Engineering Magazines

Here are some of the standard foreign and domestic automotive maintenance procedures that you should be sure to have done periodically:

Oil Changes: This is one of the most obvious, yet it is also one of the most frequently overlooked. Changing your oil and oil filter every three thousand miles keeps your engine running smoothly. Not changing your oil and oil filter often enough, on the other hand, can be disastrous: Over time, the additives in your engine oil break down, and the oil becomes thick and sludge-like. When this happens, the oil creates resistance on the engine, causing buildup and premature wear. Old engine oil can also cause the rubber seals in your engine to prematurely dry out and crack, creating leaks that can be quite expensive to fix.

There are a lot of quick-lube places that will change your oil quickly and cheaply, which may make you question the need to take your car to a good foreign or domestic automotive maintenance shop. However, it is definitely worth the extra money to make sure an experienced professional services your car. It is not uncommon for quick-lube shops to employ inexperienced teenagers at minimum wage, and horror stories (driving off without oil in the engine, finding months later that the oil plug won’t come out because it was stripped) abound.

Air Filter Replacement: Replacing the air filter is another important precaution that many people forget about. The silly thing is that this is also the easiest thing you’ll have to do on your car. Just as easy, if not easier, as filling the washer fluid on some cars. In fact, this one is so easy that you may not even have to get a foreign or domestic automotive maintenance shop to do it for you. Just make sure you get a high quality replacement filter. If you are not sure where it goes, ask. There will be a couple of clips you’ll have to undo to open the air filter box, but that’s about it.

Your air filter should be replaced once or twice a year. Every six months, you should at least check it. If it looks dirty, replace it. The better airflow your engine gets, the better it will perform, which to you means higher gas mileage and lower maintenance costs over time.

Basic Tune-Up: A tune-up basically involves replacing a bunch of inexpensive, quick-to-wear-out parts, and checking out a bunch of more expensive, slower-to-wear-out parts. This should be done once a year, but again, many people aren’t very good at making sure it gets done regularly.

A basic tune-up involves replacing (or cleaning and re-gapping) your spark plugs, replacing your distributor cap and rotor, and checking and/or replacing your spark plug wires. Other parts that might need to be replaced during a tune-up are your PCV (positive crankcase ventilation valve) and your oxygen sensor. All of these can affect the way your car runs, causing your gas mileage to go down and the carbon monoxide in your exhaust to go up.

Radiator Flush and Coolant Replacement: Your cooling system is a vital system. It prevents your engine from overheating, which can ruin an entire engine in mere minutes. Your cooling system therefore ought to be treated with respect, which means flushing your radiator and replacing the coolant every year or so, preferably at the end of summer or fall, before the cold weather hits.

The reason for flushing your radiator and replacing the coolant is that the Ph balance in antifreeze breaks down after a while, destroying many of its protective properties. Not only will it not cool to as low a temperature, but it will also begin to allow rust to form in your cooling system, which may lead to premature leaks in your radiator.

Be sure your replacement coolant is half water and half antifreeze. The 50/50 mixture has the lowest possible freezing temperature, the highest possible boiling point (meaning your coolant won’t boil on hot days), and will protect against corrosion inside the system.

Automatic Transmission Fluid and Filter Replacement: Many people don’t realize that their automatic transmission contains fluid and a filter that need to be replaced periodically, just like an engine. Unfortunately, neglecting this maintenance repair can result in parts in the transmission going out more quickly than they should, requiring you to overhaul or replace your transmission, which is a costly venture, to say the least.

The fluid and filter in your automatic transmission should typically be replaced about every 25,000 miles, which is less than a year’s worth of driving for most cars. The oil in a standard transmission doesn’t need to be replaced as frequently. Replacement about once every couple of years, unless you happen to do a lot of hard driving, such as towing.

Keeping up on these five preventative maintenance repairs will ensure that you maximize the life of your car. A good foreign or domestic automotive maintenance shop can help you keep track of the required maintenance, making sure that you don’t miss anything important.

Some owners keep their automobiles running like finely tuned Swiss watches. They carefully follow all of the manufacturer’s recommendations in the owner’s manual. They buy premium grade oil, order regular check-ups and rush to the repair shop when they detect any unusual noise.

However, most of us are inclined to skimp a little on maintenance and some of us never see the repair shop until the car quits. Sometimes this is due to finances but most of the time it is a matter of convenience. We need our cars to take us where we have to go and we’re reluctant to give them up even for a short period of time.

But, now that gasoline is still at astronomical prices, we need to re-think our maintenance practices. Letting some things go can cost us money in extra fuel consumption. For instance, repairing a faulty oxygen sensor can result in a 40% improvement in gas mileage. Tuning an engine can increase mileage by 4%.

You should be sure that your air filter is always clean. If your engine is fuel injected, airflow regulates the quantity of fuel that is burned. The process of mixing air and fuel is quite precise so the filter needs to be clean to ensure an efficient mixture. The air filter also protects your engine from impurities, extending the life of the engine as well as saving on gas.

It is also important to check oil regularly and change dirty oil. An engine with clean oil operates at maximum efficiency, which translates into gas savings. You should definitely use the grade of motor oil recommended by the manufacturer. Using one weight oil in an engine designed for a different weight can lower gas mileage up to 2%.

You can also realize greater efficiency from using a high-quality multi-grade oil but if there is a price difference you need to compare the costs involved.

And when your tires are not properly inflated, your gas mileage decreases by 5%. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that millions of American cars run on tires that are not correctly inflated. Correctly inflated tires will also last longer and are safer.

The owner’s manual always states the correct pressure for the tires. If you are driving a pre-owned car with no owner’s manual, you can call a local dealer or research the information on the net.

Radial tires are supposed to improve gas mileage by 5% when driving in the city and by 7% when driving on a highway. So if you don’t already use radials, you might consider switching.

Another benefit of radial tires is that they last longer. However, you should be careful not to mix radials with conventional tires unless the owner’s manual clearly states that this procedure is acceptable for that model car.

In addition, tires need to be properly balanced. Properly balanced tires reduce road friction thereby increasing fuel efficiency.

You also need to check wheel alignment to ensure that wheels are properly aligned. Wheels that are out of alignment also cause your car to burn extra fuel.

Although the savings from each practice might be small, the overall savings is worth the extra effort.

Car maintenance can be expensive, and the rising cost of gasoline in the United States can really drain, so to speak, the funds available for car maintenance and related costs.

According to Rich White, executive director of the car care council, loose or missing gas caps, under inflated tires, worn spark plugs, and dirty air filters all contribute to poor fuel economy.

Here are some tips, courtesy of the car care council, to help you save money on gasoline, even as the prices continue to climb.

Do not drive aggressively. This can actually lower gas mileage by up to 33 percent on the highway and five percent on city streets, resulting in a cost of 7 to 49 cents per gallon.

Take care of your tires. A smart care maintenance tip in general, since driving with an under inflated tire is the equivalent of driving your car with the parking break on, and can cost you a mile for each gallon.

Watch out for worn spark plugs. Vehicles have four, six, or eight spark plugs, and these fire as much as three million times every on thousand miles, which creates heat, electrical, and chemical erosion. Replace your spark plug regularly for proper care maintenance, and gas conservation as well.

Change your dirty air filter. Air filters clogged with dust, dirt, and bugs cuts off the air and results in more gas than necessary being burned. This wastes gas, and causes the engine to lose power as well.

Watch those gas caps. Approximately 17 percent of vehicles, according to the CCC, have gas caps that are damaged, loose or missing, and this causes 147 million gallons of gas to vaporize each year.

Do not idle excessively. Idling gets you zero miles to the gallon, and you really only need to warm up your vehicle for about one to two minutes.

Watch that speed. As your cars speed increases, gas mileage decreases, and each mph over sixty results in an additional ten cents per gallon cost.

Lose some weight. By simply removing unnecessary items from your vehicle, you could reduce the weight by 100 pounds, which in turn will reduce your MPG by up to 2 percent, based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the weight of the vehicle.

Proper car maintenance is the best way to get the most out of your car, and to make sure that it remains fuel efficient. Do not skip regular visits to the auto mechanic the health of your car depends on them.

Making sure that your car stays at its optimal level of operation is about having regular maintenance performed on your vehicle. However, there are so many parts that need periodic checkups that it may be difficult to know what to check or change and when. It is helpful, however, simply to look at the various systems that make a car run.

You’re probably pretty familiar with the things you need to do to keep the engine running smoothly, like changing the oil every 3,000 miles or three months. In addition, you should change the oil filter, air filter and fuel filter regularly. Keep an eye on your spark plugs and accompanying wires, as well as the PCV valve.

Most things simply need to be checked regularly because they shouldn’t be breaking down, at least not unless your car is very old. Systems like the transmission and the emission system need a yearly checkup.

Your brake system, however, may need more regular attention. If anything strange appears to be happening with your brakes (you should be able to tell if they don’t “feel” right), then you should have them checked by a professional. For instance, there could be air in the hydraulic system or an imbalance.

The brake pads will also need changing from time to time. You can tell if your brakes begin squealing or grinding, creating metal-on-metal sounds. This system should also be inspected regularly to prevent major breakdowns at inconvenient times, such as when you seem to be careening at a high speed into another vehicle.

A car’s climate control system may actually be working year-round in some areas, so it is important that you have yours inspected regularly, even if you live in a climate where it is not necessary to use the heater or the air conditioner much. While the car’s climate control system works to keep you cool, the cooling system keeps the engine itself cool, which is very, very important to the life of your car. Your engine has a lot of moving metal parts that are difficult to keep cool.

However, car engines are technological wonders, using fans and liquids to keep the engine from catching fire, blowing up, or just heaving a big sigh and quitting. The cooling system is best cared for by checking the coolant levels in the reservoirs and checking the wear and tear on hoses. In addition, ask your mechanic regularly to flush your cooling system to replace the dirty coolant with clean fluid.

The final system to keep an eye on is the suspension system, which is the shocks, springs and struts, as well as the steering and tires. One interesting thing about this system is that your tires can act as a monitor for the rest of the suspension system. For instance, heavy wear on one edge of your tires can signal an alignment problem and the need for maintenance.

Thinking about all the hundreds of parts in your car in terms of systems makes keeping a maintenance schedule much easier. Having a regular maintenance schedule can help prevent the necessity of costly repairs.

Car Engine maintenance is one of the most essential car care activity that requires huge investment, an investment that pays off with enhanced fuel efficiency and longer engine life.

The most common cause of various engine problems is overheating. This is one such factor that contributes to various engine issues like overheated engine, engine surges, strange engine sounds, engine hesitation, and more fuel consumption. This key contributing factor and various problems are directly linked to the condition of engine components that control the functioning of the car engine. The problems that occur in the engine directly influences the functioning and effectiveness of the car. Therefore, it is very important to take good care of the car engine.

Here are the best 10 tips for maintaining car engine:



Engine oil is the most element of a car engine that plays a vital role in car performance. It should be changed periodically or after every 3,000 to 6,000 miles. Also check the oil level and refill the tank if the level is low.

Check the condition of the air filter. If you find any kind of dirt or crack in the air filter, immediately replace it or else it would hamper the functioning of the car engine.

Whenever you decide to replace engine parts, ensure that you use original components. Faulty and fake engine components may damage the engine completely if they don’t fit in well or are not reliable.

Use clean fuel for your car. Adding a fuel stabilizer to the engine can also be helpful for preventing gas from going stale.

For proper functioning of the car engine you also need to check the condition of the car battery.

The battery case should be free from dirt and cracks. If in case you find any leakage or dust on the surface of the battery case, replace the battery immediately.

A car engine also comprises a timing belt that runs the engine and some even comprise a serpentine belt that runs various pumps and accessories in the car. If you find wear and tear of these belts, then you should replace them or else it would hamper the efficiency of the car engine.

Ensure that all the car fluids including the brake fluid, engine fluid,engine coolant, power steering fluid, and transmission fluid are topped up to the marked level. Ensuring that all fluid levels are topped off can maintain the health of your engine.

Inspect the condition of the spark plug and if required change them. Damaged or ineffective spark plugs hamper the performance of the car engine and also prevents costly engine repairs.

If in case you find any kind of strange noises from the engine, get it checked from the mechanic and make sure that the necessary repair is done.