Allen Auto Repair

Getting adequate fuel to your engine is very important for performance, fuel economy and safety. In order to accomplish this, your fuel system needs to be clean.Today's production cars have fuel injectors, rather than a carburetor. The injectors need to be cleaned from time to time in order to deliver the fuel with the correct pressure, spray pattern and volume.LUCAS drivers can buy fuel system cleaners that you pour into your gas tank to help maintain an already clean fuel system; however, they can't do a major cleaning. For that, you need to see Craig's Car Care Inc in LUCAS. We have the tools and chemicals to do the job right. Our friendly and knowledgeable team at Craig's Car Care Inc can remove particles, gum and varnish from your fuel system and get those injectors running cleanly and efficiently. You'll find Craig's Car Care Inc at 1005 W LUCAS RD in LUCAS, TX 75002. Or just give us a call at 972-941-6700 to schedule an appointment. You'll enjoy more power, better fuel economy a ... read more

Safety should always be an element of your vehicle care. So even if you don't care about how your vehicle looks, you should practice preventive maintenance to protect yourself — and other LUCAS drivers — on the road. And good safety starts with good brakes.Brakes need a regular inspection. There are  parts that wear out or wear down, and it's best to replace them before you have serious problems. Of course, if you are having trouble with your brakes, NOW is the time to fix them. If your brake warning light is on, that's a good sign that you need your brakes checked. You can also tell something is wrong with your brakes by the feel of the pedal or unusual sounds while braking. If the brake pedal is low, feels spongy when you press it or is hard to push, that indicates a problem with your brakes. If you hear squealing, grinding or clunking noises when you brake, that can also indicate serious problems. If vibrations accompany br ... read more

A good suspension system gives a vehicle a smooth, even ride while providing LUCAS drivers with good handling and control. But like any system on your vehicle, parts of the suspension system can wear out, leading to a lower ride quality and safety concerns. So it's a good idea for drivers in LUCAS to remember their suspension system in their schedule of preventive maintenance. Springs do most of the work of the suspension system. The most common types of springs are coil and leaf, but air springs and torsion bars are becoming more common. The body of the vehicle is “suspended” by the springs.If springs were the only working component in your suspension system, however, you'd spend your travel time bouncing up and down like a bobblehead. That's where your shocks come in. They keep the rebound, or bounciness, of the springs under control. Shocks also keep your tires on the road, which keeps the driver in control of the vehicle. Some vehicles have struts in their suspension s ... read more

Sometimes busy LUCAS residents dream about going back to the “simpler” days of our grandparents. But if you could travel back in time and take a road trip around TX in a Model T, you might change your mind. The improved designs and quality of today's automobiles have significantly reduced the amount of time LUCAS residents spend at the side of the road during breakdowns. With proper maintenance, today's vehicles can stay on the road longer than ever before.Some of those improvements, however, have led to higher repair costs. For example, older cars often broke down from vapor lock. Gas vaporized while traveling from the gas tank to the fuel pump. No gas, no power. The car quits going. The solution was simple — you just sat by the road until the car would start up again. Today's LUCAS drivers would hardly tolerate that kind of inconvenience, and it's likely that yesterday's LUCAS drivers didn't care much for it, either. So on today's vehicles, the fuel pump is act ... read more

Motorists in North America drive about 3 trillion miles/4.8 trillion kilometers every year. There are over 250+ million licensed drivers, and approximately 6.2 million accidents happen every year. Unfortunately, if we're going to drive vehicles, there are going to be accidents. Knowing what to do in case of an accident can help reduce the stress and cost of the situation. It can also protect you from false claims, incorrect judgments and unjust liabilities. Never leave the scene of an accident. This is a crime, even if the accident is not your fault. If you leave the scene, it is referred to as a “hit-and-run,” and the fines are steep in TX. You can even lose your driver's license or spend some time in jail. If someone has been injured in the accident, most laws require you to help them. You must call for help. If you can, you must also render first aid. Call 9-1-1 or get someone else to call 9-1-1 as soon as possible. Tell the operator if ... read more

Like everything in the TX automotive market, there have been great strides in headlight technology in recent years. TX drivers can be safer at night because of it. Good headlights improve visibility on LUCAS roads, enabling you to see farther. They also improve your peripheral vision, helping you to see the sides more clearly. The more you can see, the more quickly you can react to road conditions. This is because nearly half of traffic fatalities take place at night. And as LUCAS resident population ages, everything that helps older eyes is welcome.Most new vehicles sold in TX come with halogen headlamps. A decade ago, halogens were exotic and expensive. Now that they are standard equipment, the price has come way down. Many luxury cars are equipped with high intensity discharge, or HID, headlamps. You have probably seen them on some LUCAS roads; they're very bright and have a bluish tint.From behind the wheel, there is no doubt that HID headlamps are the be ... read more

Modern LUCAS vehicles have several computers on board that control all kinds of things like engine functions, transmission shifts, traction control, anti-lock brakes, stability control, emissions – and on some vehicles, even steering, braking and the throttle.Think about that for a minute – things that used to be controlled by simple mechanical connections now have electronic controls that rely on computers, software and sensors. It's no wonder that when something goes wrong with their vehicle it can be pretty complicated for LUCAS drivers to track down the source of the problem.To help your service advisor at Craig's Car Care Inc figure out what's wrong, your vehicle is equipped with on-board diagnostics. The Check Engine light comes on to tell you there's a problem and the engine management computer stores a trouble code. Your friendly and knowledgeable Craig's Car Care ... read more

Those who know vehicles believe the steering system may be the most vital component of them all. Perhaps you've found over the years your steering has gotten loose. Or maybe suddenly, your steering wheel has gotten very hard to turn. Let's steer you in the direction of understanding why this may be happening. First, loose steering. This can likely be the result of wear and tear on the components that connect the steering mechanism with the wheels. Those parts can be ball joints, Pitman arms or tie rods. These parts take a lot of abuse on the road, thanks to railroad tracks, potholes, uneven surfaces: you name it. It's important that they be checked regularly and maintained at Craig's Car Care Inc. Second, the hard-to-turn wheel. Virtually all vehicles on the road have power steering. There are a couple of different types, though, so let's deal with each. By the way, when they fail, your vehicle's steering can suddenly go from easy peasy to really hard to control. Some vehicles have hyd ... read more

Do you like to shop for shoes in LUCAS?When buying a running shoe, is quality important?Does durability matter as long as the shoes look fabulous?Would you rather have one pair of long lasting shoes or two pairs of lower quality shoes at the same price?Is the warranty important when buying tires? LUCAS drivers should also think about the safety aspect of tires. The tires do a lot of work – they carry the weight of the vehicle and you and your passengers. You want to be sure they hold the road and provide good traction on TX freeways and surface streets. If you carry heavy loads or tow a trailer on TX highways, the tires need a high load rating.Ask your friendly and knowledgeable LUCAS tire professional at Craig's Car Care Inc. I think it's important that LUCAS residents understand the effect of price on a tire's quality, performance and durability. When I was a kid, my dad would say, “Pay twice as much and buy half as many.&rd ... read more

Hello, welcome to Craig's Car Care Inc. Today's focus is batteries. It seems like everything in LUCAS runs on batteries. Of course, the batteries we're most concerned with here at Craig's Car Care Inc are those in our customer's vehicles. Just like the batteries in our smoke detectors or TV remote, they wear out and need to be replaced . This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold vehicle engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live in TX, specifically how cold it is. (Many LUCAS drivers have first-hand experience trying to start their car on a cold winter morning.) The two factors are that the colder your vehicle's engine is, the more power it takes to turn the engine over to get it started. It has all that cold, sluggish oil to contend with.The other factor is that the chemical reaction in the battery that creates electrical energy is less efficient when the temperature dips. Let's say it ... read more