Monroe Auto Repair

Let's talk about automotive performance. This term means a lot of things to a lot of people... from better handling, more speed, more off-road or track capability or even better fuel economy. For the purposes of this list, performance means one thing; getting where you are going sooner. Consider the following top pick performance upgrades if you want to put more power to the ground: Cold-air Intake - Factory air boxes are restrictive and are usually more about packaging under the hood than feeding your engine much-needed air. A less restrictive intake is an instant power adder. Bigger Throttle-body - The intake feeds the throttle body, the modern equivalent of the carburetor. The more air and fuel you can stuff into the engine the more power you can make. A higher CFM throttle-body allows more air to pass through your engine. Forced Induction - Turbos and Superchargers essentially have the same purpose; to stuff more air into yo ... read more

You notice that suddenly your vehicle seems to be getting worse gas mileage than it did awhile back. Why? What happened?Like with most things on your vehicle, there can be numerous problems at the root of poor fuel economy. Let’s start with the simple ones and work our way to the more complicated issues:Tires: This one’s easy. Underinflated tires mean more rolling resistance (think about riding a bike with a low tire), and more rolling resistance means poorer fuel economy. Check your tire inflation at least once a month, while the tires are cold, using a good quality tire gauge. Even a pound or two of underinflation can be enough to cause problems!Air filter: The air filter is made of pleated paper or fabric elements which prevent pollen, dust and particulates from entering the fuel system where they could do some real damage and cause wear. A clogged air filter can literally smother the engine by restricting air flow. Take out the air filter and hold it up to a bright ligh ... read more

So you got a new set of wheels – congratulations! You’re going to want to hang onto it as long as possible, so you’ll want to keep it maintained as well as you can. Here are some suggestions:First, read the owner’s manual carefully and stick to manufacturer’s recommendations for service intervals. There are certain things that are critical enough that failure to adhere to recommendations can void a new car warranty. Don’t let that happen!For instance, just about every manufacturer recommends synthetic oil for their engines; it provides better protection in just about every respect, and it’s more stable at high and low temperatures. If your owner’s manual prescribes a 10,000-mile oil change, stick with that and be sure to use the brand and grade of motor oil called for in the manual.Apply a good coat of wax to your vehicle, and another one on top of that. A properly waxed vehicle does more than just look good, it helps repel grit and grime ... read more

In the old days, a tune-up was necessary about every 35,000 miles. It would usually consist of setting the ignition timing, replacing the mechanical breaker points in the ignition, cleaning and adjusting the carburetor and replacing the plug wires and spark plugs. Today, of course, the carburetor’s job is done by fuel injection and the ignition timing and spark are controlled by the engine computer. Few vehicles still have plug wires anymore either, as the distributor was replaced by the computer and a coil-on-plug design which delivers a spark at each spark plug. But what about the spark plugs themselves, though? How often do they need to be replaced now? Manufacturers tout an 80k-100k mile service interval on spark plugs now, thanks in part to improvements in plug design and materials. That might be stretching it, however. Remember that if you have a 100,000-mile spark plug, its electrode is worn down 4/5 of the way at 80,000 miles. A worn electrode means a wider spark plug gap ... read more

Buying a used car is somewhat less of a crapshoot than it was at one time. You can get detailed information on a vehicle's history via the CARFAX report, and a technician can use onboard diagnostics to get a good picture of what's going on under the hood and what problems might be coming up. It's always a good idea to get a mechanic to look over any prospective purchase, but there are things you can get a look at yourself before you spend the money for a professional inspection. These are things which will give you a pretty good idea of the kind of use and maintenance a vehicle has seen before you got it. -- Put your head against a fender and sight down the side of the vehicle with one eye. Look out for ripples or irregularities in the sheet metal which could point to a collision and body work. Look closely for mismatched paint on body panels, or paint which has an orange-peel texture. -- Closely look at the carpeting, upholstery, and pedals. The condition of these can t ... read more