Automotive Solutions from Advanced Auto Clinic: Service Intervals

Confused about auto service intervals for various items on your car? Advanced Auto Clinic can help!

The simple answer for Delavan drivers is to follow the auto manufacturer’s recommended service intervals listed in your owner’s manual or in your service center’s database. But the team at Advanced Auto Clinic in Delavan sympathizes with motorists because of the confusing intervals for modern vehicles.

The days of simple rules of thumb that applied to most vehicles are long gone. For example, let’s look at an oil change: automakers’ recommendations run anywhere from every 3,000 miles to 15,000 miles. This big range comes from engine design and recommended types of oil – so Delavan car owners really do need to ascertain and follow the recommendations for their specific vehicle.

Your owner’s service manual will have a schedule for critical maintenance services and inspections.

Inspections will include:

Alignment check, air conditioning, brakes, suspension, axles, exhaust,

tires, lights emissions, belts and hoses, and steering.

It’s essential for Delavan car owners to remember there is no exception that would make it OK to extend an interval. These intervals already assume “best case” conditions for a safe margin of error. However, you may live or drive in Delavan conditions that are harsher than average. Your owner’s manual may have a modified schedule for âsevere service” – things like extreme WI temperatures, towing, hauling heavy loads around Darien, short trips, stop-and-go interstate conditions, etc.

Consult your owner’s manual or with your Advanced Auto Clinic service specialist about your driving situation and adjust your service intervals accordingly.

Advanced Auto Clinic

1101 Ann Street, Delavan, WI 53115

262.728.2944

At Advanced Auto Clinic in Delavan WI (53115) we install quality NAPA

replacement parts. Give us a call at 262.728.2944. To learn more about NAPA

AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

Advanced Auto Clinic Car Care News and Information: Serpentine Belt

My Advanced Auto Clinic service professional said I need a new serpentine belt but I don’t see any cracks in it. Does it really need to be replaced?

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Old style neoprene belts crack with age, making it pretty obvious to Delavan motorists when they needed to be replaced. Nowadays, serpentine belts are made from a different material that doesn’t crack or glaze the way neoprene did.

Stepping back, the serpentine belt transfers power from the engine to various essential accessories like the alternator, power steering pump, and air conditioning compressor – even the power brakes and water pump on some vehicles. Modern serpentine belts have several grooves running their length. These grooves mate with the pulleys on the accessories. When the belt is within its useful life, it spins the accessories at the designed speed.

Over time, belt material is worn away. When as little as 5% of the material is lost, the belt can slip and not properly spin the accessories leading to detrimental stress and expensive damage.

Using a special tool, an Advanced Auto Clinic service specialist can measure the material lost in your serpentine belt. We will ascertain if it needs to be replaced.

It’s critical for Delavan auto owners to understand that the serpentine belt is part of the accessory belt drive system which also includes the serpentine belt tensioner and any idler pulleys. The belt tensioner has the same service life as the belt itself, so if it is time to replace the belt, you should also replace the tensioner and idler pulleys as well.

A worn belt tensioner can cause belt slip and enough belt-slap to really hammer the accessory upstream from the tensioner. Running too long with a worn belt, tensioner, or idler pulleys typically causes excessive heat at the accessory pulleys, resulting in inefficiency, expensive damage and premature replacement.

Advanced Auto Clinic in Delavan, WI can perform a diagnostic examination to see if your belt or tensioner is worn and should be replaced. Ask your service advisor if it’s time for a serpentine belt system replacement.

Give us a call!