Need a Good used car
My used cars-trucks
My Ideal used car is one that is in good shape both mechanically and structurally.Good engine,radiator,power steering,brakes,transmission,turn signals,emergency lights,headlights,heater,electrical system Good frame and body of the vehicle is important too.I bought a used pickup truck once that had extensive body rust under it's body.right under the drivers seat in Particular where your feet are normally.while driving.Talk about flood damage My trousers got a flood of water every time it rained.If you can imagine running through a huge puddle of muddy water.,you know what I mean?
I even had linkage problems because of water vapor build up on very cold days when the outside tempature is below freezing Water vapor would freeze around the linkage hinges.My engine would race at full throttle as result of frozen water vapor at the point where the linkages hinges come together.It took at least 5 minutes for it to warm up enough to where the idle would become normal.enough to be able to safely drive.I wouldn't recommend driving it though.It would be much safer to either get it fixed if possible or just junk it if it can't be fixed.
I 've learned a few tricks on how to check out if an engine is worn out
If you see water mixed with oil in the oil re-fill hole or when checking the oil level, that is cause for concern.There shouldn't be any water in the engine.
If,you see anti-freeze in the oil run for your life! lol This indicates a cracked waterjacket that surounds the engines cylinders,causing radiator fluid called anti-freeze to get into the oil in the engune compartment under the cylinders at the bottom of the engine where the dip stick goes.That's why you see that grayish oily substance.It' water and oil mixed together.with polyetheline known as anti-freeze
If ,it takes many times to start your vehicle,the starter may be worn,or the battery is weak,or both need attention.,or you could be out of fuel,or your fuel system is clogged or just not working properly for example flooding due to a faulty oxygen sensor,fuel injectors and or wiring .
Check the enigines wear by holding a piece of tissue paper over the hole in the valve cover where you normally refill the crankcase with motor oil.If the tissue paper it blown away from the hole at a 90 degree angle while the engine is idling then the engine is very worn.and varies according to the angle the tissue is blown away at idle One thing I must point out here is, if the oil is 10w30 or less ,whatever the manufacturer calls for then you can use a higher viscosity oil in that engine to compensate for the piston.ring valve damage due to wear but if the oil in the engine is already of a higher viscosity oil than the manufacturer recommends,and you are trying to put an even higher viscosity oil in the engine to replace the already high viscosity oil that's in the engine.then you may temporarily increase engine performance ,but eventually the engine will wear out to the point where you can not repeatedly go to a higher viscosity oil.I find that using a viscosity higher than 10w40 such as 20w40 for any length of time will destroy your engine and cause excessive oil burning .Where the wear of the piston rings is so bad that even this very high viscosity oil leaks into the cylinders and comes out the exhaust pipe as black smoke,and your spark plugs get full of carbon deposits to the point of stalling out constantly.Another clue the engine is progressively harder to start.Time to call the junkyard.or prepare to pay for a used or re-built engine,and you never really know if the engine was really rebuilt or not.unless your a professional mechanic or get one to tell you as long as you trust him.Another thing to look out for are leaky oil pan and transmission, power steering, brake fluids,and your brakes, master cylinder.in the engine compartment.Your rear brake lights will stay on even without the engine running.The car may be parked,for a period of time with the rear brake lights on unnoticed until the battery wears down,and you can't start it up!
When it comes to tires I've haven't bought brand new tires in many years.I've had to re-inflate my vehicles old tires fairly on a more or less regular basis.Slow leaks are the norm.This last winter of 2008 my rear tires were constantly needing to be re-inflated from scratch.They had slow leaks that weren't all that slow.I had to buy something to put into the tire through the removed tire valve hole a green slime that seals small holes up to 1/4 in in size.It worked.but it seems to work better in warmer weather.Very cold air is not easy on rubber tires.
