CARIBOU, Maine — Of all the things undergoing the rigors of spring cleaning, make sure your car is one of them.
“Wash the undercarriage of your car, get all that salt, dust, dirt and debris out of there,” said Mason Huck, a junior at the Caribou High School and an automotive student at the Caribou Regional Technology Center. Huck cautioned that the salt and gunk from winter roads could lead to rust.
For those salt- and dust-caked vehicles that haven’t been washed all winter, Huck suggested that owners remedy that at their earliest convenience on the next weather-friendly day.
Whether or not the weather is cooperative, studded snow tires must be removed by Friday, May 1.
“It’s illegal to have them on past the first of May, and if you drive your studded snow tires on asphalt you’re going to rip out all your studs and destroy your snow tires,” explained Fort Fairfield High School Junior Meghan Everitt, also an automotive student at CRTC.
While you’re paying extra attention to your car’s tires and exterior during the seasonal transition, students emphasized the importance of ensuring oil changes are done regularly.
Everitt explained that the standard rule is 3,000 miles or three months — whichever comes first.
Fellow CRTC Junior Dustin DeMerchant, of Caribou, joked that you may exceed that oil-changing rule … if you like putting new engines in your vehicle.
“Your oil lubricates your engine so that everything runs smoothly, and when your oil gets really used up it gets dirty and sometimes it burns, so it doesn’t lubricate as well as it should,” Everitt said. “So if you don’t change your oil after it gets all burned up and dirty, you’re going to seize up your engine and do some damage.”
Another regularly scheduled endeavor for car maintenance is checking the alignment and rotating tires, which Huck said helps extend the life of your tires.
These three students enjoy having the skills and expertise to be able to do seasonal maintenance on their own vehicles instead of having to wait for a mechanic. While not everyone needs to know how to replace a driveshaft, the students agreed that everyone would benefit from being able to change a tire and change their oil.
“You don’t know how to take the tires off the rim and remount them and balance them,” DeMerchant qualified, as his classmates explained how important it is to be able to change a tire.
Changing oil, they say, is a simple task that can save a lot of money when you do it yourself.
“Oil changes, there’s really nothing to them and you’re saving yourself a lot of money,” DeMerchant added.
While spring is a natural time for cleaning cars up and cleaning them out, don’t take out all of those emergency supplies from the winter.
“You still need to have a year-round survival kit in your car — not just for the winter,” Huck said. “If you get stuck on the side of the road even in the summer, when your car’s 45 degrees it’s pretty much a refrigerator inside.”
And if it’s not already in your vehicle, DeMerchant suggests you start keeping booster cables in your car just in case.
Even though changing 50 sets of snow tires isn’t the most thrilling work they’ve done in the shop, it’s clear that DeMerchant, Everitt and Huck enjoy their education at the Caribou Regional Technology Center. To learn more about courses offered, contact Tracy Corbin at 493-4270.
