Maintaining your vehicle’s performance is priceless. Whether your a mechanic or not you can still perform these simple tips to ensure your car is safe on the road. What are some of the risks associated with not upkeeping the maintenance on your vehicle?
For one, making the mistake of not maintenancing your vehicle properly puts you at risk of your vehicle breaking down anywhere. While it can be embarrassing what’s even worse is someone could get hurt. So, why run the risk? Follow the simple tips below.
Get A Tuneup
Performing a tune-up on your car guarantees you better performance and fuel efficiency. Performing a tuneup involves changing spark plugs, 02 sensors, ignition wires, air filters, and cabin filters. How do you know your vehicle needs a tuneup?
For one, you may be experiencing loss of performance or rough idling. If so this could be due to the ignition wires going bad. Are you experiencing a miss fire? If the answer is yes, this is due to worn out spark plugs. You can tell whether your spark plugs are worn out or not by examining the spark plug gap and tips.
Check for worn down tips and charred discoloration. Overtime 02 sensors get clogged from carbon. Replacing your 02 sensors will help with fuel economy and mileage efficiency. Changing your air filter prevents your engine from having to work so hard.
A clean filter blocks particles from damaging your engine. In most cases, it is a very simple replacement. To change your car filters refer to your vehicle’s manual. You should tune up your vehicle once per year or every 12,000 miles. For newer vehicles check with a licensed mechanic.
Flush Coolant
Over time your vehicle’s coolant performance could stop working effectively. And this could be due to debris and contaminants in your coolant system. There are testing kits that you can purchase to test the effectiveness of your coolant. The kit will tell you if your coolant is operating properly for hot weather and cold weather.
The second test involves unscrewing your coolant reservoir. Check under the cap for thick muddy looking coolant. You also want to check the inside of the coolant reservoir for debris, discoloration, and a muddy appearance. On the third round use a turkey baster to remove coolant from the reservoir and squeeze it into a clear plastic cup. Now slowly pour it back into the reservoir. Check for any debris left behind in the plastic cup.
If you see any rust or debris it is time to perform a full coolant flush. Start by making sure your coolant temp is cool and the car hasn’t been driven. Next, jack up the vehicle and untighten the coolant tightener. Allow coolant to flush and feel your vehicle up with water and a coolant flusher. Drive your vehicle around for ten minutes and head back to perform another flush. Flush all the bad water and coolant flushing chemical out by untightening the coolant tightener under your vehicle.
The remaining water and coolant should drain into a big bucket or disposable cooking pan. After doing so add the proper amount of brand new coolant back into your vehicle. In some cases, you may have to burp your coolant system to get all of the air bubbles out of the system.
After maintenancing your coolant system consider checking your engine oil levels and quality. If need be top it off or perform a full oil and filter change. Your oil should never be dark or milky in coloration. If necessary consider car repair Arlington Tx.
Make It A Habit
You should make it a habit to maintain your vehicle’s performance. Take your car to a licensed mechanic yearly for inspections. Doing so not only keeps you safe but it could save a life.
