Time for brakes? Where should you go? Where do I start? What is the real problem? Are all brakes the same? Does it matter? What about brake fluid?

All these are good questions. Here are some good answers. For starters a braking system consists of different parts, all of which can have a problem… Let’s look at some main issues we can encounter:

For brake service, I do recommend going to an ASE Certified Garage/Technician. You may choose to do it yourself, but please be very careful, educate yourself on the procedures, there are a lot of small things you need to keep an eye on. There are a lot of free ’how to’ videos on the internet.

All brake pads and shoes are NOT created equal. Price is normally an indicator of quality and performance. There are several different materials brakes are made of. Organic, Semi-Metallic, Full Metallic, Ceramic and the newest Ferro-Carbon. It is best to find out what your vehicle had from the factory and stay with that quality and material. You can upgrade to a better pad, I never suggest down grading and putting a cheaper less quality brake pad/shoe on your vehicle.

When you step on your brake pedal and your steering wheel shakes back and forth, this normally means that the (main) problem lays more in your rotors; your front rotors are more than likely warped. They can be fixed, by putting them on a brake lathe and having them resurfaced. In order to have this operation performed there must be sufficient material left on the rotors. If there is not enough material (metal), then you must replace the rotors. As with everything, there is a price difference. Quality normally reflects price. Now if you feel the vibration in your seat or floor, then this normally means you have a warped rear rotor or out-of round rear brake drum. They rear drums or rotors can also be machined true if there is enough material. The same procedures hold true for the rear brakes also.

One other part that needs service I will mention short; getting your brake fluid flushed. Never heard of it? Well with conventional brakes the brake fluid never traveled through the system. However with Anti-Lock Brakes the brake fluid travels through the system and it can carry dirt and debris through the system, possibly reducing the performance of the Anti-Lock Brakes.

I hope this is a little help on understanding your vehicles braking system. If you have any questions please feel free to write.

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Why do we ask this question? Is it lack of performance or lack of fuel economy? What is our perception of a tune-up?

Let me clarify some issues…  There is a difference between a gas or diesel engine.

There are two reasons for a tune-up.

1)      Maintenance

2)      Poor performance/Poor fuel economy

Understand that not all Vehicle makes and models require the same procedures. For the most part, every aspect of your vehicle is engineered to a certain standard, whether that be, how long certain wear items last or how long the vehicle will.

For all gasoline engines; tune-up items include, Spark Plugs, Spark plug boots, Air Filter and PCV valve. This is about the only common feature all gasoline engines share. However, some Makes and Models still have spark plug wires and replaceable fuel filters.

There is no more timing to be set, no adjusting the fuel system. Now everything has computer controlled fuel and ignition systems. Not a bad thing, just not commonly understood thing. So what I just described is a Maintenance Tune-Up

The aspect I will discuss is poor performance, whether it is no power or engine is missing. I advise caution on Assuming that a tune-up will fix your problem. Tell your technician the symptoms and concerns and let them diagnose your vehicles issues. I had a customer come in once that had spent $1500.00 on parts trying to fix a miss. When I got it, I diagnosed a bad computer connection, it had water in it. A spray of some electrical contact cleaner and pack the connector with silicon dielectric grease and it was fixed.

In conclusion, the upper percentage of vehicles on the road today are using platinum or iridium spark plugs. They will run 80-100,000 miles under normal service. I advise to have the exact same spark plug installed as from the factory. If fuel economy is your concern, also check your tire pressure and have your vehicle aligned once a year.

Drop me a question if I haven’t answered all your concerns

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One of the first and foremost introductions of synthetic oil is from the Germans, World War II. Since they had virtually no petroleum, they were forced to come up with alternate’s means of lubrication for the machines of war.  In actuality they designed a better lubricant than the petroleum they were missing.

Now let’s look at the differences.

First: Lubrication- Superiority in synthetic oil is down to the molecular level. Basically petroleum oil is nature made and the structure of the molecules is uneven in size and position.  Synthetic oil was designed in a lab by scientist and the molecules are all the same size and the same position. This uniform molecular structure, gives the synthetic oil better lubricating properties because it gives more surface area for the parts to ride on, thus causing less friction and heat. The result of which is less wear and more power.

Second: Cooling- Synthetic normally flows more freely than conventional petroleum oil. In turn this allows the synthetic oil to carry heat away from engine parts faster than conventional. The other factor here is synthetic oil reduces friction heat to start with.

Third: Cleaning- Synthetic oil additives and base have better cleaning properties than conventional, partially due to their ability to resist acid build up from the engine, in turn not breaking the oil down.

Forth: Sealing- Synthetic oil normally aides in prolonging engine seals. Synthetic oils have very good cleaning capabilities, in some cases on higher mileage engines, we have seen synthetic oil clean the sludge out of a worn seal (we didn’t notice the seal was worn before because the sludge was holding the worn seal together).

Fifth: Absorb Shock- Engines are dynamic machines with a lot of moving parts. A lot of shock and load can be put on the components. The synthetic oil has a better film between moving parts, this more uniformed structure of the oil allows better support on the moving part and in turn helps in absorbing shock and distributing the load.

I personally run Amsoil in my vehicles, I have tested it extensively and I am impressed.  I run Amsoil in my turbocharged as well as my regular truck engine. It works exceptionally well in Diesel engines. I also have Amsoil synthetic in my transmission and rear differential. I have picked up 3-5 miles to the gallon and I have more power. Why, because synthetic oil frees up parasitic load (friction) the engine, transmission and rear differential uses to turn, in turn I get the extra power from the engine. I know when you spill it on the floor; it is a lot slicker than conventional oil, so be careful.

Well I hope this helps with any questions you may have had, drop me a line if you have a question.

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From the moment I’ve had my driver’s license I’ve always had some sort of sporty car; from my first a 1969 Camaro, a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 to a 1976 Rally Sport Camaro, to what I now have; a 2002 Subaru WRX. I have worked for Mercedes-Benz and Dodge and I am a certified Dodge Viper Specialist. And with a career as a dealership mechanic, I have gotten to drive a huge number of fine cars.

I live in the mountains of West Virginia, and to say the least, we have some of the most interesting driving roads in the country. I drive one of them daily; State Route 60, the Midland Trail, a road after the heart of any driving enthusiast.  This road has a  little bit of everything, it is a two lane blacktop road with,  S-turns, Sweepers, Ascending and Descending apex turns, Switchbacks, Hairpins and some passing lanes. You must pass on the curvy truck passing lanes though because the only feature it does not have is the straight stretch. But this all adds to the excitement of the experience. This road is actually on one of the Top Ten driving roads in the country.

The best part of the drive starts at the base of the mountain, in Gauley Bridge, WV. Do Not Speed in these little towns, very bored police present. The road goes from Gauley Bridge for about 40 miles to I-64. Besides being fun it also has absolutely beautiful scenery, Hawks Nest State Park for instance, may be worth stopping for a moment to drink in the wondrous views, and perhaps get a glimpse of a Hawk, or now even a Bald- or Golden Eagle.

I drive this wonderful road in my Subaru WRX, what an amazing little car this is. It has excellent road manners, and a little over steer, which is actually an advantage once you get used to it. I ran a set of Michelin Pilot tires one season, these gripped so well; I thought they would rip the struts off my car. They must have added at least half a “G” in the turns, when I was driving spiritedly because at the end of the season my wheel bearings were up for replacement…

I have to add here: I do not advocate reckless driving; you should always be in complete control of your vehicle and never put anyone else in danger. I never exceed the speed limit and I am always careful with other drivers around, so should you!

I hope you can experience this wonderful road, in a car or a motorcycle; it is actually on the “Run to the Wall” route. I know as a driving enthusiast it gives me great pleasure to be able to drive this road daily.

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Would you think the tire is still usable after 10 years? And I cannot imagine how hard it may be to get it
off after so many years.
What should I have done maybe years ago and what should I do at this point, since I may experience a flat some time?

A: A good question! This event plays out over and over.

Try to remove the spare, if successful, inspect the tire for any signs of cracks or dry rot. Inspect the valve core in the same manner. Inspect the tread, looking for any deviations. If you do not feel comfortable inspecting your tire yourself, take it to a reputable tire facility for professional inspection.

In the future if you find yourself with a new truck, opt for the full size spare option. Start a 5 tire rotation schedule, rotating your spare into normal use. This way you will wear down all the tires equally, get overall worn mileage on all of them. You get more mileage out of your tires (since you use one extra) and you won’t have to throw out a never used, dry rotted spare tire after a few years (which is a waste).

A: There are a few things you can do;

To make sure the part they want to replace needs fixing, you can request to be shown the bad part, and you can take pictures or even video it, most cell phones will record a few seconds. With this you could get a second opinion from me through our ‘Ask Tk’ form.

You can certainly buy your own part; I advise calling several different part stores before purchasing. Understand that different brands of parts come in different quality, with different prices and different warranties.

After you have the repairs done you can request the old parts as well.

Headlights didn’t used to do this, so why does this happen nowadays? The main reason headlights become faded and yellowed is because now they are made of different types of plastic, instead of glass…

The plastic degrades easily by UV rays from the sun. There is another factor at plays here as well; the plastic is less chemical resistant, and picking up road grime only aides in the degradation process.

All this yellowing and fading does not allow a lot of light to shine through, in turn may reduce your ability to safely drive at night.

So what can you do about this yellow headlight issue? There are several options I can suggest depending upon the severity of the headlight lens degradation.

-          For light to medium degradation there are refinishing kits on the market. Refinishing is normally fairly easy. They typically consist of several very fine grits of wet sanding paper (1000 to 2000 grit) and a finishing polishing compound.

-         For more severe headlight degradation there are basically two options: send off for professional refinishing (you can find companies online that do this) or replacement. You can go with factory replacement or with an aftermarket company that makes new headlight assemblies for most cars, sometimes at fewer costs than factory OEM parts.

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A: I have to agree with Acura here… minimum octane rating for your engine (2.3 liter 4 cylinder with 240 horsepower) is 91.

Premium fuel is part of a turbocharged gasoline engine. Understand this; it is not that your engine won’t run on lower grade fuel, it will, however you won’t get proper performance from your engine with a lower grade gas. You will have less power and you will not be able to gain RPM as easily. This will make the engine actually use more gas to get the same performance as with a higher grade gas.

The biggest problem however will be the fact that you may also get unwanted noise from your engine (knocking or clattering). Your engine has a “Knock Sensor” that will sense this and it will attempt to adjust ignition timing to eliminate or reduce the knock. Long term knock can be damaging to your engine.

So though you might think you save money by buying lower grade gas, you in fact will do the opposite, you will end up spending more on gas and on possible engine repairs.

A: A big yes, you should replace your timing belt. You should replace the timing belt somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000 miles, manual transmission or automatic. The owner’s manual normally has the timing belt change intervals mentioned. Severe engine damage could occur if belt breaks, so changing the belt in time is crucial.

But what does it mean exactly, when the engine light comes on? The main thing your engine light is telling you when it is on is that there is something wrong with the Emission output of your vehicle…

When your engine light comes on it means that something in the drive train of your vehicle (the engine, transmission or differentials) has malfunctioned to the point that it has changed the standard fuel and exhaust emission output, for the year, make and model of your vehicle.

For example, an engine miss would change the output of your emission. When the engine miss-fires (misses) it expels unburned fuel and air out the exhaust, causing more pollution.

The exhaust has oxygen sensors which monitor the amount of oxygen in the exhaust emissions, when the oxygen levels are out of parameters too long the computer in your vehicle, that receives all the information of the performance of your vehicle, turns on the ‘check engine’ light. You may never feel your vehicle run badly and still the check engine light would be on. The computer in your vehicle will also store a trouble code and it will freeze frame data of the event, making it easier for a technician to diagnose your vehicle and see what the exact problem is.

There are numerous emissions monitored that way, for example, the amount of fuel vapor that returns to your fuel tank is also monitored. That system goes through routine testing; it lightly pressurizes the vapor return hoses, piping and fuel tank. If it would leak off pressure (which means raw fuel vapor being emitted into the atmosphere) this system would notice and it would turn on the light as well.

The stored data in the computer of your vehicle, like I mentioned, makes it easier for the technician to find the cause of the problem, with the data of the computer he can pinpoint the location that gives trouble. Understand though that that when someone accesses the trouble codes in the computer of your vehicle, it may have a sensor reference with it that says something like: ‘O2 sensor lean’ or ‘rich’. This does not necessarily mean the sensor itself is lean, rich or bad in any way, in this case the sensor might tell us the oxygen levels are way off, but this is where the technician checks under the hood…

At one point I had a customer call my garage one day frustrated because he had four new oxygen sensors and his check engine light kept coming back on. The part store had sold him new oxygen sensors because their ‘trouble code reader’ said “‘Oxygen sensor too lean” and they thought the sensor were bad… However when he pulled up to my garage I could hear what sounded like a large vacuum leak on his engine (sucking air in where it is not supposed to go in). When he explained his concern, I installed my Diagnostic Computer, and sure enough he had an ‘Oxygen sensor too lean’ code, but when I examined his engine I found the vacuum leak. Al I had to do was a slight repair with a vacuum hose worth 50 cents; clear the code in his computer and a road test after.

In this example the oxygen sensors had been performing properly, but they were not actually ‘lean’, instead that was their way of telling the computer that there was too much oxygen leaving the engine, the cause of this was the vacuum leak. The air inlet sensor did not know that extra air was entering the engine, but the oxygen sensor in the exhaust did notice the extra oxygen that was leaving the engine, from the emission program in the exhaust, this illuminated the ‘check engine’ light.