Transmission Care in Quincy, IL
Posted September 29, 2017 8:14 AM
Do you have any plans around Quincy, IL, for the weekend? Maybe you and some friends are taking the boat up to the lake. Maybe you'll be having a lot of fun water skiing and doing a little fishing.
You got the boat all ready. It's all gassed up. You packed lots of snacks and the cooler's stocked – ready to go.
How about your tow vehicle? It has plenty of gas and you've even vacuumed it out, but is your auto maintenance up to date?
Stop and think. You'll have some heavy traffic on your way out of town. Hilly terrain as you get to the lake. Some dirt roads – and you may have hot weather. And all the time you're going to be towing around a lot of extra weight.
That all adds up a lot of severe strain on your engine, brakes and transmission. Your transmission's going to be working overtime, spending more time in lower gears. The internal transmission temperature is going to be much higher than normal. What's a fun little blast to the lake for you is really severe duty for your transmission.
It's important that you have enough transmission fluid. If you're running low, the transmission will run too hot and won't have the protection it needs to cope with the added stress of towing.
And if it's time for a transmission service, you really should have it done at Spring Street Automotive Inc before your trip. Transmission fluid breaks down and gets dirty over time. Whether you have an automatic or manual transmission, you need to have it serviced on schedule to make sure it runs efficiently.
Automatic transmissions contain a maze of passages that the fluid has to pass through to keep them shifting smoothly. If you neglect transmission service, the passages can get clogged up and you start to have problems. Neglect your transmission for too long and it can fail. Believe us – you don't want to pay for a major transmission repair.
You know, most of us in Quincy, IL, do a lot of our driving under severe conditions. Towing or hauling a big load is obvious, but there are lots of other things that constitute severe driving conditions. Things like short trips or driving in very hot or very cold weather. Also, dusty roads, city driving around Quincy, and basically any driving that's not at highway speeds or under ideal conditions is severe driving. We all need to think about whether or not we need to follow the severe service schedule.
So, consider going in for a full service oil change before you leave for the lake to make sure everything has been looked at. Ask for a trip inspection while you're at it. Your Quincy, IL, service technician at Spring Street Automotive Inc can check your belts and hoses and let you know if your brakes are in good shape.
Don't forget the sunscreen. And to thank your Spring Street Automotive Inc service technician, how about bringing him back a nice trout?
Spring Street Automotive Inc
1701 Spring Street
Quincy, IL 62301
217-228-9141
http://www.springstreetauto.com
Fuel Injection Basics for Quincy
Posted September 12, 2017 12:49 PM
All modern Quincy vehicles come with fuel injection systems, so it's a topic Quincy drivers need to know something about. The mighty fuel injector is a valve that delivers the gas or diesel fuel to the right place, in the right amount at the right time—to be mixed with air and burned in the engine.
So how many fuel injectors does your vehicle have? There's one for each cylinder. So four, six or eight for most folks in Quincy, IL. Some vehicles have 10 or 12 cylinders. The engine control computer makes adjustments to the fuel injector as it monitors the engine and other sensors. Fuel injectors are a pretty high-tech.
Spring Street Automotive Inc can help Quincy drivers with a fuel injector cleaning service. What's the benefit? In order to work right, the fuel injectors have to deliver the fuel at a precise pressure at a very precise time. It's important that the fuel is sprayed in a particular pattern as determined by the engine design.
Over time, varnish can start to build up in the fuel injectors, effecting the pressure, pattern and timing of the fuel charge. The result is that the fuel doesn't get burned as efficiently as it could. That robs performance and hurts fuel economy.
What about dirty fuel? How does that affect the fuel injectors? The fuel injectors are the last stop in the fuel system. It starts at the fuel tank. Frankly, the best way to keep your fuel injectors working well is to use high quality fuel. It's tempting to shop for bargains in Quincy with fuel prices as high as they are, but major brands in the Quincy, IL, area have better detergents and additives and deliver consistent quality.
What about a good fuel filter? The fuel filter is component of the fuel system. Its job is to filter out the dirt and rust that collect in the fuel tank. If it's clogged up, the dirt will bypass the filter and head upstream to the fuel injectors.
It's important to replace the fuel filter when your manufacturer recommends it. That's part of a comprehensive fuel system cleaning.
There are different kinds of fuel injection systems. Port fuel injection systems, the kind most gasoline engines have, operate at 60 pounds per square inch. The injectors for the new gas direct injection engines Quincy drivers are starting to see require 10 to 30 times as much pressure. And some diesel engines for passenger vehicles have injectors that operate at 30,000 pounds or more per square inch. There's no room for dirt and gum in a precision part like that.
There are a lot of good products available in Quincy, IL, that can clean fuel injectors. They're best used to prevent fouling in the fuel injectors. Many can't clean a seriously gummed up injector – that requires a professional deep cleaning, like those we offer at Spring Street Automotive Inc in Quincy. But putting the cleaner in the fuel tank after you've had Spring Street Automotive Inc take a look at your fuel system will help keep it clean. Be sure to read the label for directions.
Give us a call if you think your vehicle may be ready for a fuel injector cleaning.
Spring Street Automotive Inc
1701 Spring Street
Quincy, IL 62301
217-228-9141
http://www.springstreetauto.com
Busted: The Maintenance-Free Myth in Quincy
Posted September 3, 2017 4:49 AM
There's a segment of the Quincy area population that's not committed to proper vehicle maintenance.
Now, the ignition system in your vehicle is electronic and controlled by the engine management computer. Spark plugs rarely get fouled and will last for as much as 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometers). So tune-ups used to force you in to Spring Street Automotive Inc for service, and while you were there you just took care of whatever else was on the list.
Also, in recent years, a large percentage of new vehicles in Quincy have been leased. These folks plan on turning the vehicle in after two or three years, so they haven't focused on the maintenance that helps a vehicle last longer.
Given all that, what's the benefit to keeping up with factory scheduled maintenance? Well, your vehicle will perform better and return better fuel economy.
Those benefits pay for themselves as they go along. The big plus is that major repairs are prevented. And these aren't just repairs that are a long way off. Modern vehicle engines are far more sophisticated and have many parts that are in critical need of proper lubrication. Missing just one oil change can allow oil sludge to start forming. Sludge clogs small engine passages, robbing parts of the lubrication they need. An expensive failure could easily occur within two or three years.
And modern engines require more sophisticated fluids. Because of the different types of materials that are used to make auto parts, things like aluminum, plastics and steel, different types of additives are required to protect automotive components from corrosion. These additives deplete with time as well as with use.
Taking care of the little things now prevents big problems later. At Spring Street Automotive Inc, we have been taking care of all those little things for years. Your vehicle still needs to be taken care of – it's just that some of those points of care have changed with automotive advancements. The need for proper maintenance in Quincy drivers vehicles did not go away.
Spring Street Automotive Inc
1701 Spring Street
Quincy, IL 62301
217-228-9141
http://www.springstreetauto.com