Florissant auto repair

Virtually all vehicles come with power steering, so many Florissant drivers have never driven a car or truck without it. Power steering assists you when you turn your vehicle steering wheel. Without it, it would be very hard to steer. Now this power assist comes in a couple of forms. In recent years, a lot of vehicles have an electric motor that reduces steering effort and helps improve performance and handling. The other kind of power steering is hydraulic. This is the kind most older Missouri vehicles — and a lot of newer ones — have. Power steering fluid is pressurized by a pump and is used to assist steering. Of course, vehicles need the right amount of fluid in the system. If it's too low, your steering is affected and you could damage your vehicle pump. Also, power steering fluid can become corrosive over time and damage the pump, hoses and connectors, leading to leaks and repairs. Power s ... read more

All those automotive fluids can be confusing for Florissant drivers. Recent years have brought new grades of engine oil, types of transmission fluid, coolant and brake fluid. The right fluid protects your vehicle and helps it perform at its best. The wrong fluid won't work as well and could even cause damage.In addition to new grades of engine oil, many vehicles now leave the factory with synthetic oil. People in Florissant should always use the grade recommended by their manufacturer. All coolant, also called antifreeze, used to be green. Now there are several other colors of coolant sold at garysautorepair in Florissant. Each type is designed to protect the cooling system components that are particular to your vehicle. The wrong stuff can void your vehicle cooling system warranty and could even cause engine damage.Most passenger vehicles on Florissant roads today use either DOT 3, DOT 4 or DOT 5 brake fluid ... read more

Getting adequate fuel to your engine is very important for performance, fuel economy and safety. In order to accomplish this, your fuel system needs to be clean.Today's production cars have fuel injectors, rather than a carburetor. The injectors need to be cleaned from time to time in order to deliver the fuel with the correct pressure, spray pattern and volume.Florissant drivers can buy fuel system cleaners that you pour into your gas tank to help maintain an already clean fuel system; however, they can't do a major cleaning. For that, you need to see garysautorepair in Florissant. We have the tools and chemicals to do the job right. Our friendly and knowledgeable team at garysautorepair can remove particles, gum and varnish from your fuel system and get those injectors running cleanly and efficiently. You'll find garysautorepair at 1779 N Hwy 67 in Florissant, Missouri 63033. Or just give us a call at 314-831-5843 to schedule an appointment. You'll enjoy more power, better fuel econo ... read more

Weight is the enemy of fuel economy. Everyone from Florissant knows this makes sense.Some of us in the Florissant area carry a bunch of unnecessary weight, and I'm not talkin' what you see in the mirror.Guys: sports equipment and tools. Ladies: well, just take a look around the passenger compartment and trunk. I think my car has about 45 pounds of french fries on the floor.All that extra weight wastes gas as you drive between here and there, and everywhere else.Lose the junk and save some money....And you really only need one of those spare tires. garysautorepair 1779 N Hwy 67 Florissant, Missouri 63033 314

All new passenger vehicles on our Florissant, Missouri, roads now have tire pressure monitoring systems – TPMS for short. They are designed to alert you if your tires are underinflated. Since they are fairly new, a lot of people have questions about them.First off, the most important thing is that you still need to check your tire pressure every week – or at least every time you gas up. The TPMS system alert comes in when your tire is 20 percent below the factory recommendation. So if the recommended pressure is 34 pounds per square inch, the TPMS warning won't come on until the pressure is at 28 pounds. That's significantly underinflated, enough to raise safety concerns.The worst is tire failure. A severely underinflated tire can overheat and fail. Also, handling degrades to the point that you may not be able to steer out of trouble. Also underinflated tires wear out faster and they waste fu ... read more

Florissant drivers rely on their vehicle's coolant system to keep their engine cool. Coolant (also called antifreeze) mixed with water flows through your vehicle engine and absorbs heat. The mixture then flows out to the radiator where it's cooled by air flowing over the radiator. From there the coolant/water mix circulates back through the engine to absorb more heat.There's a reason we mix coolant and water. Water alone actually does a good job transferring heat from the engine. The problem is that water boils at a temperature that's easily reached inside your vehicle's engine, so it can turn to steam which does not conduct heat as well and is harder to contain.Also, if it's freezing outside in Florissant, the water in your engine could freeze while your vehicle is sitting out in the Missouri cold.So, if you remember your high school chemistry, you'll know that a mixture has both a higher boiling point and a lower freezing point ... read more

Some Florissant vehicle owners wonder why garysautorepair and other Florissant auto repair shops charge a fee for vehicle diagnostics. Receiving a diagnostic charge at garysautorepair for a tricky automotive problem shouldn't be a surprise. In the Florissant area, automotive diagnostics can cover quite a range. If you hear a noise in your vehicle brakes when you slow down in rush-hour traffic on a busy Missouri road, you pull off at the next off-ramp and take a quick visual check. That is usually enough to know what needs to be done. If you're having an intermittent problem with your vehicle engine, however, a garysautorepair diagnosis may be much more involved.Much of the Florissant driver's confusion comes when the problem involves the Check Engine light. The Check Engine light comes on when the engine management computer has sensed a problem. There's a common misconception among Missouri drivers that the trouble code tells the garysautorepair technician exactly what's wrong. Th ... read more

Warm weather or cold, Florissant drivers still need to think about their vehicle's air conditioning. Most Florissant people don't service their air conditioning until after it fails. At garysautorepair, we can advise you on your vehicle manufacturers preventive maintenance schedules for air conditioning service, just as we do for transmission service, oil changes and so on. Maintaining your air conditioning system means that you always have enough refrigerant to properly do the job. Small leaks in the vehicle's air conditioning system allow the refrigerant to escape and the system can't cool the air as well. We see that a lot at garysautorepair in Florissant.The refrigerant also contains oil that lubricates air conditioning components and keeps the seals resilient. Low refrigerant and lubricating oil means that the air conditioning parts will wear out prematurely, and all Florissant vehicle owners know that air conditioning repairs can b ... read more

Since driving requirements and lifestyles differ among Florissant drivers, your vehicle manufacturer publishes two auto maintenance schedules: the regular schedule and the severe service schedule. Which schedule should Florissant drivers follow? Here are some questions to ask yourself:Are most of your trips less than four miles/six kilometers around Florissant?Are most of your trips less than 10 miles/16 kilometers in below-zero Missouri temps?Are most of your trips off-highway in Missouri?Do you drive often in dusty Florissant areas?Do you regularly tow a trailer or carry heavy loads around Florissant?Do you drive in very hot or very cold Missouri weather?Think about your typical week. Do you live by your nearest Florissant on-ramp and enjoy a non-stop commute? Or, do you drive the neighborhood car pool in stop-and-go traffic on Florissant surface streets? Let's suppose your owner's manual says the severe service oil change recommendation is 3,000 miles ... read more

The median age for cars in the Florissant, Missouri area was over nine years. And two-thirds had over 75,000 miles. At garysautorepair we hear reports that those numbers continue to rise. If you have a high-mileage vehicle in the Florissant area, bring it into garysautorepair for high-mileage maintenance.1779 N Hwy 67Florissant, Missouri 63033314-831-5843 Many people in Missouri are keeping their vehicles longer. The economy has influenced that, but the fact that modern vehicles are more durable and reliable means that owning a high mileage vehicle doesn't have to be a painful experience.Local car owners in Florissant with over 100,000 miles on their vehicles often ask which service intervals they should follow. Let's start with the special needs of the older vehicle...The reality is that time and mileage will take its toll. The engine and transmission will have more sludge. The fuel, steering and brake systems will have gum and varnish built up. There ... read more