Air Conditioning Maintenance At House of Mufflers & Brakes In Denver

Warm weather or cold, Denver drivers still need to think about their car’s air conditioning. Most Denver people don’t service their air conditioning until after it fails. At House of Mufflers & Brakes, we can advise you on your vehicle manufacturer's preventive maintenance schedules for air conditioning service, just as we do for transmission service, oil changes and so on.

Maintaining your air conditioning system means that you always have enough refrigerant to properly do the job. Small leaks in the car's air conditioning system allow the refrigerant to escape and the system can’t cool the air as well. We see that a lot at House of Mufflers & Brakes in Denver.

The refrigerant also contains a special oil that lubricates air conditioning components, and keeps the seals resilient. Low refrigerant and lubricating oil means that the air conditioning parts will wear out prematurely, and all Denver car owners know that air conditioning repairs can be costly. At House of Mufflers & Brakes, we recommended that the air conditioner be run regularly, even during winter months, to keep the parts and seals lubricated.

Corrosion is what leads to many air conditioning system failures for Denver motorists. The small leaks mentioned earlier also mean that air and water can leak into the air conditioning system. This can lead to rust and dirt in the internal workings of the air conditioning components. This greatly accelerates wear and, ultimately, failure.

Air conditioning service at House of Mufflers & Brakes starts with a visual inspection of the components for signs of damage or leaks. The compressor is driven by a belt from the engine, most often the serpentine belt, so it’s inspected for cracks or wear. The air conditioning compressor and other components are checked for proper operation. Then comes the leak test. If a leak is detected, often in a hose or connection, it’s repaired and the system is retested.

Then the old refrigerant is evacuated and the system is recharged with clean, fresh refrigerant. A final test insures that the car's air conditioner is working, and you’re on your way.

How often this should be done varies from vehicle to vehicle. Your car owner’s manual will have the manufacturer’s recommendation and, of course, your House of Mufflers & Brakes service advisor can tell you. It’s typically every two years.

If you’re not getting enough cool air you know something’s wrong. Also, if you hear strange sounds when you turn the air on, there might be a problem with the compressor and you should get it checked out at House of Mufflers & Brakes. Replacing a bad A/C clutch in a car is cheaper than waiting for it to ruin the compressor.

Denver drivers need to be aware that there’s one more thing that isn’t directly related to air conditioning service, but does impact the quality of the air in your car. And that’s your cabin air filter. This filter cleans dust, pollen, pollution and other impurities in the air that comes from the heater and air conditioner. The cabin air filter needs to be replaced when it’s dirty. If you don’t it’ll start to smell. Not all vehicles have one, so ask your House of Mufflers & Brakes service advisor to check your cabin air filter at the same time they’re doing your air conditioning service.

PCV Valve Service At House of Mufflers & Brakes In Denver

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

The crankcase is the bottom area of the engine that holds the oil. When the car 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 car engine corrosion, something we see occasionally at House of Mufflers & Brakes. At high speeds on Denver 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 car's engine.

This is much better for the environment and it saves gas too. (Budget-conscious Denver 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes and quick and inexpensive to replace. Even so, it’s often overlooked because many Denver drivers don’t know about it. Check your car owner’s manual or ask your House of Mufflers & Brakes 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes when it gets dirty.

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

Suspension Service At House of Mufflers & Brakes

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

As you can imagine, if most of your driving is on smooth CO 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, car 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 car manufacturer recommends periodic inspections.

During an inspection at House of Mufflers & Brakes, your understanding Englewood 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 car 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes for a suspension inspection. Same if you’ve been in an accident that involved one of your wheels. If your car 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes 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 car was new. But remember, they were designed to meet the expected needs of the broad range of Englewood people who buy that particular vehicle. Your needs may be more specialized.

For example if you want increased handling performance for your car, your understanding House of Mufflers & Brakes 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.

House of Mufflers & Brakes Maintenance Tips: The Belt Goes On

Today's House of Mufflers & Brakes 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 car air conditioning system. It spins the compressor that makes the cool air that takes the edge off the summer heat in Denver.

Next, the belt powers the alternator. The alternator creates electricity that’s used by your car’s electrical systems and also charges your car battery. All Denver 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 cars, 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 Denver.

Now on some cars, 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes have recommended that it be changed every so often so that it doesn’t fail.

Your Denver 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes, 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 car. And it’s not that expensive to replace in Denver – so it’s good to do so before it fails.

House of Mufflers & Brakes Tire Safety: Washington vs. Lincoln

Welcome to the House of Mufflers & Brakes blog. Today, let’s talk about the effect of tire tread depth on braking. When talking about stopping power, most of us Commerce City 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 Commerce City drivers need to have tires with enough traction to translate braking power into stopping power.

Let’s focus on stopping in wet Commerce City 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, Commerce City 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 car 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes 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 car on wet Commerce City roads.

So that’s why it’s so important to replace our car 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 car tire.

At House of Mufflers & Brakes, we want our customers to know that the deeper recommended tread depth makes a big difference. Stopping distances are cut dramatically on wet Commerce City roads. A safe stop from CO 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 car tires. With a Canadian quarter, the tread should cover the numbers in the year stamp.

Many Commerce City 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, car tires are a big ticket item. Most of us in Commerce City want to get as many miles out of them as we can. But there’s a real safety trade-off. It’s your choice.

Your Well Trained Technician At House of Mufflers & Brakes

When your car breaks down, or just needs some routine service, you might get a little nervous. Your car’s so important to your life in Englewood, 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes 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 Englewood 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 Englewood 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. Englewood motorists take all of this sophistication for granted – but somebody has to fix it when it breaks. It’s a real challenge for House of Mufflers & Brakes 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 Englewood service center as well.

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

There are many independent certifications available at House of Mufflers & Brakes all the way up to Master Technician. The ability to repair your car requires a strong combination of training and resources. No one can know everything, so Englewood 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes, 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 car. You’re in good hands.

Denver Safety Systems: Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Flats, blow outs, skids and longer stopping distances can all be the result of Denver 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 car 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 Denver 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 Denver 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes. 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes 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 Denver service centers, here at House of Mufflers & Brakes 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes, 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 Denver, and possibly a catastrophic accident.

Tire Replacement: What Englewood Drivers Need to Know

Looking at getting some new tires? The choices at Englewood 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 Englewood 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 Englewood in a sporty car. You may like to run a high-performance summer tire when the weather’s good. When CO 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 Englewood 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes 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 Englewood 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 House of Mufflers & Brakes, manager Corey Sweet can order it. Chances are you’ll be rolling on your new tires in a couple of days.

Keep Your Cool In Denver: Air Conditioning Service

Most Denver drivers wait for their air conditioning to fail before they service it at House of Mufflers & Brakes. That’s because many Denver and Englewood motorists don't really understand that automotive air conditioners need periodic service. Let me share some of the reasons why they fail.

First, like every machine, the car air conditioner parts need lubrication. The lubricant is actually mixed in with the refrigerant (that’s the stuff that makes the air cool). So sometimes, even though the air conditioner is still making cool air, the oil that lubricates the parts has just been used up: and unlubricated parts can fail in all CO cars.

Now here’s a tip for Denver drivers: You should run your air conditioner every so often during CO winters. This circulates the lubricant to help keep the seals from drying out.

The air conditioner actually removes some of the moisture in the air. So if you have trouble with fogging on your windshield during CO winters or during a rain storm, running the A/C on the defrost setting should help. Now on some Denver cars you can’t run the A/C at the same time as the defroster. Don’t ask me why, but I suspect lawyers were involved.

Also, air and water can get into the A/C system. That can reduce the efficiency of the system and also lead to corrosion that causes damage. Denver drivers should periodically purge the system and replace the refrigerant to clear out the air and water.

Denver drivers should be aware of early warning signs of trouble: One might be that the air’s not as cold as it used to be. You may hear an unusual noise when the A/C cycles on. Those are signs to get your vehicle into House of Mufflers & Brakes in Denver before the damage gets worse.

So following the recommended service intervals in your car owner’s manual can help prevent mechanical failure of your air conditioning system. You’re A/C system contains some expensive components like the compressor, condenser, dryer, etc. Anything Aurora and Englewood car owners can do to lengthen the life of their A/C is well worth it.

Fuel Injector Cleaning In Aurora, Englewood, and Commerce City

In very simple terms, a fuel injector is a valve that squirts fuel into your car 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 Aurora, Englewood, and Commerce City roads.

Most fuel injectors for gas engines are known in the Denver 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 Denver 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 Aurora, Englewood, and Commerce City commuters. CO motorists can expect to see more of it in the future.

High temperatures under your car hood and variations in Denver 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 Denver drivers keep their fuel injectors clean.

Your Denver House of Mufflers & Brakes 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 car fuel system means that you will spend less on gas, enjoy strong performance and prevent costly Denver repair bills down the road.

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