Express Car Care of Denver

"Denver's Best Auto Repair and Quick Lube"

Radiator Fans

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Denver drivers who are old enough have probably heard the term “fan belt”.  Back in the day, the radiator fan in your vehicle was turned by a belt driven by the engine.  There are still belt driven fans, although most are now driven by the serpentine belt.  But most vehicles now have electric fans that draw fresh air across the radiator to cool it.

As coolant/antifreeze circulates in the cooling system, it captures heat from the engine and flows into the radiator.  Air cools the radiator and the coolant in it before it sends it back into the engine to pick up some more heat.  Now your engine has an ideal temperature range in which it is most efficient:  it shouldn’t be too hot or too cool.  The electric radiator fans help maintain the ideal temperature.

A switch mounted in a cooling system passage checks the temperature of the coolant.  If the coolant is at the low end of the range, the switch turns off the fan motor.  When the coolant rises to a certain temperature,  the switch turns on the fan.  When you are running the air conditioning, the radiator fan will likely be turned on as well to help reduce the extra engine heat created by the load placed on it by the air conditioner.

A lot of vehicles will actually have two radiator fans.  One, both or neither may be running at any given time depending on the conditions.  When you are cruising at highway speed, the air rushing over the radiator and around the engine will help control the heat.  By contrast, stop and go driving around town doesn’t generate much natural air flow so the radiator fans will be working hard.

Some drivers may hear the sound of the radiator fan running after turning the vehicle off. This keeps the engine from heating excessively after it has been run and shut off.

Both the radiator fan motors and the switch are wear items that will eventually fail.  If your temperature light comes on while driving, you have a cooling system problem.  Your knowledgeable Express Car Care service adviser can test your entire cooling system, including the radiator fans, to determine what is causing the indicator light.  Of course, servicing the cooling system as recommended will help extend the life of all the components.  Ask your Express Car Care service adviser if you are due for a cooling system service.

Tire Rotation & Balancing Answers

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Question:  How do I know when I should get my tires rotated and balanced?

Express Car Care Answer:  The interval for tire rotation could depend on a recommendation from either the tire manufacturer or the vehicle manufacturer.  The background question for drivers is “why do tires need to be rotated?”

Front tires wear differently than the rear tires because steering wears the shoulders faster up front.  Rotating the position of the tires allows for more even wear among all the tires.   The suspension set-up on certain vehicles may also affect the relative wear between the front and rear tires.  There are several tire rotation patterns and your knowledgeable Express Car Care professional will make sure that you get the correct pattern for your particular vehicle.

Wheels and tires are not perfectly balanced due to slight variations in the manufacturing process and the placement of tire pressure monitoring sensors.  So weights are strategically placed on the wheel to ensure that the tire spins true.  When a wheel is out of balance it is essentially bouncing thousands of extra times as you drive.  This can result in an uncomfortable vibration for drivers in the steering wheel or through the seat.  An unbalanced tire will also wear more quickly and it’s also punishing on your shocks and struts.

Drivers should have their wheel balanced if they detect a vibration or uneven wear.  A wheel balance check every year is a good idea.  Because tires cost so much in our area, it’s a great idea to do everything you can do to make them last as long as possible.  Proper inflation, regular tire rotation and balancing are the keys to long tire life.  The team at Express Car Care can check your tires for signs of uneven wear and diagnose and correct the problem.

Simple Answers: Air Conditioner

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Question:  Why isn’t my air conditioner blowing cold air?

Express Car Care Answer:  Your air conditioner uses refrigerant to create cold air.  The most common reasons drivers lose their cold air have to do with the refrigerant.

The first reason is not enough refrigerant.  Refrigerant is a gas in the air conditioning system and if there are small holes in a hose, seal or coupler, enough gas can leak out and prevent the system from creating cold air.

Another potential problem for auto owners is contamination.  Over time, the inside of the rubber hoses can deteriorate, and little bits of rubber can clog up various filters and other parts of the vehicle air conditioning system, preventing proper circulation of the refrigerant.  A component of the system could also be worn or broken.  So the first step for drivers who can’t cool their vehicle is a thorough air conditioning inspection, looking for leaks and worn parts.  In fact, Federal law requires an inspection before adding refrigerant.  Some states do not allowing topping off a leaking system.

Once any repairs are made, refrigerant is added.  At the same time, special oil is added to the system.  This oil cools and lubricates various components as it circulates along with the refrigerant.  If you have a refrigerant leak, you also have an oil leak – and it’s important that both be replenished for proper function and protection of your A/C system.

Sometimes overlooked by drivers is the fact that a worn serpentine belt ( which drives the A/C compressor) leads to belt slippage which puts additional strain on the compressor.  Replacing your serpentine belt and belt tensioner on schedule at Express Car Care will extend the life of your A/C compressor and other belt driven accessories.

Come in and see us.

Guide to Battery Maintenance

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In today’s Express Car Care auto care blog, we are focusing on battery maintenance.  Eventually your car battery will fail and you will need to replace it. In fact, 70% of batteries don’t even make it four years.  There are some things drivers can do, however, to make their battery last a little bit longer.

It’s all about the flow of electrical power.  When you start your vehicle, the battery uses power to get your engine cranking.  As your engine runs, your alternator generates electricity to run all your electrical systems:  lights, several computers, anti-lock brake system, traction control, power windows, electronic fuel injectors, stability control, air conditioning, – the list goes on.  Any leftover electricity goes to recharge your vehicle’s battery.

Now, if you were on a long road trip, no sweat – you’d have plenty of time to fully recharge your battery.  But not if you’re making stops around town.  Every time you start your engine, your battery takes that big hit again.  Multiple starts – multiple hits.  By the time you get home, you have less than a full charge.

When the battery is continuously in a discharged state, it loses its ability to fully recharge.  This starts a downward spiral in your battery life.  Now when your battery is on its way to getting this bad, your alternator is working overtime trying to keep it charged.  This causes your alternator to wear out prematurely.  A lot of experience technicians suggest replacing your battery after five years, even though it hasn’t yet failed, just as a maintenance item to extend the life of your alternator.

There is something simple you can do to help your battery last longer – by hooking up a battery charger once a month in the summer and every three months in the winter.  This will ensure your car battery routinely has a full charge.  You can do this less often in the winter because the electro-chemical process slows down when it’s colder and less damage is done when your battery is low.  Computerized battery chargers are real easy to use because they monitor and control the charging rate to keep the battery from overheating while it’s charging.

We recommend that you ask your service adviser to test your battery, so you know how much life is left.  If it’s good but needs a battery maintenance service, he’ll have it cleaned up and make sure the connections and cables are good.  If it looks like you ought to replace it, he’ll help you with a battery that’s right for your vehicle and your driving needs.  Give us a call.

PCV Valve Replacement

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The PCV valve is a small, inexpensive part that does a big job for Denver and our environment here.  PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation.  The crankcase is the bottom area of the engine that holds the oil.  When the engine’s running, fuel is burned to generate power.  Most of the exhaust from combustion goes out through the exhaust system.  But some exhaust blows by the pistons and goes into the lower engine, or crankcase.

These hot gases hold about 70 percent of the fuel that hasn’t burned.  This can dilute and contaminate the oil, leading to damaging engine oil sludge.  It can also cause engine corrosion.  At high speeds, the pressure can build up to the point that gaskets and seals start to leak.  Over time, the vented gases will gum up the PCV valve and it won’t work well.  That can lead to oil leaks, excessive oil consumption, and reduced fuel economy.

Fortunately, it’s very easy to test the PCV valve, and it’s quick and inexpensive to replace at Express Car Care in Denver.  Even so, it’s often overlooked because many drivers don’t know about it.  Check in your owner’s manual or ask your service adviser.  If this is the first time you’ve heard of a PCV valve, you might be in need of a replacement.

For the price of a couple of burger combo meals at your favorite drive-up window, you can avoid some very expensive deep engine repairs.  So don’t hesitate to ask questions about PCV valve replacement, give us a call.

Keep It Straight-Wheel Alignment

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Have you ever been in your local grocery store and had one of those shopping carts?  You know, the one with a messed up wheel that wobbles like crazy.  Your cart shakes and pulls to one side and if you’re not careful, it’s clean up on aisle nine.

Wheel alignment on your vehicle is a lot like that.  One or more of your wheels can get out of alignment and you feel a vibration in your steering wheel, which may also be off-center.  Your vehicle might pull to one side and your tires start to wear unevenly.  If you’re not paying attention you could chew through a tire in a few months.

Sometimes wheels get knocked out of alignment by something big like hitting a curb on a bumpy road or slamming into a pothole.  But everyday driving takes a toll too and vehicles naturally lose alignment over time.  That’s why we recommend an alignment check at regular intervals.  At Express Car Care, we offer a full menu of quality auto repair and maintenance services, including wheel alignment.

In your alignment inspection, your friendly and helpful technician will check your tires and your suspension system for damage.  He’ll test your alignment to see if it’s within specifications.  If not, he can make the necessary adjustments to get the wheels of your vehicle all pointing the same direction again.

If your vehicle pulls to one side, or you feel a vibration in the steering wheel, if your tires seem to be wearing abnormally, talk with your service adviser.  You may need to put an alignment inspection at the top of your to-do list.

Give us a call or come in and see us.

Maintenance Free Myth

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Myths start with a grain of truth and are then built up and circulated around with a lot of imagination and very elastic logic.  Unfortunately the internet is a breeding ground for automotive myths.  Some car bloggers recall the vehicles of yesteryear and declare their modern descendants 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 myths going around and look at the truth behind them.  The first one is that the chassis no longer needs lubrication for suspension, steering and the drive line.  They declare that any service center who has charged you for lubrication is a charlatan.  The truth on which the myth is based is that most vehicles come from the factory with sealed joints and cannot be greased.  However, there are still some grease points on some cars.  A grease fitting may have been installed in conjunction with a repair.  And most trucks and truck based SUVs still require chassis lubrication.  This is because they are more heavy duty, and proper greasing is still required to keep them running.  Talk to us at Express Car Care in Denver.

Another common myth is that modern cars don’t need tune-ups.  Do cars need tune-ups?  That depends on your definition of a tune-up, which has changed as the technology has progressed.  Before engine control computers, electronic ignition and fuel injection, a tune-up meant replacing mechanical parts that wore out.  You’d manually adjust fuel and air mix and timing.  When those adjustments were off, spark plugs would fail and need to be replaced.

That definition doesn’t apply to modern vehicles.  Auto service centers generally consider a tune-up to be the major service visit recommended by your vehicle’s manufacturer.

Of course you can’t lubricate a sealed joint, or adjust a carburetor if your car doesn’t have one.  You don’t need to change spark plugs every year if your manufacturer says they can go longer.  What are these car bloggers getting so worked up about?

The danger with these maintenance free myths is that they prevent drivers from taking care of the routine preventative car maintenance that manufacturers DO recommend.  Below is a partial list of things you still need to do to take care of your car.  How many of them are really any different today than they were 20 or 30 years ago?

Oil change, cooling system service, transmission service, tire balancing and rotation, wheel alignment, suspension service, power steering service, brake service, engine air filter, fuel filter, belts, hoses, windshield wipers…

You get the picture. Your car or truck is still a machine that needs to be maintained and your technicians have always adapted to keep pace with automotive technology. Don’t let yourself be fooled by those maintenance free myths.

Differential Service

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When you take a corner in your car, the outside wheels have a little bit longer distance to cover than the inside wheels.  This means that the outside wheels have to turn slightly faster than the inside wheels.  This mechanical magic is made possible by the differential.

The differential is what allows the drive wheels to rotate at different speeds during turns without the wheels sticking or jumping.  If your vehicle is a rear-wheel drive, the differential is located on the rear axle.  If you’ve noticed a bulge in the middle of the axle when you’re driving behind a truck, that’s the differential.

If your vehicle is a front-wheel drive, the function of the differential is handled by the transaxle.  Of course, an all-wheel drive vehicle has a differential on both axles.  They also have a center differential or a transfer case between the front and rear axles to compensate for speed differences between the front and rear.

Because all the power of the engine is transferred through the various differentials, you can imagine how strong they need to be and that they’re built to last a long time.  That’s why it’s so important to keep your differential properly lubricated.  Differential fluid cools and protects the gears.

Your service technician will check the differential fluid level and top it off if necessary.  With low fluid, the differential will run too hot and wear prematurely.  Ask your service adviser for the recommended time to change your differential fluid.  Fresh fluid will extend the life of your differential.  Your service technician will also inspect the u-joints, which connect your driveshaft to the differential and he may recommend service.  Some u-joints can be lubricated as part of a routine lube, oil and filter change as well.

Now , of course, differentials eventually wear out and need to be replaced.  You might notice a strange noise from your axle area as one of the first warning signs.  When the differential shows signs of failing, it’s important to repair it quickly.  If you leave it too long and it freezes up when you’re driving, you could lose control of your vehicle, as well as cause damage to other parts like the axle, driveshaft or transmission.

Advice on Your Cooling System

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Last week I was out running errands and my temperature warning light came on – total panic!  I pulled over and my car was overheating.  After I waited for it to cool down, I went right into my Denver service center to have them take a look.  My service adviser at Express Car Care told me my water pump was leaking and needed to be replaced.  He said water pumps just wear out and that they need to be replaced, because they have the important task of pumping the coolant that cools the engine while it’s running.

He told me they checked out my radiator hoses, serpentine belt and tensioner and that they were fine, but I was overdue for changing my coolant – embarrassingly overdue.  I didn’t realize there was a schedule in my owner’s manual for when to change my coolant.  My Express Car Care service professional said that the coolant actually becomes corrosive over time and could damage my radiator, head gaskets, intake manifold gaskets, heater core, metal cooling pipes, expansion plugs,…the list goes on.  That’s why they recommend changing the fluid on schedule.

So after they replaced the coolant with the kind my owner’s manual recommends and after learning a difficult lesson, I was on my way.  It feels good knowing my cooling system is healthy now and I don’t need to worry about it.  At least until my next scheduled coolant change.

Clean Air For Your Engine

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Every vehicle owner who has taken their car in for an oil change has been told at one time or another that their engine air filter is dirty.  These are the steps that go into determining when your engine air filter needs to be changed.

First, your vehicle owner’s manual will have a recommendation of when to change the filter.  Second, a visual inspection by your service technician may determine that your filter is visibly dirty and needs to be changed.

So between your vehicle owner’s manual and your technician’s inspection there is very little guesswork involved.

Now, most air filters purchased in the Denver area don’t cost a whole lot to replace, but most of us don’t really enjoy getting caught with an unexpected expense.  On the plus side, though, changing a dirty air filter at Express Car Care can often save enough on gas to pay for itself before your next oil change.

You can compare it to a dirty furnace filter in your home.  When it’s all clogged up, enough clean air can’t get through and your furnace struggles to heat your home.  In your vehicle, a dirty air filter means that your engine can’t get as much air as it needs to burn the fuel efficiently.  So it makes do with less air and has to use more gas to move your vehicle around on the roads.

Your vehicle actually needs about 12,000 gallons of clean air for every gallon of gas it burns to run efficiently.  So give your vehicle some clean air for your engine and have your air filter changed.  It doesn’t cost a lot initially and saves you money in the long run, while also protecting your engine and giving it better performance.

Brakes Service

Oil Change

Suspension

Transmision Service

Engine Service

Auto Tips & Tricks