Malvern PA Auto Repair

Question I was driving one day, and my car started sputtering and then the engine finally quit, and I couldn’t get it started. I was towed to a shop and found out I had to replace my fuel pump. What could I have done to have saved my fuel pump? Answer This is a tough one because there isn’t any maintenance recommended for fuel pumps. They’re inside the fuel tank and you really can’t get to them without removing the tank. But you can do some things to make their job easier, so they last a little longer. A lot of vehicles are equipped with a fuel filter on their gas line. This filters out dirt and rust from the gas tank before it gets to the engine. Replacing a clogged fuel filter as recommended reduces the strain on your fuel pump. Newer vehicles have their fuel filter inside the fuel tank, so it cannot be changed. A good tip is to not run the fuel tank too low – this can cause fuel starvation that excessively wears the pump. Also, you can’t go ... read more

When all of a vehicle's wheels are lined up exactly with each other, your wheels are in alignment. Hitting a road hazard or even just the normal bumps and bounces of everyday PA driving can cause your vehicle wheels to be out of alignment. This can lead to expensive premature tire and suspension wear. Here are some alignment basics from ASM Auto LLC: 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 vehicle was designed by its engineers. ASM Auto LLC  ... read more

Question I’m Alex. My Check Engine Light came on. I’ve tried several things to make it go off, but nothing has worked. What should I do? Answer Like Alex, most of us have experienced a check engine light coming on suddenly. We’re frustrated because we don’t know why. Of course, that’s perfectly understandable: There are hundreds of reasons for the check engine light to come on – and there’s only one light. Alex said she tried several things to get the light to go off – but it didn’t work. Her goal was to get the light to turn off. I would suggest that the goal should be to find out what caused the light to come on in the first place – and fix it. You can search the internet and find millions of sites with tricks to get your check engine light to turn off. But what good does that do – whatever caused the light to come on is still wrong. Not getting to the bottom of the problem can lead to other problems – some ... read more

ASM Auto LLC Tech Question: I'm Doug. A few years ago I was driving my '85 powder blue Dodge Ramcharger with about 80,000 miles (129,000 kilometers) on it. I was going up a hill and heard a noise like a tin can rolling down the road. I looked back and saw my drive shaft bouncing down the hill. I put it in four wheel drive and drove to my mechanic to get it fixed. What could I have done to prevent that? ASM Auto LLC Tech Answer: Now that's quite a story. Doug was fortunate that his vehicle had a part-time four wheel drive system that would let him get home without a rear drive shaft. This “case of the missing drive shaft” highlights the need for regular inspections. Now most drivers are familiar with recommendations for preventive maintenance services like oil changes and coolant replacement. What you may not know is that there are also recommendations for inspections at various intervals. By the time a vehicle gets the number of miles on it l ... read more

Question: What benefit will I get out of a fuel system cleaning? ASM Auto LLC Answer: Well, the dirtier your fuel system is, the bigger the improvement you'll see in performance and fuel economy. But it's not wise to wait until your engine is running poorly, you've wasted hundreds of dollars in gas or maybe even damaged your fuel injectors and catalytic converter. Look, gasoline is a petroleum-based product and will leave some residue, gum and varnish along the way. Some of that can find its way into your fuel injectors and interfere with their job. The fuel injectors do just that – inject fuel into your vehicle engine. They spray a precise amount of fuel at a precise time in a precise pattern at a precise pressure. When they are dirty this precision just isn't possible. So your vehicle engine can run rough. Also carbon deposits build up on valves and in the combustion chamber. Fuel economy suffers and performance is degraded. These conditions allow excess ... read more