DENNIS O’SULLIVAN
Answers your questions
READER’S COMMENT
Hello Mr Sullivan, I have a question for you. I have a car that I put away for winter. It is in a heated garage, covered and on a trickle charger. It is also fuelled with Stabilizer. What I didn’t do was over-inflate the tires or move it over the winter, so would the tires be ruined with flat spots or can they be saved? Thank You. PS. love your column. John in Lowbanks
ANSWER
The fact that your vehicle has been parked in a heated garage will lessen the chances of the tires ending up with flat spots if they are radial tires. Flat spots can become troublesome when the vehicle is parked for an extended period of time on a hard cold surface such as pavement. With your vehicle being in a heated garage, you may find that it will take about one to two kilometres to warm the tires up and get rid of any flat spots that may or may not have affected the tires. The more expensive the tires, such as high performance tires, the more chances that flat spots may occur because the tires are softer and more flexible. Before you take the car for a ride, make sure that the tire pressure is at the recommended pressure and I suspect that you will find that your tires will very quickly remove any flat spots that have occurred during the winter months.
QUESTION
After wading through mounds of contradictory information from every source about what oil to use and when to change it, I’ve decided to go with the engine manufacturer’s recommendation in my Hemi and use Pennzoil synthetic, even though the dealership recommends conventional oil. Now for frequency! The Hemi specs say to change the oil at 10,000 km or one year, whichever comes first. Never exceed one year. So what happens after one year? If I left it for thirteen months, what would happen? Even Chrysler’s own manual suggests conventional oil at 5,000 km or sixmonth intervals- never to exceed six months. Again, what happens to the oil at the six-month point? At one interval, it took me eight months to reach the 5,000 km mark. Did I create damage? Denis from Kitchener
ANSWER
Most automobile manufacturer’s recommendations are done based on the average driver’s experience. The recommendations are certainly not set in stone and depending on your driving habits, changing the oil shortly before or shortly after the factory recommendations, is not going to affect the oil’s ability to do its job. If you are driving your vehicle two to three kilometres per day or every other day, the frequency of the oil changes should be more often because of the condensation that builds up in the crankcase. Condensation can severely affect the oil’s ability to properly lubricate. If you are driving your vehicle back and forth to Toronto everyday, the oil frequencies can be extended because the heat build up in the crankcase is evaporating much of the moisture contaminates. The time recommended on oil changes is more important than mileage when it comes to when the oil should be changed. What I tend to worry about is that, when the oil recommendation is six months or ten thousand kilometres, not too much attention is given to making sure that the oil is always up in the crankcase. Some motorists take the mileage or time as an assurance that they do not have to maintain or check the oil level because the manufacturer told them that they could go ten thousand kilometres before their next oil change. Low oil as well as contaminated oil can also cause irreversible damage to the internal working parts of the crankcase. As long as your vehicle is under the factory warranty, I always recommend that you follow their oil change recommendations, just in case there is an internal engine problem that can be associated with the oil condition.
QUESTION
My vehicle is a 2006 Ford half-ton truck that I have had since new. My problem is that I am having problems with the truck overheating. I had the truck into my garage and they told me that the radiator is plugged and that I need a new one. I bought a used one from the auto wreckers and that did not fix the problem. I was then told that the water pump was defective and before I go and change that, is there anything else that you would recommend that I do before I go and change the water pump. I was hoping that you would call my mechanic to help him diagnose my truck’s overheating problem. My mechanic is very knowledgeable but he does not know much about coolant problems. Ablely from Hamilton
ANSWER
There is a chance that your mechanic is qualified to practise as a licensed technician in Ontario if he can produce the proper papers and meet provincial standards. My conversation with him did not convince me that he has the proper Ontario mechanical credentials to practise in the mechanical trade so I did not question him as to why he felt that the water pump was defective. Since you live on the mountain, my recommendation to you would be to take your truck to Hamilton Auto and Cooling, which is a CAA approved garage that specialixes in coolant repairs, before you attempt any further repairs. They are experts in that field and they will very quickly tell you what is needed. After their diagnosis and after you have paid for a diagnostic fee, you can then decide if you want to take the job on yourself or have the experts do it for you. I recommend the latter.
PS: To my readers: If possible, it would be appreciated if your emails would indicate the town, city or village that you live in. Please be advised that not all emails can be answered. Send your questions (be sure to include your address) by email to:: dennis.osullivan@cogeco.ca or mail: Box 10019, Winona, ON L8E 5R1