The Harm In Skipping An Oil Change For Ashland Drivers

Posted on April 18,12 by duffysrepair

People in Ashland have been hearing a lot about higher oil change intervals these days. Maybe you’re wondering: What are the key issues?

Some new vehicle manufacturers in Ashland are now recommending much higher oil change intervals than they have in the past. As much as 5,000 to 8,000 miles or more. This practice came under scrutiny when four of the largest new car manufacturers announced that owners like those in Ashland were experiencing engine damage resulting from these higher oil change intervals.

The manufacturers’ standard oil drain service for particular vehicles was scheduled at around 7,500 miles. People following these recommendations were experiencing engine damage. It turns out that oil sludge was building up. This caused small oil passages to clog and engine parts to fail.

What causes oil sludge? It’s a factor of time and mileage. There are hot spots in every engine that cause oil burn off that leads to sludge. Also, water from normal condensation can build up in the oil. This water also creates sludge. Severe driving conditions lead to more rapid sludge formation.

Visit Duffy’s Repair Service in Ashland, Virginia 23005

Severe driving around Ashland includes short trips under four miles or trips under ten miles in freezing conditions. The engine just doesn’t get warm enough for the water in the oil to evaporate.

Severe conditions are at the heart of the problem. Stop-and-go driving, towing, dusty conditions, heavy loads, very hot or very cold temperatures, a car top carrier – these are all conditions that would suggest that the severe service schedule should be considered.

The severe service schedule has much shorter oil change intervals. People in Ashland just need to honestly evaluate how they drive to determine if they should change their oil closer to the severe service schedule, or to the standard schedule.

Some types of SUV will give oil change reminders. But it’s important to know how that reminder is determined. For some, the reminder simply comes when the standard mileage interval has rolled around. Others use a computer algorithm that takes into consideration the number of cold starts, trip length, engine temperature and so on. It’s programmed to approximate where on the standard/severe service spectrum you fall. Some more expensive vehicles actually have sensors that test the cleanliness and effectiveness of the oil.

For the rest of us, better safe than sorry should be the guiding principle. Talk with your Ashland service advisor at Duffy’s Repair Service and work it out together. Find out what kind of oil the factory sends out in your vehicle. Sometimes it’s a premium grade that costs more than standard oil – but it may be what’s needed to meet a higher factory recommended interval.

If you’re realistically conservative, standard grades of oil will take care of you year after year. If you want to push the limits, ask for a premium grade oil to give you extra protection.

So, what happened with those manufacturers with the problems from higher oil change intervals? They ended up extending the engine warranty for parts that were affected by oil sludge. But they had a stipulation – they lowered the oil change interval and the vehicle owner had to provide proof of oil changes at the new lower interval to keep the extended warranty.

Keep Your Ashland Car Breathing Free: Engine Air Filter

Posted on March 16,12 by duffysrepair

This is something really amazing: For every gallon of gas your Ashland car burns, it uses 12,000 gallons of air. All of that air has to be filtered to keep your engine clean.

That’s like a hundred gallons of air every block! The engine air filter is just another example of a very inexpensive part that has to do a tremendous amount of work. And when it works, everything goes well. But, when it doesn’t, well, it can lead to costly problems. Of course, your manufacturer recommends intervals for changing your air filter. But like most service intervals, where and how you drive your car affects when your filter needs to be changed.

Dusty conditions in and around Ashland or polluted city driving means you’ll need to change your filter more often. Your Duffy’s Repair Service technician can check your filter for you. In fact, it’s often a routine part of an oil change.

When you think about it, a clogged air filter won’t allow as much air through as a clean filter. Your car needs this air to efficiently burn its fuel, giving you better fuel economy and performance.

Dirtier filters don’t work as well as clean ones. A filter can only hold so much, after that, it allows dirt to pass right into your engine. Air filters come in all shapes and sizes. They also come in different grades. There are high performance air filters available for most cars. These high performance filters cost a little more, but they increase horsepower and may improve fuel economy to boot.

So have your air filter checked. If it needs replacing, it doesn’t cost very much and it should easily pay for itself in better fuel economy before your next oil change.

Stop by Duffy’s Repair Service at 9974 Lickinghole Road, Ashland, Virginia 23005, and we’ll take a look at your air filter for you. Feel free to give us a call at 804.798.5922 to make an appointment.

Commitment to Make Your SUV Last At Duffy’s Repair Service

Posted on January 18,12 by duffysrepair

For advice on how to make your SUV last longer, visit us at Duffy’s Repair Service
9974 Lickinghole Road
Ashland, Virginia 23005
804.798.5922

These days many people in the Richmond area are really committed to making their cars last a long time. First thing: you’ve got to start with what you’ve got. It’d be ideal if people started with a brand new car, never missed a scheduled service item, paid attention to the severe service maintenance schedule and had regular inspections. But if you’ve had the vehicle for a while, or bought it used, its maintenance history is what it is; and that’s where you start.

Go through the maintenance schedule for your SUV and see what’s been done and when. Have your Ashland service advisor at Duffy’s Repair Service do an inspection and come up with a list of stuff that needs to be done. Review the list and prioritize the work, talk about budget and make a plan to get caught up.

Making a plan is so important. Suppose you go in for an oil change and learn you need your cooling system serviced, a transmission service and are coming up on a timing belt replacement in the next 5,000 miles. You might be pretty overwhelmed.

To make it even more stressful, these are all very important systems that are expensive to repair if there’s a failure. In consultation with your Ashland service advisor, you might decide to take care of the transmission on this visit, set an appointment for the cooling system service next month and get an estimate for the timing belt replacement so you’ll be prepared for it in a few months.

Having a plan for taking care of these important services will set your mind at ease.

Busting Automotive Myths In Ashland Virginia

Posted on November 16,11 by duffysrepair

Myths passed around our Ashland Virginia community start with a grain of evidence and are then built up with a lot of imagination and very elastic logic. And the internet is a breeding ground for automotive myths. Some bloggers recall the SUVs of yesteryear and declare their modern decedents to be virtually maintenance free and that anyone who says otherwise is out to rip you off.

To get the truth about auto myths you hear around the Ashland area, come over to Duffy’s Repair Service.
You’ll find us at 9974 Lickinghole Road, Ashland, Virginia 23005.
Give us a call at 804.798.5922 to make an appointment for your next auto service.

Let’s examine a couple of the more popular rants and look at the truth behind them.

The first one is that the chassis no longer needs lubrication for suspension, steering and the driveline. They declare that anyone who has charged you for lubrication is a charlatan.

The truth on which this myth is based is that many new cars come from the factory with sealed joints and cannot be greased. However, there are still some grease points on many cars around Ashland. A grease fitting may have been installed in conjunction with a repair. And most trucks and truck-based SUVs driving in Ashland still require chassis lubrication. This is because they are more heavy duty and proper greasing is still required to keep them going.

Another common rant you’ll hear around Ashland is that modern cars don’t need tune-ups. That depends on your definition of a ‘tune-up’, which has changed as technology has progressed. Before engine control computers, electronic ignition and fuel injection, a tune up meant replacing mechanical parts that wore out. Duffy’s Repair Service would manually adjust fuel and air mix and timing. When these adjustments were off, spark plugs would foul and need to be replaced.

This definition just doesn’t apply to modern vehicles. Service centers like Duffy’s Repair Service generally consider a tune-up to be the major service visit, recommended by your manufacturer, every 30,000 miles or so.

Of course you can’t lubricate a sealed joint. Of course you can’t adjust a carburetor if your car doesn’t have one. You probably don’t need to change spark plugs every year if your manufacturer says they can go 30,000 miles. What are these bloggers getting so worked up about?

The danger with these modern-day myths, is that they prevent people in our local Ashland community from taking care of the routine preventive auto maintenance that manufactures recommend. Check out this partial list of things you still need to do to take care of your car. How many of them are really any different today than they were 20 or 30 years ago?

Oil change, cooling system service, transmission service, tire balancing, tire rotation, wheel alignment, suspension service, power steering service, proper tire inflation, brake service, differential service, battery maintenance, engine air filer, PCV valve, breather element, fuel filter, belts, hoses, timing belt, windshield wipers . . .

You get the picture. Your SUV is still a machine that needs to be maintained. And, hey, your service advisors at Duffy’s Repair Service have always adapted to keep pace with automotive technology. Next time you come across an angry voice about your car care, talk to your Ashland service advisor at Duffy’s Repair Service, or do some research of your own.

Holiday Travel Season Approaches; is your car ready?

Posted on November 14,11 by duffys

By: STEVEN COLE SMITH/ The Orlando Sentinel

Orlando, Fla. —Rennie Bryant has seen it all before: Since founding Redline Performance, an auto repair facility in Pompano Beach, Fla., more than 35 years ago, he’s used to hearing last-minute requests from customers who are heading out of town on a holiday trip.

They’re looking for a quick, last-minute checkup to make sure their car, truck, SUV or minivan is up to the trip. And sometimes, when Bryant asks when they plan to leave, the answer is, “This afternoon.”

Of course, that is probably too late. The holiday season will be here before you, and your car, know it. Holiday travel is stressful enough, and an ill-prepared vehicle can not only jeopardize your trip but the safety of you and your passengers. And even in the best case, on-the-road repairs are seldom cheap or convenient.

There’s a lot that shade-tree mechanics can do, but Bryant suggests that to really check the car out, you need to put the vehicle on a lift, and few of us have access to one. Underneath, Bryant said that while modern vehicles don’t need conventional lubrication jobs, you need to check CV joint boots — rubber enclosures that surround constant-velocity joints on front and all-wheel-drive vehicles that connect the engine to the wheels — for cracks that can let lubrication out, dirt and water in.

It’s also much easier to check for leaks from underneath. You can catch small problems before they turn into big ones. Brakes and brake lines should be inspected, as well as the condition of the exhaust system.

“It’s easier to check tires, too,” Bryant says, as you can rotate the tire and check all the tread for cuts, unusual wear or nails and other puncture-causing objects.

Once the car is back on the ground, Bryant checks the spare tire. “No one ever thinks to look at it and check the pressure until it’s too late,” he says. “Those little temporary spare tires tend to lose air quickly.”

Under the hood, Bryant checks the age, level and condition of the oil, the transmission fluid and the brake fluid. “And, of course, the antifreeze in the radiator.”

Also worth a look: Belts and hoses; fuel, oil and air filters (including the often-overlooked cabin air filters many modern vehicles have), and windshield washer fluid, as well as the condition of the wipers. When was the last time you checked to make sure all your exterior lights work? A pre-holiday trip checkup is a good time.

Finally, don’t forget your own comfort on a trip. A good interior cleaning, including the glass, will make the trip more pleasant — no car ever comes back from a holiday trip cleaner than it was when you left.

Severe Service Requirements

Posted on November 03,11 by duffysrepair

A lot of our viewers have asked whether or not they should use their severe service maintenance schedule, which is listed in their car owners’ manual. It can be confusing. Let’s clear the air on this subject. Cricket Killingsworth is from QMI/Heartland, a manufacturer of automotive products and fluids. She’s been in the automotive business for 20 years and is a speaker, a trainer, and a writer. Cricket says there’s so much confusion on this topic because, “Most owners’ manuals actually have two maintenance schedules. Sometimes these are called ‘regular service’ and ‘severe service’. Sometimes they’re simply called Schedule 1 and Schedule 2. A severe service schedule recommends that things like an oil change, air filter replacement, and transmission service be done more often: either in fewer miles or in less time.

Manufacturers create these specific schedules for each vehicle they make. So there isn’t one generic schedule that applies to all cars. In addition to your owners’ manual, Ashland automotive repair centers subscribe to information services that provide the maintenance schedules for every vehicle – so they can help you know when to take care of needed services. Below is a typical definition for severe service.

• Most trips are less than four miles
• Most trips are less than ten miles and outside temperatures are below freezing
• You drive in very hot weather
• The engine is at low speed most of the time (not on the highway)
• Stop and go driving
• You operate your vehicle in dusty or muddy conditions
• You tow a trailer, regularly carry heavy loads or carry a car-top carrier

It’s common sense: Just a few minutes at freeway speeds allows the moisture in the oil to evaporate. Very short trips, or trips of less than ten miles when it’s very cold, don’t allow the engine to heat up enough to get rid of the water. And water in the oil leads to damaging sludge. Also, towing and heavy loads raise operating temperatures and cause fluids to breakdown more quickly. Dusty and muddy driving means that more dirt will get past the air filter to contaminate the fuel system and engine oil.

The bottom line is that you need to decide for yourself if the regular or severe service schedule is right for you, based on your driving. Look at your owners’ manual, or talk with your Duffy’s Repair Service service advisor who can help you know which schedule to follow. Duffy’s Repair Service is located at 9974 Lickinghole Road, Ashland Virginia.,

Here is what a fleet manager said recently: “Since city miles are generally tougher on vehicles than highway miles, we use the manufacturer’s severe service schedule as the basis for our preventative maintenance program. We massage those schedules over time, increasing or decreasing the service intervals so that they make the most sense. There is a little bit of art to go along with the science.

Make an honest evaluation of your driving habits. Unless you do mostly Virginia highway driving in moderate weather, you’ll likely have a fairly good amount of severe service mixed in. Some people just want to play it safe and follow the severe service recommendations, rather than analyzing how they drive each month.