Grease 6 Spots on Your Car for Better Winter Driving
Winter is a formidable foe for your car. Dropping temperatures, gusty winds, heavy rains, and snowfall create the perfect storm for your car to operate inefficiently, stall, or completely fail. According to Family Handyman writer Elizabeth Flaherty, you need to lubricate six components on your vehicle to help it face the demands of winter.
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First, gather your supplies — dry Teflon spray, spray lithium grease, glass cleaner, and a rag — and set aside approximately 20 minutes to get the winterizing done, says Flaherty.
Tracks of windows
Winter makes everything work harder on your car, and that includes the windows. To help your windows slide smoothly to help protect their motors, Flaherty advises using dry Teflon or silicone spry on their tracks.
“Lower the window glass and shoot dry Teflon spray down the front, rear, and top window channels on each door. Soak the tracks. Then run the window up and down several times to spread the lube,” she explains.
Use glass cleaner to remove any lingering spray.
Weather stripping on doors
Ice gunking up the rubber on metal doors will deteriorate weather stripping. To help prevent damage and make doors open more smoothly, weather stripping needs a good dose of spray silicone. Use a cloth to spread the silicone across the weather stripping.
Hinges on doors
While you are dealing with the weather stripping on your car’s doors, you might as well hit the hinges with spray lithium grease. Apply the product to both sides of the hinge to help keep the rust away.
Latch on hood
You cannot fix a problem under the hood if you can’t open the hood. That is why it is important to lubricate the hood latch mechanism with aerosol lithium grease. Flaherty says you want to force the lock “door” open and apply dry Teflon spray into the lock cylinder. It just requires a quick blast.
Door locks
A dash of dry Teflon lubricant spray into your door locks will help them from freezing over. To make sure the product is applied completely, rotate your car key in the lock, she adds.
Lid of gas tank
Salt will corrode the lid of your car’s gas tank lid. To help protect it from rust, Flaherty recommends using WD-40. A squirt several times a year will help prevent rust from growing. Just make sure you don’t allow the WD-40 to sit on your car’s exterior paint, she adds.
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These tips are simple and quick, but they go a long way in protecting your car in winter.
DeAnn Owens is a Dayton transplant by way of the Windy City, yet considers herself to be a California girl at heart even though she’s only visited there once. To get through the dreaded allergy season unique to the Miami Valley, she reads, writes, complains about the weather, and enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons, and their newest addition, a Boston terrier puppy that is now in charge of all their lives. In the future, she hopes to write a novel and travel through time. See more articles by DeAnn.