C&C 1-Summer Aid
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Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton and on today's Weather Notebook we go to the famous or infamous CAR Guys‹Tom and Ray Magliozzi‹for a little expert advice on auto maintenance in the heat.

BY: Okay, you've got twenty minutes, you've been a slacker all winter, what can you do to get your car ready for summer. You've got a quick trip to the in-laws and you don't want to break down along the way.

Click: Aahh.

Clack: Oh. Belts and hoses come to mind. I'm not sure that there's much you could do in twenty minutes except to find out that you need something.

Click: Right, but a roll of duct tape is a good thing to have no matter what the season.

Clack: Yeah, yeah! That's good.

Click: Because if a hose should blow and of course there's greater chance for hoses in the hot weather because the engine gets hotter, hence the cooling system pressure increases. So, a weak hose is more likely to blow in the summer than in the winter and a repair could be effected with a roll of duct tape.

Clack: You could fix anything with duct tape.

Click: You could. As far a belts go, if a belt breaks your done for. At the very least you should check your belts and hoses and check the various levels with the engine, of course, ice cold. Coolant and windshield washer fluid and the like. And inspect the belts and if anything is bad at least it will alert you to the fact that you're gonna have a breakdown on the way and maybe you can plan where to have it. Like far enough away from your in-laws house...

Clack: So you can't make it!

Click: So you can't make it! Exactly!

Clack: We also have a list of summer driving tips on our website you might want to go check out.

BY: Which is cartalk@cars.com?

Clack: Yeah!

As if you didn't know and in case you don't know, that's Tom and Ray Magliozzi, the hosts of public radio's Car Talk. The Weather Notebook is generously supported by The National Science Foundation and Subaru of America.