Tag: motors

Looking for a New Domain Name

I thought I would put the word out that I am looking for a new domain name for this auto blog.  You might have seen that yesterday I have been online for 3 years, which is a big milestone for me.  Since this is such a big milestone I thought I would consider another buying another domain name so I can expand this blog.  Like a lot of people I choose a domain name because;

  1. It was available
  2. I thought it made sense
  3. It seemed catchy

While I still like the name “Adam's Auto Advice” I think that it doesn't reflect where I wan to take this blog as a site and it doesn't make sense.  Since it was available for the $10 registration fee it didn't seem like a big deal to me.  I think the name is catchy at least.  

So if you have a domian name that is auto related and would be ideal for this blog let me know.  I am mainly looking for these keywords in a domain;

  • Car / Cars
  • Auto / Autos
  • Motor / Motors

Preferably the domain should be two words and no longer than 15 letters long.  My budgets is $50 but I might go higher for the right domain name.  If you think you have something to offer please visit my contact page and let me know via email.  I am glad to take offers from domainers and any web entrepreneurs.

Changing to a new domain can be a challenging and exciting experience, but hopefully I am making the right choice.

What Brake Fluid Should & Should Definitely Not Look Like

About a week ago I bleed my brakes on my car, a '96 Honda Accord.  On the right is the old, dirty, and pretty nasty brake fluid I had in my car.  On left is brand new clear, clean, and new brake fluid, which is how all brake fluid should look.  The difference in color is very clear.

New Brake Fluid... Old Brake Fluid

The brake fluid I had in my car was obviously dirty, old, and black.  Did you know old brake fluid is a safety issue?  The reason is DOT 3 and DOT 4 brake fluid is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture.  Think of brake fluid like a sponge.  Overtime the fluid naturally absorbs moisture, which is why it must be changed.  Moisture exceeding 2% is considered excessive, and brand new brake fluid has about 1.5%-1.65% moisture.  Brake fluid is designed to have a high boiling point due to immense heat generated when braking.  Moisture causes the normal brake fluid boiling point to drop, which can lead to brake fade or failure in extreme cases.

Contaminated brake fluid can also potentially affect the performance of your brakes and damage parts.  All that dirt and moisture was moving through the brake lines, calipers, and wheel cylinders.  When the dirty brake fluid was going through the ABS Actuator, delicate solenoids and motors can behave unpredictably.  (My brakes work much better now that I flushed my brake system.)

It is easy to tell when your brake fluid is dirty, but how can you tell when you brake fluid has moisture?   There are specialized strips to test the moisture content in your brake fluid, but no shop I have seen uses them.  They will usually see people with brake fluid pictured on the right, and just recommend a brake flush.  You could buy these strips in an auto parts store if you are curios to know.

Most manufacturers recommending flushing your system of old brake fluid and replacing it every 30,000 miles or 2 years.  I think this is a good rule of thumb and should keep your vehicles brakes working well.

I thought this would serve as a good lesson.  Hopefully you will change your brake fluid and not let it get this dirty!