Category Archives: Fuel Economy

Issues that can effect fuel economy

Brake pad noises and wear out explained

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Brake noise is a common part of brake operation. A majority of the time you will hear nothing inside your vehicle. Worn brake pads can make noises you would hear inside your vehicle. The most common noises are a crunch or runch sound. Another noise you may hear is a high pitch shriek. Shriek noises are very common with very worn brake pads or budget “cheep quality” brake pads, even if newly installed.

I like to install OE dealer brake parts when ever possible. OE parts fit correctly and offer the best noise control for the life of the brake pads.

When grinding noises happen every time you press the brake peddle. Your brakes are 100% worn out. the metal part of the brake pad is making contact with the metal brake rotor.

The service “wear out” specs on brake pad thickness can vary from 1mm to 2mm. Brake wear sensors will normally turn on the dash brake wear light around 2mm.

Brake pads that use a noise tab built into the pad, may make a high pitch noise only when backing up, but quiet going forward.

When I inspect brakes for wear, I look at the thinest brake pad to judge the wear % remaining. Once below 30% remaining life (around 3mm of pad thickness remaining) brake replacement will be needed soon.

If you are noticing brake noises, stop in at your local repair shop and have them inspect your cars brakes. Waiting to see if the noise just goes away can cause bigger issues.  If the brake rotors or brake calipers become damaged from metal to metal contact it can increase the cost of your brake repairs.

HeyAnthonyAZ.com

 

Just stop in!

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We are your friendly Neighborhood Garage, just stop in.

Too many times I hear this phrase, “I was driving by and you guys looked so busy.” Don’t wait, just stop in. I hear this one too, “I didn’t think you had time to look at it.” Don’t wait, just stop in. We are your friendly neighborhood garage and ready to help. Maintenance ignored leads to a break down on the road. Nobody likes sitting at the side of the road waiting on a tow truck.

Do you have a funky noise? We can look at that. Is it time for service? We do service work on all makes and models. A no start problem is no problem at Tony’s Service Center. Just stop in, we fix broken cars. Car care is a part of owning a car. Car repairs will happen and you need to be ready. Just stop in and say hi.

Need an oil change today?

We use a “synthetic blend” as our standard oil. Servicing you car is the most common reason to visit a repair garage. We use a synthetic blend because it extends the oil life, offering better protection against wear and resists carbon coking. If your car needs full synthetic we stock that too.

Regular motor oil: Regular oil works great for older engines, but if you do not service it regularly and or ignore your service intervals. It can lead to heavy carbon build up “hard sludge” or coking of the internal engine parts. “Coking aka soft sludge” “Coking” is characteristic of a high temperature reactions involving hydrocarbons. On todays small high revving engines, carbon deposits may cause restricted oil flow, shortening the life span of your engine.

Full Synthetic motor oil:  Synthetic oils primary use is in high heat stress applications like Arizona. Jet engines use Synthetic oil. Synthetic oils are great for cold climates too, it will flow normally even in freezing temperatures.  European cars, motor cycles and many of todays small turbo charged engines need full synthetic oils to prevent sludge and carbon build up.

Just stop in and let us know how we can help. 

HeyAnthonyAz.com & TonysServiceCenter.com

 

 

Fuel Economy

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When an alternator decoupler pulley fails, the alternator may still be producing the correct volts and amps. The decoupler pulley is a “one way clutch”. When an engine is at a cruising RPM of “3400 RPM” and the engine suddenly drops to an idle around 800 RPM the inside moving parts of the alternator do not have to slow down at the same time as the engine. Mass in motion stays in motion. The one way clutch or “decoupler” allows the rotating mass “heavy parts of the alternator” to rotate freely, independently of the engines drive belt. This decoupling pulley reduces the flywheel effect placed on the engine and the engines drive belt. When the decoupler goes bad. Fuel economy will be reduced.

I have clients that think they need a tune up because they are not getting the same fuel mileage as they use to and it turns out the one way clutch on the alternator could be the cause. Many things on todays car can be broken or very worn and you will never know they are bad. Some broken parts will never turn on a check engine light. During a major service interval, I may have the drive belt off during the service and that is the best time to inspect the alternator decoupler.

I have had some clients, that watch fuel mileage for work related jobs. Tell me that they noticed up to a 1.5 MPG change after replacing the faulty decoupler. That may not seen like that big of a deal, but over a years worth of driving it adds up.

HeyAnthonyAz.com

Nissan Sentra No Start

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After many hours of work, the client said no to the repair.

This happens from time to time. It’s part of the car repair business, some clients say no. You check out a clients concern. You put together an estimate for the repairs needed. It’s common to have car owners under the age of 30 to take a couple of hours to decide to move forward with a repair. The 2008 Sentra I was working on needed a new engine computer. Something went wrong and the old one died. The repair was almost 900.00 and to me that was not much for a basic repair.

The client said no and the car was sold for scrap.

Part 2 of this story: The salvage buyer asked us to finish the repairs, but they wanted us to send the computer out for repairs. I have had zero luck using rebuild services for any

Old computer that was sent out for repairs. I don’t see any repairs done…

computer repair. So 3 weeks later the computer was back. The service said they made a repair and the computer works fine now.

I installed the computer and it did not work. The buyer said I diagnosed the problem wrong and the computer was fine. I said he was wrong and the computer repair was not a repair for the problem the computer had. After 2 more weeks of back and forth communications. The buyer finally said yes to a new computer from the dealer.

A new computer fixed the problem.

It’s common for computers to be replaced and they are not bad. It is a guess repair by the technician working on the car. I use a test simulation method to rule out input and output results to the computer. It takes longer, but it prevents a misdiagnosis. Time spent will prevent having to backtrack later or worse ruin a new computer because the part that killed the first computer just killed the new unit.

Fix it right, fix it once. HeyAnthonyAz.com

Tune-up

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What is a Tune-up for a modern engine?

Carbon tracking on a 112,000 mile spark plug

From the mid 2000’s and up, the term Tune-up has been replaced with preventative maintenance. Newer engines don’t have anything to adjust. Everything is pre-set from the factory and you only replace parts if they fail or if you like to follow your maintenance schedule listed in the owner’s manual.

Converter meltdown due to a miss fire condition.

A modern engine can be adjusted through software changes, electronic tuning. Software tuning is not a normal undertaking and it voids the manufactures warranty. Programmers and software changes can build big power. All that power comes at a cost, more wear to the engine. When an engine replacement costs around 6,000.00 when it fails. What did you gain? You may also not pass emissions when it’s time for tags.

PCV hose failure.

You can make changes by putting aftermarket performance parts on the engine. Many parts you can bolt on will not void a warranty in most cases. Some bolt on parts can shorten engine life and cause emissions issues.

Replacing the exhaust system can have a big effect in power output. Exhaust changes effect how loud the tail pipe sounds. A loud exhaust is not needed to build power. The exhaust only needs to flow efficiently. Too much flow “big pipe exhaust systems” can hurt low rpm torque making your engine sluggish at lower speeds “city driving” and with the a/c on.

GM HEI Distributor showing a vacuüm advance and mechanical timing advancement weights.

The days of the real tune-ups, when engines had a real distributer, plug wires and a carburetor. It was a common to have 2 or 3 tune-ups a day back in the 80’s and 90’s. The carburetor needed adjustments at lease every time the season would change or around emissions time. The distributer had mechanical parts in it that would wear out. Hoses failed, air pumps died, catalytic converters would melt down. Yep, the good old days, nothing lasted for ever.

Modern cars have owners spoiled. driving a car a 100,000 miles or 10 years and never-changing the spark plugs, coils or installing a new fuel filter is amazing. Modern engines are built better and run cleaner. The improvements do have a price.

Ignition wire failure because it made contact with the hot exhaust manifold.

When parts fail, the price to fix the failure can be very large. When sticker shock sets in, many clients ask why is it so expensive.

I can only tell them that in the good old days it cost the same, it was just done in smaller installments over a 10 year period.

Fix it right, fix it once. HeyAnthonyAz.com

Cheaper to keep her…

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Repair the car you own, it’s cheaper.

At Tony’s we see vehicles in all states of disrepair. A new car will only need basic services and 2 to 5-year-old cars will need bigger repairs as parts wears out. The cars I am talking about are the cars over 10 to 25 years of age and still look nice inside and out.

Just because a repair may be larger than the value of the car is no reason to give up and sell your car. I hear this phrase at least once a day. My car is not worth that. If you have a car that “blue books” at $4,000 and the car needs an AC over haul that may cost $1,800. The repair is worth doing, if your car is in great condition.

Repair it!

If the same $4,000 car needs an engine at $5,100. The car is still worth repairing, but only if the car has been correctly maintained. The car must be in “great condition”. “No accident damage”, good paint, interior is clean plus everything works correctly and you love your car.

In many cases if you go out car shopping you will buy a car that is over $12,000 and you will get a loan to buy the car and your license tags will cost more. Plus your insurance will go up.

It’s less expensive to repair the car you already own. Buying a new car is the same as fixing the car you already own. Now you are making payments vs a repair bill. You must be honest with your self, if you are a person that just does not care for your car. Your car will wear out and fall apart.

A “neglected” car is not worth repairing, junk it and move on

The owner of the car is the reason a car is in good or bad condition, not the repair garage. Let’s face it, some people don’t care about anything unless it’s broken. Preventative repairs and basic maintenance is not important, but a cat video on YouTube will have front row attention. If properly cared for 80% of cars sold would last 15 years or more. It’s up to the owner to care about keeping it in good condition.

2005 Dodge Neon, yes it has road rash, but it’s fixable. This car needs a $390 dollar repair. Any repair that is less than a monthly payment is worth doing.

 

Everyone needs a $1,000 Emergency car fund.

The average “break down repair” at Tony’s is around $650.00. With an emergency repair fund of $1,000 dollars, a $650.00 dollar repair is no big deal. My repair fund is $2,000. I have 2 cars and a service van. If all 3 need minor repairs in the same month, I should be ok.

If you have more than one car you should “add $500.00 dollars for each additional car”. If you have an SUV or European brand, double the amount in the fund.

It’s a fact, it is less expensive to fix a good used car than go and buy a new one.

Heyanthonyaz.com

 

Can I bring my own parts?

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When you go to a restaurant, do you bring your own food?

Every month, I have at least 5 people ask if we will install a part they bring in.

Our answer is no.

   It’s not that we do not want to put on your parts. It’s because of the warranty. If we sell you the part, it will come with a 2 year 24,000 mile warranty, and labor is covered 100%

If you bring in your own part, you get no warranty with us, and if the part fails, you pay the labor again to replace the part a second time.

Do we bent the rule? Some times. We have installed clients parts, depending on what the part is, and if it’s for a specialty reason like a classic car or super hard to find part, but they must sign a waiver, stating they understand the repair comes with no warranty, parts or labor.

Think about it, do you save that much?

Fix it right, Fix it once. HeyAnthonyAz.com

FREE Oil Change Monthly Drawing at Tony’s

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FREE OIL CHANGE @ TONY’S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s time to change the oil!

Enter to win! Win a free oil change, enter your information @ Tony’s contact page.

Enter your contact information on Tony’s contact page & in the message box type “Free oil change monthly drawing” and include the make, model and year of your car.

You will be automatically entered into the drawing for the next months free oil change drawing. Enter as often as you like. The winner of the free oil change will be contacted by Tony’s at the end of each drawing month. The free oil change offer will be running till December 2015

The oil change includes, up to 5 qt’s of 10w30 synthetic blend oil, an oil filter, and under hood fluid top off’s, plus a vehicle safety inspection. This is a $30.00 value at our regular price & a great saving if you win it for free. So enter today, it’s easy and free.

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HeyAnthonyAZ.com 2014 ~ It’s all good under the hood…

Adjust it till it fits?

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Hack Jobs Happen…

I see some crazy short cut repairs (hack jobs). “Hack jobs” by owners, shade tree mechanics and approved auto repair shops. Then I wonder why, why try, why risk a comeback. Why take the short cut in the first place. Why risk loosing a client when the hack job fails, leaving the vehicle owner stranded on the side of the road.

A hack job will fail, it’s a sub-standard repair.

 

Today I had an odd repair issue pop into the shop. Ronda had a fuel pump replaced on her 1995 Chevy Suburban about 30 days ago in Sedona Arizona. The truck has a 5.7 TBI fuel injected engine. (Throttle Body Injection System) Ronda only had one issue with the repair, the fuel economy was reduced by 30 to 40% and this was noticed right after the pump was installed. The shop that installed the pump had double checked the fuel system, and said nothing was wrong.

Ronda had moved to Sedona last year.

The client (Ronda) use to live right around the corner from our shop, but had moved to Sedona in 2013. Ronda happened to be in the valley for some doctors visits, so Ronda stopped in to see if we had time to look at this issue.

Testing showed the fuel system was running too rich. The scan tool (a computer that talks to the car’s computer) showed that the PCM (the car’s computer) was subtracting a lot of fuel. The engine computer uses a pair of fuel trim ratio numbers to display fuel system compensation (larger number = more fuel added to the engine Or a smaller number = less fuel, fuel reduced to the engine). A repair technician can view the fuel trim numbers “live” as they update (in real-time) and watch how the system is operating, rich, lean or normal.

Next I attached a gauge used to test fuel pressure to the engine’s fuel system. The fuel pressure gauge showed that the fuel system pressure was around 19 PSI of pressure. (Why?) The TBI system specification is 9 to 12 PSI. So why was the PSI so high?

I suspected it had the wrong fuel pump installed. So, I removed the fuel pump and found a big mess. What I found was a major issue, the person that did the repairs, must have had a huge loss of reasoning. The part was clearly the wrong part for the truck. When I entered the pump part number into a parts jobber, part interchange system. I discovered the part was the wrong pump for the truck.

The shop decided to adjust the wrong part till it would fit in the tank. But wait, that’s not all. The pump was for a 1996 5.7 MPI engine. (Multi Port Injection System) not a 1995 5.7 TBI system. The 1996 MPI system runs at 60 to 66 PSI. This is clearly too much pressure for the system to handle. To bleed off the high PSI. The shop that made the repairs, had removed the hose clamp to the PSI fuel coupling hose that connects the fuel pumps outlet pipe to the metal pipe going out to the engine’s fuel injector’s. Plus the old fuel pump harness was installed on the new pump, and the electrical connector had a broken retaining clip.

The adjustments and compromises should have never happened, but they did.

Just buy the correct part, and if the part arrives wrong, get the correct part. The correct part was available in Flagstaff, less than a 2 hour round trip from Sedona. The client had already waited 5 days, what was one more day to get the right part.

We fixed the truck and it is running correctly, with the correct part. The client is happy and the mileage is back to normal. Plus Ronda will be bringing her truck to us when ever she is in town every 3 to 4 months.

Keeping up on the needs of an older vehicle may seem costly, but if you do the math. The right older vehicle can be cost-effective in the long run. Every vehicle needs repairs someday, new or old.

It’s all good under the hood, heyanthonyaz.com 2014

4 months or 4000 miles

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Oil Change Interval

A new car will not need as much attention as a car with 120,000 miles, but new cars will have service needs too. Just because its new is not a reason to over look good service habits.

The simple method for regular oil changes; New vehicles, up to 3 years of age or 40,000 miles, will mostly need basic services, oil changes, fluid top off’s and tire rotations. Follow the normal service intervals in the owners hand book, and you will be doing great.

Regular motor oil Intervals can range from 3,500 to 7,500 miles. Full synthetic oil services can range from 7,500 to 15,0000 mile intervals.

Some repair shops, like Tony’s Service Center, have switched to Heavy Duty blended motor oils for our oil change packages.

What is a blend? It’s a mix of regular motor oil and synthetic oil. It’s a better product, and it protects your engine better than a regular motor oil.

All new vehicles sold, come with a owners hand book.

Most owners do not read it cover to cover, its boring stuff. In the back of the book, it lists your service and maintenance needs from 0 miles to 120,000. Servicing intervals are-listed two ways. Normal service and Severe service, most cars will fall into the Normal service area.

Life after 40, “the honey-moon is over.”

Vehicles older than 3 years or with 40,000 to 120,000 miles; Ok, parts are starting to wear out. Belts, Hoses, Brakes, Batteries and Tires are the most common repair needs.

Major fluids will need replacement services, and you will still have basic oil changes to do, so continue to follow the normal service intervals in your vehicle hand book. Your vehicle is starting to show its age. Prompt maintenance and repairs will prevent break downs…

NOTE; Fluid servicing is a big part of a vehicles long life. No fluids are life time. Some car makers will say they have life time fluids. GM found out painfully, that Dex-Cool, a life time coolant, was a very bad idea. “No fluids last the life of the vehicle.”

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My car only has 33,000 miles on it…

Just because your vehicle has 33,000 miles on it, does not indicate that it’s in new condition. A 12-year-old car that has 33,000 miles on it, will still need service just like a car that has 120,000 miles on it. ( It’s all about ) “Time in Service”

Vehicles over 8 years old or 120,000 and up; It’s time to step up the service intervals to severe service. Why? The vehicle is getting older and will need more services to keep it in top condition. “More repairs, more services, more love.”

How does regular servicing prevent break downs?

Having a trusted repair shop looking at your vehicle is essential to keeping your vehicle in top condition. Jumping from shop to shop is no good.

Having the same shop looking at your car will allow them to watch your needs. Loyalty will help the shop give you advice that is correct for your needs. Plus your service advisor can show you how to budget for future repairs.

It’s all good under the hood. HeyAnthonyAz.com 2014