Now, there’s the old adage which goes ‘If you look after a car it looks after you’...which we can safely apply to any vehicle (pun intended...). It doesn’t take too much to work out just how that can be, (we’ve covered one aspect in our article on "The Importance of Good Tyre Health" after all but it’s fair to say that if you keep your vehicle well maintained, it will run better, which will keep it economical for longer and in turn will be easier on your wallet.
Keeping you Safe
Aside from the very important aspect of ensuring your tyres are in good shape, making sure that your vehicles fluids are at the right level is critical. Let the oil get to low and you’ll have the engine wearing itself out sooner without proper lubrication of the metal parts, if let to run dry it will seize - that doesn’t bear thinking about...Something to note on that point - be super careful when topping up your oil, don’t put too much in or you risk damaging seals, we’ll cover this a bit later... It’s the same for your coolant, we’ve had some scorchers for summers of late, and if your coolant runs low you’ll have steam hissing and one very, very hot radiator.
If your engine has a cam-belt, as opposed to a chain, make sure you get it changed when the service schedule advises - if this snaps, the whole engine will seize and will be relegated to junk. In both these instances, your vehicle will just stop dead, and we mean dead. You’ll become an immediate hazard and run the risk of being hit by whatever is behind you - were this to happen crossing a junction.... we’ll leave that to your imagination.
Less dramatic but still important, make sure your windscreen washer fluid is topped up when its running low - in the winter months, should you get grime on your windscreen from road spray, you’ll want to be able to clear it quickly and be able to see where you’re going (peering through gaps is not a good look and your risk of collision increases - it’s not an MOT fail for no reason). Quick tip on this, pour the water in and then top it up with the concentrated washer fluid. This way the water won’t froth up and you can maximise the amount of water you get into the reservoir.
So yes, making sure your vehicles fluids are at the right level is vital, and will contribute to your safety on the road.
Keep to the Vehicles Service Intervals -
Vehicles have service intervals for good reason, so keep to them - like we mentioned, a vehicle looked after looks after you. During a service, items such as brakes will be inspected and highlighted if they come up as areas of concern. NEVER crimp on such critical areas as brakes, its fool-hardy and positively reckless to drive any vehicle with below par brakes, even more so a commercial vehicle that is used for transporting goods that will increase its weight. You’re putting both yourself and others at unnecessary risk. The phrase ‘better safe than sorry’ is also around for good reason!
Servicing your vehicle regularly will also ensure that the things that keep your vehicle running smoothly are replaced - things such as air filters that help keep the engine functioning to capacity, leaking pipes that allow air pressure to escape and effect engine efficiency or vehicle tracking that can affect tyre wear.
The Perils of Overfilling Your Engine Oil -
It’s a fine line, putting the right amount of oil in your engine - too much and it can all go wrong. Here we go through the risks associated with over filling your oil, and what you can do if you realise that you’ve been over generous...
Too much pressure: by putting too much oil in, you’re increasing the liquid volume in a high energy environment - engine parts are moving at high speed and there isn’t enough space for the oil to move around with all the engine parts moving at high speed. With no spare room, the oil froths up and can lead to catastrophic consequences in that the engine seizes, purely because the oil loses its ability to lubricate the engine. The least of your problems should this not occur, is that the increased pressure within the engine causes the oil to leak through joints and seals. None of this is good. The dip stick has a mark, invariably a dot, a crisscrossed milling or line, to indicate the level the oil should reach for good reason, so you’re best checking as you go - depending of course on how low you were in the first place!
Over-filling can also increase oil pressure, which in turn can lead to the damaging of the engine’s seals and gasket. If these then leak, engine lubrication will be reduced and in turn engine wear will increase, reducing its life span. Additionally, it can cause the crankshaft to dip into the oil, which it’s not designed to do, which leads to increased resistance that affects performance and engine efficiency.
Beyond the engine itself, it can cause damage to the catalytic converter - there will be over burn from the oil which can be detrimental to the unit, and believe us when we say that catalytic converters are not cheap to replace...
If you overdo it...
You’ve basically got two options - crawl under the vehicle, locate the oil plug (its location will be in the vehicles owner-manual) and un-tighten it with a wrench. Have a pan handy to catch the oil and drain it. If you’re not feeling quite so adventurous, call your local garage and see of they can come out and assist for a small fee, or if you’re a member of the AA or a breakdown service, (link here) call them, explain your predicament, and see if they’ll come out to do it for you.
So, in summary, maintaining your vehicle and having it serviced at the right time will ensure its safe running and keep nasty surprises (and expenses!) to a minimum, and ensure that your vehicle is working for you rather than on a garage ramp!
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