Ways to maximise your vehicle are listed on this page.

Tractor Care

Tractors are funny things: They aren't like horses or people, even though they seem to be pretty tough and capable. A Tractor is more like a person with a serious illness:

It's because Tractors don't look after themselves at all: You have to look after them.

A sick person has to go to the doctor all the time and take special medicine regularly, and get scans and checks. They sometimes have to have dialysis to clean their blood too, if they are diabetic.

This is just like Tractors. Tractors need their Oil cleaned, and the Filters that clean it need to be changed every 3 months at least. They also need scans regularly to make sure everything is OK. Tractors need special Fluid in the joints to keep them working properly, just like medicine for people with Arthritis.

The thing is, without this care, your Tractor will need very expensive repairs all the time.
Expensive as in $20,000 or more. On the other hand, the cost of the special Tractor care is way less: About $50 to $100 for a filter, maybe $200 for the Oil, depending on how big the Tractor is.
The special Scans that the Tractor needs cost maybe $50 a time.

So when you have a Tractor, make sure you get us to come out every 3 months to do that special treatment, which we call Maintenance.

How do I check the Oil?

Excellent question!
Your car has oil in the Engine, and oil in the Transmission (also called the Gearbox) both of which you need to check every so often. You look under the bonnet and see a coloured handle, like a small sword handle, and pull it out to see the oil level.

Frankly though, if you've never done this before, it's a good idea to pop into 1 Miro St and get a service, and while you're there ask the receptionist to get the mechanics to show you how to check it.
There are all sorts of traps for the uninitiated, and our mechanics will steer you round them.
For example, some people have poured oil into their Water Tank by mistake, trying to add oil to the Engine. This can be expensive and a real pain.

A Little Knowledge...

You'll get well-meaning friends, acquiantances, and even enemies, who will tell you all sorts of little tips on how to run your car. How do you evaluate these instuctions?
As a person with training in Automotive Servicing, I know that many of those tips are simply untrue. Our advice is to run them by our service team when you are in for your routine service.

It won't cost you anything to get our professional opinion

WARM IT UP!
Nowadays vehicles seem to go just as well when they are cold, as when they are hot. What's more some well-meaning people say that you should not wait to warm up your car, because it saves petrol if you just jump in and drive off in the morning.

Unfortunately it's not so simple as all that:
Firstly, your engine is designed to work at its 'hot' temperature, not at 'cold'. So if you insist on driving off immediately in the morning, you are damaging your car. Specifically, the Piston Rings, which are brittle steel that can be snapped between your fingers, are very fragile when cold. They like to run at the very hot combustion temperatures within the chamber, and wear out quickly in the cold.

Furthermore, the Engine Oil, which gets pumped around the whole motor, is usually all sitting in the sump doing nothing at first. It needs a chance to circulate properly before it has its lubricating effect.

Lastly, but pointedly, is the actual Fuel Economy. The engine usually needs way more petrol when its not warmed up, due to the condensation effect of the cold.
This means that you're going to burn through heaps more petrol if you drive when the engine is cold. Like, 4 times more petrol. And, that wasted petrol doesn't do those delicate Engine Parts any good, because it dissolves the precious Lubricating Oil from the upper cylinder area...letting those Piston Rings wear out.

So although we will get more service work from people who drive their cars without warming them up, we still think it's our duty to advise on how to get the best out of your vehicle.

DIESEL

Regular filter changes are paramount for all Diesel Vehicles and Engines. Filter replacement based on Mileage covered isn't necesarily a good thing, because bacteria can build up in the diesel tank, which damages the fuel system quickly once the engine is started.
The key is how much time has elapsed since the fuel filters were last changed.

Furthermore, water can also build up in a half empty tank, due to condensation. Water present in the diesel fuel is a disaster for any diesel engine, so checking the water traps and filters often is vital.

PETROL

Modern Petrol Engines have sensors in their Exhaust Pipes that are sensitive to contamination. This means beware of putting Additives in the Tank unless they are specifically marked "Sensor Safe" or something similar. If an Additive damages an Exhaust Sensor, you could spend hundreds getting a new one, and hundreds just finding out what the problem is.

PETROL II

Water doesn't get absorbed by Petrol, so when it collects in the Tank, by condensation, it just sloshes around, rusting the Tank up. If you run low on fuel one day, the water can be sucked through to the engine and cause it to stop. Solution? There are Sensor - Safe Additives that will absorb the water in the Tank, and treat the Fuel Lines too. Pick these up at our 1 Miro St Parts Depot. It's cheaper than a breakdown. You can treat your Petrol Car, Van or Ute regularly to prevent the Tank rusting out and the Engine getting hit by the water.

BATTERIES

Everyone knows that your battery might fail in winter. But not everyone knows that all Batteries aren't born equal. Each Vehicle has a Battery that is specific to it: You can't just pick up any old Car Battery and chuck it in.

Well, you can, but you'll probably regret it later. Getting the wrong battery leads to 3 possible scenarios.

1) You waste money by overkill.
2) You waste money by getting a Battery that will need replacing very quickly, because it's too weak.
3) You get a Battery that doesn't even fit properly, and have to get another one, possibly losing the money you spent on the first one.

A Professional Battery Supplier will ask you what Make & Model of Vehicle you have, whether it's Auto or Manual, and whether it's Diesel or LPG or Petrol.

What's more, don't think that taking the battery out and getting one exactly the same is foolproof: how do you know that battery is the original, or even the right one? Maybe it failed because it's the Wrong one
Do yourself a favour and tell us the model and make of your vehicle / crane / motorbike and let us check the right battery type in our huge product cross-reference book. We've a massive store of batteries out the back, which is bound to have your one.

PARTS AND FILTERS

When you are thinking about those Tractor or Truck maintenance issues, it's sometimes a habit not to get in the Filters and Parts until you actually want them. Unfortunately this can lead to difficulties, as not all parts are in stock all the time, and not all filters are necessarily handy on the day. You could ring us beforehand and ask if the Filter Kit for your unit is handy, and if we would keep one for you.

Don't forget that everyone else does their Winter Servicing at the same time you do, so our stock of Filters can get maxed out just when you're wanting something. We will keep products on the shelf specifically for certain customers, labeled accordingly, but you have to let us know in advance.

AGRI IMPLEMENTS, ATTACHMENTS AND PRODUCTS

A lot of the big Agri Attachments are made to order somewhere in NZ, and delivered directly.
This being the case, when you think about getting a bigger Plough, Rack or Set of Discs, make sure you are thinking 6 months ahead so as to have the best options available.
Otherwise you'll be forced to buy something that isn't really what you want, or is way more expensive, just because you've got to get your soil tilled before the dry / wet / season.
The manufacturers have produced hundreds of variants for every Attachment, Plough, Disc Set, Harrow, Seeder, Boom Sprayer and Mulcher, but the fact is that they mostly need to be specced up when the order is made, and then assembled and shipped to us.
And everyone wants their Plough at the same time too, so in this case the early bird does in fact get the worm.

A list of our blogs follows here.

Blogs are individual web pages that deal with specific items of interest. You can often add comments to them, starting up a discussion of your own.
Tractor Care
Reese Mowers
BX2350
T5050 ROPS R4D
LifeStyle Machinery
Iwi in the Forestry Industry
Quad Bikes
Vee Belts
Brushcutter Blades
Sites to see in Taupo
Power Cutters
Excavator Repairs
Mudflaps
Power issues on the Farm
Breaking in the Land