A certain, buck-toothed night time entertainer has his top ten, but this weeks entry is cutting that in half, and will do so in a hasty manner. So hang on because this article will be short and sweet, getting right to the point and without superfluous verbiage.
If you want your vehicle to last longer, and offer better service during your ownership period, follow these 5 simple points.
1. Change the Oil: Everybody knows this one maintenance item, but few follow it like they should. Oil is the lifeblood of the engine, and changing it on schedule will greatly enhance the motor's longevity and performance. But what to do? A general rule of thumb is this: the shorter distances you drive, and the fewer intervals of driving you perform, dictate shorter intervals between oil changes. Conversely, if you routinely drive long distances at a time, and do so frequently, your oil changing intervals can increase. But consider two more factors: the type of oil you use, and the mileage on your car. If you use conventional oil, change your oil more often than if you use synthetic oil (which is usually twice the price per quart). If your engine is way up in miles, it will need oil changes a little more often than one that is under 50,000 miles. The variances are subtle here, but worth noting. The differences come from the fact that your engine needs to run at normal operating temperatures for a certain amount of time to burn off contaminants that naturally infect your engine oil. Short, infrequent trips are analogous to a person only getting out of bed or a chair once or twice a day to walk to the mail box, for instance. That person will suffer health concerns if that is all they ever do. The analogy carries over to your engine.
So, if you drive infrequently and short distances, and you use conventional oil, change that oil every 4,000 miles or sooner. If you routinely drive on the highway for extended periods and use synthetic oil, you may be able to go up to 8,000 miles between oil changes safely. Deduct about 10% from both numbers if you engine is cranking over 100,000 miles, and another 20% if using conventional oil. Oh, and don't ever neglect to change the oil filter too. It's pretty much worthless without that.
2. Front end Alignments: Every front end component on your car, ranging from ball joints, to tie rod ends to tires and bearings, all suffer more rapid deterioration if your front end is out of line. Simply put, a front end alignment puts the tires (and all the components attached to them) in proper geometric alignment so that your car steers and handles as the factory intended. Having routine front end alignments will greatly increase tire wear and steering component wear on your vehicle, as well as make your car more safe, and easy to drive. In certain cases, it can even enhance gas mileage to a degree, because an improperly aligned vehicle realizes more friction and resistance and is thereby less efficient.
Timely front end alignments will keep your vehicle handling and driving crisply long into it's serviceable life, and will help make it much safer too.
So, how often do you need to perform this maintenance? As a general rule, about every two years or every 30,000 miles will do for most vehicles in most situations. However, as your car ages, or if you drive in the pot hole-ridden snowbelts of our nation, you may be wise to shorten those intervals all the way down to every year or 15,000 miles. Some people make a habit of having this service done when putting on new tires, and then again at about the mid-life of those tires. Depending upon the longevity of your tires, this may work, but don't wait for the steering wheel to pull hard to either side, or for obvious signs of uneven wear on the tires. By that time imperceptible wear on all components has already occurred.
3. Cleaning: Car lots have secrets to making a neglected car look good for resale, and those secrets are nothing more than the same things any of you can do on a routine basis to keep your car looking good year round. First, wash your car at least once a month, if not twice. This not only improves the appearance, but it also removes harmful contaminants such as oil, bird poop, acid rain spots, and just everyday grime that harms the paint and glass surfaces. Don't neglect to scrub those aluminum wheels while you're at it - brake dust is highly caustic and will quickly pit the surface of those wheels if left unattended.
Second, get out the vacuum! Dirt, grass, leaves, and gravel - when ground into your carpet - does irreversible damage in a short time, so vacuum weekly or bi-monthly and use a good quality carpet spray cleaner once a year to help remove unavoidable stains. Don't forget to wipe down the dash and kick plates often too, and clean out that nasty center console!
Third, apply wax and other surface treatments on a regular basis. It is possible to have a new car shine 10 or even 20 years later if a good carnuba wax is used on a regular basis.
Fourth, with great caution, clean your engine bay and undercarriage. This may be best left to a highly reputable detail shop, but if you do it yourself, you will need to exercise caution and use quality cleaning supplies. The result can be a cooler running engine and it can help certain components last longer (belts, hoses, etc.), and it can aid in finding leaks or other problems that may have been masked by all the accumulated grime.
4. Shocks: This list of 5 is anything but comprehensive, but changing the shocks/struts on your vehicle when needed will make such a drastic difference in ride and handling, that you will want to spend the money to have it done more often. Timely shock replacement will shorten stopping distances, decrease tire wear, improve handling, and enhance the ride of your vehicle all at the same time. Most motorists never change the shocks/struts unless they utterly fail, but now you know that this maintenance item is very warranted and needed if your shocks/struts have more than 50,000 miles on them. Period. No exceptions. There is no grace period, and regardless of what you think is the ride quality of your vehicle, the shocks are worn out by 50,000 miles, if not much sooner. You will never know just how much your old worn out shocks are affecting all parameters of your vehicle until you change them.
If you have a strut type front suspension, ask the shop to replace the strut "cartridge" and save about 30% on the cost of a total strut replacement. Make sure you replace all the shocks at the same time too. The cost may be steep, but you are jeopardizing your life and the life of your passengers by ignoring this important maintenance item.
5. Other Fluids: If you want to avoid costly repairs and increase the efficency of your vehicle, then you will want to change the following fluids in a timely manner:
A.) Brake fluid: few people know that brake fluid is scheduled by all car manufacturers to be changed on a regular basis. Brake fluid naturally attracts water, and it also wears out over time, just like engine oil. So, have a service technician flush your brake system about every 40,000 miles and your entire brake system will not only function better, but will last far longer.
B.) Transmission fluid: replacement of this fluid every 40 - 50,000 miles can increase your servicable life by tens of thousands of miles! Don't forget that filter too, and while you're at it, install synthetic transmission fluid for a boost in longevity.
C.) Power steering fluid: Almost universally neglected, changing this fluid about every 50k can help your steering box or rack and pinion outlast every other component on the car. It may also help hoses and seals last the life-time of the car too. Again, use a proper viscoscity synthetic replacement when changing.
D.) Differential fluid: on some front drive cars, changing the transmission fluid also includes the differential, but not often. Otherwise, changing this fluid approximately every 60 - 80,000 miles will help gears and limited slip mechanisims (where applicable) last far longer than the paint!
Follow these top 5 suggestions and realize a better running, longer lasting vehicle that will avoid most common service issues and be the envy of all your driving friends.
Another way to look at it -- just one transmission replacement can easily surpass the combined costs of all 5 suggestions at one time. So, as the old ad once said, "you can pay me now, or pay me later." Go ahead and pay now, and enjoy driving a safer and more reliable car now as well.
Drive precisely!
