Gig Harbor Auto Repair

The function of the fuel filter is pretty self-explanatory. It filters your fuel. The fuel filter is in the fuel line somewhere in between the fuel tank and the engine. Both gas and diesel vehicles around use fuel filters. Generally speaking there's not a lot of dirt in our auto fuel supply, but there is enough that you want to screen it out. The problem actually gets worse the older your vehicle becomes. That's because dirt, rust and other contaminants will settle out of the fuel and onto the bottom of the fuel tank. After your is five years or older, it can actually have a fair amount of sediment built up. That just means that the fuel filter has to work harder as your ages. It'll get clogged sooner and need to be replaced more often. A symptom of a clogged fuel filter is that the engine sputters at highway speeds or under hard acceleration. That's because enough fuel is getting through around town, but when you need more fuel for speed, enoug ... read more

Sometimes it seems in we live in such a disposable society. It's amazing all the stuff we throw away. New stuff comes out so fast, we just toss the old and move on. It seems like when we were kids in , our parents were real sticklers about taking care of our stuff. You know, hang up your clothes, polish your shoes, put away your toys. If something got lost or ruined by neglect, tough, we had to do without. We couldn't afford new cars very often, so we tried to make them last as long as we could. It's a good thing that cars are more reliable these days. They just don't break down as often. And the good news for us penny pinchers is that a modern car can easily go 200,000 miles with proper care. The engineering's there and so is the manufacturing quality. The missing ingredient is us making sure we follow the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedules. Is it really that bad to get off schedule? Well, it all adds up. Every time you go a couple thousand extra ... read more

People from love their cars. And nothing goes with cars better than a road trip. Freedom from daily schedules, new sights and the open road - it's great! But there's nothing like car trouble to bring the fun to a grinding halt. Now you can't always avoid problems, but you can take steps to reduce the probability of getting sidelined on your trip. Let's look at some of the auto maintenance related problems you might encounter on a road trip and what you might do to avoid them. It all starts with a thorough trip inspection by your service professionals at . Let's talk about some of the items on the trip inspection checklist. The most common vehicle component to fail is the tires. Of course, you can't always avoid a road hazard that leads to a flat, but you may be able to head off some maintenance-connected tire problems. A good tire inspection will start with looking over the condition of ... read more

If you're a quart low in your , there isn't enough motor oil to lubricate your engine properly. The extra friction causes drag that reduces fuel economy while you're driving around the area. The same goes for dirty oil; it doesn't reduce friction properly. The result is you get to watch those numbers at your local gas pump rolling higher and higher. The transmission also needs the proper amount of clean fluid to do its work. When it's in need of service, the transmission drags your fuel economy down. So keep it clean and give yourself a fighting chance

Hey , are your tires worn out? What is the standard for our streets? How can you tell on your ? While there may be legal requirements for the area, there are safety concerns that go beyond meeting minimum replacement mandates. 2/32 is the depth of the tire tread wear indicator bars that US law has required to be molded across all tires since August 1, 1968. When tires are worn so that this bar is visible, there's just 2/32 of an inch - 1.6 millimeters - of tread left. It's that level of wear that's been called into question recently. We're referring to the Consumer Reports call to consider replacing tires when tread reaches 4/32 of an inch, or 3.2 millimeters. And the recommendation is backed by some very compelling studies. The issue is braking on wet surfaces in and around . Most of us think of our brakes doing most of the ... read more

Myths passed around our community start with a grain of evidence and are then built up with a lot of imagination and very elastic logic. And the internet is a breeding ground for automotive myths. Some bloggers recall the s of yesteryear and declare their modern decedents to be virtually maintenance free and that anyone who says otherwise is out to rip you off. Let's examine a couple of the more popular rants and look at the truth behind them. The first one is that the chassis no longer needs lubrication for suspension, steering and the driveline. They declare that anyone who has charged you for lubrication is a charlatan. The truth on which this myth is based is that many new cars come from the factory with sealed joints and cannot be greased. However, there are still some grease points on many cars around . A grease fitting may have been installed in conjunction with a repair. And most trucks and truck-based SUVs driving in still require chassis lu ... read more