Gig Harbor Auto Repair

When your experienced Mackert Automotive service advisor technician changes your oil, he will also inspect your air filter. You shouldn't need a new filter at every oil change, but you will need to change it regularly. Heed your service specialist's auto advice if they tell you to change your filter. It's not expensive, and it makes a big difference to your car, truck, SUV. An air filter does what its name implies: it filters stuff out of the air. Air is drawn into your engine through the filter because your engine needs air to burn fuel. If the filter weren't there, a lot of dust and debris would come into the car, truck, SUV engine with the air. That dust and debris would get hot, burn, and produce all kinds of ash and gumminess that would eventually clog up your engine. But air filters themselves get clogged up with all the junk they clean out of the Gig Harbor air. This doesn't allow the junk into the car, truck, SUV engine, bu ... read more

Every car, truck, SUV on Washington freeways has a differential, and it is important to the proper operation of the vehicle, but most Gig Harbor car owners don't have a clue what it is. The differential compensates for differing wheel speeds. For example, when you turn, the inside tire on the turn travels a much shorter distance than the outside wheel. So the inside wheel of the car, truck, SUV must move at a slower speed than the outside wheel. Without a differential, the wheels would hop and scrape while turning. Have you ever seen the large bugle-shaped object in the middle of the rear axle of a truck? That's the differential. In a rear-wheel drive vehicle, the differential is located on the back axle. Four-wheel drive vehicles and SUV's have differentials on both the front and the rear axle. You might expect that the differential is located on the front axle of a front-wheel drive vehicle. You'd be right. But the differential is ... read more

Most Gig Harbor car owners know that tires wear out and that the wear has to do with tread depth. Most of us have heard that "bald" tires are dangerous, but most of us picture a tire with no tread at all when we think of a bald tire. And when we take our vehicles in for preventive maintenance, the technician tells us they're need to be replaced long before all the tread is worn off. Just how much tire tread wear is too much? And how can you tell? Tires are pricey and their condition is important to the safe handling of a vehicle, so it's important for Gig Harbor drivers to know the answers to these questions. First of all, it's key to understand that there may be a legal limit to tread wear. If your tires are worn past this limit, you have to replace them to be in compliance with Washington auto safety laws. That's why measuring your tread wear is part of a vehicle safety inspection. In some jurisdictions, tread must be at least 1.6 millimeters or 2/32 of an inch ... read more

If the fuel system in your car, truck, SUV is dirty, you will be hurting your gas mileage and losing performance as you drive around Gig Harbor, Washington. Unless they drive a vintage car, Gig Harbor motorists have fuel injectors which need to be properly maintained. That is why your car, truck, SUV owner's manual has a schedule for cleaning your fuel injectors and other parts of your fuel system. Your friendly and courteous service advisor at Mackert Automotive in Gig Harbor has the tools and chemicals to do the job right. Mackert Automotive uses a process that gives your car a deep, professional fuel system cleaning. The particles, gum and varnish that build up in your fuel system are removed so that it can run cleanly and efficiently. After a professional fuel system cleaning at Mackert Automotive, you'll notice more power, improved fuel economy and reduced exhaust emissions.AutoNetTV strongly recomme ... read more

Hello Gig Harbor motorists! Let's talk about alignment. One of the most important parts of preventive maintenance for your vehicle is keeping the wheels in alignment. Poor alignment causes your tires to wear unevenly, which can significantly reduce their lifespan. This means you will have to replace them more often, which can be costly in Gig Harbor. It can even damage your suspension system, which is a costly repair. But even more importantly, uneven tread wear can lead to blowouts on the road, a dangerous and potentially deadly safety risk for Gig Harbor auto owners and their passengers. It may not take an accident or bad driving habits to "knock" your tires out of alignment. Tires can go out of alignment with just everyday Washington driving. Gig Harbor road hazards, pot holes, uneven or gravel roads, even the bumps and bounces of normal Gig Harbor highways and surface streets can gradually put your car, truck, SUV tires out of align ... read more