Salem Auto Repair

  There aren’t many things more anxiety-inducing than driving along and suddenly noticing your temperature gauge is creeping up, hotter and hotter. You might say to yourself: “Oh no! Why is my vehicle overheating?” “Do I have a radiator leak?” “Do I need a radiator repair?” “Should I try to make it to an auto repair shop, or pull over and have my vehicle towed?” As experienced mechanics, we can tell you a vehicle overheating problem isn’t something to ignore, as you could seriously damage your engine. Here’s more advice on looking out for radiator issues, like a radiator leak, and reasons you may need a radiator repair. Possible Reasons for Vehicle Overheating If you’re driving along and notice your temperature gauge moving toward the red, your vehicle isn’t going to immediately explode or anything like that; however, driving with an overheating engine can cause serious damage to your vehicle. It ... read more

Having your wheel alignment unimpaired and intact goes hand in hand with drivability. A vehicle is not drivable if the wheel alignment is off. A driver should always be controlling the car, and if the wheel alignment is off, you are driving a car that has the possibility of fighting your control and controlling you altogether. As a driver, there is no way to predict what someone else on the road will do, the only controllable factor is yourself. If your car’s wheel alignment is off, you are adding to uncontrolled factors on the road risking the safety of yourself and any one you are in contact with. Misalignment can result from a variety of daily driving occurrences which are important to recognize. How easily can misalignment occur? The possible causes that can affect your wheel alignment are very common daily driving occurrences. In fact, the act of driving itself is a cause because wear and tear on your tires can progressively influence your wheel alignment. Some o ... read more

A car cannot safely operate without a water pump. A water pump maintains the necessary car temperature for a car to be functional through a series of operations. How does a Water Pump work? A water pump uses an impeller blade, also referred to as a rotor, which is the part of the pump that rotates to push the water out from the center of rotation. It moves through the engine block, which is the metal structure containing the cylinder, oil passages, cooling jacket, and crankcase which altogether transfers heat from friction to the atmosphere and engine coolant, then through the hoses and radiator, maintaining the proper temperature. For your car to submit to high-temperature conditions and run smoothly and cooly, a vehicle’s engine needs coolant to flow through the radiator and engine. The water pump perpetuates that rotation to consistently maintains an operative temperature. When there is an issue with the water pump, the temperature will not be maintained and your c ... read more

Fuel Efficiency refers to the amount of time and distance a vehicle can travel without the need to refuel. This idea is also referred to as miles per gallon, meaning how many miles a driver can travel per gallon in their vehicle. A vehicle's fuel efficiency is one of the most important factors to take into consideration when purchasing a vehicle. This is because this factor determines how much of an investment your vehicle can turn out to be. Regardless of your vehicle type, there are always ways to maximize your vehicle's fuel efficiency. With that being said, there are also can be repercussions if your vehicle’s fueling system is not properly managed. In addition to saving money, fuel efficiency’s relevancy is as high as ever due to the need to keep a minimal carbon footprint.  What causes bad fuel efficiency? Bad fuel efficiency or gas mileage refers to when a vehicle is not running as efficiently as its capability permits. This m ... read more

Spark plugs play an instrumental part in powering up your vehicle. It is essential for the safety of the driver as well as the life of your vehicle that they are in good condition. Disastrous misfires can occur if a vehicle is started when they need replacing. As a result, very costly repairs can follow because driving with misfiring spark plugs can put excessive, inordinate stress on a vehicle’s catalytic converter, which is an engine’s exhaust cleaner. How do spark plugs operate?  A spark plug by definition is a device that transports electric current from the ignition system of a vehicle to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine. That transportation ignites the mixture of the compressed fuel and air by an electric spark, while containing combustion pressure within the engine. They only remove heat and cannot create it. They operate as a heat exchanger pulling unwanted thermal energy from the combustion chamber to the engine cooling system ... read more