To reduce the risk of serious engine problems, it's important to always keep up with maintenance. But if you do notice a symptom of engine trouble, you'll want to promptly visit the shop for diagnostics. At Preferred Automotive, our local ASE-certified mechanics have extensive experience with engine repair and maintenance in the greater Rockville, MD area. Here are three basic maintenance tasks to prevent major engine trouble.

Oil Change

By always following your car's oil change schedule, you'll help to ensure that your engine's moving parts stay properly lubricated, minimizing the risk of metal-on-metal contact causing major engine damage. And when you're driving with the correct level of unpolluted oil, heat will be more efficiently redistributed from your combustion chamber. This will help to keep your engine within a healthy temperature range.

Cooling System Service

Because overheating can cause severe engine damage, including a cracked block, it's very important that your car's cooling system is working efficiently. Generally, it's suggested that coolant gets exchanged at intervals of 30,000 miles. To decrease the risk of overheating, it's crucial that you're driving with the right amount of unpolluted coolant. At our Rockville auto shop, we're experts at cooling system maintenance and repair, and can make sure there aren't any problems with components such as radiators, cooling fans, thermostats, and hoses.

Timing Belt Replacement

A healthy timing belt aligns camshaft and crankshaft movement. In your owner's manual, you'll see how often your timing belt is supposed to be changed out. Typically, this is at a point between 60,000 and 105,000 miles. If you don't replace your timing belt when specified, then there's the risk of it breaking and causing serious engine trouble.

Auto Maintenance in Rockville, MD

When you need auto maintenance in Rockville and the surrounding area, contact Preferred Automotive by either calling or requesting an appointment online. At our local auto shop, we can expertly complete any type of repair or maintenance that your vehicle needs.