Category Archives: tune-up

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

All new cars get old

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Fact: Your new car will need repairs as it ages.

I have many clients that went out 5 years ago and bought new cars. Now that new car is aging and needs repairs. The Mustang below is only 6 years old and it’s already wearing out. Just because you buy a new car, you are not off the hook for maintenance.

2012 Mustang, out of warranty and in need of repairs. It has 157,000 miles on it and it’s worn out. The engine has been overheated, it burns and leaks oil, plus the front suspension is noisy over bumps.

Repairs will be needed to keep your car working correctly. Wear and tear from heavy use will bring you back to the repair shop. Worse yet, what if you breakdown and have to be towed in for repairs.

Warranty or no warranty, regular servicing and breakdown repairs are going to happen.

The first thing I tell clients is to have an emergency repair fund stashed away. I have cash stashed in my saving just for this type of thing. I have been stuck out-of-town before and cash is king.

The second thing I tell clients is to have a AAA gold card. The gold card is great if you travel out-of-town and need a tow. The gold card gives you all the road side assistance that you get from a normal card, but your free towing is now 100 miles vs 5 miles.

The VW on the left is being towed away today because it needs an engine replaced at $6,200. The VW on the right was just purchased by a client that did not want to overhaul an A/C system on a 10-year-old Honda CRV. Both VW’s are 2015 models and they both have around 40,000 miles on them.

Even if your car is brand new, you should get it serviced before any big trip out-of-town.

The idea is to prevent a breakdown. I have seen brand new cars with major flaws that need repairs.

ASE tech’s will notice wear and age issues that could cause a breakdown way before they become a failure on the road.

Get your car inspected before you hit the road.

One week before you travel, take your car in for service. Even if you’re not due for service, get your car looked at before you hit the road. If your car has any repairs that are needed, the repair shop has time to get them completed before you need to leave town.

2014 Nissan Rogue, with 52,000 miles on the clock. This one came in on the hook. An overheated cooling systems caused an engine failure. Leaks like this can be repaired way before they become a failure on the road.

If you have an older car and it’s too worn out to leave town. Rent a car for your trip. It’s less expensive to rent a car for the weekend than it is to be broken down on the road waiting for a tow truck.

This belt is from a 4-year-old car with 57,000 miles on it. I was installing a new alternator and I advised replacing the belt while it was off. The belts cost was $34.00. The client said no to replacing it. Oddly they let a friend use the car for a week and the belt came apart, allowing the engine to over heat. The driver drove the car till it stopped. The engine was destroyed.

Technology in cars today.

Todays car owners are spoiled by technology. 25 years ago most of the cars on the road visited the repair shop 45% more often than todays cars. Advancements in how cars are built is one reason why they seem to last longer. Service intervals are longer and many parts last a lot longer. 25 years ago most cars needed a tune up every 24,000 miles. Today most cars don’t need a tune up till 100,000 miles.

Do cars last longer?

Todays cars do last longer and they do cost more to repair. Belts and hoses look the same as they did 25 years ago, but now they cost 40% more to replace. Brakes are bigger, tires have changed and A/C systems costs are double what they use to be. When the parts fail, they fail big. The change in overall costs is due to the extra technology to run all the cool gadgets.

A hybrid car looks very cool in the show room, but jump forward 10 years when you have to replace a battery pack at $3,200. Turbo charged engines cost big with any failure. Cylinder canceling engines like some of the GM V8’s and now it’s new turbo 2.7L 4 cylinder engine they will be putting in full size trucks in 2019 cost a small fortune to fix when they fail.

Many failures will happen from age and normal use. Other failures will happen from bad advice and a failure to follow service intervals. Below is an image of what happens when the wrong parts are used to save money. Using the wrong parts can cost you more later.

This is what happens when budget copper spark plugs are used in place of double platinum plugs. Copper plugs cost $2.59 each. double platinum plugs cost $9.67 each. Times 4 on a 4 cyl engine. The plug savings caused 2 coils to fail plus a tow. This was done by a shop just 1 mile away from my shop. The correct repairs cost 3 time what the original tune up did, plus an 18 mile tow.

I have over 4 dozen clients that “ignore” the service intervals on their cars. When they have to be towed in and whine about the tow. I just tell them that better service intervals could have prevented the failure.

98% of the time I am 100% right. 3 Service intervals a year will go a long way to prevent breakdowns on the road.

Just because it’s new does not insure you will not have a breakdown. Let us help you keep that new car new or make your old car feel new again.

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