Ask Joe Mechanic - How Important is an Oil Change?

It’s there dominating the “to do” list and procrastinating only makes it worse. It’s the car’s oil change. Was that reminder sticker on the windshield purposely put there to make you feel bad? Let’s try a different approach, looking at all the good things that happen when the oil and filter in your car are changed.

First lets assume your car is one that is driven a minimum number of miles and seldom reaches the 3,500 miles in three months’ time. Your vehicle needs the oil change more than cars that are driven more often. In the short trip mode the engine heat ups and then cools down for long periods creating condensation. The moisture can be seen accumulating on the oil fill cap in the form of a gray oily globular mess. Sometimes this condition can be misdiagnosed as an internal engine problem. You probably can drop back to an oil change three times a year or the minimum time interval prescribed in your owner’s manual. For normal usage, some people think cars can last 10,000 miles on their oil, others say not even half that. A nice general rule is every four to six months, or somewhere around 5,000 miles, especially if you are using synthetic or synthetic blend motor oils.

Secondly, oil breaks down over time and extended usage and it picks up dirt and contaminants, and these can deposit in your oil pan as a thick, gooey sludge which can eventually clog the pickup screen for the oil pump. If this occurs, it can cause oil starvation to the engine and cause a premature engine failure at worst, or at least the expensive cost of removing the oil pan to clean out the pan and the oil pickup.

Also, if your car has a turbocharger or a supercharger, regular oil changes are even more important. Remember the turbo is spinning at 100,000s of rpm.  It also runs really hot so any oil in the turbo when the engine is switched off will degrade unless it is in good condition. This also shows the importance of allowing the engine to cool down a little before shutting down after a spirited run.

Next, don’t underestimate the value of having a trained individual under the hood of your car. They will be able to spot a number of trouble situations that, if left untreated, have the potential to cause a breakdown. They should be looking for fluid leakage, cracked or frayed belts, bulging hoses and safety items including torn wiper blades, burned out lights, and unsafe tires. The success of this approach only works if you have found a shop that distinguishes true customer need from sales effort.

The regular oil change also establishes a benchmark of when your car’s maintenance needs are to be met. For instance, every third oil change can be the point at which the tires need to be rotated. Also, your recognition of what fluids had to be added may serve as the first warning sign that one of the systems is leaking. The need to repeatedly add coolant may indicate a leaking water pump, for example.

The underside of your car is rarely seen. The oil change provides the technician a chance to easily look for undercar problems. These would include torn CV boots, broken exhaust parts, or problems with the transmission or differential. Anything that’s broken, loose or excessively worn is in clear sight. This idea of the lube tech or service facility disclosing legitimate problems only works to your advantage if you’re in the hands of a reputable shop.

Your car’s oil change may be something you don’t look forward to and hate to take the time to get done. However, there isn’t a car maintenance procedure that is more beneficial to your car when it’s done by a service facility you trust.

            Just remember, your vehicle is likely the second most costly investment you will make in your life besides your home. If your sink is leaking or your furnace is due for service, are you going to ignore it? When water comes through your ceiling after a hard storm and you have a large wet spot on your ceiling, are you going to say, well, maybe next month I can get to it? I don’t think so! Treat your car the way you would your home and it will most likely give you years of good service.

Ask Joe Mechanic: FAQs for the Mechanic

Have you ever wondered which questions your mechanic hears most frequently in a day or week of working in a garage?  Are you curious if you’ve asked one of those FAQs?  We’ve done a little digging and have compiled a list of what gets asked most often at an auto service center.

• How much is it going to cost?
• Will my warranty cover it?
• How soon can I get my vehicle back?
• Do I really need to have the work done to my auto?
• Do you think it could be... or that…?
• What’s causing that noise?
• Will my car ever be the same?
• How closely should I stick to the recommended maintenance or my vehicle?
• When the “check engine” light turns on, what should I do?
• How often should I change my oil?
• How frequently do my spark plugs need to be changed?
• How do I know if my car is still under warranty?
• Do you take walk-in customers?
• Why should I choose you for the service my car needs?
• How long will it take you to get to my car?
• Is your work on my vehicle guaranteed?

So, how did you stack up against the FAQs and how often do you find yourself asking these questions?  We’d love to hear your experience relating to this week’s column. Feel free to share whether or not you ask these questions regularly of your mechanic and if you’ve been pleased or satisfied with the answers you’ve received.  Visit us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/autolocator) or tweet us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/auto_locator) with your thoughts and feedback.

Information for this article was sourced from mechanictogo.com, autos.com and mymechanicsf.com.  Image sourced from wikipedia.org. 

This Week’s Recalls:

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 1.6 liter model year 2015 Sonata vehicles manufactured August 29, 2014, to October 28, 2014. The affected vehicles may have been assembled with an incorrect left axle shaft which may result in the shaft separating from the transaxle differential.  If the left axle shaft separates from the transaxle, the vehicle may stop moving, increasing the risk of a crash. Additionally, a separated axle shaft may allow the vehicle to roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.

American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2015 Crosstour 4 Cylinder vehicles manufactured October 1, 2014, to November 4, 2014, Crosstour V6 2WD vehicles manufactured September 30, 2014, to November 13, 2014, and Crosstour V6 4WD vehicles manufactured September 30, 2014, to November 18, 2014. The inflator tube for the side curtain air bag may have been incorrectly manufactured.  If the side curtain air bag does not properly inflate, it can affect the performance of the air bag in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of occupant injury.

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door, and Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door vehicles manufactured January 6, 2014, to October 17, 2014. During service appointments, dealers may have inadvertently reprogrammed the transmission control unit with software that may allow drivers to exit the vehicle when the transmission is not in Park. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."  If the driver exits the vehicle without the transmission being in Park, the vehicle could roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.

American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2014 Acura RLX vehicles manufactured November 22, 2012, to January 30, 2014, 2015 Acura RLX vehicles manufactured June 4, 2014, to November 18, 2014, and 2014 Acura RLX Hybrid vehicles manufactured November 5, 2013, to July 25, 2014. An aluminum film applied to the inner reflector of the headlight may experience adhesion issues causing the film to delaminate. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."  Delamination of the aluminum film may diminish output of the headlight, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

Farber Specialty Vehicles (Farber) is recalling certain model year 2005-2008 Winnebago WFG38S vehicles manufactured January 1, 2008, to December 24, 2009 equipped with certain model S2005, S2010, S5005, S5010, S5505, and S5510 wheelchair lifts manufactured by Ricon Corporation. The platform side plate of the affected wheelchair lifts may crack.  If the platform side plates crack, the lift platform can separate from the lift and come to rest against the vehicle's lift door. When the doors are opened, the platform may fall out, increasing the risk of injury to the lift operator.

Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2004-2007 Dodge Ram 1500 and Durango, 2005-2007 Dodge Ram 2500, Charger, Magnum, Dakota, Chrysler 300, 300C, SRT8, 2006-2007 Dodge Ram 3500 and Mitsubishi Raider, and 2007 Chrysler Aspen. Upon deployment of the driver side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.  In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver side frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking and potentially seriously injuring the vehicle occupants.

Ask Joe Mechanic: Tips for Choosing the Right Mechanic

Do your research before selecting a new mechanic.

Change is not always easy.  Especially when it comes to selecting a new mechanic, garage or service center to work on your family’s vehicles.  So, what steps can you take to make this selection process a little easier?   Not to worry, we’ve got you covered with some quick and easy tips to lessen the stress of picking a new mechanic.

·      Ask your family, friends or loved ones where they take their vehicles.  Nothing speaks volumes to the credibility of garage’s capabilities then getting a recommendation from those folks that you trust the most.

·      If you have a particular garage in mind – search for mentions of them on social media.  In a digital era wherein many customers are taking to Twitter, Facebook and similar websites to share their experiences with businesses, you’re bound to find reviews and ratings of the garage you’re considering.

·      Test-drive a new mechanic with a smaller project.  Before your vehicle requires a major repair, take it in for an oil change; tire rotation or similar type of service to get a feel for the customer service, quality of work, etc of the new location.  If you find yourself unhappy with the garage, at least you won’t be stuck with a big bill for a big repair.

·      Visit your local chamber of commerce and ask their staff for recommendations of member garages that have a solid reputation with nearby residents and other member businesses for quality of service.

·      Check with your Better Business Bureau location.  Since auto mechanics as a category of businesses tend to receive a great deal of complaints with the BBB, you can review their records to determine which garages in your area to avoid.

·      Find a mechanic that specializes in your particular model or make of vehicle.  A specialized mechanic is bound to know the ins and outs of your vehicle better than a generalist would.

There are a number of other tactics you can employ to narrow down your search for a qualified service center.  A few examples, check out certifications, look for a convenient location and stop by and ask questions about their service record.  Keeping all these things in mind should make your shopping around process a good deal less stressful.

Ask Joe Mechanic: Turbocharging Part 1

Over the next several weeks, we are going to discuss turbocharging and supercharging.

Compressor Section of an Automobile

We’ll start with the history of turbocharging, followed by how it works and its main parts. We will then do the same for supercharging. After completing these, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each in a comparison.

            Alfred Buchi of Switzerland who developed a compressor driven by exhaust gas to force air into the intake of a diesel engine to create more power patented the first turbocharger in 1905. It still took another twenty years though before an actual operating turbocharger was built for vehicular use. There were several attempts by the French to turbocharge some types of airplane engines in World War I with limited success. Turbocharging of aircraft engines was perfected by the early 1920s and a short time later the same thing took place on diesel engines on ships. 

The two biggest problems to developing a turbocharger for automotive use were the ability to scale down the size and manufacturing a seal that could be small enough but withstand the pressure and heat inherent to turbocharging. There were some applications to racecars during the 1940s and 1950s, but many of these were adapted aircraft turbochargers. The first manufacturer to produce a production built vehicle with turbocharging was Saab in 1977. Other manufacturers followed, unfortunately, many of the early turbochargers failed due to heat and seal problems. Saab started using a turbocharger which was cooled by antifreeze in 1986, and this proved much more reliable. Since that time, and especially in the last few years, turbocharging has become very popular because of the ability to derive the same or more power from a much smaller displacement engine, thereby achieving a much higher gas mileage without sacrificing performance, and in many cases bettering it.

The theory behind turbocharging is actually quite simple. In most internal combustion engines, the intake mixture of gas and air is actually drawn into the engine by the downward movement of the piston. In a turbocharged engine, that intake charge is forced into the engine by the turbocharger, resulting in a much larger volume of intake charge, which when ignited by the spark plug, creates much more power. The pressure to force that charge into the intake comes from the other half of the turbocharger, which is spun by the exhaust gases that are escaping from the engine. Also, the use of pressurizing the charge causes it to burn more fully, which increases the fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

The control of turbocharging has evolved dramatically in the last few years and is now quite complex. Many manufacturers now use knock sensors, all use waste-gates and blow off valves. And many use variable geometry and intercooling. 

            Boost is the term applied to the amount of pressure created by the turbocharger above normal atmospheric pressure. The level of boost is normally indicated on a pressure gauge in bar, psi or kPa. Boost pressure must be controlled so that the design of the engine is not exceeded which would cause it to fail prematurely. Over-boosting can damage the engine by overheating, over-stressing of parts or by detonation. Detonation or preignition means that due to the amount of heat and pressure, the intake charge ignites before the piston is near the top of its cycle. This exerts undue stress and heat on the internal parts. This is controlled with a knock sensor, which if it detects detonation, signals the computer to open to blow-off valve, which will release the boost pressure. The same thing can be achieved by the waste-gate which is vacuum controlled.

            The main components of the turbocharger are the turbine, which is a radial flow design to build pressure on the intake side. The compressor section is where the exhaust gas passes through to build the pressure. The center housing is where the seals, lubrication and cooling are contained. The size and design of the compressor components dictate how much boost it will create and how quickly it will build to maximum boost. In some turbochargers, it is possible for the impellor to spin at speeds of up to 250,000 rpm. This is the reason that seal design, heat dissipation and lubrication are so important.

Next week we will discuss the types of turbochargers and the other related technologies. Some information for this article was sourced from www.wikipedia.org.