Guess what? It’s that time of the year

Submitted by Gary Miller, Retired Service Advisor & Certified Automotive Specialist

Spring is coming and I am so glad to see it. This brings up our spring time duties as we prepare to wake up our vehicles from their winter hibernation; not so much my “show car” but my regular drivers. I’m encouraged to get them ready for the season—yes spring is coming.

So now starts the oil changes, that I didn’t do in the fall on my lawn mower, motorcycle, motorhome and numerous other vehicles. By the way, I did do the oil changes on all but my driver vehicles so I have that reassurance of mechanical reliability out of most of my engines.

I was asked recently about the practice of changing oil and antifreeze in the spring after an arduous winter. The answer is yes to oil and no to antifreeze, but, now is an excellent time to check the antifreeze not only for strength but for acidity. It has been discovered, and I have experienced the sad affects of delayed coolant changes. Litmus paper is used to indicate the level of acid in the coolant, also, using a voltmeter can check to see how strong the acid is. Acid, like a battery, can produce a measurable voltage that eats the aluminum to shreds and many of the cooling system components are made out of that material.

At the next oil change service it is always a good time to check the brakes for wear and also the brake fluid for moisture content. Any more than 3 percent moisture content can leave you without brakes as the fluid may boil and become ineffective under hard use or application. It would be useful to change fluids for the power steering and particularly for the

CVT style automatic transmission. This type of transmission is a little more sensitive to fluid changes than a conventional style automatic but you can be rewarded with longevity if you perform the service.

Wiper blades should be given a good look at and switched over from the winter blades to the summer ones. This leads to less abrasion on those expensive windshields especially those that are equipped with some form of self driving features like lane change and cruise control. Be sure to use a summer windshield washer fluid as it does not evaporate as quickly as winter fluid, which when used, helps remove dead bugs out of our line of vision. Remember, summer time has bugs and winter doesn’t so who needs to drive blindly with smeared glass?

As is only too apparent, change over your winter tires since the daily temperatures will now average over 7 degrees. The warmer weather can cause rapid wear and poorer stopping than the all season style of tire. When performing the tire exchange, be sure to have the condition of the valve stems evaluated and replace at this time if necessary. Final item, most of today’s vehicle’s headlights become clouded over and require a thorough cleaning. This process usually involves a polishing or use of an abrasive substance to remove the oxidation. There are some products that can be hand applied or like myself, I use my polisher buffer to get that final clarity. Any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact me at bigsix8280@yahoo.ca

Enjoy a Relaxing Bath With No Worries