AUTONET TV

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Wheel Bearings

Why are wheel bearings for Fenton vehicles important? It's simple: your wheel bearings keep the wheels on your vehicle. In today's Muffler & Go post, we'll discuss more about wheel bearings and how you can make sure they can do their very job while you drive around Fenton, MI.

Wheel bearings are pretty simple parts. They're made of high quality steel and are engineered to last 100,000 miles (160,000)  or more if properly cared for. The bearings do two jobs: First, they allow the wheel to freely rotate with as little friction as possible. Second, they support the weight of the vehicle. For example, if your car weighs 3,600 pounds (1600 kilogram), each wheel has to support approximately 900 pounds (400 kilograms). That's a lot of heavy lifting over those long distances.

Even though wheel bearings are pretty straightforward, they need to be in near perfect condition to do their job for Fenton vehicles. The bearings are packed with heavy grease to lubricate and protect them. A seal keeps the grease in and water and dirt out. It's when the seal starts to leak that problems begin. The grease can become contaminated, causing the wheel bearings to overheat and ultimately fail.

The first sign that your wheel bearings are in trouble is an unusual noise coming from a wheel. It could be a chirping, growling, rumbling or a cyclic sound. The noise could get louder or even disappear at certain speeds. Your technician at Muffler & Go can inspect for bearing wear by lifting the vehicle and checking for play in the wheel.

Now some wheel bearing assemblies are factory sealed. That means that they cannot be serviced – they can only be replaced. Those that aren't sealed can be serviced on schedule at Muffler & Go. The bearings are removed, cleaned and inspected. If the bearings are still good, they're re-installed – if not, they're replaced. They are then packed in grease and a new seal is installed.

If your vehicle has a factory sealed wheel bearing assembly, the entire assembly needs to be replaced when trouble arises. Unfortunately, the parts are pretty costly – but they usually last about 150,000 miles (240,000 kilometers) as long as the seals hold up.

Now, even a good seal cannot keep out water that's exerting pressure on the seal. So if you've driven through hub-deep water, your bearings should be cleaned and repacked if they're serviceable. If you have factory sealed bearings, you just need to watch for signs of premature failure. If your wheel bearings can be serviced, your manufacturer's owner's manual will recommend an interval, usually around 30,000 miles (50,000 kilometers).

If you have any sort of trailer, don't forget its wheel bearings. They probably need to be serviced even more frequently. This is especially true for boat trailers that are used to launch the boat by backing it into the water. These should be serviced every year, usually at the end of the season so that the bearings don't have the opportunity to rust all winter.

So what happens to Fenton vehicles if wheel bearings fail? Well, the wheel can literally fall off the vehicle. I don't need to tell you how that could be. So check with your service advisor at Muffler & Go and see if your vehicle's wheel bearings can be serviced and when it's recommended. Listen for warning signs. If you've been fording streams or puddle surfing after rainstorms, be especially vigilant.

Visit the automotive professionals at Muffler & Go for a wheel bearing inspection. 

Muffler & Go
1478 N Leroy St
Fenton, MI 48430
(810) 629-1066
http://www.mufflerandgo.net

Prepare Your Windshield for Winter (Wiper Blades and Fluid for Freezing Temperatures)

Winter and freezing temperatures present challenges for different parts of your vehicles.  For example, winter tires give you better traction on snow.  But some parts of your vehicle that may need special attention for winter are your windshield wipers. You may have found yourself in the middle of a snowstorm when your windshield wipers are doing nothing but streaking slush that ices up on contact on the glass.  Now you're more blind than you were before!

Obviously being able to see during a snowy or icy winter event is important for the safe operation of any vehicle.  So keeping your windshield and rear window clean can go a long way to guarantee you can see your surroundings.

Let's start with the wipers.  Blades that are good for hot weather may not be robust enough for freezing weather. You can buy special winter wiper blades that stay flexible during sub-zero temperatures.  The stiffer frames that hold them have a rubber covering that prevents ice and snow from building up.  Another style is beam wipers that have a one-piece design, intended for use all year long.  Since these have no separate frame, ice can't build up like on traditional frame wipers.  

If you've ever had salty road brine kicked up on your windshield, you know it can blind you in a second.  So you absolutely must have windshield washer fluid available to clear your vision.  The fluid you use during the warm weather months will often freeze below 32°F/0°C, and that can actually make things worse by icing up your windshield when you spray it.  Worst of all, it may freeze in your washer reservoir.

Be sure to use washer fluid that is meant for sub-freezing temperatures; special formulas will remain a liquid in weather as cold as -30°F/-34.4°C.  Some contain alcohol to keep them flowing; some have a little antifreeze that will melt snow and ice.  If you do use these liquids, make sure to keep them away from small children and pets because they're poisonous if they drink them. 

Each climate is different, and there are windshield products to meet your needs.  Your service advisor can recommend which ones will work best for you.  The idea is in winter, you need to be able to see. 

Muffler & Go
1478 N Leroy St
Fenton, MI 48430
(810) 629-1066
http://www.mufflerandgo.net

Below 45 Degrees in Fenton: Consider Winter Tires

Remember snow tires? They were basically just regular tires with big, knobby lugs to get them through deep snow. They were loud and rode hard, and Fenton drivers couldn't wait to get them off the car. Then along came television advertisements for “all-season” radials. MI drivers ran out and bought some and we thought we were done with snow tires forever.

Tires have come a long way since then. Modern winter tires sold in the Fenton area are much better designed for the wide range of conditions that come with MI winter weather. They are made with a rubber compound that helps them stay flexible in cold weather. Regular tires become hard and stiff at Fenton temperatures below 45°F (7° C) which reduces their traction. That's a concern in winter, especially with snowy or wet conditions. But it also means that Fenton drivers are better off with winter tires in cold weather even when it's dry.

The tread design on winter tires has been improved to move snow, slush and water. The lugs and grooves throw packed snow out of the tread as the tire rotates. This means the tread is open and ready to move more snow when it rolls around again. Summer tires can pack up with snow, which makes them more dangerous than a bald tire.

The all-season tire that is popular among Fenton drivers is a compromise between summer and winter performance. This means they give adequate performance for Fenton drivers in either season but aren't great in either. Summer tires give great performance in hot weather but lousy performance in winter. Fenton drivers need to put more thought into their tire choices these days.

If you want the performance that new winter tires can give you, you should have them properly installed by your friendly and professional service advisor at Muffler & Go. It's best to purchase four snow tires and put them on all the wheels of your vehicle. But if you only want two, you need to put them on the rear of your vehicle, even if you drive a front-wheel drive vehicle. Fenton drivers always want to put the tires with the best traction on the rear of the vehicle.

For more auto advice about tires for any MI season, ask your friendly and knowledgeable Muffler & Go tire professional. They can help you find the right tire for your area and for your driving needs. For the best performance from your tires, whatever the season, don't forget preventive maintenance. Keep your tires up to pressure for the best durability, safety and performance, but don't overinflate them. Remember, good car care provides the safest road for all of us in Fenton.

Muffler & Go
1478 N Leroy St
Fenton, MI 48430
(810) 629-1066
http://www.mufflerandgo.net

Muffler & Go and the Maintenance Mindset

When it comes to their vehicles, some Fenton residents don't have a maintenance mindset. They know they need to take care of their cars, but it just seems really hard to get them to remember to do it. Fenton drivers generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance but just may not have applied it to their vehicles.

Here's something that will help: The key to good vehicle maintenance starts with the oil change. Think about it – when you go in for a full-service oil change, your friendly and knowledgeable Muffler & Go service advisor will check all your fluids. If one of them is low, he can look for the reason. If your serpentine belt is cracked, he'll see it and let you know. Corroded battery cable – they've got you covered. And at Muffler & Go, we check to see if your vehicle manufacturer has recommended any services at your current mileage.

The oil change becomes kind of a focal point, a way to check in to see what needs to be done. The fact is that vehicle inspection surveys consistently reveal that over 80% of vehicles have one or more unperformed repair or maintenance service. Vehicles are generally very reliable and can take a lot of abuse and neglect. But, you have to remember that vehicles are complicated machines. There are parts and fluids that are critical to their operation. Without them, the vehicle won't run at all.

So when you come in to Muffler & Go for an oil change, you get advice from your friendly and knowledgeable service advisor and a reminder for recommended services so you can avoid a total failure. And remember that your friendly and knowledgeable Muffler & Go service advisor can help you work out a maintenance and repair plan, prioritizing and scheduling the work to make sure you and your family are safe, and helping you avoid expensive breakdowns.

Muffler & Go
1478 N Leroy St
Fenton, MI 48430
(810) 629-1066
http://www.mufflerandgo.net

Start Me Up (Ignition Systems)

When you start up your gasoline engine car, you may not know that it's using the same ignition principles as it has for decades.  You have spark plugs that require enough power so a spark can jump across a gap at its tip.  Years ago, a vehicle's 12-volt system had to produce 15,000-25,000 volts to do that, so engineers came up with something called an ignition coil that bumps up the voltage. It also has to be done at just the right interval called timing.

The first systems had a distributor, a mechanical device with a rotating disc that switched the power to the ignition coil on and off.  That higher voltage then was sent to the spark plugs at the correct time interval. But the mechanical "points" had to be replaced and adjusted every 12,000 miles/20,000 kilometers.  Engineers later replaced the switching mechanism with solid state ones, but they still needed replacement after 120,000 miles/200,000 kilometers.

The next evolution came in the 80's when the distributor was replaced with a couple of sensors which talked to a computer.  This "DIS" (distributor-less automotive ignition system) was a big advance.  Plus, it didn't use just one ignition coil for all the cylinders.  It had coil "packs" that each provided spark to two cylinders.  That way, the voltage could be boosted even higher, to 30,000 volts, which helped engines be able to ignite a leaner fuel/air mixture.

Recently have come even more improvements.  Now instead of coil packs, there's a coil that's attached to each spark plug.  No more spark plug wires means less maintenance. Plus, a stronger, hotter spark of 50,000 volts can make an engine more reliable, increase fuel economy and reduce emissions.

No matter what ignition system your vehicle uses, your vehicle service facility has a staff of technicians trained to work on the latest technology.  Make sure to have your vehicle maintained regularly so you can take full advantage of these modern engineering marvels.

Muffler & Go
1478 N Leroy St
Fenton, MI 48430
(810) 629-1066
http://www.mufflerandgo.net

Are There Blind Spots in Fenton?

All Fenton drivers have blind spots – and no, I'm not talking about the fact that you really don't sing like Adele. I mean the areas of the road that you can't see when you're driving around Fenton.

First let's talk about our own blinds spots, and then we can talk about others...

To begin, we can greatly reduce blind spots by properly adjusting our mirrors to give the widest coverage possible. Make the adjustments in your vehicle before you start to drive.

First, Fenton drivers should adjust their rear view mirrors to give the best possible view directly to the rear of their vehicle. Fenton folks don't need it to get a better view of either side of the car, the kids in the back seat or their dazzling smile. It's pretty obvious, the rear view mirror should reflect the rear.

Next, lean your head until it almost touches the driver's side window. Adjust your side mirror so that you can just barely see the side of your car. Now, lean your head to the middle of the car and adjust the outside mirror so that you can barely see the right side of the car.

When Fenton drivers adjust their mirrors this way, they'll have maximum coverage. Of course driving is a dynamic process – things change every second on MI roads and busy highways. So it's wise to take a quick look to the side when passing to make sure that another vehicle hasn't moved into an area you couldn't see in your mirrors.

As you drive around the Fenton area, avoid staying in others' blind spots. You can't count on them to be watching their mirrors and looking out for you.
Here are some tips for passing a heavy vehicle on MI roads:
Avoid the blind spots. If you can't see the drivers face in one of his mirrors or in a window, he cannot see you!
Don't follow too close. If you can't see one of the truck's mirrors, you're too close.
Make sure there is plenty of room to pass. Trucks are long and take time to get around. If you're on one of our local two-lane highways, wait for a passing zone.
Don't linger when passing. Because the blind spots are so big on the sides, you want to get through them quickly. If you can't pass quickly, drop back.
Pass on the left whenever possible. A trucks' blind spot is much larger on the right.
The team of automotive professionals at Muffler & Go want you to watch those blind spots – but feel free to sing in the shower all you want.

Muffler & Go
1478 N Leroy St
Fenton, MI 48430
(810) 629-1066
http://www.mufflerandgo.net