How to Prolong the Life of Your Engine

There are many things that you as a vehicle owner can do to prolong the life of your engine.  The most important thing is to perform all maintenance at the time or mileage suggested in your owner’s manual.  I suggest that you change your engine oil and filter every 3,000 miles no matter what your owner’s manual says.  If you own a newer Chevy the owner’s manual may tell you to change the oil every 5,000 to 7,500 miles.  If you are doing a lot of highway driving and very little city driving you could allow 4,000 miles between oil changes.  Engine oil protects the internals of your engine, once the oil is dirty or not golden colored anymore it will not perform like it should.  It is important to let your engine warm up, especially in the winter before you drive the vehicle, most internal engine wear occurs before the engine gets to operating temperature.  Another thing that I recommend is that you flush your antifreeze coolant when necessary.  This is important because when antifreeze breaks down it eats engine gaskets.  If you don’t change your antifreeze coolant it may cause a leak at the water pump, thermostat, or worse yet the intake gaskets.  There is always coolant in your engine so it is important to always keep fresh coolant flowing through the engine.  There are many other techniques that are suggested but I feel that these are the most important.