Tune-up – what are the deciding factors?

kgrubbs — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:52:19 +0000

Have you ever wondered who came up with the rules on how and when to tune-up your car? Well here are a few things to take into consideration. Parts wear out. Whether a part gets tired from mileage, age, or time in general, parts just don’t last forever. If you changed your air filter and went on with life, you would forget about when it was serviced but assume you just did it a few months ago. Unlike a haircut when it’s right there in front of you, we all seem to forget because time does fly by.

What is a tune-up?

Tune-ups usually consist of replacing sparkplugs, air and fuel filters, performing an oil and filter change, as well as checking all the fluids and visual inspections under the hood and under the car. This is done to keep the engines air intake system, ignition system, and fuel system working to the best that it can perform and making sure there are no other problems on the car.

Tune-up items and recommended replacement intervals:

Oil and filter change – 5,000 miles
Air filters – 10,000-15,000 miles
Clean Throttle body – 15,000 miles
Fuel filters – 50,000 miles
Sparkplugs – 50,000 miles
Drive belts – (depending on type) – 50,000 to 100,000 miles
Timing belts (if equipped)– 80,000 to 100,000 miles
Plug wires (if equipped) – 100,000 miles

What determines a tune-up

Most manufactures know exactly how long it takes for tune-up parts to wear down. Studies have been done over the years to try and create every type of condition and driving element that you and I could possibly put our vehicles through. They factor in different driving conditions (easy to hard driving styles), temperature changes (extremely hot and cold conditions), and extreme environment changes (dry dusty conditions to continuous rain and wet weather).

Never mind what these parts are made from; 5 different types of plastic, 10 different types of metals, and an endless number of chemicals involved in the process to make such items as sparkplugs, plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, air filters, fuel filters, belts, hoses…. The list can go on forever.

Ask around

The end result is tune-ups are a maintenance that should be performed at or around 50,000 miles. If you went into 10 different repair shops you would probably get 10 different answers. All manufactures say their parts last longer today. Oh, what makes an air filter last 30,000 miles today when 5 years ago you recommended 15,000 miles?

Give me a break!

My Favorite

If you leave a part on your car long enough I’ll bet you can get a thousand more miles and a few more months than your neighbor. What do you think?

My favorite recommendation that certain manufactures have thrown out there is “the 100,000 mile tune-up”, or “the 10,000 mile oil change”. Yeah, whatever?

Preventative Maintenance

If your car is an investment that you cherish, turn your maintenance into preventative maintenance. Perform a tune-up to keep your engine running in tip top shape and get the best fuel economy that you can while eliminating the thought of needing any major work that could have been avoided by a $12 air filter or an $18 set of sparkplugs.

Helpful Advice

For those who are not mechanically inclined I know you wouldn’t be eager enough to dive head first into your engine to replace sparkplugs or an air filter, but if tune-ups (which are costly) are something that you don’t want to try yourself, separate the repairs individually. Maybe you could do the easy stuff. For those of you who do this kind of stuff and make a living at it, here’s your chance to help family and friends while earning a little extra income.

If you don’t want to attempt the repairs yourself and you are in the Indianapolis area I can stop over and perform these tune-up items at your home. Get in contact with me on my Facebook page for more information.

Tune-up/Replacing Engine Spark Plugs

kgrubbs — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:47:37 +0000

The key maintenance parts that require service for a tune-up are the air and fuel filters, spark plugs and oil change. In this section I will show you how to replace spark plugs.

Tools for the job

You will need the following tools to perform this repair;

3/8″ ratchet
5/8″ sparkplug socket
3/8″ extension 12″ long
10mm socket

Here is a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu with a 2.2 liter EcoTec 4 cylinder engine

This engine puts the spark plugs in from the top. The EcoTec cover on the top is a coil cover that has to be removed

Locate the electrical connector for the coil at the right end of the cover

Unplug and slide the connector off

Next locate the hold down bolts for the coil cover

There are 4 bolts to remove (10mm bolts)

Ignition Coil

The ignition coil is the part that supplies a large amount of voltage to the spark plug in order to ignite the air and fuel mixture inside each cylinder.

Make sure to lift the coil assembly strait up to avoid damaging the 4 long spark plug resistors that attach the coils to the plugs.

With the coils removed you can see the access holes for the spark plugs

Spark Plug Sockets

The two main spark plug socket sizes are 5/8” and 13/16”. There are rubber inserts inside of the plug socket to prevent damage to the porcelain spark plugs when installing them. Most tool kits purchased today come with these two sockets.
There are other special application spark plug sockets, but these two are the most common in the industry.

This particular socket is a 5/8” wobble socket and I’m using a 1 ft. locking extension to help and keep the socket from sticking in the plug hole after installing the new plugs.

Loosen and remove the old spark plugs

Locating Tune-up Parts

If you need to purchase spark plugs, avoid going all over town to find them. Refer to the parts link and use one of the auto parts stores to locate spark plug types, cost, and store locations to save you time and find the best deals.

Here is a comparison of the old and new spark plugs.

The wear parts of the spark plug are the tip and the electrode. Over time, the spark jumping the gap wears away at the metal. This increases the distance that the spark has to jump. If the distance increases the spark gets hotter which can create wear on the aluminum pistons within the engines.

Here is one type of spark plug gapping tool. This one starts at .020” and goes to .100”

All spark plugs have recommended gap specifications that need to be set. When purchasing your sparkplugs ask your parts person to look up the gap specification.

Slide the tapered tool into the gap and turn until the desired specification is met.

Install and tighten the new spark plugs.

Re-install the ignition coil assembly and electrical connector.

Start up and check the idle and running quality of the engine to finalize the repair.

Comparison Pricing

Do it your self
$4 to $15 per plug depending on the type, vehicle, and number of cylinders.
This 4 cylinder was $6 each x 4 = $24 plus tax

Repair shop costs
$15 to $25 per plug with mark up and approx one hour shop labor @ $80
This 4 cylinder could cost you $128

Auto Repair Facts » Tune-up