How To Maintain Old Cars?

We eventually grow more comfortable with our cars and we tend to keep our car much longer than ever before. Older cars still offer a lot of functionality, especially because many car owners only prefer reliability and something that can bring them anywhere they want. It can be quite a daunting task to keep our old car running smoothly, especially if we are unfamiliar with how to maintain old car properly. In this case, we should try to break the task into much more manageable chunks. There are a number of priorities we should consider when we attempt to maintain the car.

First of all, we should be able to define the ideal operating conditions of the car, these could be related to the steering system, tires, braking systems and others. We should also make sure that we as drivers could have proper visibility when using the car. In general all glass should be clear and all windows are free of cracks and permanent smudges that can obstruct vision. Improper maintenance could cause other components to fail. We should be aware of various components in the car, including timing belts, clutch fan, constant velocity joints, fuel lines and radiator hoses.

Just with newer car, we should proceed with the normal maintenance procedure, such as regularly checking the engine coolant, transmission fluid and engine fluid. With proper maintenance, we should be able to prevent catastrophic breakdown and our old car could still be able to run well for longer period of time. We should be proactive when maintaining our older car, so we could save money and extend the life of the car. Oil changes are probably the most essential car maintenance procedure and it determines whether we can keep our car healthy.

In general, oil changes should be considered as an affordable investment to keep our car running as long as possible. By changing oil regularly, we could remove any combustion by-products and grit that could find their way into crank case and cause accumulative wear. In general, we should change the engine oil every 5,000 miles or so. This should be ideal for most car models. However, we need to change oil more often if we often use car for brief trips in very cold weather or when we are living in dusty environments. We should change oil according to what the owner’s manual and the oil specification say.

In some cases, we may choose to use high mileage engine oils. These products have specific additives that limit the accumulation of deposits and they may also prevent oil burn-off. Another important part of car is the braking system. It is essential because braking is often the only thing that can save our lives when travel faster. In general, brake pads last for up to 40,000 miles and we should check whether they still work properly. Squealing noises are usually considered as early indication that our braking pads are worn thin. In general, we should check any strange noise that our old car produces.