A "Mounting" Problem (Motor Mounts)
Posted November 28, 2021 10:38 AMYou know how heavy your engine and transmission are, so you can imagine how tough the parts that hold them onto your vehicle's sub-frame must be. Not only must they support the weight, they also have to isolate vibrations and noise from the passenger cabin. Pretty tall order, wouldn't you say?
The parts that face that task daily are called the motor mounts, or engine mounts. They are usually made of rubber with steel brackets. Others contain a liquid for vibration and sound isolation.
Most vehicles have three or four motor mounts, and while rubber or hydraulic liquids do a good job of damping the vibrations from the engine, they also have their limitations. The problem with rubber is that it gets old and brittle. Plus, if there's an oil leak anywhere in your engine and oil gets on the rubber motor mounts, rubber will deteriorate even more quickly. As for the liquid motor mounts, they can develop leaks and stop working.
Here are signs a motor mount is going bad. You may hear a loud clunking or banging sound under the hood. That means the weight of the engine is shifting around enough to bang against other metal parts. You may feel bad vibrations, and the engine may feel like it's moving around in a strange way.
When things get to that point, your vehicle can be damaged from that heavy engine knocking against things, and its time to replace one or more motor mounts. Schedule a visit to your vehicle service facility. There, a technician will assess your motor mounts; if one bad one is found, it's not unusual that others are likely to fail soon and should be replaced before they do.
Because all vehicles are configured differently, some motor mounts are easily replaced. But others can be much trickier, take a lot longer and therefore are more expensive to replace.
It's important for your engine's health to make sure motor mounts are sound and solid. You will maintain that quiet, vibration-free ride and could save your engine and transmission from major wear and tear.
All Things Automotive & Diesel Service
1997 Walton Ave #C
Idaho Falls, ID 83401
208-523-3903
Going (Lug) Nuts (Lug Nut Replacement)
Posted November 21, 2021 7:06 AMHere's a part of your vehicle you probably don't think about much: lug nuts. They're what fasten your wheels onto your axles. Pretty important, right? In order to take the wheels off your vehicle to service the brakes, rotate the tires, etc., the lug nuts have to be in good shape so a wrench will grip them tightly.
Because lug nuts are on your wheels, they are exposed to all the elements of the road (salt, water, grime) and really take a beating. Unfortunately, some manufacturers have made them out of two different metals. Underneath is the working part of the lug nut, made of steel. On top is the decorative (the "good looking") part, made out of chrome, stainless steel or aluminum. After a while, the steel part begins to corrode and expands. That changes the shape of the outer cap, sometimes rounding off the hexagonal edges and making it hard (if not impossible) to either loosen or tighten the lug nuts since the wrench won't fit any more.
The reason that's so important is those lug nuts must be functional, especially if you find you have a flat tire somewhere on the road. If the wheel can't come off to be swapped with a spare, it leaves few options, one of which is your vehicle may have to be towed. All that for corroded lug nuts!
When you take your vehicle in for service, the technician who works on it keeps an eye on many things, especially if he or she is removing wheels. It's not unusual for your service advisor to recommend you replace several lug nuts at once since some corrode at a different rate than others. Your repair facility is trying to help you avoid driving a vehicle that has wheels that can't easily be taken off when they need to be.
The good news is there are one-piece lug nuts that don't have the problem the two-piece lug nuts have, so replacing them could eliminate that from happening again any time soon. And that's not "nuts" at all.
All Things Automotive & Diesel Service
1997 Walton Ave #C
Idaho Falls, ID 83401
208-523-3903
Stuck! (Vehicle Door Issues)
Posted November 14, 2021 10:33 AMThis may have happened to you. You drive somewhere and get out of your vehicle only to try closing the door and it just won't stay closed! What a helpless feeling. You can't lock it; you can't leave it like it is. Or, let's say you head down to your vehicle to head out to work in the morning and you can't open the door. What are you going to do now?
Vehicle doors take a lot of abuse. They are opened and closed hundreds of times and we expect them to just keep working perfectly all the time. They do require a bit of tender loving care. Let's take a look at two different scenarios of stuck doors.
First: the door that won't close. It's a security issue. It's also a safety issue. You can't really safely drive a vehicle with a door that won't close. What if you or a passenger is tossed out? Sure, some people try to tie a stuck-open door closed or bungee it, but that's dangerous. It's best to get that vehicle to the service repair facility as soon as you can, and having it towed is the safest way.
Second: the door that won't open. There are many reasons this can happen. Freezing weather is one, a misaligned door is another. There could be electrical issues. Corrosion could have broken a part inside the door. The possibilities, unfortunately, are numerous.
If you can't get into your vehicle's driver's door, with any luck another door might open and you can climb into the driver's seat and head on to the repair facility. A lot of people may be tempted to try to fix a stuck door themselves, but many wind up causing more damage to the door and have to have a trained technician step in to repair the mess.
One way to minimize the possibility of having a door stick open or closed is to make sure it gets regular maintenance. Door locks, hinges and latches should be lubricated at certain intervals. Locks should be kept clean. While many vehicles now have electronic locks, sometimes an electrical failure in the vehicle or key fob can inadvertently lock you out. Nearly every vehicle has a mechanical key in case that happens; if you don't know how that works, have your service advisor show you how.
Also, you technician can make sure your doors are properly aligned and aren't sagging. All of these things can help you keep your doors opening and closing the way they were designed to. Your next trip may "hinge" on your doors being in top condition.
All Things Automotive & Diesel Service
1997 Walton Ave #C
Idaho Falls, ID 83401
208-523-3903
It Wears on You (Tire Rotation)
Posted November 7, 2021 8:37 AMIf someone told you there was a fairly inexpensive way to improve your vehicle's handling, fuel economy and extend the life of your tires, you'd probably ask, "What do I have to do?" The answer is to rotate your tires. But you have to do it regularly.
A lot of drivers think skipping tire rotation is a way to save money. But when you don't rotate your tires, they will almost certainly wear unevenly. That's because when your tires touch the surface of the road, the friction and traction causes miniscule parts of the rubber to come off. And that process isn't exactly the same on each corner of your vehicle. Some vehicles have the drive wheels in the front, some in the rear and some on all wheels.
Rotating your tires at regular intervals minimizes the differences in the way the tires wear. The amount and pattern will be spread out equally if your tires spend time at all different positions. The more even the wear, the more consistent traction, handling and braking will be. All four tires will last longer this way, and when it is time to replace your tires, they'll all be worn out the same so you can replace all four with the same model tire.
Some people who choose not to rotate their tires find that one or two will wear much faster than the others, and often they'll replace just the worn ones. While you can find similar tires, they won't all be the same and will certainly not have the same amount of wear.
There are different tire rotation patterns depending on several factors: front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, directional tires/wheels, different sized wheels/tires on front and rear axles. Also keep in mind that when your tires are new, some tire manufacturers require you to rotate them or else they won't honor the warranty.
Your manufacturer recommends intervals for tire rotation, so it's best to follow their suggestion. Your vehicle service facility can advise you when you need to get your tires rotated. And many facilities include free tire rotation for as long as they're on your vehicle if you buy your tires at their shop.
All Things Automotive & Diesel Service
1997 Walton Ave #C
Idaho Falls, ID 83401
208-523-3903