Corpus Christi Auto Repair

When people think about car maintenance, they tend to leave their belts on the back burner. This is partly due to the fact that belts don’t tend to wear down until later on in the vehicle’s life. However, it is important to regularly inspect the timing belt for signs of wear and tear. If this belt breaks, it can majorly affect your vehicle’s drivability and damage the engine.   The timing belt is responsible for synchronizing the rotation of the motor’s crankshaft and camshaft. The ribbed teeth on the rubber help with the engine’s harmonious motions. Without this integral component, the engine valves would not start and stop at the appropriate time. And therefore, your pistons and valves can suffer serious damage.  What Are the Signs of a Worn Timing Belt? Looseness or tightness of the belt Physical signs of belt wear, including cracking, glazing, grime build-up, and loose fibers Slow or sluggish engine starts, or overall incapable to start ... read more

Power steering fluid is an important hydraulic fluid in your car's steering system that makes turning the wheel significantly easier. Replacing power steering fluid isn't typically recommended as a regular maintenance task, but it can be done at your discretion. Why Should I Change My Power Steering Fluid? If you've recently taken your car in for maintenance, you may have been suggested a power steering fluid replacement. But why would a fluid change be important? Well, it's worth noting to start with that you typically don't have to change power steering fluid on a routine. And it isn't necessarily concerning if the fluid has turned dark, as long as your steering wheel is functioning properly. If you're noticing that your car has become difficult to steer, that's the clearest sign that you need to replace your power steering fluid. Inconveniences like difficult steering can quickly become dangerous situations on the road. Additiona ... read more

Car noises are a sign that something is not quite right with your vehicle and needs attention — and you need to address some of those noises immediately for safety reasons. Here are five noises that should get your attention and spur you into action (or into the repair shop). Grinding or Squeaking Noise When Braking Check the front or back wheels for excessive wear if your brakes make this sound. Inspect the calipers and hoses for any signs they're not working. If you need to replace these parts, your car will likely make this noise until you fix it. Whining or clunking noise when accelerating It's probably a sign that your transmission is failing. If this sound begins to fade away after you accelerate, then there's a good chance that your trans-axle is causing the issue. The best way is to take your car into an auto shop for an inspection. Hissing or Bubbling Noises From Under the Hood Check for leaks immediately if you hear a strange noise coming from the e ... read more

You don't have to be a mechanic with special tools and equipment to know when something may be going wrong with your car. You can use your senses of sight and smell to know when there may be an issue with your car. One way is check with your car's "lungs," or exhaust system. Under normal conditions, you can see white vapor come out of your car's exhaust pipe, but this vapor quickly disappears. What happens when it doesn't dissipate quickly, or the color of the smoke coming out of your exhaust pipe is a different color? What issues could the different types of smoke indicate? Reading Your Car's Smoke Signals Smoke from the exhaust system can indicate an internal issue with your vehicle, and the color of smoke can help you pinpoint what that issue is. Smoke usually appears as black, white or blue depending on the root cause. Black Smoke Black smoke can indicate the balance between fuel and air in your engine is off balance. Issues that can cause black sm ... read more

A jump start is a technique used to restart a car that has a drained battery. You jump-start a car by using jumper cables to connect the car directly to a working car or to an alternate power source. By placing the two batteries in parallel, you can provide enough electricity to start the car and recharge the depleted battery at the same time. A drain on your car's battery can occur if it has not been driven for more than two weeks. Jump-starting a car allows the car owner to repair the battery of their own vehicle, so they can start it themselves. Now that you have a basic understanding of what jump-starting is, let's get down to business. Prep Park the cars close to one another but without touching. The bumpers should be out of contact with each other entirely. Turn off both vehicles completely, including lights, radio, and other electrical components. No smoking! Smoking near the battery produces explosive gases that can cause a fire or explosion if ignited by a spark ... read more