Car care tips
Your car maintenance is just as important as your personal health programme, and, like a good health programme that supports a long healthy life, good maintenance can keep your vehicle running efficiently for years.

Maintenance is not just oil and filter changes. It is a series of preventative measures put in place on a timely basis to avoid malfunction of constantly moving parts that may be put under stress and strain, just like our own bodies.

Mitchell's Auto Supplies mechanics, Ottis Hamilton (left) and Michael Bell, conducting maintenance work on a car.

In many cases, these preventative programmes are relatively inexpensive. Just as you plan to live to be eighty and over in good health, you can plan to have your vehicle doing 200,000 miles and still be in good condition. Good maintenance equals minimum breakdown and minimum high-cost repairs.

Tips

Oil change - Change your oil every 3,000-4,000 miles (depending on road conditions and driving habits.) The oil must also be changed even when your car is not driven for an extended period (two months or over). The reason is that oil sitting for a long period will break down and form an acid base that will attack your bearings and rings, causing potential major repairs.
It is therefore important to use good premium oil (which will not break down readily).

When you car is not in use start your engine every five days and allow it to run for at least ten minutes to ensure circulation of the oil to maintain its composite (also helps in keeping your battery changing system). Change your oil filter when changing your oil, as all the residual dirt that is trapped by the oil filter will seep into the clean oil.

Air filter change - Air filter should be checked every 6,000 miles (depending on road conditions). Your air filter is like your lungs. Once it is clogged, you will have problems breathing. You may have to change your filter every 1,000 miles if your car operates in dirt or dusty road conditions. The more dust you create during driving, the more your air filter will absorb. This will result in poor engine performance and heavy gas consumption.

Fuel filter replacement - Replace fuel filter every 8,000 -12,000 miles. A clogged fuel filter can prematurely burn out fuel pumps. Avoid running your fuel tank below quarter tank, as most fuel pumps are in the gas tanks, and run cooler with fuel covering it. Most of the residual dirt and particles from your gas will settle at the bottom of your fuel tank. When you run your tank too low, the pump will suck up all that dirt and particles. This will damage your pump, clog your filter, and transfer dirt particles to your injectors resulting in poor engine performance.

Cooling system - Drain, flush and fill your cooling system every 8,000 miles. This is important as antifreeze in your radiator breaks down and turns into an acidic base. This produces an electrical charge in the cooling system which will attack the aluminum surface of the intake manifold or cylinder head, resulting in premature head gasket and intake gasket failure, and major repairs! This breakdown can also damage your radiator core causing poor circulation and overheating.

Brake fluid - Flush the brake fluid every 15,000 miles (depending on the road conditions). The more you use your brakes the more often you will need to flush, especially if your vehicle is equipped with antilock brakes. One of the reasons the fluid goes bad is that brake fluid absorbs water, which degrades the electric solenoids in the ABS System, the wheel cylinder, and calipers (which are components of the braking system).

Excessive braking also causes the brake fluid to get hot which causes the water that the fluid has absorbed to boil and create air pockets (blocking the continuous flow of fluid). The result is low brake pedal and reduced braking, although your brake pads may be in good condition.

Maintenance certificate
Just as the doctor keeps a medical record, it is useful to keep a maintenance record for your car. This should be done at professional garages. Mitchell's Your Partsman Service Centre offers a maintenance certificate that records all your services.

This is a very important document that may be used as proof that you have been maintaining your vehicle. It enhances the value for your car when selling, as the buyer will be confident that there are no major hidden repairs that might be needed due to lack of maintenance.

Tanny Shirley is an engineer, and managing director of Mitchell's Auto Parts.

If you have any questions, queries, or comments you may email us at mitchauto@cwjamaica.com or call Mitchell's at 929-3004. Please visit our website mitchellsyourpartsman.com for further information.

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