Did you ever pull out of your Johnsburg driveway, head down the road and not find yourself surprised when your car, truck or SUV broke down? When are automotive breakdowns expected? Did you ever call your boss to tell them you’d be late when leaving home for work: “I just wanted to let you know I’ll be late today. My engine is going to overheat halfway there.”Those conversations don’t happen

A jar of jam is a sweet idea here in the McHenry area. But there is nothing sweet about a jar from your car hitting a post-winter pothole. Hit the pothole hard enough and your teeth may float in your mouth a bit while your spine coils and uncoils painfully. Then there’s the question of what that pothole is doing to your car.Cars are designed taking potholes into account. Suspensions are built to

Whether you’ve noticed or not, it’s coming. It comes this time every year – road construction. Flaggers will appear with signs that say ‘STOP’ on one side and ‘SLOW’ on the other (not sure why they call them ‘flaggers’ anymore since they don’t actually use flags anymore).You’ll also see more of those intrusive species – the road horses and hazard cones dotting the highways.

When you pull out of your McHenry driveway, you want to know that you can count on your car, truck or SUV to get you where you’re going reliably, safely, economically and in comfort. These are reasons that you go out of your way to properly maintain your vehicle. How does this apply to rotating your tires?There are several good reasons to rotate tires on your car, truck or SUV. Consider the following:Extend

Check that undercarriage while you’re at itAs the last two years have demonstrated, there’s no reason to assume that winter has thrown its last punch in Johnsburg this year. Then again, we did cross the threshold from winter into Spring, officially, Saturday. That’s worth celebrating, isn’t it?With the warmer temperatures this week, the weather seems to match its official designation, at least

Who doesn’t love a parade? But, if you were looking forward to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in McHenry, unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until next year. They won’t turn the Fox River green and the McHenry Shamrocks won’t be dancing, not in the parade, anyhow.McHenry’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is another victim of the pandemic. But that doesn’t mean you can’t show your Irish pride,

Have you noticed blemishes on the pavement where your car is parked? What’s that all about? Is it something to worry about?The answers to these questions are, ‘Depends.’ That’s probably not the simple answer you were hoping for. The answers really ‘depend’ on where, in comparison to parts of your car, truck or SUV, you find the spots. It also ‘depends’ on the color and odor of the spots,

No, you don't want to spread road salt on yourcar, truck or SUV. But you might want toconsider what road salt from McHenry roadsis doing to your vehicle.Think about it: salt is used to tenderize a steak. It pulls some of the moisture out of the meat and dissolves into the fibers of the meat. Using salt to brine meat is described as ‘similar to osmosis.’ It breaks down protein. It can also ‘lock

What has changed in the world of auto repair? Almost everything. Mostly, the cars have changed. Years gone by, cars were relatively simple. With a little initiative and mechanical inclination, many people were able to work on their own cars. Today, computers dominate the operation of vehicles and the backyard mechanic is in limited supply.Some have said that this mechanical inclination among Americans

According to Wikipedia, the first automatic transmission, "the … Sturtevant ‘horseless carriage gearbox,’” was designed in 1904. But it wasn't until 1939 that General Motors introduced its Hydramatic transmission. And it was a few years after that before automatic transmissions were widely available in vehicles purchased by the general public.Since that time, the automatics have taken over