Archive for July, 2012

Maintenance for High Mileage Vehicles In Little Rock Arkansas

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

Before the recession hit, the median age for cars in the Little Rock Arkansas area (zip code: 72223) was over nine years. And two-thirds had over 75,000 miles. At Parkway Automotive we hear reports that those numbers continue to rise.

If you have a high-mileage vehicle in the Conway, Arkansas area, bring it in for high-mileage maintenance:
Parkway Automotive
708 Kirk Road
Little Rock, Arkansas 72223
501-821-6111

Many people in Little Rock are keeping their vehicles longer. The economy has influenced that, but the fact that modern trucks are more durable and reliable means that owning a high mileage vehicle doesn’t have to be a painful experience.

Local car owners in Little Rock with over 100,000 miles on their vehicles often ask which service intervals they should follow. Let’s start with the special needs of the older vehicle…

The reality is that time and mileage will take its toll. The engine and transmission will have more sludge. The fuel, steering and brake systems will have gum and varnish built up. There’ll be more dirt and contaminants in the fuel tank. Corrosion and deposits in the cooling system. And seals and gaskets will start to dry out.

All of this, plus normal wear and tear, means that the engine might not be as strong as new, so it just has to work harder to get the job done.

So we need to compensate. Consider high-mileage formulations for oil changes, transmission service, etc. These special formulations contain additives that condition the seals and gaskets to prevent leaks. They also have more detergents to clean sludge and other deposits. They cost a bit more, but they’re worth it.

In general, if an auto service was recommended every 15,000 miles when the car was new, you should continue to get the service done every 15,000 miles.

Talk with your Little Rock service advisor at Parkway Automotive about the condition of your engine. See if he thinks you should adjust your auto service intervals for oil changes or other auto maintenance to account for the older engine working harder.

Expect the oil filter to get dirty faster. Same goes for the fuel filter. And some leaks are to be expected so you need to keep a closer eye on fluid levels.

If anything, following recommended service intervals for your truck is more important in a higher mileage vehicle. Skipping oil changes or other services can lead to problems much more quickly than with a newer vehicle.

So, have your Little Rock auto service advisor at Parkway Automotive help you with an assessment of your older car or truck. If you haven’t gotten around to a fuel system cleaning, or replacing power steering or brake fluid, a differential service or transmission service – it’s time to start taking care of those things. It’ll help keep you on the road for many more happy miles.

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PCV Valve Service At Parkway Automotive In Little Rock

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

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The PCV Valve is a little, inexpensive part that does a big job for Little Rock drivers. PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation.

The crankcase is the bottom area of the engine that holds the oil. When the truck engine’s running, fuel is burned to generate power. Most of the exhaust from combustion goes out through the exhaust system. But some exhaust blows by the pistons and goes into the lower engine, or crankcase.

These hot gases are about seventy percent unburned fuel. PCV Valve Service At Parkway Automotive In Little RockThis can dilute and contaminate the oil, leading to damaging engine oil sludge. It can also cause truck engine corrosion, something we see occasionally at Parkway Automotive. At high speeds on Little Rock freeways, the pressure can build up to the point that gaskets and seals start to leak.

Back in the old days, engine makers simply installed a hose that vented these gases out into the atmosphere. But starting in the 1964 model year, laws mandated that these gases be recycled back into the air intake system to be mixed with fuel and burned in the truck’s engine.

This is much better for the environment and it saves gas too. (Budget-conscious Little Rock drivers take note!) The little valve that controls all this action is the PCV valve. The PCV valve lets gases out of the engine, but won’t let anything back in. Over time, the vented gases will gum up the PCV valve and it won’t work well. That can lead to all of the problems I’ve already described, oil leaks, excessive oil consumption and wasted gas.

Fortunately, it’s very easy to test the PCV Valve at Parkway Automotive and quick and inexpensive to replace. Even so, it’s often overlooked because many Little Rock drivers don’t know about it. Check your truck owner’s manual or ask your Parkway Automotive service advisor. If this is the first time you’ve heard of a PCV valve, you might be in line for a replacement.

There’s another aspect to the PCV system. In order for the valve to work correctly, it needs a little clean air to come in. This is done through a breather tube that gets some filtered air from the engine air filter. Now some vehicles have a small separate air filter for the breather tube called the breather element. That’ll need to be replaced at Parkway Automotive when it gets dirty.

Please ask your honest Little Rock service advisor about your PCV valve. For the price of a couple of burger combo meals in Little Rock, you can avoid some very expensive deep engine repairs.

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E-85 Fuel Safety Advice From Parkway Automotive

Thursday, July 12th, 2012

Today at Parkway Automotive we want to talk with you about a very important safety issue. This automotive safety warning is coming from a very unusual source: fire fighting experts. You’ve probably heard of E-85 gasoline being offered in the Conway, Arkansas area. Some newer vehicle models are specifically built to run on E-85 – the rest are not.

Does your vehicle use E-85 gasoline? Bring it down to Parkway Automotive at 708 Kirk Road in Little Rock, Arkansas 72223 to find out, or give us a call to make an appointment by calling 501-821-6111.

E-85 gasoline has been developed to fight air pollution and reduce oil consumption. E-85 fuel is a mix of 85% ethanol, a grain-base alcohol, and 15% gasoline. So-called Flex-Fuel vehicles are designed to use either normal gasoline or E-85 gas. The result is lower harmful exhaust emissions to our local Conway, Arkansas community.

All gas engines can run with up to 10% ethanol and in fact a lot of gasoline sold in the Little Rock Arkansas area does contain some ethanol. The problem comes when well meaning people without Flex Fuel certified vehicles put E-85 into the tank.

At a 15% concentration, the potential for problems arises. Because of the chemical differences between ethanol and gasoline, special seals and gaskets are needed for Flex Fuel vehicles in Little Rock Arkansas. In a normal engine, the ethanol in E-85 gas will eat away important seals and gaskets. This leads to gas and oil leaks.

You can imagine the fire hazard caused by leaking gasoline. Fire fighting experts caution consumers to only use E-85 if they know they vehicle is certified to handle it. They expect vehicle fires to increase because of using the wrong fuel in non-Flex Fuel vehicles.

So are people who don’t have a Flex Fuel vehicle but use E-85 to help the environment actually putting themselves at risk? Yes. In fact, service and repair centers in Little Rock Arkansas are being warned to purchase fire extinguishers that use the special foam needed to extinguish ethanol fires as a precaution in case starting-up an ethanol damaged engine leads to a fire.

Obviously, this isn’t something you want to have in your Little Rock Arkansas garage at home, either. If you have a Flex-Fuel certified vehicle, feel free to protect the environment by using E-85 gasoline. If not – please do not use E-85 in an engine that’s designed to run on unleaded gasoline only. At Parkway Automotive we are concerned about your safety. If you have questions or want to find out how to determine if your vehicle can safely use E-85, go to www.e85fuel.com for more resources.

Take a look at our attached auto safety tips video from Auto Tips Videos.

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To Save Gas Around Little Rock: Keep Up with Your Scheduled Service

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

One topic that hits the news in Little Rock on a regular basis is the price of gas. The answer for some people in Little Rock is to buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. For the rest of use, we need to improve our fuel economy anyway we can.

Following recommended service intervals by coming into Parkway Automotive is one of the best ways to keep your car running efficiently. That means better fuel economy. When you give it some thought, it only makes sense. Dirty oil or transmission fluid can’t lubricate or clean. That means more drag which reduces fuel economy.

Keeping up with scheduled oil changes and transmission services will save gas.

Dirty engine air filters are another efficiency pirate. They rob your engine of enough air to effectively burn the fuel, so you need more gas to get the job done. Replacing a dirty air filter can pay for itself in fuel savings before the next oil change.

You can imagine what dirty fuel injectors can do to your truck as you drive around Little Rock. If your owner’s manual recommends a fuel system cleaning, come into Parkway Automotive and ask us to get it done for you.

A simple, but very effective way to save gas is to keep your tires properly inflated. Low tires can cost you up to a mile per gallon. Check your tire pressure when you gas up – or at least once a month.

Parkway Automotive
708 Kirk Road
Little Rock, Arkansas 72223
501-821-6111

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