Before servicing any vehicle, please be sure to read all of the following precautions, which deal with personal safety, prevention of component damage and important points to take into consideration when servicing a motor vehicle:
- Always wear safety goggles or some type of eye/face protection when working with, around or under a vehicle.
- Be extremely careful while working on an operating engine, make sure you have no dangling jewelry, extremely loose clothes, power tool cords or other items that could get caught in any moving engine part.
- Never open, service or drain the radiator or cooling system when the engine is hot; serious burns can occur from the steam and hot coolant.
- Observe all applicable safety precautions when working around fuel. Whenever servicing the fuel system, always work in a well-ventilated area. Do not allow fuel spray or vapors to come in contact with a spark, open flame, or excessive heat (a hot drop light, for example). Keep a dry chemical fire extinguisher near the work area. Always keep fuel in a container specifically designed for fuel storage; also, always properly seal fuel containers to avoid the possibility of fire or explosion. Refer to the additional fuel system precautions later in this section.
- Fuel injection systems often remain pressurized, even after the engine has been turned OFF. The fuel system pressure must be relieved before disconnecting any fuel lines. Failure to do so may result in fire and/or personal injury.
- The EPA warns that prolonged contact with used engine oil may cause a number of skin disorders, including cancer! You should make every effort to minimize your exposure to used engine oil. Protective gloves should be worn when changing oil. Wash your hands and any other exposed skin areas as soon as possible after exposure to used engine oil. Soap and water, or waterless hand cleaner should be used.
- Never operate the engine without the proper amount and type of engine oil; doing so WILL result in severe engine damage.
- Brake fluid often contains polyglycol ethers and polyglycols. Avoid contact with the eyes and wash your hands thoroughly after handling brake fluid. If you do get brake fluid in your eyes, flush your eyes with clean, running water for 15 minutes. If eye irritation persists, or if you have taken brake fluid internally, IMMEDIATELY seek medical assistance.
- Timing belt maintenance is extremely important! Many models utilize an interference-type, non-freewheeling engine. If the timing belt breaks, the valves in the cylinder head may strike the pistons, causing potentially serious (also time-consuming and expensive) engine damage. Refer to the maintenance interval charts in the front of this manual for the recommended replacement interval for the timing belt and to the timing belt section for belt replacement and inspection.
- Disconnecting the negative battery cable on some vehicles may interfere with the functions of the on-board computer system(s) and may require the computer to undergo a relearning process once the negative battery cable is reconnected.
CAUTION
Many electronic components are considered to be "static sensitive". This means that their electronic components are vulnerable to damage from the natural static electricity that builds up on people and other objects if not properly discharged.
In the event of static damage, components might fail immediately or might continue to operate, but suffer unexpected failure later. To eliminate the problem you and the work place where you handle static sensitive components must be designed to discharge any static electricity that might build up and do so in a safe manner. "Safe" means safe to you and the component/device being handled. Static electricity arises when non-conducting materials move (rub) over each other. Electronic components can be damaged at very low voltages, starting from as low as five volts. Static electricity is generated every time you move, but the principal causes are walking on a man made surface (nylon carpet), movement in your chair (clothes against the fabric of the seat) and movement between your clothes and yourself. As a rule man made materials (nylon, polyester) are more vulnerable than natural materials such as leather and cotton. Voltages of hundreds to low thousands are common. The "snap" of a static discharge that you can hear on a dry day occurs at voltages far in excess of those at which damage might occur in electronic devices. Thus you will not be aware if you are carrying dangerous levels of static, you must assume that you are. To protect an electronic device, you, your tools, your work bench and the electronic device must be at the same potential. Practically speaking that potential value is ground.
In order to discharge any static electricity that might build up, you need to discharge it to ground. For the most technicians, the best way to achieve this is by wearing an appropriate wrist strap. The wrist strap will have a wire to ground to discharge any body potential. The ground wire MUST contain a series resistor of at least 1 million ohms, (10M is a good value) this will avoid an accidental induction of current into the wrist band if the ground lead comes in contact with live current.
- It should be understood that proper cleaning and protection of machined surfaces and friction areas is part of the repair procedure. This is considered standard shop practice even if not specifically stated.
- When any internal engine parts are serviced, care and cleanliness is important.
- When components are removed for service, they should be marked, organized or retained in a specific order for reassembly.
- At the time of installation, components should be installed in the same location and with the same mating surface as when removed.
- An automobile engine is a combination of many machined, honed, polished and lapped surfaces with tolerances that are measured in millimeters or thousandths of an inch. These surfaces should be covered or protected to avoid component damage.
- A liberal coating of clean engine oil should be applied to friction areas during assembly.
- Proper lubrication will protect and lubricate friction surfaces during initial operation.
