Safety When Replacing a Valve Cover Gasket

Video Transcript

"Hello! My name is Mark Blocker on behalf of Expert Village. In this segment, we are going to cover basic automotive safety procedures to use any time working on automotive systems. First thing any time you are working with tools or equipment, you want to have eye protection. Make sure that your eyes are protected at all times, especially with power equipment, tools are subject to break and a breaking part could fly and injure your eye or you could have a spillage or chemical or any number of things could happen. It is always wise and recommended to have safety eye protection on while working on automotive systems. Another thing that is extremely important is all the oils, coolants and chemicals used in automotive engines today are all known Carcinogens, cancer causing agents. So you want to avoid getting in contact with the skin, oil, coolants and various other products involved with automotive engines. One of the quickest and easiest ways that I have found for that is the use of the disposable Latex gloves. They can be bought at any hardware store or grocery store and you can get them in small packs of ten or in box of up to a hundred. I always keep them handy and it is a good idea to have them handy, maybe keep a few spare in the glove box in case you've got to do some emergency road service. Then you've got some quick, easy disposal protection for your hands because you want to try and avoid chemical contact with the oils and antifreezes and various other fluids used in automotive systems today. The other thing that you need to be prepared in safety is make sure the vehicle is in park, the brake is set any time you are working on or around a vehicle. Whether it be on a flat level surface or under the hood, it is always wise to make sure the vehicle is properly put in park and that parking brakes are set. Even for added safety precautions if you are parked on a hill, maybe use a chop block under the wheels. That prevents the car from possibly getting nudged into neutral or it not being set correctly initially and rolling over and injuring you. We have some other safety tips in our tip section, so please watch our next segment on tools and equipment. "