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28 - Friday, October 25, 1991 ~ North Shore News

JAGUAR, PORSCHE, RANGE ROVER
IT’S WINTER

COLD WEATHER CAN CAUSE: FLAT BATTERIES,
FROZEN COOLING SYSTEMS, HARD STARTING AND
VERY SLIPPERY ROADS. YOUR CAR CAN BE RELIED
UPON FF IT IS PROPERLY PREPARED.

NO WINTER SPECIALS, JUST GOOD SERVICE
cau 738-9O8I 10

ARRANGE AN APPOINTMENT
1730 BURRARD STREET

ER THIS! |

ac FROST IS ON HIS way} |

Ge FER Ze

7 NOW To AVOID THE CLAMOUR |
IOF THAT FIRST SNCWFALL, AND
SMILE ALL THE WAY HOME!

PARTS & TAXES EXTRA
* SUGHTLY HIGHER FOR AUDI'S

SPECIAL PRICING IN EFFECT
TIL HOV, 30, 1991 ‘

WINTER “_ on vou nat SAVINGS ~

NORTHSHORE (2) COEEREREE

Capilano Volkswagen
1151 Marine Dr., N. Van.

985-0694

FALL CAR CARE

There could be a simple
solution to car’s air leaks

From page 22

the thing works — it’s supposed
to shut off automatically when the
marked pressure is reached.

Also check that the air chuck —
that part you stick on your tire —
is functicning properly.

To make sure that the gauge on
the pump will shut off at the
marked pressure, you will need to
bring a spare hand-held gauge
with you on your first fill-up to
make sure the main gaug2 works. ,

However —- here’s the good
news —- once you've checked it
once, you can then rely on the
main gauge, that’s the one on the
pump, for all your subsequent tire
checkups.

Now what about that air-chuck,
the little metal part you stick on
your tire’s air valve? To make
sure it works at all, jam your
thumbnail into the detent that
protrudes just slightly from the
mouth of the chuck. Air should
whoosh out for a moment.

Also, keep in mind that a
maladjusted chuck will leak air
out of your tire instead of filling
it. So, if you fill your tires and
end up with less air than you
Started with, you’ve found a bad
air-chuck.

Either tell the station owner, or
find a new station and then start
all over.

If you fill your tires regularly
and stili find your tires are low,
you have a leak. What to do

aout it?

A student of mine had a sports
car with a tire that was always
losing air.

The car had cost him over
$30,000, each of the tires was
worth over $150, and now he was
worried he would have to pay a
mechanic another $50 to find the
difficulty. He was frustrated, to
say the least.

I explained to ‘him that slow
leaks usually originate in one of
three places.

The first is the tread where a
smail nick or piece of glass can
cause the problem. We examined
the tire and found no evidence of
puncture.

(If we had, by the way, I would
have sent him to a mechanic
because punctures on a radial tire
require a special repair process
that must be done by a2 qualified
person.)

The next most common cause

-of slow leaks is poor sealing

around the wheel rim.

This particular cause is hard to
track: it may have originated from
a bad installation when the tires
were first mounted; or from a
defective tire; or from a defective
wheel rim; or even from damaging
the rim by sloppy parking.

To clear up these particular
problems, you have to call in a
specialist to stick the. tire and
wheel in a tub of water and see
where the leak is coming from.

_If the leak is repairable, you

ORT.

We offered you the best and you've responded

The best selection
The best quality
The best backed warranties

and definitely the best prices in town.
Our volume shows that you appreciate good value.

ALL SEASON RADIALS

will also have to have the tire and
rim assembly remounted and
rebalanced. At the worst, you will
need a new tire or a new rim.

I told my friend that if this was
the cause of his problem he was
out of fuck and would have to see
a pro.

However, there was one more
possibility, the third most likely
cause of a leaky tire. The valve
may have gone bad.

1} unscrewed the valve cap on
the bad tire to expose the valve. I
next put a little saliva into the
valve to check for escaping air.
(Soap suds will work, too.)

Sure enough, within two se-
cords of my putting saliva into
the valve, an air bubble forced its
way out. Bingo — the probiem
had been caused by 2 bad valve!

The solution? We went to the
auto shop and purchased a pack .
of new valves for $1.99, and a
small tool to change the valve for
$1.50.

Using the tool, i unscrewed the
old valve from the valve stem and
screwed the new one in.

"We lost a lost of air in the pro-
cess, so I made sure we did this
next to an air pump. The whole
process took three minutes. Hey
~~ who says car service is com-
plex?

— Rebert Appel is the author
of several car manuals; he lives in
Ontario. Distributed by the Los
Angeles Times Syndicate.

° WEE SELL. TIRES”:
WE DO AND WE DO: