May 16, 2012

Deciphering The Menu Board At Master Auto Repair: F to W

Filed under: Making Your Vehicle Last — master267 @ 7:10 pm

Deciphering The Menu Board At Master Auto Repair F to W

You may not be familiar with all of the items on Master Auto Repair’s menu board so here is a quick description of some of the typical services that might be listed. Remember, the board is there for reference; speak to your Master Auto Repair Service Adviser about other possible needs or services.

Master Auto Repair Fuel System Cleaning: Over time, the fuel system gets gum and varnish built up. A fuel system cleaning at Master Auto Repair gets rid of that and cleans out the fuel injectors. Saves gas as you drive around St Louis and on St. Louis freeways, by the way.

Master Auto Repair Headlamp Replacement: Halogen and standard headlamps gradually fade. When one burns out, replace both so they’ll have the same brightness. Also, if your headlamp lenses are yellowed or cloudy, you can have them professionally restored to like new-condition. As your caring Master Auto Repair advisor for information.

Master Auto Repair Inspections: St Louis drivers get inspections for many reasons. Maybe they’re going on a trip or just want to make sure their vehicle’s ready for summer or winter in St Louis. Maybe they just bought a used car and want to give it the once over. An inspection at Master Auto Repair may reveal some things that are broken or are getting close to having a problem.

Master Auto Repair Oil Change Service – there are several options: Some St Louis auto service centers offer just an oil change and new filter as an option. Most will also check and top off all of your other fluids and do a quick visual inspection with a full service oil change. There may also be options for higher mileage fluids or an upgrade to synthetic oil.

Master Auto Repair PCV Valve Service: PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation valve. It’s a little part that releases pressure from the engine. It can get gummed up and that can lead to engine damage. Just needs to be changed now and then.

Master Auto Repair Power Steering Service: Often overlooked. Your Master Auto Repair technician will evacuate the old fluid, clean out the system and replace it with clean fluid. Keeps the system running well for a long time.

Master Auto Repair Serpentine Belt Replacement: That’s the belt that powers the engine’s accessories like the alternator, air conditioner, power steering and brakes. You’ll want to replace the serpentine belt at Master Auto Repair before it breaks or wears down too much, because that’ll lead to other problems.

Master Auto Repair Shocks and Struts Replacement: This starts with an inspection of the suspension components. Shocks last a long time and wear out slowly, so many St Louis motorists don’t notice when it’s time to change them. If they’re worn or leaking, they need to be replaced.

Master Auto Repair Transmission Service: This involves removing the transmission fluid and replacing it with clean fluid. It’s like an oil change for your transmission.

Master Auto Repair Tire Rotation and Wheel Balancing: The tires are rotated from front to back using the recommended rotation pattern. This helps tires wear more evenly. Wheels need to be balanced from time to time to keep them turning without any wobble or bounce. Helps the ride and saves tire wear as you drive around St Louis.

Give us a call

Master Auto Repair
314.843.0090
8216 Watson Rd
St Louis, MO 63119

At Master Auto Repair in St Louis MO (63119) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 314.843.0090. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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May 11, 2012

Getting The Right Wheels And Tires At Master Auto Repair In St Louis

Filed under: Tires — master267 @ 4:36 pm

Getting The Right Wheels And Tires At Master Auto Repair In St Louis

A lot of people in the St. Louis area want custom wheels. When you do this yourself (over the internet . . .) you could run into trouble if you’re not careful. Sometimes they just don’t fit right: The tires rub in turns or over bumps. Consulting a tire professional at Master Auto Repair in St Louis can ensure you get the right fit for your sedan. First he’ll ask you a series of questions about your driving needs and what you want in your new wheels.

Now, not every wheel can go on every vehicle. Care must be taken so that tires and wheels are not too large or that the wheel is centered too far towards the outside or the inside. If you don’t want to make any modifications to your sedan, you would need to focus on a wheel and tire combination that would fit. With trucks, some St Louis people like much bigger tires so they need a suspension lift.

Also, most St Louis people don’t realize that you need to keep the rolling diameter of your new tires – that’s the overall height of the tire – very close to what came from the factory in order for your anti-lock brakes and stability control systems to work properly.

The sedan computers that control these systems are calibrated to a certain size tire. When you go bigger or smaller, the computer doesn’t know what changes you made so it can’t tell how fast you’re going. This, of course, means it sends commands to the brakes and traction control that are based on the wrong sensor information. If you go with a different rolling diameter, your sedan vehicle control computer can be reprogrammed for the new tire size. At Master Auto Repair, we can give you information about control computer reprogramming.

Either way, there are hundreds of wheel and tire choices to choose from in St Louis. You can pick the style of wheel you want and then talk with your St Louis tire professional about how big the wheel should be – and select the right tire to meet your style, performance, ride and handling needs – and the best way to do all this is to have your caring Master Auto Repair tire specialist see your sedan in person so mistakes are not made.

At Master Auto Repair, we also offer brake service and alignment.

Give us a call

Master Auto Repair
314.843.0090
8216 Watson Rd
St Louis, MO 63119

At Master Auto Repair in St Louis MO (63119) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 314.843.0090. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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May 2, 2012

Cooling System Service At Master Auto Repair

Filed under: Cooling System — master267 @ 6:52 pm

Cooling System Service At Master Auto Repair

Your sedan cooling system’s job is to keep your engine cool. Coolant (also called antifreeze) mixed with water flows through your 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 cooled mix circulates back through the sedan engine to absorb more heat.

Coolant, or antifreeze, is specially formulated to keep your engine safe in a wide range of environmental and operating temperatures in St Louis.

Without coolant, the sedan’s metal engine parts would expand so much that the engine would seize up and stop running.  Expensive parts could be broken or warp so badly they would have to be replaced at Master Auto Repair in St Louis. It could even be so bad that the whole engine is ruined and has to be replaced.

Also, if it’s freezing outside in St Louis, the water in your engine could freeze while your vehicle is sitting out in the MO cold. This is why you check coolant levels frequently and have your cooling system inspected for leaks. Also your manufacturer has a maintenance requirement for draining and replacing your coolant. These recommendations can vary widely, so check your St Louis owner’s manual or ask your service advisor at Master Auto Repair in St Louis.

The reason you need to change the coolant is that it has additives in it to protect the cooling system. As you can imagine, with all the heat, the cooling system’s a pretty harsh environment. The additives keep the fluid from becoming corrosive and damaging the radiator and other St Louis cooling system components. Over time, the additives are depleted and the coolant just has to be replaced. A simple pH test can measure the coolant’s acidity.

You may have noticed that there are different colors of antifreeze at Master Auto Repair: it is very important that you use the correct type.  The different coolant types are different colors so you don’t mix them up.  Manufacturers use different materials to make the cooling system, and they require different types of antifreeze to protect them.

So check with your caring Master Auto Repair service advisor or owner’s manual for the right kind because using the wrong coolant can void the warranty for your sedan cooling system.

Ask us about oil changes, alignment and fuel system cleaning.

Give us a call

Master Auto Repair
314.843.0090
8216 Watson Rd
St Louis, MO 63119

At Master Auto Repair in St Louis MO (63119) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 314.843.0090. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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April 27, 2012

Battery Replacement In St Louis

Filed under: Battery — master267 @ 6:34 pm

Battery Replacement In St Louis

Car batteries wear out just like any other battery and need to be replaced. There are a couple of things St Louis sedan owners should know when looking for a new car battery: one is cold cranking amps and the other is reserve capacity.

Let’s start with cold cranking amps. This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold sedan engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live around St Louis, specifically how cold it is where you live. The two factors are that the colder an engine is, the more power it takes to turn the sedan engine over to get it started. It has all that cold, sluggish oil to contend with. The other factor is that the chemical reaction in the battery that creates electrical energy is less efficient in the cold.

So the colder it gets in St Louis, more power is needed, but the available power drops.

If you live where it’s cold, you need a battery with more cold cranking amps than you do where it’s moderate or hot. You should always get at least as many cold cranking amps as the manufacturer recommends, but may want to upgrade at Master Auto Repair if you live where it gets real cold.

An important note: Batteries may also list the Cranking Amps – CA – number. It is the Cold Cranking Amps – or CCA – that is the important number here. CCA is the number to use in your comparisons.

Now with all this talk of cold temperatures in St Louis, it’s important to note that heat is the real enemy of long battery life. In other words, the damage that’s done over the hot summer months in St Louis shows up with the increased demands on the sedan battery when the weather turns cold.

Now on to reserve capacity: It’s a measurement of the number of minutes of reserve power the battery has at a given load. The number is more important these days because of parasitic drain. Parasitic drain is the battery energy that’s used when the key is off. So the power drawn by the sedan security system, the remote start system, even the power the sedan computers require to maintain their memory.

Reserves are also needed when you make very short trips around St Louis. You’re not driving long enough for the battery to recover the energy it used to start the sedan engine.

So go with the minimum recommended by your manufacturer and upgrade if you need more. Talk with your caring Master Auto Repair service advisor about options. If you need more from your battery, a larger capacity battery may be called for.

Batteries are a big ticket item for most St Louis motorists, so the warranty gives peace of mind. Be sure to ask about the car battery warranty at Master Auto Repair so you know what you’re getting. At Master Auto Repair, we have been providing quality auto service in St Louis for 20 years.

Give us a call

Master Auto Repair
8216 Watson Rd
St Louis, MO 63119

At Master Auto Repair in St Louis MO (63119) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 314.843.0090. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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April 20, 2012

Wheel Alignment Service At Master Auto Repair In St Louis

Filed under: Alignment — master267 @ 6:17 pm

Wheel Alignment Service At Master Auto Repair In St Louis

When all of a vehicle’s wheels are lined up exactly with each other, your wheels are in alignment. Hitting a road hazard in St Louis or even just the normal bumps and bounces of everyday MO driving can cause your sedan wheels to be out of alignment. This can lead to expensive premature tire and suspension wear.

Here are some alignment basics from Master Auto Repair:
The first angle is called toe: do the wheels point in towards each other or away from each other at the front of the tire.
The next angle is called camber: do the wheels tip in or out at the top.
And finally, there is castor. Castor measures the angle where the front axles attach to the vehicle.

The ideal alignment for your sedan was designed by its engineers. Master Auto Repair alignment service starts with an inspection of the steering and suspension – so see if anything’s bent, broken or worn out. Then the Master Auto Repair technician will look at tire condition. From there, the sedan is put on an alignment rack and an initial alignment reading is taken. The wheels are then aligned to manufacturer’s specifications.

Your owner’s manual probably has a recommendation for how often your sedan alignment should be checked – usually every couple of years. If you suspect an alignment problem with your sedan, get it checked at Master Auto Repair before you suffer expensive tire or suspension damage.

Give us a call

Master Auto Repair
314.843.0090
8216 Watson Rd
St Louis, MO 63119

At Master Auto Repair in St Louis MO (63119) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 314.843.0090. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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