The Sunday News
Lovert Mafukure
FOR a century and more, a motor car has been invented, manufactured, remodelled and recreated. A lot of them have lasted for generations and a lot more have just drowned in oblivion. As the old adage goes, if you take care of it, it will take care of you. Today we will look at how best you can maintain your car and get more miles from it. As this forum is biased towards JDM spec vehicles we will look at car maintenance tips for mostly Japanese vehicles but most of these tips apply to all cars unless you own an electric or hydrogen-powered car. Basic car maintenance is not rocket science, it’s fairly easy if you are well advised. Not only does it prolong the life of your car, it also helps your car maintain good value. Apart from that, more importantly, a well serviced car is usually a safe car to drive. Let’s look at the basics.
Cooling system
Coolant is one of the things your engine cannot run without. Cars are manufactured differently, with some cars you pour coolant directly into the radiator while other cars have coolant reservoirs that are usually transparent on either side of the engine bay. These reservoirs have high and low markings. Always make sure that your coolant is anywhere in-between these two points. Sometimes people use water instead of coolant, it’s permissible in an emergency but not recommended to use for long periods for some simple reasons. Coolant has a higher boiling point than water therefore has a higher cooling power than pure water, people that use their cars excessively either on highways or perhaps racing will notice the difference. It is advisable to have a 50/50 mix of coolant and distilled water or even tap water.
Water alone causes rust in the radiator and water lines. Rust build up may cause blockages in the cooling system. Blockages in the cooling system usually have catastrophic consequences. Usually your car will overheat and deep fry your cylinder-head and gaskets and in some extreme cases your pistons and con-rods will be affected. The Coolant is always under pressure and hot. It’s advisable to wait for an engine to cool down before opening the radiator. Always make sure you put the right fluid in the right reservoir ie coolant or water when you need to and no other funny liquids.
Running your car without coolant can be an indirect application for a bank loan to buy a new engine. Your car will overheat and weld itself and seize. If you are lucky you may just burn your head gasket as I mentioned earlier but sometimes you may not be so lucky. A burnt cylinder head gasket is a problem on its on, but that’s a topic for another day.
Lubricating the engine
The engine is the soul of any automobile. The oil used for lubrication needs replacing every few thousand kilometers to maintain good running performance. Regular service intervals also mean longer life for your engine and a smooth running one at that. Old oil usually has contaminants and after a while loses viscosity while also entertaining sludge build up within the engine. Every car has a dip stick in-front or by the side of the engine. Every dipstick also has high and low level reading denoted by an ‘‘H” and an ‘‘L’’ or just by dots like Honda cars. Oil level should also be anywhere between H and L but not too Low or too high. If it’s above high then you would have to drain some oil or your oil seals will be affected. Eventually you will start having all kinds of unexplainable oil leaks. When checking oil, the first step is to pull out the dip stick, wipe it clean then dip it in all the way to get the correct reading. Don’t check oil immediately after running the engine. Oil change intervals vary from manufacturer to manufacturer but usually anywhere between 5 000km and 15 000km.
Transmission fluid
An engine and transmission complement each other. One cannot work without the other. Automatic transmissions however require a little more attention unlike manual transmissions, like a newborn baby. Automatic transmissions also come with dip sticks but they are read differently from engine oil dipsticks. First of all, an automatic transmission dip stick has cold and hot levels. You have to check the fluid when the transmission is cold and then when it’s hot and make sure it’s at the correct level.
You should top up if necessary. When checking automatic transmission fluid, always make sure its wine red or pinkinsh colour. A brown tinge or any other colour means you have to change your automatic transmission fluid.
Other transmission fluids like CVT come in different colours according to manufacturers so you need to be advised well when changing transmission fluid but usually CVT fluid is clear-ish in colour. Automatic transmissions also give out some kind of iron filings due to the grinding of the gears and after a while these filings can be seen on the dip stick. When you start seeing these filings you may have to drain ATF and clean out the magnets in the gearbox sump. These are meant to trap all these filings. After a certain mileage interval it’s always wise to drain out oil, clean the sump, filter and filings. It’s one way of prolonging the life of your automatic transmission.
Engine Warning Lights
Most of the new cars now come with onboard diagnostics (OBD). This is a fault registering system that is connected to all sensors that work together in making sure the engine and all its components are running as they should. All these lights come on when you switch on the car but they should all go off a few seconds after the car starts running. Warning lights that remain on indicate that there is a problem that needs attention. Do not ignore these warning lights. Your cars will thank you in the long run and you will appreciate it.
Engine components
There are some parts of the engine that are not connected to any kind of computer that will tell you when it’s time to replace them. As the engine runs it also runs a lot of extras like alternator, air-con compressor, power steering pump etc. All these units use rubber belts. The most important belt you will need to check after some 50 000km and change at 100 000km is the timing belt. Some cars however, use timing chains which may not really have a history of breaking but need changing at certain intervals. If and when a timing belt breaks, it affects a lot of things. It can lead to serious damage in the cylinder head and set you back quite a few pennies. Check your timing belt and all other belts for wear and tear every now and then.
Wheels and tires
Tyres are always important on every car. They are the only thing in-between you and the road below. They become more important as we approach the rainy season. Always replace your tyres when they need to be replaced. Tyres may be expensive but they are a lot cheaper than an accident. It’s good to always check tread depth and check for wear and tear. Once in a while jack up your car and check that your tyres are still in good shape. Sometimes because of the state of our roads, tyres get damaged from potholes and you many never know because the damage will be on the inner side of the tyre. As I go about my business I always see people with slick and semi-slick tyres and some even bald tyres driving on public roads. These may be good for racing but not good for the road. There’s a reason why tyres come with tread wear.
As we enter the rain season, you will experience something called hydroplaning. Basically, when it rains tyre treads help tyres maintain traction. The term hydroplaning is commonly used to refer to the skidding or sliding of a car’s tyres across a wet surface. Hydroplaning occurs when a tire encounters more water than it can scatter. The car starts gliding uncontrollably on top of the water. Bald tyres will not help your case during the rainy season. Most of our imports also come with space-saver spare tyres best known as ‘biscuits’ in local circles. These tyres ideally are supposed to be for emergency use and all have a speed limit of 80km/hr because they are very light duty tyres. Lastly most manufacturers recommend a 100 000km maintenance service. That means when your odometer hits 100 000km there are number of things you need to attend to on your car. Since most of our imports do not come through dealers who service and maintain vehicles, we have to do some of these things ourselves, perhaps through our own service technicians but there is only a handful of mechanics that have however, bothered to acquaint themselves with these vehicles to properly maintain them. First and foremost, your timing belt needs to be replaced at 100 000km or after a number of years, whichever comes first. This varies with manufacturers.
The timing belt is important because when it decides to snap, it will go with your engine as well. If it snaps, valves and pistons in the engine will collide at high speed, you can just imagine the disaster inside the engine. It’s an expensive disaster. But all this can be avoided with proper maintenance. At 100 000km you also need to have things like ball-joints checked, lubricating drive train components. Checking the differential oil and topping up. The intervals for these kinds of checks also need to be adjusted according to the extremes the car is exposed to. If you do a lot of off-road driving, you may need to check and service your car earlier than the next service quarter. Again these intervals vary and are specific to different manufacturers.
The way to a long lasting fulfilling relationship with your car is through some of these maintenance tips. You take care of it, it will take care of you. Sometimes it’s just that easy. Till next time — Eat Sleep JDM!
Lovert Mafukure is a Japanese Imports consultant. For comments or questions regarding all Japanese imports. You can contact him on WhatsApp +263772339938 or email [email protected] or follow his blog www.jdmpetrolhead.blogspot.com
Feedback from our Readers
Sir, after reading your article it is an eye- opener. I do drive a Nissan Elgrand petrol now what kind of oil is used for the auto gearbox, where is it sold? — 0775181566.
Answer: Nissan Elgrand has a normal automatic gearbox so you need to use ATF Fluid. Castrol ATF works just fine.
I want to buy BMW 1 series from Japan, its only available in auto, UK is too expensive. — 0779663127.
Answer: A manual transmission may never need fixing throughout the vehicle’s lifetime but that’s not the same with automatic transmissions. It’s wise to get a manual but some models are never made with manual transmissions. BMW 1 series you should be able to get a manual but they are few of them available. Automatics need you to stick to the maintenance schedule and change fluids when supposed to with the specified oils, it will last long longer.
My brother, thank you for the insightful article in today’s article of Sunday Leisure on automatics. It’s been so helpful, I have learnt a lot. Can I use CVT fluid on an automatic transmission? — 0774 026 431.
Answer: Thank you for the feedback. I hope it helps in a big way. With cars what makes the difference is using the specified fluid for every application. Use ATF for Automatic, CVT fluid for CVT gearbox, your car will thank you for that.
Hello Sir, what’s your take on automatic to manual conversion? I’m thinking of buying an ex-Jap, auto BMW 116i and converting it to manual transmission. — 0774586958.
My advice would be to just look for a manual 116i since you haven’t yet bought the car. They are scarce but you can get them. A conversion is possible but a lot of work is involved. It’s easier if you have another donor car with all the parts you will need. 2005-2008ish models are all automatic but all others have manual models. If you do consider doing it anyway you will need the manual transmission, the manual specific propeller shaft, linkages, pedal cluster, clutch master/slave, clutch kit and flywheel and other bits and pieces pipes cables etc. These parts can set you back quite a few pennies though.
Your contribution on Sunday Leisure was long overdue and helpful. — Mlungisi, Byo. 0772849563.
Thank you Sir.
How are you? I was reading your column on car maintenance. Which lubricants should I use for a Honda Fit? — 0771451081.
Unlike other cars, a Honda fit gearbox dipsticks read ATF and most people put generic ATF in the gearbox. Honda only encourages use of their special Honda transmission fluid and no other. But because it may not be available here, use CVT fluid and not generic ATF. ATF is for Automatic transmissions, your Honda Fit has a CVT transmission. Goodluck.
