The elements are tough on vehicles. Not only does the salt and other road grime here in the Midwest ruin the fit and finish of the body through rust and corrosion, but the heat and cold also take their toll on your automobile. Let's take a look at some of the things harsh weather does internally...
1. Battery
The battery in your car is quite important. What do you do if it fails to function? Call AAA? Ask for a jump? Let's consider the possibility that you're stuck at a closed farmer's market in the rural west of Michigan with nobody for miles and spotty cell service. You would want your car to start in this situation without a doubt.
Contrary to popular belief, your battery in the car is not harmed by cold temperatures-in fact, it works better in colder climates! The heat of summer is what makes your battery fail out of the blue. You may ask: "Why does my battery always die when it's -10 and I'm late for work?" The answer is simple. Your car doesn't like the cold in general. Oil is thicker, so the starter motor has to work harder to rotate the engine. You need precious cold cranking amps to achieve this. The iron, aluminum, and steel in your engine contracts in the cold, drawing tighter together. Steel piston rings draw tighter to steel cylinder sleeves and cause more friction. Until the engine warms up, these rings move quite hard through their process of combustion.
Your battery decides it will die in the winter because it has to work harder. It has already sustained damage from 100+ degrees under the hood of your car all summer, draining and charging, cranking, running the blower motor for A/C, headlights at night, and all other things a battery does. With the constant draining and charging in the heat, lime and other compounds build up on the lead plates of the battery and cause it to not accept as much of a charge. This buildup is normal wear and has happened since the invention of the lead-acid battery. This is why you can only expect 5-6 years from a new battery.
2. Oil viscosity
The oil is the life blood of your engine. The summer months can take their toll on your oil because of increased heat and contamination. Let's put this in lay terms-
Take 8 ounces of cooking oil and put it in a frying pan. Heat it to 300 degrees and see what happens-The oil will break down and reduce because of evaporation and burning. It darkens from carbon buildup. While it darkens and hardens, it also loses viscosity. Viscosity is basically the oil's resistance to sheer tension or it's ability to stay in one piece while lubricating. Viscosity is a term that describes an oil's thickness. An increase in thickness reduces an oil's ability to effectively lubricate.
In your car, the summer months take their toll on the oil because it is heated to extreme temperatures on a regular basis. The increased thickness of the oil reduces it's ability to be put under tensile stress in the main bearings of the engine, thus reducing it's viscosity. Bottom line-Use the recommended oil for your vehicle and change it regularly. In fact, I change the oil in my vehicle just on the cusp of winter to ensure proper viscosity through the colder months.
3. Accessories
How many times have you gotten in your car and the windshield is frozen? Here in Michigan, it is a way of life. The thing to remember is that your car was not meant to break ice away from windows and the body. Don't even think of turning your wipers on while the windshield is covered with snow or ice! This can turn in to an expensive venture that will leave you with no windshield wipers. Inside the wiper arm, there is a splined fitting that accepts a cam of the same splines. The cam turns, causing the wiper arm to lift and drop. When ice or snow blocks the arm, the splines will strip and cause damage to the cam and to the arm itself. If you're lucky, it will only damage the arm.
4. Cooling system
The antifreeze in your car is just what the name suggests. It prevents the water that cools your engine from freezing in extreme temperatures. Let's look at an example:
The water in your car is generally the temperature of the outside air when at rest. Think of a 30mph wind coming through on a day when the temperatures are already 10 degrees. This causes a windchill of -10 degrees. Think of water at -10 degrees....it freezes quick! Let's take a hypothetical 60mph wind on a 10 degree day...That's a windchill of about -20. Keep in mind, the radiator in your car is right in front and will experience both 30 and 60mph in the winter months.
When coolant freezes in an engine, it expands. The cooling system in your car is completely sealed and will not accept much expansion, if any at all. If it freezes in the engine of the car, it will actually cause the engine block to crack under stress. That's right, folks...water is stronger than iron. In the radiator of the car, if the tiny ports become blocked with ice, the cooling capacity of the car is compromised and the engine will overheat. This will surely leave you stranded in 10 degree weather with a car that doesn't run.
My recommendation is to check your cooling system's efficiency by buying a coolant tester. It is a small tubular tool with a bulb on one end, similar to a turkey baster. You suck up some coolant in the tube and there are several different balls in the tube. The ones that float tell you how effective your antifreeze is. Most antifreeze is effective to -30 to -40 degrees. If you're running antifreeze that is only registering in the 0 to -5 degree range, flush and change it.
What most people overlook is the acidity of the coolant. When checking your coolant for effectiveness, also check for pH. Your coolant becomes acidic through the course of it's life and will eventually break down through fermentation. If coolant becomes too acidic, it will essentially 'eat' all of the aluminum components in the engine. Check the price of these parts before you say: "There's not much aluminum in my engine, it won't hurt!": Cylinder heads, water pump, radiator, intake manifold, thermostat housing, and heater core.
Please take care of your car, no matter what season it is. Your car is not only a machine, but it is also a friend that you rely on and love. If you have any questions about cars, repair, maintenance, automotive theory, or questions about life in general, email me at DIYfixyourcar@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment