Diagnosing a Belt-related Noise

A real simple trick for diagnosing a belt-related chirping or squealing noise is to squirt small amount of water onto the serpentine belt. If the noise goes away, it was being caused by either a belt-slippage or belt-tracking problem.

Car care tip in winter

Tires naturally leak about 2 PSI of air monthly and each 10-degree temperature drop causes another 2-3 PSI loss. Be a safe driver by checking your tire pressure at least once a month!

Fill Tires with Nitrogen or Regular Air?

Have you noticed green caps on the tire valve stems on some of the cars lately? Green cap mean it is filled with nitrogen instead of air. It is true that pure nitrogen doesn't leak out as quickly as regular air because a nitrogen molecule is larger than an oxygen molecule. And, for this reason, tires stay fully inflated longer.

The catch is that topping off the nitrogen typically costs about $5 to $10 per tire and the initial charge for filling them can be much higher.

One thing to consider, though, is that  only about 93 to 95 percent of what is inside a tire is nitrogen and the rest is air even when it is filled with nitrogen, whereas ordinary air consists of 78 percent nitrogen. The difference is not that significant! And, regular, compressed air is a lot cheaper and still free in some places.

Keeping vehicles aligned -- Alignment Terminology

Camber -- the inclination of the centerline of the wheel from the vertical as viewed from the front of the vehicle. The camber angle will affect the wear on the inner or outer edge of the tire.

Caster -- the angle between an imaginary line drawn through the upper and lower steering pivots and a line perpendicular to the road surface viewed from side of the vehicle. Caster will not cause tire wear unless extreme maladjustment was made.

Toe -- the difference between the leading edge (or front) and trailing edge (or rear) of the tires. Toe-in  is the measurement that the the tires are closer together in the front than they are in the back. Toe-out  is the measurement that the the tires are further apart in the front than they are in the back.

Getting batteries and tires ready for wet and cold winter

Remember that routine auto care can save you big bucks by improving fuel economy, extending life of your vehicle and avoiding costly car repairs. A survey found that 82 percent of vehicle owners don't pay any attention to the condition of their batteries. The same survey also found that 78 percent wait until something goes wrong with tires.

Batteries and tires are particularly susceptible to the cold weather. According to AAA Automotive Research Center, a car battery loses about 35 percent of its strength when the surrounding temperature drops to 32 degrees and tire-inflation pressures decrease by 1 to 2 pounds per square inch for every 10-degree drop in temperature -- significant because even a small reduction in pressure can affect a tire's traction, handling and durability!

NDE to Train 200 Women as Automotive Mechanics

Sandra, who is the first female auto mechanic in Nigeria, remarked that “when you empower somebody, you are building a nation economically, socially and technologically,  and reducing crime and social vices.”

Right to Repair bill awaits Gov. Patrick's signature

Thanks to a last-minute compromise between the auto manufacturers and the Right to Repair Coalition, which gives dealerships proprietary control over warranty and recall work, Massachusetts is set to become the first state in the nation to essentially level the playing field between dealers and independent shops.