Car maintenance, parts to use and their functions.

CAR "KNOW-HOW"

Part 1

We have found a site which gives detailed information on various aspects of car maintenance, set up by a gentleman called Marty Stratton. Marty is held in very high regard by all the sites to which he contributes as well as all the people he is able to help. He has very kindly allowed us to reproduce some of the comprehensive information but, unfortunately, we can no longer find his site.

Some of the products and vehicles mentioned are probably only available in America but as the majority of our visitors appear to be from that neck of the woods I hope this will not be a problem.

For my first foray into the world of spare parts, I have decided to list those Marty feels are the best for the job. (We would like to point out this is done from experience - there are no commercial interests involved).

ENGINE OILS	Valvoline, Pennzoil, Kendall and Castrol
BEST OIL PERIOD	Castrol Syntec 5w50 synthetic motor oil.
BEST OIL ADDITIVES	Valvoline synpower fule injection cleaner or fuel system treatments
BATTERIES	Sears Diehard Gold, Interstate, AC Delco
HARD PARTS (WATER PUMPS, STARTERS ETC.	Napa or Federated
FRONT END PARTS	TRW or Moog
BRAKE PARTS	Raybestos, Wagner or Bendix
EXHAUST PARTS	Walker
FILTERS AND FUEL FILTERS	Purolater, Fram or AC Delco, Mopar, Motorcraft, Napa gold, Federated (top brands)
TRANSMISSION FLUIDS	Valvoline, Pennzoil, Kendall, Castrol
WIPER BLADES AND REFILLS	Anco
BELTS AND HOSES	Goodyear preferably, otherwise Dayco, Napa, or Federated
THERMOSTATS	Napa or Federated
TYRES	Goodyear
SPARK PLUGS	AC Delco rapid fires for GM OBD II cars. Bosch or Autolite for German cars. NGK or Nippendenso fpr Asian cars. Autolites in Chryslers. Rapidfires in Fords or motorcrafts. Stay away from Split Fires, Period, Plug wires. Federated Packard wire sets and Napa Beldon wire sets are the best.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS	Napa or Federated auto parts. Use Standard ignition parts or use exact dealer parts whenever possible.
ENGINE OVERHAUL PARTS	Clevite or Felpro overhaul kits.
ENGINE GASKETS	Felpro
OIL FILTERS	Hastings, Fram, AC Delco, Napa Gold, Purolator.
COOLANTS	Prestone or Prestone Extended Life
COOLANT ADDITIVES AND SEALERS	Bars Leak
BEARINGS	Timken.

Part 2

TIP - Polish chromium on cars by using vinegar (full strength)

Make sure you rinse well to avoid corrosion.

Thanks to Tina for this tip.