Mechanic Checks For Winter Operation

A Mechanic has to maintain vehicles accordingly depending on the conditions and adapt throughout the seasons which includes hot and cold weather. Since Winter is now upon us it's time to cover some preventive maintenance tips that experienced Mechanics are familiar with, but I want to share the basics with everybody.
Coolant Testing the coolant is of course very important and changing the coolant and thermostats should also be considered. Cummins promotes DCA (dry chemical additive) checks, to make sure the system is not overcharged or undercharged. DCA prevents liner pitting by reducing air bubbles forming in the cooling jackets. Changing the coolant (non lifetime brands) with the thermostats every 2-3 years isn't a bad idea since coolant eventually breaks down and the acidic build up that forms starts to eat up gaskets and castings.
Belts and Hoses who doesn't know the importance of these bad boys. They get the most abuse from constant tension, heat produced from driving the belts and hot/cold temperatures on the hoses. I always say "when in doubt change it out". Pulley bearings and belt tensioners need to be checked out and the cooling system should be pressure tested. School buses have 1 inch cooling lines throughout the bus interior and need to be observed for leaks and loose clamps.
Batteries batteries can either be load tested once a year preferably in the fall or changed when needed. Sometimes the latter happens at the most inconvenient time when it's cold, wind blowing ....a spare bus (in my case) needs to be fired up from a cold condition. So we generally do the yearly load test and go from there deciding what step to take next.
Block Heaters Most buses in our fleet have the conventional block heater system. Our plug-ins are timed in cycles to come on during certain ambient temperatures. We test them at every service to stay on top of  'no start' conditions in the cold. A couple dozen of our newer buses have diesel heaters that have timers so they come on a couple of hours before the run.
Tune Ups Mechanics know the advantage of keeping an engine tuned up. Easier starts less fuel burned is the main objective. Valve sets, fuel filters and air filters are all you can really do to a diesel engine especially with newer models. Checking for engine codes doesn't hurt, some codes do not light up on the dash and become inactive. Common sense helps in this area of maintenance and needs to be applied looking at everything that makes a highway vehicle function. The regular Mechanic or the 'Mechanic in you' can figure this stuff out.

Save Money Load Testing Your Own Batteries

Load testing batteries is easy when you have the right tools. The wrong way to load test a battery is leaving the lights on and you're stuck at the mall waiting for a tow truck! If you have ever found yourself in that situation then investing in a portable load tester is well worth the money.

You can spend from $25 to $125 on a hand held load tester and once you use it and detect a weak battery in your vehicle or heavy truck for that matter it's more than paid for itself.   I.E. Avoiding a  ... $ Tow Truck $.
I think Auto Clubs are great but you're still stuck somewhere you don't want to be and late for supper or your kid's recital etc.



Using a battery load tester is as easy as pie...hook up the positive and negative clamps, turn on or adjust the load and read the meter. If you do this every Fall before the cold weather hits or even every 3 months to check the state of charge and holding capacity of your battery, you will avoid the huge inconvenience of being stuck in a strange town or in 20 below weather looking for a new battery / jumpstart.



How To Test A Battery Using A Hand Held Battery Tester

The rule of thumb that I use is take half of the Cold Cranking Amps known as the CCA Rating located on the label on top of  the battery. Let's say your CCA is 800 so you would load up your fully charged battery to a 400 amp load. The Voltage should not drop lower than 9.6 Volts over a duration of ten seconds.

Battery Tester Manufacturers will have slightly different instructions and parameters but in a nutshell that's in the ball park as far as the basic idea goes. This is an excellent preventive maintenance tool you can use to avoid a weak battery from going dead when you least expect it.

Years ago my battery went dead in my car 2 hours from home and I ended up installing it myself since I had tools on hand (The Mechanic's Code) ..."don't leave home without tools in the trunk". I paid over 30 bucks more than I would have at home, so lesson learned. The battery was several years old anyways (yeah I should know better!) but worked like a dream up to that point which makes one assume it's going to last a lot longer?

This is Mechanic Information right from the horse's mouth.You do not need a fancy $1000 state of the art piece of equipment. Find a battery tester that suits your needs and is user friendly.