Before starting even minor repairs or maintenance work on your car, you should take care to follow safety rules. Many people neglect this, but in vain! How many injuries, fires and other disasters have happened, seemingly because of a trifle.
Before heading to the garage, be sure to warn your loved ones about it and take your mobile phone with you.
Small children love to watch adults work, but they have no place in the garage if long and serious repairs are planned. Especially if we work with solvents, weld or remove heavy units. Pets should also be left at home.
Garage doors should open freely and quickly from the inside and outside, and if the weather permits, it is better to keep them open. The passage to the doors should not be blocked.
Be sure to place a fully stocked first aid kit in a visible place. The medications included in it should not be expired.
A working fire extinguisher should always be literally at hand, and not the one you carry in your car, but a special garage one with a capacity of at least 5 liters. When welding, keep a large garden watering can with water nearby.
Exhaust gases contain carbon monoxide (CO) or carbon monoxide, a substance that is extremely dangerous to life, and also has no smell or color. Therefore, before starting the engine, you should ensure intensive ventilation of the garage (just an open door is not enough). It is necessary to open the gate wide or, in the cold season, to remove gases outside through a hose tightly placed on the exhaust pipe. When the engine is running, people should not be in the inspection pit.
Clothing should be comfortable, not restricting movement, but without hanging edges and straps that can get caught in rotating mechanisms. To protect your eyes when working under the body or using power tools, you will need glasses with plastic lenses or, better yet, a special transparent mask.
Gloves on your hands are also sometimes useful, and for some types of work (welding, body repair, heavy equipment removal) they are simply necessary. But rings, signet rings and watches are completely unnecessary.
Before starting work, remove the key from the ignition switch.
When performing work, do not rush, carefully prepare each operation.
Gasoline can ignite from anything: a spark, a lit match, when it hits a hot manifold, during welding or cutting metal.
Be especially careful when handling the fuel system. Even small amounts of spilled fuel should be wiped up immediately with a rag (which you will immediately take out the door) and ventilate the room. Until the smell of gasoline disappears, do not work with an open flame, turn on and off electrical appliances, remove and put on terminals on the battery terminals. Gasoline vapors are heavier than air, they can fill the inspection pit and patiently wait for a cigarette butt to be thrown in. All of the above applies not only to gasoline, but also to various solvents, the concentration of which in the air can become dangerously high during painting or washing parts.
Smoking is prohibited in the garage, even if there is no direct contact with fuel or other flammable liquids during work.
Do not store "strategic" supplies of fuel, oil and paint, gas cylinders, or used rags in the garage.
Do not start repairs until all vehicle components and the coolant have cooled down completely. While the engine is hot, excess pressure remains in the cooling system, and splashing boiling water can burn your face and hands.
The tool and various devices should be of the highest possible quality and in good working order. The screw of the mechanical jack should not have any signs of noticeable wear, otherwise the jack may fall off.
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Open-end, adjustable and ratchet wrenches should only be used when no other tool is available or for minor connections. For "serious" bolts and nuts, tool heads with a reliable handle are needed, or at least strong open-end wrenches. When applying great force, pull the wrench toward you, this reduces the risk of injury if the wrench breaks.
Do not start work if the car is raised only on a jack, use reliable factory-made stands. Do not lift the car simultaneously on several jacks. To lift the car, place the jack only under special places on the body intended for this purpose, having first made sure that they are strong and free of severe corrosion. Do not forget to put stops under the wheels, if possible, additionally engage first gear or the parking brake. If the car is on a jack, do not sit on it, remove the engine and other heavy units - the balance of the car will change, and this may lead to its fall. With special care, loosen and tighten power fasteners when the car is on stands. If someone is working under the car, then no forceful actions are allowed from above, including sitting on the seats, putting or removing cargo.
Do not lean over rotating parts while the engine is running or perform any work in the engine compartment or on the transmission.
When the engine is running, do not repair the ignition system or touch high-voltage wires, ignition coil, or distributor cap.
When working with electric welding, disconnect the battery.
A power tool with an operating voltage of 220 V must be reliably grounded if grounding is provided for by its design.
When repairing the brake system and clutch, do not use compressed air, as asbestos dust from worn linings is very harmful to the body.
When working and charging, the battery releases hydrogen, which forms explosive detonating gas with oxygen in the air. To prevent it from "detonating", be careful: before connecting and disconnecting the clamps of the charger, vigorously wave a piece of cardboard over the battery, dispersing the hydrogen. For the same reason, you cannot work with a power tool or weld when the battery is charging in the garage.
The batteries contain electrolyte - an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid. It is poisonous and causes burns to the skin and mucous membranes, and, in addition, it leads to corrosion of parts and burns through any fabric. Be careful! If electrolyte gets into your eyes, wash it off with plenty of cold water. If electrolyte gets on your skin, neutralize the acid with a solution of baking soda (not soap!). Clean water and soda should always be nearby if we are dealing with a battery.
Avoid contact with skin not only with electrolyte, but also with any technical liquids, solvents, used motor oil, brake fluid, diesel fuel. All of them are harmful to one degree or another. After work, you can use special products for "dry" hand cleaning or at least vegetable oil, and then wash your hands with warm, but not hot water and dishwashing detergent. It is better not to use washing powder for this.
Food and a garage are incompatible, and it is difficult to maintain hygiene here.
When finished, dispose of oily rags. Do not leave flammable liquids (including oil) in an open container.
When leaving the garage, do not forget to turn off all electrical appliances.