Gene’s Car Tips – Page 38 – certifiedauto.com

Clean Fuel

Fuel filters clean the dirt, dust and debris out of your fuel. Both gasoline and diesel-powered engines have them. The fuel filter is located in the fuel line between the fuel tank and the sedan engine.

Glendora drivers don’t need to filter their fuel because it has lots of grit in it; they need to filter it because it has some grit it in. Any dirt is bad for your engine. The cleaner the fuel, the better your sedan engine will run.

Over time, the small amounts of rust, dirt and contaminants in your fuel settle out inside the fuel tank. After about five years, this can amount to a quite a bit of sediment. This means that as your sedan ages, your fuel filter has to work harder to screen your fuel: more sediment in your tank means more potential for grit in your fuel.

The harder your fuel filter works, the more often it needs to be replaced. Check with your owner’s manual to find out how often it should be serviced and how long you can expect it to last. Glendora drivers should change it before it becomes clogged. Your reliable Certified Auto Specialists tech can help you with recommended fuel filter replacement schedules.

If your fuel filter becomes clogged, your sedan engine will sputter when you drive at highway speeds or when you accelerate rapidly. A clogged filter allows enough fuel to run the car at low speeds around town in Glendora, but when you need a higher flow of fuel for faster speeds, or if you need a sudden burst of fuel, you just won’t be able to get it through the filter.

Glendora car owners take note: A clogged filter is actually dangerous. If you need to accelerate suddenly out of the path of danger, you just won’t have the power to do it.

Fuel filters have a bypass valve. When the filter becomes clogged, the valve allows some fuel to bypass the filter so the engine can keep running – just not enough to be running well.

That means, though, that dirty, unfiltered fuel is entering your engine. Instead of clogging up your filter, that dirt is now getting into your fuel injectors where it can cause serious damage. Fuel injectors are expensive; fuel filters are cheap. It doesn’t seem like a difficult choice.

Fuel filters are the epitome of preventive maintenance. They are cheap and easy to change, but neglecting them can lead to expensive repair bills for Glendora drivers. Some fuel filters are inside the fuel tank and cannot be routinely serviced – your reliable Certified Auto Specialists tech will be able to tell you if this applies to your vehicle.

Good car care means following recommended schedules for preventive maintenance, including changing your fuel filters. Take the auto advice offered in every owner’s manual and have your vehicle regularly inspected at Certified Auto Specialists. It may save Glendora motorists money by preventing costly repairs, but it will also repay them in improved fuel efficiency, safety and peace of mind.

Certified Automotive Specialists And The Maintenance Mindset

When it comes to their vehicles, some Glendora car owners don’t have a maintenance mindset. They know they need to take care of their cars, but it just seems really hard to get them to remember to do it. Glendora drivers generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance, but just may have not applied it to their sedans.

For example: the lawn. You water it and mow it every week. And weed the flower beds and rake the leaves. There are other things that Glendora residents are diligent about. Going to the dentist twice a year. Clothes to the dry cleaner. Flu shots. Taking the kids to your Glendora doctor for a checkup before school starts.

So Glendora auto owners really are maintenance minded. They just have to learn to apply that mindset to cars. I mean, if you never brush your teeth or go to the dentist, you’ll become painfully aware of your neglect when you get a big cavity. Once the damage is done, most of us learn our lesson and shape up.

Unfortunately, Glendora motorists too often learn a hard automotive lesson when they bring their vehicle to Certified Auto Specialists on a tow truck. So many times a little routine maintenance would have prevented a steep breakdown.

So how can Glendora motorists get into the habit of taking care of their sedan? It’s so easy to forget. If you skip cutting the grass, you see it every time you pull in the driveway.

Here’s something that will help: The key to good vehicle maintenance starts with the oil change. Think about it – when you go in for a full-service oil change, your reliable Certified Auto Specialists tech will check all your fluids. If one of them is low, he can look for the reason why. If your serpentine belt is cracked, he’ll see it and let you know. Corroded battery cable – they’ve got you covered. And at Certified Auto Specialists, we check to see if your sedan car maker has recommended any services at your current mileage.

The oil change becomes kind of a focal point, a way to check in to see what needs to be done. The fact is that vehicle inspection surveys consistently reveal that over 80% of vehicles have one or more unperformed repair or maintenance service. Vehicles are generally very reliable and can take a lot of abuse and neglect. But, you’ve got to remember that sedans are complicated machines. There are parts and fluids that are critical to their operation. Without them, the sedan won’t run at all.

So when you come in to Certified Auto Specialists for an oil change, you get a diagnostic examination from your reliable service advisor and a reminder for recommended services so you can avoid a total failure. And remember that your reliable Certified Auto Specialists service advisor can help you work out a maintenance and repair plan, prioritizing and scheduling the work to make sure you and your family are safe, and helping you avoid expensive breakdowns.

Fuel System Cleaning at Certified Automotive Specialists for Better Performance

Hi Glendora motorists. Let’s talk fuel injectors. A fuel injector is a valve that delivers fuel to a vehicle’s engine. It has to deliver the precise amount of fuel, to precisely the right place, precisely when the engine needs it. The fuel also has to be mixed with air before it can burn in the engine.

Fuel injectors are engineered to spray fuel in a specific pattern into the engine. (The pattern varies by engine type and design.) In order to achieve these spray patterns, the fuel must be pressurized.

The pressure in a fuel injection system varies depending on its type. Many gasoline sedan engines use port injection systems, which operate with a pressure of 60 pounds per square inch. Newer direct injection systems operate at 10 to 30 times that pressure. Some diesel passenger vehicles have fuel injectors that operate at 30,000 pounds or more per square inch.

Vehicles have one fuel injector for each cylinder in the engine. Your vehicle’s control computer constantly monitors the engine and various sensors in the vehicle and adjusts the fuel injectors accordingly so that they can deliver the proper amount of fuel to the engine. As you can see, fuel injectors are a sophisticated and vital part of your vehicle’s engine. Because fuel injectors are such precision instruments, dirt and contaminants are a serious detriment to their performance. When an injector gets gummed up, it affects the pressure, pattern and timing of the fuel delivery. The result is a decrease in fuel efficiency and loss of engine performance for Glendora auto owners.

So it’s to Glendora drivers’ advantage to keep their fuel injectors clean. That starts with keeping the fuel in your tank clean. High-quality fuel contains detergents and additives that help clean your engine. Brand-name fuel companies also deliver a more consistent quality of fuel to Glendora car owners than do bargain Los Angeles area service stations.

The second way to keep your injectors clean is to keep your fuel filter clean. This filter screens dirt and rust out of the fuel as it travels from the tank to the engine. If the filter clogs up, fuel will bypass it and carry its load of dirt into the engine.

Glendora car owners should check their owner’s manual to find out how often they should change their fuel filter. This should be part of your regular preventive maintenance. Also, remember that if you use bargain-brand or low-grade fuels, or if you drive an older vehicle between Glendora, Azusa and Covina , your filter will need to be changed more often.

You can also purchase cleaners at Certified Auto Specialists that will protect your fuel injectors. These cleaners are added to the fuel tank. They work best at preventing build-up in your fuel injectors and can clean up small amounts of carbon, gum and varnish. But they won’t be able to clean a fully gummed-up injector. Read the labels before using any of these products for full directions on their use. If your fuel injectors are gummed up, you can get a professional deep cleaning service at Certified Auto Specialists in Glendora that will result in better fuel economy and improved vehicle performance.

Good car care will prevent serious damage to your fuel injector system. And this is one system that you want to keep in perfect condition.

Your Filter’s Job

Glendora endured fire and smoke and it took its toll on all of us. We are thankful it wasn’t worse. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their homes. It is a very sad time in Glendora history.

We can see much of the damage the fire and smoke caused. Most of us know we need to change the filters in our homes but some might not realize that they also need to change the filter in their cars. In vehicles built in 2007 and later you will find 80 percent of them have a cabin air filter and its function is to protect drivers and their passengers from contaminants such as pollen, mold spores, dust and other small and annoying particles. We have recently experienced a lot of particles in the air and you can be sure the air filter did its best to capture as much of it as possible.

The cabin air filter is located on the passenger side of the vehicle and is most often, but not always tucked behind the dash around the glove compartment area. Whenever you turn on your defroster, air conditioning or heater it captures the debris so it doesn’t get into the cab of your vehicle. It is a very busy part and needs to be replaced at least once a year. If you or a passenger has severe allergies you may want to get it replaced more often. A clean cabin filter also helps prolong the life of your vehicle’s heating and air-conditioning system because it keeps debris and corrosion away from the evaporator core. After what we just experienced, this filter will definitely need to be replaced.

We get calls when customers turn on their heater fan wanting to know what that annoying rattling noise is from time to time. It is usually captured leaves or food stuffs left behind by rodents. Next time you get your cabin air filter changed you might ask to have a look at it. You will be very amazed about what it has collected and very thankful too that all that debris didn’t circulate into the cab of your vehicle.

Cabin air filters are becoming more sophisticated…some even eliminate odors. The good news is that it is usually a quick item to replace (depending on where the manufacturer placed it) and it is inexpensive. Next time you have your car serviced, don’t forget to get this part replaced. You’ll breathe easier…I guarantee it.

Ethics of Automotive Repair in Glendora

We’re going to be talking about the ethics of automotive repair. It seems like news outlets really like hit-and-run reporting; they hit everyone from groceries stores to retail to physicians. And the Glendora automotive service and repair industry hasn’t been given a pass either.

Unfortunately, every profession in Glendora has some bad actors that hurt the reputation of everyone else. On the automotive side, industry associations and professional licensing organizations are very committed to high ethical standards.

Yet some people remain uncomfortable with Glendora automotive service and repair. It may start with the fact that our vehicles are a big investment and we rely on them for so much in our lives. That alone guarantees our attention. And how well we understand the recommendations really impacts our comfort level.

If we understand what’s recommended and the benefits of taking care of the work – and the pitfalls of putting it off – we’ll have more trust in the recommendation. So communication is key. It’s like going to the doctor; If she’s using medical jargon and takes a lot of basic medical knowledge for granted, we have a hard time following her train of thought. It can be like that with your Glendora service advisor too. He’s so familiar with all things automotive, he may forget you don’t know a PCV from an EGT.

If you don’t understand what your doctor’s talking about: ask some questions. If you don’t understand what your Glendora automotive advisor’s talking about: ask some questions.

Let’s go back to those ethical standards; when we hear a repair recommendation, we always ask ourselves, “Is this really necessary?” Well, here’s the industry standard:

If a technician tells you that a repair or replacement is required it must meet the following criteria:

The part no longer performs its intended purpose

The part does not meet a design specification

The part is missing

For example, it you take your car in for a grinding noise when you step on the brakes, you may just think you need new brake pads. After the inspection, the technician at Certified Automotive Specialists says that you have a cracked rotor and need to replace it.

If you tried to get him to simply put new pads on, he would say that if you didn’t want to replace the rotor; Certified Automotive Specialists would ethically have to refuse the repair.

To just put pads on a cracked rotor would have been very wrong. The brakes could’ve failed at anytime and needed to be repaired – not just have a band-aid slapped on them.

Now, looking at something not so serious, the technician may suggest repair or replacement if:

The part is close to the end of its useful life – just above discard specifications or likely to fail soon
To address a customer need or request – like for better ride or increased performance
To comply with maintenance recommended by the vehicle’s manufacturer
Based on the technician’s informed experience

Of course, the technician has the burden of making ethical recommendations and properly educating their customers. For the customer, if you are uncomfortable with a recommendation, ask some questions. More information is always a good thing.

Differential Service At Certified Automotive Specialists: Vive ala Difference

Every sedan on California highways has a differential, and it is vital to the proper operation of the vehicle, but most Glendora motorists 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 sedan 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 called a transaxle on a front-wheel drive vehicle because its location allows it to be combined with the transmission.

In an all-wheel drive vehicle, an additional differential or transfer case is located between the front and rear axles. Differentials are strong: They have to be because of the key job they do. But those tough parts need proper lubrication. You don’t want your differential to seize up. That results in pricey damage to your sedan.

So you need to have your sedan differential serviced regularly. It’s not a complicated job. At Certified Automotive Specialists in Glendora we’ve been servicing differentials for 32 years. The used lubricating fluid is simply drained and then replaced. Some vehicles require specific additives in the differential fluid; your Glendora service center will ensure you are getting what your sedan needs.

The intervals in time or mileage for servicing your differential vary greatly from vehicle to vehicle. Check with your owner’s manual or Certified Automotive Specialists to find out how often your sedan differential needs to be serviced.

Generally, however, front-wheel drive vehicles need their differential serviced more often than rear-wheel drive vehicles. Also, if you spend a lot of time off-road or on Los Angeles area dirt or gravel roads, or if you drive through water, you will need to service your differential more often than the standard recommendation – check with your reliable Certified Automotive Specialists service specialist.

Preventive maintenance for your differential is good car care that can spare you pricey repair bills. Knowing what your differential is and how it operates is essential and will help you understand why this is good auto advice. Remember, take care of your sedan, and it will take care of you.

San Dimas Drivers: Is It Time To Replace Your PCV Valve?

Improved fuel economy has two benefits: less fuel is necessary and fewer emissions are released. San Dimas cars and trucks run cleaner than ever. San Dimas drivers may not realize that the first federally mandated pollution control device came out almost fifty years ago.

California car owners that were around in the early 60’s may remember that the PCV valve came out on 1964 model cars. PCV stand for Positive Crankcase Ventilation. The crankcase is the lower part of the engine where the crankshaft is housed and where the engine oil lives. The crankshaft is connected to the pistons that power the engine.

When fuel is burned in the sedan engine, it pushes the pistons down and the crankshaft rotates and sends power to the transmission. Some of the explosive gases from combustion squeeze past the pistons and down into the crankcase.

Now this gas is about 70% unburned fuel. If it were allowed to remain in the crankcase, it would contaminate the oil and quickly turn it to sludge. Sludge is like Vaseline and clogs passages in the engine leading to damage.

Also, the pressure build up would blow out seals and gaskets. So in the old days, there was just a hose that vented the crankcase out into the air. Obviously, not good for our air quality in Glendora.

Enter the PCV valve. It’s a small, one-way valve that lets out the gases from the crankcase, and routes them back into the air intake system where they are re-burned in the engine. Fresh air comes into the crankcase through a breather tube. This makes for good circulation in the crankcase. And that gets the bad air out. As you can imagine, however, the valve gets gummed up over time.

San Dimas drivers that skip oil changes now and then will notice that the PCV valve gets gummed up even faster. If the PCV valve is sticking in your sedan, the gases won’t circulate as well, leading to increased pressure in the crankcase. That, in turn, can lead to oil leaks. Fortunately, the PCV valve is very inexpensive to replace at Certified Auto Specialists in Glendora. Some can even be checked by your reliable Certified Auto Specialists advisor.

Your sedan auto makers usually recommend they be changed somewhere between twenty and fifty thousand miles. Unfortunately, PCV valve replacement is left out of some sedan owner’s manuals, but at Certified Auto Specialists, we will make sure your PVC is replaced if needed.

All of us San Dimas car owners can do our part for the environment. Watch that lead foot, stay on top of our automotive maintenance and don’t forget to replace our PCV valve.

Clean Fuel Equals Clean Performance For Glendora Drivers

Hello, Glendora auto owners. Let’s talk fuel filters. Fuel filters clean the dirt, dust and debris out of your fuel. Both gasoline and diesel-powered engines have them. The fuel filter is located in the fuel line between the fuel tank and the engine.

Glendora drivers don’t need to filter their fuel because it has lots of grit in it; they need to filter it because it has some grit it in. Any dirt is bad for your engine. The cleaner the fuel, the better an engine will run.

The harder your fuel filter works, the more often it needs to be replaced. Check with your sedan owner’s manual or Certified Auto Specialists to find out how often it should be serviced and how long you can expect it to last. You should change it before it becomes clogged. Your Certified Auto Specialists service advisor can help you with recommended replacement schedules.

If your fuel filter becomes clogged, your engine will sputter when you drive at California highway speeds or when you accelerate rapidly. A clogged filter allows enough fuel to run the car at low speeds around town in Glendora, but when you need a higher flow of fuel for faster speeds, or if you need a sudden burst of fuel, you just won’t be able to get it through the filter.

A clogged filter is actually dangerous. If you need to accelerate suddenly out of the path of danger, you just won’t have the power to do it.

Fuel filters have a bypass valve. When the filter becomes clogged, the valve allows some fuel to bypass the filter so the engine can keep running – just not enough to be running well.

That means, though, that dirty, unfiltered fuel is entering your engine. Instead of clogging up your filter, that dirt is now getting into your fuel injectors, where it can cause serious damage. Fuel injectors are expensive; fuel filters are cheap. It doesn’t seem like a difficult choice for Glendora drivers.

Fuel filters are the epitome of preventive maintenance. They are cheap and easy to change, but neglecting them can lead to pricey repair bills. Some fuel filters are inside the fuel tank and cannot be routinely serviced – your reliable Certified Auto Specialists service specialist will be able to tell you if this applies to your vehicle.

Good car care for Glendora drivers means following recommended schedules for preventive maintenance, including changing your fuel filters. Take the auto advice offered at Certified Auto Specialists and in every owner’s manual and have your vehicle regularly inspected. It may save you money by preventing costly repairs, but it will also repay you in improved gas mileage, safety and peace of mind.