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Don't put off auto repairs even in a tough economy

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

Bart Arnold uses a torch to heat a stubborn part on the front suspension of a vehicle he was working on At Bee Line Alignment. Suspensions and brakes are two types of repair work that shouldn't be put off.

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

Keeping your brakes in good working order is a vehicle repair that shouldn't be delayed. Nate Woodman of Bee Line alignment put new shoes on the rear of a commercial truck.

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

Cars that don't go are inconvenient. Cars that don't stop are a danger to everyone. Brake repairs, like the one Nate Woodman of Bee Line Alignment is doing, are critical for safe driving.

JANESVILLE — If your vehicle stalls, it’s not the end of the world.

But if you lose steering or brakes, it could prove disastrous.

That’s why repairing steering and brakes rank No. 1 and No. 2 as things vehicle owners should not put off even when money is tight, said Dan McCann of McCann’s Garage, 4721 E. Milwaukee St.

“Whether you have any money or not, scrape money together to have safe brakes and steering. If you have an accident, you could kill somebody or yourself,’’ he said.

Bill Ebert and Mike Zawlocki, auto instructors at Blackhawk Technical College, said brakes should be checked every 25,000 to 50,000 miles. If you hear noise while braking or the brake light on your dash comes on, get your brakes serviced as soon as possible, they recommend.

Here are some other don’t-neglect repairs that made the list:

Tires

Check tire pressure by referring to your vehicle’s tire placard inside your vehicle’s door jam, glove box or trunk, Ebert and Zawlocki said.

“Never over inflate your tires to get more mileage,’’ Ebert said.

Too much air pressure can put stress on the tires and be unsafe, he said.

Tires should be rotated every 8,000 to 10,000 miles, said Dave Abrahamson of Bee Line Alignment, 202 S. Water St.

“A lot of winter accidents happen because of bald tires,’’ he said.

Many businesses that do oil changes check the tires, Abrahamson said. So if you don’t feel confident checking the tread, take it to a shop that does. Some charge a fee, but some do it for free, he said.

Maintenance

Ebert and Zawlocki said scheduled vehicle maintenance—information that can be found in your vehicle’s owner manual—ranks No. 1 with them.

People are keeping their vehicles longer and so need to budget for vehicle maintenance.

“If you need your vehicle and you want your vehicle to last, then you need to do the required maintenance. They have to make choices in a tight (budget) situation,’’ Ebert said.

Morris Olsen of Denny’s Auto Center, 420 W. Milwaukee St., stressed not putting off vehicle maintenance.

“If you can’t afford new and are keeping your car (longer), it can cost more in the long run.’’

Jerry Hunt, of All-N-One Auto Care in Edgerton, agreed:

“Go by that maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual and your car will last quite a while. The cheapest and best thing is to maintain. That way you should get by pretty good.”

Recommended maintenance includes:

Air filter—Change it yourself or hire it done every 10,000 to 12,000 miles to get better mileage, Ebert said.

“If the air filter becomes plugged, it will limit air in the engine and cut down on miles per gallon,’’ he said.

Fuel Filter—Change every 25,000 miles, Ebert said.

“If dirt gets in the fuel filter, it can plug and cause the fuel pump to worker harder and go out sooner,’’ he said.

Belts and hoses—Have them checked or replaced every 50,000 miles, Ebert said. If the serpentine belt breaks stranding you on the road, you’re going to spend a lot more than a new belt would have cost.

So “do not wait until it breaks,’’ he said.

Timing belt—Replace at 60,000 miles, Ebert recommends. If it breaks, it could wreck the engine.

Alignment—Get this done once a year depending on driving and road conditions, Abrahamson said.

“If you hit a pot hole, you can damage your tires. And if you hit it hard enough to bend something, you’ll feel it in the way the vehicle handles. Tires nowadays take a beating, but if you hit hard enough to bend something and there’s a question about it, it’s good idea to have someone check your vehicle out,’’ he said.

Ebert and Zawlocki agreed the timing of vehicle alignment depends on a person’s driving habits and encounters with potholes. In general, they recommend alignments every 20,000 miles.

Oil and filter—This is a big one, Hunt said.

“When your oil gets dirty, there’s more wear on the motor, which could cause lower-end (motor) failure,’’ he said.

Newer cars can extend oil changes past 3,000 miles, but I don’t recommend past 6,000 (miles) and instead every 3,000 to 4,000 (miles),” McCann said.

Abrahamson said guidelines differ for vehicles. He advised following the recommendations in the owners manual.

Anti-freeze/coolants—These fluids cool the motor in the summer and prevent it from freezing in the winter. They should be checked spring and fall, Hunt said.

“If you overheat the engine, that’ll cost you your engine,” he said.

Battery—The average life of a battery is four or five years, Hunt said. So get it checked both spring and fall, he said.

Computerized components on today’s vehicles need enough juice to operate correctly.

“If you’re running with low voltage, it messes up a lot of computerized components, the car will run differently and sometimes not start,’’ he said.

Transmission—Change fluids and filters every 25,000 miles and no more than 30,000 miles to keep the transmission lubricated, Olsen said.

“Most people put off transmission maintenance until they have a problem then think the fluid change is going to fix the problem.’’ he said.

Ebert and Zawlocki recommend transmission/differential and coolant fluid changes less often and at the maximum of 50,000 miles.

The exception, Ebert stressed, are vehicles used towing, “then you need to change (fluids) more often.”