Mom Used To Say...

“Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. She was talking about the dirt behind my ears, or grimy ankles, or maybe the state of my bedroom but today her comment  applies to the inside of our engines as much as any place else.

If you have been following our radio show, or reading our newsletter for any length of time you know that Jim and I harp on keeping your engine oil clean and there are some very good reasons for doing so. Money, time and frustration are the key reasons to change your oil often and with a very high quality oil product.

Late model engines (from the mid 90’s up) have some wonderful features that improve performance, reduce emissions and increase fuel economy; when they work. Our experience in the shop has been that the leading cause of failure on these high tech components is lack of proper oil maintenance. It is not uncommon to see a 2 to 4 thousand dollar repair that is the direct result of missed oil changes or poor oil quality. I am not talking about an engine failure. We don’t see many catastrophic scatterings of moving parts on the highway. What we do see is failures of the cam timing advance system or of the Displacement on Demand system.

In order to get move power and better economy from an engine the “smart” fellows at the manufacturers have designed the engine to be able to run on 8 or 4 cylinders under specific loads and speeds. They have also designed the mechanical timing of the camshaft to advance or retard as the engine demands change. This allows for significant improvements in the performance of the engines. Unfortunately, it is a sensitive system, controlled by engine oil pressure and very susceptible to dirt contamination and sludge buildup.

The solenoids or actuators that control camshaft timing have very small passages and fine mesh filtering screens built into them. Dirt in the passages or sludge buildup in the screens will prevent the needed oil pressure from reaching the camshaft advancing mechanism, called a phaser. There is also a bleed hole in the phaser that will allow the oil pressure to bleed off at a known rate once the actuator closes and stops sending pressure to it. These bleed holes become restricted very easily and the oil pressure drops too slowly or not at all. In either case the first sign of trouble you will notice is a “check engine” light on. You will also see a drop in economy and performance along with an increase in emissions but under average daily driving conditions these will be subtle and you may not pay attention to them. To repair this can cost from a couple of hundred dollars to several thousand.

On the Displacement on Demand engines the system actually closes the valves of several cylinders, and keeps them closed as it also cuts the fuel and ignition to those. This converts your 8 cylinder engine into a more economical 4 cylinder. Sounds good and really works well until dirt and sludge begin to contaminate the oil passages.

Unknown to most mechanics, and listed no where in the maintenance manuals provided to the owner is a small fine mesh filter located inside the engine in the oil passages to the cylinders capable of being deactivated. This filter will become restricted quickly if a poor quality of oil is used or if the owner extends oil changes too often. Under normal use it may last 100,000 miles. Miss a couple of oil changes and it can become stopped up in 20,000.

The result of improper oil quality or a stopped up DOD filter is noisy lifters, engine misfire, failed DOD system and damaged camshafts. It can lead to a damaged engine block costing 6 or 7 thousand dollars to replace.
As oil prices rise because of the high cost of crude and the rigorous quality demands of the new technology many owners are seeing the price tag of a basic oil change double. Some elect to change it less often; bad choice! Some elect to use a cheaper oil; worse choice! Today, more than ever before the old Fram oil filter commercial from the 1960’s holds true. You can pay now, or pay later. Later will be much more expensive, time consuming and frustrating.

BG Products makes several additives and cleaners that can help to prevent or delay these very expensive problems. Ask us at Freedom for information about how we can help you extend the life of your engine, or even get BG to pay if there is a problem.

For information on the BG products and the BG maintenance protection plan go to www.bgfindashop.com

What Grade of Gas Should You Use?

There are 2 ways that the manufacturer's state what gas to use. One says, "premium fuel recommended" the other says "premium fuel only". In some cases they specify an octane rating to use, as in my Corvette where is says to use 89 octane fuel.

If it says "recommended" you can use a lower grade fuel if there is no engine knock as a result of the lower octane rating. Engine knock is also called; spark knock, ping, clatter and timing rattle. You generally hear this on light acceleration up a slight grade, like a highway overpass. This sound is made by the vibration of the cylinder walls of the engine, not a good thing to let go on very long.

If the owner's manual says "premium only", or "premium required" on the gas gauge, gas filler, or in the owner's manual, or states a specific octane to use you really should stick with the recommended grade or you may face serious engine damage.

Higher performance engines are designed with higher compression, different valve timing, and more aggressive ignition timing. These factors do not tolerate the lower octane fuels.

There are a lot of characteristics of the octane rating. It has to do with the flame front burn rate, burn speed, heat generated and several other factors, but in reality it is a rating based on the combination of these things of the fuels ability to resist knock.

On a practical side if you are an average Texas driver doing 17,000 miles a year and getting 17 miles per gallon you will spend about $200 per year extra for the premium fuel.

Why Used Car Prices Are Soaring

For the past couple of years used car prices have been steadily moving up. Almost every make and model has appreciated significantly. What is happening in the auto industry that is pushing prices skyward?

In my opinion the first and probably the most important factor is the underlying loss of confidence in the auto makers. The bail out of GM and Chrysler and the massive recalls by Toyota and Ford have undermined the confidence of the consumer. But this by itself is not the entire answer.

The faltering economy has encouraged people to keep their cars longer. Not only individuals but companies running hundreds of vehicles in their fleet are now trying to get an extra year or two of service from them. When facing an uncertain future of tax law, regulation and investment credits companies do not want to part with cash or accumulate debt.

Three years ago as the economy began to tank the number of leases for new cars dropped significantly. Part of this was due to the credit crunch and falling credit scores of the traditional lease clients and part due to fear of commitment. These leases would normally have fed tens of thousands of quality used cars into the used car market about now.  (side note: if you are near the end of a lease check with a local dealer about buying it, it may be worth more than the residual)

People have become much more conscious of their finances over the past couple of years and are more inclined to shop for a car that fits their needs instead of their wants. Many are finding that a good used car fills that need without the large long term debt and massive depreciation associated with a new car. Extended warranties, Certified Pre-owned Car programs and pre-purchase inspections are taking a lot of the fear out of the used purchase.

The price rises got a major boost a couple of years ago with the Cash for Clunkers program that took a million used cars off the market. This has left a large gap in the available cars for what would normally be the third owners moving many of these buyers to a higher quality car putting pressure on the second owner market.
Will this trend continue? Already the price of many used vehicles is approaching the price of a new car. Given the choice of a 2 or 3 years old car, or a new car for only a couple of thousand more many buyers will move to a new car. The first tier used car market will find an equilibrium; as expensive as possible without pushing buyers to new cars. I think this segment has about topped out.

Second tier used cars will continue to rise in price. We are keeping our cars longer. Modern vehicles will last several hundred thousand miles and many years with good maintenance. When they finally do hit the market they will be fairly well worn out and in need of major repair. The shortage of clean used cars will push the price higher.

It may be that your automobile will become and investment rather than an expense! What can you do to protect that investment? Maintenance! Cars and light trucks with good maintenance records are worth more at resale.