Gig Harbor Auto Repair

Don't you hate it when you hear that squeal from under the hood when you're driving aroun ? It usually means there is a problem with the serpentine belt. The serpentine belt powers a lot of engine accessories. It runs the alternator-which charges the battery, the water pump-which cools the engine, the air conditioning and the power steering pump. All pretty important parts. It is called a serpentine belt because it snakes around a bunch of engine components. Serpentine belts are especially tough. They can last for years and go for tens of thousands of miles. But, with time they wear out. If your belt breaks while you are driving, everything will come to a halt within minutes. You have to stop the car or it will overheat, potentially causing major engine damage. And it probably won't be at a convenient time or place. You might even need to get your car towed to a service center. That is why manufacturers recommend a belt replacement on sche ... read more

Ever heard the sad tale of a staggering repair bill from a broken timing belt? Bad news. Let's take a lesson from their woes and remember to think about our timing belt. First, let's review what a timing belt does. The top part of the engine, over the cylinders is called the cylinder head. The head contains the valves. There's at least one valve that lets the fresh air into the cylinder. This air, mixed with fuel, burns to create power. Then another valve or two open to allow the exhaust out of the engine. Each cylinder has 2 to 4 valves - that's 12 to 24 valves for a V-6, up to 32 values on a V-8. The opening and closing of the valves is done by a camshaft. The timing belt uses the rotation of the engine to drive the camshaft which opens and close the valves. It's called a timing belt because it has to be adjusted to rotate the camshaft to keep proper time with the engine so that everything's in sync. The timing belt is a toothed rubber belt . But some cars use a timing chain or ti ... read more

Before the recession hit, the median age for cars in the 98335 zip code was over nine years. And two-thirds had over 75,000 miles. Atwe hear reports that those numbers continue to rise. Many people in are keeping their vehicles longer. The economy has influenced that, but the fact that modern s are more durable and reliable means that owning a high mileage vehicle doesn't have to be a painful experience. Local car owners in with over 100,000 miles on their vehicles often ask which service intervals they should follow. Let's start with the special needs of the older vehicle… The reality is that time and mileage will take its toll. The engine and transmission will have more sludge. The fuel, steering and brake systems will have gum and varnish built up. There'll be more dirt and contaminants in the fuel tank. Corrosion and deposits in the cooling system. And seals and gaskets will start to dry out. All of this, plus normal wear and tear, m ... read more

There's a segment of the population that's not committed to proper vehicle maintenance. Mistaken perceptions have crept into the area over time. Many motorists think the root lies in the fact that modern cars are so reliable. Reliability has improved dramatically in recent years. Quality surveys report fewer problems with new cars than ever before. Back when cars spent more time in the repair shop, drivers were more mindful of routine service. Now, it's much easier to put it off. Take tune-ups for example. In the days of mechanical ignition systems, an engine needed to be tuned-up every couple of years. The ignition points had to be replaced, spark plugs and coils replaced and the timing adjusted. If your engine was out of tune, you knew it. It ran poorly and got bad fuel economy. Now, the ignition system in your is electronic and controlled by the engine management computer. Spark plugs rarely get fouled and will last for ... read more

In very simple terms, a fuel injector is a valve that squirts fuel into your engine. Your engine control computer tells the fuel injector how much fuel to deliver as well as the precise time it should be delivered. Of course this happens thousands of times a minute in every single fuel-injected car driving down , , and roads. Most fuel injectors for gas engines are known in the auto industry as port fuel injectors because they deliver the fuel to a port just outside the cylinder. The fuel pump provides pressure needed to squirt the right amount of fuel into the engine. Although more complicated, direct injection technology promises greater power with improved fuel economy for gas-poor , , and commuters. motorists can expect to see more of it in the future.High temperatures under your hood and variations in gas quality cause fuel injectors to be fouled with wax, dirt, water, addi ... read more

When your car breaks down in the Puget Sound area, or just needs some routine service, it can make you a little nervous. Because your car's so important to your life, you need to be back on the road as soon as possible. And, with the problem fixed right the first time. We've been checking into some of the training our technicians receive, and we're very impressed. It's amazing how much knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern car. So it's not like when your uncle worked on his hot rod over weekend. Today there are four cylinder engines that make more power than the V-8's in luxury cars 20 years ago. A new V-6 Toyota Camry could beat Sonny Crocket's Ferrari in a race to 60 mph. Our engines are more and more powerful and at the same time their fuel economy keeps inching up. And they're so reliable. This is all due to engineering. But the advances come at the price of simplicity. Modern cars are so much more comp ... read more

So, everyone in the Gig Harbor area knows how great helium is - you know, party balloons, squeaky voices. But a lot of people around still haven't heard about the benefits of nitrogen in your tires, and how it can help your tires. Here's some great advice from AutoNetTV, brought to you by Mackert Automotive. Nitrogen has actually been around for a long time in the commercial sector, but it's just starting to catch on for private vehicles in the zip code area. Why nitrogen in your tires? Air is air, right? Actually, it turns out there is a difference. The heart of the matter is maintaining proper tire inflation. When your tires are properly inflated, they last longer, handle better and more safely, and save you money at the gas pump. The problem is that tires filled in with regular air can lose a pound and a half of air pressure every month. This just happens as the oxygen in the tire seeps out. So if you don't check your pressure for a month o ... read more

You may have found yourself in the following situation: You go to get your oil changed and the service adviser at recommends you get a new engine air filter. You say yes, but because you didn't know what an air filter is or what it does, but you were too embarrassed to ask. First of all, you did the right thing by getting a new one. And, you should never be too embarrassed to ask for more information from any of our staff. It's your money and you have a right to understand what you're paying for. Air is the focus of this discussion. What is the air like outside in right now? Can you see any smog? Is it full of pollen? How about dust? Anyone in with hay fever can tell you that there's plenty in the air that you can't see. Well, it's the engine air filter's job to clean that air before it goes into your engine, to mix with the fuel and be burned. Without an engine air filter, the inside of your engine would be extremely dirty from all the gunk that was burned in t ... read more

Today in the auto care blog, we're going to talk about oil change intervals. It seems that as engine technology advances, recommended oil change intervals have gotten longer for customers. High quality oil in a well-engineered engine has lead to extended intervals. But it's also lead to some confusion among drivers. The old mantra "change your oil every three months or three thousand miles, whichever comes first" once applied to every vehicle in your garage. Time and miles take their toll on motor oil. But now, you could have a different oil change recommendation for every car or truck you own. people are like everybody else, they have a tendency to put off all the oil changes to the schedule of the vehicle with the longest interval. Of course, that can lead to problems. For example, recently four of the world's largest auto manufacturers shortened the published intervals for several of their engines. They originally published i ... read more

Today we're talking about shocks and struts. They're so easy to forget about because they last so long and wear out so slowly. But your shocks are really responsible for keeping your tires on the road - so they're very important. Without shocks, your wheels would be bouncing over bumps and lifting in corners. The shocks push the tire down to the road to maximize traction. Good shocks equal good ride quality and safe handling. There's a difference between shocks and springs. Springs support the weight of the vehicle, keeping it suspended up off the axles. The shocks moderate the rebound motion as wheels hit bumps. Now a strut combines a shock and a coil spring in one compact unit. When your shocks are worn out you may notice degraded handling as you drive around our streets. Your vehicle feels squirmy around corners and floaty over bumps. You may notice the rear end squatting when you accelerate or the front end diving when you brake. You ... read more