Having an auto repair shop you can trust is almost as important as having a family doctor you can trust. There are many auto mechanics who are highly reputable, trustworthy and skilled in repairing your car, truck or SUV. There are also auto mechanics who are anything but trustworthy. Some of these simply don’t know what they’re doing and others know, all-too well, how to use their knowledge to

Some say you should. Some say you shouldn’t. The debate rages on: should you let your car warm up before you pull out of your Richmond driveway on a cold winter’s morning? Those embroiled in the debate are so firmly entrenched in their opinions that it’s unlikely they’ll find common ground anytime soon. They all have their reasons for believing what they believe. Those who say you should warm

There are days in a Wonder Lake winter when the roads are slippery. Snow, ice, water: they accumulate on the road a pose a potential hazard for drivers. They can cause you to slide out of control. These uncontrolled moments behind the wheel can be hair raising. Fortunately, they don’t always end with a collision between your car, pickup truck or SUV and someone else’s car, truck or SUV. And they

Four-wheel drive is more and more common in cars, trucks and SUVs on the roads of McHenry County these days. With the winters we face, they make good sense. Four-wheel drive can go a long way to helping you get your car, truck or SUV going on ice- and snow-covered Midwestern highways. There are serious advantages to a four-wheel drive car, truck or SUV. These benefits also, generally, apply to all-wheel

Winter in Richmond is an abuser. It beats the heck out of the roads and they pass along the beating to your car, truck or SUV. These are good reasons to have your steering and suspension checked when winter is over – to see what kind of damage winter roads have done to your vehicle. However, you may not want to wait for spring to ensure your steering and suspension are in good working order. Winter

Winter in McHenry is a test for a car, truck or SUV. Parts undergo the extremes of severely cold temperatures. Rain, snow and ice assault the vehicle from all sides. If the charging system is weak, winter can provide the breaking point. On the other hand, this is one place where a tune-up can make a big difference. Imagine that you are trying to start your pickup truck on a January night when the

Water freezes at 32-degrees Fahrenheit.  Gasoline also freezes. However, there is not a single temperature you can assign to gasoline when it comes to freezing. You can’t say that gasoline will freeze at 70-degree-below-zero Fahrenheit, though that may represent a temperature where some gasoline mixtures will freeze. The point is that, in spite of the ability to withstand the extreme colds a

The New Year is upon us this weekend here in McHenry County. How do you plan to celebrate? New Year’s parties will abound Saturday night – New Year’s Eve. Good food, good friends, a few good drinks: it all sounds great. And it should be, unless something happens to spoil it. So, how do you plan to get to the New Year’s Eve party you’re attending? If you’re not driving to a party in McHenry

When you’re playing Santa Claus, it pays to put yourself in his shoes. But, with only five days until Christmas, time is running out. If you haven’t figured out what to buy them by now, the odds are good that you’ll wind up buying them a last-minute gift that really doesn’t make anyone appreciably merrier; it’s something they wouldn’t buy for themselves and it’s not something you’d

In front of your car, truck or SUV engine you’ll find a radiator. Behind the radiator is a fan. The radiator is connected to the engine by hoses – one a supply hose (the lower hose) and the other a return hose (the upper hose). Less visible to the naked eye is a pump, which is part of the engine, that moves the liquid in the radiator and engine in a regular cycle. There’s also a thermostat that