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Would you like to see your car or light truck last longer than the payments?Are
you one of the many people who are afraid to look under the hood of your car,
because it looks complicated and confusing? Are
you afraid to go to a mechanic because you do not know what is wrong with your
car, and you are worried that the bill will be astronomical, even if the problem
seems very simple? If
your answer to any of these questions is “yes”, this book is definitely for
you. This
book is for people who don’t know much about cars, who are afraid to go to any
kind of auto repair facility, and who try to avoid these trips as much as
possible. This book is for people who know that the mechanic may present them
with long list of items which “should be fixed immediately” – and they know that
at the bottom of this list will be a total that makes their heart skip a beat.
This book is for people who really don’t know what work should be done on their
car.
Well, worry no more. The authors will explain in clear language what kind
of maintenance you should be doing, and how often. You can follow this simple
advice and reduce the stress and confusion in your life. When you go to a
mechanic and tell him exactly what you would like to have done, it makes you
look like a person who knows what he or she is talking about. The
key concept that this book will explain to you is the importance of
preventive maintenance. What is preventive maintenance? Perhaps an example
will make it clear. The majority of passenger cars today have front-wheel
drive. The front brakes on these cars last between 20-40,000 miles (32-64,000
km). At that mileage, the front brakes should be checked as part of a
preventive maintenance program. If the brake pads are thin (less than 1/8” – 3
mm) or if the rotors are shiny and have grooves on their surfaces, then a brake
job is necessary. At this point the rotors can be resurfaced, the pads can be
replaced, and the front brakes of your car will be in good working order again
for another 20-40,000 miles. This type of brake job costs around $70. The
alternative is to defer the preventive maintenance and to wait until the brake
pads wear out completely and destroy the rotors. The brake job that results
will cost hundreds of dollars, instead of $70. Spending $70 will save you
hundreds of dollars down the line. That is the concept of
preventive maintenance – by doing scheduled inexpensivemaintenance, you can
reduce or eliminate the need for those astronomically expensive visits to the
mechanic. It
doesn’t matter what kind of vehicle you own. The preventive maintenance system
works whether you have purchased a “muscle” car to outstrip everyone on the
road, or a family sedan to carry you and your children to the grocery store and
back, or a light truck to haul brush, or an SUV to take you “where no man has
gone before”. No matter what kind of car you drive preventive maintenance saves
you time, trouble, and money. Not
all vehicles are created equal, of course. The inspection intervals and the
service and maintenance schedule should be created specifically for your
vehicle, taking into account the type of driving you do. Following the advice
laid out in this book will reduce the amount of money you spend keeping your car
on the road, and your car or light truck will last longer than the payments!
It’s that easy! This
book is not a repetition of your car’s confusing manuals; those can be difficult
to read even for the professionals! Instead, the authors present clear and
simple recommendations about which system of the vehicle should be serviced,
when, and why. Many systems in today's car do not require any maintenance at
all for long periods of time – but nothing lasts forever. When systems like
brakes or steering malfunction, they present significant dangers not only to the
driver and passengers of the affected vehicle, but also to other vehicles and
pedestrians. This is why preventive service and repair of those systems is so
important! The
authors have more than 35 years of experience in car service and are putting
that wisdom to use to help you maintain your cars better, either by performing
the work yourself or getting it done by professionals. The authors will save
you money by helping you to avoid unnecessary repairs. Proper
preventive maintenance will help you to get more life out of your car. The
authors have seen cars that still run fine after 250,000 miles (400,000 km) or
even more. The owners of these cars did nothing special except to follow the
simple rules described in this book. Anybody can do this. Keeping your car or
light truck running longer makes good financial sense. The price for new
vehicles is always going up, and a car payment of $350 or more per month is now
considered normal. The depreciation of many new cars in the first year and the
repair costs of late model cars make it financially mandatory to keep your
present car or light truck longer. This is possible, and the key to success is
in your hands. The key is REGULAR MAINTENANCE!
Happy motoring to you! --
The Authors THE
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE SYSTEM
Preventive maintenance is a schedule of service and repair procedures performed
at regular intervals to prolong the life of the car and to minimize unexpected
breakdowns. Why is preventive maintenance so important? 1. Ignoring regular maintenance can void the car manufacturer’s warranty. 2. Maintenance doesn’t cost a lot of money, but unexpected repairs do! 3. It doesn’t take a lot of time or inconvenience to do a regular maintenance. Many mechanics will do an oil change and fluids check while you wait.
4. Regular maintenance makes your car more reliable. A more reliable car is a
car you will feel better about driving. The
preventive maintenance schedule is different for every car. Some cars are
driven for short distances, and are not driven every day. Most cars are driven
in “stop and go” traffic for hours at a time, and are driven regularly. The
best source of the maintenance schedule for your car is the car’s owner’s
manual. The owner’s manual contains the recommended schedules
of maintenance for many major components. Our book will give you basic
guidelines, explanations and recommendations for the service of your vehicle,
and will cover some areas that your owner’s manual may leave out. You
can’t go wrong following these recommendations and adjusting
the maintenance schedule intervals in accordance with your type of driving and
what you use your car for. A late-model car should serve reliably for at least
200,000 miles (320,000 km). The key is preventive maintenance!
Let’s take a look at what goes into preventive maintenance: 1. regular inspections 2. regular scheduled maintenance
3. regular scheduled repairs: brakes, timing belt, etc. THE
INSPECTIONS
Inspections are a very important part of preventive maintenance.
There are two types of inspections that should be performed on your car. The
first type of inspection is an inspection that you are probably doing right now
and don’t even know it – the visual inspection you give your car every time you
drive it! You
see your car every day and if you train your eye then you can spot the first
signs of trouble. You can save yourself a lot of money by learning the very
simple inspection routine. Even if you know absolutely nothing about cars this
simple inspection routine is easy to learn.
First, let’s examine the things that you can spot without any extra effort: bad
tires and fluid leaks. Bad tires are pretty obvious and easy to spot – look for
the sag and the bulge at the bottom of the tire that indicate dangerously low
tire pressure. A bad tire can cause an accident. Replacing the bad tire can
save your life!
Fluid leaks are also easy to spot. When your car is parked overnight, look
under the engine in the morning. If you see a green puddle, you’ve got a
problem. Look under the hood of your car and see if there is a leaking hose.
If this is the case, don’t start the engine – get a tow. It may cost you a
little up front but you are saving an engine and a lot of money!
Other checks are easy to accomplish, you just have to make the time for them.
About once a week – or each time you fill up the car, if you put a lot of miles
on your car – check the fluid levels. The most important check you can perform
is to keep an eye on your oil level. A low level of oil can damage your
engine! Keeping oil at the proper level can save your engine and save you a lot
of money! A
low level of antifreeze can cause your engine to overheat – this is a surefire
way to destroy the engine! Also a low level of oil or antifreeze can indicate a
more serious problem – this is a reason to see a professional mechanic to
inspect a potential leak. If
you know how to replace a tire, you can inspect the front brakes yourself.
Remove the tire and look at the brake pads. Immediately next to the rotor you
will see a brake pad supported by the metal plate. The thickness of a new pad
is 3/8” (10mm). If the brake pad is less than 1/8” (3 mm) thick, it’s time for a
brake job. Other important things to look for are thinning of the rear brake
shoes (if equipped) and any leaking brake fluid.
While driving, keep an eye on your lights and gauges. If the oil light comes
on, pull over carefully and shut the engine off! If the temperature gauge
needle jumps to the red zone, pull over carefully and shut the engine off! It’s
very tempting to drive the car that last mile to the mechanic yourself and save
the tow charge – but it makes no sense to destroy a $1500 engine to avoid a $75
tow fee. The oil light and a temperature gauge are designed to be a warning for
you – to save your engine from destruction and save yourself a lot of money! As
you can see, you are the very first “line of defense” for your car. The
second type of inspection is an inspection done by professionals. When
you get your oil changed, ask the mechanic to look over the bottom of your car
for leaks and broken axle and power steering boots. You can also ask him to
examine the condition of belts and tires. It’s not going to cost a lot of
additional money, but it will provide you with very important information about
your car’s condition every 3,000 miles (4800 km). All four tires should be balanced and rotated every 6,000 miles (10,000 km) or every second oil change. Balancing means that tires should be removed from the car, put on a special computerized machine that spins the tire to a speed of approximately 65 MPH (100 kph), and then specially weighted in order to eliminate vibration. Rotation means moving the tires that were on the front axle to the rear axle, and vice versa.
While having the tires balanced and rotated, take the opportunity to inspect
your brakes by yourself, or ask the technician to do that for you. If you or
the technician see any problems, such as low brake pads, shoes or leaking brake
cylinder or calipers, you will need to see a mechanic. By doing this regular
inspection, you will be checking the condition of your brakes every 6,000 miles
(10,000 km).
Let’s recap the inspections you’re going to be performing on your car: The quick inspections done by yourself:
The professional inspections done by a technician or mechanic:
With
this schedule, if you are driving about 1,000 miles (1600 km) per month, a check
for leaks under the car will be done every 3 months, and a check of the
condition of tires and brakes will be done every 6 months. Additionally, you
will be looking your car over for flat or under inflated tires and visible leaks
under the car at least every other day. That’s all! Now let’s take a look into the car’s major systems. |
Check out our maintenance software in our catalog - View a demo of EPM 8. Copyright CAE Consultants Inc. 2009 |
