In this busy, sun up to sun down, rushed daily life that we lead, our own well being can get lost.  Take a look at your daily tasks; the list of things or people that you have to care for and keep a schedule for; the personal positions that need maintenance.  We maintain our house, vehicles, appliances, children, spouses, parents, family, etc.  What about you?  Do you take the time each day to check in with yourself?  You will find a lot of blogs in this feed that focus on how to care for your vehicle, we are an automotive specialist ;), which is incredibly important.  But I wanted to take a moment and focus on how important it is to take care of YOU!  Who's going to watch after those kids, drive the vehicle, clean the house, enjoy the vacation and recreational vehicles, or hang out with friends and family if you let your mental and physical well being slide?!  
Everybody is different in how they view self-care.  Some read a book while others love rigorous outdoor activities.  Whichever feels best for you, take the time every week, heck every day if possible, to do something for your mental and physical health.  Eat more unprocessed foods, exercise, drink water, laugh, cry, hug, and just see the positive in this life.  This is the month of giving thanks!  How about showing yourself some thanks for all the "things" that your mind and body do!

If taking care of you involves having piece of mind about your vehicle, give us a call!! We are here to help with any automotive repair needs that you have.  We work on everything and perform almost any service or repair you will need.  619-562-3933

The job of the coolant is to maintain the optimum engine temperature of your vehicle.  This is a very important fluid for your vehicle and essential system that should not be ignored.  Just like your engine oil, yet not as frequent, the coolant should be drained and replaced or flushed to keep your engine running smooth.  Overtime the coolant starts to break down, allowing dirt and rust particles to invade, potentially clogging the radiator and heater core.  Clogs in the radiator, or being low on fluid, will cause your vehicle to start to overheat.  A clogged heater core blocks heat from being able to enter your vehicle through the vents, aka your heater.  Both are expensive repairs and can have a trickle affect on other components if ignored.  

In comes the cooling system flush.  A necessary maintenance item that should be performed every few years or 30k miles.  During the cooling system flush, we hook your vehicle up to a machine that flushes out the old fluid and replaces it with new fluid, thus riding your cooling system of all contaminates (rust and dirt) that could clog any components.  

Of course there is the option to just drain the old coolant out and refill.  This will eliminate only about 40% of any contaminants that are floating around in the old fluid.  What is left is the contaminants that have stuck to the sides of the cooling system components.  It is not a bad idea to perform a drain and refill between flushes as a preventative measure.  

Both services will not hurt your wallet as much as a radiator, heater core, or an engine replacement.  We highly suggest adding this service to your regular maintenance schedule.  The final cost of a cooling system flush depends on vehicle year, make and model, but will roughly fall into the $150-$250 range.

Give us a call if you have any questions 619-562-3933

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, driving home from a fun time at the pool, I thought my vehicle was possessed.  Dash lights were flashing at me, the message center kept telling me random things were wrong with my Jeep, it had already given me a hard time starting earlier that day, and then I saw the smoke!!!  Now, I know a lot about cars, but this was something new to me.  My first thought was a dead battery.  And I wasn't completely wrong.  But the dead battery came as a result of something else, it was not the initial problem.  Come to find out my alternator had gone bad.  The smoke?  Well that was a pulley, which is affected by the alternator ;)

The alternator is responsible for the electrical system within your vehicle.  It takes an immense amount of power to not only start your vehicle but to keep it running.   What about the battery?  The battery provides the electricity necessary for the starter to crank and start the vehicle.  The alternator then takes over and charges the battery.   The internal combustion of the engine, the crankshaft and pistons, provide the power to the alternator, which is connected to the pulley system with a serpentine belt.  The energy produced to spin the pulleys moves the belt and powers many components of your vehicle.

Luckily I was right down the street from my house and was able to make it into the driveway.  As I reflected on the past few days, I realized I had ignored the signs!  There had been multiple times that my vehicle was slow to crank, my lights had seemed dimmer than usual, and there had been some flashes of odd things on the control center.  I was just chalking it up to my battery going dead and I would deal with it "later."  Famous last words! haha.  

So learn from me...pay attention to your vehicle and it's warnings so you don't end up stranded! If you have any questions please give us a call 619-562-3933
​Happy Monday!!