Keeping your car in good mechanical shape is the key to a long life. This process begins with regular tune ups.
The first basic step for tuning up a 4 cylinder engine, especially on newer cars is to run a diagnostic. Now days you can purchase a code reader fairly reasonable at the parts store. Run the codes, if any, on your vehicle and proceed with addressing any issues you may find.
I like to start the actual work with plugs and plug wires. These are the most basic tune up parts and can have a significant impact on the running of your vehicle. Make sure you give correct information when ordering your spark plugs, the wrong ones can damage your car. It is a good idea to compare new ones to the ones you take out. Now systematically change your spark plugs one at a time. Never remove all at once, you will have a devil of a time figuring out which wire goes where if you do. Changing your plug wires at the same time will save you time and energy.
The next step in tuning up your 4 cylinder engine is to change the oil or have it changed. Changing it yourself is cheaper, however it is also messy so choose wisely. If you do it yourself you will need 5 quarts of oil, a new oil filter, oil filter wrench and something to catch old oil. Under neath your vehicle there is an oil drain plug, simply put your collector in place and then remove the plug. This will allow all the oil in your car to drain, then replace the plug and refill with oil. Caution! Your vehicle may not need all five quarts of oil, check your manual and also with the parts store before filling. Overfilling your car with oil can severely damage it.
Check all the fuses in your vehicle. This may not be a standard tune up tip, but you would be surprised at the number of times a blown fuse caused all sorts of problems. Check your owners or repair manual for fuse box locations, and yes there can be more than one.
Replace any sensor as indicated by your code reader. The most common sensors to replace are:
Oxygen sensor
Throttle position sensor
Cam position sensor
MAP sensor (manifold absolute pressure)
MAF sensor (mass air flow)
It is common to find a problem with any one of these sensors. Be sure they need to be replaced because they can quickly run you into lots of money.
Finally replace your air filter. You might think this step should be first as it is the easiest by far. However many of the other steps above may require you to remove the air filter in order to complete, at which time you could damage the filter or get it dirty. It is not a big deal when you change it simply a personal preference. Though this is a simple part of the tune up do not neglect it, especially with later model vehicles the air flow through the filter is an big part of how well your car will run.
