AUTONET TV

No Strain, No Gain (The Basics of Oil Filters)

Ever wonder what one of the best things is to ever happen to your vehicle's engine?  It's the little thing that usually looks like a can, the oil filter.

Just like your kitchen sink strainer filters out errant particles of food from clogging your drain, the oil filter cleans out small particles that could cause your engine harm.

Your engine operates in a dirty, hot environment and gathers a lot of tiny contaminants like dirt, dust, little metal shards and unlucky bugs that get sucked in.  Get those things circulating in your engine and those little particles can cause friction, which starts wearing out those finely machined metal parts. 

You know how important it is to change your oil regularly.  It's vital that you change your oil filter at the same time to keep the oil as close to brand new as possible.

Most oil filters look like a metal can with some holes in the bottom.  Inside there are carefully chosen materials that can screen out the contaminants while at the same time allow the lubricating oil to pass through.  Early oil filters had steel wool, metal mesh or actual screens.  Then they tried fabric filters using material such as linen and cotton.  Finally, a less expensive disposable filter using paper and cellulose did the trick.

Cellulose or other synthetic media are used in most oil filters today.  Cellulose is inexpensive and effective.  Fibers filter out particulates and let the oil flow.  The other synthetic media have the ability to screen out even tinier particles while not significantly restricting the oil from getting through.  Engineers continue to work on even more advanced filter material.

Choosing the right oil filter is something our pros at A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis can help you with  because there are a lot of them out there.  Factoring into that decision are your driving habits, how far you drive and the temperatures to which your engine will be subjected.  While some filters will cost more than others, they may be worth it to extend the life of your engine. 

But most important is remembering to come have your oil changed at A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis regularly at the intervals recommended by the vehicle's manufacturer. Just like you wouldn't want to have a plumber come over to fix a clogged kitchen drain, you certainly wouldn't want to have to pay for major engine repairs if they could be prevented by regular oil and filter changes.

A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis
19735 Sherman Way Suite 2
Winnetka, CA 91306
(818) 438-9608
http://www.agautodiagnosis.com

When "Oh, no!" Turns Into, "All right!"

Things we don't expect happen to our vehicles. And let's face, no one really wants to spend money on an unexpected repair. But if you are putting off going to your vehicle repair facility because you're dreading bad news, you might just be putting off some good news.

There was one minivan driver who'd had the same van for years and never had a problem with the power sliding doors.  Then one day, the electrical switches in the door pillars stopped working.  The key fob would still open them, but the door switches wouldn't do a thing.

Of course, the van driver feared the worst: an electrical problem, a major computer failure, mice chewing up the wires.  So, he put off going into the repair facility for a couple of months.  One day, it was time for his regular oil change and the service advisor asked him if there was anything else going on with the van.  The owner mentioned the door problem but said he didn't want to spend a fortune on it.

He waited for his van, and it wasn't long before the service advisor came out with good news. The doors weren't working because a switch on the overhead console had been turned off.  (It was a safety feature to allow parents to disable them.) The owner had accidentally switched it when he was unloading the van.  It was the first thing the technician had checked. Flip the switch back and all was working as usual.

Another example? A mother was driving a minivan with her two kids inside on a hot day when she felt the front end shaking violently as she drove down the road. Fearing something major had broken in the van (and fearing for the safety of her kids), she pulled into a fast-food restaurant parking lot and started to look underneath to see if it was anything obvious she could see.

She couldn't see any broken parts, but she also didn't feel safe getting back in the van with her kids.  So, she called her local service facility and asked if they could send someone to look at it.  When the technician arrived, he took it for a test drive on the same road on which she'd described having the trouble.  Then he put her van up on the lift.  His conclusion?  Nothing was wrong with her van.  It was the street she was driving on.  Crews repairing it had left the surface full of potholes, and that was causing her rough ride.

Ultimately, what these two drivers feared would be an expensive trip to the shop resulted in each driver getting different news than they had expected.  One learned something new about his vehicle.  The other?  Well, the technician saw that her tires were badly worn and convinced her to get them replaced, perhaps preventing an accident and giving peace of mind for a mom with two kids.

Need a New Battery? Call A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis Today

Hello Winnetka drivers! Need a new battery? There is a good chance that you do – 70% of batteries need to be replaced within four years. As your battery discharges and then recharges as you drive around Winnetka, bits of the surface of the battery plates disintegrate. As this process continues over a few years, the alternator has to work harder to supplement the battery charge. Over time, enough of the battery is damaged that it can no longer hold a charge and it needs to be replaced. This also speeds up wear on the alternator.

Your A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis service advisor can help you determine the right vehicle replacement battery for the way you drive around Winnetka, as well as the CA climate and durability needs.

Contact A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis for information on battery replacement.

Give us a call.

A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis
19735 Sherman Way Suite 2
Winnetka, CA 91306
(818) 438-9608
http://www.agautodiagnosis.com

Go with the Flow (MAF Sensor Replacement)

If your vehicle has an internal combustion engine, it depends on two things to make propulsion power for you to be able to motor on down the road: fuel and air.  The engine mixes the two in just the right proportion so that they can be ignited, creating a series of tiny explosions that are coordinated in such a way that your vehicle moves steadily ahead.

One of the key parts to making sure that mixture of air and fuel is correct is a little tube that measures the amount of air that’s coming into the engine.  It’s called a Mass Air Flow sensor, or MAF sensor.  There are two wires in this tube, one of which is heated up with electricity and the other isn’t.  When the air flows over the heated wire, it cools.  When the temperature of the two sensing wires is different, the MAF sensor either increases or decreases the current to the heated wire to try to make it the same as the other wire. That’s sent to a small computer that tells the engine to change the amount of air going into the engine.

Some signs of an MAF sensor problem?  Your vehicle doesn’t have as much power as it used to, or your fuel economy might drop.  Your vehicle may not start,   and the Check Engine light may come on.

If you spot these signs, it’s important to bring your vehicle in so we can check things out.  At the same time a technician looks at the MAF sensor, they’ll also check the connector that runs to the engine’s computer and replace it if necessary. They’ll also inspect other parts of the system, such as hoses, for problems.  

By the way, one way to minimized MAF sensor problems is make sure your vehicle’s engine air filter is regularly changed. That can help you be sure that the air that gets to your vehicle’s engine is clean.

A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis
19735 Sherman Way Suite 2
Winnetka, CA 91306
(818) 438-9608
http://www.agautodiagnosis.com