The burning rubber clogged my throat as I saw thick, gray smoke curling up from under my hood. In that moment, after screaming like an 11-year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert and frantically running to look at my engine, I realized I needed to learn more about my car.

Watch the master: Gary Smith of Masters Garage offered tips on keeping your car running. Alan Liow/Staff

Branden Pollett, senior political science student and president of the University’s Jeep Club said he started learning maintenance from his father, the best mechanic he knows, because his family wanted to save money.

“A lot of people are handed a set of keys and told, ‘Here you go,’” he said. “And if there’s something wrong with it you take it to a mechanic. But if you have the skills to work on it yourself, you save thousands of dollars.”

So driven by a need to avoid another meltdown, save money and keep my hand-me-down green minivan “Frank” running as long as possible, I’ve started to learn some basic maintenance skills with the help of mechanic Gary Smith of Masters Garage.

JUMPING A CAR

1. Turn both cars off and raise the hoods.
2. Find the positive ‘+’ and negative ‘-’ sides of each battery in both cars. Remove any battery covers or rubber that would keep the cables from attaching. The jumper cables will attach by clamping onto the batteries.
3. Attach one end of the red cable to the positive side of the good battery and the other end to the positive side of the dead battery.
4. Attach one end of the black cable to the negative side of the good battery and the other end to the negative side of the dead battery.
5. Start the car with the good battery first, leave it running. Give a few seconds to a minute for the dead car to charge, then start the ignition.
6. Disconnect the jumper cables. This does not need to happen in a specific order, but make sure the red and black cable ends do not touch each other while still connected.

CHANGING A FLAT

1. Locate your jack, spare and tire iron.
2. Remove the spare tire and check the tire pressure of the spare. If no tire gauge is available, look at it and firmly check the surface area with your hands looking for any leaks or damage. If any are visible, call for a tow.
3. Make sure the car is in park and the emergency break is set. Do not change a tire on a dirt road or steep hill. If possible, place a heavy object (like a brick) at the tire opposite of the flat.
4. Use the tire iron to loosen the wheel lugs. Do not remove them.
5. Once the lugs are loose, find the correct jacking points in the owners manual of your car. Crank it up (most use a handle) until it touches the bottom of the car. Continue cranking until the car is lifted off the ground.
6. Remove the lugs and place them aside. Remove the flat tire and place it under the car, this way if the car falls from the jack stand it will land on the tire.
7. Take the spare tire and position it on the wheel studs. Make sure to line them up correctly and that the tire lays flat against the brake hub.
8. Screw the lugs back on at first with your hands, then with the tire-iron by turning clockwise.
9. Gently lower the jack until the car’s weight is resting on the spare tire. Pull the flat tire and jack away from the vehicle.
10. Finish tightening the wheel lugs.
11. Stow the flat tire and check for a top speed, usually listed on a sidewall.

CHECKING MOTOR OIL

1. Let the car cool for at least an hour, so that the oil returns to the engine and will read correctly on the oil dipstick.
2. Locate the oil dipstick — it is generally yellow and a looks like a small loop. Slide it cleanly out of the engine and use a rag or towel to wipe the dipstick completely clean.
3. Insert the dipstick back in to the engine completely, making sure that it fits snugly back in to its original position, then pull it out again so that the two small dots are visible at the end.
4. Look at the oil. It should be between the two dots, which indicate the upper and lower end of the oil range.
5. To add oil, read the car’s oil cap on top of the engine to determine which type of oil to use, which will also be found in the owner’s manual. Open the car’s oil cap and pour, making sure to clean up spilled oil.

CHECKING FLUIDS

• Checking the transmission fluid, break fluid and windshield washer fluid is an easy step in preventative maintenance that can be done without the use of tools. Crack open your owner’s manual for your vehicle and follow the given directions for each.