Crosse Auto Repair

Oh oh. We both know a groaning noise is not normal. Cars are like us, we make noises when we don’t feel well. Of course this means a phone call to set up an appointment is needed. One of our mechanics will raise up your car and check to see if the tires are loose by wiggling the wheel. He/ she will grasp the top and bottom of the tire, to see if it moves along the vertical axis. If it does, your car most likely has damaged wheel bearings. A wheel bearing is a set of steel balls held together by a metal ring called a race. They help wheels spin fast with as little friction as possible. Wheel bearings allow your wheels to spin freely. Sealed bearings can last up to 85,000 to 100,000 miles. If you don’t replace a damaged wheel bearing before it fails completely, the wheel will completely seize up. and then safety becomes a big concern. It is best to replace bearings in pairs

Glad you asked! As you can see from the picture, a vehicle’s cabin filter is at work keeping all kinds of debris from coming into your car. Not only does this filter keep debris out of your car, but having a clean filter helps greatly with the amount of air that gets circulated. The quantity and quality of air coming through to your “cabin” is significantly better. Now, imagine the difference a clean filter will make while running your air conditioner in warmer weather! Ahhh! spring is only 60 days away! How fresh does the inside of your car smell? Is the quantity of air flowing through the vents keeping you warm enough? If not, your vehicle may need a new cabin air filter? Here at Bob’s Auto Service we can assist you with all your car’s filters. Give us a call 608

When a car uses a lot more gas than normal, we find that the “check engine” light is also on. I’m guessing this is true for your car. With this information, I’m thinking your vehicle may have an O2 sensor (oxygen sensor) that is bad. The O2 sensors that we use today were developed in 1990. O2 sensors monitor how much unburned oxygen is in the exhaust as it passes through the engine. It tells your car’s computer if the fuel mixture is burning rich (less oxygen, more fuel) or lean (more oxygen less fuel). Sounds like your car’s engine is being forced to guess how much gasoline to use; therefore, this could be why your car is using a lot of gas lately. The actual number of oxygen sensors for a car depends on the year, make, model and engine. However; most of the later model vehicles have four oxygen sensors. A computer diagnostics check will be run. Also, a test for each sensor will be done to determi ... read more

Finding the size of tires that your car came with from the factory is easy. Open the driver’s door, you will see a factory sticker on the door post. This sticker will have the factory tire information….the size of tires, speed rating and the recommended tire pressure. When your car came from the factory, many of the computer settings and the speedometer calibration were set for the size tire listed on the door. It is best to follow these tire recommendations if you can

Your car’s oil filter works hard trapping contaminants. The filter helps lubricate internal parts of your car and also helps cool the engine. As your engine runs, dirt gets into the oil. Oil sludge can also start to build up. Fortunately, the oil contains detergents that clean the engine. An oil filter can eventually get clogged up – in severe cases, so much so that oil cannot flow freely through the filter and do its job. A very good reason to make sure you are up to date on your oil changes