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General Guidelines
Oil: Change oil and filter every 3,000-4,000 miles. It's
highly recommend you have a safety inspection on your vehicle at
every oil change. Most quality repair facilities will do this
for you, usually free of charge.
Fluids: Check coolant, transmission, brake, power
steering and windshield wiper fluid at each oil change. Most
automotive fluids systems are closed, this means you should not
lose any significant amount of fluid over a long periods of
time.
Cooling System: Flush and replace antifreeze every 2
years or 30,000 miles.
Transmission Service: Fluid and filter change, every
30,000 miles.
Belts & Hoses: Check every 15,000 miles, most generally
you can expect to replace them between 30,000-40,000 miles.
Timing Belt: Replace timing belt at 60,000 - 90,000 miles
(depending on the manufacturers recommended mileage, check your
owner's manual or ask us to look it up for you). Your Car's
engine can be classified as either free-running or interference.
In the free-running engines the crankshaft can continue to move
the piston with out causing major engine damage, because there
is enough clearance between the valve and piston to avoid a
collision.
However, an interference engine may allow the piston and the
valve to collide. The least damage that could occur is a bent
valve. The most damage that could occur is a hole in the piston,
damage to the head, gouged cylinder heads, or worse yet, a
completely ruined engine.
This occurs because the piston-to-valve synchronization is lost
due to a failed timing belt.
Most domestic cars are free-running. Several notable exceptions
are some models of the Chevy Spectrum and Chevette, Plymouth
Colt, and the Pontiac LeMans and Sunbird. (The majority of these
models have foreign-made engines.) Most import cars, however,
have higher compression engines, and are most likely to be the
interference type.
Tune-up: Inspect components every 15,000 miles, expect to
replace some of them every 30,000 miles. Most cars will NOT go
100,000 miles without a tune up of some sort!
Brakes: Check system every 15,000 miles, on average you
can expect to replace front pads every 20,000-40,000 miles, rear
shoes or pads every 40,000-60,000 miles.
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