San Diego Auto Repair

Photo by Rinald Rolle on Unsplash New year, new chance to take care of your vehicle and ensure its optimal lifespan. You may want to start your car care resolutions with the basics, but what does that entail? Oil changes are an essential part of car maintenance. They're something that many people don't think much about, but they can make a big difference in how well your car runs.    In this article, we'll look at why oil changes are so significant, what happens when you do or do not change your car's oil regularly and why choosing the right type of oil is critical. We'll also cover some essential tips for ensuring your engine stays clean and protected during its lifetime! What An Oil Change Does Your car's engine needs oil to perform its most basic function: lubricate the moving parts, so they don't wear out. A well-maintained car will last longe ... read more

Photo by Robert Laursoo on Unsplash   Have you checked your oil fluids today? Do you know how often you should change them? If you don't, on this month's blog, we will explain how often you should change them so you can prevent more significant issues with your vehicle.    If you ask different people for advice on when to change your vehicle oil, you will get a thousand different responses and might be confusing about who has the correct answer. The number of times you need to change your vehicle oil depends on your car's engine.    Motor oil: It is essential to check your motor oil regularly, as having it with a low oil level can cause your vehicle many issues.    Transmission oil: Chang ... read more

Today in the Convoy Auto Repair auto care blog, we're going to talk about oil change intervals. It seems that as engine technology advances, recommended oil change intervals have gotten longer for Convoy Auto Repair customers. High quality oil in a well-engineered sedan engine has lead to extended intervals. But it's also lead to some confusion among San Diego drivers. The old mantra "change your oil every three months or three thousand miles, whichever comes first" once applied to every vehicle in your garage. Time and miles take their toll on motor oil. But now, you could have a different oil change recommendation for every car or truck you own. San Diego people are like everybody else, they have a tendency to put off all the oil changes to the schedule of the vehicle with the longest interval. Of course, that can lead to problems. For example, recently four of the world's largest auto manufacturers shortened the published intervals ... read more

Today's Convoy Auto Repair post focuses on using the proper fluids for your vehicle. Big advances in automotive technology have lead to the development of high-tech fluids to keep pace. Some because of engineering advances and others, advances in the materials used to build sedan automotive systems. A simple example of this is the cooling system. For decades it was primarily made out of iron, steel and rubber hoses. There was one kind of coolant that protected these components from corrosion. Now cooling system components are made with various metal alloys and plastics. These materials require different additives to protect them from corrosion. Since the materials used vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, we now have a number of different kinds of coolant. And it's important that car owners use the right coolant. If you pour in the wrong kind, it won't protect the cooling system and may even void th ... read more

If you've walked through the automotive fluids of an auto parts store, you'll know how overwhelming the sheer number of products available can be. How do you know what's right for your vehicle? As you know, these fluids all serve a function in making your car run as you drive around the area. Your vehicle manufacturer has specified a particular type of fluid for every system from the motor, to the cooling system, brake fluid and so on. When you realize that not every variation is applicable to your vehicle, the task becomes more manageable. First let's talk about why there are so many varieties. Starting with motor oil, we see that manufacturers match the properties of a particular weight or type of oil with the design needs of the engine. For example, engines with sophisticated valve trains often require a thinner weight of oil. Some vehicles come from the factory filled with synthetic oil and the recommendation to use it for life. The safe bet is to ... read more

Today Convoy Auto Repair is talking about the proper fluids for your vehicle. It's become more complicated with changes in automotive design and manufacturing. It's not that people in CA are confused as much as they don't realize how much things have changed in recent years. Let's take engine oil. Twenty or thirty years ago, there were just a handful of different weights of oil. The weight of an oil is a scientific measure of its properties, particularly its viscosity or thickness. It was common in those days to use a lighter weight oil in the winter when it's cold outside. That way the oil would be able to splash around inside the engine and protect the parts before it was fully warmed up. And a heavier weight oil would be used in the summer. The thicker oil wouldn't thin out too much in the summer heat and vaporize in the engine. Modern valve trains have become very complicated with more moving parts and small passages than ever before. The valve train is in the top of the engine ... read more

We would like to give you an update on some of the things happening in automotive fluids. You know, cars are becoming more sophisticated everyday - and fluids such as, oil, coolant and transmission fluid are becoming more specialized at about the same pace. The do-it-yourselfer has to be pretty careful so that they do not actually harm their vehicle with the wrong type of fluid. That is why so many CA car owners rely on the advice of their service consultant to not only get the correct family of fluids, but to suggest the formulation that is best for their car and the way they drive. Proper Vehicle Fluids Let's start with engine oil. If you have been paying attention, you will have noticed a number of new oil weights on the scene in the last several years. Modern engines are built to much tighter tolerances and have very complicated valve trains. The oil must be thin enough to lubricate complicated parts when the engine is cold. The weight of an oil is expressed in te ... read more