MWvolvo850 Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 I live in the Midwest and we get some pretty nasty winters here. Will you look over my list of precautions I currently performed to winterize my car and offer some additional suggestions? Thanks.What I currently have done…New all season tires.5w30 motor oil every 3KmilesNew batteryNew Belt(s)Ran through the ECU for error codes, cleared the errors and verified that no new codes returned after 2 weeks.Lubed all hingesMade an emergency roadside kit.What I’m contemplating doing but don’t know if I really need should bother to doFlush/Replace the Transmission fluid(s) (I don’t believe this was ever done and I’m at 103,000 miles.Flush the radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maiku Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 for bad winters, i would suggest REAL snow tires...all seasons won't cut itand maybe some blankets in your car :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theunderlord Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 and maybe some blankets in your car ←that's actually not a bad idea. I always carry some sort of "shack pack" in the car.. never know when a clean set of clothes could come in handy... Not to mention a blanket, shovel, flares water, food.. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maiku Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 is it volvo or an RV :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWvolvo850 Posted November 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 I forgot to add blankets, but I "may" take a gamble on my tires. (didnt see many wooly-worms on the country roads this fall..) The saying is, less wolly worms = mild winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesoam Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 blankets/clothes is a very good idea. You really just never know when you will need them. Last year we had a pretty major storm early in the season and I was caught with my pants down because of my bald jerk perelli's, tried driving home from work and couldn't make it to end of the parking lot without spinning the tires. I said f'it and camped out with my buddy.............weiser A couple years ago we where going to NH for snowmobiling (we would normally go every other weekend) It was raining in CT and when we got to VT it was like a freakin white out. The troopers had to close the main road due to a bad accident and we had to camp out in the suburban. We didn't have blankets but we had all of our snowmobile gear. (sleds where allready up there)thought i would share :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lax01 Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 do you guys suggest using anti-freeze? what mixture do you use? and now the stupid question, you add this to the coolant right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cking Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 All antifreeze will work fine as long as it is mixed correctly for cold weather. I recommend making sure all your fluids are up to date. And make sure your battery is strong and you have anti freeze window washer fluid. If you live in an area where it snows heavy and the plows do not keep things cleared all the time I would recommend snow tires. I live in RI and I cannot even get up my driveway without snow tires. I use Blizzacks but if you have the dough for for the Dunlop M3's you can run them year round. Tirerack.com.do you guys suggest using anti-freeze? what mixture do you use? and now the stupid question, you add this to the coolant right?← Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandis Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 I would no doubt flush the tranny fluid, more of a maintaince thing than a "winter must do". I do mine about every 25K. Mobil 1 ATF is pricey buy helped smooth the shifts out in ours. Super easy, and there is a link I believe on Bay 13.Make sure antifreeze is ethol glycol based, I use Prestone. Usually 50/50 mixture of water and antifreeze is sufficent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLS Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 The coolant should be flushed & renewed every two years. There is a petcock on the back side of the engine and another on the left side of the bottom of the radiator. I've twisted off the plastic petcock on the radiator, so I remove the plastic air deflector and then just pull off the lower radiator hose. After the cooling system has been rinsed and cleaned with a heavy duty cooling system cleaner from the parts store, rinse several times with water. Close the system, add 1 gallon of ethylene glycol antifreeze, then top off with distilled water. Run and check for the need to add more water as air bubbles work their way out of the system. Keep the radiator full-on for flow there.I prefer synthetic transmission fluid, and Mobil 1 is excellent. With 103,000 and never been flushed, your transmission is likely very dirty. I'm doing an Auto-Rx cleaning of my transmission now before the flush, and it is already shifting smoother.Some all-season tires are fair in winter and some are scary even when new. I really like my Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3 winter tires, and Kumho KW-11 are good and lower priced.Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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