Allen Auto Repair

Shocks and Struts So you have over 100,000 miles on your car or truck, could be you drive a Honda, Toyota (Lexus) Or Nissan (Infinity), or Maybe a Chevy, Ford or Dodge and the ride is still good, but now a days it may feel the road is getting a little rougher or more noisy than it used to be. Well it could be the road or it could be Your Shock absorbers or Struts may be just at the end of their normal life cycle as things do just wear out and 10 years ish, or 100,000 miles will do that and just not doing all the good they used to. Now it is not critical to replace them as long as they are not leaking fluid or so totally worn out, they feel like your riding in a wagon across the plains 100 years ago. It is true that Shock absorbers and Struts are important and do play a major roll in the safety for handling and steering control when we ask them or need them to work at their peak performance such as in a emergency stop or steering maneuver to swerve around something that just jumps out i ... read more

Your water pump is the heart of your engines cooling system. It is what moves the hot coolant out and away from your engine and to the radiator where it is cooled off with a fan when sitting in traffic or at a stop light and then is cooled by the air as it is blown through the front of the cars grill while you are driving. It is passed around by way of the upper and lower radiator hoses, engine passageways and of course the radiator and heater core (where your heat comes from in the winter to keep you warm) Most water pumps can last between 80,000 to 150,000 miles before the bearings and or seals wear out and it starts to leak or worse yet fails all at once and ends your commute to wherever you were going. If you watch the video this water pump on this jeep was not leaking but was overheating due to the plastic part used for pumping the coolant through the engine had broken in the center and left this engine getting to hot. It had to be towed in to be fixed so the engine did not dama ... read more

Today’s topic is batteries. It seems like everything runs on batteries. Of course, the batteries we’re most concerned with here at Craigs Car Care are those in our vehicles. Car batteries wear out just like any other battery and need to be replaced. There are a couple of things drivers should know when looking for a new battery. There are two measurements that come into play: one is cold cranking amps and the other is reserve capacity . Let’s start with cold cranking amps.  This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live, specifically how cold it is where you live. The two factors are that the colder your ford vehicles’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 tha ... read more

My car has a bad smell when I run the heater or air conditioner. A friend said I might need a new cabin air filter – what’s that?  A cabin air filter is a filter that cleans the air that comes into your vehicle's passenger compartments of the car. Most new vehicles sold in Texas now have a cabin air filter. A cabin air filter catches dust, pollen, spores and other dangerous pollutants before they can get into your car's cabin. It’s kind of like the filter in your homes AC System,cleaning the air you breathe inside your car & truck. As you can imagine, it eventually gets filled up and can even start to get smelly. So – you just have it replaced. Now some are really easy to access and others are tougher to get to. Most are behind the glove box area on the passenger's side of your car. A few are mounted under the hood near the windshield also on the passenger side.  Your owner’s manual likely ... read more

Question:My engine never overheats.  Do I need to change the coolant in my radiator?That's a really good question to ask, because if you don't have the full answer you and your car may end up in trouble. It would seem that if your engine is running at the proper temperature that everything must be OK. But the fact is that engine overheating is the most common cause of mechanical failure. So how do you get from everything is just fine to suddenly overheating and potential engine damage?Truth is, it is not a sudden process, but it is an invisible one. Your engine coolant circulates through your engine where it absorbs heat and then flows through the radiator by a water pump where it is cooled – and then back to the engine again. As long as the coolant is able to flow freely – and there are no leaks – then the coolant can do its job. This is the point where have to look deeper. ... read more

Our vehicles operate in a wide range of outside temperatures in Texas. That’s why vehicle manufacturers use testing grounds from the frozen tundra to the blistering desert. Your engine coolant must be able to perform in these extreme temperatures, even if we don’t always get the extremes in Allen, Texas.    Coolant has to move heat away from the engine to prevent costly damage. Water does a very good job of holding heat, but it freezes at thirty two degrees (Fahrenheit).    That’s why we mix anti-freeze with water – it lowers the freezing point of the coolant, and raises the boiling point as well. A fifty/fifty blend of water and antifreeze is the usual recommendation from Craigs Car Care, Inc..    And on top of that, coolant has to protect the components of the cooling system from corrosion. Your owners’ manual will tell you what kind of coolant you should use. Of course, your Craig's Car Care, Inc ... read more

My AC /Air Conditioning is not working. What is wrong with it? With the weather getting hotter we are fielding these phone calls every day. While there is more than one answer to this great question I can offer some common ideas and things we see. First is the most common, the freon gas that is used to carry heat away from the cars cabin area has become low from a leak someplace in the system. Another can be an air flow issue from a blower motor for pushing air inside your car's interior that is not working or the cabin air filter is so dirty, air can no longer move past it. Last in the most seen issues is an air box door problem. These doors are used to direct and redirect air from the vents to the defrosters and to the floor or any combination you select. As for the next big question; how much will this cost? It is very hard to get an accurate estimate until we have been able to evaluate the signs and symptoms. We can perform some test to find out what is broken. This part can st ... read more

It’s natural to be a little anxious when you buy a used car in Allen:  you worry that it has something wrong with it or that it hasn’t been well maintained. If it’s possible, bring the car in to Craigs Car Care, Inc. for an inspection. We can tell you if there are current or emerging problems. The peace of mind is well worth the price of the  inspection service . It’s also a good idea to get on track with the maintenance schedule at Craig's Car Care, Inc. and stay on track. If you don’t have maintenance records for the vehicle, assume the worst and get started with an  oil change . The inspection by a qualified Allen service technician that comes with a full service oil change will reveal basic problems. Be sure to bring up any specific concerns with your Honest Craig's Car Care, Inc. service consultant. A more intense inspection at Craig's Car Care, Inc. can find hidden problems like body damage and sealer in A/C units which c ... read more

Your brakes are extremely important as you drive around Allen, TX. Having good brakes just keeps you out of trouble. You’ll want to carefully maintain your brakes. With disc brakes , brake pads rub on a disc – or rotor – to slow the wheels. The brake pads are attached to a caliper that squeezes the pads against the rotor. It’s kind of like how squeezing the handbrake on a bicycle pushes the brake pads against the wheel of the bike. Now pads just wear away with use – kind of like a pencil eraser wears out. The good news is that replacing brake pads is a straight-forward repair. If you hear squealing or grinding when you use the brakes, have your Craig's Car Care service advisor check them out. He’ll have a technician perform a thorough brake inspection to see what needs to ... read more

Go Straight With A Wheel Alignment At Craig's Car Care, Inc. In Allen Ever been in your local Allen grocery store and had one of those shopping carts – you know the one with a messed up wheel that wobbles like crazy. Your cart shakes and pulls to one side – if you’re not careful it’s clean up on aisle three. Wheel alignment  on your car is a lot like that. One or more of your wheels can get out of alignment; you feel a vibration in your steering wheel – which may also be off-center. Your car might pull to one side and your tires start to wear unevenly – you could chew through a tire in a few months. Sometimes wheels get knocked out of alignment by something big like hitting a curb on a bumpy Allen road or slamming into a pothole. But everyday driving takes a toll and cars lose alignment over time. That’s why auto makers recommend an alignment check at regular intervals. At Craig's Car Care, Inc., we offer a full ... read more