I know it sounds like a cliché, but it is true that there are many things in which it is not worth saving even the slightest. These five pieces of your car are essential to avoid ruinous breakdowns and they are cheap.
A simple inclination sensor was about to end the closure of Boeing due to the failure that it triggered in its MCAS flight control system and that killed 346 people. Many times, the simplest thing can cause real catastrophes and the same thing happens in the car. With which it is falling, we are increasingly neglecting car maintenance and on many occasions it is the worst idea to save, because a simple screw can end up causing a breakdown of thousands of euros.
Let’s take a look at five items that are not expensive to replace as soon as they are worn or broken and with which it is useless to try to save because in the end the problem they generate can be 100 times more expensive.
Transmission and steering dust covers
A broken boot can end up causing dangerous wear on the transmission.
Transmission dust covers (and steering rack covers too) are inexpensive and usually take no more than 2 hours max to change. Its replacement has a cost that is usually around 150 euros in total (grease, dust cover and labor). Its function is twofold: on the one hand, they keep the part greased, avoiding the loss of lubricating grease, and on the other, they prevent dirt and water from entering the mechanism they protect.
A broken boot causes loss of lubricant and also causes dirt that comes in contact with the rubbing surfaces to act like a grinding stone. or that humidity causes corrosion in the parts. Driving with a broken dust cover accelerates the wear of the transmissions or the ball joints of the steering rack. Having to change the CV joints costs several times more than the dust cover and a new power steering can be priced between 1,500 and 2,700 euros.
Wiper blades
A dried or damaged wiper blade can scratch the windshield or rear window and also worsen safety and visibility.
Windshield wiper blades are essential for our safety. Few things are more uncomfortable than driving a car with bad brushes on a rainy day. In addition to being dangerous and uncomfortable due to the limitation in our field of vision, worn, dry or broken wipers scratch the surface of the glass. A windshield can cost more than 100 times more than a wiper blade. It is clearly an element in which it is not worth saving.
Of course, it is also not worth buying it of poor quality. Always look for brushes of recognized brands and better in spare parts stores or commercial surfaces in which copies and counterfeits do not abound. A new, poor quality brush is just as useless as a broken or worn one.
Brake fluid
Brake fluid should be changed every two years.
Changing the car’s brake fluid costs just one hour of labor and a pint of hydraulic fluid. We are talking about approximately between 60 and 100 euros of cost. A breakdown in the ABS hydraulic group does not usually go below 1,000 euros and the main cause of failure in a car’s braking system is precisely the corrosion of the components caused by a bad fluid.
Most cars use DOT4 as brake fluid, it is an alcohol that is hygroscopic, that is, it absorbs moisture from the air and gradually mixes with water. This presence of water in the hydraulic circuit causes two things:
- lower the boiling point: Brake fluid starts to boil at temperatures below normal. When brake fluid boils, the bubbles that are produced cause the hydraulic system to malfunction, which is what it is known as fading. The brake pedal goes all the way down and hardly any braking force is produced. This can cause serious accidents, even fatalities.
- Increases corrosion: this moisture in the circuit generates corrosion that attacks both the metal parts and the rubbers and hermetic seals. This usually causes obstructions and seizures in elements such as the ABS system electrovalves.
Wanting to save less than 100 euros every two years usually causes us to have to spend more than ten times that amount.
Wheel bearing
3 photos A bad bearing can cause more expensive problems.
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Although there are some car models in which the wheel bearing is not cheap, in most it is an accessible replacement that does not require too much time to change. The first thing that usually causes a bearing in poor condition is an annoying hum when driving (be careful because it can be confused with a defect in the tires that can wear out forming saw teeth and the sound is very similar).
If the bearing is very bad, it gets hot and it can damage elements such as the ABS sensors with expansion. It can also cause irregular tire wear, play and instability in the direction and even wear on the hub itself, which ends up making it necessary to replace the entire knuckle at a price several times more expensive than the bearing itself. Although it is not frequent, it can even cause the wheel to detach from that axis.
Glass of expansion
Coolant expansion vessels become brittle over the years.
The expansion vessels in which the coolant is stored become brittle over the years. The heat, the antifreeze itself and natural oxidation end up making these plastics break easily. Also, the pressure building up in the circuit is constantly stretching and contracting them.
If your car’s expansion tank has cracks or has completely lost its transparency, it’s time to change it. An expansion vessel is relatively cheap and the damage that can cause it to break is very expensive. There are cars that do not have a coolant level indicator and when you realize that the antifreeze has spilled, it is likely that you have already damaged the head gasket or even seized the engine.