Preventative Maintenance

Check the owner's manual to see if your driving habits are considered to be "severe service." This type of driving requires more frequent oil changes, warns the Car Care Council. Have the oil changed accordingly, usually every 3-5,000 miles? For less wear and tear on the engine, drivers in cold climates (sub-zero driving temperatures) should drop their oil weight from 10-W30 to 5-W30.

Description: The typical oil filter consists of a high-strength steel housing containing various types of filtering media. An anti-drainback valve prevents oil from running out of the filter when the engine is off. Today's oil filters have a convenient spin-on design that makes removal and installation easy.

Purpose: The oil filter sifts out contaminants, allowing the oil to flow through the engine unrestricted. Should the oil filter become restricted or clogged with contaminants, they will flow around the filter. This bypassing is a safety mechanism, but you never want to let oil and filter changes go so long that bypassing takes place.

Maintenance Tips/Suggestions: For best results, consult your owner's manual, but consider that your driving probably constitutes a severe maintenance schedule. Usually, this means oil and filter changes every 3,000 miles or 3 months.

Your car should receive a tune-up (often referred to as a "major service") every two years or 30,000 miles, whichever comes first. During this tune-up, your car will receive some new parts that will hopefully keep it out of the shop for a while. Here are a few areas you can expect attention:

• Replacement of the fuel filter.
• Changing the spark plugs (unless they're platinum, you have 30,000 more miles to go). Also examination of the spark plug wires and replace as needed. A new set of high-quality wires is worth the cost. They may be permanently attached to the distributor cap, so it will have to be changed as well.
• Check the belts. Replace if worn. Most cars today use a single serpentine belt in place of individual belts to drive all accessories.
• Check the fluids under the hood and replenish as necessary. Change the engine oil and oil filter if it's been 3,500 miles since the last oil change. Other fluids to check include Automatic Transmission Fluid, Brake Fluid, Coolant (Anti-freeze), and Power Steering Fluid.
• Replace the air filter, which should be changed between major services--every 15,000 miles--as well.
• Service the battery, cleaning terminals and cable ends. Inspect Battery Cables.
• Tire Rotation and set pressure, and while the tires are off the Brakes can be inspected.

Recommended Maintenance Schedule
Maintaining your vehicle when it’s new is easy; but when it’s out of warranty. Our Recommended Maintenance Schedule in conjunction with the Scheduled Maintenance Services from your manufacturer will help you continue maintaining your vehicle to get the most out of your ride.

Cabin Filter Replacement
There are many harmful contaminants in and around your vehicle every day. Most newer vehicles have a Cabin Filter that filters these contaminants in the air you breathe when in your vehicle. Make sure you replace this filter as recommended by the manufacturer, normally once a year.

Fluid Exchange Services
“Sure I take care of my vehicle, I change my oil regularly”. Sound familiar? Your oil is not the only fluid you should maintain or change. There are many systems that need lubricating. Your manufacturer’s Recommended Maintenance Schedule helps advise you on when to maintain or change these fluids.

Fuel System Services
We are dedicated to making your vehicle last longer and perform better. By removing engine deposits in combustion chambers, intake manifolds, ports, and valves, we will restore flow in fuel injectors while cleaning your entire fuel system while preventing deposits from forming in the fuel system and upper engine for maximum driveability and fuel economy. This improved fuel economy will reduce exhaust emissions. Our Fuel System Service will restore that “like new” driveability to an engine’s performance and keep it running better, longer, and more efficiently.

Since you purchased your new vehicle, dirt, varnishes, and carbon deposits have formed on fuel injectors, valves, combustion chamber, throttle housing, and air induction intake. These build-ups can rob your vehicle of performance, and if left untreated, these build-ups can lead to costly repairs.

Symptoms related to carbon build-up are:

• engine pinging
• hesitation
• poor acceleration
• lack of power
• hard starting and stalling
• rough idle
• poor fuel economy

Our Fuel System Cleaning is a revolutionary new process that will clean your vehicle's fuel system and remove harmful carbon deposits. Our system uses a detergent that soaks into the carbon, and softens it, so while running through the process the deposits are passed through the exhaust. The solution will not damage your vehicle's sophisticated engine components.

After our Fuel System Cleaning cleans your engine, you will notice improved performance, acceleration, and increased fuel economy.

The Automotive Maintenance and Repair Association recommends performing this service every 15,000 to 18,000 miles. Cleaning your vehicle's fuel system is the best way to keep it driving as it should.

Let one of our ASE-certified technicians perform this service for you today.

Your vehicle has a lot of different fluids running through it to keep it working. Many car fluids need to be replaced regularly, to avoid consequences. Here, we give a brief overview of many different car fluids.

Automatic Transmission Fluid
Also known as ATF, this car fluid keeps the automatic transmission in your car working properly by lubricating and cooling it. Many people don’t realize it, but remembering to replace this fluid as needed can help you avoid costly transmission problems down the road. Transmission fluid is usually red or green. However, darkened or black transmission fluid indicates it should be replaced. Similar in the way dirty oil can ruin your engine, dirty transmission fluid can ruin your transmission. Mr. Nobody Tire offers a transmission flush as one of our many engine and transmission services.

Brake Fluid
Brake fluid is a hydraulic fluid that gives your brakes the pressure and power they need to stop your vehicle. As such, it’s a very important car fluid. As brake fluid ages, it collects moisture and needs to be replaced when its moisture content gets too high. However, this happens very slowly, so brake fluid only needs to be replaced about once every one or two years. If brake fluid ever gets low, this almost always indicates a problem with the vehicle. If you bring your vehicle to Mr. Nobody Tire in Gastonia NC, we can diagnose and fix the problem to get your brakes working again.

Coolant (Anti-freeze)
The parts under your vehicle's hood can get extremely hot – well over 300 degrees in some cases. If the heat isn’t controlled, it can cause serious damage. That’s where this car fluid comes in. Although auto engines are considered “water-cooled” engines, plain water is insufficient and can damage a vehicle over time. Automotive coolant is water with several additives to keep it from harming the vehicle. For example, unlike plain water, coolant uses additives to have a very low freezing point and very high boiling point, which keeps ice and steam from damaging the system. Coolant also has corrosion inhibitors and lubricant for the coolant pump added in as well. Ask us at Mr. Nobody Tire, if it's time for your cooling system fluids to be flushed and replaced.

Motor Oil
This is the car fluid you hear the most about. Motor oil is like the life-blood of your engine – it lubricates, protects, and even cools the engine. As such, following a healthy oil-changing schedule is an important part of car maintenance. As oil is used by the vehicle, it begins to break down and collect soot and other particles from engine combustion. These particles rub over the engine parts and cause wear and tear. An oil filter prevents most of this damage. However, as the filter fills with dirt and sludge from the oil, it becomes less effective. This is why you should change your oil and oil filter after 3,000 or so miles. You can learn more about oil and oil changes by visiting the oil changing section on this website.

Power Steering Fluid
Like brake fluid, power steering fluid is part of a hydraulics system. It gives you the power to turn the wheel of the vehicle easily. As seals and other internal parts begin to wear out, Power Steering fluid can get contaminated with dust, moisture, and metal particles. This can cause a costly repair of the power steering pump if the fluid is not flushed or replaced. If you feel changes in the way your vehicle turns, or if you hear any new strange noises when turning, bring it into Mr. Nobody Tire to see if it needs any of our steering and suspension services.

Exposure to heat, vibration and contamination makes belts and hoses wear out faster than any other components in your car. That's why regular inspections are so important. Here are the belt and hose types in your car, along with their applications.

Bring your car into Mr. Nobody Tire for a cooling system check, Inspection of radiator hoses and fluids along with timing belt, serpentine belt are just a few of the 51-point inspections that our auto service garage performs.Accessory Drive Belts

While some accessories in your car are electrically powered by the charging system, others use the engine itself as their power source. The power for these accessories is delivered by a system of pulleys and belts. Examples of these accessories are:

• Alternator
• Water Pump for engine cooling
• Power Steering Pump
• Air Conditioning Compressor
• Radiator Cooling Fan

Hoses
The hoses that convey your car's fluids are made of two rubber layers with a layer of fabric in between. Typical hoses include:

Radiator and Heater Hoses
These hoses convey coolant to the engine and heater core.

Fuel Hose
As the name implies, this hose transports gasoline from the tank to the engine.

Power Steering Hose
It connects the power steering pump to the steering gear.