Posts Tagged ‘Vehicle Maintenance’
Fresh Air Inside Your Car
Illinois air quality affects drivers wherever we are. Many decades ago, people began to become aware of how air pollution negatively affects health. But what about the air inside your vehicle? Cabin air filters are standard on most new vehicles since the 2000 model year. These filters clean the air in the passenger compartment. They can filter particles down to…
Read MoreOil Filter
What’s the job of the oil filter? As your engine runs, dirt gets into the oil. Oil sludge can also start to build up. Fortunately, motor oil contains detergents that clean the engine and gather up contaminates. The oil circulates through the oil filter where clumps of dirt and sludge are captured. An oil filter…
Read MoreVent Cleaning
Ever get musky odors coming from your car’s air vents? It’s fairly common. Moisture can accumulate in the air conditioning/heating ventilation system allowing mold, mildew, fungus and bacteria to grow. Disinfecting and deodorizing is a process. Depending on how bad the problem is, there are a couple of approaches Douglas Automotive Repair may take to…
Read MoreNew Email Reminder Service
Douglas Automotive Repair is pleased to be able to offer our customers another way to help you keep track of your vehicle maintenance needs. Not only do we offer you an owners website where you can access your vehicle records for the past two years, but we can also send email reminders for appointments, and…
Read MoreIs Your Car Ready for Winter?
Have you given your car the tender, loving care it needs to survive the ravages of winter? Following our checklist can help ensure it’s prepared to take on the cold. Antifreeze and Cooling System Before temperatures drop significantly, drain your cooling system and add new antifreeze (draining the car radiator and refilling it with new…
Read MoreAxles – What Do They Do?
The axle assemblies in your vehicle transfer power out to the drive wheels. On a rear-wheel drive vehicle, there is an axle shaft that goes from the differential in the center of the axle to each rear wheels. On a front-wheel drive vehicle, the axle shafts go from the transmission to each front-wheel. All-wheel drive…
Read MoreTransmission Service, What Is It and Why Do I Need It?
How can you avoid transmission troubles? Next to your engine, your transmission is the most important component in your vehicle – so you want to do all you can to avoid transmission repairs. Many drivers may have noticed a trend of engines becoming more and more powerful in recent years. At the same time, fuel economy…
Read MoreTiming Belt Replacement
What does it do, and why should you replace it? Well, a broken timing belt can lead to one of the most expensive engine repairs drivers will ever face. The good news is that replacing your timing belt on its recommended schedule can help avoid those problems. Here’s a brief overview of what the timing…
Read MoreSigns You Might Need A Brake Job
Signs of brake problems often fall into one of two categories for vehicles: making noise or a pulsation in the brake pedal. Let’s start with the noise. Most brake pads have an audible brake wear indicator. This is a small piece of metal that rubs on your brake rotor when the brake pads are worn to…
Read MoreDifferential Service
When drivers take a corner in their vehicle, the outside wheels have a slightly longer distance to go than the inside wheels. That means that the outside wheels have to turn a bit faster than the inside. The piece of mechanical wizardry that makes this possible for is called the differential. The differential allows the drive wheels…
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