't@ body shop itd. Sas cA Free pick up & drop off service on the North Shore [7] Two year written guarantee on all bodywork (“| More than 25,000 vehicles repaired ca Quality service since 1967 142 FELL AVE. N. VANCOUVER 987-4408 REGENCY NISSAN NORTHSHORE 1160 Marine Dr, North Vancouver D6127 985-9311 SEITE - Regular tuneups are just the ticket to keeping cars healthy THE TIME to think about getting the family car ready for warmer weather driving is at hand, especially for do-it-yourselfers who take pride in a job well done and are therefore willing to devore the required extra time. In recent years, aulo manufac: turers have gone to great lengths to significantly reduce the number of tasks to which car owners must attend in order to keep their vehi- cles in peak operating condition, The use of high-energy ignition systems and unleaded fuel, for in- stance, has increased the average time between major cuneups from about 12,000 to near 40,000 kilometres (7,500 to 25,000 miles), One thing the car-makers have not been able to get rid of is the sea a) NEWS photo Nall Lucente JUSTIN KYLLO, mechanic at North Shore Nissan, checks this car's air conditioner in preparation for a season of summer driv- AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSI a 8 SERVICE & INSPECTION we will... ¢ Test transmission porformance (road test! gasket © Replace transmission pan Expires July 2/93 jooawrench * Replace transmission ‘ Replace transmission Service Hus EXTENDED HOURS OF SERVICE RECEPTION Mon-Thurs. 7:300m-8:30pm Fri. & Sat. 7 30am-5:30pm A 4 4 A i 4 4 . Clean & inspect trans. = « Adjust tinkage as nec, A f i f a k A b need for certain preventive maintenance work in the spring and fall, so as to offer as much protection as possible for opera- tion in weather extremes, That is why a summer tuneup is so important, regardless of the amount of driving the car has seen over the winter months, The tuneup should begin with the most thorough cleaning of the year, The reason is quite simple. First, it is much easier to work on a clean car than a dirty one, and more important, if car owners want to keep their investments in the best possible condition for the fongest possible time, it is im- perative to remove the ravages of winter. Outside the Lower Mainland, rock salt plays a major part in keeping the roads open during and after winter storms. The salt does an excellent job of melting » “ay snow and ice, But at the same ritne, its residue clings to the underside of cars. If that residue isn’t removed, the salt will set in motion corro- sion that eventually will eat through the car’s surfaces. {f your vehicle was exposed to areas where rock salt is used, it should be cleaned thoroughly. Hosing down all four wheel- wells will remove most salt build-up, However, a much more thorough job can be done at a commercial car wash by having the tire each area cleaned with the soapy steam normally used on whitewall tires. , The rest of the car’s exterior, including door jambs and the areas where other pancls come together, should be washed thoroughly and rinsed clean, The interior should be vacuum- ed and upholstery-cleaniing chem- ical used to remove stains. If the floor mats are made of carpet, they should be taken out of the car and cleaned. While the car is at the car wash for salt removal and exterior wash, it’s an excellent idea to Steani-clean the engine compart- ment. This will remove built-up oil and road grime, allowing the engine to run cooler and making repair work easier. If it's possible to get the car up on a lift, there are a few checks that should be made before start- ing under-hood work. These include making sure the exhaust system is in sound condi- tion, making sure there are no signs of leakage in the shock ab- sorbers, testing the universal joints by moving the driveshaft or halfshafts, and checking the fluid level in the differential. The most important engine job to be performed at this point is to replace the engine oil and filter with premiuin products. Engine oil for higher ambient temperatures of summer driving should be « higher viscosity, as Opposed to the thinner viscosity oj! that should have been used in colder temperatires. It should also conform to the vehicle manufacturer's recom- mendation as to viscosity. This also is a good time to check and replace, if needed, the air filters and the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve. If ignition work will soon be due, you can do it now, With the high-energy ignition used in’ vir- tually all cars today, all you need to do is change the spark plugs at the recommended interval, tn older cirs, the plugs, paints and rotor should be changed about every 20,000 kilometres (22,000 miles), or at the manufae- tuter’s recommended interval, and the distributor cap should be checked for cracks, Alb oat this can be done on a Saturdas morning — a small ine vestment i tae to ensure a sumater of trouble-free driving.