Mishawaka Auto Repair

Can I drive with a Coolant Leak? Sometimes this question is asked to late, driving with a Coolant Leak that is left unattended will cause major damage to the Engine. On this particular Vehicle the Coolant was left to almost run out. When this happens your Vehicle can not properly cool your engine to a normal running Temperature. When your Engine overheats, damage can occur to the Block and Heads of the Engine. The Gaskets were blown. When this happens further damage can occur. There was a deep crack in the Head, we had to replace the Engine. #Engine Repair #Engine Replacement  

What does a Water Pump do? When your Engine can reach Temperatures of 195 to over 200 on a regular day. Imagine what our severe Indiana Temperatures can do to the water in your Radiator. The Coolant and Anti-Freeze in your Vehicle circulates through your Engine. This coolant is controlled by your Water Pump. Ensuring that the Coolant keeps moving through you Engine Block and Radiator. The Coolant also passes thru Hoses keeping the proper temperature to operate your Vehicle

A customer had his car towed in because the Vehicle had Intermittent Starting Issues. We had to Diagnosis the Vehicle and found it had a GPS Tracking System that was faulty. GPS Tracking is an acronym:  Global Positioning System. It involves an organization of 24 satellites in orbit and Tools on the ground that can set up an individual or article's area on Earth with shocking accuracy. GPS Tracking tracks three separate informational indexes: situating, route, and timing.   From preventive maintenance to major repairs, Ricks Auto Service at 405 W. Jefferson Blvd. Call 574-255-4724, or visit online: https://ricksautoservice.org/ #RicksAutoService #MishawakaMechanic #MishawaAutoRepair #No Start #Alignment  

Symptoms of a bad or worn Ball Joint: One of the Symptoms of a bad or worn-out Ball Joint, is your tire will show excessive wear on the inside or outside of the Tire.. Tires may also show wear from any problems with the Steering or it has been a while since you have had the Vehicle Aligned. You may also be hearing odd sounds such as a faint bang, grinding or popping noise coming from the corner of the Vehicle. With a worn Ball there is to much free motion. You may also feel the Vehicle pull from side to side, or a Steering Wheel shaking excessively. The Ball Joint connects to the Steering and Suspension. Any of these above signs may be a red flag, give us a call or go online to make an appointment so we can keep your family safe driving on the road

Why are my Brakes making a grinding noise? This picture shows how worn both sides are with the right being worn a little more. These Brakes were Grinding, making a very loud noise every time the customer braked!  It is good to have your Brakes inspected at least annually if not every 6 months. The reason for this is to catch minor problems before they become major or more costly problems. What do I notice if I have brake problems. Pulsating when braking whether at low speeds or high speeds can be caused by warped Brake Rotors or Brake Drums which can affect stopping distances. Squeaking can be caused by Brake warning tabs or inexpensive quality of Brake Pads. Grinding is usually cause because brake pads are completely worn out and you have metal on metal rubbing against each other. Soft brakes, can be caused by a number of things including, worn out brake parts, air in the brake hydraulic system or under adjusted brakes. Brake smells, If you have a part o ... read more

  REMEMBER: Driving on a flat tire can cause internal structural damage to the TIRE, may lead to wheel and vehicle damage and may result in poor vehicle handling and control. Steps to Follow The interesting thing about tire blowouts is that they require you to act counterintuitively. While your instincts may tell you to slam on your brakes and veer off the road if your tire blows out, this is actually the exact opposite of what you should do. Don’t Panic You’ll be doing yourself a huge favor by not shutting down and entering crisis mode when you have a tire blowout. So after your tire blows out, remain as calm as possible, and put the following procedure into place. Keep Control of Your Vehicle Again, though you may want to brake, you need to keep your foot on the gas pedal. Continue steering in the direction that you are heading, rather than veering immediately to get off the ro ... read more

PLEASE DON’T TRY TO BE IN  HURRY IN THIS WEATHER, that’s about the best travel advice I can give you. “What to do and not do when you are in a car accident?” If you are our driving today and tonight please be careful, there is a sheet of ice here and there on the road. So, even being careful you hit someone or someone hits you. “What Should you do?”   You should never drive away from the scene of the accident. Do drive it if you still can to the side of the road, if you can’t leave it for the tow truck. If you have flares use them (don’t do anything if you are hurt, wait for police or ambulance.). If you think someone needs medical help call 911. Call the Police, they can help with traffic, collect evidence, talk to witnesses, and file a report. If able take notes: draw map of accident scene, write down vehicle and property damage, get insurance information.—This maybe hard to do because if in an acci ... read more

Let’s start the new year not only changing our personal habits, but how about our driving habits? I don’t know about you, but bad habits, or laziness sort of creeps on us. If you see yourself not doing any of these(I was guilty of a few), then make a change today. KEEP THE PHONE AWAY Texting or talking on your phone(we think it is multi-tasking!!) does lead to countless road accidents. From research, listening reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%. Don’t be distracted. STICK TO THE SPEED LIMIT Stick to the speed limit, it safer and cheaper. It certain spots you can be fined heavily for going over the speed limit. SAFE FOLLOWING DISTANCE I think when we are rushing we tend to crowd the car in front of us. Leaving a 2-3 second gap between you and the driver in front of you, can keep us from rear-ending that driver, if they stop suddenly. TURN ON YOUR HEADLIGHTS WHEN NEEDED ... read more

How much do brakes cost to replace? This is one of the most frequent questions that we receive from our customers when calling on the phone. Without first looking at your car and checking out what exactly the problem is, is really doing you, our customer a disservice. What your brother or neighbor needs done on their brakes may be different then what your car will need. If you called a doctor with an aching bum knee, you would expect to make an appointment and have him look at your knee. If he said just take two aspirins or we are doing a whole knee replacement without taking x-rays or even doing an MRI, you would be shocked. So, think of us as your car doctor, let us give your car a health assessment. We do an assessment on every oil change, we cover your belts, filters, check your fluids, brakes, tires, and much more than that. Let us keep your car healthy and you worry about your knees!!! #brakerepair #mechanic #autorepair #oilchange

I was wrong, had to dig deep in FB to fine the winner Jeff Shrock won, there were some close answers, but I went to our Tech. He said the closest was Vent Valve. The part is a two-way valve or a vapor vent control valve(VVCV). A VVCV or two-way Valve, is an emission control valve that prevents fuel vapors from escaping into the atmosphere. The VVCV is controlled by the engine control module(ECM) and allows air flow into the charcoal canister to purge the gas vapors into the engine air intake to be burned. #Emissions #EmissionControlValve #Atmosphere #Maintenance