How to tell your brake fluid needs changing

Brake fluid is a special hydraulic fluid composed of synthetic additives, corrosion inhibitors and used to operate brake systems. Brake fluid is used in the brake systems of motor vehicles to build pressure when applying brakes. You may need to use a periodic (time based) maintenance schedule or inspection of brake fluid colour and level in the brake fluid reservoir.


When you apply your brakes they use friction to stop the wheels. This process generates a lot of heat. Brake fluid must have a recommended glycol base with special qualities such as a wide temperature range, high boiling point with low volatility, correct viscosity, resistance to corrosion and ageing with good compatibility with sealing components of your brake system.


Did you know that for every 10,000 – 15,000 kilometres an average driver will apply the brake pedal 75,000 times? It is recommended that you renew your car’s brake fluid every 40,000 – 50,000 kilometres. Brake fluid by design tends to attract moisture from the atmosphere through rubber seals and openings. Moisture causes corrosion.


Although brake fluid is designed to withstand corrosion overtime the corrosion inhibitors deteriorate due to age and the intense heat. This will also reduce the boiling point (ability to withstand heat), lower the volatility as well as affect the viscosity (thickness and ability to flow freely).

 You should therefore use the age factor to periodically renew your brake fluid. In the absence of a vehicle’s service history carry out a precautionary brake fluid service. In the event that your brake fluid has changed colour to dark brown act even faster to replace it. You can inspect the brake fluid level and colour using the reservoir attached to the brake master cylinder.

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Which Is Better Nissan Caravan or Toyota Hiace?

Which is King Between Used Japanese Toyota Hiace and Nissan Caravan?

The following feature was first published by JM Baraza in the Daily Nation.


The Toyota Hiace is slightly superior to the Nissan Caravan on several fronts. The Toyota Hiace performs better than the Nissan Caravan. Maintenance will not be too bad, given that you do not intend to subject your vehicle to heavy use, but the Nissan’s parts may be cheaper compared to the Toyota’s.

Fuel consumption will hover around the 8 km/l area for both, sinking to 5 km/l or slightly less in traffic. General wear? Well, a Toyota is a Toyota, if you get what I mean.

Whoever said a 3-litre engine is more efficient than a 2.7 is not exactly right. As Kenyans say: “How now?” Yes, on paper the 3.0 will develop more power and more torque and will, thus, pull as well as the 2.7 at lower engine speeds, but this disparity is best seen in sub 1.8 litre cars. In vans, SUVs, and large saloon cars, the cubic capacity does become a limiting factor in fuel economy in that the bigger the engine, the more fuel it consumes.

For a 2.7 against a 3.0, the gearbox ratios tend to be the same without any major sacrifices being made in pulling power, so on the highway, at 100 km/h, both the 2.7 and the 3.0 will be running along at, say, 2000 rpm in top gear.

The difference is, sticking to stoichiometric AFRs (air-fuel ratios), the 3,000cc engine has a bigger space to fill with the intake charge (air-fuel mixture), and will, thus, burn a little more fuel. If you are going for full bore standing starts, manic acceleration, or terminal velocity, the 2.7 will have its work cut out for it trying to keep up with the 3.0.

That is when the 2.7 will burn more fuel than the 3.0. Otherwise, no, the smaller engine is more economical.

Additional Tips

Build Quality: The Toyota Hiace H100 is better than the Nissan E24. Now, you do not exactly mention what vintage of these vehicles you want, so I will cover the current models too.

The E25 is better built than its predecessor, but again Toyota comes out on top: the Hiace H200 is such a huge step forward from the Shark that the Nissan looks almost awful in comparison.
 

Off-road ability: Both cars are available in 4WD version, but you have to raise them (increase ground clearance) yourself. The E24 and the Shark do not suffer much disparity in their skills (they were both NOT meant for hardcore off-road activities), but their respective successors are a little different. The Hiace is longer and rides lower, so it would not be very ideal to wander too far from the paved path in it.

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Importing A Used Japanese Vehicle To Mozambique

USED JAPENESE VEHICLES IN DURBAN - MOZAMBIQUE INFO

This article seeks to clarify certain issues regarding the process of Importing a used Japanese vehicle into Mozambique. Please note that all used Japanese vehicles being imported into Mozambique will be required to undergo an INTERTEK Inspection in Durban. The Inspection can only be done when the customer provides the MOZ number only obtained from Intertek.

Most customers wonder whether it is them or  the Dealership from which they buy their vehicles who applies for the Moz number. The fact of the matter is that it is the duty and responsibility of the customer to apply for the Moz number at the Intertek office.

HOW DO I START THE PROCESS OF APPLYING FOR THE MOZ NUMBER?

When you purchase your used Japanese vehicle in Durban, the Dealer will issue you with a Pro forma Invoice. You then contact the Intertek office from where you will complete a PAF (Pre Advice Form), with all the details of the vehicle. Most Pro Forma invoices already contain almost all vehicle information which you will need to complete the PAF.
After completing the PAF, you need to submit it along with the Pro forma invoice to the Intertek office. Submissions may be done in person at the office, or via email or faxing to the Intertek office.

Once processed, Intertek will issue you with a MOZ number which you then need to send to the Dealer from wich you are buying your used Japanese vehicle from.

WHAT IF THERE IS AN ERROR IN MY DOCUMENTS?

In the event that Intertek finds an error that prevents them from completing Inspection Services on your used  Japanese vehicle, they will return the documents for correction.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU GET THE MOZ NUMBER?

Once you apply and receive your Moz number from Intertek, you need to forward to forward it to the dealership from which you bought your vehicle. The Dealership will then Contact Intertek Inspectors in Durban, and book for the Inspection of your used Japanese vehicle in Durban. Once Intertek officials do the Inspection, your vehicle is ready to be transported to Mozambique.

IS PRE-INSPECTION COMPULSORY FOR USED JAPANESE VEHICLES TO MOZA?

Unless the rules and regulations of the government of  Mozabique changes, as things stand, Inspection of used Japanese vehicles going to Mozambique is compulsory.

WHAT IS INTERTEK AND WHAT ARE ITS FUNCTIONS?

Intertek government and Trade Services is an organization/department, solely appointed by the Government of Mozambique to carry out pre shipment Inspections on certain imports, used Japanese vehicles Included.
One of the duties of Intertek includes, butis not limited to the physical Inspection of Cargo in the country of Exporter, in this case Durban.

The Inspection covers an assessment of the prices, customs classification of the cargo and the determination of the import duty payable.

Zimbabweans To Pay More On Import Duty

Zimra hikes import duty on second-hand vehicles

Zimbabwe will experience a hike in prices of second-hand motor vehicle imports following the effective adoption of a new duty regime starting this month.Government gazetted the reviewed rates under statutory instrument number 148 of 2014 after Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa indicated that second-hand vehicle imports contributed 10 percent of the country's estimated $4 million import bill in the first half of this year.


The increase in duty, with effect from November 1, has seen passenger motor vehicles with an engine capacity of up to1 500cc go up from 20 percent to 40 percent while double cabs' duty is from 40 percent to 60 percent.Duty for single cabs and panel vans of a payload exceeding 800kg but not exceeding 1 400kg has gone up from 20 to 40 percent.

This means would-be vehicle owners will bear the brunt of paying more duty as government is capitalising on every revenue head to boost its almost empty coffers.Apart from boosting revenue for the cash-strapped government, the latest duty increase is likely to deal a major blow to most people who aspire to own a car but cannot afford to buy new locally assembled cars.However, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority's (Zimra) commissioner-general Gershem Pasi said the hike in import duty for imported vehicles was a way of discouraging old vehicles from coming into the country."Most of them are very cheap in terms of buying them, but the moment they come in they are no spares for these cars anymore. You find that if the vehicle is more than 10 years there are additional surtaxes put on that," he said in a televised interview.He added that the imposition of more duty was also part of efforts to resuscitate the local motor assembling industry.Zimra announced that overall duty paid is calculated using Value for Duty Purposes which encompasses cost, insurance and freight value plus other incidental charges and expenses incurred in the purchase of the vehicle and its subsequent transportation up to the first port of entry.


The other charges added on the VDP include port handling charges, storage charges and other special handling fees.The charges that are levied are customs duty, surtax and Value Added Tax (VAT).Surtax is only charged on passenger type motor vehicles that are more than five years old at the time of importation.For example, a 2005 sedan with an engine capacity of 1 495cc and valued at $4 000 will now attract total duty of $4 472, according to the duty schedule released by the tax collector.The total payable to Zimra will be customs duty of $2 090, surtax of $1 300 and Value Added Tax of $1 092.A 2001 sedan with an engine capacity of 1 800cc with a value of $5 000 will now attract total duty of $5 074 -


Zimbabweans have been buying used cars from mainly Japan, a situation that worried authorities as more foreign currency was leaving the country for consumptive purposes.

However, the local car assembly industry is in a comatose state while the vehicles produced are priced beyond the reach of many.
- See more at: http://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-57064.html

Japanese Ambassador To Zim Says Japanese Cars Safe and Reliable

‘Ex-Japanese cars safe, reliable’

JAPANESE ambassador to Zimbabwe Yoshinobu Hiraishi has defended second-hand car imports from his country saying they were safe and reliable, rejecting reports that they had contributed to the country’s worsening road carnage.

NQOBANI NDLOVU
STAFF REPORTER

Hiraishi said Japan was proud of its vehicles, adding that they were a reputable brand and that was why the vehicles were being exported across the world.
The government in 2010 banned the importation of all ex-Japanese vehicles blaming them for the high number of accidents, but later reversed the ban.

Police in November last year also banned ex-Japanese people carriers such as Toyota Granvia, Noah, Elgrande and Ipsum from the public transport system blaming them for the high accident rate.
Former Environment and Natural Resources minister Francis Nhema caused a stir when he proposed a ban on the importation of used vehicles in order to “save lives and protect the environment”.
However, Hiraishi told our sister paper Southern Eye in an interview on Wednesday that there was no evidence that ex-Japanese vehicles were sorely to blame for the road carnage.

“I do not think that it is true because Japanese vehicles are a brand across the world. Are the vehicles to blame for accidents in other countries? If there is evidence that they are causing accidents, then we can look into that and try to address the defects,” said Hiraishi.
“Japanese vehicles are in demand across the world because they are reliable and safe. As a nation, we are very proud of these vehicles,” he said on the sidelines of the official opening of Molo Primary School built by money donated by the embassy.

Used Japanese cars have become popular with Zimbabweans over the years as they are cheaper than those assembled locally. Previous attempts by the government to raise import duty on second-hand vehicles have been met with a lot of resistance.


The influx of imported second-hand vehicles, mostly from Japan and the United Kingdom, has also eased unemployment as a significant number of people buy and sell vehicle parts and accessories, while others have learnt the skills of mechanics and auto electronics.


The government has also immensely benefited from import duty which grossed $250 million from 206 519 vehicles purchased between January and November 2013, according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency.

Source Newsday Zimbabwe