Is Your Car Ready for the Winter?

Winter is here, and it's only a matter of time before the winter weather conditions start to hit New Jersey.

Is your vehicle ready for the inclement weather ahead?   We suggest checking these items to prepare for Winter:

• Battery - testing it to ensure it is still working properly
• Alternator and starter
• Antifreeze level and condition
• All belts and hoses
• Tire condition and tread depth
• Wiper blades and windshield washer fluid
• All fluid conditions and levels
• All lights, both interior and exterior

We can help you check all these items by performing our Winter Checkup on your vehicle for $29.95.  We can give you the peace of mind to know that your vehicle will be able to easily make it through another Winter in New Jersey.

Give us a call today and schedule your vehicle for the Winter Checkup!

Traveling for the Holidays - Is Your Car Ready?

With Christmas Eve only seven days away, people are gearing up to travel to their families for the holidays.  Holiday travel can be stressful with traffic and unpredictable weather.  Even though you can't control the traffic or the weather, you can make sure your vehicle is ready for your trip.

To make sure your vehicle is ready for holiday travel, check these items before you go:

• Brake system
• Make sure your battery connection is clean and corrosion free
• All filters and all fluids such as oil, power steering, brake, transmission, windshield washer and antifreeze/coolant
• Check windshield wipers, heaters and defrosters to ensure they are all working properly
• As a general rule, windshield wipers should be replaced every six months
• All hoses and belts
• Tire pressure, and tread on your tires to ensure they are safe for travel
• All interior and exterior lighting, especially headlights, taillights, brake lights, and directionals

Checking your vehicle before your holiday travel will help keep you safe on the road, and be able to spend your time with loved ones.

If you need help checking any of these items, give us a call today and we will make sure you are all ready for your trip!

Preventive Maintenance - Differential Service

Most people don't know what a differential is, and that their car has one.  Every car is equipped with a differential, whether it is front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, or all/four wheel drive.  The differential helps the car compensate for the difference in distance between the inner wheels and the outer wheels when the car is going around the corner.  So what exactly does that mean?  Think of a high school track starting lines.  The starting line for the outside lane is farther up than the starting line for the inside line.  This allows for the runners to run the same distance no matter what lane they are in.  

The differential allows for the inner and outer wheels to rotate at different speeds when going around a corner or making a turn.  The wheels have to travel together, but the differential allows them to do this even when they are traveling at slightly different speeds and distances.

For a front wheel drive vehicle, the differential function is handled by your transaxle, which contains both the transmission and differential in the same housing and share the same gear oil.  All wheel drive cars (including 4WD) have differentials on both axles, the front and rear differentials.  Rear wheel drive cars have the differential in the rear, which is pictured above.  

Differentials are built strong, and have heavy duty components because of the amount of work they do when you are driving your car.  All the power of the engine is transferred through the differential.  The differential fluid inside the differential lubricates and protects the gears and keeps them cool.  Eventually this fluid becomes dirty which requires it to be changed to make sure that the differential is working properly.  Fresh differential fluid will extend the life and operation of your differential.

Here at Jerry Noonan's Auto Center, we suggest having your differential fluid changed every 30,000 miles or two years, whichever comes first, to ensure that your differential is working at peak performance.

Have you ever had your differential fluid serviced?  Give us a call today, and we will be happy to help!

Preventive Maintenance - Coolant Service

The cooling system of your vehicle has the very important role of keeping your engine at the proper operating temperature to run smoothly.  If the engine isn't running at the proper temperature, and overheats, it can cause some serious internal damage to the engine. 

It is important to maintain the cooling system by doing regularly scheduled coolant services.  Coolant, or more commonly called antifreeze, is what circulates through the engine to remove the excess heat and protect the system against corrosion.  The key to keeping your cooling system working properly is to make sure that your coolant is fresh, the correct coolant for the vehicle is being used, and always having the correct amount of fluid in the system.  Over time the coolant can break down and lose its anti-corrosion properties and can actually start eating away at the cooling system parts, resulting in having to replace expensive components sooner than normal.

Here at Jerry Noonan's Auto Center, we recommend that our customers do a coolant service on their vehicles every 30,000 miles or every two years, whichever comes first.  Whenever a customer brings in their vehicle we always do a courtesy visual inspection of the cooling system and check to make sure the coolant is at the correct level and is clean.

Not sure if maintenance needs to be done on your vehicle's cooling system?  Give us a call today, and we will be happy to assist you with any questions you may have.