Routine adjustments and servicing

In this chapter it is proposed to describe the jobs which can be carried out, even by a novice, with the tools likely to be found in the average home garage. It will thus be possible to relegate the more ambitious work to later chapters, in which the specialized aspects can be dealt with in greater detail for the benefit of the more experienced owner. "Vital statistics"—clearances, pressures, oil and water capacities and so on—are summarized in the Appendix.

Lubrication has been dealt with in the previous chapter—or may be left to the local garage. The jobs described, therefore, are straightforward checks and adjustments which can give a good deal of pleasure to anyone with a bent for "profitable tinkering," as it has been aptly termed. For convenience the work will be grouped under the mileage periods recom¬mended in the manufacturer's service schedule but, as described in Chapter 2, the service periods can be modified, to some extent, to suit the convenience of the owner.

First, however, we must dispose of the routine checks on water and oil levels, to which no fixed interval can be assigned; these may be required daily if a large mileage is covered, or may be needed only once a week if the car is used mainly for local running and shopping.