PCV Valve Service At D & B Automotiove In Memphis

The PCV Valve is a little, inexpensive part that does a big job for Memphis drivers. PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation.

The crankcase is the bottom area of the engine that holds the oil. When the truck engine’s running, fuel is burned to generate power. Most of the exhaust from combustion goes out through the exhaust system. But some exhaust blows by the pistons and goes into the lower engine, or crankcase.

These hot gases are about seventy percent unburned fuel. This can dilute and contaminate the oil, leading to damaging engine oil sludge. It can also cause truck engine corrosion, something we see occasionally at D & B Automotiove. At high speeds on Memphis freeways, the pressure can build up to the point that gaskets and seals start to leak.

Back in the old days, engine makers simply installed a hose that vented these gases out into the atmosphere. But starting in the 1964 model year, laws mandated that these gases be recycled back into the air intake system to be mixed with fuel and burned in the truck's engine.

This is much better for the environment and it saves gas too. (Budget-conscious Memphis drivers take note!) The little valve that controls all this action is the PCV valve. The PCV valve lets gases out of the engine, but won’t let anything back in. Over time, the vented gases will gum up the PCV valve and it won’t work well. That can lead to all of the problems I’ve already described, oil leaks, excessive oil consumption and wasted gas.

Fortunately, it’s very easy to test the PCV Valve at D & B Automotiove and quick and inexpensive to replace. Even so, it’s often overlooked because many Memphis drivers don’t know about it. Check your truck owner’s manual or ask your D & B Automotiove service advisor. If this is the first time you’ve heard of a PCV valve, you might be in line for a replacement.

There’s another aspect to the PCV system. In order for the valve to work correctly, it needs a little clean air to come in. This is done through a breather tube that gets some filtered air from the engine air filter. Now some vehicles have a small separate air filter for the breather tube called the breather element. That’ll need to be replaced at D & B Automotiove when it gets dirty.

Please ask your caring Memphis service advisor about your PCV valve. For the price of a couple of burger combo meals in Memphis, you can avoid some very expensive deep engine repairs.

D & B Automotiove Tire Safety: Washington vs. Lincoln

Welcome to the D & B Automotiove blog. Today, let’s talk about the effect of tire tread depth on braking. When talking about stopping power, most of us Memphis drivers tend to focus on our brakes. But our tires are where the rubber meets the road. So having good brakes isn’t enough. Safe Memphis drivers need to have tires with enough traction to translate braking power into stopping power.

Let’s focus on stopping in wet Memphis conditions. In order for a tire to have good contact with the road, it has to move the water out of the way. If it can’t move the water, the tire will actually ride on top of a thin film of water.

That’s called hydroplaning. If it’s really bad, Memphis drivers can actually spin out of control. At best, you won’t stop as fast.

So how does a tire move water? It has channels for water to flow through. Look at your truck tire and you’ll see channels: channels that run around the tire and channels that flow across the tire. They’re designed to direct water away from the tire so it can contact the road better.

And the deeper the channel, the more water it can move. A brand new D & B Automotiove tire has very deep channels and can easily move a lot of water. As the tire wears down, the channels become shallower and can move less water. When it wears down enough, it can seriously affect your ability to stop your truck on wet Memphis roads.

So that’s why it’s so important to replace our truck tires when they get worn. Consumer Reports and other advocate groups call for a standard of 3/32 of an inch and they have the studies to prove it.

By comparison, you’ve probably seen the wear indicator that’s molded into tires. When tires are worn 3/32 of an inch, the tread wear bar is visible. So the recommended standard has twice the tread depth as a completely worn out truck tire.

At D & B Automotiove, we want our customers to know that the deeper recommended tread depth makes a big difference. Stopping distances are cut dramatically on wet Memphis roads. A safe stop from TN freeway speeds with 4/32 of an inch of tread would result in a crash with worn out tires.

There’s an easy way to tell when a tire’s worn to 4/32 of an inch. Just insert a quarter into the tread. Put it in upside down. If the tread doesn’t cover George Washington’s hairline, it’s time to replace your truck tires. With a Canadian quarter, the tread should cover the numbers in the year stamp.

Many Memphis car owners have heard of this technique using a penny and Abe Lincoln’s head. That measure gives you 2/32 of an inch – half the suggested amount. Of course, truck tires are a big ticket item. Most of us in Memphis want to get as many miles out of them as we can. But there’s a real safety trade-off. It’s your choice.

D & B Automotiove Maintenance Tips: The Belt Goes On

Today's D & B Automotiove auto maintenance article focuses on your serpentine belt. Your serpentine belt is a long belt that’s driven by your engine. It winds around several accessories that power important automotive systems. Let’s go over them.

First, the serpentine belt drives your truck air conditioning system. It spins the compressor that makes the cool air that takes the edge off the summer heat in Ellendale.

Next, the belt powers the alternator. The alternator creates electricity that’s used by your truck’s electrical systems and also charges your car battery. All Ellendale drivers know that without the alternator, the battery will go dead in a few miles.

The serpentine belt may also run the pumps for both the power steering and power brakes. And, on many trucks, the serpentine belt powers the water pump. The water pump circulates coolant through the engine to keep it within normal operating temperatures as you drive around Ellendale.

Now on some trucks, the water pump is powered by the timing belt instead of the serpentine belt. So you can see the serpentine belt does a lot of work. And it if breaks, it affects a lot of systems. That’s why manufacturers and your service advisor at D & B Automotiove have recommended that it be changed every so often so that it doesn’t fail.

Your Ellendale service technician can perform a visual inspection of the belt to see if it has any cracks that signal the belt could fail soon and will measure the amount of belt material to make sure there is enough.

There’s a special, spring loaded pulley attached to the engine called the tensioner pulley. Its job is to make sure there’s a constant tension on the serpentine belt so that it doesn’t slip. The spring can become worn and no longer provide the necessary pressure to keep the belt tight. At D & B Automotiove, we recommend that the tensioner be replaced at the same time as the serpentine belt.

All in all, the serpentine belt’s an important part for the function of your truck. And it’s not that expensive to replace in Ellendale – so it’s good to do so before it fails.

Suspension Service At D & B Automotiove

Suspension systems will continue to operate effectively for many years and tens of thousands of miles. Eventually truck components do wear out, but how long that takes depends a lot on how you drive in Germantown.

As you can imagine, if most of your driving is on smooth TN highways, your shock absorbers will last a lot longer than if you do most of your driving on bumpy roads or hauling heavy loads. In addition to just wearing out, truck suspension components can be damaged in an accident or by a hard impact – like a pothole, hitting a curb or a rock in the road. Because the life span of shocks can vary so widely, your truck manufacturer recommends periodic inspections.

During an inspection at D & B Automotiove, your caring Germantown service technician will check for worn, broken or missing parts. Let me give a rundown of the major suspension components.

First there are the springs. The springs hold the weight of the vehicle. There are several kinds of springs. Springs are obviously heavy duty parts that rarely break or wear out. Shock absorbers work in conjunction with springs to smooth out the ride and help keep the tires on the road. The shocks are key to handling performance and ride comfort.

You’ve probably heard of struts. They combine a shock absorber and a coil spring in one unit. Shocks and struts will wear out over time. There are some signs that shocks or struts are wearing out. The tires may have a cupped wear pattern. This is from the shocks bouncing unevenly. You may notice a floaty or drifting sensation when cornering. If the front of your truck dives excessively when stopping, or rocks back and forth after you stopped, your shocks may be worn out. And if they are leaking fluid, it’s definitely time to replace them.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, visit D & B Automotiove for a suspension inspection. Same if you’ve been in an accident that involved one of your wheels. If your truck suspension actually fails, it could lead to a serious accident, so take care of these things.

When you replace your shocks, it’s usually a good idea to replace all four at the same time. That’ll give you more even handling. Talk with your D & B Automotiove service advisor because you don’t want a big difference between the performance of your shocks from wheel to wheel, and replacing all may be the safest bet.

There different grades of shocks and struts. You always want to use a replacement shock or strut that equals the one that came as original equipment when your truck was new. But remember, they were designed to meet the expected needs of the broad range of Germantown people who buy that particular vehicle. Your needs may be more specialized.

For example if you want increased handling performance for your truck, your caring D & B Automotiove advisor can recommend an upgraded shock or strut to give you what you want. If you haul heavy loads or trailers, you can get a more heavy duty shock absorber.

Tire Replacement: What Germantown Drivers Need to Know

Looking at getting some new tires? The choices at Germantown tire stores can be a little overwhelming. Suppose you have an SUV and are trying to decide between all season tires or some that are also rated for off-highway. Do you get off the payment on the outskirts of Germantown more than most? If so, some additional off-road traction would be nice.

Maybe the real reason for wanting those off-highway tires is that they look cool. Well there’s nothing wrong with that. If you make sure that you’ve got your functional needs covered with your selection, then you can have some fun with where you go from there.

Let’s suppose you zip around Germantown in a sporty car. You may like to run a high-performance summer tire when the weather’s good. When TN weather turns cold, you can put on high-performance winter tires. For the kind of driving you like to do, you want full-on performance tires. All-season tires are naturally a compromise that works well for most Germantown drivers, but since you have a choice, go for dedicated summer and winter tires.

When it’s time for new tires, visit with a knowledgeable D & B Automotiove tire professional. Describe your needs and wants. He’ll come up with some selections for you to discuss. And once you settle on a type of tire, there are options for special needs: like pulling a trailer or carrying heavy loads.

Tires are one of the biggest purchases for Germantown drivers. With so many choices, you’ll be able to get what’s best for you. Take their time. And don’t worry about what’s in stock. If you want something that isn’t here at D & B Automotiove, manager David Starnes can order it. Chances are you’ll be rolling on your new tires in a couple of days.

Ellendale Safety Systems: Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Flats, blow outs, skids and longer stopping distances can all be the result of Ellendale folks driving around on under-inflated tires. Now, it’s hard to tell when a radial tire is under-inflated. If your manufacturer recommends 35 pounds of pressure, your truck tire’s considered significantly under inflated at 26 pounds. The tire may not look low until it gets below 20 pounds.

New laws required manufacturers to include a Tire Pressure Monitoring System – or TPMS system – in all cars and light trucks by the 2008 model year. The system has a dashboard mounted warning light that goes off if one or more of the tires falls 25% below manufacturer’s pressure recommendations.

This technology has been used by Ellendale race car drivers for years. They are able to head off problems from under inflation by closely monitoring tire pressure on the track. It’s up to your car’s manufacturer to determine which of many TPMS systems available they’ll use to comply with the law.

Obviously, all of this doesn’t come free for Ellendale drivers. U.S. government studies have estimated the net costs. Of course, the TPMS system itself will cost something. Maintaining the system will have a cost, replacement of worn or broken parts and tire repair cost increases.

The costs are partially offset by savings in fuel and tire wear. There’s also a saving in property damage and travel delay. The net cost is estimated to be between $27 and $100. The government predicts fewer fatal accidents. They estimate that it will cost between three and nine million dollars for every life saved.

Your safety has always been a concern at D & B Automotiove. We want you on the road and accident free. We've traditionally provided things like tire rotations, snow tire mounting and flat fixes at a very low cost. We’ve been able to quickly and cheaply provide the service, and pass the low cost on to you as an expression of our good will.

That’s why we're concerned about how you’ll perceive the changes that this new law will force. Every time a tire is changed: taken off to fix a flat, a new tire installed, a snow tire mounted; the D & B Automotiove service technician is now going to have to deal with the TPMS system.

Even a simple tire rotation will require that the monitor be reprogrammed to the new location of each tire. When a car battery is disconnected, the TPMS system will need to be reprogrammed. TPMS sensor batteries will need to be changed and failed parts replaced.

Like all other Ellendale service centers, here at D & B Automotiove we've had to purchase new scanning equipment to work with the TPMS sensors and to update expensive tire change equipment to better service wheels equipped with the new monitoring systems. Our D & B Automotiove service technicians have been thoroughly trained on many systems and new tire-changing techniques. All of this adds up to significantly increased cost to perform what was once a very inexpensive service for you.

So when you start so see the cost of tire changes, flat repairs and rotations going up at D & B Automotiove, please keep in mind that it’s because of government mandated safety equipment. We want to keep you safely on the road – and we're committed to doing it at a fair price. This new safety equipment will help you avoid the most common types of vehicle failure in Ellendale, and possibly a catastrophic accident.

Your Well Trained Technician At D & B Automotiove

When your truck breaks down, or just needs some routine service, you might get a little nervous. Your car’s so important to your life in Germantown, you need to back on the road as soon as possible – with the problem fixed right the first time.

If you’ve ever checked into some of the technician training D & B Automotiove professionals receive, you may be surprised at how much knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern car. Let me give you some perspective. Today there are four cylinder engines that make more power than the V-8’s in luxury cars twenty years ago. I mean a new V-6 Toyota Camry could beat Sonny Crocket’s Ferrari in a race to sixty.

Our engines are more and more powerful and at the same time their fuel economy keeps inching up – even with steep Germantown gas prices. And they’re so reliable. This is all due to engineering. But the advances come at the price of simplicity. The modern cars driving around Germantown roads are so much more complex from a mechanical standpoint that it makes your head spin – not to mention the electronics.

Some cars have several networked computers controlling most of the engine functions and many other vehicle functions as well. Germantown motorists take all of this sophistication for granted – but somebody has to fix it when it breaks. It’s a real challenge for D & B Automotiove technicians to keep up, but we work hard to stay ahead of the technology. It requires a high level of commitment on the part of the technician and the Germantown service center as well.

In addition to the training, there’s the financial commitment to purchase the diagnostic and repair tools. D & B Automotiove technicians receive training through a combination of formal classroom training, training provided at D & B Automotiove by parts and equipment manufacturers, on-line courses and home study courses.

There are many independent certifications available at D & B Automotiove all the way up to Master Technician. The ability to repair your truck requires a strong combination of training and resources. No one can know everything, so Germantown auto service centers subscribe to data services, technical libraries and even on-line communities that can help them when they run into a difficult problem.

It’s like those medical diagnosis shows on TV. Here are the symptoms – what’s the diagnosis and treatment? Diagnosis is every bit as much an art as a science. At D & B Automotiove, we want everything to be simple, straightforward and cheap – but sometimes it just isn’t.

So try to be more relaxed next time you bring us your truck. You’re in good hands.

Fuel Injector Cleaning In Cordova, Germantown, and Memphis

In very simple terms, a fuel injector is a valve that squirts fuel into your truck engine. Your engine control computer tells the fuel injector how much fuel to deliver as well as the precise time it should be delivered. Of course this happens thousands of times a minute in every single fuel-injected car driving down Cordova, Germantown, and Memphis roads.

Most fuel injectors for gas engines are known in the Ellendale auto industry as port fuel injectors because they deliver the fuel to a port just outside the cylinder. The fuel pump provides pressure needed to squirt the right amount of fuel into the engine.

A few auto makers have recently introduced gas direct injection systems on some engines. They are now available at some Ellendale dealerships. These systems inject the gas directly into the cylinders under very high pressure – many times the pressure of port injection systems.

Although more complicated, direct injection technology promises greater power with improved fuel economy for gas-poor Cordova, Germantown, and Memphis commuters. TN motorists can expect to see more of it in the future.

High temperatures under your truck hood and variations in Ellendale gas quality cause fuel injectors to be fouled with wax, dirt, water, additives and carbon. Injectors can become partially clogged, preventing them from delivering the proper amount of fuel at the correct pressure.

When injectors are dirty, the fuel doesn’t burn as efficiently resulting in poor fuel economy and loss of power. So it’s important for Memphis drivers keep their fuel injectors clean.

Your Memphis D & B Automotiove service center can perform a fuel system service for you in which the fuel injectors are cleaned so that they operate properly and deliver the right amount of fuel at the right time.

Proper maintenance of your truck fuel system means that you will spend less on gas, enjoy strong performance and prevent costly Ellendale repair bills down the road.

On Board Diagnostics For Memphis Motorists

Some Memphis motorists are confused by D & B Automotiove charges for diagnostic services for a vehicle repair. Many services at D & B Automotiove and other Memphis automotive repair shops include diagnostic fees.

When you take your laptop into a Ellendale computer repair shop for a problem you’ll likely have to leave a deposit for diagnostics. When we visit our Cordova doctor for a medical problem, we’re paying him to diagnose our ailment and of course for the tests that go along with it.

So receiving a diagnostic charge at D & B Automotiove for a tricky automotive problem shouldn’t be a surprise. In the Ellendale area, automotive diagnostics can cover quite a range. If you hear a noise in your truck brakes when you slow down in rush-hour traffic on a busy TN expressway, you pull off 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 truck engine, D & B Automotiove diagnosis may be much more involved.

Much of the Ellendale public’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 Cordova, Germantown, and Memphis drivers that the trouble code tells the D & B Automotiove technician exactly what’s wrong. Why then is there a diagnostic charge, the scanner just gave the diagnosis?

Reality is more involved than that. The computer monitors many sensors throughout the vehicle. When one of these sensors has a reading that’s out of parameters, the computer will record a trouble code and turn on the check engine light.

The truck computer's trouble code just tells the D & B Automotiove technician what engine parameter is out of range – not what’s causing it. The technician needs to determine the underlying problem that’s causing the symptom.

There are many problems that could cause a troublesome sensor reading for D & B Automotiove Memphis customers. The D & B Automotiove technician makes a list of the most likely causes and begins tracking down the source of the problem.

Ellendale service centers subscribe to databases that document possible causes for a given trouble code. They outline procedures for confirming a diagnosis and provide the documented fix. These databases are specific to each vehicle and engine combination.

Some diagnoses are quick and easy. Others are more involved and difficult. Of course D & B Automotiove wants to figure out what’s wrong with your truck and get you back on the road as quickly as possible.

Clean Air for Your Engine: Engine Air Filters In Memphis

Every Memphis car owner who has taken their car in for an oil change has been told that their engine air filter’s dirty.

Here’s what goes into the determination of when to change the filter: First, your truck owner’s manual will have a recommendation of when to change the filter. Second, a visual inspection by your Ellendale technician may determine that your filter it is visibly dirty and needs to be changed.

So between your owner’s manual and your Ellendale technician’s inspection there’s really no guesswork involved.

Now, most air filters purchased in Cordova, Germantown, or Memphis don’t cost a lot to replace. It’s just that TN people hate getting caught with an unexpected expense. On the plus side, though, changing a dirty air filter at D & B Automotiove can often save enough on gas to pay for itself before your next oil change in Ellendale.

Think about a dirty furnace filter in your Germantown home. When it’s all clogged up, enough clean air can’t get through. In your truck, that means that your engine can’t get as much air as it needs to burn the fuel efficiently. So it makes do with less air and has to use more expensive TN gas to move your vehicle around Ellendale roads.

Your truck actually needs about 12,000 gallons of air for every gallon of gas it burns. Engine air filters don’t cost much in Memphis at D & B Automotiove. When it’s time to change yours, just get it done. You’ll save buy less expensive Ellendale fuel, have better performance and protect your engine.

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