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The Ten Commandments for DIYers
Do-It-Yourself car maintenance though sometimes is a total chore, is probably one of the most rewarding tasks you’ll ever do owning a car. How can you forget the very first time you repaired a minor glitch in your car’s lighting system, or the first time you replaced your car’s flowmaster mufflers? Knowing you can handle your car’s problems and issues on your own – and efficiently at that is no doubt a source of pride and confidence.
Here’s an interesting take on the rules of auto repair – found in the internet, it is called The Ten Commandments of Auto Repair:
1. Thou shalt not place any essential portion of thy anatomy beneath a car that is not properly supported with jack stands or blocks.
2. Thou shalt not work on any part of the starting or charging system without first disconnecting the battery.
3. Thou shalt suffer no flame or spark near the battery or the fuel system.
4. Thou shalt forsake the open end of the wrench, and whenever possible to use always the box end upon thy nuts and thy bolts.
5. Thou shalt always securely block the wheels of the car before starting work, lest thee run thyself over with thine own car.
6. Thou shalt never lose thy temper or thy patience. Remember: "Act in haste and you will repent at your leisure."
7. Thou shalt always exercise extreme care when opening thy radiator, lest thee parboil thyself or some innocent bystander.
8. Thou shalt clean up any and all of the fluids that thy auto may emit, lest they ignite or poison thy pet, thy child, thy soil or thy groundwater.
9. Thou shalt always place thy car's transmission in Park or Neutral before commencing work.
10. Thou shalt never forget the laws of ASSUME, K.I.S.S., and Murphy, and never blame another person for thine own errors.
* ASSUME: When you ASSUME you make an ASS out of U and ME.
* K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple Stupid.
* Murphy's Laws:
1. Nothing is as easy as it looks.
2. Everything takes longer than you think.
3. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
4. If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. Corollary: If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then.
5. You never run out of things that can go wrong.
6. If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
7. If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.
8. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
9. It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
10. Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.
11. Every solution breeds new problems.
Amazing how one can learn a lot of new things everyday, isn’t it?
About the Author: Hannah Racey is a 35 year old native of Chicago, Ill. She has been a car afficionado since she can remember. She now works for an automotive company based in Detroit, Mi. as a consultant.
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