Engine Compartment
Today's cars tend to run hotter than they used to. With the trend to downsize vehicle components to save space and weight, cooling system components are being asked to do more than their older counterparts. The best thing you can do to maintain the cooling system at peak efficiency during the life of your car is to replace the coolant every two years. Anti-freeze does wear out and by replacing the coolant you insure that the corrosion inhibitors are fresh and doing the job they're supposed to. By doing this you will eliminate the scale and corrosion that builds up inside the radiator when coolant is left in too long and avoid a costly radiator repair or replacement.
Probably the most ignored fluid in the car, and the most important, is the brake fluid. Brake fluid is not a petroleum-based product; it is made from cashew shells. As such brake fluid does absorb moisture from the air and when it does, its effectiveness diminishes and lowers braking performance. Sludge will also build up over a period of time and will block the valves inside ABS units and result in costly repairs or replacement. In addition this sludge will cause calipers and wheel cylinders to leak, also resulting in repairs or replacement. So the best thing to do is to have the brake fluid flushed and refilled every two years or 60,000 miles.
The transmission fluid also needs to be changed on a regular basis to help keep the transmission in tiptop shape. Most transmission failures can be directly traced to lack of maintenance. Transmissions are very expensive to repair or replace, often in the thousands of dollars. Many times the cost of all the fluid and filter changes you will pay for the entire life of the car.
Power steering is another fluid that is often ignored. It is recommended that it be flushed and refilled every two years or 60,000 miles. This will help prevent costly hydraulic repairs or replacement. Most notably leaking power steering racks that can cost up to $1500.00 to replace.
Filters are an important part of regular maintenance. Air and fuel filters keep dirt and junk out of the engine so they will do no harm. Problems arise when these filters get dirty and start to clog up. Many drivability problems such as hesitation and rough idle stem from dirty air and fuel filters. For maximum effectiveness, they should be replaced every 15,000 miles. A filter that is very rarely replaced and should be replaced is the carbon canister filter. It is an important part of the emission control system and filters the in coming air that this system uses. The emission controls are such an integral part of today's engine management system that a clogged canister filter will also result in drivability problems.
Some cars still have a PCV filter, also called a breather element. This filters the air for the PCV system and keeps dirt out of the engine crankcase. Most cars today draw air for the PCV system from the air cleaner housing so this filter is not needed, but if your engine has one, replace it at 15,000 mile intervals as well.
Speaking of the PCV system, the PCV valve should be replaced on a regular basis. When you put the new PCV filter in, replace the PCV valve as well.
Now we come to the spark plugs and other ignition parts. Ignition systems have become much more reliable over the last few years. Many engines don't even have distributors any more. They use a DIS or Direct Ignition System. These systems mount one ignition coil on each spark plug thus eliminating the need of a distributor and the PCM controls the firing of each coil. On engines that still use a distributor, it is a good idea to replace the distributor cap, distributor rotor and ignition wires every 30,000 miles. This is especially important in Japanese cars that, for some reason, distributor caps don't seem to last as long.
The spark plugs need to be replaced on a regular basis as well. Talking about what kind of spark plugs to use is a great way to spark an argument. There are platinum plugs, split fire plugs, multi-electrode plugs, red ones, green ones and blue ones. The best plug to use is the plug the manufacturer recommends. This spark plug information can be found on the engine decal located under the hood. I recommend replacing the spark plugs every 30,000 miles to keep the engine operating at peak efficiency.
The most critical engine component is the timing belt. Not all engines use a timing belt, but on those that do, it's critical that they be replaced before they break. And at some point they will break. If your car has an interference engine, that is to say an engine where the valves and pistons occupy the same place in the combustion chamber at different times, serious engine damage will occur. If your car has a non-interference engine the worst that will happen is you get stranded somewhere. Most manufacturers suggest replacing the timing belt every 60,000 miles. I highly recommend this interval as well.
