Malvern PA Auto Repair

Question: What's the harm in putting off replacing my engine air filter a little longer? ASM Auto LLC Answer: That's a fair question from drivers because the harm takes a while to manifest. Let's take a small step back and talk about what an engine air filter does. The air all around us contains dust, dirt, pollen, spores, etc. Some areas and times of the year have more contaminants in the air. The job of the air filter is to keep that stuff out of your engine. The benefit to drivers is obvious. Now your engine uses a lot of air – like 12,000 times the volume of air as fuel – so the engine air filter has job to do. When t ... read more

The other day, a man walked into a restaurant carrying a can of paint. He had just bought the latex paint at the local home improvement store, and he was stopping for lunch. "Latex paint is water-based, and it's so cold out. If I leave it out in my truck while I'm eating, it'll be frozen by the time I'm done with lunch." Yes, latex paint is one thing you should never leave out in your vehicle during freezing weather, since the cold can make it separate and clump up, turning it into a gloppy mess that won't go smoothly on your walls. There are a few other things you should not leave in your freezing vehicle. Medicines and drugs can change chemically if they freeze, especially those in liquid forms like insulin, eye drops, and cough syrup. It can be tempting to leave bottled water in the cup holders. The problem comes when bottled water freezes and expands. That can fracture the plastic. When things thaw out, guess where the water goes? Ditto for soda o ... read more

After many years and tens of thousands of miles vehicles' suspension system components do wear out, but how long that takes depends a lot on how you drive. As you can imagine, if most of your driving is on smooth 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, vehicle suspension components can be damaged in an accident or by a hard impact like a pothole, hitting a curb or a rock in a bumpy road. Because the life span of shocks can vary so widely, your vehicle's manufacturer recommends periodic inspections. During an inspection, your friendly and knowledgeable ASM Auto LLC service advisor will check for worn, broken or missing parts. Signs for residents that shocks or struts are wearing out: the vehicle tires may have a cupped wear pattern. This is from the shocks bouncing unevenly. Residents may notice a floating or drifting sen ... read more

The PCV valve is a little, inexpensive part that does a big job. PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation. The crankcase is the bottom area of the engine that holds the oil. When the 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 engine corrosion. At high speeds, the pressure can build up to the point that gaskets and seals start to leak. Over time, the vented gases will gum up the PCV valve and it won’t work well. That can lead to all the problems I’ve already described, oil leaks, excessive oil consumption and wasted gas. Fortunately, it’s very easy to test the PCV valve and quick and inexpensive to replace. Even so, it’s often overloo ... read more

Reports say that the median age for cars on the road is over nine years and that two-thirds have over 75,000 miles. In recent years those numbers have continued to rise. Many people are keeping their vehicles longer. The economy has influenced that, but the fact that modern cars and trucks are more durable and reliable means that owning a high mileage vehicle doesn’t have to be a painful experience. Consumers with over 100,000 miles on their vehicles often ask how what service intervals they should follow. Let’s start with the special needs of the older vehicle. The reality is that time and mileage will take its toll. The engine and transmission will have more sludge. The fuel, steering and brake systems will have gum and varnish built up. There’ll be more dirt and contaminants in the fuel tank. Corrosion and deposits in the cooling system. And seals and gaskets will start to dry out. All of this, plus normal wear and tear, means that the engine might not be as st ... read more