Ask a Cincinnati Volvo Mechanic: Basic Maintenance Tips

Posted 7/24/14

How Regular Volvo Repair Repair Optimizes Performance

Volvo has a reputation for high quality cars for good reason. They can handle just about anything in their day to day existence, from Swedish winters all the way up to rogue moose. To a Volvo, your daily commute is a piece of cake. Because of this attention to detail,  your average Volvo will rack up more miles on the road than many others. How many miles, however, ultimately depends on how dedicated you are to regular import car maintenance.  Sure, regular oil changes are important, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Get the most out of your vehicle with regular Cincinnati Volvo repair at a specialized foreign car repair shop.

When you like to DIY your car repair from time to time, our Volvo mechanics have some helpful tips to make sure your Volvo repair is smooth and hassle free.

Treat Spark Plugs Gently: Installation Makes a Difference

Properly torquing a spark plug is something that amateur car repair enthusiasts can overlook. Too little torque means that the movement of the car and the engine can cause the spark plug to loosen and fall out—possibly damaging the spark plug and the engine. If it stays in place, an under torqued spark plug might prevent the heat from dissipating after the spark plug has fired, which can cause the fuel to ignite in the chamber early. An early ignition is bad for your gas mileage, and could be catastrophic for the engine. Our Volvo mechanics have found that too often people use too much torque or not enough when they install new spark plugs. 

The good news is that if you are putting the plugs in yourself, there is a handy diagram on the packaging that will tell you the correct torque for your Volvo spark plugs. Other things to keep in mind when DIYing your spark plug replacement is that over torquing can strip the threads on the spark plug or on the engine, which can render one or both useless. If you try to force the spark plug in, you are also at risk of cross-threading the plug. It can be frustrating to access the spark plugs in many modern engines, so it is hard to tell if your spark plug is cross-threaded or just difficult to screw in because of how you have your arm contorted to get the socket wrench in place. If you aren’t confident that you can ensure the correct torque on your Volvo’s spark plugs, your local Cincinnati Volvo mechanic will be able to make sure that the job is done right. 

The Future of Car Repair is Now: Update Software Regularly

A good Cincinnati Volvo mechanic will tell you that regular maintenance isn’t just about oil changes and tire rotations anymore. These days, it’s also important to regularly update your software. Modern Volvos have highly sophisticated computers built in that are designed to optimize the engine’s performance and life span. They also make sure that your phone syncs flawlessly with the system, allowing you the most seamless user experience with music and Bluetooth accessibility. Regularly updating your software means your car benefits from all these improvements. If all of this sounds like nonsense, your Volvo mechanic will be able to make sure you have all of the latest software updates whenever you come in for good old-fashioned mechanical import car maintenance.

Don’t Forget to Pamper Your Volvo: Cars Need Baths Too

Taking care of your Volvo is more than just Volvo repair and what your mechanic sees under the hood. It also means keeping it clean to help prevent future auto repair needs. Washing your car is more than just about looks, it is an essential part of import car maintenance as well. Things like dirt, tree sap, bird droppings and good old-fashioned road salt can damage your car’s paint. The paint helps to seal the metal parts of your car from the wear and tear that will lead to every car’s enemy—rust. It is also essential to hose off the bottom of you car as well as the visible parts, especially in the winter months. Road salt will eat away at everything metal in your car, and a rusty exhaust pipe is soon a holey one. Regular year-round car washes will help make sure you don’t have to visit your Volvo mechanic for car repair quite as often.

Volvo Mechanics Advise: Don’t Neglect Timely Maintenance

Rather than waiting for things to break, keep up on your Volvo repair through regular import car maintenance from an Ohio auto repair shop like European Auto Specialists. Having a car repair experts in all foreign and imported cars in your pocket is key. Check ups are important. Getting your brakes fixed before they go bad can save you hundreds of dollars. Catching the radiator before it goes out might mean saving your engine. A weird noise checked out today could prevent more expensive car repair tomorrow.

One simple thing that you can have your Volvo mechanic take a look at is your transmission fluid. A sufficient amount of good quality transmission fluid is essential for keeping your Volvo’s transmission running smoothly. When there isn’t enough transmission fluid it can put undue stress on the gears, causing them to wear out faster. If you aren’t sure about the current quality of your transmission fluid, your Volvo mechanic will be able to help your out. European Auto Specialists are Volvo mechanics in Cincinnati you can trust. We understand Volvos because we own them. They are great cars. Let us help you get the most out of yours with proactive Volvo repair that optimizes the performance of your vehicle. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to give our auto repair shop a call. We can give you a quote for your Volvo repair and let you know how long it will take to repair your car. It would be our pleasure.

Vintage Car Restoration is a Labor of Love, not a Financial Windfall

As anyone who has paid to have it done will tell you, restoring a vintage car simply doesn’t make financial sense. It is far less expensive to pay for an already restored vintage car. We’re not saying it shouldn’t be done. Some of the most beautiful, rewarding things in the world don’t make much sense in the pocketbook. But realize that vintage car repair is a labor of love that’s an art. Like many labor of loves, it only makes sense to do it when you don’t place financial value on your labor. You do it because you love old cars; you love polishing off an old junker to become the piece of art it was in its prime. And best of all, when someone compliments you on the restoration, you have the pride of knowing you did it yourself.

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