The INDEPENDENT, December 1, 2005
Page 17
Don’t wait any longer, get your vehicles ready for winter driving
Check your vehicle’s
antifreeze before winter
Today’s high performance
engines make conducting sea-
sonal preventive maintenance
more important than ever. One
of the easiest and most impor-
tant tasks on your fall car care
checklist should be to inspect
the level and freshness of your
vehicle's antifreeze.
If you don’t remember the
last time you checked or
changed your antifreeze, you
need to do so before winter’s
extreme temperatures and
harsh road conditions can seri-
ously damage your car’s en-
gine.
Today’s premium formula
antifreeze/coolants
contain
special additives that help en-
sure engine longevity and pre-
vent radiator leaks. Over time
these additives wear out, less-
ening their ability to protect vital
engine and cooling system
metals against rust and corro-
sion.
“Think of antifreeze as your
vehicle’s lifeblood, which must
be properly maintained to en-
sure engine longevity,” sug-
gests Craig Gullett, a brand
manager for an antifreeze com-
pany. “Cooling system failure is
a leading cause of engine relat-
ed breakdowns, which can cost
thousands of dollars and leave
you and your family stranded at
the worst possible time.”
Ensuring that your car’s
cooling system has the proper
concentration and level of an-
tifreeze/coolant will help protect
it from boiling over during hot
weather and freezing during
the cold winter months ahead.
Inspecting and maintaining
your car’s cooling system takes
just a few minutes and can be
completed with basic service
tools and an antifreeze ball
tester, which is available at
your local auto parts store.
Caution: Opening a hot radi-
ator or coolant overflow tank
can cause severe burns. Be
sure that both the engine and
the coolant system are cool be-
fore you begin any heat-
ing/cooling system mainte-
nance or repairs. Check hoses
for leaks or cracks in the rubber
and make sure that the radiator
hose clamps are tight to pre-
vent leaks at the connections.
Hoses that show signs of wear
should be replaced.
Check your owner’s manual
for antifreeze usage specifica-
tions.
Many new vehicles today
come with extended life an-
tifreeze designed to protect
cooling systems for up to
150,000 miles or five years.
If you changed your an-
tifreeze recently, but your sys-
tem level is low, use your an-
tifreeze ball tester to make sure
that the antifreeze-to-water ra-
tio is correct. Then, top-off your
system with a “ready to use”
mixture of antifreeze/water. “By
taking just a few minutes, twice
a year, to check their an-
tifreeze, vehicle owners can
protect themselves from the ex-
pense and inconvenience of ra-
diator work, and ensure their
comfort and performance sea-
son after season,” said Gullett.
Don’t wait until it’s too late.
Check your vehicle’s cooling
system today to ensure that it’s
ready for the long winter ahead.
Can your battery keep
charging this winter?
Motorists should understand
that cold winter months are
hard on a vehicle, especially
the component responsible for
providing all of the electrical
charge. At zero degrees a bat-
tery runs on only 60 percent of
its usual power. That means
that this component can’t afford
to play catch-up.
“Motorists could avoid many
unpleasant scenarios simply by
having their cars inspected,”
See page 18
‘Tis the season to be jolly, so take a few
precautions to keep your holidays happy!
• Check your Christmas lights for frayed or exposed wires,
loose connections or broken sockets before you put them up.
• Make sure your tree is securely anchored in a tree stand
and kept well watered.
• Don’t use indoor Christmas lights or extension cords outside.
• Don’t overload circuits or have too many plugs in one socket.
Don’t let that glow in the sky be your home. Play it safe with these pre-
cautions. Remember, fire only needs a chance — don’t give it one.
• Turn off and unplug all Christmas lights, indoors and out,
before going to bed.
• Keep matches well out of reach of children.
• Use flame-resistant or non-flammable decorations. If they are
not labeled flame-resistant, don’t buy them!
• Be sure your smoke alarm is working properly.
• Have a fire extinguisher in your home at all times.
• Don’t place your tree near a fireplace or heater.
• Makeshift ladders are the number one cause of injury during
the holiday season. Be careful what you stand on.
West Oregon
Electric Cooperative, Inc.