BELTS: The 5 Vehicle Checks That Save Time, Money & Breakdowns
Car Connection Workshop · Jun 11, 2026
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Term
oxygen sensors
Oxygen sensors are little sensors in the exhaust that check how much oxygen is coming out. The car’s computer uses that info to adjust how much fuel it injects so the engine runs cleanly.
Term
air fuel mixture
The air-fuel mixture is how much fuel the engine is mixing with air before it burns. The car tries to keep that ratio in the right range so it runs properly and doesn’t pollute as much.
Part
flange
A flange is the metal “joining lip” where exhaust parts bolt together. If it’s loose or worn out, exhaust can leak and the problem can get worse over time.
Term
bolts and the hardware that hold the pipes together
The exhaust pipes are held together with parts like bolts and clamps. If those fasteners are rusted and failing, the joints can come apart and the exhaust can drop.
Term
muffler
The muffler is the part that makes the exhaust quieter. If it breaks loose, the exhaust pipe can fall and damage the floor of the car.
Term
exhaust system
Your exhaust system is the parts under the car that route the engine’s fumes to the back. If something comes loose, it can rattle, leak, or even fall and cause damage.
Term
lights
Here, “lights” means your car’s exterior lights, like headlights and other lamps. Checking them regularly helps you spot problems early, like a bulb that’s gone out.
Term
four ways
“Four ways” means your hazard lights—both left and right turn-signal lights blinking together. It’s a quick way to check that the exterior light bulbs are working before you drive.
Term
filaments
A filament is the part inside some light bulbs that heats up and makes the light turn on. If the filament breaks, that light won’t work.
Term
high beams
High beams are the bright headlights meant for seeing farther down the road. You use them only when it’s safe and not blinding other drivers.
Term
tail light out
“Tail light out” means one of your rear lights has stopped working. It’s a safety issue and can get you pulled over.
Term
license plate light out
This means the light that shines on your license plate isn’t working. Some places require it to be working, so you can get cited or pulled over.
Place
Dunville
Dunville is the place where the story took place. It’s just location context for the anecdote.
Term
due date
Tires wear out with age, not just miles. The “due date” idea means you should check the tire’s manufacturing date and replace it when it’s getting too old.
Term
serial number
That “serial number” is the code molded into the tire that includes when it was made. Checking it helps you figure out the tire’s age.
Term
sidewall
The sidewall is the part of the tire on the outside edge. It has printed codes that tell you things like the tire size and other important info.
Term
year date of manufacturing
Tires have a code that tells you when they were made. Knowing that date helps you judge whether the tire is getting too old, even if it still looks decent.
Car
Toyota FJ Cruiser
The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a rugged-looking SUV that many people like for off-road use. Here, the host mentions a 2007 FJ Cruiser as the example vehicle for explaining steering wear. It’s basically a real-world car to learn what to check.
Term
tie rod ends
Tie rod ends are small parts that connect your steering to the front wheels. They help turn the wheels when you turn the steering wheel. If they wear out, the car can feel loose or pull, and tires can wear unevenly.
LIVE
Good morning Niagara, you're tuned in to Car Connection where the coffee is hot, tools
are ready, the talk is always tuned up and I'm your host Niall MotorMouth, Jenkins coming
to you straight from the Car Connection workshop where we mix a little humor, a little know-how
and a whole lot of horsepower.
Here it's not just about fixing cars, it's about keeping you rolling and saving you money
and giving you the confidence to understand what's under that hood.
From the classics to the commuters, the weird noises to the what the heck moments, we've
got you covered.
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through Saturday morning pit stop for StorySmartz.
A few good laughs and I'm Niall MotorMouth, Jenkins and we are shifting into Drive right
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Friday is Fun Friday and that's tomorrow.
We are heading deeply into the weekend, another weekend.
Man, the month is just, it is scooting, it's boot scoot boogie.
I've heard that somewhere before, not quite sure, but maybe you can help me out with that.
MotorMouth.Jenkins at gmail.com.
So what are we talking about today, car stuff, tomorrow, Fun Friday, what's the quiz?
You have to have your questions in by noon on Fridays.
That's right.
So by noon on Fridays, MotorMouth.Jenkins at gmail.com, fire off your questions and that
gives me time to sift through them.
Select three of what I think are the best ones to unpack that everybody might want to
hear the answer to.
So I don't get, just give you a bum fluff answer.
I give you the answer and break it out so that you can fully understand the entire question
and a deep dive into what that question is all about.
So that Saturday's program is a one-hour program.
Questions and answers, Q&A Saturday.
So come and join us.
If you're in the queue in the drive-through, don't forget to double check your order this
morning because Thursday-ish is when that weekend light switch can go on and things
go awry.
So I'll give you a moment or two to get your morning beverage together.
Grab your 16-pack of Crayola crayons and your car connection laptop.
It's a leaf bag.
Works fantastic.
You have lots of room and you never have to dump for storage.
Yeah, it's not required.
It's not necessary.
This morning we're going to talk about belts.
What kind of belts you ask?
Safety belts?
Rubber belts?
I don't know.
Yeah, I do.
So we're going to share that with you this morning.
Five things, five things.
Belts is an acronym and you're going to learn it this morning.
So get your crayons ready.
We'll have the daily weather coming up a little bit kooky this week on the weather report,
but we'll see what we're going to get entangled with today.
So remember our website is a very important tool for you because the homepage is where
everything you'll find to follow the build and repair work that we do and connect with
our program partners.
That's what the homepage is all about.
Click on their logo and meet them.
And thank you for supporting them as well by giving them your business.
Top right hand corner of our homepage houses all of our podcast platforms there,
iHeartRadio, YouTube's.
Yep, that's where YouTube's is.
So click there, Facebook, Instagram, and Stevensville on the web.
And Facebook and Instagram and Stevensville is where you'll find bloopers and reels that
our skippy puts up there and also posts stories and things going on.
Where are we?
What have we been doing?
And I know that there's a what have we been doing?
What have I been up to this past weekend is all posted on Stevensville on the web.ca.
Just click on the businesses tab to find us there and all kinds of things going on.
And thank you to our skippy for taking care of those details because there's so many
moving components now to car connection.
We started in 1996 on the airwaves with a half an hour live call in automotive program,
which grew to an hour in about six months.
And then six months from that, we were two hours and we've been on a number of networks.
And here we are fully digital.
And I'm I'm certainly getting in the groove.
There's lots of things that have to be done daily and momentarily to stay on schedule.
So thank you to all of you who have taken the opportunity to watch our teaching videos
at MotorMouth, Nile MotorMouth Jenkins is our YouTube channel.
But all the links are there for you top right hand corner.
And I forgot to mention the our Freedom Expressions online store.
Yes, we do have merch.
We've had a number of people asking, do you have any merch?
Yes, we do.
And we'll be adding some more components as well very shortly for the summer months.
So each and every item that you purchase gets delivered to you directly from Freedom Expressions.
We thank them for building our online store, monitoring it and also producing the products.
They do all that at Total Freedom Darien Center, New York, just one of the addiction campuses.
And that's one of the businesses that they run from that campus in Darien Center, New York.
They have the kitchen, which is a takeout window commercial with master chefs preparing your food.
Freedom Automotive is there as well.
They also have the boutique with candles and all kinds of lady stuff.
That's all I'm going to say.
And what that's all designed for is it's made their campus completely self-sufficient.
So Skippy and I, we don't want any funds from the sale of the merchandise we wanted to go right back
to Total Freedom Addiction campuses so that we can help to get those who are ready
to deal with their addiction.
Let's help and stand together and get them there.
Well, let's jump into our morning on 321.
We have our swiggy.
That's what we do here each and every morning.
I can't get you all in the workshop.
It'll be interesting trying.
That's for sure.
It certainly would.
That's why they make Mar-Val Mystery Grease or some chicken fatter bacon grease.
We'll get you in there.
We'll get the last one in just like that.
In you go.
Thank you to Earl and Louise Grant at City Auto Sales and Leasing providing us with amazing
low mileage quality vehicles at fair prices.
Greater Toronto Air's premier pre-owned auto store.
That's where you can go to buy a vehicle with confidence and be treated with nothing less
than honesty and integrity.
So here's to you Louise and Earl Grant for taking good care of us.
You're like a, they're your extended family.
You haven't met them yet.
But if you or someone you know is in the shopping mode to replace their decrepit automobile,
that's the place to go.
Even if you got to drive two days and as the crow flies, get there because you know what?
It's a safe place to purchase a vehicle.
That's what matters.
It's safe.
Earl as a car guy doesn't pick any junk.
So no lipsticks.
No lipsticks on pigs and no skunks and mink coats.
And speaking of skunks, I think Peppy Lapue let out a big bomber this morning because I
can smell it in the workshop.
This morning I went outside.
I'm going, oopsie, I think somebody, somebody let one off and it's nasty out there.
I got to say it's a nasty one.
So on 321 let's have our morning swiggy together.
Shall we?
You ready?
321
Yeah, that is so good right now.
Take that you cortisol thingies.
Yeah, not having coffee for a whole hour after you get up is supposed to take care of cortisol,
which makes you fat.
It works.
I'm just going to tell you, I don't, I don't understand it.
It's nothing car, car related whatsoever.
So I just know it works.
All right, let's jump into the daily weather.
Let's see what's going on.
It's a quite overcast here on the south shores of Lake Erie right now.
Thank you to our certified financial planning professionals.
Again, if you or someone you know is going through some very, very dark financial times
right now, please don't give up on yourself and don't keep arguing with your spouse.
That doesn't help anything.
Put your wallet away and your purse away and get booked in for a discovery meeting today.
Do it today.
Get on the phone, jump on our website, carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com.
C-C-B-U-S is in Sam, N-E-T dot com.
And get that hour and a coffee, that discovery meeting booked.
Sit down and get your questions answered, but don't give up and don't keep arguing.
Tony Miele and Larry Tietro have over 50 years experience.
They aren't advisors.
They're certified financial planners.
That means they understand everything about working with money.
Portfolios, debt, estate planning, mortgages, life insurance, critical illness insurance,
and making sure that you have the six pillars to a financial plan set up so that you're ready
for that rainy day.
And if that day is today, it's not over till she's singing.
You got it?
It's not over till she's singing.
So get that hour and a coffee booked with either Tony or Larry.
I've known these fellows for well over 20 years now.
They're my brothers from other mothers and my personal financial planners that have helped me
through some very, very dark, challenging times.
And to go through and try and navigate it on your own and take advice from those or not.
Their feet aren't standing where you are.
We smile and we respect them, but you know what?
They don't have the answers to your situation.
You need to get the answers properly.
So thank you, Tony and Larry.
Here's what we have for today, for Thursday in the Niagara region.
We've got some RAIN coming in, 0.2 of an inch, 68 degrees right now in cloudy
and smells like skunk outside.
Oh, that's not in there.
I put that in there.
Wind is making it feel cooler about 65 degrees, partly cloudy conditions from 7 a.m.
till 9 a.m. with drizzle expected at 3 p.m. today.
So take your Nellie, your Umbrella.
My mother used to call them Nellies.
Don't know why.
Today's temperature has something to do with England, I think.
Today's temperature range is from 67 to 80 degrees.
Feels like 64 to 77.
Not so shabby, I'd say.
Yesterday was, you know, I ran into a lady who, she was poop scooping.
She was doing the poop scoop boogie.
And I said, thank you to her.
I said, thank you for doing that.
She goes, oh, I would never leave it here.
I said, you know what?
You're a champ.
I said, because over on the other side of the property,
someone left me an eight coil steamer there from their dog.
Wasn't that nice?
She goes, that's just ignorant.
I said, okay.
I said, you have yourself a nice evening.
I said, isn't this a nice evening?
This is my kind of weather.
She goes, me too.
I could live in this all year round.
I said, well, we should send somebody a memo.
Don't you think?
We best be getting on that.
That's how you open conversations, folks.
You know, I know the world is different.
And I know it's not the world that many of us have grown up with.
I don't even recognize Canada anymore, but this is the thing.
Here's the thing.
Could you stop and talk to somebody like that and be nice?
Just do it.
I talk to people all the time.
I don't know who she is.
I don't know how she lives in.
But she's passing my house, and her dog makes a poopy,
and she's taking the time to pick it up.
And I just said, hello.
And it breaks out into a conversation.
Can we still do that as Canadians, do you think?
Or have the politicians ruined us?
I leave you with that.
Are they in control of all of that,
that we stop being nice to one another and being angry?
I know it's difficult.
And there's days where, you know,
I want to stand in the middle of a cornfield and just on launch.
But you know what, once you let it out,
can you get it back in, do you think?
I don't know.
But it costs nothing to smile at someone.
It costs nothing to be nice instead of as nasty as snakes.
I can tell you some grocery store things.
And now I know, but I'm not going to let it change me,
as my professor would say, don't let bad things that happen to you change you.
Like the car just ticking you right off for like the third time in the month.
So let's get to it this morning.
Thank you to Kathy, Dave, and Dan Grimo at Niagara Block,
5,000 Montrose Road, Niagara Falls, great people to work with.
You'll love it there.
You really, really will.
Let them know what your needs are in regards to creating that outdoor
landscaping, that Oasis, that special place you want to hang out
and just be with family and friends or just by yourself with your favorite beverage
and maybe listening to some quiet music, but it's your space.
They can help you get it designed and built.
They can recommend contractors.
So just talk to Kathy Grimo in the front office
and she can refer you to a contractor that they know
can estimate design and create and make it happener for you
so that you have that beautiful outdoor landscaping.
They've been building Canada and blocks for all buildings since 1931.
They do a ton of things at that location.
And so if you're in need of building blocks, just sender blocks or designer blocks,
they make them right there.
In fact, I have a miniature cinder block on my table that's my pencil holder
that was made at, yes, you guessed it, Niagara Block.
All right, let's jump in.
You got your crayons ready?
You all set to go?
Okay, because we can't do this all day because that's not the shopping channel.
And thank you to all of you who are subscribed to our YouTube channel.
We're at about 82% now.
Help Skippy and I get to our first 1,000 subs.
That makes things unlock for us and it will relieve a lot of financial pressure
as well at our end of things because we're wanting to do more for people.
A lady just stopped me the other day out front of the shop.
Asked if she said I was talking to so-and-so and I go, yeah.
And to so-and-so and I go, yeah, these are ladies.
And I go, okay.
She says, can you help me with the brakes on my car?
I said, tell me what's going on.
She told me the story and I go, yeah, we'll do that for you.
I said, you pay for the parts.
We'll do the labor.
And if you'll allow us to shoot some videos, that would be great.
So she took the number down.
I said, call me and let me know when it's available and we'll have to fix it into our
YouTube video recordings, which we do on Mondays.
I said, we do that on Mondays.
So we need to line it up and we got to line it all up.
We got to get all the planets to align to make that happen, but we'll do it.
So we want to be able to do a lot more of that folks.
And that's what car connection has been about since 1996 is being a handout
and a hand up to you to help you in any way I can to share all the experiences that I've had
in the automotive world from light truck to passenger vehicles to heavy equipment,
Mack trucks, Peter belts, and even siege shucking equipment.
I didn't even know what that was until I worked up in a little town called Milgrove, Ontario.
Yeah, I did hay wagons and all kinds of stuff there.
It would just come in and it was like, this needs to be done to that.
That needs to be done to this and you just do it.
You just do it.
So that's how you gain experiences.
And that's the lane that I've been carving out for many years and carving it out for you
to share that information with.
So that's the whole idea behind our YouTube channel is the videos teach you five things.
What it is, where it is, how it works, how you broke it,
and what you could have learned to prevent that breakage from happening
and happening down the road.
So save you time, money and a few bloody knuckles and maybe even an NBD, a nervous breakdown.
Yeah, we don't say it out loud in the shop when I had the fellas.
I'd say, I'm going to have an NBD.
I'm going outside to have a coffee.
Okay, now you go.
We'll hold the fort.
Yeah, sometimes you just have to have that meltdown, but don't bring everybody else into it.
Yeah, because it just messes them up too.
So you ready?
We're going to talk about belts this morning.
And it's an acronym, B-E-L-T is in Tom, S is in Sam.
Belts, five things.
That's exactly what you learn on all our YouTube videos.
It's all basic fundamentals of owning and operating an automobile.
And the ladies I talk about, they're widows now, some of them.
Some of them just live on their own and they got to handle the car all on their own.
And they know that it's tricky out there and they have been taken advantage of.
So I gather that we come up in conversation with the ladies,
because that lady lives a couple of roads over.
So word is out that there is a safe place that they can come to and ask, hey, can you?
So help us to be able to do those things.
And it means getting monetized.
We're over the halfway mark.
We're over 500 subscribers right now.
And here's the thing.
At 82%, it tells me in the analytics that many of you are enjoying the videos.
And I put a couple of shorts up the other day and they hit pretty good.
Something that's a serious health risk.
So some videos coming out on that that you need to know about.
It's a need to know thing.
Out of those 82%, if all of you subscribed, we'd be doing a happy dance in the front yard,
Skippy and I probably for a good 20 minutes, embarrassing the snot out of ourselves.
And that might go viral if we recorded it.
But I say that in jest because it's so important that we work together, together.
So if you would take a moment to make sure you're subscribed to our YouTube channel today
and push us into the next through the next 500 to get to a thousand subs,
we would be absolutely delighted.
We really, really words can't describe how happy we would be
for all the efforts that we're putting in.
Okay, number one is breaks.
So we're belts refers at the end, you'll see that belts refers the acronym
refers to just basic vehicle ownership and fundamentals.
You don't need to be a rocket scientist.
You don't need to know camshaft, crankshaft, main journal bearings,
connecting rod bearings.
You don't need to know any of all that stuff.
You just need some of the basics.
That's all because the basics will keep that vehicle running forever.
And remember mileage does not matter.
Maintenance does.
So I don't care who's squawking.
What talking head is saying what mileage does not matter.
Maintenance matters.
So if you're not willing to do maintenance, then this program is definitely not for you.
So, you know, you don't have to eat it if you don't like it, as they say.
Okay, so number one is breaks.
What do we need to do?
We need to have them inspected, checked and serviced.
That's it.
And not wait until we hear grunching, scraping, scratching.
My former mother-in-law called it grunch break grunch.
And I thought that was really good.
That's a really good descriptive word break.
Don't wait for break grunch in order to get your attention.
So breaks, inspection, maintenance, that means they need to be maintained.
It's not just, if I do your breaks today, see you whenever.
How do I get 159,000 kilometers out of a break job?
I got lucky.
I bought the, I bought really good parts, or I sneak them in at night time when you're not
looking and do a quick break job, a pad slap.
No, it's maintenance.
Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.
Remember I just said, mileage doesn't matter.
Maintenance does.
That's where you will, will avoid these massive repair bills you guys and gals are getting.
And you go like, what, for about 20 minutes?
And then you black out.
And then they bring you to and you're still, what, how much?
That's how you avoid those things.
But if you wait until the vehicle says enough's enough, today's the day.
Today is the day.
I got enough things going on and I ain't going nowhere.
Number two, exhaust system.
We can either wait until we sound like the the pizza delivery car because I really
swear that the pizza delivery, one of the recommendations and one of the qualifications
I should say for the vehicle is it has to be loud.
Yeah, preferably dragging a muffler tailpipe, but the exhaust has to be loud so that you know
the pizza delivery guy is getting close.
And I, you know what?
I hear it here in the neighborhood.
I don't order pizza.
I do a pretty good Nilo pizza.
Let me tell you, it is good.
It's a meal replacement.
So I've been told I'm not patting myself on the back.
But when I say I'm going to make a Nilo pizza, can I come bring a fork exhaust system?
Yeah.
So I'm not going to deliver your pizza for you.
But the pizza guy generally in our neighborhood has loud exhaust.
Exhaust systems.
We need to make sure that they're right and tight because that will also has a possibility to throw
a fault code at you.
Bazinga on the dash and you go, holy smokes, the service light just came on.
We better pull over and run before the car explodes.
No, that's James Bond.
Cars always explode in James Bond and other movies apparently.
I don't watch movies much anymore.
I can't even remember the last movie I watched at all.
Yeah, I haven't even seen a ET yet.
That would be a new release for me.
Absolutely.
I like to do stuff.
So not much of a sitter.
So exhaust systems.
What we know is the the exhaust that comes out of it.
Instead of getting into the science, I'm just going to say it can kill you.
It can put you to sleep and that's it.
You're done.
Burger City.
It's over.
But you can also fool the oxygen sensors that are sniffing the exhaust and letting the
computer know what the air fuel mixture is so that we don't continue to blow holes in the
atmosphere or something like that.
They'll dream up some other science thing that doesn't even exist.
Yeah, I came across a really cool article.
I'm not even sure.
I'd love to share it with all of you, but I'm not sure that I could without getting
canceled because it talks about CO2 in detail.
And I read the article and I go, yeah, I learned that in grade five science class.
And the article is pretty straightforward that it you know, it's just a made up thing.
And it blows lots of holes in it.
So I don't know if I can share that with you safely or not without getting canceled.
But it's absolutely 100% true.
Just ask a farmer.
So the exhaust system needs to be tight and right.
We want to make sure that we don't have something that's about ready to break off.
We don't have a flange.
I call them flange arotties.
We don't want any rotted flange arotties that the bolts and the hardware that hold the pipes
together are about ready to break.
And then your exhaust is going to fall down.
We want to check and make sure that everything is connected well, that things aren't,
there isn't going to be an area of weakness that it's all of a sudden just going to fall
and catch the ground and make a big buckle in the floor of your car because that can absolutely
happen.
I've seen it happen many times and had to pull seats out and carpets out to bang the floor
back down because a muffler broke and the pipe fell forward, not backwards so that it's dragging.
It's actually grabbing the ground.
It grabbed the ground and tried to push the muffler and the pipe up through the floor
and it does a lot of damage.
So we want to make sure the exhaust system is tight and right.
Any areas of weakness, it's best to take care of them before that kind of thing happens.
And it can go from being a problem to a major problem.
So we don't think about those things just because it's not hanging and dragging.
You haven't been asked to be the pizza delivery guy.
Doesn't mean that everything is okey-dokey.
Number three, lights.
How many of you do a little circle check on your vehicle periodically?
Like not once every 10 years.
That's not periodically, okay?
Periodically in my mind is at least once a week.
Once you've gotten your beverage locked down, if you travel with your own fluid and that you like,
just walk around the vehicle with the lights on and put the four ways on because that'll
tell you that the brake lights work.
Did you know that?
If you put on the four ways, in most cases, it will definitely show you that the filaments in the
bulbs will work, the brake lights will work.
So it'll confirm that.
So put the four ways on to annoy your neighbor across the street in the dark.
And no, you don't do that.
I'm just kidding.
No, use the high beams.
Yeah, back to car in.
Use the high beams and give them an x-ray or burn their corneas.
One or the other.
So do a walk around on your vehicle and check all the lights.
That way, you don't need to have an officer in your busy day pull you over to tell you
you have a tail light out.
Yeah, I had that happen many years ago.
And I knew the officer was lying through his stinkin' teeth.
I said, oh, why did you pull me over?
Oh, you got a license plate light out.
And in my head, I'm going, yeah, right, buddy.
I didn't make a big deal of it.
I'm just going, no, it's not out.
I know that for a fact.
So that happened in Dunville.
You know, this weekend, Mudcat Festivola.
That's right, Wally the catfish apparently has been painted on the outside of town.
I'm going to have to check that out sometime.
So this weekend already is Mudcat Festival in Dunville, Ontario, Canada.
So do a circle check.
Check all the lights.
Check the high beams.
Make sure everything's working so you don't have somebody pull you over to let you know
that your license plate light is out, but it's actually working.
They just wanted to see if you had a donut.
That's what I'm thinking.
I didn't have one.
So I got a ticket for something.
I can't remember what it was.
Oh, yeah.
I didn't have my glasses on.
Yeah, I got a ticket quickly here.
Yeah, it just launches a story.
So I get pulled over.
I headed into town.
I was working on my car as I always was.
And this was my cute little summer car.
And I had the front bumper off, but I needed to get to the bank before noon.
So into the into town, big town of Smithville, Ontario,
and went to the bank coming back out.
Lo and behold, boom, I get pulled over.
But he tells me that I have a license plate out.
Well, first of all, it was daylight and I didn't even have them on.
Big clue.
So he says, where's the front bumper of your car?
I said it's back at home at my parents place.
I said, I just painted it on the inside to prevent the rest from coming through on the chrome.
Well, you should have your license plate up there.
I said, I got it up on the dash.
Oh, and then he goes, I'll be right back.
So he checks my driver's license.
Everything comes back and gives me a ticket.
Here's what I read.
Driver in contravention of conditions.
Why do I remember that?
I wasn't even 20 years old at that time.
Driver in contravention of conditions.
And it was like 120 bucks.
I'm going like, I have to work a whole freaking year for that back then.
So anyways, that meant that I was in contradiction of my conditions,
which were I needed to have my glasses on when I was driving and I left them on the workbench.
Yeah, I think he, I think he was cheesed off that I did not have a donut in the car.
He's like really looking around.
So next tires.
Round and black doesn't qualify.
I just want to get that out of the way.
Round and black does not constitute a tire.
There's more to it than that.
We talked a bit about it the other day that they're only good for six years.
So we want to make sure that your tires aren't way beyond the due date.
And yes, they have due dates on the surface area of the tire.
So if you wonder what that is, go to our YouTube channel.
Going back into, there's well over 400 videos up there now.
Holy smokes, did Skippy and I do that?
My goodness, we've been busy.
Yeah, about in the first 20, I haven't categorized everything yet.
That's another project, but if we will get that done, it'll be helpful for you guys.
So we will get that done.
If we knew we should have been doing that from the beginning, that would have been much easier.
But now we got to go back and do that.
We can categorize the videos so that you can look it up very easily.
So what about the first 20 videos or more?
I think I did a video twice on how to read the sidewall of your tire
and where the serial number is and how to decipher that, the year date of manufacturing.
And it's simple.
Sounds complicated, it's not complicated.
And you'll see that in detail in the video for that.
I think we shot one over the winter too, this past winter we did one.
Yeah, we did.
So look for it, you'll find it and it'll show you what all the numbers mean on the tires.
And we did a little tire discussion about that and how to determine the date and year
of manufacture of the tires.
So you're not buying tires that are already two or three years old.
Because that happens out there.
These sales tires sales guys, they're thugs man.
So if a tire is only good for six years and you're paying full pop and they're already three years old.
Hello.
Yeah, how much should you be paying for it?
Half price, because half the time is gone.
Number four, steering.
You know, I often say if you can't stop it and we have brakes right at the top on these five things
today, belts, if you can't stop it or steer it, nothing else matters.
And that's the truth folks.
We just shot a bunch of videos on the 07 FJ Cruiser Tyron ends.
Everybody has them.
If you didn't, you'd be out in the rhubarb patch or on the hood on the roof of your car facing the wrong
direction.
And that would be because you don't have any tie rod ends.
Tie rod ends, when you turn the wheel, the tie rod ends turn the wheel.
So suspension and steering components are serious things folks.
And I just shot the videos and I think we've got, yes, we do.
We have two of those up now showing you tie rod ends, how to know when they're worn out,
what they look like, where they are, and how we put them on.
That's all in the videos for you to show you those things.
Learn more and you know what?
You become dangerous when you take your vehicle into the shop because
they're not going to be able to take advantage of you because you know stuff.
So that brings us to the end today.
That's belts.
So today you learned belts, B-E-L-T as in Tom, S as in Sam, brakes, exhaust, lights, tires,
and steering.
So learning a few basic fundamentals of vehicle ownership can and will save you time and money.
And maybe even a few bloody knuckles.
So I want to say thank you to Eddie, the driving instructor from many years ago.
I came across his little note that he had sent to me in a package at the radio station many
years ago.
It's from Orchard Park.
I don't know if he's still even alive today, but Eddie sent me that and he said,
I have his original note right here.
And he says, Eddie from Orchard Park, he's a driving instructor and he teaches his students
about maintenance with the acronym belt.
So I give Eddie all the kudos for that and thank you for teaching our young folk because
they do need to learn how to take care of automobiles unless they want to work.
I don't think they want to work really, really hard trading time for money just to buy a car.
I don't think so.
And I look at the vehicles out there today.
There really aren't any really hot classics that you would want to collect, I don't think.
Somebody asked me that the other day.
If you were to collect an automobile today, motor mouth, what would it be?
I don't know.
I have no idea.
I don't see anything on the road.
I said, to me, most of the cars look like jelly bean cars now.
They're all pretty much shaped the same way, whether it's an SUV or it's a car.
Everything pretty much has that same shape.
I said, there's no, there's no architecture to vehicles anymore.
So I'd say, I said to them, basic transportation, that's all it is to me anymore.
There's really nothing out there that super excites me whatsoever because I really like chrome.
You know, chrome is my favorite color.
So till tomorrow, happy healthy motoring my friends.
Don't forget to like and subscribe and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Stevensville on the web.ca.
And grab some gear.
We've got some great t-shirts up there.
We're going to put some more new t-shirts up there for you to have as well.
I got some slogans.
I want to put on some t-shirts and I think it's time we might want to do a couple of those for the summer.
Remember, all the proceeds go to total freedom addiction campuses in Canada and USA and Skippy.
We're not making a penny on any of it.
It's whatever you buy, the money goes to help that next person break free of their addiction.
And we want to help them get to a campus.
So stand with us and help us together.
We can make a difference in somebody else's life.
So peace, patience and kindness.
Keep it under 100.
Put the coffee on and we'll see you tomorrow morning.
It is fun Friday for another edition of Motor Mouse Morning Drive.
We'll see you in the next one.
Bye for now.
About this episode
“Belts” is introduced as an acronym for a quick set of vehicle checks designed to keep you rolling and avoid expensive breakdowns. The hosts spell it out (B-E-L-T as in Tom, S as in Sam) and walk through the checklist: brakes, exhaust system, lights, tires, and steering. Along the way they stress proactive maintenance over waiting for symptoms, explain why exhaust connections matter for fault codes, and share a real-world story about being pulled over for a license plate issue.
Original notes
This morning on Motormouth's Morning Drive, we're talking about one of the simplest vehicle maintenance reminders I've ever come across - BELTS.
A special thank you goes out to Eddie, a driving instructor who shared this acronym with with me over 35 years ago. It's a simple system he has used to teach new drivers the fundamentals of vehicle ownership and preventative maintenance.
BELTS stands for:
✅ Brakes
✅ Exhaust
✅ Lights
✅ Tires
✅ Steering
These five checks help drivers spot problems early, avoid expensive repairs, improve safety, and save themselves a few bloody knuckles along the way.
Sometimes the best maintenance advice isn't complicated - it's the simple habits that keep vehicles running reliably year after year.
#VehicleMaintenance #CarCareTips #PreventativeMaintenance
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We'll see you in the next one Friends,
Happy Healthy Motoring, Peace Patience Kindness Always Friends. NMJ
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