the muffler is stolen?

Unfortunately, when your muffler is stolen, you have to replace it, which does not come cheap. This will set you back around 20,000 to 40,000 Kenya Shillings.

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Fake Spark Plugs In Kenya

POLISHVENTURE — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 14:43:08 +0000

Fake spark plugs in Kenya.

The sale of counterfeit spark plugs in Kenya is a menace, and it’s on the rise.

Personally, I have walked into random shops and asked for spark plugs. The spark plugs I was given from all these shops were fake plugs. But a normal person will not know. I know, because I’m a professional.

I’m going to outline some of the indicators of fake spark plugs that maybe you can check out for.

One of course, is the pricing. If for example, you’re getting iridium spark plugs for very cheap price, this is an indicator of a fake spark plug because iridium is an expensive metal and does not come cheap.

Another thing to look out for is poor printing on the spark plug, look out for the terminal, a glossy terminal, that’s an indicator of fake plug. Sometimes you see poor finishing on the housing (metal part). Look out for thread quality. Sometimes the material is easy to scratch on the fake one. Maybe the quality of the white porcelain.

These are just some of the indicators and you need to be a professional to notice. The problem is counterfeit companies are getting really smart and it becomes extremely difficult to distinguish between a fake and a genuine plug. Only real way to know if you have genuine plugs is to buy from a trusted dealer. So next time, skip your local Juakali mechanic and look for the professionals!

In Kenya, we are told that idiom plugs will last 10,000 kilometers. This is not the case; genuine iridium spark plugs last up to 100,000 kilometers. Here in Kenya because of the hot weather, they last approximately 50 -80,000 kilometers.

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Why Is My Chassis Number Needed For A Repair Estimate?

POLISHVENTURE — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 12:02:32 +0000

The chassis number was designed to act like a birth certificate for the car. Each car produced has its own unique number that it retains for its entire life. Its most basic function is to identify a vehicle, especially if it has been abandoned or stolen.

Because the chassis number tells us so much about the car, it’s useful for planning repairs and ordering the right replacement parts

Where Can I Find My Chassis Number?

You can get it from your log book or the areas shown in the diagram

Is It Safe To Share My Chassis Number?

It is perfectly safe to give out your chassis number. It’s in (essentially) plain sight, just like your license plate. While the chassis no. is unique for each vehicle, there isn’t much anyone can do with it.

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Locked your keys inside your car? How to safely break into your own car

POLISHVENTURE — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 09:11:30 +0000

It’s pretty easy to get locked out of a car, and if the key gets lost or locked inside of the vehicle without a spare handy, then there’s a real problem.

There are a few techniques that you can try, as they don’t take particularly specialized equipment and they can be done by people with little or no prior locksmithing experience. Calling a professional locksmith is usually an option, but there could be a long wait or professional locksmiths may not be available nearby.

Unless the situation is an emergency, don’t rush any of the steps involved. Don’t force the door open. Damaging the doors or the locks themselves turns an inconvenience into a serious problem

Method 1 of 4: Unlocking a door with manual locks from the inside

Using a tool like a wedge, it is possible to open the top of the door wide enough to get a metal rod around the locking pin and pull the pin up, thereby unlocking the door.

Tip: In most vehicles, it is possible to open the door just enough to insert a thin metal rod or a bent hanger and use it to unlock the doors.

Step 1: Use a wedge or tool to hold open the door space. Find something thin that can be used to open up a gap at the top of the door, between the car’s body and the doorframe or window.

Step 2: Slide the tool into the door gap. Wedge the tool into the space between the body of the vehicle and the top of the door on the side opposite the hinge (this corner can be pulled out the most). Pull the space open with your fingers to make more space for the tool to fit into.

Step 3: Keep inserting the tool until it is visible. Carefully work the tool down and into the space until it is visible through the window.

Step 4: Make a hook. Now you can fashion a tool or hook to grab the locking pin. A clothes hanger works well, but you can use whatever is handy.

Step 5: Open the lock using the hook. Use the wedge to open up a space large enough to fit the tool into the car. Grab onto the locking pin with the tool and pull up on it until the door unlocks.

Tip: Depending on the vehicle and the type of lock, getting into the car may take a bit of patience. Trial and error may just end up being the most efficient way to solve the problem.

Method 2 of 4: Unlocking a door with automatic locks from the inside

With automatic locks, the amount of difficulty involved in unlocking them from the outside is decided by two things:

How easy or difficult it is to pull the door away from the car’s body
The location of the button or switch that controls the locks
Note: In a non-emergency situation with a vehicle that only has an “unlock” button on the centre console, for instance, it may be easier to call a professional. If the button or switch is somewhat accessible, then you can break into the car with relative ease.

The steps to get the top of the door away from the body are the same as with manual locks: simply use a wedge or other long, thin tool to make a space and then use another tool to press the “unlock” button.

Step 1: Identify how the locks are activated. Automatic locks may be activated in a number of ways. Check whether the unlock button is located in the central console or on the driver’s side.

Step 2: Make a hook or loop tool to press the button. Some automatic locks have a simple button on the armrest of the driver’s side, and a straight metal rod or other tool can be used to reach the button and press it to unlock the door.

If there is a switch or if the button is not easily accessible, then the tool may need a hook or loop at the end. Trial-and-error is the best technique for finding what works.

Tip: Just like with manual locks, a straightened clothes hanger works well for this purpose.
Tip: You can also unscrew the antenna from the car and use it to push the unlock button.

Method 3 of 4: Unlocking the door from the outside

In some cases, it is faster and easier to make a lockout tool (also called a Slim Jim) to unlock the door from the outside. This technique takes a little bit more finesse and is more likely to damage the weather stripping and/or the wires inside of the door.

Warning: This is not a recommended method for opening doors containing automatic locks and/or automatic windows. The significant increase in the amount of wiring inside of the door itself makes serious damage too much of a risk.

Here is how to use this method:

Step 1: Make a ‘Slim Jim’ tool. To fashion a Slim Jim, it is best to use a coat hanger or other long, relatively thin piece of metal and straighten it out, bending a hook into one end. This is the end that will go into the door.

Note: If this tool bends under the strain, double the hanger over and make the end that is folded over into the hook as this is much stronger.

Step 2: Insert the Slim Jim into the door. Since there are usually more wires in the driver’s door, it is best to use this method on the passenger side door. Slip the tool in between the weather stripping along the bottom of the window and the window itself.

Tip: Pulling the black weather stripping back slightly with your fingers will make this move a lot smoother and easier.

Step 3: Open the lock with the hook. The locking mechanism is located right under the locking pin, so try to use the hook to grab the inside of the locking mechanism by sliding the hook back toward the lock and pulling up once the hook grips the lock.

Tip: The mechanism will be about two inches below the bottom edge of the window.
Note: This may take a few tries, and some mechanisms may need to be pulled back towards the rear of the car instead of being pulled in the upwards direction. Keep trying different motions until the lock is disengaged.

Method 4 of 4: Gain entry through the boot

With manual locks, there is a chance that the boot is unlocked even if the doors are locked. If this is the case, then it may be possible to get into the vehicle through the boot.

Here’s how you can unlock the vehicle through the boot:

Step 1: Open up the boot. Look for any opening that you can use to get into the interior of the car.

Tip: Usually an opening like this is located in the centre of the rear seats.

Step 2: Push the rear seats forward. Look for something to press or pull on that would allow you to lower the rear seats and push them forward. Many sedans have a cable that can be pulled on for just this purpose. Look all along the edge of the rear seats.

Step 3: Get into the car. Crawl into the car and unlock the doors manually.

Tip: These techniques are certainly effective, but performing them in a parking lot, for example, may attract some suspicion. Always keep a cool head and have identification handy in case authorities show up.

Source: Yourmechanic

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