Jan./Feb. 2017
Winter Car Care Tips from Auto Tech
Winter is Here!
Make Sure Your Car is Ready
Here in Automotive Technology, we are
gearing up for winter: frozen doors,
dead batteries, etc.
We decided to offer some tips for drivers
as winter settles in. We hope these are
helpful! Be sure to stop down and make
an appointment if you need any help
with your car this winter!
Anti-freeze
By Jordan Heflin
A.M. Class
During winter you may think the cold air
alone would keep your vehicle at operating temperature, but if you aren’t using
the recommended antifreeze, or worse only water or incorrectly mixed antifreeze,
you could be doing some serious damage
to your car.
Before changing your antifreeze and
spending the money it’s a good idea to test
your antifreeze using an antifreeze hydrometer. No matter the make or model, a
general rule of thumb is to change your
antifreeze every 30,000-50,000 miles.
When choosing the correct antifreeze
specified to your car you should always
refer to your owner's manual. Considering
the amount of options to choose from, it’s
easy to buy the wrong kind and thickness.
When mixing antifreeze if you bought a
NON-DILUTED antifreeze you need to
mix at a ratio of 50/50 water/antifreeze
and if you don't want to take the time then
wherever you buy antifreeze, you will
probably find a pre-mixed solution.
Important Anti-Freeze Tips:
If you aren’t using the correct antifreeze
or just none at all during winter, the water
in your antifreeze will end up freezing.
When water freezes it expands and can
result in a cracked engine block. However,
antifreeze doesn’t just protect against extreme cold, it also protects your engine
from overheating which could result in a
blown motor, head gasket, or head. You
could also ruin your radiator which is
about $200. Spending $25 vs having to
replace a whole motor, or a radiator
would be a compromise I’d be willing to
make.
 Bleed ALL air out of the cooling
system after replacing old antifreeze.
 Mix UNMIXED antifreeze solution at a 50/50 antifreeze to water.
 When replacing old antifreeze,
do a coolant flush to remove any
rust particulates that may be clogging your cooling system.
 Use a large catch pan to drain
antifreeze to avoid spilling on the
ground. Due to the sweet smell, animals tend to want to drink antifreeze and it will kill them. Be sure
to PROPERLY dispose of used antifreeze.
 Refer to a car’s owner’s manual
to find out what type and amount of
antifreeze to use.
Traction Control
By Cameron Griffin and
Jonathan Harvey
A.M. Class
Knowing how traction works in your
car is important because then you will
know how to use it. Traction control is
important in the winter because it will
stop you from wrecking your car.
The TCM--Traction Control Module
is sensor in the ABS--Anti-lock
brake system that stops the wheels
from locking up so that you can
steer when you are in a slide. When
your tires spin, it stops you from
spinning out by reducing the power
to the wheels.
According to the website, Brain on
Board, “When a vehicle without
traction control attempts to accelerate on a slippery surface like ice
snow or loose gravel the wheels
are able to slip. The result of wheel
slip is that the tires spin quickly on
the surface of the road without
gaining any actual grip, so the vehicle does not accelerate.” The ABS
is also stops your brakes from locking up. Brain on Board also says, “a
hydraulic modulator that pumps
the brakes and an electronic control
unit (ECU)that receives information from the wheel speed sensors and, when necessary, directs
the hydraulic modulator to pump
the brakes.”
You will know if you have traction control
on your vehicle if you have a button with
the symbol given below.
Even though traction control is helpful, it is
just one more thing that could go wrong
with your car. You might still be in an accident even though traction control is supposed to be better at braking. It is still important to make sure that the sensor is still
good at least once a year. Bottom line, even
with traction control and ABS make sure
speed when there is a lot of snow on the
road, and don’t slam on your brakes, especially when going around a corner.
Brakes
By Barry Howe, Allan Donnelly,
and Jesse Stone
A.M. Class
In the winter you should pay more attention to your brakes. In the winter the
rate of accidents rises tremendously, so
if you have good brakes it lowers your
chance of an accident. You should check
your brakes right before winter and
multiple times during winter.
Driving with bad brakes, could lead to
more damage to your vehicle, and it could
end up being a life or death situation.
Faulty brakes will affect the ability of the
vehicle to perform at maximum potential.
The cost of regular brake maintenance is
worth saving your vehicle from serious
damage and saving yourself from a deadly
accident.
Brakes are a key piece to any motor vehicle. Without brakes there would be so
many accidents. So check and replace
your brakes multiple times a year. You can
look for more information on this topic on
multiple different websites, and auto parts
stores. You can also have your brakes
checked by the Auto Technology Class at
DCMO BOCES. You will be thankful if you
take our advice because brakes are the
number one thing that prevents accidents.
Worn brake pad
Disc brake in need of repair
Motor Oil
By Chris Martin and
Tony Hampson
A.M. Class
Motor oil is important because it helps
cool your engine, in fact, 20% of cooling comes from the oil. It also helps
clean your engine. It also reduces friction. However, sometimes there are
problems with your motor oil that you
need to pay attention to. Oil leakage
and color change are two major problems.
Not taking care of your motor oil will
mess up the engine. Running on old oil
will make your engine dirty and everything inside will get gummed up. The
engine will then seize up and the car is
not good anymore. Getting your engine
rebuilt is really expensive; changing
your oil is inexpensive. At BOCES we
charge only $2.00 a quart.
One way to save your engine is to check
for leakage. A mechanic can put in a
fluorescent tracer dye to look leak. The
mechanic will look around the area
where there is a leakage with a UV
light. The leak glows a yellowish-green
color. It depends on where the leak is
coming from when it comes to how
much it will cost to fix. But if oil is leaking all over your engine then it will be
tough to fix.
You should also pay attention to the
color of your oil. When oil is used a lot
it will turn black. It is time to change
your oil when it is dark black. Good motor oil is more of a yellow color. You
should change your oil every 3000
miles.
The best kind of oil to use is 5W20 and
5W30 synthetic motor oil. This oil balances out when it is hot or cold--when
it’s hot, the oil goes through a little
thicker, but when it is cold, it thins out
so it runs through better. This way the
engine doesn’t get gummed up. Motor
oil makes everything function smoothly,
so be sure to keep up with your oil and
check it every once in awhile. Keep track
of how many miles you’ve been driving
on that same oil. Running on a cleaner
engine will save you a lot of money in
the long run.
Tires
By Robert Stone
A.M. Class
Everybody has heard about the importance of winter tires. This article will
tell you about why you should put winter
tires on your car.
First of all, winter tires have a thicker
tread with a wider tread track to allow
better traction. Your standard tire has a
smaller tread with a tighter pattern for
easier grip. Although you might not think
you need winter tires, it’s a good idea because they are helpful and will reduce
your chance of an accident. For example,
these tires would be best driving on icy
or snow covered roads like county
rounds that don’t get plowed every ten
minutes.
The down-side is that winter tires are
more expensive. The bigger the tire, the
more it costs. According to Huffington
Post, these tires can cost about $120 a
tire. When you take your car in for winter
tire installation, you will also have to
have them rotated and balanced as well
as labor.
If you don’t want to spend the money for
winter tires, you can get all season tires
instead. All season tires are good in the
snow, rain, ice, any kind of weather. You
can use these tires all year. I prefer using
all season tires because it is a cheaper
cost than having to get another set of
tires. I never have two sets of tires.
However, the winter is a good time to
inspect the quality of your tires. Here
are some problem areas you should
look for:

Stick a penny in the tread, and “if
Abe’s head doesn’t touch the tread,
it’s time for new tires.”

For someone more advanced, you
can tell how old your tires are from
the code on the tire itself which tells
you the date they were made. Tires
are good for 5-7 years.

Make sure tire pressure is set at
what it’s supposed to be.
These are some simple steps anyone
can do, but you should take it to your
local mechanic for a more thorough inspection.
Starting Your Car During the Winter
By Walter Beers, Cody Furner, and
Nick Riolo
P.M. Class
No one wants to sit in a cold car on a January morning while waiting for the engine
to get to an operating temperature. There
is a right way and a wrong way to do it.
Many people warm up their cars the
wrong way, and that can cause problems.
The problem with a cold start is
when your car is cold the gasoline is less
likely to evaporate and starting it in the
cold is more likely to ruin the engine. Engines with electronic fuel injections have
sensors that compensate by pumping gas
in the mix which ruins the engine. This is
the reason you shouldn't cold start your
car well… one of the many reasons. One of
the other reasons you shouldn't is it puts
unnecessary strain on the engine.
There is a right way to warm your gas engine. If you have a remote starter, set the
heat to the temperature you want the
night before. Turn it on in the morning,
about 5-10 minutes before you are ready
to leave. The starter will shut off on its
own. It only allows you to start it two
times in a row, and then it will shut off
until you put in the key to start it. If you
don’t have a remote starter, allow 15-20
minutes for your car to warm up and no
more.
Walter Beers and Cody Furner
Diesel engines, on the other hand, do not
use as much fuel at idle, so it takes them
longer to warm up.
If you follow these suggestions for warming up your vehicle, you will prolong the
life of your engine. So stay warm this
winter!
Nick Riolo
Windshield Wipers
By Jesse Ramsay and
Jake Warren
P.M. Class
Window wipers are a necessary part for
your vehicle. Without windshield wipers, it
would be very hard to see through your
window and not to mention you would not
pass inspection.
Follow these steps for replacing
windshield wipers:
The problem with window wipers is that
they could be:
 worn or dry-rotted blades
Step 1:
Identify worn windshield wipers--look
for cracks or a dry appearance
 dirty windshield or dirty wiper blades
 sub-par windshield wiper fluid
 the wrong size
In cold weather, water smearing in only one
direction is common, so there is not much
you can do about that. This means that your
wiper blades are either, 1) old and hard or
2) the wrong size. If the windshield wipers
are not replaced then it can damage your
windshield and you can scratch or crack it.
Either way, new wiper blades will need to
be bought. Also, the life of your windshield
wipers can be determined by where you live
geographically. For example, if a large
snowstorm occurs and there are inches of
snow on your vehicle then make sure you
wipe off snow or break the ice before you
turn on your wipers. Your windshield wiper
life can be drastically shortened if you use
them while there is snow/ or ice on your
windshield.
Step 2:
Buy new windshield wipers
Step 3:
Remove both of the old window wipers
Step 4:
Replace old window wipers with wipers
that you bought at the store and make
sure that they are the correct size.
Window wipers are a necessity to everyday driving and will need to be replaced
once or twice a year or if they are worn /
or dry-rotted.
Four-Wheel Drive
By Philip Smith and Joseph Knoll
P.M. Class
Ever get stuck in the snow and have trouble getting up a hill? Well I have the answer
“FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE”. If you have a front wheel you have a possibility of sliding
off the road and getting stuck, but if you have four wheel drive you are less likely to
slide off the road. If you do happen to slide off the road, you can put the vehicle in
four wheel drive and get out in most cases. Four wheel drive systems provide optimum traction in times of need, most four wheel drive systems include a “low range”
which provides plenty of traction. Four wheel drive is designed to provide power to all
four tires through a transfer case which gives you more traction than two wheel drive.