Phillips Brooks House Association, Inc.

Van Training Handbook

Van Training Handbook

General: The course consists of three 2-hour segments.

Session 1: Introduction to simple automotive mechanics and use of the van. Typically,
one hour in class and one in the van.

Class topics:

1. Hydraulics, in general, and as applied to automobile brakes:

Simply stated, hydraulics, from “hydra”, the Greek word for water, is used in a
variety of applications, e.g., hydraulic pumps, hydraulic lifts, hydraulic brakes, due to
the characteristic of hydraulic fluid that it cannot be compressed.

If one wanted to push on a remote brake one could push it with a stick or a steel rod,
both of which are impractical. Due to the incompressibility of the hydraulic brake
fluid, it acts like a steel rod but unlike the steel it is able to go around corners,
doesn’t bend, has a memory, and is inexpensive.

2. Disk and drum brakes:

All commercial cars have hydraulic brakes but may have either disc or drum brake
systems. A simple disc brake would be a typical bicycle brake. The brake is applied by
the action of squeezing the hand brake, which causes the rubber brake pads on the tire to
stop the tire from rolling. A disc brake on a car operates pretty much the same way. The
hydraulic fluid is stored in a box-like device, the master cylinder, and also in the tubes
that run from the master cylinder to the brakes, these are called brake lines.

The brake fluid is forced into the caliper, a device which is like a clamp with pads in it,
similar to the rubber pads on the bicycle tire. The caliper squeezes against the rotor, a
shiny metal disc, which in turn stops the tire from rotating.
 A drum brake, an older technology, consists of an iron enclosure, which looks like a cake
pan or a drum. Inside the drum are a cylinder, very strong springs, and hanging off the
cylinder are two arced metal pieces with a flame retardant coating, formerly asbestos.
These pieces are called brake shoes. When the brake is depressed, the shoes press against
the inside of the drum wall, which in turn stops the tire from rolling. After the driver
takes his/her foot off the brake, the springs pull the shoes back to a specified distance
from the drum wall.

3. Correct braking techniques:

Vehicles, be they bicycles, cars, trucks, planes, have to be properly de-accelerated so

that the occupant stops at the same moment as the vehicle. If not, the driver may fly
over the handle bars or go through the windshield. This happens when the brakes
are stopped instantly and hence “lock up”. To keep the brakes from locking up they
must be “pumped”, by either the driver or by the Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS).

Standard brakes: If the vehicle has a standard braking system then the driver must
press on the brake pedal so that the van stops momentarily but not lock up.
Through a series of momentary stops, the van will stop properly and in a straight
line.

ABS: Research on an automated system, especially for airplane braking needs,

began some 80 years ago and has been refined and improved to the point where
most new cars come equipped with some form of automated pumping system. ABS,
(usually signified by a symbol, with the letters ABS inside a circle, is displayed on
the dash board when you start the car), comes with sensors on each tire, some
valves, a pump, and an electronic control.

The sensors monitor the rotation of the wheels (15 times a second) and if one wheel
is rotating much slower than the others, suggesting an impending lock-up, the
system will pull some of the brake fluid away from the tire, making it spin faster.
Conversely, if the sensor picks up a wheel that is rotating too fast, brake fluid will be
applied to the brake. There are several ways one can tell you have ABS on your car:
1) the symbol on your dashboard; 2) the brake chatters or pulsates when it is
braking; 3) you may hear the pump also. ABS brakes should NOT be pumped as
standard brakes are. Just keep your foot on the brake and apply the amount of
pressure you deem appropriate. All PBHA vans have ABS –do not pump the
brakes!

4. Brake failure:
 What do you do if there is no brake pressure when you apply the brake? If you do
lose braking function, try not to panic and do the following things: pump the brake
as fast as you can as this may restore pressure in the line. If you do re-establish the
pressure, stop the van and do not drive it. If this doesn’t work, try to slow the
vehicle down, take your foot off the gas and down-shift. If all else fails then you
apply the emergency brake, always completely and as slowly as you can, given the
circumstances. If you use the emergency brake at high speeds the brake may pull
out of its moorings. Do what you have to do.

Unexplained increase in speed: It is forbidden to wear clogs or flip-flops when

driving PBHA vans. The reason for this is they can jam under the gas pedal and
cause the van to take off. If you then apply the brake, it may flip over. Another
cause of the increase would be the temporary floor mats on the driver side. These
too have been known to cause rapid acceleration when they are pushed under the
pedals. (It happened to me once).

5. Emergency Brake:

Whenever you drive a vehicle that is new to you, it is very important to check two
things: 1) see if the vehicle has ABS or not; 2) and what kind of emergency brake it
has. If you jam on a standard brake system, the wheels may lock up whereas, on the
other hand, many accidents have happened because people pump ABS.

Emergency brakes are not hydraulic but mechanical. It is a cable(s) that goes to the
back tires and pulls the brake shoes against the drum wall, thus, stopping the wheel
from turning. Note here: in the disc system, the caliper presses the pads against the
rotor thus stopping the car. Not so in the emergency brake on a disc brake car.
There are actually small brake shoes, (along with the caliper), in the disc format. If
you notice in the disc brake illustration, the rear rotor does not have the flat profile
that the front rotor has. If you could look into the rear rotor from the back, you
would see a pair of brake shoes, which would be pulled when the emergency brake
is used.

There are three types of emergency brakes, each used differently: 1) the hand brake;
2) engaged by foot, released by hand; 3) engaged by foot, released by foot. No
matter what the type brake, the emergency brake should be depressed until it will
go no further and as slowly as practical. Do not go by the emergency brake light on
the dashboard as that will light up whenever there is a contact, even if it a light
contact. If you have the time and the circumstances allow, apply the brake as slowly
as practical. This will prevent the brake from locking up, will reduce stress on the
system (and the driver), and may reduce the chance for a malfunction.
 a) The hand brake. This is usually to the right of the driver and is certainly the most
desirable of the three, for any number of reasons. It is easy to find, easy to engage,
and chances are the driver’s right arm may not be injured as often as his leg or foot.
Another person may pull it if the driver is disabled. A vehicle must have a hand brake
when a prospective driver takes a road test. Hand brakes are not an option for the
vans.

b) Applied by foot, released by hand. This is the type that is on all the PBHA vans. It is
to the left of the driver, under the dashboard. You push on it until it won’t go any
further but try to do it as slowly as possible, depending upon the circumstance. Let’s
say you push it down but the van is still moving. You may not have engaged it
completely, so push it down as far as it goes and hopefully the van will stop. Note: If
you are driving a vehicle new to you, keep in mind that it is possible that the release
return may cause the emergency brake pedal to smack your fingers. If you are
concerned, put your foot between the release and the pedal but close to the release so
as not to interfere with the brake disengaging.

c) Applied by foot, released by foot. This is used pretty much the same as the above,
except when it comes to releasing it, which is done by pushing it with your foot once
again. Take the example from above. You push the brake but the van continues to
move but it you push it again, here the brake will disengage. Keep this in mind. You
could re-engage it by doing it properly.

6). Simple overview of engine and transmission and dip sticks:

a). The engine and pistons: Most of the power in a car comes from the
controlled explosions in the piston chambers. Air and gas mix and
are ignited by a spark plug. This drives the pistons down. A car can
have any number of pistons, the most common, six (V6) or 8 (V8). The
more pistons the greater the power and smoothness of ride, theoretically.
We use a dip stick measure to determine if the car has enough oil to coat
the moving parts. We check for two things: the oil level and the
condition of the oil. New oil has an amber color but as it travels through
the engine it becomes darker and darker. The oil filter cleans the oil
down to the micron level but it eventually gets clogged and allows the
dirty oil back into the engine, which can abrade the piston walls. Color
of the oil is important but more important is the condition of the oil. If
it appears sludgy and doesn’t flow on the stick, it should be replaced,
along with the filter.

b). Transmission and gears: It serves the motorist little good if the power
generated by the internal combustion in the pistons is not applied to
pushing the wheels forward or backwards. This is the function of the
 transmission, which “transmits” the power to the wheels. It is a very
complex mechanism with its gears and clutches working in unison.
Each gear has a particular function, similar to the defense on the
Harvard football team.

The first gear acts like the down linemen where the premium is on
power, overcoming inertia, and pushing the other guys out of the way.
This is the gear that you would use if you are stuck in the snow or sand.

The second gear is like a linebacker. He are not as powerful as the

linemen but is faster. The second gear can be used when you want
a combination of speed and power.

Ultimately, the car wants to convert its energy into speed. This third
gear is like the defensive backfield. They need speed to keep up with
the wide receivers. The defensive lineman would make a poor defensive
back and vice versa. Many automatic cars have a fourth gear, the
“overdrive”. The transmission searches for this gear as it is the one that
has the greatest efficiency and mileage per gallon. It is usually
signified by some type of shading around the “D”, or another “D”
entirely. It can be turned off by the driver.

Here, too, we check the transmission dip stick for level and color. Color
is usually pink. If it is some other color, perhaps we would want to
check. It is also useful to check the smell of the fluid. If you detect any
burnt smell, it is a good indication that there is friction in the gears and
the transmission may be on its last legs.

7). Radiator and battery:

a). It is important that the driver pay heed to the radiator and battery
and the potential for serious injury. The radiator is a metal vessel,
usually ferrous, maybe 2-3 feet wide by 3-4 feet long by 5 inches deep –
just a rough approximation, with any number of irregularly-shaped strips
of metal. The radiator fluid is a mix of water and anti-freeze, a one-to-
ratio. It may vary depending upon the climate. The fluid in moving
through the engine cools it and returns to the radiator. It, the fluid, is
in turn cooled by a combination of air crossing over the radiator, which
is enhanced by a fan behind the radiator. Lastly, the geometry of the
metal strips, with its many facets, dissipates the heat better than a
smooth strip. A glove with fingers loses heat faster than a mitten.
 For any number of reasons, the hot fluid may not be cooled off properly,
causing the radiator to overheat. We have all seen cars by the side of
the road with the hood up, a green fluid on the ground, and steam and
fluid coming through the radiator cap. Bear in mind that steam is 212o
F/100oC and is hot enough to give you a serious scalding. To that add
the toxicity of the chemical and there is the potential for permanent
scarring and/or loss of sight.

What to do if the engine overheats? Once you get the hood up and
determine that it is the radiator, you should either wait for the radiator
to cool off (a long wait) or remove the cap. Best way is to get a towel or
something and cover the cap, then push down and turn, all the while
trying to look away from the cap. Now you can add the anti-freeze and/
or water. Remember that too much anti-freeze may make the engine
run hot and too much water may rust out the ferrous radiator but, in an
emergency, it may be enough to get you to a mechanic. (If you add ice
water to a hot engine and then start the engine, the temperature
difference may crack the engine block. Best to wait for the water to
warm up or start the engine before you add it –little by little). If you see
the coolant needle going toward Hot, you may be able to forestall an
overheating by turning off the AC and putting the van heater on high.
This will pull some of the heat off the engine and may be just enough.

Drivers are not allowed to fix the vehicles, except in an emergency.

It is best to tell Steve or wait for a trained professional.

b). The battery:

A car battery has the potential to inflict serious injury to the motorist
and should be approached with caution, especially when it has to be
jumped. The fluid inside the battery is sulphuric acid, H2SO4, which is
highly corrosive and dangerous. It will eat through your clothing and
burn your skin, or, if it gets in your eye, you will be blinded. Batteries
should only be handled by professionals.

Most people have seen a dead battery jumped but few have any idea of
the inherent danger or the correct way to jump it. It is most certainly not
done by trial and error. While PBHA discourages its drivers from
jumping the battery, it is important that they know the proper way.

How to jump a dead battery safely: Suppose you discover your battery
is dead. It’s a rather new battery but the reason it is drained is because
you left the headlights on. You call your friend, who has jumper
cables and agrees to help you. Jumper cables can be any combination of
colors or symbols but they must be different in some way. They can be
green and yellow, black and red, black and white, etc., etc. Internally,
they are the same, -same gauge of copper wire, same number of wires,
same insulation, -it’s just the color of the sheathing that is different.

Firstly, you should ask your friend if she knows what she is doing. If
she is at all hesitant, you should say stop it right there. But she does
know what she is doing, so we can proceed. Make sure the cars are not
touching. The next step is to decide which color you will assign to each
battery pole. Let’s assume you have green and yellow cables and assign
green to the positive (+) poles and yellow to the negative (-) poles.

You must never attach a positive pole to a negative pole or

else the battery may catch fire or explode.

Some have various ways of hooking up the batteries safely but maybe
the easiest way is to attach the cables clockwise, starting with the dead
battery first. Using our scheme from above, we attach the green cable to
positive pole or post of the dead battery and then attach the other end of
the green cable to the positive post on the live battery. So far, so good.
No current flow yet. Now take the yellow cable and attach it to the
negative post of the live battery. There is one more connection to make.
We do not attach the last clamp to the negative post of the dead battery
but rather to the chassis (the metal frame of the car). Make sure you
clean it of any oil, grease, or dirt that could impede current low. Once it
turns over, you should let it run until the battery is re-charged. View
the battery as a credit card, you have to put more money/charge into it to
use it if it is depleted. It may recharge faster if you drive it, more
rpms may charge it faster. The alternator recharges the battery.

You may have two questions at this point:

1) how can you have current flow if you connect the last clamp to the
chassis and not to the battery?

2) just why do you connect it to the chassis and not to the battery?

As regards the first question, American cars have a negative ground, with the
battery being grounded on the chassis. So, when you connect the cable to the
chassis of the down vehicle, you are connecting it to ground.
 If A is connected to B and B is connected to C, then A is connected to C.

The reason why it is recommended that you connect it to the chassis is because
of the potential for a fire or an explosion. The batteries vent gases, namely,
hydrogen and/or oxygen, the H2 and the O4 from the sulphuric acid formula. If
there are plumes of these gases near the battery and a spark occurs when you
make the last attachment, then a fire could occur.

Some will tell you that you are supposed to connect the red to the red and the
black to the black –this assumes that your jumper cables are red and black. This
may be true 98% of the time but it is not always true and if you are in the 2%
where it doesn’t apply you could end up with a serious injury.

The starter motor is connected to the positive post of the battery and the
negative side is connected to the chassis. The cable from the starter is usually
red and the grounding cable from the negative post is black, the red side is the
“hot” side while the black is the “cold” side. But these cables could have been
switched or they are both the same color. That is why you assign in advance
which color you are going to associate with the positive and which with the
negative.

8). Three main types of accidents:

Only a small percentile of accidents is due to mechanical failure. Most

are due to driver error or inattention. Three areas the driver should pay
special attention to are: backing up; turning; and side view mirrors.

Backing-up: There are many blind spots in a van and the driver should
pay special attention to them. If there is a passenger in the van, have that
person get out and give you directions. If you are backing up to the left,
have the passenger stand on the right side of the van, thus making it
impossible for the van to hit the helper. Picture the assistant as a pole
and as you back up you fall away from the point. Vice versa for backing
up to the right.

If you have no helper, you must be especially vigilant. Check the area
before you get into the van. Back up very slowly, all the while
checking all mirrors, roll the windows down to hear any noises. All the
vans have a back-up beeper but do not count on this. Children may
be attracted to the sound or think it is an ice cream truck while adults
most often ignore warning buzzers. Children are not small adults and do
not think or react as an adult would. YOU are responsible for the safety
of the children in and out of the vans, same as for the adults.

Poor turning habits: Stand on any street corner and watch how closely
cars come to other cars in turning. A good place to watch this is at the
corner of Oxford Street, behind the Science Center. Many of the cars
make such sharp turns that they are frequently in the other lane. You
must break yourself of this habit when you drive a van. In making a
turn in a van you must go further than you would with a car and then
make the turn. Think of yourself as a soldier making a right face turn. A
van is much longer than a car and if you turn at the same point as you
would your car, you will most certainly have an accident. It is not hard
to turn a van properly but you must think about what you are doing.

Side view mirrors: We have had to replace many side view mirrors
either because of errors by our drivers or others. A side view mirror may
extend out a foot or more from the van. Pull in the mirror on the street
side when you park. This may keep the mirror from being clipped by
passing vans or trucks.

In-Van Instruction:

This second hour of the first session familiarizes the driver with the
various components of the van and how to use them properly.

1. The Registration. The registration is located in one of three places: in the glove
compartment on the right, in the open well above the transmission, or behind the
driver’s visor. It lists the year and make of the car, the Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN), the owner and address, the insurance company. (Note: the VIN
is the serial number for the vehicle and is for that vehicle only. One can find the
VIN in several other places: near the driver’s door lock on the chassis; at the very
bottom and to the far left of the windshield; also, the VIN is stamped on the
engine block).

2. Seat adjustment: there is a bar directly under the seat which moves the seat
backwards or forwards. There is a lever to the side of the seat that adjusts the
angle of the back rest from the vertical. Seat belts are behind you. Everyone must
wear a seat belt.

3. Mirrors: Most of the side view mirrors are powered. There is a knob on the
driver’s side, next to the window, that adjusts both side mirrors. If you turn the
 knob counter-clockwise, you will engage the left mirror. Use the knob like a joy
stick to adjust it up and down, side to side. Turn the knob clockwise to adjust the
passenger side mirror and do the same thing as you did for the driver’s mirror.

The rear view mirror is adjusted by hand. You will notice a pin in the bottom
middle of the mirror. This is used for night driving and you can eliminate the
bright glare of the following car by moving it. You can still see the car following
but the light will be angled away from your eyes.

4. Steering wheel: To the left of the steering wheel you will see a small stick. To
raise or lower the angle of the steering wheel, put you right hand on the top
middle of the steering wheel and, with your left hand, disengage the stick and put
the wheel to the angle you like.
5. Starting the engine: Put your foot on the brake and turn the key. It may be a little
difficult the first few times but you will get used to it. If you turn the key all the
way back, a counter clockwise motion, you may find that you cannot pull the key
out of the ignition. This is because you have the key in the lock or auxiliary
position. From this position, you can play the radio, etc., without having to turn
the engine on. To pull it out just turn it a quarter of a turn clockwise and pull
straight out. Pull the shift stick all the way back toward you. This will make it
smoother for you to go from one gear to the other and not go clanking through
them. Make sure the car is completely in the Park position. Automatic cars will
not start if they are in gear

6. Head lights, dome lights, high beam lights: In most of the vans, the
newer vans, the heads are run off a moon-shaped module. Look to
the dash board, on your left. To turn on the parking lights, the orange
lights on the corners of the car, turn the knob half-way. To turn the
head lights on, turn it the six o’clock position. On the older vans,
there is a knob which when pulled out half way, it will turn on the
parking lights. Pull it out all the way and the head lights will come
on.

To turn the interior or dome lights on in the newer vans turn the
thumb switch, immediately to the right of the head light switch, as
far as it will go, until you hear a click. This switch also acts as a
dimmer similar to the dimmer in your home. The more you turn it,
the more voltage is applied to the circuit and the dashboard gets
brighter and brighter. At the end, the switch turns on the interior
lights.

Turning on the interior lights in the older vans, the ones with the pull
knob, is similar. Because you used the front and back plane to turn
 on the head lights, you need to use the side to side plane to put on
the inside lights. Turn the knob all the way to the left until you hear
the click and the dome lights will go on. You will notice that the
dash board also gets brighter as you turn it and is at its brightest just
before the click. Keep in mind that anyone can turn on an
individual dome light by hand. When you leave the vehicle, you
must make sure that all the lights are shut off. If an inside light still
shines, check to see if the door is ajar or someone has turned on the
dome light.

The high beams are turned on by pushing the longer stick on the
left side of the steering column toward the dash board. You will see
the symbol light up. Pull the stick toward you to turn it on
momentarily. Do not use the high beams in the fog but, rather, the
low beams.

7. Directionals and wind shield wipers: The same stick that turns on the
high beams also turns on the directionals and the wind shield wipers.
Same as in your own car, push the stick down to turn on the left turn
signal and up to turn on the right turn signal. As in all the lights, brake, head, and
turning, you should have someone check to see if they are working. However, the
driver can pretty much tell if the turn signals are not working without getting out.
The measured click, click, silence, click, becomes like a steady click, click, click,
click, if the filament is burnt out. If you replace the defective one, replace the
other at the same time.

The wind shield wipers can be turned on by turning the stick toward the dash
board. It has three speeds; so, turn it as far as it goes for the fastest speed. To
spray the water on the windshield, take the palm of your hand and place it at the
end of the stick and push it toward the passenger door. Thus, this switch acts in
the same way as other automotive switches: the front and back turn on one
function and the side to side function activates the other one. The actions are a
little analogous too: turning the arm causes the wiper to turn and pushing the arm
pushed the water.

8. Hazards/flashers: The hazards or flashers switch is on the top of the steering

column, right behind the steering wheel. Press down to turn on and again to turn
off.

9. Airbags: The vans are equipped with airbags, in the steering column and above
the glove compartment in front of the passenger. If you do not wear seat belts in
your own airbag equipped car –all riders in PBHA vans must wear them- you
should be aware that the combination of you going forward and the airbag
 inflating can be the equivalent of over 150mph and can cause you serious harm,
maybe separating your head from your torso.

10. Overdrive: If you look at the dashboard you will see the shift indicator section.
As mentioned above, the overdrive function is usually represented by a shaded D,
although it is not so in the newer vans. There are times when you may wish to
disengage the overdrive. Going down a steep mountain road or driving through
heavy rain or snow may be a good reason to override the overdrive. This can be
done by pressing the button at the end of the gear shift. A light will come on
either on that stick or on the dash board, saying something like “O/D off”. You
can re-engage it by pressing the button once more. If you do not turn it back on it
will automatically come back on once you re-start the car. It is a default.
Overdrive would also be the first D in the shift indicator.

11.Testing the emergency brake: It makes sense that you would want to test a back-
up system before the primary one. Same would apply to the brake system. As
mentioned above, all PBHA van emergency brakes are depressed by foot and
released by hand. The emergency brake pedal is to the left under the dash board
and near the wall. We test it by pushing it all the way down, as far as it goes. Now
that it is fully depressed, the driver will put his/her right foot on the main brake
pedal and put the car in gear, in Drive. Take your foot off the main brake and see
if the van moves. You can also tap the main brake quickly and lightly to do a
further test. It should hold but if it doesn’t either you didn’t engage it fully or the
emergency brake must be fixed. If it did hold then release it by pulling the “Brake
release”. If you are in an unfamiliar vehicle you should be aware that the
emergency brake can come back very quickly and could possible hit the back of
your hand. If so, put your foot between the pedal and your fingers but nearer to
your fingers so as not to inhibit the full dis-engagement of the brake. Many of the
PBHA emergency brakes are buffered and are offset so that it shouldn’t go
anywhere near your fingers.

12. Looking under the hood: We first have to unlock the hood. Very near the
emergency brake pedal there is another lever entitled “Hood Release”. Cup you
left hand and pull the lever toward you. You will hear a click if you have
unlocked it. We will now get out to look at the engine. It may be a good idea to
take the key with you so we won’t get locked out accidently. I sometimes leave a
window down; this serves the same purpose.

The older and newer Ford grills differ a bit and the hood is raised differently
in each. For the older vans, the lever is in the grill, a couple of inches down
and to the left of the center line. If you fish around, you will find it. Push it to
the left until you can push the hood up and see the engine. The hood
supporting rod is right above the grill. Stick it in the hole in the hood. The
newer vans have a shinier grill, something like a truck grill. On these the
lever is right below the lip of the hood and to the right of the center line. Do
the same as on the older vans but to left.

Radiator: Now that the hood is up and secured by the hood support in the
hole designed for the purpose, we can look at the engine from right to left.
The first thing you will see is the auxiliary plastic tank for the radiator. You
can tell by looking at it if there is sufficient fluid in the radiator. For this van,
the color is yellow and is probably half-full.

Master cylinder/brake lines: The next thing you will see is the master
cylinder with the brake lines coming out of it. The cylinder is a clear plastic
and one can see how much fluid is in that too.

Power steering cylinder: Closer to the grill is the power steering fluid
cylinder. Take out the dip stick, clean it off and re-insert it and then read to
see if there is fluid on the stick.

Oil dip stick: To the left of the master cylinder and below, you can make out
the loop of the oil dip stick. Pull it out of the engine and clean it of any oil. At
the end of the metal stick you will see a series of x’s. This is called cross-
hatching and the oil should be somewhere in there. Stick the cleaned oil
dipstick back down into the tube, all the way. (Check the oil when it is hot
and has had time to drain back down to the bottom case.) Check the
condition of the oil, it is a light color or very dark? Does it have a sludgy
appearance? Is there enough oil? If you can’t see any oil or it far exceeds the
cross-hatching, you should not drive it until you have added more oil or
reduced the overflow. If you are satisfied with the condition, re-insert the dip
stick into the tube and make sure you push it all the way down. If you leave
any space for dust or moisture to get into the throat of the tube, you may end
up with a blown engine.

Where to add oil: Look over to the left and you will see a cap with an oil lamp
symbol on it and SAE 5W-20. This is the type of oil you should use for this
van. It is a relatively light oil, the 20 refers to viscosity. Your car may be
10W30. Again, you should let the mechanic add the oil and check the level.
It’s possible to pour it into the nearby wiper fluid spout if you are careless.

Transmission dip stick: Very near the oil cap is the transmission dip stick. It
is more easily seen than the oil dip stick, higher up and closer to the firewall.
Do the same routine for this as you did for the oil dip stick. Again, check for
level or volume. It is not as simple as the other but still pretty simple. You
 will see a “C” and an “H”, cold or hot. Check for the level, it will be higher if
the engine’s been running. If you don’t see any fluid at all, some must be
added. But you should not attempt this on your own. There are various
formulations for transmission fluid and a mechanic should do this. It is added
by a clean funnel down the tube that the dip stick is in. (Your car may say on
the stick, check while hot, check in neutral, in park, etc., etc.)

Two other things you may want to check are the color of the fluid- it is
usually pink- and the smell of the fluid. If you can pick up any burnt smell
then it’s a pretty good chance that the transmission has friction and will
eventually blow. Check this is you are buying an old taxi or police car
especially.

The battery: The battery manufacturer has clearly marked on the battery top
two warnings: Sulphuric acid can cause serious burns or blindness and
explosions can cause serious burns and blindness, or words to that effect.
The battery manufacturer is well aware of the real dangers inherent in
dealing with batteries and you should be too. Look for the polarity of the
posts. On our vans, the negative is the furthest left but do not assume this.
You must locate either the positive or negative post yourself. Don’t let
anyone proceed on an assumption.

13. Driving the van: Now that you are familiar with the van, the next thing is to
actually drive the van. You may find it a little intimidating the first time you drive
it. You should not be afraid of it but you should respect it; it is a very powerful
and responsive machine. Only drive within your comfort zone (and obey the
traffic laws) and do not exceed them. Don’t let anyone in the van or out pressure
you to drive in what you would consider beyond your abilities. If you feel you are
losing control or there is too much happening, tell yourself to calm down, slow
down. Speed is more often than not your enemy. It will usually exacerbate a
dicey situation. You are not in a race so take your time and be aware of your
surroundings.

Try to drive as straight as possible and make wide turns. It is easier to gauge
how close you are to the cars on either side by using the driver side as a
reference. You must break yourself of the habit of turning too soon. The van
is longer and wider than your car and you must consider this in any turn.

Now that you have a little experience in handling the van, we will do two
more things to finish up the second hour of the first training session:
alignment and parking between cars.
Quick check on alignment and or front end: Line the vehicle up perpendicular
to a point, maybe the white house in Littauer and make sure the front tires
are pointing straight ahead and not to either side. Put the van in drive and
give it some gas, going at a low speed for maybe 15 or 20 feet. Make sure that
you do not turn the wheel in any way. Then take your hands completely off
the wheel and hit the brake. If the steering wheel pulls to the right or the left,
you may have a problem with the alignment and/or the front end.

A vehicle will pull to either side because it is out of line. If you notice it doing
so, take it to a mechanic and get the alignment fixed. You will burn out your
tires pretty quickly if a car is out of line. But a car can be perfectly aligned but
still have the wheel pull when you stop. This could be due to any number of
problems, some very serious, like bad ball joints. If the problem is not
corrected you could have the tire roll away from your car while you are
driving.

Parking between cars, head-in: Ask most people and they will tell you they
have no problem parking head-in between two cars –at least until they try
doing it in a van.

It may appear next to impossible that one can get a van into a slot without
scratching the cars, if at all. It is actually very simple, just a variation of a
three point turn. Most drivers will see a vacant spot and will turn the vehicle
toward the spot and get in as well they can. Then they back up and after a
number of adjustments they pull into the spot. That may work with some
cars in some situations but it almost never works with a van.

Here are a couple of ways you can do it:

Visualize the Littauer parking lot, nearest the Littauer building. The available
spot is on the left so as you come into the lane stay as close as practical to the
parked cars on the right. We will not try to park in the spot on our first pass.
Rather, we will try to get our left front tire generally behind the back left tire
of the car that is to the right of the empty spot. When you turn, turn
decisively, turn the wheel all the way to the left or counter clockwise. That is
step one.

Step two is to turn the wheel to the right, clockwise, and back up. Try not to
ride the brake. If you do, you will stress the gear box and the van will also not
turn smoothly. Step two puts the van back in the middle of the street and
lined up so that you can pull straight in.
 Step three may require that you do some more adjustments but you do this in
the street and not between the cars. Once you decide that the van is lined up
straight, then, just pull in. Practice this method with your own car and it will
become second-nature to you.

Another way I do it is to drive down the middle of the street, overshooting

the empty spot. I then back up and turn the wheel so that the hood will face
into the slot.

Note: Jamming the front tires on to the concrete curb in front of the van can
cause the ignition to lock up. So, if you get in the van and the key won’t turn
it could be this. You would then yank the wheel up and down or side to side
to break the hold of the curb on the ignition switch. If that doesn’t work, you
would have to get a tow truck to lift it away from the curb. Of course, the
ignition lock could be broken, which would result in the same problem.

Session 2: This two-hour trip gives the driver a chance to drive in a safer
environment than Harvard Square but experience town, country, and
driving.

First part is boulevard driving, usually not congested and not above 35mph.
There is some traffic but not too bad usually. Drive out to Concord via
Mass. Ave., passing through Arlington, Lexington, passing the battlefield,
and over to Concord on the Battle Road, passing by the Hawthorne, Alcott,
and Emerson houses into Concord Center. End up at the North Bridge, get
out of van and look at the bridge, the D. C. French Minute Man statue and
the Old Manse. This is the half-way point.

We return by a different route, passing through Concord Center, down

Walden Street, cross Route 2, pass Walden Pond, drive past Walter
Gropius’s house and De Cordoba Museum, continue along country lanes
and end up entering Route 2 heading east. Drive down Route 2; go down
Alewife Brook Parkway, down Mass Ave, left on Everett Street and into
Littauer Parking lot.

Students are encouraged to drive “alone” if possible. Try to avoid other

drivers, front and rear, side to side. Riding in a pack or convoy may
involve you in an accident if one of the cars skids or spins out. Change your
speed occasionally as some people tend to ride in the other car’s blind spot.
The speed limit is the limit and not the base. Don’t drive any faster than
you can control the vehicle. Truckers communicate with each other by light
signals. If a trailer truck is passing you on the left and wants to pull in front
 of you, slow down a bit, if feasible, but flash your headlights at him. This is
a signal that it is OK. Sometimes the truck driver will flash his own lights
in recognition. Stay away from trucks whenever possible. If you ride too
near the vehicle in front of you, you will have no idea what is happening
ahead and may even miss your exit.

Long highway trips can have a mesmerizing effect on the driver. Often the
monotony leads to diminished attention with the resultant diminished
response time. There is a vague awareness of the road traffic with the brake
lights of the trucks and cars being used as a first warning system. One must
be very careful in using truck brake lights to alert you to an upcoming
problem. Large trailer trucks try to downshift to slow down or employ a J
brake, neither one will result in the brake lights coming on. The J brake
is a hand-operated brake which affects the compression of the diesel engine
that is reflected in a put-putting sound but does not show up in the brake
lights. If you see a truck driver using the brake often then there is a good
that he is inexperienced or has a defective vehicle. Both good reasons for
avoiding him.

Truck drivers have limited vision and need a much longer distance to stop.
Your being unaware of these factors, or simply ignoring them, can lead to
disastrous consequences.

Remember, the speed limit is the limit and not the base.

Session 3: Cambridge driving. The more experienced driver can now tackle the
stressful city driving environment.

Leave Littauer parking lot and go to the Oxford Street garage. The garage
presents any number of problems for the driver. The first is the rather
tight turn required just to enter the garage. On the one side, you don’t want
to run into the guard shack with a sloppy turn but on the other side you
must be careful you don’t blow the tire by running it into the curb. Once
you have successfully negotiated the guard shack turn (no need to check
with the guard) the next problem spot is the gate.

At the top left hand corner of the windshield you will see a sticker. This is
part of a transponder system, which automatically raises the gate when it is
detected. Only ONE vehicle can go through at a time. An inattentive driver,
not reading the sign, may attempt to follow another vehicle resulting in
damage to the gate and to the van. This has happened more than once. Wait
for the gate arm to go up completely. Don’t jack-rabbit.
Just after this hurdle there is another rather tight turn. Be aware of cars
coming around the corner. The next obstacle is a wall that requires you
to move just a bit to the left. No one seems to know the purpose of this
wall. A few yards further is another gate. Pay attention as sometimes it is
up and sometimes it is down.

The next turn is a very troubling turn and the driver should pay special
attention to it. (The cones and the black belt around the pillar highlight
the problem). Take your time and swing out. It is much better to hit a
cone than to crush the side of the van on the pillar. One driver got stuck
on the pillar and instead of stopping to appraise the situation continued to
drive and caused considerable damage to the van.

It’s relatively clear sailing from there to the fourth level where we park the
vans. Just watch out at the turns because other drivers come around them
sometimes carelessly. On level four, you will see where we park the vans.
Try to give space between the vans. Frequently, a van has both the driver
and the passenger side doors blocked. We re-trace our steps and leave the
garage and head toward MIT. Note that the white stop lines at the corners are put
where they are so that trucks and buses can negotiate the turn. They
have little to do with pedestrians. You can get $100 fine for stopping over
the stop lines.

After we exit the garage we head back toward the Square, go down Cambridge Street
and right on to Beacon and into Inman Square – the square can be a little tricky at
times. Go down to Kendall Square, right on to Mass Ave, left on to Vassar, goes past
the Stata/Gehry building, right after the Koch
Building, go to end, right on to Memorial Drive, bear right, right on to Mass.
Ave, pass in front of 77 Mass Ave, left on to Vassar Street, past Steinbrenner
Stadium, past Simmons Hall, left and right back on to Memorial, stop at
Mobil gas station.

Mobil is our gas station. It was chosen because it is on the way to most of the
programs and has long hours. After you have found a pump, (the gas tank is
on the driver’s side) shut off the engine and take the key with you. Go into the
office and tell the attendant that you are from PBHA. You will be given a
credit card. Go to the pump and select the cheapest gas.

Important things about filling the tank:

Fires while fueling. Maybe you have heard that gas tanks can explode while
gassing up a car and you are wondering if that is true. The simple answer is:
yes! It’s not common but it does happen, more often than not it is because the
person drives off with the gas hose still in the car.

The main fire culprit in the other cases is static electricity. To avoid any such
unpleasantry, you should follow simple rules. When you pull up to the fuel
pump turn off the engine and take the key with you. I would prefer that you
have the passengers get out while the van is being re-fueled. This may be an
inconvenience but it is the safest course of action. You yourself may be the
source of the static charge so perhaps you would want to touch the side of the
van with your hands. You will be carrying more static charge on cold, dry
days. Do not get back into the van while it is re-fueling. Of course, you
never smoke anywhere near a fueling vehicle. Also, do not use your cell
phone or any similar device while fueling up. It can spark an explosion.

Because you are paying attention to the re-fueling and not looking off into
the distance or talking to your friends, you do notice that a fire has begun in
the tank or in the pump. DO NOT PULL THE HOSE AWAY FROM THE
PUMP OR FROM YOUR VAN. Run into the office and tell the attendant
what has happened and tell him to hit the “All stop” button.

To summarize:

1. Do NOT get back in your vehicle while refueling. Stay outside with the pump and
pay attention to what you are doing
2. Every time you exit your vehicle at a service station, touch something
BEFORE you touch the gas nozzle to discharge your static electricity.
3. If a flash fire does occur, do NOT remove the gas nozzle from your
vehicle. This will expose the fire to more oxygen and possibly trigger an explosion.
Instead, immediately tell the station attendant to press the "all stop" button to
stop the flow of gasoline.

Do not top it off. If you do, we may actually end up paying for more gas than
we get. More importantly, topping off interferes with the gasoline vapor
recovery system and may cause the gasoline vapor to be discharged into the
environment (including your lungs). After filling, go back to the office and
sign your name to the receipt. All paperwork will be retained by the gas
station.

Be sure to tighten the gas cap. After filling, tighten the gas cap until you hear
a creaking noise. If you do not tighten it properly the computer will pick up
on this and may send a message to the dashboard in the form of an engine
profile. This symbol is lit for any number of reasons. A loose gas cap could
be one, another common one is a problem with the O2 sensors. Often, the
problems that cause the symbol to come do not require immediate attention.
Usually, a mechanic can resolve the problem with a hand-held computer. Tell
Steve if you see the symbol.

A more serious warning and one that does require attention is the statement
“Service engine soon”. When this comes on you should tell Steve about it
right away. One can pass inspection if the symbol light is on but the vehicle
will be rejected if the “Service engine soon” light is on. Small point: if you
have had settings re-set or you get a new battery, you probably would have to
drive it for 100 miles or so before you take it in for inspection. A new battery
will cause the car’s computer to re-boot too. If you have a problem,
especially an expensive one, and no one can seem to figure it out, tell the
mechanic to disconnect the battery and re-connect it. It works wonders some
times.

We take a right out of Mobil, one way street, go down to the next set of lights,
take a left and head on back to Harvard and to the fourth level in the garage
on Oxford Street. Keys will be returned to PBHA. If the building is closed
when you return, put them in the slots to the side of the doors. The morning
janitor will put them where they belong.

The safety of you and your passengers is YOUR responsibility. Drive safely.