Monthly Archives: February 2014

Differential Service At Autotronics of ST Peter

Here at AutoNetTV, we have national viewers, like your neighbors in St. Peter, who write to us with questions or feedback. One common question we’re asked is: “What is a differential and what does it do?” You may have been told by your Autotronics of ST Peter technician that your differential needs service, or seen it as an option up on the service menu. Differential service at Autotronics of ST Peter covers a lot of things, so let’s first talk about what a differential does.

As you drive through a turn, your outside wheels and inside wheels turn at different speeds. Kind of like the cars going around a race track – the ones driving in the outside lanes have a greater distance to travel than the cars in the inside lanes. The differential is what allows the outside and inside drive wheels to rotate at slightly different speeds so that the tires don’t hop or skip while taking corners, or lose traction in dirt or snow on Cleveland interstates. Differentials have gears in them that transfer the power from the drive train to your wheels – which is why they’re often referred to as gear boxes. The gears need to be very strong to do this work, and they need to be properly protected so that they’ll last.

All vehicles in St. Peter have some form of differential. If you have a front-wheel drive car, your differential is sometimes called a transaxle and is located in the front. If you have rear-wheel drive, the differential is in the back of the car. St. Peter auto owners with a four-wheel drive vehicle have a differential in the front and the back – and in the middle as well. The center differential adjusts for differences in speed between the front and rear wheels.

Differential fluid lubricates and cools the gears. Over time, the fluid can get dirty from bits of the gears grinding off. The additives that keep the fluid clean and protect the differential break down over time. So your auto manufacturer has scheduled intervals for you to have your differential fluid changed. Talk to your knowledgeable Autotronics of ST Peter service advisor if you are not sure about your recommended schedule.

Differentials are hard working mechanisms, and, along with the gears in a manual transmission, need to be serviced regularly at Autotronics of ST Peter with high-quality, replacement fluid. Your St. Peter service professional can give you more information as to when your next differential service is recommended. You can also ask if they have a record of when the service was last completed.

As with most service intervals, if you are driving under more severe conditions in the Cleveland area, you will want to service your differential more frequently. “Severe service” conditions are  defined in auto makers’ owners’ manuals, and include: frequent starts and stops, short trips, cold MN weather, hot weather and towing. All these factors add to the stress of the vehicle and its parts. Also, off-roading in MN can be especially hard on differentials, especially if you cross streams. Proper service at Autotronics of ST Peter will extend the life of your gears and keep them running more smoothly. If you have never had your differential checked, visit contact-us for more information.

The Autotronics of ST Peter Guide to Proper Fluids for Your Vehicle

The automotive professionals at Autotronics of ST Peter would like to give St. Peter auto owners an update on some of the things happening in automotive fluids. You know, cars are becoming more sophisticated everyday – and fluids such as, oil, coolant and transmission fluid are becoming more specialized at about the same pace.

The Cleveland do-it-yourselfer has to be pretty careful so that they do not actually harm their minivan with the wrong type of fluid. That is why so many MN car owners rely on the advice of their knowledgeable Autotronics of ST Peter service specialist to not only get the correct family of fluids, but to suggest the formulation that is best for their car and their driving habits in the St. Peter area.

Let’s start with engine oil. Kasota auto owners who have been paying attention, will have noticed a number of new oil weights on the MN scene in the last several years. Modern engines are built to much tighter tolerances and have very complicated valve trains. The oil must be thin enough to lubricate complicated parts when the engine is cold. The weight of an oil is expressed in terms like 20-W-50 or 5-W-30. The car makers recommend the weight of oil for each vehicle they make. The recommendation is based on engine design. Your St. Peter service center will know what weight your car maker recommends – and it’s important to follow those recommendations. Your service advisor at Autotronics of ST Peter can also offer suggestions for special formulations and can tell you all about conventional and synthetic oils.

Antifreeze, or engine coolant, is another area that has become more complicated. For a long time, auto manufacturers only recommended a couple of different types of coolant. Now, several different formulations are needed because of the high-tech materials that auto makers are using to build the cooling system. Using the wrong type of coolant in your minivan or other vehicle can actually void your warranty, so it’s essential to get that right.

Transmission fluid is becoming specialized for St. Peter vehicles as well. New transmission designs have particular requirements that require specific formulations. Recently, new, somewhat confusing, standards for brake fluid have also been released.

Not too long ago, there was a good chance that all of the vehicles at your St. Peter house would use many of the same fluids. However, as automotive technology advances, the array of basic automotive fluids MN car owners need will grow. And, some of the formulations will cost a little more for St. Peter motorists. Fortunately, Autotronics of ST Peter will continue to update their training to keep pace with technology so that you’ll get the right fluids your car needs. It’s all part of the commitment we make to your driving peace of mind.

PCV Valve Replacement

Hello St. Peter auto owners, let’s talk about your often-unnoticed but extremely important PCV valve. The energy from exploding fuel is what powers your engine. But some of the vapors from the explosions escape into the lower part of the engine, called the crankcase. The crankcase is where your engine oil hangs out. These gases are about 70% unburned fuel. If the gases were allowed to stay in the crankcase, they would quickly contaminate the oil and turn it to sludge. Cleveland folks know that sludge is one of the biggest enemies of your engine, clogging it up, eventually leading to expensive failures. Also, the pressure build up would cause seals and gaskets to blow out. Therefore, these gases need to be vented out.

Pre-1963, gasoline engines had a hose that let the harmful fumes vent out into the air. In 1963, the federal government required gas engines to have a special one-way valve installed to help reduce dangerous emissions. (Can you imagine how polluted our Cleveland air would be if every car had been releasing those poisonous fumes for the last fifty years?) Diesel engines are not required to have these valves.

The positive crankcase ventilation, or PCV, valve routes crankcase gases through a hose and back into the air intake system where they are re-burned in the engine. Fresh, clean air is brought into the crankcase through a breather tube. It’s really a pretty simple system, but it does the job. The re-circulating air removes moisture and combustion waste from the crankcase, preventing sludge. This extends not only the life of your oil, but the engine as well. The PCV relieves pressure in the crankcase, preventing harmful oil leaks.


Eventually, the PCV valve can get gummed up. Then it can’t move enough air through the engine to keep it working properly for St. Peter car owners. If the PCV valve is sticking enough, you could have oil leaks, excess oil consumption and a fouled intake system. If you experience hesitation or surging or an oil leak, it may be a sign of PCV valve problems. Your auto manufacturer’s owners’ manual may give a recommendation for when the PCV valve should be replaced – usually between 20,000 mi/32,000 km and 50,000 mi/80,000 km. Unfortunately, some auto manufacturers don’t list a recommendation in the manual, so it can be easy to overlook.

Many PCV system problems can be diagnosed with an automotive analysis by your knowledgeable Autotronics of ST Peter tech. Fortunately, PCV valve replacement is both quick and inexpensive at Autotronics of ST Peter. Proper oil changes will greatly extend the life of the PCV valve. Skipping a few recommended oil changes can allow varnish and gum to build up in the valve, reducing its efficiency. So now when your St. Peter service technician tells you its time to replace your PCV valve, you will know what he’s talking about. If you have had your car for a while and this is the first you’ve ever heard of a PCV value, ask your service advisor to check yours out or call Autotronics of ST Peter at 507.934.9290.