‘Check engine’

Any modern-day vehicle owner dreads those words!

This is when the good old days were really good because you had separate gauges to inform you on the status of things.

Back in the analog days you had a temperature gauge that told you how hot your engine was or if it was overheating or if it was time to stop at the nearest gas station. If it was one-fourth on the face you were cold and that explains the sputtering engine. Mid-way on the gauge was fine and three-fourths on the face was a serious warning of an impending overheating! By then you would have turned off your air conditioner and started praying to find a nearby service station.

One gauge I always installed in my cars was an ampere gauge that eventually evolved into a voltmeter. This little piece of electronics informed you that your car’s alternator (once upon a time called the “generator”) was charging your battery. Most modern vehicles and SUVs no longer come equipped with this. You simply see a battery icon (image) on the instrument panel that lights up yellow or red when you start your engine because starting causes discharge or goes red when your battery is discharged.

Third was the oil pressure gauge which tells you how well and how much piston power/pressure your engine is pumping. The minute the needle does not move you pray the gauge is out of order or else you just sprung a leak and sprayed all your engine oil under your car and blew your engine.

So why write about all this today, March 1? Simple, so many friends have been posting and talking about summer and road trips, but no one has called people’s attention to some very important things we have gotten out of the habit of doing because of the prolonged Covid lockdowns.

For instance, I habitually change my engine oil about every four months on the average but because of the restricted travels, we simply assume it’s OK to delay oil changes because we haven’t driven the vehicle much. Surprise! Surprise! When I finally went to the station, the mechanic had to use four quarts of flushing oil to run through the engine because the oil was so old and thick. Along with that, the air filter element was full of dust and this affects engine performance and fuel efficiency.

After that I noticed that the air conditioner was not as chilly as during the Christmas holidays, so I called in my friend to service the unit and I confess that it was an embarrassing sight. They took down every part, sprayed, brushed, chemically treated and sprayed again until the technician was convinced that it was as good as new.

Now let’s talk tires and batteries. Tires have a production date stamped on the sidewall of the tire. It’s a guide and dependent on the frequency of use, type of terrain, the date of manufacturing is a good reference date for how long to keep the tires. Because of today’s prices many of us try to put off replacing our tires until they are embarrassingly “bald,” or you keep getting punctures because the face is so thin and worn.

The most difficult time is when there are still treads but your gut tells you it’s time! I prayed for God to give me wisdom because it was a major expense of about 12 grand per tire or 48 thousand for a set of SUV tires. Well, someone accidentally hooked my rear tire coming out of a parking slot. My rule is always buy a set because I have a box full of horror stories on how single tire purchases affect the travel, fuel efficiency and even safety of having three old tires and one new one.

And NEVER buy slightly used but cheap tires! In my younger days I did that and one morning I walked to my car to go to work and all tires were flat inside the garage. They call it “tire fatigue” when the rubber cracks all over the place! With all that in my mind, I immediately went over to the Goodyear dealer in our neighborhood and arranged to buy a set of Goodyear Wrangler all terrain Silent Trac. I’ve used Goodyears for many years and this new set has made our weekly travels to Batangas very comfortable and safe.

Aside from knowing when to replace tires, motoring enthusiasts will tell you that you can predict when you need to replace your car batteries. This is usually a month or two after the warranty expires. These products are designed that way so you have predictability and can replace them on time. Unfortunately, it was one of those things I kept putting off as a side effect of Covid lockdowns. I knew I had to, but I pushed my luck. On hindsight, I also did not have an external voltmeter on my 2012 Montero.

Fortunately, Motolite has a system where their staff will deliver a replacement battery to your location and install the unit for you. Let them do this because they come with a power-bank and know how to without you needing to reset the electronics on your car such as the clock, etc. I used to buy the Gold series, but I have been using the Green Motolite EXCEL 24 (3SM) because it gives you all the power you need and is a good investment for long-term usage. If you are handy with a soldering tip or paint, make sure to write your name and date of purchase of the battery so you know up to when you’re covered by the Motolite warranty and nobody can switch or replace your battery behind your back. This happens!

Happy trails, folks!

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