Winterization

Winterizing Your VehicleWay up here in South Dakota, where the snow flurries usually start before Halloween, most of us know to actually winterize our cars and trucks for the cold weather. But just what does it mean to winterize your vehicle? Can a mechanic actually do this for you?

What winterizing means for your vehicle:

Even if you don't enjoy severe seasonal weather changes such as we have throughout the year, winterizing your car or truck is a good and healthy practice to keep your vehicle in good shape and help it cope with changing weather conditions. Afterall, even if you don't freeze to death every winter, keeping your auto well maintained can help you maintain your vehicle at regularly scheduled intervals.

This procedure involves:

* Changing your car's coolant fluids (often referred to as anti-freeze).

* Changing your motor oil and oil filter.

* Changing your fuel filter.

* Changing your car's paper air filter or maintaining your K&N or other foam air filter.

* Changing your windshield washer fluid (replacing it with special winterized washer fluid).

* Changing your regular drive tires to snow tires or checking your all-season tires for good tread depth and rotating them.

* Lubricating your drive train & other under-chassis moving parts (on older vehicles).

* Older cars may also require a tune-up.

* You should also replace the spark plugs and wires, periodically.

Whether you have your car/truck winterized by a trained mechanic, your next door neighbor, or do it yourself, by following a seasonal schedule of maintainance for your vehicle (in both summer and winter) you extend its life and enhance it's performance.

What winterizing means for you:

Winterizing your vehicle does not protect you in the case of an actual roadside breakdown. Even the finest automotive mechanics have been stuck on the side of the road in the breakdown lane. So you need to prepare for such emergencies. And although our winter weather conditions may be more severe than yours, they still may well apply as you find yourself in unfamiliar territory when on even a short trip for an extended holiday.

Therefore, we recomend that you pack in your trunk:

* An ice scraper and snow brush.

* A roadside emergency kit consisting of:

- 3 road flares and/or 3 triangle reflectors.

- A warm (heavy wool or space-age) blanket.

- A Flashlight (shake-to-light, wind-up, rechargeable or with good batteries).

- Candles and matches (or lighter).

- A small First-Aid kit.

* A cell phone.

- The cell phone's DC power adapter for the car.

* A large (20 to 40 pound) bag of sand or salt.

* A small folding shovel.

* Battery jumpstart cables or portable booster.

* A can of Fix-A-Flat or a portable air compressor.

* Insulated coveralls.

* Insulated gloves.

* An emergency meal of canned goods (or possibly a few).

If you are mechanically inclined, you would probably also want to include at least a small mechanic's tool set. Remember to use metric tools for most any car or truck built around or after 1987.

While fair weather states may scoff at these measures, these are not extreme, especially if you ever drive to or through any cold weather areas. If I lived in Alaska I would also include tire chains, a snowmoblie suit, a pair of mutlucks and a couple pair of snowshoes in the trunk, just in case. Also remember that global warming is a real phenomena that produces surprising weather conditions to each extreme, and it is only getting worse.

Being surprised is fine, but be prepared for it, anyway. It will be easier to get through it, then.