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Chevrolet's Oil Change Service: Keeping Your Engine Healthy

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If you want to keep your engine in the best possible shape, Chevrolet oil change service is a must. Your owner's manual will tell you the right intervals for you to get these changes, and your oil life light will come on to remind you if it's time. But how does the service keep your engine healthy?

What Oil Does for Your Engine

Oil has a couple of important functions in the engine. The primary one is lubrication. The oil provides a fine film that keeps all the parts in your engine from rubbing against each other in a way that would wear them down prematurely.

But that's not all the oil does. Another important function is removing some of the heat as it passes through the engine. Your car has a coolant system, and this is critical, but your coolant system would struggle if it did not have the help of quality oil. It will run hotter if you don't have fresh oil, and a hot engine is an inefficient one and one that is likely to have issues sooner.

Oil also removes dirt and grime from the engine as it passes through. All of this gets deposited in the oil filter, which strains the oil and then sends clean oil back to the engine. This allows your engine to work more efficiently. Modern synthetic oil also has special detergents that clean the engine and protect it from rust.

Why Old Oil Is Bad

As your oil gets older, all its abilities to protect your engine are compromised. The intense heat to which it is always exposed starts to break it down. The oil filter gets full of the dirt and grime that the oil is removing from the engine, which means eventually it can't remove any more. Once oil gets this old, even if you still have plenty of it in the tank, it's just not doing its job to protect your engine. The engine works harder, and whenever you force your engine to work unnecessarily hard, it doesn't last as long.

How to Tell It's Time

Most of the time, you're safe sticking to the schedule in your owner's manual or following the oil change light. But there are some occasions where your oil may get used up more quickly than expected, such as if you regularly tow heavy loads. Always check your oil levels regularly using the dipstick, and if they start to get low or if you notice that the oil is looking grimy rather than translucent, come see us.

If it's been a while since you changed out the oil in your Chevy, come see us Frederick Chevrolet in Lebanon, PA today.

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Preparing Your Chevrolet for Seasonal Changes: A Maintenance Guide

As the seasons change, shifting temperatures and weather can have a huge impact on our cars. If you want your Chevy to perform at its best throughout the year with minimal wear and tear, you'll need to carry out proper Chevrolet seasonal maintenance. Maintenance During Spring You've made it through winter to the birdsong, sunshine, and warmth of another spring. Firstly, clean your car thoroughly, and have it inspected for damage that might have occurred during the coldest months. In particular, check all hoses and connections, which can crack from the cold, and the air filters, which might need to be replaced. You'll also need to change your tires, wipers, and coolant back to normal ones that are fit for warmer weather. more Maintenance During Summer The heat and strong UV rays of summer pose a new threat to your car. During the hottest months, try to protect your car's paint, bodywork, and tires by parking out of direct sunlight. Check all fluids often, especially the coolant and motor oil, changing as required; summer heat makes the engine work harder and can cause dust and debris to deteriorate fluids faster. Make sure your air conditioner is in tip-top shape and check tire pressure often as the heat can expand air, pushing up the PSI inside each tire. Maintenance During Fall As we enter fall, temperatures begin to decline and your primary focus should be preparing well for the winter months. This means testing your battery; freezing weather can be extremely tough on car batteries, often causing them to fail. If your battery is over four years old or weakening, consider replacing it before winter. Maintenance During Winter Winter is the toughest season on cars; slippery roads, corrosive salty slush, freezing temperatures, and poor visibility create a variety of different hazards. You'll need proper antifreeze in your heating system to keep your engine from overheating. Also, make sure to install winter tires for better traction as the cold sets in. Lower temperatures depress air pressure, so check the pressure in each tire more frequently, adding air if required. Swap your windshield wipers for heavy-duty wipers that can handle frost and cold. Wax your car's exterior well and wash carefully throughout winter, removing salt slush from the undercarriage. Allow Us To Help With Your Chevy Car Maintenance Your car will be better prepared for any season with routine professional services. We can inspect and prepare every component for the upcoming weather changes, keeping you abreast of best practices for seasonal vehicle maintenance all year round. Visit Frederick Chevrolet in Lebanon, PA, today for comprehensive vehicle maintenance and repairs. We provide excellent cars, deals, financing, car services, and customer support, whatever you and your car require.

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The Ultimate Guide to Chevy Scheduled Maintenance: What You Need to Know

Regular Chevy maintenance is a cost-effective way to keep your vehicle in great shape. Maintenance also reduces future repairs, as we can fix minor issues before they turn into serious problems. As your Chevy dealer in Lebanon, PA, we want to give you a few examples of the types of maintenance we provide. Chevy Maintenance Available at Your Chevrolet Dealership Spark Plug Replacement The spark plug's purpose is to ignite the fuel-air mixture in a cylinder at a precise moment. This timing is important, as the mixture must be sufficiently compressed to burn correctly, creating a regularly spaced series of mini explosions that provide the energy to move your vehicle. Worn spark plugs will fire intermittently, preventing the fuel-air mixture from burning successfully. This can cause a misfire, and you'll feel its effect as engine power will temporarily drop, your vehicle might shudder, and you may hear a noise from the engine. Continued misfiring can damage the cylinders and pistons. Fortunately, our technicians can replace worn or damaged plugs in minutes to prevent this type of damage. more Engine Air Filter Replacement The engine requires vast amounts of air to mix with the fuel before it's used to produce combustion. Fuel can't burn without air, and the ratio for efficient combustion is 14:1 air-to-fuel. All the air for combustion enters through the radiator grille and passes into the engine air filter. This filter traps dead bugs, dirt, twigs, and other debris, allowing clean air to enter the engine. The filter will eventually become blocked, restricting airflow into the engine. When this happens, the air-to-fuel ratio skews as your engine contains more fuel than air. This causes the engine to become fuel-rich. Engine performance suffers as most of the fuel doesn't burn and is dumped into the exhaust system, and you'll experience misfiring and stalling. Once our technicians replace the filter, your engine mix will return to normal. Catalytic Converter Cleaning The catalytic converter is part of the exhaust system, and it converts dangerous and toxic gases produced by combustion into harmless ones. It does this utilizing crushing pressure, chemical reactions, and intense heat. This process generates carbon as a byproduct, and the carbon will eventually block the exit from the converter. A blocked converter forces the gases back into your engine. This increases the engine's internal pressure and can force it to shut down. We fix this problem by removing the blockage. Book your next maintenance today by contacting our service department at Frederick Chevrolet in Lebanon, PA.

Looking for a car mechanic in Frederick, PA? Get expert car maintenance at your local Chevy dealer

Car Maintenance Tips from Frederick Chevrolet

When you need a car service in Lebanon, PA, your Chevy dealer is here to help. All our technicians are Chevy-trained, making them experts in providing the level of care and attention your vehicle deserves. We want to tell you about some of the types of car maintenance we provide. Need Car Service in Lebanon, PA? Get Expert Car Maintenance at Your Chevy Dealer Hard Brake Pedal When you push down on your brake pedal, you expect to feel resistance, and the resistance increases as you press harder on the pedal. The resistance is caused by the pressurized brake fluid, which forces the brakes to engage and stop your vehicle. A hard brake pedal is different, as it provides too much resistance and forces you to strain to make the brakes work. This unnecessary effort is tiring and potentially dangerous, as you can't easily engage the brakes when needed. The resistance is caused by a brake pedal booster failure. The booster is designed to supply 10x the force you apply, making the brakes easy to engage. It uses a vacuum to generate this additional force, and damage to the vacuum prevents the booster from working. We'll examine the booster, and replace it so your brakes will work effectively again. more Thermostat Replacement The thermostat is part of the cooling system and controls the release of coolant. When the engine temperature reaches a preset level, the thermostat opens, and coolant is released to be pumped through the engine to reduce its temperature. The thermostat can fail when it gets old, and this will cause it to jam in an open or closed position. A thermostat that jams open supplies coolant regardless of the engine temperature. This cools the engine, forcing it to use more fuel to achieve combustion. A thermostat that jams closed won't release coolant, and your cooling system won't work. The engine temperature will rapidly climb, and it can suffer severe, even permanent damage. We'll test the thermostat and can quickly install a new one if necessary. Blocked Catalytic Converter The catalytic converter is connected to the exhaust system and converts the dangerous gases produced by combustion into harmless ones. It does this using crushing pressure, extreme heat, and chemical reactions. Gases like carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide are converted into carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Carbon is a byproduct of this conversion process, and it can accumulate and block the exit from the catalytic converter. This forces the gases back into the engine, and the increased pressure from gases can cause your engine to shut down. Our technicians will fix this problem by removing the converter, clearing any blockages, and reinstalling it. Book your next service by contacting us today at Frederick Chevrolet in Lebanon, PA.