| Work
Lights
Whether you plan to work on your car in your home garage,
in your driveway, at the curb near your house, or in the auto
shop at a local school, you'll find that the lighting will
be inadequate once you get under the hood - or under the car,
if you're that adventurous. A work light can provide all the
illumina¬tion you need and enable you to shine the maximum
amount of light right on the work area and not in your eyes
When you shop for a work light, be sure to get one that has
a protective c around at least half the bulb and a cord that's
long enough and properly in~ lated. (Go for at least a 25-foot
cord. Lights with shorter cords are cheaper, i but if you
need to buy an extension cord to get the light to your car,
you mo end up spending more in the long run.) Also look for
the Underwriter's tag 1~ be sure that you're getting quality.
The
typical work light cage has a hook at the top so that you
can hang the ; light inside the hood of your car or on a nearby
part. The hook is very han~ but don't hook the light to anything
that carries electricity!.
You'll
find that a work light is useful for a variety of home repairs
and for ou side work at night, but if you're going to be working
far from an electrical ' outlet, you may need a long extension
cord in addition to a work light. Luckily, neither a cord
nor a work light is an expensive item. You may also want to
consider a work light that gets its power from your car's
battery. I'v also seen portable battery-powered fluorescent
lanterns that are useful for I night work and for camping.
Jacks
Most
new cars come with a jack to be used when changing tires.
If you havel secondhand car, or if your jack has been lying
around neglected, you may need to buy one. If you think that
you need a new jack, you can buy the scis; sor type, but I
suggest that you invest in a 1.5-ton hydraulic jack, which
is ' faster and safer and not terribly expensive (refer to
Figure 1-1 in Chapter 1).'
Whatever
type you buy, make sure that the jack is suited to your car's
body', design. To determine the type of jack you need and
to find out how to use th jack that came with the vehicle,
check your owner's manual or ask someone at an auto parts
store.
Check your jack periodically and lubricate it. Never use a
jack without the base plate, and never jack up your car unless
the wheels are properly blocked. You can find instructions
and safety tips for using a jack and changi ing a tire in
Chapter 1.
Make sure that your jack is in the trunk of your car at all
times. It's very depressing to know how to change a flat,
only to find when a flat occurs that your jack is in your
garage and your car is on the road.
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