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Bryan: Hey Rob, thanks for having me ride along today.

 

Rob: And Bill Schierl, a guy who's been driving a long time and has a lot of great questions.

 

Bill: Hi Rob, glad to be here.

 

Rob: Today we're talking about getting your car ready for summer. You know, your car has gone through a lot. This last winter, pretty much every winter, we require a lot of service out of our car. We run them through potholes. We start them up in cold temperatures, kick them into gear and head on down the road. So they do need some attention and it's time to take a good look at them in the spring. And the best way to start with this whole project is making an afternoon project on a weekend. Start with a good old fashioned sudsy car wash. Get out a piece of paper, start making a list of the things and the damage that you see do an assessment on your car overall. And you'll be a lot happier that you did when you're done. Best thing to do is make this a spring ritual, get the family involved, let the kids run around in the yard and get the suds going and get the hose squirting on everybody.

 

Rob: Sprinklers, whatnot. You can picture, you know what I'm talking about. Get everybody involved and have a good time with it. Don't forget the inside too. The inside gets kind of grungy. You end up with a lot of the white marks from the salt and the carpet work on getting that out, do some vacuuming, pick up those candy wrappers off the floor. You get the idea, but make that list as you go around. So go around the car. Look for things such as, uh, the molding and starting to separate out the side of the car. A couple of dings and dents possibly that you didn't know were there before, make a good overlook of the whole vehicle and get a better idea of what your car might have gone through in the winter time.

 

Bill: One thing that I look forward to is watching my backup video camera screen. If your car happens to have one, you very rarely get to use it in the winter months.

 

Rob: Absolutely really important the backup camera. Most cars have those later model cars these days, and that's a good thing to do too as well. And that reminds me also, what about your glass? Get everything nice and clean and I start off fresh. You've got it on your car. You've got everything kind of cleaned up. You've gotten on your knees a little bit, getting down underneath the rocker panels and down around the tire and wheel area. So let's take a look at those tires, very important safety part of your car. Bryan, why are tires so important?

 

Bryan: There's a lot of reasons that they're so important. It's the only contact between you and the road. So whatever happens to be on the road, your tire has to be able to grip through that, be it snow, rain, sleet ice.

 

Bill: So if we're talking about traction, what is the penny test? How does that relate to safety and my tires?

 

Rob: Well, the penny test is kind of the common way of checking your tires and everybody can relate to because everybody's got a penny in their pocket. It's so subjective. I don't really like to rely on that kind of a check because it'll depend if you have the penny in the right place and on the right part of the tire, the right section of tread, it doesn't really tell you if you have irregular wear on your tires, but it is something that people do refer to quite often, especially online. The best way to deal with that is to just simply drive into Schierl Tire and Service, where they can check your tires with their tread depth gauge for absolutely free and get an accurate assessment.

 

Bill: And if I had my own tread depth gauge that I bought somewhere else or somewhere at another facility, at what point should someone come out and say, Hey, you need new tires. What should my tread depth gauge be reporting?

 

Rob: Great question. Absolutely. If you have a tread depth gauge, you are way ahead of the curve. Well, automotive tires will start generally between 10/32 and 12/32 of tread. Time to absolutely replace them as 2/32. Typically, it's a good idea to start thinking about replacement 4/32. And those marks are right on that tread depth gauge that we use at our tire and service centers or the one that you may have in your pocket as well.

 

Bill: So if I happen to see metal fibers coming out the sides, that's a little bit too thin.

 

Rob: Uh, that would be a problem. Yes, you don't want to see anything coming out of your tire like metal or nylon cord or whatever the case may be cuts and abrasions too. These are the things that you want to look at when you're down on your knees, doing that carwash, look around the side of your tire, look on the tread face of your tire, the best that you can and look for any cuts or abrasions or cracks or anything that may have happened during the winter or just from the sheer age of the tire.

 

Bill: And what about deflation of that tire spring? I'm assuming as might be the classic time to check air pressure.

 

Rob: It's the perfect time because as temperatures change, so does the air pressure in your tires and because of that, you want to check them frequently. If you haven't checked them for a while and you're just coming out of the winter months, you're going into the spring. Things are starting to warm up, definitely want to make a good check of that. And where do you find that proper air pressure find that inside the driver's door jambs? So when you open the driver's door, you'll see a placard as they call it there, which will have the automobile manufacturers recommended tire pressure.

 

Bill: And Bryan, if I am going to under-inflate or over-inflate, since if I haven't checked it, most likely I would be under-inflated. But if I go and just start putting air in it, am I in danger of putting too much air in?

 

Bryan: Yes, absolutely. What we find is we see a lot of under-inflated tires and that's because tires naturally lose just a little bit over the course of time and not checking them on a regular basis. We also see where the tire pressure is overinflated. And most of the time that's because somebody reads the sidewall of the tire and finds the maximum air pressure that's listed for that tire to be operating at, which is not necessarily the pressure that your particular vehicle should be operating at. Occasionally we see it where it's super inflated. Somebody looks at the sidewall of the tire without a tire pressure gauge and just starts adding air. And then all of a sudden it can be severely overinflated. And that's also a safety hazard.

 

Bill: So in a safety hazard mean like it's going to blow out the tire.

 

Bryan: It could potentially blow either severely over-inflated or under-inflated.

 

Bill: Got it.

 

Rob: It's almost sounds confusing. So what's the best way to stay right on track with your air pressure.

 

Bryan: Stop by Schierl Tire and Service, and we'll check your air pressure and adjust it accordingly.

 

Rob: Is that free?

 

Bryan: Free.

 

Bill: Also, typically if I now have that fancy TPMS light on my dashboard, when that lights up, how much time do I have to go in and have somebody look at my air? Am I going to be in fear of a blowout within that day?

 

Bryan: It depends on how quickly the air is escaping out of the tire. If it's something that's going really quickly, yes. Get in as soon as possible with that.

 

Bill: Fair, I will do that then.

 

Rob: Well, the next check would be your brakes and this might not be something that you're going to be doing at home. During that carwash. It definitely takes a mechanical ability in mind and not everybody has the time or efforts to be able to do that. What you can do is go back and think about the last several times you've driven the vehicle. And did you hear any unusual noises? Did you hear the squeaking grinding ? Did the vehicle pull one way or the other wh en you applied the brakes? Now that the temperature's starting to warm up you may crack that window down a little bit, and you might hear some noises on the outside of your car that you typically wouldn't have heard during the winter.

 

Bill: Also, if your brake pedal is being pushed to the floor, I assume that that's bad.

 

Rob: That would be bad as well. If you, yeah, like bill said, if your pedal seems to go further down than you remember it doing before, that is also another indication that you might need a brake service or it just doesn't stop as quick. It doesn't seem to be as touchy as it used to be. These are all indicators that you may need to give your brake system some attention.

 

Bill: So if I go in, I have somebody check out my brakes and they say, you need a brake job. What are they talking about?

 

Bryan: Well, that can vary. A lot of different components are involved in the breaking system. Typically it's pad replacement, machining the rotors, or replacing the rotors. That's the most common things. Uh, there's some other things called brake calipers ,wheel cylinders. Those are the hydraulic parts that may need some attention, but without a proper brake inspection, you're not going to know that the best thing to do is take it into a repair facility, have them do a complete inspection and ask to have them show you what's going on so you can visualize it. And see what's going on, ask questions and have them explain to you why you need these brakes.

 

Bill: And if I like to read, where could I get more information about this? So I go in with knowledge when I go in to get my brakes done.

 

Bryan: You can go to allaboutthecarpodcast.com and we'll have a lot of this terminology and explanation of the various components listed.

 

Bill: Fantastic. Thanks.

 

Rob: Another good way to be educated on your brake system is when you're having those brakes checked, at our tire and service center is to ask them, can I have a look at the brakes with you? And we'll definitely show you through the brake system and the problems that we come across.

 

Bill: And any time I've learned that you have your wheels off. So I assume that they have to take the wheels off that you should definitely have those tires retorqued after 50 miles.

 

Rob: Most definitely today's alloy wheels that are on most of the cars. They definitely need to be re-torque once they've been removed and replaced and 50 miles is the magic number.

 

Bill: Perfect.

 

Rob: Okay. Next, we're going to talk about going under the hood. There's a lot of things to look at under the hood and for most of us out there, when you open that hood, you go, Oh my gosh, what am I looking at? There's a lot of little colors and things and parts and pieces, and it looks like a big performance engine, but don't let it scare you. Open the hood. If you've never opened your hood, there typically is a release that's by your left leg when you're sitting in the driver's seat. So pull that open. It's going to pop, you're going to get out, open the hood. Oh, we're going to check the oil, very simple process. But if you haven't done it, it takes a little bit of explanation. Typically the oil dipstick and yeah, it sounds kind of funny call somebody a dipstick, but there is dipsticks under the hood.

 

Bill: Yes.

 

Rob: The oil dipstick is typically going to be a yellow color. So it's going to be like a yellow loop that you will literally pull on, pull it out, wipe it clean with a paper towel or a rag, put it back in the hole that it came out of and then pull it back out again. And that's going to show you what your oil level is at. On that dipstick, there's going to be an add and a full line. You want to make sure that your oil level is between those two lines, preferably towards the top, on the full end.

 

Bill: Should you do this while the car's running?

 

Rob: No, you want to have your car not running. When you check the oil level. Also a good time to look at the condition of the oil, when you're checking that level. Clean oil is going to be a kind of a light Brown, almost a transparent color. And if you notice that it's a dark Brown color and a little bit thick, maybe time for an oil change.

 

Bill: And what is the big deal now between regular oil and synthetic? Is there a difference?

 

Bryan: There's a big difference between the two regular oil conventional oil or sometimes called synthetic blend has been used for many, many years. A lot of the newer cars require synthetic oil, which is a man-made product. The synthetic oils are far superior to the regular conventional or synthetic blends because most modern cars are demanding so much of their oil and the oil change intervals have been extended out so far that a regular conventional or synthetic blend couldn't handle the requirements. So checking your owner's manual, making sure that the proper oil is going in the car is critical. You can use synthetic oil in a car that requires conventional or synthetic blend. Personally, I recommend that, the oil can go longer. So you don't have to take your car in and get it serviced as often.

 

Bill: You mean, if I use synthetic oil, I can ride longer on that between oil changes and I don't have to go in and disrupt my life as often with oil changes?

 

Bryan: Exactly. You can do it less often. And it's a far superior product to regular oil.

 

Bill: So if I'm low, I've checked my dipstick and I'm low on oil, and I don't know what my car has in it necessarily. Can I put synthetic oil in it?

 

Bryan: Yes. 

 

Bill: And does the bottle, when I go to the convenience store to buy the oil, does it identify synthetic versus regular?

 

Bryan: Yes, the oil bottle will identify what type and what weight oil it is, the weight it is the viscosity of the oil. And you want to check your owner's manual and put in the right viscosity.

 

Bill: Got it.

 

Rob: So what I understand is this is a superior product and it's more convenient. It's good. All the way around. It's a win-win win.

 

Bryan: I agree, Rob.

 

Rob: All right. You're also going to find under the hood, there's five other fluids that can be checked and they're all going to have their own colors. They're all going to have their own methods of checking the best place to learn about all the fluids under your hood and the things that you can or can't check would be on our blog at allaboutthecarpodcast.com. So check that out.

 

Bill: I'd like to just touch on one thing, is the antifreeze as part of the coolant system, because of the safety concerns that if it's leaking or if you have any type of leak in your garage, that I'm not necessarily a chemist, but the denatonium benzoate, which is the bitter taste that has now been added to antifreeze will help prevent your pet from licking that up. But it's still a deadly fluid for pets, animals, humans. That's one of those things in the spring that all of a sudden you in your garage, you pull out and you start to see some drips.

 

Rob: Well, none of these fluids really are designed to leak. So you shouldn't see any of these fluids on your garage floor, but you may want to make sure you check it occasionally for that reason alone, do not want your pets licking up the oil or the antifreeze, for example. Even the windshield washer fluid, you really don't want them to get anywhere near that. So be aware of what's happening under your car, as well as bill referred to in the coolant and coolant, meaning antifreeze or engine coolant is a poisonous liquid. So you want to make sure that you are not leaking that. And if you do see an indication of a leak of any kind, you want to make sure you get in and get that checked out right away at Schierl Tire and Service. Another thing you can look at when you're under the hood, and this is something you want to be relatively careful with is your battery.

 

Rob: There are a couple of things that you can check without a professional. When you're looking at your battery, you want to look and make sure that there isn't any corrosive buildup around the terminals. And that's where the two cables come into the battery and get the power from the battery. Often time, the corrosion starts to build up at those connection points. It'll create some kind of funky colors and almost look kind of fuzzy. You do not want that. So that would be an indication that you're not getting a good connection. Also, you want to make sure that the top of your battery is clean. A dirty battery can also lose voltage as it tracks across the top of the battery. So make sure that your battery is clean. The connections are clean and not doesn't have the corrosive buildup. There are a couple of ways that you can eliminate the corrosiveness. Bryan, how is that done at home?

 

Bryan: Oh, we have to neutralize that acid. That's built up on top of the battery. And the best way to do that is use a mixture of baking soda and water, and you just pour it on top of the battery and let it do its thing and wash it off with water minute or two afterwards.

 

Bill: How much baking soda and how much water?

 

Bryan: A couple teaspoons of baking soda to a couple cups of water.

 

Bill: Okay.

 

Rob: No, I'm just guessing here, but is that something you don't want to touch.

 

Bryan: It neutralizes really quick. So there's limited danger.

 

Rob: Okay. Now I've heard the old trick. I think my dad used to do this open a can of Coca-Cola and pour Coke over these terminals.

 

Bryan: Well, that's one way to do it, but I prefer to use Pepsi.

 

Rob:Ah!

 

Bryan: It's the same thing. It neutralizes the acid.

 

Rob: Ah, any other questions that you might have about your battery? If you notice that your vehicle is turning over slower than it had before, again, the winter can take quite a bit out, definitely get in and have that checked with the proper equipment. That is something you don't want to get stuck with is a bad battery. The next quick check on this afternoon project are your wiper blades. So those are also an item that you kind of put through the wringer through the winter time and the spring showers.

 

Bill: I know I do, since I clear off a lot of ice in the winter with my wiper blades!

 

Bryan: Well, you're going to be replacing your wiper blades quite often by doing that.

 

Rob: Yeah, because you know, you're supposed to scrape that ice off first.

 

Bill: Well, yeah, but you know, convenience.

 

Bryan: Or if there's too much snow or windshield wipers or froze down and then it breaks parts in the wipers and you can come visit us.

 

Bill: Fair.

 

Rob: You know, Bill, I have a feeling you're not really unlike most people. So this is probably the way we treat our wiper blades out there. And for that reason, they aren't going to last real long. Even if you were to treat them really well, you should be happy about getting about six months out of them. They are flexible rubber product that if you think about what they go through, when the heat of the summer, the cold, the stiff in the winter, the rubber does not last very long. What are some of the things Bryan, when you're looking at those wiper blades, when you physically have one in your hand, you've lifted it off the windshield. What are you looking for?

 

Bryan: A couple of things first, look for any tears or any rips that might be in there. The second is the actual rubber itself, is it soft or is it getting hard? UV rays from the sun are really hard on rubber components and it causes them to dry out and get stiff. And that's when you'll notice a lot of streaking on your windshield.

 

Rob: When's the last time you replaced yours Bill?

 

Bill: Oh, I think it was last year, some time. And I think it was in the spring because exactly that you start to hit the rainy season, I'll say, and you just can't see, which is not a good way to drive around is be looking around to the right, to the left up, down to see around the streaks that your windshield wiper blades are leaving on the windshield.

 

Rob: Definitely not a good thing at all. The best way to remember to replace your wiper blades is think April showers brings new wiper blades.

 

Bill: That's a good one.

 

Rob:That's easy. And if you drive an SUV, most likely have a rear wiper blade as well. So don't forget about the rear one.

 

Rob: Okay. We're done with the front end of the car. Let's look at the back. Let's open the trunk and see what has happened in the trunk, over the winter time. You may find some groceries you forgot were back there. I hope not because they're probably not good anymore, but let's clean the trunk out. Let's check that winter emergency kit. A lot of the items in that kit can continue to stay in the trunk for just your emergency kit in general. Let's clean the trunk out. If you have any wrappers, throw them away, check that light bulb in the trunk, replace the darn thing. You'd be happy you did it.

 

Bill: I'm happy that I get to remove my ice scraper out of my trunk in the spring.

 

Rob: Get that thing out of your hair, out of your mind, you're done with that for a while. So get that out of the trunk. You may want to put a few things back in the trunk, such as a football Frisbee, maybe a stadium chair, things you're going to do during the summer months. Again, you're going to be happy when you find those things there when you need them.

 

Bryan: One thing that you should double check is the pressure in your spare tire.

 

Rob: Very good point. There's a fifth tire, nice job, Bryan, that gets forgotten about a lot. So that tire typically sits down below the trunk level and you want to make sure that that has enough air in it. And it was in good condition as well.

 

Bill: I've never done that.

 

Rob: Now's the time Bill.

 

Bryan: Guess what we're going to do right after this?

 

Rob: We're checking Bill's spare. Also, I mentioned the emergency driving kit doesn't hurt to have one in there year round. You can go to our blog at allaboutthecarpodcast.com and get more information as to what would be included in that emergency driving kit.

 

Rob: And finally fix the little stuff. So this list that we talked about in the very beginning, when you're washing your car, now you've got a list of maybe a half, a dozen things, maybe a dozen things, but work on trying to get some of those things done. Some of those things you can do yourself. Some of them you may have to have done, but you'll be happy you did. Or you might have, uh, an air dam that partially has fallen down. If you're handy at all, you can reattach that or you can get that done during your oil change. Some body molding pieces and parts might've started to separate from the car. Those are things that you would have made that note on your list. Any bulbs that you might have, any lights that aren't working correctly, side marker, lights, headlights, tail lights, check all your lights, make sure that you are visible and you can see where you're going. And also common thing that I think all of you have seen when you're behind a car is the trailer wiring hanging down, get that back up, secure it. So it's not hanging and drag it on the ground.

 

Bryan: Now that you got all of this done, go out for an old-fashioned Sunday, drive. Take the kids and explore Wisconsin.

 

Rob: I hear ice cream.

 

Rob: So we've talked about a lot of things today. The wrap-up summary here, we're starting with a car wash and we're making that list, checking it twice. We're checking the tires. We're looking close at the safety aspect of the tires. We talked about brakes. We talked about our fluids under the hood and our battery, very important pieces and parts to our car, our wiper blades. And we talked about checking your junk in the trunk. So ride along with us next time. When we talk about towing, where it's all about the car, find additional resources or send us a message head to allaboutthecarpodcast.com!