Wilmot Auto Repair

If you’ve ever driven a bicycle with hand brakes, you’ll probably understand how the brake pads on your vehicle work.  Bicycle brakes use a system that squeezes the bike wheel’s rim with a pair of cushioned pads activated by your hand squeezing the hand brakes on your handlebars. The friction of those pads stops the wheel. That’s the same principle used for the wheels on your vehicle.  Step on the brake pedal and that causes pads to put pressure on discs in the wheels called rotors.  Those pads create friction and stop the wheels from turning. Brake pads in vehicles are made from several different materials.  The pads most commonly used are ceramic or a combination of metals. The friction that stops your vehicle generates heat and wears both the pads and, eventually, the rotors, too.  That means that, over time, both are going to need replacing to work properly.  One sign brake wear is getting noticeable may be  when you hear s ... read more

When it comes to ease and precision of steering, today’s vehicles are engineering marvels.  One of the keys to just how good steering is lies in the refinement of power-assisted steering which we know simply as power steering.  At the heart of the system is an electrically or belt-driven power steering pump.  It can apply hundreds of pounds of hydraulic pressure to the steering gear so you can turn your heavy vehicle with little effort. The more time and distance your vehicle travels, the more wear your power steering pump experiences. One sign your pump may be aging is that you hear a whining or groaning sound coming from your wheels when you turn. You also may feel a vibration through the steering wheel, or the wheel is harder to turn or responding more slowly than normal.  Another sign of trouble with the power steering pump is power steering fluid (reddish-brown) leaks on the ground around your vehicle. If you encounter these symptoms, have us check your v ... read more

You may have never thought about it, but when you turn a corner, the wheels on one side of your vehicle turn at a different speed than the other side.  What is this magic? The answer is something called the differential.   A differential is a gear box placed between the drive wheels and needs lubrication to work.  Over time, that fluid can become contaminated, reducing its effectiveness. You likely won’t be able to detect any signs that it’s happening, though it may get a little noisier over time.  If you continue to drive with contaminated and degraded differential fluid, the gears may wear prematurely. That can also contribute to excess wear on the drive-wheel tires.    Two-wheel drive vehicles have one differential while all-wheel and 4-wheel drive vehicles will have two or three.   Your vehicle’s manufacturer has guidelines on how often you should have the differential fluid changed, and we recommend you follow those.   Chan ... read more

Before You Buy a Used Vehicle (Car Inspection before Buying a Used Vehicle) Perhaps this sounds familiar. Your vehicle seems like it’s been around forever, and you’ve decided it’s time to move on.  But when you check the price of new vehicles, the sky-high price tags have you considering a nice, pre-owned one.   So, you start looking through the ads and find a few prospects.  A couple look great, and the owners say they’re in like-new shape.  But most of us aren’t trained mechanics, nor do we have the equipment to run the tests to determine what’s right and what’s wrong with a used truck, car, SUV or van. 
 
The answer may be to consider having a trained professional perform an independent inspection on the vehicle you have your eye on. Some dealers may conduct their own inspection, but you are best served by having someone not associated with the seller thoroughly check that vehicle you have your eye on. A t

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