Wilmot Auto Repair

Your vehicle's engine is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a power plant.  But it has another power source that is vital as well: the alternator. The alternator is what puts out the electricity that powers such things as your lights, power windows, sound system, and navigation.  Maybe you've started seeing those electrical components behaving in strange ways.  Maybe your power windows are going up and down a little bit more slowly than they used to.  Or perhaps your engine doesn't start as easily or is misfiring.   Other signs of a failing alternator are headlights that are either brighter or dimmer than usual.  If your battery keeps going dead, it could be that the alternator isn't recharging it.   The alternator has to get its power from somewhere, and in vehicles with internal combustion engines, that power comes from a drive belt powered by the engine.  Sometimes that belt can fail.  If you hear a whining soun ... read more

When you are pointing your vehicle straight down the street, it should go straight.  That’s pretty straightforward, right? Sometimes, though, you may notice you have to keep adjusting the steering wheel to keep going straight.  While that could be caused by many different issues, one possibility is that you have a failing or bent control arm. Another sign is that when you brake, your vehicle pulls to one side or the other.  Sometimes your suspension may sound noisy, especially when you’re traveling on rough surfaces.  A damaged control arm may also make it almost impossible for you to get a good wheel alignment.  The control arms are part of your suspension, and some vehicles have upper control arms and lower control arms.  Not all have the same number of control arms, but one thing is important: If you have worn bushings on your control arms or a worn-out ball joint, the control arm on the other side should also be replaced.  The rubber b ... read more

While many components of your vehicle are complex and composed of lots of mechanical and electrical parts, there's one that isn't complicated but still important.  It's your engine air filter. (And, we should point out, the engine air filter isn't to be confused with the cabin air filter.  The cabin air filter cleans air that goes into the passenger compartment while the engine air filter cleans air that goes into the engine itself.) Why does your engine need a filter? Think of all the stuff–dirt, dust, and debris in the air¬–that gets kicked up on the road.  If that were to go unfiltered into your engine, it could damage other components. There are many different materials used in an engine air filter, including paper, cloth (frequently cotton), and other synthetic fabrics.  The material is usually folded tightly to maximize the filtering capability over a relatively small surface.   Before computers were employed to determine the proper mix of ... read more

No, ERG isn’t the sound a pirate makes.  It’s a part in your vehicle that recirculates exhaust gas to reduce certain gases and pollutants in the atmosphere.  In fact, ERG stands for “Exhaust Gas Recirculation.” One gas our vehicles may make when they burn fuel is nitric oxide, which can play a big role in creating smog and acid rain.  It’s better for our planet if our vehicles aren’t spewing that into the air.   One inventive way of reducing it is by taking the exhaust and channeling it back to the vehicle’s air intake system. When it travels through the engine again, its composition is changed, and it comes out cleaner.  It also helps the engine be more efficient. The EGR valve can fail after a while, and some signs you may notice are the engine is miss firing, it may suddenly lose power or your Check Engine light may come on.  You may also see your fuel economy decrease or hear your engine knock. A bad EGR valve ... read more

Here's a part of your vehicle you probably don't think about much: lug nuts.  They're what fasten your wheels onto your axles.  Pretty important, right? In order to take the wheels off your vehicle to service the brakes, rotate the tires, etc., the lug nuts have to be in good shape so a wrench will grip them tightly.  Because lug nuts are on your wheels, they are exposed to all the elements of the road (salt, water, grime) and really take a beating. Unfortunately, some manufacturers have made them out of two different metals.  Underneath is the working part of the lug nut, made of steel.  On top is the decorative (the "good looking") part, made out of chrome, stainless steel or aluminum.  After a while, the steel part begins to corrode and expands.  That changes the shape of the outer cap, sometimes rounding off the hexagonal edges and making it hard (if not impossible) to either loosen or tighten the lug nuts since the wrench won't fit any more.  ... read more

You may have noticed sometimes on a hot and humid day, vapor will come out of your vehicle's vents when you have the air conditioning on.  Is that something to be concerned about? Well, it depends. Sometimes that steam or vapor can be caused by water accumulating in the vent system after it has condensed.  And sometimes water can pool at the bottom of a vent.  When you turn on the blower mower, the air hits the water and may create steam or vapor that you can see in the cabin. One thing to check is if that vapor smells like anything.  If it doesn't, that's a good sign. You may be able to run the fan for a while and the issue may just go away when things dry out.  But moisture collecting in the ventilation hoses in a hot vehicle may be a breeding ground for mold, and that can have health consequences. There's another possibility. Ventilation systems often have drains to get rid of any accumulated water, and debris can sometimes clog them.  A technician can ... read more

As you know, today’s vehicles rely on a lot of computers in them to keep them running clean and efficiently.  Those computers depend on information delivered by several sensors throughout the engine and exhaust system.  And one of the most important is the oxygen sensor.   Known as the O2 sensor for short, it looks for too much unburned oxygen that has made it into the exhaust. That signals something isn’t right with the engine’s air-fuel mixture.  The sensor sends signals to the engine’s computers, which can then make adjustments to make sure the engine is running as it was designed to. Some vehicles can have several O2 sensors, and since they can measure oxygen at various points in the combustion/exhaust process, the computers can pinpoint where the problems lie.  For example, an O2 sensor can detect how much oxygen is coming out of the engine’s combustion chamber, and another one can measure oxygen coming out of the catalytic co ... read more

A clean connection is a wonderful thing.  Think of a good cell phone signal or an airline connection with ample time and short distance to the next gate. Good connections are also important for your vehicle’s battery, and one secret to that is to make sure it’s periodically cleaned. If it’s been a while since you have had any service to your battery, bring it in so we can inspect it for any corrosion that might have formed.  Corrosion on the battery terminals will affect the connection between the battery and your vehicle’s electrical system. The amount of corrosion you can expect can be influenced by such things as the kind of climate you live in (dry or humid, warm or cold), if there’s lots of salt on the roads and how old your battery is.   We have tools and chemicals to safely remove the corrosion for an optimal electrical connection. In order to reduce the amount of corrosion re-forming on the battery, we’ll apply a special protec ... read more

Few of us ever drive somewhere without encountering some pretty rough roads, and it's amazing how well our vehicles are able to smooth out the ride. Thank your shocks and struts. The two parts are similar.  Some cars have shocks in the rear, and struts in the front.  Others have struts all around.  A shock absorber uses a cylinder filled with gas or liquid that's connected to your vehicle's frame and axle.  When your vehicle encounters an imperfection in the road, the shock dampens the motion.  A strut is essentially a shock absorber mounted inside a spring and can support more weight than a shock by itself. Shocks and struts take a lot of punishment and wear out.  When they do, your tires are not contacting the road as much as they should, and that can result in a bumpy, unstable ride. Worn-out shocks and struts also transfer the impacts of road imperfections directly to your vehicle's body which can cause further damage to other parts. You can tell when ... read more

You climb inside your vehicle, start the ignition, and reach for the fan control for the heating or air conditioning.  But when you try to crank it up, no air comes out of the vents. It can make for a very uncomfortable trip, whether it’s hot or cold outside. It’s important for the comfort of you and your passengers to regulate the temperature in your vehicle’s cabin.  Not having air coming through the vents can also be a safety issue when you’re trying to defrost the windshield and front windows when they fog up and your visibility is affected.   There can be many reasons why the air isn’t blowing through your vents.  The blower motor may have failed or the switch that controls it wore out.  It could be as simple as a blown fuse, or perhaps an electrical component that regulates the fan speed may have stopped working. One of the ducts that direct the air from the outside to the cabin may have broken.  Or the air intake where ... read more