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Planning Your Perfect Road Trip

As the weather gets a little cooler here in lower Wisconsin some thoughts may be popping into your head to do a road trip to a warmer area for a short period of time. Before you start your trip, it is important that you are ready. No matter who is traveling along side you, the snack selection or destination, a road trip is always a great time. We have a couple tips and tricks for you to help keep your road adventure perfect.  PLAN YOUR ROUTE As you sit down and think about where you want your vehicle to take you there's a couple things to think about. Do you want to stay on highways or go off course a little and take the scenic route? What is your time frame? Do you want to travel back roads that have less traffic or hit the big cities? Do you need to go to straight to your destination or can you stop and sight see along the way? These are great things to have figured out before you head to your destination. The options are endless when you are picking your des ... read more

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Auto Blog

Shocks and Struts

The vehicle's shocks and struts are responsible for the control and handling of your vehicle. These basically keep the tires connected to the road. These components also stop your vehicle from bottoming out when the vehicle hits a pothole or uneven road surfaces. There are a few ways to tell if your shocks and struts are worn. Driving down the freeway at higher speeds the vehicle will not feel completely stable. It will constantly be moving up and down. The movement may be minimal but you will notice it. When you are taking sharp turns or taking an off-ramp, your vehicle "tips" to the outside of the turn and feels wobbly. The front end of the vehicle will dive more than expected during hard braking. You may not notice this until you must slam on your brakes. The rear-end of the vehicle may even squat during acceleration. This you only may feel during hard acceleration. Shocks and struts may even be leaking fluid from the exterior. This is a sign that the seals have br ... read more

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Auto Blog

Brakes for Breast is back!

Brakes for Breast is back!

Brakes for Breasts is an organization that works with Independent Auto Repair shops throughout the nation during the month of October. During the month of October, participating Repair Shops provide customers with free brake pads and the customer simply pays for labor and any other parts that may be needed. 10% of the brake service is then donated from participating shops to the Breast Cancer Vaccine Fund. 183 independent Auto Repair shops across 35 states and 2 countries in 2020 raised $250,102.79! Brakes for Breasts has raised a total of $1,192,034.62 since 2011! Dr. Vincent Tuohy, and his team, at the Cleveland Clinic have successfully tested a Breast Cancer Prevention Vaccine in his lab and are working to take it to human trials. Please help us support Dr. Tuohy's research and help create a world where your daughters and granddaughters will never have to worry about the tragedy of facing breast cancer. Right now his vaccine is specific to triple negati ... read more

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Auto Blog

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Brakes

Drivetrain

WHAT DOES THE DRIVETRAIN DO?  Our vehicle's drivetrain connects the engine to the wheels which makes the vehicle to move. As our vehicles engine is running, the drivetrain helps send power through the transmission to the drive wheels. The drive wheels can be either the front wheels, rear wheels or all the wheels. They also may be referred to as front-wheel, rear-wheel, and all-wheel drive.  HOW CAN I TELL WHICH TYPE OF DRIVETRAIN MY VEHICLE HAS?  As easy as this sounds you may look in your owner's manual and it should have it stated in there. If you are not able to find it in the manual, here is another way to find out. If the engine is mounted sideways this means the belts will also face sideways. If the belts face one side of the vehicle or the other, it is probably front-wheel drive. If the engine is mounted front-to-back with the belts facing you as you stand in front of the vehicle it is likely rear-wheel drive.  PARTS OF THE DRI ... read more

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Auto Blog

Timing Belt

The timing belt is a very important component in the vehicles performance. The timing belt is a rubber belt that keeps your valves moving safely and your engine running. In some vehicles the timing belt may actually be a chain. Whether you have a timing chain or timing belt, they are both very important to the functioning of your vehicle. If a timing belt is warn out it may begin to slip and severe misfires will occur. There is no real clear sign that time timing belt is going bad. When the timing belt does fail, it is not gradual decline, it is a very sudden occurrence. When the timing belt does fail, the engine will immediately stop or lose significant power. If your vehicle does have the timing chain, it may make a lot of noise if it is loose. If the chain breaks, you will often hear the crack. To prevent the unfortunate event of the belt causing issues, replace the belt as recommend based on your vehicle manufacturer's service intervals. Call today to schedule an appointment an ... read more