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Dear Jim,

I have a 1998 Toyota Avalon (3.0L, V6) and I'm writing to ask your advice on what kind of maintenance I should be having done at this point.

The car has about 95,000 miles on it and the timing belt was replaced at about 60,000 miles. When should it be replaced again? When the Toyota dealer replaced the belt before, they also replaced the platinum spark plugs.

So far, the engine seems to be running and idling OK, but when should I get a tune-up and new plugs?

-- Joe Vick

Most letters I get are about existing car problems, bro, but these are good questions, and I like your preventive attitude.

First, a word about tune-ups: A lot of drivers put too much faith in them. They'll bring in a vehicle that's hard to start, idling rough or accelerating with less zest than it used to, and they hope a tune-up will pretty much solve everything.

There was a time when this could happen, back when carburetors were the standard and spark plugs were easily fouled.

In this age of computer control, however, "tune-up" usually just means changing the plugs, checking idle speed and replacing a few filters -- definitely important steps to take, but not likely to suddenly improve your car's performance in any obvious way.

That said, there's still a lot of maintenance you can do, and you've picked a good time of year to ask. Before it gets any hotter outside, have your Toyota's cooling system flushed and refilled with the correct 50:50 water/antifreeze mixture. You'll also need to replace those platinum plugs in another 5,000 miles, along with the fuel filter.

As far a major tune-up goes (plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor, filters and fuel injection service), you can hold off until about 110,000 miles. The timing belt you have now should also be fine until then.

Last and most important, bro, keep changing that oil every 3,000 miles. All the new plugs, belts and filters in the world won't keep old, useless oil from destroying an engine -- especially in this kind of weather.

Tip of the Week:

I've said it before and I'll say it again, drivers: Keep using those little bottles of fuel injector cleaner every three or four tanks of gas. As with modern-day tune-ups, you won't notice a suddenly supercharged engine, but you will notice weaker performance over time if you're not in the habit of using the stuff.

Buffalo Jim, owner of Allstate Auto & Marine Repair in Las Vegas, writes a weekly column. Send your automotive questions to him at buffalojim@lasvegasniftynickel.com. If Jim picks your question to answer in Nuts & Bolts, you'll also be the proud recipient of a deck of official Buffalo Jim playing cards, presented in a classy, tin box bearing his hairy image.

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