Fluid Change

The fluids inside your vehicle’s engine and drive train components are the life blood of those systems.  They serve to lubricate, clean, and cool. They keep your vehicle alive if you will or, at least running smoothly. The vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations and the types of driving being done effect the frequency of changing.

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Everyone knows about Engine Oil and how important it is.  However there are other fluids that are just as important to the major systems of r vehicle.  Those Fluids are as follows

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  • Automatic Transmission, including CVT and Manual transmission.

  • Engine Coolant or Antifreeze

  • Power Steering Fluid

  • Differential Fluid

  • Transfer Case Fluid

  • Fuel is a fluid too, and even though you don’t clean the fuel, you clean the fuel system

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Each is unique in its chemistry as well as major function, and longevity or replacement intervals.

Our experienced professionals will advise you as to when it is time to provide proper maintenance on these critical fluids to keep your vehicle on the road longer!

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Some warning signs that may indicate an issue with your vehicle’s fluids:

  • Dark circles of liquid on the driveway

  • Fluids abnormally low when checked

  • Warning lights on dashboard

  • Slow or Difficult Power Steering

  • Hard shifting or Longer Shifting than normal

  • Shuttering or Constant Shifting

  • Overheating

  • Noise while driving or when the engine is running

  • Poor Fuel Economy

  • Even just the color or quality of these fluids

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ANTIFREEZE / COOLANT

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Over time and with temperature extreme’s your coolant’s protective additives are depleted and begin to break down.  This allows corrosion, scale and rust to permeate the system.  Signs of aging are:  brown, dark or off-colored fluid in the radiator or overflow tank, overheating or poor starting on cold mornings, temperature gauge fluctuation.  Accumulated scale and corrosion are removed along with the old contaminated fluid and replaced with new coolant and a conditioner is added for ultimate and

longer life.

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In colder climates this is a vital fluid because engine blocks without proper antifreeze, could  freeze and lead to a more serious cooling system issue like freeze plug failure, engine block cracking or coolant leaks from other various places

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In warmer climates it is just as important as the boiling point of engine coolant is much higher than water, giving the vehicle the ability to run longer without overheating. and causing damage to other components in the engine bay.

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If your cooling system isn’t functioning properly your emissions could be effected.  If your thermostat can’t open fast enough the vehicle won’t switch between Open and Closed Loop. This will effect your fuel economy.

Transmission Fluid

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One of the most often overlooked Fluids to change is the Transmission Fluid.  Vehicle manufacturers have intervals everywhere between every 15,000 miles and every 100,000 miles depending on the make, model and your driving habits.

Like engine oil, transmission fluid needs to be changed.  Over time and miles, your transmission’s fluid begins to wear out.  With even more moving parts than your engine, the transmission depends on its fluid to keep it clean, cool and free of harmful deposits.  Worn out fluid will cause erratic shifting, hesitation, and gear noises.  The first step is to add a powerful cleaner to loosen sludge and baked on deposits in each shifting position.  It’s important to completely replace all the old contaminated fluid with new fluid.  A special additive package offers seal protection, better gear lubricity and sludge inhibitors to keep your transmission shifting like new.

Towing

It is important to know that if the vehicle is used for

towing often times there isn’t a given mileage, however towing greatly increases the need for fresh,

clean fluid due to the stress and trauma from dragging a trailer and the higher RPM from the engine when “towing mode” is activated on most trucks.

Differential Fluid

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The rear differential should be checked during each routine oil change and topped off as needed with the fluid prescribed in the owner’s manual. REPLACING THE FLUID: The rear end should be drained and filled periodically to remove any metal fillings that have accumulated in the differential housing.

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Changing the Differential Fluid ( Diff Fluid ) too late can be detrimental to the life of the gears in the rear end.  In the image below we show old versus new fluid

Power Steering Fluid

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Old power steering fluid turns into costly repairs.  Under extreme heat and pressure (1800 psi) power steering fluid wears out.  Old fluid can quickly damage and destroy bushings, seals, bearings and gears.  Fluid should be changed when you experience:  squealing from sticky valves, whining and grinding noises on sharp turns, jerky and erratic steering, wear metals, hose and seal debris found in the fluid.  Before we remove the fluid a cleaner first dissolves and suspends varnish, deposits and debris from seals and parts.  The system is cleaned with specialized equipment that removes the old, contaminated fluid and debris.  Then new premium fluid and conditioners are added to help reduce heat and friction while protecting vital system parts.

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BRAKES & BRAKE FLUID

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Brake fluid retains moisture and should be flushed and re-bled to keep brakes working effectively.  We use test strips to measure moisture and copper ppm.  Brake fluid should be replaced when the parts per million (ppm) gets over 200.

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FUEL INDUCTION SERVICE:

Fuel is a fluid: while we don’t “flush” the fuel, we do clean the system that it runs through.

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Without your realizing it, the response and performance that made your new car so much fun has slowly drained away.  Deposits that build up in the fuel and air induction systems of the engine have robbed your car of its agility and excitement.  Modern engines are finely tuned and extremely sensitive to deposits that accumulate on intake valves, intake ports, fuel injectors and combustion chambers.  These deposits can also cause drivability problems such as hesitation, surge, stall, hard starting, rough idle and loss of power.  These deposits will interrupt proper fuel atomization.  This leads to increased exhaust emissions and drivability problems such as hesitation, surging, misfire and loss of power.  The air throttle body assembly controls the air flow into the intake ports where the air mixes with atomized fuel and swirls into the combustion chamber.  Heavy deposits build-up on the back side of the throttle plate, around and behind the plate and in the idle air control.