Tag Archives: woodys tech tip

Is your car feeling the heat? Don’t forget to show some love to your cooling system!

overheated

Summer temps are rising! Do you know what symptoms your car will show when the cooling system is sick? Cooling system failures are a leading cause of vehicle breakdowns, especially during those summer trips. If you notice the vehicle is overheating, leaks, has a sweet smell of antifreeze, or you find yourself constantly adding coolant, your car could be on the road to failure. Do you check your engine coolant regularly? If not, remind yourself that an engine cooling system that doesn’t receive regular maintenance will fail. The cooling system’s job is to take heat away from the engine components and move it to the air outside the car. Your antifreeze temperature can be well over 200 degrees, and if that heat remains inside the engine, things are going to start going wrong. Terribly wrong.

You coolant level should be checked at the reservoir and a 50/50 mix of the correct antifreeze and distilled water should be added if necessary. Just remember to never open it while it’s hot! A visual inspection of the hoses, belts, and radiator will help identify cooling system problems before they become to big to handle. Radiator leaks, bulging hoses, or frayed/cracked belts are clues that the cooling system is in need of a little TLC. Also if your car makes a strange hissing sound or smells like hot antifreeze, it’s probably time to have a mechanic take a look before you find yourself stranded on the side of a road somewhere.

Nothing ruins a summer vacation like a complete engine failure, so keep an eye out for cooling system problems. If your vehicle is in need of service, it’s easy to contact Deryck or Mike in the Service Department at Woody’s. Call us at 660-646-3455 x24 or check out the service page at www.wowwoodys.com | http://www.wowwoodys.com/service-center

AGM battery won’t take a charge? Don’t pitch it- try this instead

AGM Battery

AGM, or Absorbed Glass Matt batteries are finding their way into more and more cars on the road. Once found mainly in high performance cars, your everyday driver might just have one under the hood. These batteries don’t have the traditional spillage problems and perform better because the electrolytes aren’t in a liquid form, but are held in a suspension. This keeps is in constant contact with the lead and means better efficiency when discharging as well as charging. Usually. Sometimes, if the battery is discharged too much, it might not take a charge anymore (at least not without a little help)

This doesn’t necessarily mean that your battery is toast. If you have another battery that’s well charged (12.4 volts or more), just connect it in parallel with the dead AGM battery on your charger. Use a set of jumper cables and connect the good battery to the AGM battery, + to +, – to -. Just limit your charging to 10 amperes, and save yourself from having to replace an expensive battery!

charging

Are you low on brake fluid? How do you know?

How do you check to see if your car has enough brake fluid? You’re going to need to open and inspect your car’s Master Cylinder. When you step on the brakes, fluid moves from this assembly into the brake lines. When you release the brakes, the fluid moves from the lines back into the master cylinder. This may sound intimidating, but it’s really very simple, as long as you follow a couple guidelines to keep everything clean and free of contaminates.

There are 2 kinds of fluid reservoirs that you may encounter when checking the brake fluid. The first type is a little plastic bottle on top of the master cylinder. To open this type, just open the cap.

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The other type is the metal type, with a lid thats held in place by a metal bar or retaining clamp across the top. Just use a flat screwdriver and pry the clamp off the top. It should just flip to the side of the master cylinder.

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Don’t let any dirt or junk fall into the chambers when take the lid off. If you see lots of dirt, grime, or dust around the master cylinder, wipe around the lid before you remove it.

If you have the removable lid, there are 2 diaphragm cups that move up and down as the fluid moves into and out of the cylinder. If your fluid level is low, or if the cups are in the lower position, push them back up with a clean finger before you put the lid back on.

The brake fluid should be up to the “full” line on the cylinder or within 1/2″ of the top of each chamber. If not, get the correct brake fluid for your vehicle and add some.

After you’re done inspecting and adding any fluid, close the lid as quickly as possible to avoid any oxygen or water vapor from the air contaminating the fluid.

Grab a flashlight and check under and around the master cylinder. If it’s been leaking, you’ll see evidence of it. Most master cylinders seal pretty well, so if you’re low on fluid you may have a leak somewhere else. It’s a good idea to check your master cylinder every couple months, especially if was low on fluid the last time you checked it.