Florissant auto repair

The serpentine belt is aptly named since it snakes around under your hood. It may lack its namesake's fangs, but it sure packs a wallop when it breaks.The serpentine belt powers a lot of engine systems. It runs the alternator, which charges the battery; the water pump (on some vehicles), which cools the engine; the air conditioning, which cools the driver and passengers; and the power steering pump, which allows for easier steering. When the belt breaks, all of these systems shut down.Okay, so maybe you can live without air conditioning and power steering for a while, but your battery can't live very long without an alternator, and when the cooling system goes down, your vehicle engine will overheat. That's why Florissant drivers should never wait to get a serpentine belt replaced.Serpentine belts are fairly inexpensive at garysautorepair in Florissant. And they look downright cheap when you compare them to the cost of an overheated vehicle engine, a tow truck, time lost on the road, i ... read more

When properly aligned, all of your wheels are pointed in the same direction. Your vehicle will track true and handle the way it is designed. Florissant drivers often associate our wheels being “knocked” out of alignment with an event like a major crash, hitting a pothole, curb or some other object. While these can certainly take your wheels out of alignment, the bumps and bounces of everyday Florissant driving take their toll on wheel alignment as well. Your car can lose alignment over time with just normal driving. When your wheels are out of alignment, the team of automotive professionals at garysautorepair in Florissant can return your wheels to the factory settings. Most owners’ manuals suggest an inspection every year or two.Give us a call.garysautorepair1779 N Hwy 67Florissant, Missouri 6303331

Florissant drivers know that if their air conditioning system isn’t making cool air like it used to, there is a problem. It may be as simple as adding more of the right kind of refrigerant.Your A/C requires special compressor oil, which circulates through the system along with the refrigerant, to lubricate and protect expensive components and keep seals and gaskets from drying out. If refrigerant has leaked out – so has the compressor oil. This oil needs to be replenished whenever refrigerant is added.An air conditioning inspection at garysautorepair will uncover any potential problems and identify any necessary repairs needed to get Florissant drivers on the road to cool air once again.Give us a call.garysautorepair1779 N Hwy 67Florissant, Missouri 6303331

Imagine waking up one morning with a stomach ache. You pick up the phone, call the doctor’s office and say, “I’ve got a really bad tummy ache. How much will it cost to make me feel better?” Of course you wouldn’t do that. You know that there could be a lot of reasons for your symptoms and that the doctor will have to examine you, ask some questions and probably run some tests before she can tell you what’s wrong and give you treatment options. This same scenario plays out every day at Missouri auto repair facilities. When the cause of the concern isn’t obvious, the car will need to undergo a diagnostic examination. The typical car has about 30,000 parts, including several networked computers and miles of wiring. Finding exactly what is wrong can be very complicated and take some time. The most experienced technicians at garysautorepair in Florissant are the ones who tackle the difficult diagnostic jobs. Once they have determined the cause ... read more

The transmission system in your vehicle allows you to change gears. Lower gears are power gears. They get your vehicle moving and get it up hills. Higher gears get the vehicle up to speed and get it rolling faster. If you have a standard transmission, then you have to do the work of shifting gears yourself. But with an automatic transmission, the vehicle shifts gears on its own. It automatically starts out in low gear and automatically shifts to high gears as it gets rolling. Again, it will automatically shift to a lower gear to climb hills or when you need a burst of speed.How does it know when to change gears? Today's automatic transmissions are computer-controlled. The computer gathers information about what the vehicle is doing and changes the gears as needed.Automatic transmissions are becoming more sophisticated all the time. More gears, or “speeds,” are being added. Almost all vehicles have at least four speeds. Five or six is common. Some are even increasing to seve ... read more

Your brake pads are the important parts that rub against the rotor (or disc) to slow and stop your car when driving in Florissant. They eventually wear down.When your pads are worn too much, they won’t stop your vehicle as well. When the friction material is worn away, metal parts of the pad are exposed and you’ll hear a squeal or grinding sound. That’s when Florissant drivers should replace their brake pads at garysautorepair. Not only will new pads restore your stopping power, but replacing them on time will prevent damage to the rotor.If your brakes are making noise, ask your garysautorepair service advisor to inspect your brakes. Addressing problems early will restore your safety and prevent expensive brake damage.garysautorepair1779 N Hwy 67Florissant, Missouri 6303331

The brake rotor, or disc, is attached to your wheel. The brake pads rub on the rotor to slow your car when you are driving in Florissant.Rotors can warp, crack or become misaligned. They can also be damaged by worn out brake pads that scratch grooves into the surface. These conditions result in less contact surface for the brake pads, leaving you with reduced braking power.Over time and miles, rotors can also wear down below safe specifications. It is important for Florissant drivers to know that simply replacing brake pads on a wheel with a bad rotor will not solve the problem. Depending on their condition, rotors may be resurfaced or replaced.Brake noise or a pulsation in the brake pedal are signs of potential brake problems that should be addressed right away. If you have any brake concerns, please have your friendly and professional garysautorepair tech perform a thorough inspection.Give us a call.garysautorepair1779 N Hwy 67Florissant, Missouri 6303331

Our vehicles are not massage chairs. While we may enjoy a good vibration in an overstuffed recliner, we generally want as smooth a ride as possible in our vehicles. One way to achieve this is to keep a vehicle's wheels in balance. When a tire is mounted onto a wheel, it is usually out of balance. This means that as the wheel spins, there is a slight wobble to the path of the tire. For best handling performance and safety on the road, Florissant drivers want to minimize this wobble as much as possible. So we balance our tires. To balance a tire, your technician at garysautorepair spins it on a machine or drum to determine where it is off-balance. He then attaches weights that counter-balance the uneven weight. Most people in Florissant are surprised at how much balancing improves the smoothness of their ride. High-quality tires generally hold their balance well. But over time, wear and tear take their toll and tires can become unbalanced. Florissant drivers can tel ... read more

When Florissant drivers need to replace tires, they need to know how many they should get and on which axle they should be placed. Replacing a damaged tire may leave you with three others with significant wear, which could affect your traction control, stability control and anti-lock brake systems.If you can’t afford to replace all four tires at once, you should at least replace two on the same axle. New tires should always be put on the rear axle for stability in slippery conditions. Your friendly and professional garysautorepair tire professional can help you know when your worn tires should be replaced, if you can have a damaged tire repaired as well as selecting the right tires for your needs.Give us a call.garysautorepair1779 N Hwy 67Florissant, Missouri 6303331

Modern Florissant vehicles have several computers on board that control all kinds of things like engine functions, transmission shifts, traction control, anti-lock brakes, stability control, emissions – and on some vehicles, even steering, braking and the throttle.Think about that for a minute – things that used to be controlled by simple mechanical connections now have electronic controls that rely on computers, software and sensors. It's no wonder that when something goes wrong with their vehicle it can be pretty complicated for Florissant drivers to track down the source of the problem.To help your service advisor at garysautorepair figure out what's wrong, your vehicle is equipped with on-board diagnostics. The Check Engine light comes on to tell you there's a problem and the engine management computer stores a trouble code. Your friendly and knowledgeable garysautorep ... read more