Bring your cherished pride and joy out of winter hibernation can sometimes be a worrying time for things to go wrong.
Hopefully with these handy tips a prevention rather than cure position can take some of the worry away!
You know your car visually better than anyone, so step back and look at it. Does it look correct? can you see anything that makes you feel a be uneasy?
Look both at the car and underneath it. By doing this simple visual check you can identify a number of issues:
Draw up a list of jobs that you can see and divide them into two: (i) Safety critical and (ii) Cosmetic . This initial prioritising will help you to concentrate your funds where they are needed first.
Hopefully you inflated your tyres before the winter storage period. Now is the time to return them to the correct pressure settings. Next check for bulges and cracks on the side walls. Has the rubber perished at all? If you can take the wheel off check for any punctures on the tread and of course check the tread depth is legal!
Electrics can be a bit of a minefield so hopefully your battery has survived the winter. If it has conduct a basic check of all lights, dials, switches, etc just as a garage would for an MOT.
If things aren't working check that you haven't had furry guest over the winter. All rodents like somewhere safe and dry to hole-up for the winter and a car engine bay is the perfect spot especially when it hasn't moved for months. Check whether any wiring, or anything else, has been chewed. if it has you will need to repair this.
Unfortunately fuel doesn't have a long shelf-life so it is always best to add fresh fuel to your tank prior to starting up. This will help to maintain the smooth running of the engine by diluting down the old fuel left in the tank over winter.
Ensure that your car can roll (remember you're not starting the engine) forward freely and press the footbrake a few times. Repeat this process to see if there is no binding of the wheels. Do exactly the same for the handbrake.
Now you need to get under the bonnet. Check all of the fluid levels - brakes, radiator coolant, oil, etc. You really must do this before starting the engine! If you can disconnect the coil lead to the distributor, do this, then crank the engine for a few seconds. This allows the oil pump to throw some oil around the engine before you fire it up.
Reconnect the coil and start your car up. You should now be ready to go and enjoy the spring and summer in your car with as few problems as possible.
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