Car Care Council

There's More To Spring Cleaning Than Meets The Eye

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When you see a few blades of grass sprouting from your floor mat, you know it's time to vacuum out the car. For most of us, the ritual of spring cleaning the car is therapeutic, even cathartic. What a great feeling to slide behind the wheel of a car that's been cleared of a winter's accumulation, inside and out.

Even more important than attention to cosmetics, says the Car Care Council, is spring cleaning in areas that affect the function of the vehicle.

How long has it been, for example, since you cleaned the battery connections? The corrosion that may have accumulated through the winter, acting as insulation between the battery terminals and their cable clamps, can disable even the best electrical system. Connections should be removed, cleaned and, after reassembly, treated with an anticorrosive product.

Because the air filter is an engine's number one dirt catcher, it eventually loads up with minute particles that can restrict the free flow of air to the fuel system. With inadequate air to mix with the fuel, your engine becomes a gas guzzler, eventually causing high exhaust emissions, fouled spark plugs and other problems. Replacing an air filter is a quick, and easy and inexpensive spring chore.

Include the cooling system in your spring cleaning. Flush the radiator and install new antifreeze - coolant.

Your engine oil is likely to be more contaminated in the spring than at any other time of the year because of condensation that can form in cold weather. If it has not been done within the recommended mileage interval, change the oil. Also, says the Car Care Council, the dirtiest oil in your engine is trapped in the oil filter, so you don't want to mix that with the new oil. Always have a new filter installed when you change oil.

Finally, in grandpa's days cleaning the spark plugs was part of the spring Saturday ritual. Not with today's engines. By the time the spark plugs are in marginal condition they should be replaced; you may face a long summer of driving before thinking of spark plugs again.

The Council emphasizes the importance of proper disposal of drain oil and antifreeze. Don't dump them on the ground or down the sewer. Check your auto supply store for the location of the nearest disposal site.

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For more information on periodic car checks, mail a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Car Care Council, Dept. UH, One Grande Lake Drive, Port Clinton, OH 43452. They'll send you an illustrated pamphlet called "How to Find Your Way Under the Hood and Around the Car."

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