I Hate When That Happens

I have worked on a lot of different things over the years. I am a mechanical kind of guy, so I figure that I should be able to fix anything, especially with the help of the internet, right? Well, sometimes. I had a hot tub a few years ago. It worked great and I really enjoyed it, especially after a long, hard day. So anyway, I came home from work one Friday night and I wanted to jump in. I went out and found that the water was cool. That was not good. Especially because it was December, it was very cold outside, and the water temperature in my hot tub was falling fast. I quickly pulled off the front panel to inspect inside. I checked a couple of things I knew and determined that, for whatever reason, the heater was not coming on. I also found out that a couple of the hoses had already partially frozen, which was a problem. I called a friend who worked on hot tubs and spa’s and asked him what I should do. He patiently guided me though a few steps to find out the root cause of my problems. However, since the temperature was dropping and I already had ice forming in the exterior hose, he said that I need to get a very small heater inside the outer panel and get the hoses thawed out and keep more from freezing. I knew I did not have a small heater so I called our local hardware store and talked to one of the owners. He said that he had one. I asked how long he was open, he replied that they had just closed, but if I hurried over he would wait for me (thanks Rich!). Anyway, to make a long story short, I did get everything thawed out, I ended up replacing a couple of parts – I am not sure if I replaced more than I needed or not – and got it going. Thankfully it all worked out. In this case, it was the things I did not know that made the situation very difficult.

We have people who call our shop frequently to ask a question about something that they are working on, and we try to help as much as we can. Since we cannot see what they are doing, we may sometime give the wrong advice based on the lack of information available to us. Cars and trucks have become so complex that one of the biggest challenges to a repair is tracking down a problems root cause, just like my hot tub. Of course, having many years of experience is our biggest asset. Proper tools, scanners, and special equipment come in second. hen there are all the technical resources that we rely upon these days. Sometimes we may spend two to three hours in testing only to find a short in a wire. The repair may only take ten minutes, but the challenge is to get to the root cause. Sometimes there is more than one problem that can cause the same condition.

There is no magic to this process. One must take each problem, find its cause, and move on to the next problem. Of course, the worst cases are when a problem is intermittent. We recently had to drive a van over 70 miles to get the problem to act up. We had a very good idea what the root cause was, but we needed to experience it for ourselves with the proper equipment hooked up. Otherwise it was only a guess. When the problem occurred, we were able to positively verify it and condemn the expected part. The customer opted not to fix it, but we knew we had found the root cause. So whether you’re working on a hot tub or a vehicle, sometimes it is what you do not know that can get you. I Hate When That Happens!

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Have you ever wondered if one of your tires is low on air? Sometimes it can be hard to tell. Depending on how new your vehicle is, your vehicle may be able to tell you. In in the year 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration enacted legislation to phase in tire pressure monitoring for vehicles. This phase in was to be completed in the model year 2007. This piece of legislation is referred to as the TREAD Act of 2000. What this means is that all vehicles are now required to have a system that can monitor the tire pressure of each tire, and report to the driver if a tire is low, some systems even monitor the spare tire. Most vehicle manufactures now have some kind of wireless sensor mounted in the rim that sends a signal to a computer inside the vehicle. If a low tire is found, a light or a message will be illuminated on the dashboard. The sensor on most vehicles is actually in the valve stem (the thing that you put air into). Some vehicles have the sensor in the middle of the rim, held in by a metal band. Some sensors are made of aluminum and some are made of rubber and look exactly like the old style valve stem. This can be very confusing. Many of the older vehicles have a passive system that actually uses the anti-lock brake sensor to calculate the tire pressure based on the circumference of the tire.

So what do you need to know? First when the light comes on, don’t ignore it. The new systems are very accurate. If this light is on, the air pressure in the tires should be checked. One issue that we face here in the cold country is the fact that when the temperature goes down, so does the air pressure in our tires. So on the first cold days we see numerous people in with their tire pressure lights on. In many cases, this is normal and the light may go off when the tire warms up after driving a while. Installing nitrogen instead of regular air in your tires can help eliminate this problem. Nitrogen is more stable when the ambient temperature changes. However, if the light is on, the tire pressure should always be tested. If all the tires are equally a few pounds low, this may be the result of cold temperatures.

Tire pressure, of course, is a safety issue, but also can affect fuel economy, vehicle handling, and the longevity of your tires, so a tire light on should not be ignored. If you do have a tire that needs repair or if the tires are rotated, the TPMS system may need to be reset to tell the computer that it is ready to go. Each vehicle manufacturer may have its own way of resetting the system. Some will automatically reset after driving a short distance, some vehicles have a unique procedure to do the reset, and some will need a special piece of equipment to reset the system. Of course, occasionally a tire pressure sensor may leak air, break off, corrode, or fail for some reason; this will also turn the light on. If a sensor fails, a new sensor will need to be installed. Once the new sensor is installed, some sort of procedure or reprogramming will need to be done to activate the new sensor and have it communicate properly with the vehicles computer. This is the only way to get the light off and the system working again. Each year, make, and model of vehicle requires a unique sensor. There is no universal sensor that fit every vehicle at this point. This system can be very frustrating, but it also can save you from ruining a tire or from having a blow-out due to running on a low tire. So if the light is on, check it out. I Hate When That Happens!

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As the summer winds down, we have people at the beginning stages of getting ready for winter. Last week we put on our first set of “Winter Tires”. We used to call them snow tires, but these new winter tires are nothing like the old snow tires. As vehicle design evolves, so do the wheels and tires. Tires are getting wider and have a lower profile look to them. People ask why are they doing that. Some of the answer is style, and some is vehicle handling. In any case, it can offer us Minnesotans some challenges.

Generally speaking, the wider the tire the poorer the snow and ice traction will be. Many newer vehicles have traction control that senses wheel slip and helps the driver to get going, but there are many vehicles do not have this option. To compensate, tire manufactures have developed a special winter tire that is especially made for vehicles with a wider tire. They are a very unique design, usually with a directional tread. This means that the tire is design to rotate in only one direction to give maximum traction, stability, and stopping performance. The tread compound is also unique to a winter tire; the compound is made in a way that the tire will not get become so hard in cold temperatures. One of the biggest advantages to the tread design are the thousands of “sipes” that are in the tread. Sipes are the small cuts that are in the tread of a tire. They are evenly placed over the entire tire’s tread face and some manufactures have some that actually go down the sidewall a bit. These sipes are what really grips the ice. As the tire rolls along and the tread reaches the road surface, the sipes open up and grip like you would not believe. I have personally run winter tires on my own vehicles for many years and now would not go without them.

The biggest hassle is that they need to be changed over in the spring to your regular tires. This may be a bit of a hassle and expense, but the traction, handling, and reduced stopping distance make it more that worthwhile during the winter. Again, some people think I am crazy saying, “Why put winter tires on, I have all-season tires?” All I can say is once you try them, you probably won’t go back to a regular tire in the winter. Most manufactures have these tires available. The biggest thing is, if you want them, order them early. Most tire warehouses order their winter tires in the fall. They have one order, and when they are gone, they are gone. We have had a few times, like last year, when people get tired of slipping around. They come in sometime in December and, many times, there are no winter tires available. Even if they are available, they have to be ordered, taking a few days or even a week, and of course, they usually are more expensive.

There are a couple other items you should remember concerning tires and winter. If you are going to put on winter tires, always put on 4, do not mix them with regular tires. Also, if you are replacing just two tires on a front wheel drive vehicle, always insist that they go on the rear of the vehicle. Again, I am not crazy. There have been numerous studies done, and numerous law suits filed, regarding this issue. You should always put new tires on the rear because, if they go on the front, you will have too much traction in the front compared to the rear. This will increase the likelihood that the rear of the vehicle will spin out in a heavy rain or snowy and icy condition. If the new tires are on the rear and the half worn ones are on the front, you will have a better feel of the road and are more likely to notice the loss of traction in the steering wheel. You can look this up online and find a detailed description if you would like. Here is a great video with a driving demonstration produced by Michelin North America about where to place the new tires when you’re only replacing two tires.

Of course, always replace your tires when they are worn. They may save you from a disaster. I Hate When That Happens!

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The economy has been dominating the news and talk radio lately. The President made a speech and now all the Senators and Congressmen are wrangling over what to do. Everyone has an opinion and gridlock is still the norm. So I have been thinking, which is scary, how does Washington affect me and my auto repair business? Like any business, we are a business that just happens to fix cars. We are a business just like a plumber, electrician or a carpet cleaner. We all have goods and services that we sell to make our businesses go. Most reasonable people understand that any business needs to be profitable in order to continue. We certainly have seen many businesses go under recently. My wife and I took a short trip up north this summer and were amazed at all the closed and vacant properties sitting there with “For Rent” signs in the windows. It seems to me that there are a couple different kinds of businesses. Businesses that deal with wants and businesses that deal with needs.

Getting your car fixed in many cases is a need. We have many customers who drop off there vehicles and tell us to fix whatever it needs, “It has to be fixed, I need to get to work.” So what goes into repairing a modern vehicle? Why is it sometimes so expensive? Any business has fixed expenses: electricity, heat, mortgage or facilities rent, telephone, internet, office supplies, taxes, insurance, and the list goes on and on. Of course, one of the biggest expenses to any business is payroll and related benefits. Some businesses like the auto repair business have a lot of special equipment to do what it does. We have hoists, welding equipment, brake lathes, computer scanners, air conditioning equipment, and again the list go on and on. Business expenses are a reality for any organization, whether it’s a non-profit, government agency, or the local restaurant. And of course, not all businesses are the same; even franchise locations can be different depending on location and the people running it. The same is true for the auto repair business.

Auto repair is not a commodity. It is not the same wherever you go. That is why there are so many of them. Of course there are some undeniable differences. Location, specialty shops, personal convenience, etc. But what really makes a business unique are the people. In technical businesses, experience, training, technical resources, and tooling can be big determining factors. Some people talk about price as the determining factor, but studies have shown that price is usually 4th or 5th on the list when people are choosing technical service technicians. Again, you get what you pay for.

Some people ask why a shop charges more for a part than they can buy it at a part store or online. Great question, the reality is that repair shops count on profit revenue derived from part sales to cover overhead expenses. Also, with that part comes a warranty saying that if that part would fail, the shop will need to replace it. In most cases, the shop is not reimbursed for the labor cost to replace a defective part. So it’s part of the overhead. It is kind of like saying that if I can go to the grocery store and buy hamburger for so much per pound, why are hamburgers so expensive at a restaurant?

So anyway, what are the ways Washington affects auto repair? Of course the first thing is taxes. Payroll taxes and Social Security taxes are a big expense for any business. Perhaps a more direct influence on us are the local county, city, school levies, assessments, and fees, which have a big impact on a business. We all know that some of the local budgets are influenced by Washington. But we also know in all walks of life, We the people are We the taxpayers. I Hate When That Happens!

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There are a lot of things that we can technically do, but practically really don’t work out so well. Technically, you can cut your lawn with a scissors, but practically it would take a very long time and you would end up with a very sore hand. We run into these kinds of things all the time in the auto repair biz. However, they may not be as apparent to the average person. I will try and give a common example:

During a brake inspection, one of the steps is to measure the thickness of the disc brake rotors with a micrometer. This is a tool that measures down to a thousandth of an inch. Each vehicle’s brake rotors are manufactured to specific tolerances set by the vehicle manufacture. The rotors have minimum specifications that are given to alert a technician when they are worn out and considered unsafe. We measure them and compare the measurement to the specs to determine how much life is remaining on the brakes. If they are within specs, we can machine them with a special brake lathe to smooth them out and put the proper finish on them and reuse them. If they are too worn, we cannot machine them properly and end up still in specs, then they will have to be replaced.

Sounds pretty straight forward, right? Well, here is where the technical vs. the practical can come into play. Technically, they are within specs if they are 5-6 thousandths of an inch from the minimum specs. Practically, we have found that they may not last long before they start causing a problem. The most common problem is a vibration when stopping. This vibration seems to be worsened by a quick stop or stop-and-go driving. This may cause the rotors to get hot, and then because they are thin, they will warp more easily causing a braking vibration. So technically, they are within specs, but practically they may reduce the brake performance. We have found this out over the years through our experience doing brake jobs.

There are many similar situations that come to mind. Technically, the owners manual says to change the air filter at a certain mileage. But what if it is not dirty and not in need of replacing? The owner’s manual may say to replace the transmission fluid at 60,000 miles. But what if the fluid is burnt and dirty due to pulling a trailer or other factors and the vehicle only has 40,000 mile on it?. Again, experience is the key. Then there is the “while you’re at it” scenario. We typically recommend replacing the water pump if we are replacing the timing belt. Usually, we recommend replacing the timing belt around 90,000 miles. In many cases, the water pump is driven by the timing belt. And since it is a lot of labor to replace the water pump separately, we usually recommend replacing it if a timing belt is done. Technically the water pump is not leaking, but practically speaking, it is usually in the best interest to replace it at the same time as the timing belt since it has a lot of miles on it as well and it will save in the long run. Again, experience is the key.

I am sure in many professions, some of these same or similar situations may come up. Of course, most people do not know or understand the differences in these technical issues. That is the reason to know and trust the people who service your vehicle. That is why we usually like to go to the same doctor or dentist, why we go to the same barber and hardware store. It is because we know the people and trust the people. I know I have been burned by a “great deal” that did not turn out to be so great. Maybe that is experience as well. I Hate When That Happens!

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