#wheel alignment

A Jeep Wrangler was in for a wheel alignment Tuesday afternoon. The front caster needed to be adjusted.

In addition to checking the caster, we make sure the camber and toe are within the correct parameters. 

Heavy Duty Wheel Alignment in Lakeland, FL

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On-site Wheel Alignment Inc. takes it to the road with its expert technicians for wheel alignment in Lakeland FL.

Your vehicle’s suspension is one of the most important aspects to your vehicle. It’s goal is to maximize the friction between the road and your tires. This ensures maximum traction. Your suspension also makes your steering stable and makes driving more comfortable. All of these things are incredibly important.

If you look at some of the most expensive suspension systems on the market today, you will be amazed at how advanced they are. The truth is that it doesn’t matter how much power your engine is putting out if you don’t have a suspension system that can handle it. If you have all of that power but cannot control your car, then it’s useless.

Vehicle Dynamics 101

As the roads that we drive on are not perfectly flat, we need suspension systems. On a perfectly smooth road, the only forces acting on your tires should be gravity, the weight of the vehicle, the normal force of the road (the force of the road pushing back up against the tire equal to the force of gravity), and the friction between the road and the tire. When you introduce imperfections into the road, it introduces other forces onto the tires.

Isaac Newton taught us about the law of motion. He taught us that all forces have magnitude and direction. When your tires bump along the road, they accelerate upward. The magnitude at which this occurs depends on the size of the bump you drove over.

If you didn’t have a suspension system, all of this vertical energy would be transferred directly to the frame. This would force the frame to also move upwards. This means that your vehicle would leave the ground entirely. Then as the vehicle falls back downwards as a result of gravity, they would slam the ground. Your suspension system will absorb the energy of the vertical acceleration. This prevents the frame and body from moving as a result of a bump.

Let’s Take It a Step Further

So far, we have only considered the ride of a vehicle. The two things covered so far are road isolation and road holding. Road isolation if the vehicle’s ability to absorb or isolate road shock. Road Handling is the vehicle’s ability to maintain contact with the road.  There is one other concept to take into account when considering the dynamics of your vehicle. That is known as cornering. When cornering the centrifugal force pushes outwards on a car from the center of gravity. This will cause one side of the vehicle to raise and one side to lower. This is known as body roll. Your suspension is also responsible for minimizing body roll.

Vehicle Chassis Systems

Your suspension is made up of several components. To help you understand this and visualize it, take a look at the video below. It will explain the basics of your suspension system and some of the different types of suspension.

Two very important parts to understand are shocks and struts. Shocks, or shock absorbers, do exactly what their name suggests. They absorb the shock from the road. They are a type of damper that takes the force introduced from the road and prevent the car from bouncing. Your strut is a component that is mounted to the chassis of the vehicle at the top. This is where the coil spring is mounted. Your coil spring is what is responsible for maintaining your vehicle’s ride height. Struts are also dampers and absorb the shock from the road. Your vehicle will have either shocks or struts but never both on the same tire.

Shocks and Struts Inspection

You can very easily test the ability of your shock absorbers or struts by performing a simple bounce test. To do this, you only need to go to each corner of your vehicle. Push down hard on the car and let go. The vehicle should bounce up and then lower back to its ride height. If the car bounces more than twice, then you need to install new shocks or struts.

You can also visually inspect your suspension components. Your shocks and struts should be straight and clean. They also should not have any dents on them. You also might notice fluid leaking from them. This is a sign that they will need to be replaced.

When trying to get new parts, make sure that you know whether you have shocks or struts. Some vehicles even use shocks on one axle and struts on the other. Make sure that you buy the right parts as you can’t install a strut where a shock was or vice versa.

Suspension Repair

Changing out suspension parts can vary in difficulty. It depends greatly on the vehicle and the type of suspension it uses. Generally, changing out rear shocks on a vehicle is fairly simple. You can do it yourself with only a minor amount of automotive knowledge. Depending on the make and model of your car, a set of shocks can cost $25-$350 each. For the common cars that most people drive, your shocks will be on the cheaper side of that spectrum. To change out for shocks or struts yourself, you can expect to spend about $150-$250.  To have a shop do this for you could cost you around $30-$100 each side in labor. So, if you are the kind of person that likes to do things yourself, you can save yourself some money here.

Below we attached a video which shows how to change the shocks on your car. This is a very informative video which explains how to do it and also shows how fast it can be done.

You Know Suspension

Now you are ready to work on your own suspension system. You have learned the basics of your suspension system and also some of the engineering mechanics that go into it. You have also learned about how to change out your own shocks or struts. You now know suspension systems. If you notice anything strange about the ride or steering of your vehicle, you now have the basic knowledge needed to start to repair it.

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When your car is in need of auto service or repair, and you are either not capable of doing it or would rather not do it, you will need to make a choice on who to take it to. This can be an incredibly hard decision to make. I grew up in a small town. Despite being a small town, there are eight different shops in town. That makes it very hard to decide who to take it to. With so many options out there, who is the best?

When your car needs to be repaired, just taking your car to whoever is a very bad idea. By simply going somewhere you know nothing about, you could be costing yourself more money than you would likely want to spend.

In my working life, I have spent a significant amount of time around cars. I worked as a thermal systems engineer for a large car company. During my time there, I worked with many technicians. One technician was a certified Nissan technician. He told me about how at his last job, one of his coworkers had a shelf full of broken and worn out car parts. When a customer brought their car in for something simple, he would take a broken part off the shelf and show it to the customer and say that he had taken it off their car. The customer would then pay for a service that they did not need at all!

I also witnessed this for myself. I worked at a tire and lube shop when I was younger. I saw many of my coworkers do very dishonest things. I saw people break things on people’s cars and then tell the customer that it needed to be replaced. The customer would then pay for the part to be replaced that the technician had broken! I saw people damage cars and their parts and then pretend like nothing happened and hope that the customer didn’t notice.

This is the world we live in today. With so much dishonesty out there, how can you find the best mechanic near you?

Research Mechanics

If you are trying to find a mechanic to work on your car, you are going to want to do your research. A good way to start is by asking friends and family that live nearby. Many of these people have had both positive and negative experiences with different shops in town. This will give you an idea of where you want to go. If you hear multiple people say bad things about a certain shop, you know that you definitely don’t want to go there.

Next, take your research to the internet. Online you can read reviews from people that have taken their cars in. Using this information you can compare the different shops in town and hear about other people’s experiences.

Another great tool is to check the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org. This is a website that contains a whole bunch of information about a company. You can see consumer complaints and other information about the company. This will give you an excellent idea about whether you can trust a certain place with your vehicle.

Technician Hunting

From there you can take your research even further. Look into how long a company has been in business. This is a good idea of how reliable someone is. If a shop has been in business for a very long time, it is a good indicator that people continue to use them. This could be due to affordable prices or excellent service.

If a car company is just starting out, it does not necessarily mean that they are bad; but you won’t have the confidence knowing that they have been in the business for a very long time and have helped thousands of customers.

You will also want to compare prices. Everyone wants to save money. That might not always be the best when it comes to your car. If one of your local shops is significantly cheaper than the rest, you might need to be concerned about that. Shops constantly compete with each other’s prices. If one shop is way cheaper than the rest and no one is matching it, that can be a bad sign. Now that doesn’t mean to take your car to someone that is extremely expensive. You still should look for a deal but don’t expect the perfect deal to be way cheaper than everyone else.

Get to Know Your Technician

When you have finally made a choice on who to take your car to, you will want to get to know this technician. It’s not a bad idea to test him. Bring your car in for something very simple like a wheel alignment. By doing this you get your first taste of how this company really is. It will be much cheaper to test the company out with a wheel alignment than with a new clutch installation.

While they are working on your car, take a look around. Around the shop you can see certifications and qualifications for the technicians. Check to make sure the shop is clean and organized. Try to get a look at the quality of the equipment they have. You could potentially be giving these people thousands of dollars down the road. You need to make sure that they deserve it!

Master Mechanic Found

If the shop has passed your test, then it looks like you have found your mechanic. You can now trust them with bigger and harder tasks. Continue to get to know your technicians so that they can get to know you and your car. As they become friendly with you, a bond of trust is built. You will be more confident that they will not be dishonest, and they are more likely to give you the 100% honest truth about what is best for your car. Once you’ve found your mechanic, the search is over. If you would like to learn more about finding the best mechanic around you, take a look at the video below.

When you think of maintaining your vehicle, you probably think about changing the oil. That is the very most basic vehicle maintenance. Maybe changing filters or changing brake pads comes to mind. The truth is that many people overlook two very important things. These are belts and hoses.

Owning a car can be very expensive. You have to pay for the vehicle itself, and then you owe insurance each month. You have to pay for gas. Then you have to change the oil multiple times a year. You have to get tires every once in a while. It’s also going to need occasional repairs. Owning a vehicle really is more expensive than most people think it will be. That is exactly why many people do not take proper car of their vehicle. They overlook so many things because they feel like they are already spending so much on their vehicle and can’t spend any more.

The truth is that there are so many minor things that you can do to ensure that your vehicle lasts as long as possible. Paying $50 today is better than spending $500 or even $5,000 down the road. Overlooking these small things in reality do not save you money.

Timing Belt

The most important belt on your vehicle is the timing belt. Your engine has a wide variety of moving parts which all must move at the proper times to prevent damaging each other. Your timing belt has the job of synchronizing the crankshaft and the camshaft. This makes it so that the valves open and close exactly when they are supposed to. During the intake and exhaust strokes.

It is extremely important that everything works together with perfect timing or else irreversible engine damage will occur. If the timing belt were to break, then the piston will hit the valves. This will bend and break the valves. It also has the potential to put a hole in the engine block as a result of the collision. If this occurs, you will need to buy a new engine.

That is exactly why it is best to replace the belt before it breaks. Your manufacturer will suggest a mileage by which you should have changed your timing belt. This varies by manufacturer but is generally every 30,000-80,000 miles. Doing this is incredibly important as it could end up costing you thousands of dollars if the belt breaks.

Below is a video we found that portrays very well what occurs when a timing belt breaks. This will help you to visualize what actually happens when the timing belt breaks.

  Changing a timing belt can be difficult. The timing must be exact or else engine damage will occur. If the timing is off, you could experience improper compression, premature exhaust gas leakage, or valve damage. For these reasons, it is usually best if you take your car to a professional if you need the timing belt replaced.

Serpentine Belt

Another very important belt your vehicle has is the serpentine belt. While not as potentially dangerous as the timing belt, this belt still serves an important purpose. Your serpentine belt is the one that you can see when you look under the hood. Your serpentine belt is responsible for powering a lot of the key components to your vehicle.

Your serpentine belt generally supplies power to your AC compressor, water pump, alternator, and power steering pump. Each of these systems is critical to proper engine function. When the belt breaks, you will no longer have any of these systems. This means that the vehicle will quickly need to be parked as the water pump is no longer pumping engine coolant. You can still drive without power-steering and AC but without engine coolant flowing, you will quickly overheat.

A serpentine belt breaking will absolutely leave you stranded. On the bright side, your serpentine belt will give you plenty of hints that it is about to break. It will start to crack and break. It can even lose entire grooves and still function normally. As long as you inspect it from time to time, it will not break on you. You can also regularly change your belt to make sure that it never sneaks up on you.

Hose Inspection

Another very important thing to inspect is the hoses in your vehicle. There are several different hoses which all have important functions. The radiator hoses are incredibly important. These will crack over time and can start leaking. If you continue to lose coolant, eventually your vehicles ability to cool the engine down will suffer. Regularly inspecting these hoses takes little to no effort and can save you from overheating down the road. If you do have hoses that are cracking, you should have them replaced as soon as possible.

Your heater hoses can also fail. The outlet heater hose that runs from the engine to the heater core is a common hose to fail. Check this hose regularly as you do not want it to start leaking. This can result in in engine overheating as well. Coolant flows through these lines as well. You will notice puddles of coolant under your vehicle as these hoses start to fail. Do not ignore this issue as it can lead to worse issues.

Hose and Belt Replacement

All of these parts are relatively cheap to buy. Changing most of these is also fairly simple with the timing belt being the exception. The timing belt itself may not be too expensive but the labor to pay someone to do it can be. A timing belt replacement can cost you well over $1,000, depending on the vehicle you have.

Serpentine belts can be changing fairly simply. You will want to refer to the owner’s manual or find a guide online to ensure that you route the new belt properly. Changing hoses is also fairly simple and can be done by most people without an excessive amount of automotive experience. Checking and replacing these parts, while often overlooked, will save you a lot of money down the road!

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Your car operates using a complex series of electrical circuits to function properly. Car’s today can have over 25 computers and operate on a large data bus network. With modern navigation technology, your car might even have more memory stored in it than your computer does. This is what makes driving modern cars today so simple and fun. Cars are also safer than they’ve ever been before. The one major downside to this, is that most people are afraid to work on electrical problems on their cars.

This is absolutely an irrational fear. There is no reason to be afraid of working on your car when it is experiencing electrical problems. The reason for this fear, is that many people do not understand how electricity works and they do not know how to go about diagnosing electrical problems. With a basic understanding of how terms like volts, amps, and ohms, you have much of the necessary knowledge to understand what is going on with your car. (By the way a great school to learn auto electrical repair is Midlands Technical College.)

Another great thing to know is how various electrical components operate. Your car uses a wide variety of capacitors, motors, solenoids, diodes, and transducers. These words may sound strange to you. Understanding how each of these components operate, will help you out so much as you go about diagnosing your own vehicle. Once you understand electrical components and how electricity works, there is a simple diagnostic process to find the problem and repair it.

Man’s Best Friend

When it comes to working on electrical systems, your multi-meter will be your new best friend. This is the most useful tool you can have when it comes to diagnosing electrical faults. This tool is capable of doing so much. You can buy one online or at any auto store for anywhere from $5-$200. There is a huge market for these and you can get them with all sorts of different features, some are fused, and some have nice displays. This is one tool you will always want to have on hand. It is a lifesaver when it comes to diagnosing your car’s electrical problems. For those of you who don’t know how to use a multi-meter, here is a helpful video that explains the basics of using one.

This is not the only tool you will ever need but it is by far the most used tool. You may find it helpful to buy things like a test light or a fused circuit breaker. Once you have the proper tools, you are ready to start working on your car. With a basic understanding of electricity, fixing your car’s problems becomes very easy.

Remember that your car is built up of a large amount of circuits. When a circuit is closed (when the circuit is active/switch on), there should be electricity flowing through it. If there isn’t or if there is but the circuit’s load isn’t working like it should, then you have found a problem. By thinking about it, it becomes obvious that there are only three possible problems that could be causing your cars electronics to misbehave. They are a short circuit, open circuit, and excessive resistance. No matter what you are experiencing, only one of those things can be the culprit. Now you just have to discover which one it is and where the problem is taking place so that you can fix it.

Open Circuit

One of the simplest problems to diagnose is an open circuit. An open circuit means that the flow of electrons is interrupted somewhere in the circuit. This could be something like a broken wire. The wire breaking stops the electrons from flowing through the circuit as they are unable to continue through the wire. Another example of an open circuit is a worn-out component. A good example is a light bulb. When the light bulb burns out, the filaments inside wear out and eventually wear out until the circuit is open.

The best way to go about making sure that an open circuit is your problem, is to test with your multi-meter. Switch it to volts and measure the voltage at various locations in a given circuit. If you have the proper voltage at the battery and throughout the circuit but then lose it at one point, then you know you have an open. You also then know where the open is. Simply testing the voltage at different spots will tell you a lot about the circuit and help you find the problem.

Short Circuit

Another common problem is a short circuit. This means that the flow of electricity is flowing somewhere where it shouldn’t. This could be to a variety of places. It could be another circuit, straight to ground, or back to its own circuit in another place. This often happens as a wire rubs against something. Over time the insulation around the wire wears out and then the metal inside becomes exposed. As it then touches something, electricity can flow to something else.

Short circuits are diagnosed in a very similar way. Use your multi-meter to measure the voltage at various places. This is how you will know when there is no longer the proper voltage present in a circuit where it should be. Using this method, you can narrow down the problem.

Excessive Resistance

Excessive resistance is exactly what it sounds like. There is too much resistance in the circuit so that the proper voltage isn’t able to arrive to the load. This is diagnosed in exactly the same way. Measure the voltage throughout the circuit. You should have 12 volts throughout the circuit all the way to the load. If you don’t, narrow down and find the excessive resistance.

You Can Do It

Armed with a multi-meter, you can fix the electrical problems your car might have. Just remember that there are only three possible problems you could have. This is exactly how the most skilled mechanics diagnose and repair electrical systems. There is no need to be afraid of working on your car when it has electrical problems. You can do it!

The word “tune-up” used to mean something very specific. Older vehicles often needed carburetor adjustments, timing checks, points replacement, and frequent spark plug changes. Modern vehicles are different. They use computer-controlled fuel injection, ignition coils, sensors, emissions systems, variable valve timing, turbochargers, and advanced diagnostics.

For Chamblee drivers, a modern tune-up should not be a generic parts package. It should be based on the vehicle’s symptoms, mileage, maintenance history, and manufacturer requirements.

A car that runs rough may need spark plugs. It may also need diagnostics for a vacuum leak, ignition coil, dirty throttle body, fuel trim problem, sensor issue, or software-related concern. This guide explains what a tune-up means today and when drivers should schedule one.

Start With the Symptoms

A modern tune-up should begin with questions. Does the vehicle idle rough? Does it hesitate when accelerating? Does it shake at stops? Does it use more fuel than usual? Is the check engine light on? Does the problem happen only when cold or after warming up?

Symptoms help guide testing. A rough cold start may have a different cause than hesitation during highway merging. A misfire under load may point to a different problem than stalling at idle.

Replacing parts without diagnosis can waste money.

Spark Plugs Still Matter

Spark plugs ignite the air-fuel mixture inside the engine. When they wear, the engine may misfire, idle roughly, start harder, or lose power.

Modern spark plugs often last longer than older designs, but they still have service intervals. The correct plug type matters. Some vehicles require iridium, platinum, or exact manufacturer-approved plugs.

If spark plugs are replaced, ignition coils and boots should be inspected too. A misfire is not always caused by the plug alone.

Ignition Coils and Misfires

Many modern engines use coil-on-plug ignition. Each cylinder may have its own ignition coil. A failing coil can cause shaking, misfires, poor acceleration, warning lights, or reduced fuel economy.

A technician may use scan data, misfire counters, visual inspection, resistance checks, or coil swap testing depending on the vehicle.

Replacing every coil is not always necessary, but sometimes it makes sense based on mileage, access, and condition.

Air Filters and Cabin Filters

The engine air filter helps keep dirt out of the engine. A clogged filter can reduce airflow, especially under acceleration.

The cabin air filter cleans air entering the passenger area. In the Atlanta metro area, pollen and dust can clog cabin filters faster than drivers expect. A dirty cabin filter can reduce airflow from the vents and create stale odors.

A tune-up visit is a good time to check both filters.

Fuel System and Throttle Body Service

Modern engines rely on precise fuel and airflow control. Dirty throttle bodies, carbon buildup, injector problems, vacuum leaks, and sensor issues can all affect performance.

Direct-injection engines may develop carbon buildup on intake valves because fuel does not wash over the valves the same way it does in port-injection systems.

Symptoms can include rough idle, cold-start misfires, hesitation, or reduced response. Fuel system service should be based on symptoms, mileage, inspection, and manufacturer recommendations.

Fluids Are Part of Performance

A tune-up should not ignore fluids. Engine oil, coolant, transmission fluid, brake fluid, differential fluid, and power steering fluid if equipped all support vehicle reliability.

Low or old fluids can create symptoms that feel like engine problems. Dirty oil can affect variable valve timing. Low transmission fluid can cause hesitation or rough shifting. Old coolant can contribute to overheating.

A complete tune-up should include a maintenance review.

Check Engine Light Diagnosis

A check engine light should be diagnosed before tune-up parts are replaced. Codes may point to misfires, oxygen sensor readings, fuel trim issues, evaporative emissions leaks, catalytic converter efficiency, or sensor circuits.

Codes are helpful, but they do not always identify the failed part. A lean code may come from a vacuum leak, exhaust leak, sensor issue, fuel delivery problem, or intake concern.

The FuelEconomy.gov maintenance guide is a helpful resource for understanding how maintenance affects performance and efficiency.

Battery and Charging System Checks

Low voltage can cause strange vehicle behavior. A weak battery may trigger warning lights, hard starts, communication errors, or module problems.

Battery and charging system testing is useful before summer heat, before a long road trip, or if the vehicle sits for days between drives.

The AAA battery maintenance guide offers helpful information about battery care and warning signs.

When Chamblee Drivers Should Schedule a Tune-Up

Consider a tune-up or diagnostic visit if your vehicle has rough idle, hard starts, hesitation, poor fuel economy, engine vibration, warning lights, overdue spark plugs, or unknown service history.

It is also smart after buying a used vehicle or before a long trip.

The goal is not to replace random parts. The goal is to restore smooth operation and prevent avoidable problems.

Local Help for Auto Tune-Up Service in Chamblee