CAR DIAGNOSTICS CHECKLIST

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CAR DIAGNOSTICS CHECKLIST Outside AREA WHAT TO CHECK FOR POSSIBLE WARNING r Body sight along sides for ripples wrecked r Headlights, Trim, Underside rust cancer r Windows cracks, scratches expensive repair r Doors, Hood, Trunk Lid sagging, ill fit wrecked r Body Joints repainting, spot welds wrecked, restored r Underneath, Frame bending, warping, spot welds wrecked r Tires excessive wear high mileage r Tires--front excessive wear needs alignment or balancing r Tires cupped, very uneven wear steering, suspension, shocks, brakes r Tires spare? jack included? r Tires grab front tires and pull toward you clunking noise, lots of movement worn wheel bearings r Tires rear tire off ground, jiggle it up and down movement worn springs sqeaks when you lean on fenders worn suspension, needs lube r Shock Absorbers stand on bumpers, jump off excessive bouncing worn shocks r Oil Leaks back car up soiled areas under car leaky oil drain plug, crancase, rear seal, etc.

r Water Leaks rusty water stain bad radiator, leaky hoses r Brake Fluid Leaks lightweight fluid master cylinder, brake lines, back of wheels r Transmission Leaks reddish lightweight fluid transmission r Gas Leaks gasoline smell fuel pump, carburetor, fuel lines, gas tank r Verify Leaks ... more. less.

drive car and park elsewhere for 15 minutes r Tail Pipe smoke whitish water vapor (warm engine) cracked block or cylinder head r smoke black too rich fuel/air mixture r smoke bluish burning oil, needs rings r smoke light grey burning transmission fluid Interior r Rugs, Upholstery wear, tears r Roof Lining tears, disintegration r Seats lumpy, broken down r Pedals worn high mileage r new in old car cover-up for high mileage r Steering Wheel more than 2 inches play bad steering r Gauges turn on key do all gauges register? r Winshield Wipers r Clock r Radio r Headlights low/high beam r Brake Lights r Turn Signals--front/back r Heater r Air Conditioner r Brakes sinking brake pedal defective master cylinder r Gears run through each gear rough shifting worn gears, bad transmission Under Hood r General Engine Area leaks, stains disrepair r Radiator rust, wetness, stains leaky radiator r Water Pump leaks, stains bad pump r Battery corrosion, low on water dead soon r Valve Cover oil leaks, stains bad gasket r Core Plugs leaks, stains, rust need replacement r Block cracks, leaks, stains run! r Manifolds cracks, leaks, stains run! r Oil granular, black, sticky worn unmaintained engine water droplets blown head gasket, cracked block r Hoses soft, mushy, brittle, cracked, leaky need replacement r Air Cleaner filthy bad maintenance r Carburetor fuel leaking from bottom, gasket needs rebuild open butterfly on cold car sticky choke air cleaner off choke doesn't open sticky choke r Throttle Linkage fuel doesn't squirt in venturi rebuild or cleaning r Valves remove oil filler cap use stethoscope ticking low oil rattling valve job clunking rod bearing r Engine shaking or vibrating misfiring--loose connection, loose distributor cross-wiring, bad plugs, wrong gap, timing shaking on acceleration carburetor adjustment, bad motor mounts back-firing timing, carburetor adjustment r Starter remove coil wire ground, uneven cranking bad starter, maybe flywheel teeth broken r Distributor Cap lots of play timing will be off r Spark Plugs brown or grey-tan deposits everything's fine r carbon-fouled black fluffy soot too rich fuel/air mixture, stuck choke, r dirty air filter, too much slow driving r wet black oily bad rings or valves-- clean r red, white, brown, yellow scavenger deposits highly leaded gas--OK, clean r shiny yellow glaze same as above--discard r blisters, burnt insulators engine overheating, gap too wide, incorrect timing, worn or loose plugs, too lean air/fuel r severly eroded or worn been in too long-- replace r Underside of Hood oil stain, spray marks blow-by--poor compression, faulty PVC valve r Transmission--automatic dark fluid, burned smell worn transmission light grey smoke from tailpipe defective vacuum modulator clunking, rough shifting low fluid, band adjustment, worn tranny Road Test r Brakes pulls to one side leak or worn linings squealing worn or missing linings r Steering pulls to one side, drifts with hands off wheel bad steering linkage, misalignment r Transmission racing engine between shifting slipping transmission jerk, clunk, howls low fluid, band ajustment, rebuild r Clutch slipping, grinding, chattering adjustment, missing gear teeth r Clutch shift from low to high, then accelerate car should stall and die r if engine speeds up, but not the car slipping--major repairs r Alignment shimmy at high speeds misalignment or worn front end r Engine Load drive uphill--has no guts, pings bad compression-- engine rebuild r Pickup, Acceleration easy acceleration? r Rear End drive down alley w/windows down clanking, grinding from rear of car worn rear axel bearings r Return and Check check for leaks compression check Specifications List ITEM CAR #1 CAR #2 CAR #3 Manufacturer Make Model Year Number of Cylinders Engine cc Engine Displacement Horsepower Automatic or Standard Transmission Type of Transmission Fluid/Grease Type of Power Steering Fluid Type of Carburetor/Fuel Injection Air Conditioning Smog Devices Standard/Electronic Ignition Idle Speed Contact Point Gap Dwell Spark Plug Gap Spark Plug Number Cylinder Firing Order Distributor Rotation Timing Ignition Timing Oil Weight Oil Capacity Oil Filter Number Coolant Capacity (½ total capacity) Air Filter Number Fuel Filter Number Tire Size Min/Max Tire Pressure Disc/Drum Brakes Maintenance Record CAR:__________________________ FROM:_____________TO: _____________ I. Under Hood Checkup J F M A M J J A S O N D Coolant Level r r r r r r r r r r r r Flush System/Change Coolant r r r r r r r r r r r r Fan Belt Wear r r r r r r r r r r r r Battery Water/Corrosion r r r r r r r r r r r r Replaced Battery r r r r r r r r r r r r Oil Level r r r r r r r r r r r r Oil Change r r r r r r r r r r r r Replace Oil Filter r r r r r r r r r r r r ATF Level r r r r r r r r r r r r Added ATF r r r r r r r r r r r r Power Steering Fluid Level r r r r r r r r r r r r Added Fluid r r r r r r r r r r r r Brake Fluid Level r r r r r r r r r r r r Winshield Fluid Level r r r r r r r r r r r r Added Windshield Fluid r r r r r r r r r r r r Wiper Blades r r r r r r r r r r r r Replaced Wiper Blades r r r r r r r r r r r r Tire Pressure r r r r r r r r r r r r Replaced Tires r r r r r r r r r r r r Wiring r r r r r r r r r r r r Replaced Wires r r r r r r r r r r r r II. Tune-Up J F M A M J J A S O N D Air Filter r r r r r r r r r r r r Replaced Air Filter r r r r r r r r r r r r Fuel Filter r r r r r r r r r r r r Replaced Fuel Filter r r r r r r r r r r r r PCV Valve r r r r r r r r r r r r Cleaned or Replaced PCV Valve r r r r r r r r r r r r Cleaned/Regapped Spark Plugs r r r r r r r r r r r r Changed Spark Plugs r r r r r r r r r r r r Points, Dwell, Point Gap r r r r r r r r r r r r Changed Points, Condenser, Rotor r r r r r r r r r r r r Timing r r r r r r r r r r r r Adjusted Timing r r r r r r r r r r r r Adjusted Carburetor r r r r r r r r r r r r Cleaned or Rebuilt Carburetor r r r r r r r r r r r r III. Lubrication & Brakes J F M A M J J A S O N D Grease Fittings r r r r r r r r r r r r Steering & Suspension r r r r r r r r r r r r Professional Lube Job r r r r r r r r r r r r Brakes r r r r r r r r r r r r Rebuilt Brakes r r r r r r r r r r r r Wheel Bearings r r r r r r r r r r r r Repacked Font Wheel Bearings r r r r r r r r r r r r Shock Absorbers r r r r r r r r r r r r Replaced Shocks r r r r r r r r r r r r Front-End Alignment r r r r r r r r r r r r IV. Parts Replacement J F M A M J J A S O N D Part Date and Details Wiring (coil wire, ignition wires, spark plug boots, etc.) ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Hoses (top or bottom radiator hose, vacuum hoses, fuel lines, etc.) ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Brakes (shoes, relined, drums turned, etc.) ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Tires (which one?) ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Starter ___________________________________________________________________________________ Alternator/Generator ___________________________________________________________________________________ Solenoid ___________________________________________________________________________________ Regulator ___________________________________________________________________________________ Carburetor ___________________________________________________________________________________ Gaskets (head, valve cover, rear seal, etc.) ___________________________________________________________________________________ Water Pump ___________________________________________________________________________________ Radiator ___________________________________________________________________________________ Fuel Pump ___________________________________________________________________________________ Oil Pump ___________________________________________________________________________________ Valves, Rings, Rods, Rod Bearings ___________________________________________________________________________________ Crankshaft ___________________________________________________________________________________ Cylinders (which ones?) ___________________________________________________________________________________ Other ___________________________________________________________________________________

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