C & N Radiators and Mechanical

Maintaining Your Vehicle

The Importance Of Regular Servicing

Car servicing is vitally important if you want your car to keep going for as long as possible. If you rely on your car to get to and from work each day, or get the kids to school in, then regular car servicing is really a lifeline. Many people try and avoid car servicing because all they can see is the bill they have to pay at the end of it. But in reality avoiding regular car servicing can cost you a lot more money, because any minor problems can be picked up on and repaired before they cause a major problem that will result in a much bigger car servicing repair bill.

Make sure you go to an established workshop with experienced technicians. It’s also essential that when you take your car in for car servicing you mention any problems, strange noises or incidents that have happened that may point to a potential problem or defect with your car. The mechanic may be the expert at car servicing, but the more information you can give them, the better the result will be.

Car servicing can also tell you whether it’s time to consider getting a new car. If you find that every time you take your car in for car servicing it needs more and more repairs, you may want to think about trading it in for a newer model. While it costs money to do so, it can cost you more in car servicing not to in the long run.

Weekly Checks

Tyre Pressures: Check your tyre pressures (or get someone to do it for you). Modern tyres can withstand a lot of punishment, but that's not a reason for complacency. Improperly inflated tyres can cause increased fuel consumption and increased tyre wear and increases the risk of blowout. It is recommended to buy a quality tyre pressure gauge as service station gauges can get knocked around and can become inaccurate. Look for the tyre placard in the glove box or inside the door frame, or in the owner’s manual for the correct pressure. If you find one tyre needs topping up more than others this can be a sign of a slow leak and should be checked out by a mechanic. While checking the pressure take a look at the tread, the legal requirement is a minimum of 1.5mm (a match head) tread depth across the entire tread, if any of your tyres are approaching this then think about getting affected tyres replaced. If tread wear is uneven (i.e. worn in patches or on one edge only) that can be a sign of incorrect wheel alignment, worn shock absorbers, out of balance wheels or incorrect tyre pressures.

Check the oil: This is best done before the engine is started with the car parked on a flat road. If you live on a hill, drive somewhere flat, switch off the engine, and let the car stand for five minutes, a great time for this is after filling up. Pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean with a rag and then put it in again. Now pull it out and check the level - it should be between the 'min' and 'max' marks. If it is below 'min' get a litre of oil immediately. Do not over fill. You shouldn't need to constantly top up oil, with the exception of some older engines which can use quite a lot of oil and so might need a drop every now and then. You’ll only get to know if you check it. Engines that run out of oil usually seize, needing complete engine replacement. If you find you are using too much oil this can be an indication of a worn engine or oil leaks and should be checked out. For the explanation of different oil specifications see Engine oil specifications - What does it all mean.

Coolant: Most cars now have sealed or semi sealed cooling systems. There is a level indicator on the plastic tank somewhere under the bonnet with a "Full" or "Hot" and a "Low" or "Cold" Mark, the coolant level should be somewhere between these two marks. Any coolant you add over the "Full" or "Hot" mark will usually be discarded. Just a note on the coolant level, this will vary depending on engine temp, with a warm engine showing a higher level and cold engine showing a lower level, with weekly checks you will soon learn the behaviour. While you’re at it have a look at the hoses and belts. Give the hoses a squeeze, they should be firm, if they feel soft or you hear or feel cracking they should be replaced. The belts should have no cracks or missing rubber. Again if you are needing to constantly top up coolant this is a sign of something wrong and should be checked out.

Automatic transmission: Auto transmissions are checked the same way as engine oil with the only exception being the trans is done with the engine running. The marks on the dipstick vary slightly with a 'High" and "Low" mark for both cold and warm. While your there have a look at the colour of the fluid, it should be a clean transparent red, if you find that it is a darker red or not transparent or worse look at getting the transmission serviced. Again constantly needing topping up is a sign of a leak and should be checked out. Most manual transmissions can not be checked from under the bonnet but this and diffs should be checked during service. If your transmission does need fluid it is important to use the correct type, your owners manual will information on this.

Brake Fluid: Checking brake fluid is similar to checking coolant, i.e. just a visual check of the transparent reservoir.

Power Steering: This check will vary from car to car, some will have a transparent reservoir with "High" and "Low" marks and just requires a visual check. Other cars will have a reservoir with a dipstick attached to the cap, again with "High" and "Low" marks. The level will just need to be between these two marks. This shouldn't need topping up unless there is a leak somewhere in the system which should be checked out.

Windscreen washer fluid: This will need topping up. You can either use plain water or a windscreen washer additive for better cleaning of bugs and road film. Don't use any detergents or products that are not designed to be used in washer bottle as these can clog up the washer pump. Also check that your wiper blades are OK when you do this, lift them from the windscreen and make sure that the rubber is soft and not cracked anywhere.

Lights: Pretty simple really, make sure that all your lights and indicators work. Don't forget to check front and rear parking lights and reverse lights. You might need a second person to help with the brake and reverse lights. When checking your brake lights make sure your parking lights are on at the time to check for any bad earths.

I will be using this page for any vehicle related advice such as regular maintance tips, lubricant guides, FAQ's, e.t.c. Feel free to bookmark this page as I will be making regular updates. Further more if you would like to see something not already here or have a suggestion for an article, feel free to Email us and I will put an article up.

The Importance Of Regular Servicing

Weekly Checks

Engine Oils - What Does It All Mean

Engine Oils - Whats it all mean

To be blunt about the subject, if a bottle of oil does not contain the following basic information then DO NOT buy it look for something that does!

1) The purpose for which it is intended (i.e. Motor oil, Gear oil etc)

2) The viscosity (i.e. 10w-40, 5w-30 etc for Motor oils and 80w-90, 75w-90, etc for Gear oils)

3) The specifications that it meets (should contain a minimum of both API and ACEA ratings)

Ignore the marketing blurb on the label it is in many cases meaningless and I will explain later what statements you should treat this with some scepticism

So, what does the above information mean and why is it important?

THE BASICS

All oils are intended for an application and in general are not interchangeable. You would not for example put an Automatic Transmission Oil or a Gear Oil in your engine! It is important to know what the oils intended purpose is.

VISCOSITY

Most oils on the shelves today are "Multigrades", which simply means that the oil falls into 2 viscosity grades (i.e. 10w-40 etc). Multigrades were first developed some 50 years ago to avoid the old routine of using a thinner oil in winter and a thicker oil in summer. In a 10w-40 for example the 10w bit (W = winter, not weight or watt or anything else for that matter) simply means that the oil must have a certain maximum viscosity/flow at low temperature. The lower the "W" number the better the oils cold temperature/cold start performance. The 40 in a 10w-40 simply means that the oil must fall within certain viscosity limits at 100 degC. This is a fixed limit and all oils that end in 40 must achieve these limits. Once again the lower the number the thinner the oil, a 30 oil is thinner than a 40 oil at 100 degC etc. Your handbook will specify whether a 30, 40 or 50 etc is required.

SPECIFICATIONS

Specifications are important as these indicate the performance of the oil and whether they have met or passed the latest tests or whether the formulation is effectively obsolete or out of date. There are two specifications that you should look for on any oil bottle and these are API (American Petroleum Institute) and ACEA (Association des Constructeurs Europeens d'Automobiles) all good oils should contain both of these and an understanding of what they mean is important.

API

This is the more basic as it is split (for passenger cars) into two catagories. S = Petrol and C = Diesel, most oils carry both petrol (S) and diesel (C) specifications.

The following table shows how up to date the specifications the oil are:

PETROL

SG - Introduced 1989 has much more active dispersant to combat black sludge.

SH - Introduced 1993 has same engine tests as SG, but includes phosphorus limit 0.12%, together with control of foam, volatility and shear stability.

SJ - Introduced 1996 has the same engine tests as SG/SH, but phosphorus limit 0.10% together with variation on volatility limits

SL - Introduced 2001, all new engine tests reflective of modern engine designs meeting current emissions standards

SM - Introduced November 2004, improved oxidation resistance, deposit protection and wear protection, also better low temperature performance over the life of the oil compared to previous categories.

Note:

All specifications prior to SL are now obsolete and although suitable for some older vehicles are more than 10 years old and do not provide the same level of performance or protection as the more up to date SL and SM specifications.

DIESEL

CD - Introduced 1955, international standard for turbo diesel engine oils for many years, uses single cylinder test engine only

CE - Introduced 1984, improved control of oil consumption, oil thickening, piston deposits and wear, uses additional multi cylinder test engines

CF4 - Introduced 1990, further improvements in control of oil consumption and piston deposits, uses low emission test engine

CF - Introduced 1994, modernised version of CD, reverts to single cylinder low emission test engine. Intended for certain indirect injection engines

CF2 - Introduced 1994, defines effective control of cylinder deposits and ring face scuffing, intended for 2 stroke diesel engines

CG4 - Introduced 1994, development of CF4 giving improved control of piston deposits, wear, oxidation stability and soot entrainment. Uses low sulphur diesel fuel in engine tests

CH4 - Introduced 1998, development of CG4, giving further improvements in control of soot related wear and piston deposits, uses more comprehensive engine test program to include low and high sulphur fuels

CI4 Introduced 2002, developed to meet 2004 emission standards, may be used where EGR (exhaust gas recirculation ) systems are fitted and with fuel containing up to 0.5 % sulphur. May be used where API CD, CE, CF4, CG4 and CH4 oils are specified.

Note:

All specifications prior to CH4 are now obsolete and although suitable for some older vehicles are more than 10 years old and do not provide the same level of performance or protection as the more up to date CH4 & CI4 specifications.

If you want a better more up to date oil specification then look for SL, SM, CH4, CI4

ACEA

This is the European equivalent of API (US) and is more specific in what the performance of the oil actually is. A = Petrol, B = Diesel and C = Catalyst compatible or low SAPS (Sulphated Ash, Phosphorus and Sulphur). Unlike API the ACEA specs are more stringent which is why you will only find better quality oils carry an ACEA rating. These are split into performance/application categories as follows:

A1 Fuel economy petrol
A2 Standard performance level (now obsolete)
A3 High performance and/or extended drain
A4 Reserved for future use in certain direct injection engines
A5 Combines A1 fuel economy with A3 performance

B1 Fuel economy diesel
B2 Standard performance level (now obsolete)
B3 High performance and/or extended drain
B4 For direct injection car diesel engines
B5 Combines B1 fuel economy with B3/B4 performance

C1-04 Petrol and light duty Diesel engines, based on A5/B5-04 low SAPS, two way catalyst compatible.
C2-04 Petrol and light duty Diesel engines, based on A5/B5-04 mid SAPS, two way catalyst compatible.
C3-04 Petrol and light duty Diesel engines, based on A5/B5-04 mid SAPS, two way catalyst compatible, Higher performance levels due to higher HTHS.

Note: SAPS = Sulphated Ash, Phosphorous and Sulphur.

Put simply, A3/B3, A5/B5 and C3 oils are the better quality, stay in grade performance oils.

FINALLY

Above is the most accurate guidance I can give without going into too much depth however there is one final piece of advice regarding the labelling.

Certain statements are made that are meaningless and just marketing blurb, here are a few to avoid!

Recommended for use where.....
May be used where the following specifications apply.....

Approved by “xxxxxxx” (but with no qualification)

Recommended/Approved by (some famous person, these endorsements are paid for)

Racing/Track formula (but with no supporting evidence)

Also be wary of statements like "synthetic blend" if you are looking for a fully synthetic oil as this will merely be a semi-synthetic.

Like everything in life, you get what you pay for and the cheaper the oil the cheaper the ingredients and lower the performance levels.