In this page we will show you how to perform a tune-up and the parts involved in this process.

- How often do vehicles need to have a tune-up?  In the past, vehicles that were equipped with points and condensers needed to be tuned up every 10,000 miles, some even sooner depending on the driving conditions.

 With the invention of the electronic ignition system, the time intervals between tune-ups was increased to 30,000 and 50,000 miles; the biggest breakthrough came with the invention of the electronic fuel injection,  most modern vehicles can go up to 100,000 miles before they need a tune-up.

 - What parts are involved in a tune-up?

The parts involved in a tune-up are : spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, air filter, fuel filter, pcv valve, in older vehicles you also need points and condenser.

- The spark plugs are among the most important items that need to be replaced during a tune-up because they are the ones in charge of providing the spark needed to ignite the fuel and air mixture inside the cylinder to initiate combustion.

- The spark plug wires transfer the high voltage current from the distributor cap to the spark plugs.

- The distributor rotor distributes the current from the ignition coil to each cylinder at the appropriate time by rotating inside the distributor cap.

- The fuel filter is in charge of filtering dirt and other particles from the fuel system to avoid these contaminants from reaching the fuel injectors.

- The air filter as its name implies filters the incoming air from dust and any other particle suspended in the air.

- The pcv valve allows the engine to get rid of the backpressure created inside the crankcase as a result of normal combustion leaking past the piston rings, but re-directs this back pressure to the intake manifold where it mixes with the incoming air and becomes part of the mixture used for combustion, eliminating excessive pollution.

- The points and condenser's function is to send the signal to the ignition coil when the high voltage current is needed to ignite the air/fuel mixture in each cylinder.


- As vehicles evolve, the parts required to perform a tune-up decrease, for example: most modern vehicles don't have spark plug wires or distributors anymore, they have an ignition coil mounted directly over each spark plug, and instead of using a distributor to send the signal to the ignition coil and to transfer the high voltage current to the spark plug, the electronic control computer sends the signal to each ignition coil when they need to send this current to their respective spark plugs, the ECM gathers the information necessary to send this signal from the crankshaft position sensor , and the camshaft position sensor.

 - Another advantage of performing a scheduled tune-up is that it gives the perfect opportunity to inspect all other parts and identify which ones need immediate attention and which ones will need to be replaced in the near future; these are the parts that need to be inspected during a tune-up:

 - Belts and hoses, make sure that the belts don't have any cracks and the hoses are in good shape, tighten belts if needed.
 
 - Check oil level and change if needed ( if the oil change is due in a few hundred miles, you can change it now and save some time.), for oil change information, visit our page oil change

 - This is also the perfect opportunity to change the oil in the rear axle, front axle and transfer case if your vehicle is 4wd, transmission fluid and filter if it applies.

 - Other fluid levels that need to be checked and filled if needed are: brake fluid level, battery electrolyte level, windshield washer fluid level, hydraulic clutch fluid level if equipped, coolant level, power steering fluid level.

 - It is also recommended to check the tire pressure in all four tires during a tune-up, perform tire rotation if needed, during a tire rotation, inspect the condition of the brake pads and brake shoes.

 - Other items often overlooked during a tune-up are the wiper blades and the battery terminals, windshield wiper blades are very inexpensive, it is a low cost investment to replace them during a tune-up, same applies to the battery terminals, eliminating the acid build up from the battery terminals now will give you the confidence that your vehicle will start under any climate conditions.

 - Older vehicles not equipped with hydraulic valve lash adjusters require that you perform a manual valve adjustment during a tune-up.

 - Other items often overlooked are the CV boots in the drive axles, ball joint boots, tie rod end boots and alike, make sure that all these components are free of cracks, if the steering components are equipped with grease fittings make sure that you grease them with a high quality grease.

- We will illustrate how to perform a  tune-up on different makes and models, we have included detailed instructions enhanced with pictures.

   
   Click on the image to learn how to replace the spark plugs in a 1994-1999 Kia Sephia

  
    Click on image to learn how to replace the spark plugs in a 2002 Hyundai Accent GS


Click on the image to learn how to replace the spark plugs on a 2011 VW Jetta eqipped with a 5 cylinder engine.

  
  Click on image to learn how to replace the spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap and rotor in a 1991-1999 Nissan Sentra

  

  - Click on image to learn how to set the Ignition timing in Ford trucks equipped with 5.8 L engines