Marginal motoring: cheap tricks and quick fixes -- Page 2

4. Squeaky belt
Duchene's remedy: Hold a bar of soap to the outside edges of the belt while it's turning. Of course, warns Duchene, "Do not put your hand in the fan!"

5. Smoke under the hood
Yes, it's kind of thrilling to roll up to a lawn party with your jalopy smoking like a barbeque grill, but don't expect another invitation. The cause is cooked rings. If you want to keep rolling, Busch offers this tip: "In the summertime, run a heavier weight of oil; instead of running 10W30 or 10W40, switch to 20W50, which is a thicker oil and won't burn as fast." Just remember to switch to a lighter grade when winter comes or your quick fix will turn thick as molasses.

6. Fuel problems
Speaking of winter, the marginal motorist's best sub-zero friend is dry gas. For 99 cents, it will keep the water in your gas tank from freezing and fouling your fuel. To keep water out of your tank, always run full when temperatures plummet; that leaves less tank metal above the fuel level on which condensation can form.

Dirt and rust in the tank can make for a drum solo in your engine. Duchene solved just that problem recently: "If you have dirty lines, you can run a fuel filter in front of the fuel pump and just replace the fuel filter every two or three fill-ups," he says. "Get the clear kind if you can so you can see the dirt piling up in it. For $3, it saves having to take the tank out and it takes five minutes to replace." That worst-case scenario will run you $222.99 for the tank and a lot of labor.

If you have a leaky radiator, Alumaseal is the ticket. "It looks like powdered aluminum and actually works quite well," says Duchene. "It goes to wherever the leak is and when it reaches air, it basically sets up." And at $2.79, it sure beats $130 plus labor for a new radiator.

8. Air conditioner leak
Freon leaks can be a real nuisance. Fortunately, the industry has come up with a couple solutions for marginal motorists: You can now buy Freon canisters with stop-leak for $5.99 that finds and plugs pinhole leaks in your system. If that doesn't work, an authorized Freon tech can recharge your system with dye-containing Freon that will mark the leak for (one hopes) easy repair. A new condenser will run you $130 and a ton of labor.

9.Headlight problems
In sunny climates, plastic headlight lenses get cloudy over time. On some vehicles, you would have to replace the whole light fixture at $200 or more per light to see again. Instead, pick up Blue Magic Plastic and Fiberglass Cleaner for $4.99. Two easy applications and your car's cataracts are gone.

Got a ding in your light? Duchene has the solution: clear silicon. One dab from a $2 tube will keep the water out.

"Remember," he adds. "If a headlight goes out, make sure that it's the one on the driver's side that works; otherwise oncoming traffic will hit you if you're dark on that side."

10. Windshield ding
Duchene offers an equally simple solution to an unwanted star in your windshield. "You can use Super Glue ($1.99) on that or you can pay some guy $20 to use Super Glue on it," he says. "It's basically the same thing."

11. Leaky heater
When your heater core fails, the leaking moisture causes your defrost to fog your windows, sometimes with an oily film. A new core isn't outrageous ($30), but the job of replacing it can run to 10 very expensive hours. To avoid that, try adding good old Alumaseal. If that doesn't stop the leak, and you live below the Mason-Dixon Line, you might consider just disconnecting the heater hose altogether and embrace the winter chill.

12. Nagging dashboard lights
Can't manage to disconnect that annoying check-engine light on the dashboard of your beater? Duchene offers this quick fix: "If you're not going to fix it and can't make it go out, cut a little piece of black electrician's tape and put it over the light. Nobody likes to look at red warning lights."

Jay MacDonald is a contributing editor based in Mississippi.