Did you know there’s a lot more to do with maintaining your engine than just getting your oil changed? Keeping your car’s engine properly maintained will save you money now and later on down the road. Engine repair service can be done right here in Elizabeth Pa.
Engine Repair Replacement Services in Elizabeth
At Elizabeth Auto Care, over 30 years of car engine repair experience has shown us that a little bit of attention in all the areas of maintenance for your valuable engine will keep you running for hundreds of thousands of miles without needing to replace the engine. We do perform all types of engine repair and replace entire engines as well, however most of those are for newer customers that have been taking their vehicles to another shop for service.
Our philosophy is to educate each of our customers about the proper care and common sense maintenance to avoid costly engine repairs or replacement. We’ve helped many customers enjoy a safe and reliable vehicle well over 200,000 mile without major engine repairs simply by paying attention to:
Oil Changes: We still recommend changing your oil every 3,000 miles because we’ve seen firsthand the damage that occurs from following the manufacturers recommendations of extended service intervals. Most oil change reminder lights will allow you to go 5,000 to 10,000 miles before they alert you it’s time for a change. Letting it go this long in the Elizabeth Pa area will cause excessive buildup of sludge in some very sensitive areas inside your engine and cause them to starve for oil supply. When this happens, damage to internal engine bearings, Variable Valve Timing (VVT) components, engine valves, camshafts, crankshafts, push rods, rocker arms and timing chain assemblies.
Driving your vehicle an average of 10-12,000 miles per year in the Pittsburgh area usually means a lot of short trips to the store, work, school, and kids activities. Coupled with longer idle times and often wild temperature swings that could easily go from 30 degrees in the morning to 70 in the afternoon is a recipe for internal engine build up that will clog your oil passages much like plaque clogs arteries.
Here’s actual images from an engine we changed with only 80,000 miles that was damaged from following the oil change reminder light on their dash. The customer told us his Buick SUV would normally go about 7-8,000 miles before the light would come on, and they were using Mobile 1 full synthetic oil which is a high quality brand. This engine suffered severe internal engine damage to its bearings and valve control systems.
The used engine we installed had about 40,000 miles on it and was VERY clean inside, most likely due to a more reasonable oil change interval.
Engine Tune Up: Most engines these days come with platinum or iridium tipped spark plugs that have an expected life of up to 100,000 miles. But those estimates are based off of laboratory testing and don’t take into account the driving conditions we experience here in Elizabeth Pa. Our experience has shown that changing them around 60,000 miles will greatly reduce the strain old worn out spark plugs puts on the rest of your ignition system like ignition coils, control modules, and spark plug wires. Not to mention the corrosion that builds up in the threads of the steel spark plugs that are screwed into an aluminum engine. These two dissimilar metals coupled with a lot of heat and combustion chamber gasses add up to the likely hood that some damage could occur when the spark plugs are left in the engine for 100,000 miles and more.
Timing Belt: Some vehicles come equipped with a timing belt that is made of rubber much like your alternator or air conditioning belt, but much heavier to handle the strain your engine is under. Your cars timing belt makes sure the camshaft and valves stay in sync with the pistons. When it breaks or slips due to normal wear and tear, the pistons can collide with the valves causing damage to these critical components. It’s always cheaper to replace a timing belt before it’s broken, so a little preventive maintenance will save you many hundreds of dollars. Most manufacturers recommend 60,000 to 90,000 mile intervals, so let us know the last time the belt was changed, or if it ever has been. Either pay for costly engine repair or choose the option of affordable engine maintenance.
Timing Chain: If your vehicle doesn’t have a timing belt, then it will have a timing chain instead. The timing chain works much like the belt does, but is made from steel and is bathed in oil for lubrication. There usually isn’t a recommended service interval for the chain, but the tensioner and guides that keep it tight do wear out over time. We recommend that you inspect and possibly replace this chain assembly along with the guides and tensioner around 100,000 miles to prevent costly engine damage if it would fail unexpectedly.
Water Pump: Every internal combustion engine running in today’s automobiles uses a water pump to circulate engine coolant anti freeze to keep it cool and within an acceptable temperature range. If your car has a timing belt, we always recommend replacing the water pump at the same time the belt is changed because it is usually hidden from view and driven by the belt. Most engines with a timing chain however, have a visible water pump and if it were to start leaking, we will typically detect that before it completely fails. This is another reason why it’s a good idea to have an ASE Certified mechanic performing all of your routine services like oil changes. Their experience and knowledge while inspecting your vehicle every 3,000 miles will find what most quick lube jockeys may miss.
Head Gasket Repair: The worst enemy of your engines head gaskets is overheating. Excessive heat causes metal components to expand and warp which allows engine coolant to leak around the head gasket seal between your engine block and cylinder heads. Your head gasket is responsible for keeping your engine oil, engine coolant (antifreeze), and high pressure cylinder combustion from reaching each other. When any of these are allowed to mix together it spells certain disaster for your engine that may not be repaired if it has over 120,000 miles.
So it is critical that we make sure your engine never overheats due to a coolant leak, faulty radiator, or blown radiator hose. Each time your vehicle comes in for service, our trained mechanics are looking for possible failures to make sure you don’t experience an unexpected emergency that an overheating engine can cause. If you ever see your engine temperature warning light come on while driving, stop immediately and call a tow truck. Don’t risk major engine damage trying to get it home, it’s not worth the potential high cost that comes with an engine replacement.
At Elizabeth Auto Care, we have a complete, professional staff of ASE Certified Mechanics to handle all of your engine repair or replacement needs in Elizabeth Pa. No matter what make or model your vehicle is, our engine experts have the skills and state-of-the-art equipment to properly diagnose, service and repair your engine on time and on budget.
Call (412) 384-7700 or Text (412) 879-0171 to schedule an engine replacement appointment or ask any questions you may have:
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Pennsylvania areas served for engine replacement: Elizabeth Pa | Jefferson Hills Pa | Clairton Pa | McKeesport Pa | Forward Township Pa | Glassport Pa | Lincoln Boro Pa | Boston Pa | Finleyville Pa | West Mifflin Pa | Pleasant Hills Pa | Bethel Park Pa | South Hills Pittsburgh Pa and surrounding areas within these zip codes: 15037, 15025, 15135, 15132, 15131, 15045, 15332, 15236, 15122
More information about engine repair or maintenance can be found at this wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maintenance,_repair_and_operations