Florissant auto repair

Every car in Florissant, Missouri, is at risk for theft. So it's up to us to make our cars a less appealing target and more of a challenge – hopefully sending potential thieves to look elsewhere.The National Insurance Crime Bureau recommends a layered approach to protecting vehicles: Common sense Visible and audible devices Immobilizing devices Tracking devices Let's review each of these. One is common sense; you would be surprised how many vehicles are stolen in Missouri where the keys were left in the ignition with the doors unlocked. Always take your keys and lock the doors. In fact, in some places it's against the law to leave a vehicle unattended with the keys in the ignition.And don't leave spare keys in the car or hide them outside – because a thief will find them. Florissant drivers would be wise to park in well-lit areas that have a lot of foot traffic. If possible, park near th ... read more

There's a reason we use the word “diagnose” when we talk about fixing cars in Florissant. Figuring out what's wrong with your vehicle has a lot of similarities to figuring out what's wrong with someone who is ill. Vehicles are a mass of complex systems that can produce a variety of symptoms when something goes wrong. As with human diagnoses, a specific symptom may be indicative of a number of problems, and figuring out the specific cause takes training and experience.Sometimes the diagnosis of your vehicle's trouble comes down to a matter of trial-and-error. This can be frustrating for Florissant drivers because time and money are on the line. You may feel you should only be paying for repair work. Of course, you only want to pay for the right repair – and a proper diagnosis is part of getting it right. Like at the doctor's office — some of what you pay for is the doctor's time and effort to figur ... read more

Remember snow tires? They were basically just regular tires with big, knobby lugs to get them through deep snow. They were loud and rode hard, and Florissant drivers couldn't wait to get them off the car. Then along came television advertisements for “all-season” radials. Missouri drivers ran out and bought some and we thought we were done with snow tires forever.Tires have come a long way since then. Modern winter tires sold in the Florissant area are much better designed for the wide range of conditions that come with Missouri winter weather. They are made with a rubber compound that helps them stay flexible in cold weather. Regular tires become hard and stiff at Florissant temperatures below 45°F (7° C) which reduces their traction. That's a concern in winter, especially with snowy or wet conditions. But it also means that Florissant drivers are better off with winter tires in cold weather even when it's dry.The tread design on winter tires has been improved to m ... read more

A lot of us Florissant drivers like our vehicles to reflect our personalities. We're picky about color and body style. We'll customize anything from floor mats to window tints to license plates. One popular way for Missouri motorists to customize a vehicle is to get new wheels.Wheels come in thousands of designs. Custom wheels can add personality, style or sass to a vehicle. Many of these customizations involve getting a bigger wheel.Fifteen or 16-inch wheels used to be the factory standard, but today, because a lot of Florissant drivers like the look of larger wheels, many vehicles are available with 17 or 18-inch wheels. Optional wheel packages of 20 inches or more are also available in Florissant.If you want to upsize the wheels on your current vehicle, however, you should know it's not a do-it-yourself project. There are factors involved in ensuring your wheel change doesn't jeopardize the safety of your vehicle.First of all, you need to understand rolling diameter ... read more

The Check Engine Light strikes fear into the hearts of some Florissant drivers, and is totally ignored by just as many. Just what it means is a mystery to most people. Let's get the urgency issues out of the way first. If your Check Engine light is flashing, that means that something is wrong that could cause engine damage. Naturally, you need to get that taken care of right away. If your check engine light is flashing, you shouldn't drive at high speeds, tow or haul heavy loads. Take it easy all the way to your Florissant service center. If the light is glowing steadily, you should keep an eye on it for a day or two. If the light doesn't go off, schedule an appointment with your friendly and knowledgeable pros at garysautorepair to get it checked out.Some more information on how the Check Engine light works may be helpful for Florissant drivers. Most of your engine functions are controlled by a computer, not surprisingly, call ... read more

Hello, Florissant residents. Let's talk fuel filters. Fuel filters clean the dirt, dust and debris out of your fuel. Both gasoline and diesel-powered engines have them. The fuel filter is located in the fuel line between the fuel tank and the engine.Florissant auto owners don't need to filter their fuel because it has lots of grit in it; they need to filter it because it has some grit it in. Any dirt is bad for your engine. The cleaner the fuel, the better your vehicle engine will run.Over time, the small amounts of rust, dirt and contaminants in your fuel settle out inside the fuel tank. After about five years, this can amount to a quite a bit of sediment. This means that as your vehicle ages, your fuel filter has to work harder to screen your fuel: more sediment in your tank means more potential for grit in your fuel.The harder your fuel filter works, the more often it needs to be replaced. Check with your owner's manual to find out how often it should ... read more

Having trouble with your fuel system? Bring your vehicle into garysautorepair for a check up.In today's garysautorepair auto post,we're talking about fuel system cleaning. The first thing to know is how important it is to have a clean fuel system. Florissant residents need fuel to go, and the cleaner the fuel system, the more efficiently the fuel will burn. That means more power and better mileage .A clean fuel system saves money for Florissant drivers at Missouri gas stations. We guess you could say it all starts and ends at the pump. One of the most important things Florissant residents can do to keep their vehicle fuel system clean is to buy good quality gas. Major brands have detergents that keep gum and varnish from rapidly building up in the fuel system.So buying cheaper gas in Missouri can actually be more expensive for Florissant drivers in the long run. Now, most cars on Missouri roads are more than five or six years old. That means they've had time for s ... read more

Florissant residents know that engines burn fuel to operate. Fuel is pumped from your fuel tank to your engine where it is squirted—or injected—into your engine's cylinders. This is the function of the fuel injectors.There are two ways to inject fuel into an engine. Fuel needs air to burn, so in the first method, fuel is injected into a port and allowed to mix with air—and before it is drawn into the cylinders. In the second method, fuel is injected directly into the cylinders and mixes with air after it enters the engine.Direct injection engines burn fuel more efficiently than conventional engines. Some models can deliver the power of a V8 with the economy of a V6.For example, in one family of engines, the conventional version (a V6) delivers about 250 horsepower. The direct injection version delivers over 300 horsepower and gets about the same . The turbocharged version delivers 350 horsepower.Why the big difference in power? Direct ... read more

Today we want to talk about a system in our vehicles – the cooling system. It's one of those things that Florissant auto owners don't give much thought to until it fails and then they're stranded by the side of a road in Missouri.Cooling systems fail more often than any other mechanical system – usually because of neglect. Don't you hate it when something breaks and you could have done something to prevent it?The good news is that if Florissant drivers take care of their cooling systems, they can keep working for the life of their car.Here at garysautorepair in Florissant, we emphasize preventive maintenance services like replacing your coolant according to the factory schedule. But the various parts that make up the cooling system need attention too. The major components of the cooling system are the water pump, freeze plugs, the thermostat, radiator, cooling fans, the heater core, the pressure cap, the overflow tank and the ... read more

Most Florissant drivers are all talking right now. Better gas mileage. Fewer emissions. Missouri folks want to save the environment and our pocketbooks.And we Florissant drivers all know — or should know — that preventive maintenance will help maintain maximum fuel efficiency. But is there something more we can do? After all, some of us Florissant road warriors can't cut back on our driving, and others would like to do more to economize.Weight is one major enemy of fuel economy. The more you lug around in your vehicle, the more fuel you have to burn to get around Florissant. And that means buying more gas and producing more emissions.Of course, your vehicle's weight isn't negotiable. And you can't do much about the weight of your passengers. And this isn't an article about diet and exercise.But look around your car. Are you hauling a bunch of unnecessary weight while driving around Florissant? Do you really need your golf clubs ev ... read more