Author Archives: Justin Smith

About Justin Smith

As the man at the helm of BreakerLink, it is no surprise that its Director, Justin Smith, has always had a keen interest in cars, bikes and most things wheeled. Having spent over two decades in the car parts industry, Justin combines his passion that since 2002, has successfully united those looking for new and used car parts with the breaker that supplies them. Follow Justin on LinkedIn.

Don’t Leave Home without it – Breakdown Survival Kit Checklist

Your breakdown survival kit. We’ve touched on this in previous blogs, however it’s such an important thing to have in the back of your vehicle, we decided to go into more detail. Many people like to check their car regularly for underlying faults and issues, and take their vehicle for periodic services. However, unfortunately no matter of forethought can stop a breakdown from happening regardless of the season.

No one wants to be in a breakdown, but sometimes it inevitably happens to the best of us. In such an event an in-car survival kit will be a godsend. So what should you put in your kit?

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Look after the motor – storing your car over the winter months

The winter is hard on all of us. Reduced energy. Less happiness. And of course you may find you’re using your car less frequently than in the warm months. If you’re considering putting it into storage, then you’ll need to do it properly to avoid issues with fuel, batteries and even paintwork, and this is especially true in winter when snow can damage the car.

So whether your ride is a convenient car or a collectable classic, use the following tips to keep it fresh over the colder months, when it’s not being used…

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Break the Ice – Dealing with A Car Door That’s Frozen Shut

Apart from stating the obvious, there are a number of factors that increase a car door’s propensity to get frozen. Corroded locks and deteriorating window seals can let water into the door and around the frame, as snow melts in the evening, which then turns into hard ice at night, that unfortunately fits exactly into the gaps in the vehicle.

Inevitably, your car’s exposure to the winter weather can also be a predominant factor. Leave it out in the worst position, and you’re more likely to experience frozen doors than if you cover it, or leave it under a tree, where the wind chill factor isn’t going to be such a problem.

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True or False: The Reality Behind Winter Driving Myths

The winter is a great time for myths. From Jack Frost through to Father Christmas, there’s plenty there to stoke the flames of imagination. And of course, motoring as you know, is not immune from wild speculation and story. There’s all kinds of advice, information and directions out there about how you should handle the colder months from behind the wheel of your car – and many of them are simply not true.

Fortunately we’re on hand to go through some of the most popular winter driving legends helping your sort the fact from the fiction. Make sure you’re armed with the right information and don’t get caught out because you made some wintertime assumptions.

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Keep Your Car Looking Good – Inside and Out with these Fast and Simple Cleaning Hacks

You can spend a lot of time in your car. Long road trips, mornings in heavy traffic and taking the kids to school. Don’t you deserve to sit in a decent motor that feels good? Remember how nice it is to get into a freshly made bed? Well, doesn’t it feel every bit as relaxing to lean back in a similarly nicely cleaned car cabin?

And we’re not talking about picking up the crisp packets and chocolate wrappers hiding in the footwells. We’re talking the kind of beauty that’s more than skin deep. If you want the kind of car that doesn’t just look, but feels and smells good as you travel round, then you need to think about the outside too. All that you need next then, are the tips to make that cleaning job fast and simple:

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Why Won’t My Car Start?

There is nothing worse than getting in the driver’s seat, sticking the key in the ignition, only to find your car won’t start. There are lots of reasons why this can happen, and unfortunately it’s a very common occurrence, happening to hundreds, if not thousands of motorists on a daily basis. From simple issues like forgetting to put fuel in the car, to more complex electrical faults – our quick guide should help you contend with some of the causes…

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Don’t Ignore these Six Signs of Radiator Cap Issues

You car’s radiator cap. A small piece of the overall mechanical setup, which can cause a lot of problems if it goes wrong. At worst, you could even be left sitting by the side of the road, waiting for a recovery vehicle. Fortunately however, as with most problems, there are some early warning signs that will give you an inkling that all is not well with this part. Use a little observation and vigilance and you could swerve any issues (and the costs associated with them) before they occur.

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Are You Suffering from Spark Plug Failure?

Spark plugs are an integral part of the engine. Each one sends a little high voltage spark between the terminals, which is used to ignite fuel in the engine. When spark plugs fail, this means that your engine will stop running efficiently.

Over time spark plugs can become dirty, picking up a residue from the burned fuel, coating the electrodes with carbon. Additionally, repeated sparking of the metal components can simply wear them down, increasing the distance the spark has to jump between electrodes, requiring additional charge from the battery which is not always available. In short, spark plugs will wear out.

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Car Losing Power: Possible Causes and Culprits

Over the years, sitting behind the wheel of your car, you become accustomed to the way it works and its capabilities. It’s no surprise therefore, that you’ll quickly notice when your vehicle lacks the same oomph as you usually experience. A loss of power is most apparent when you’re accelerating, and can be due to a number of reasons including air flow into the engine, fuel flow and even faults with the exhaust system. So, if your vehicle is consistently putting in a sub-par performance, these could be some of the reasons why…

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Why is my car making a rattling noise?

We’ve all been there. You’re driving down the road and there’s something not quite right with your vehicle. What’s that sound? Rattling noises are not only annoying, but they could be a little early warning sign that something else is up with your car. What are the most common causes of the rattle, and what does each one mean?

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