Gig Harbor Auto Repair

For those of you in Gig Harbor, Washington who pay attention to these things, you may have been hearing about the new direct injection engines and want to learn more about them. Some deliver the power of a V8 with the economy of a V6. For example, in one family of engines the conventional V6 makes about 250 horsepower. The direct injection version of the same engine makes over 300 horsepower and gets essentially the same gas mileage. The turbocharged version makes over 350 horsepower. So what are the differences from a conventional engine? The core difference is in the fuel injection system. The system most vehicles use now is called a port injection system. The fuel injector squirts fuel into a port just outside the cylinder where it's then drawn into the engine with the air. With a direct injection system, the injector squirts the fuel directly into the cylinder. The gain in power and economy come becau ... read more

Have you ever gone to to listen to an orchestra? The musicians take the stage early and tune their instruments. Each individual instrument must be in tune, but the critical thing is for the entire orchestra to be in tune with each other. That's why they tune up together. Now this is no surprise; I'm going to relate the orchestra to your car. Your engine has many component systems that each need to be working properly. And the components need to be working in sync, all timed up together in order for the engine to work efficiently. We call this, (ta-da) a tune-up. When an orchestra's out of tune you get a bad concert. When your vehicle's out of tune you get bad performance and bad fuel economy. So check your owner's manual for recommended tune-up intervals. Or ask your service advisor at what he thinks. …Just be careful not to say you want to make beautiful music together - that kinda makes us uncomfortable

Everyone in , knows we are advised to go to our dentist twice a year. Oral-conscious residents have a teeth-cleaning and examination. Once a year, we get x-rays to look for problems that can't be seen with the naked eye. When our dentist is done, he/she tells us what was found - "Everything's fine, see you in six months." Or "You've got a small cavity starting, let's schedule an appointment to take care of it." By the time you leave, you have a plan for addressing any necessary issues. This system works so much better than waiting for a painful problem before going into the dentist. Small problems are fixed before they turn into big problems. And you avoid those huge bills. If folks understand the wisdom of using this system for handling dental care, why do many resist when facing the same system for our car maintenance? Following the car maker's recommended intervals can be confusing. First, there are recommendations for so many things: oil cha ... read more

When I was a kid in , my dad always made sure he took the cars in for Spring and Fall checkups. I was telling a friend that it's about time to get into for my checkup and he said that he read on the internet that modern cars don't need seasonal service. My friend is (technically) right about some things, but from a practical standpoint, a seasonal check up still makes sense. Back when my dad was teaching me about how to take care of the family , most cars used a different weight of oil in the winter and in the summer. But most of today's modern engines run the same oil year round. High-tech engines and high-tech motor oils are better able to handle the seasonal changes. Your owner's manual or service advisor at can tell you the right oil to use. Of course, you're concerned about the coolant or antifreeze. You don't want to overheat in the summer or freeze up in the winter. Your engine cooling system protects against b ... read more

Since driving requirements and lifestyles differ among motorists, manufacturers publish two auto maintenance schedules: the regular schedule and the severe service schedule. Which schedule should you follow?Here are some questions to ask yourself: Are most of your trips less than four miles?Are most of your trips less than 10 miles in below-zero temps?Are most of your trips off-highway?Do you drive often in dusty areas?Do you regularly tow a trailer or carry heavy loads around ?Do you drive in very hot or very cold weather?Think about your typical week. Do you live by your nearest freeway on-ramp and enjoy a non-stop commute to or ? Or, do you drive the neighborhood car pool in stop-and-go traffic on surface streets? Let's suppose your owner's manual says the severe service oil change recommendation is 3,000 miles and the standard recommendation is 5,000 miles. You know that you need to change the oil somewhere between ... read more

All those automotive fluids can be confusing for car owners. Recent years have brought new grades of engine oil, types of transmission fluid, coolant, and brake fluid. The right fluid protects your vehicle and helps it perform at its best. The wrong fluid won't work as well for car owners and could even cause damage. In addition to new grades of engine oil, many s now leave the factory with synthetic oil. car owners should always use the recommended grade and type of oil in their engine. All coolant, also called antifreeze, used to be green. Now there are several other colors of coolant sold at in . Each type is designed to protect the cooling system components that are particular to your vehicle. The wrong stuff can void your cooling system warranty and could even cause engine damage. Most passenger vehicles on roads today use either DOT 3, DOT 4 or DOT 5 brake fluid. Your power brake sys ... read more

If you aren't currently using synthetic motor oil in your vehicle, maybe now's the time to consider it. Need more information? Well, synthetic motor oil is a substitute for petroleum based oil. Synthetic oil doesn't gel or gum-up like petroleum based oil and it doesn't vaporize as easily. It protects better in severe driving conditions like stop and go driving around , as well as in very hot or very cold conditions. More and more new vehicles are being delivered with full synthetic motor oil; with the recommendation to use synthetic for the life of the vehicle. Why is this? Synthetic motor oil maximizes engine power and fuel economy. To see why; we'd need a microscope, so we'll have to settle for using our imaginations. The molecules of conventional motor oil are long hydrocarbon chains. Synthetic motor oil, on the other hand, has uniform, round molecules. Which is more slippery, a pile of pencils or a pile of marbles? Synt ... read more

So you love your job, and your family life is great. Congratulations! You have achieved balance. But can you say the same for your wheels? You can tell if your tires are out of balance by vibrations at higher speeds on freeways. If one of the front tires is out, you feel the vibration in the steering wheel. If it's a back tire, you'll feel the vibration in your seat. Tires and wheels are pretty heavy. When a tire is mounted on a wheel at , it is usually not perfectly balanced. So the tire technician will spin the tire on a machine to determine where it's too heavy. He will then place weights on the wheels in strategic locations to balance it out. When a tire is out of balance, it actually bounces down the road instead of rolling smoothly. Since the average size tire rotates at about 850 revolutions per minute at 60 MPH, it is actually slamming into the pavement 14 times a second. That's where you get your vibration. Most car owners are surprised at how smoothly their car rides after b ... read more

People near often ask how often they should have a particular service done. It's a great thing to ask. You can look at your owner's manual, or have your service advisor at look up your vehicle in a service database. What you find is often a surprise to people - there are actually two service schedules. One is the regular schedule and the other is the severe service schedule. Service intervals are shorter on the severe service schedule. When asked, most folks in will say that their driving is normal and that the ‘regular' schedule probably applies to them. ‘Severe service' sounds pretty extreme - ‘I don't drive like that'. Well, here is what the manufacturers say constitutes severe driving conditions; you can draw your own conclusions. If that's severe driving, what constitutes regular driving? Well, it would look something like this: I live somewhere with moderate temperatures all year round - I'm thinking San Diego here ... read more

We find that a lot of service and repair at are a little tentative when they talk with their automotive advisers. They want to ask questions, but don't want to be embarrassed or to seem pushy. Cars are very complicated and there's more to know about them than most of us have the time to learn. Maybe it's because cars have become so much more reliable that the average person just doesn't need to know as much to keep their vehicle on the road. You know, your local hospital has a Patient's Bill of Rights that they post throughout the hospital. We think our automotive service customers also have a right to ask any question they need to understand what is wrong with their car and what it will take to fix it. They need to feel free to ask the cost and benefits of recommended services. And they certainly have a right to understand the financial end of the transaction. It's all about the communication. It's a little harder when yo ... read more