Car Talk Service Advice: Oil Changes | Car Talk

Why is an oil change important?  Why should I get my oil changed?  There is some controversy over when exactly you should change your oil, but that depends on your specific car, and these factors

  • You drive like a knucklehead: jackrabbit starts, heavy acceleration or high-speed driving
  • You live where the climate is extremely hot or cold
  • You often drive on dirt roads
  • Your engine is old and burns oil
  • You frequently carry heavy loads (several mothers-in-law or other cargo) 🙂

Let’s see what the Car Talk guys have to say about this car maintenance necessity.

Car Talk Service Advice: Oil Changes | Car Talk.

Cars, Motorcycles, Trucks Tips and Information

Do you regularly get your car checked for problems?

Keeping your car in top shape before you get on the road is as important as defensively driving through heavy traffic. Car safety can also be considered as the amount of maintenance work and precautions you put into your car, to prevent breakdowns and vehicular accidents on the road. There are many things that can happen while you are driving. If you’re defensive driver, thinking of ways and means to lessen the problems with your car, can help save your life and those people with you on the road.

Did you know that regular maintenance can help lessen your car’s fuel consumption?

When you’re driving with a dirty air filter or a low tire pressure, you may think that your fuel supply is unaffected by these ‘minor’ problems in your vehicle. It so happens however, that clogged up air filters can…

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Is a Power Steering flush really that important?

Taken from http://www.kwikkarlubbock.com/content/power-steering-flush

There has been a lot of talk going on about power steering flushing and replacement . A lot of people are still not convinced that it is essentially ideal to change the power steering fluid to maintain the optimum performance of the steering system. Some users say that flushing power steering fluid may just be as good as flushing money down the toilet. However, if taken from an objective point of view, a steering flush is basically one of the maintenance services that are often overlooked. Unfortunately, since it is not normally in the list of recommended maintenance services in most automobile manufacturer’s manual, people think that a power steering flush is not a necessary car care service.

The fact remains that changing your power steering fluid can make a difference especially when it comes to the longevity and performance of your car, particularly on your steering system. A dirty and neglected power steering fluid can greatly resemble that of used engine oil and can possibly compromise the performance of your car and may even create damage to your steering system. A power steering flush is a great preventive maintenance that will save you money in the long run. Neglecting to flush the contaminated power steering fluid may lead to noise, hard steering, reduction of steering effectiveness, harden seals, leakage and wear acceleration. Overtime it can also lead to expensive repairs of power steering components.

What can a power steering flush do to your car?

Flushing the power steering fluid is a service that will involve removal of the old fluid from the reservoir and refilling it with the appropriate fluid to restore a smooth and hassle-free steering performance. A periodical flush will remove contaminants and will also help prevent sluggish steering during cold weather, reduces or fix any steering noise, provides appropriate lubrication of power steering gears, and also greatly reduce the risk of expensive and unexpected steering system breakdowns. Hence, having this type of service for your car will enhance your overall driving experience with great ease and comfort.

The cost of a steering flush is not that high for a preventive add-on car care service as opposed to replacing any of your power steering components due to the lack of maintenance. Besides, your power steering fluid does not need to be changed as nearly as your other car fluids. One of the ways you will know when it is time for a change and refill is when the fluid turns especially dark in color. This might mean that it may be contaminated and requires some flushing and replacing. The fresh fluid is usually pink or amber in color so you can tell the difference when it becomes really dark with particles floating on it. Another way to know if it is time is to smell of the fluid. If there is a burnt smell, that will tell you that the old fluid needs replacing.

Knowing when to change your power steering fluid is important so you can avoid any further risk of damage that will cost you even more in the long run. If you feel that something is not right with your power steering, you may want to inquire about a steering flush service from one of our technicians and get it done for your car.

Woodrow the basset hound had a memorable lifetime

 

 
Posted: August 8, 2012 – 11:21pm  |  Updated: August 9, 2012 – 12:10am
 

Woodrow, a basset hound that holds memories for Ramona Conard, is shown with a toy she bought for him from the Cracker Barrel. It was a favorite. PROVIDED BY RAMONA CONARD

PROVIDED BY RAMONA CONARD
Woodrow, a basset hound that holds memories for Ramona Conard, is shown with a toy she bought for him from the Cracker Barrel. It was a favorite.
 
 
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Woodrow was a good dog.

At least in the eyes of Ramona Conard he was. Even so, it took more than a year for them to become inseparable friends.

“Me and that angel,” she says, pointing now to a picture that she has of them together.

“He was given to me for Valentine’s Day when he was 8 weeks old. I was totally unprepared to get a puppy. He came from the Bonnet Pet Center in the mall,” she explained.

“For the first year and a half of his life, I said the Lord could not have made a worse puppy.”

Her sister, Julia Scoville, agrees. “Woodrow started off being the worst puppy on the planet.”

Conard remembers, “I had so much trouble with his behavior. He would nip on my legs. Oh, I just had so much trouble with him,” she said.

“For a basset hound — which is normally a lethargic, slow, lazy dog — he was just the opposite. He was a hyper-active basset hound. He would eat panty hose, socks — I had to call the vet on him all the time. They would say, ‘What has he eaten this time?’ ”

She emphasized, “He just liked to eat things. We called him Gutter Gut. He liked to eat things that he wasn’t supposed to eat. He swallowed an entire package of Oscar Mayer Wieners once before I could get them off the cabinet. He swallowed the whole package!”

She said, “He would get into everything. I would walk him, and he would eat stuff out of the gutter. He just never slowed down.”

There was an observable change, though, maybe a time when Woodrow was past the teenage years of a dog’s life.

Conard could see the battle had been won, or it may have been just that Woodrow had seen the light.

“He got to be more fun, and I enjoyed every second of his life. He was my baby. I don’t have children, and he was my child.”

Scoville observed the transformation, also: “By age 2, his personality changed, and he was her child.”

Conard remembers of Woodrow, “He was both an inside and an outside dog. The last several years he stayed in with me. I don’t care what kind of day I had, I don’t care what my problems were, every day I couldn’t wait to get home to him. We sat in the floor and played with his toys. I bought him Dollar Tree toys all the time. And in three minutes it would be torn up. But it was worth it. We played, we bonded. He was so fun. He adored me and I adored him.

“He was the focus of my whole world.”

She remembers, “He didn’t like for me to talk on the phone. I would come home at 5, get on the phone, and this is when he would bark. He would bark at me until I got off the phone. I would have to tell whoever I was with, ‘I’m sorry, Woodrow doesn’t want me on the phone. I’m going to have to hang up and call you back later.’

“He would bark at me, nip at me, and bark at me until I hung up the phone — he wanted my undivided attention.”

After Woodrow developed what was considered a small and insignificant cancer, Conard began to realize that time was limited. When Woodrow died at age 12, a life span that is considered long for a basset hound, he was buried in the pet section of Peaceful Gardens on Valentine’s Day, 2011.

“Every moment with him was precious to me. I do remember him eating things, swallowing things that he shouldn’t get into. I always worried about what I was going to do because of that. He got into things he wasn’t supposed to, and him barking, wanting me off the phone.

“But no matter what my life or day was, I had to get home to him. Every night we sat in the floor and played, and I kissed on him all the time. He was just the joy of my life. I guess maybe because I don’t have children.”

When he was gone, she was distraught and in urgent need of comfort in her loss.

Scoville said her sister’s dog was identified with Valentine’s Day for the family. “He was a little Valentine puppy in the first place. The day after he died, out on her back porch — and she was so grief stricken she didn’t take a picture of it — but the morning dew, the moisture, had formed a heart on her back porch on the concrete.”

Conard has looked at things around her as having a spiritual aspect of comfort.

“If you just look for the signs and see, there is communication in sounds and signs. It’s just comforting. And I believe in that communication. I believe in the Lord doing that. I believe that’s a sign of comfort to all of us.”

She said, “I don’t care if it was a dog, if it was a person or what, I could not have been more grief-stricken over this if it was a person. And the Bible talks about, ‘Blessed are they that mourn, they will be comforted.’

“I so believe that.”

Conard sees reminders of Woodrow in the things of life around her. The color of his coat was red and yellow, and she thinks of him when she sees a robin with its red breast and yellow beak. “A good lady friend of mine told me it was a robin red breast. It’s the male — the female is not as bright. I would see them out at the cemetery, and I called it the Woodrow Bird.”

For her comfort, perhaps, she can see reminders even in commercial signs. She and her sister had talked about entering the photo of her dog and one of his toys in a contest, or maybe sending it to Hallmark for a card. But there was an Internet challenge of technology to thread through to send in an application, so they gave up the idea.

A day or so later, Conard was driving down 82nd Street and saw a digital sign operated by the Kwik Kar Auto and Lube Center owned by Tom Roy. The sign read, “Woodrow sez enter photo.”

It was kind of a coincidence involving Roy’s own dog, a poodle-Laborador mix that also is named Woodrow. He is offering a contest for people with dogs associated with cars to build business.

It was so striking to Conard, that she asked her sister to also look at the sign.

Scoville said, “She basically hunted me down — I was running errands — and she said, you have to see it to believe it. I have to say, actually my mouth dropped.”

Conard talked to Roy about the contest and found that he had named his dog after the same “Lonesome Dove” character from whom Woodrow’s name was derived.

She entered the contest.

Now, she is watching for reminders of Woodrow, and for the comfort they give.

Even Woodrow’s resting place has a name to remember: Peaceful Gardens Cemetery is located at the small community of Woodrow.

“If you are going from the Tahoka Highway, there is a sign that says Woodrow,” Conard said with a smile and eyes that are not entirely dry.

“If you want to know where Woodrow is, he has his own traffic sign with an arrow that points to the right.”