Monthly Archives: June 2014

The Autotronics of ST Peter Guide To Caring For Your Transmission

Most cars and trucks have automatic transmissions, yet a lot of Kasota drivers only have a fuzzy understanding about what a transmission does. Think back to the last time you rode a bike in Kasota. You started out in a lower gear and shifted to higher gears as you went faster. Down shift for hills, stuff like that. Think of your legs as the engine – there’s an ideal speed you can pedal and you change gears to leverage the work you’re doing.

Lower gears for power on hills or for starting out. Higher gears for more speed. That’s what the automatic transmission does – it automatically starts in lower gears and shifts up to higher gears to go faster on MN interstates. And automatically shifts back down to climb Kasota hills, pass or start up again.

minivan automatic transmissions have certainly gotten more sophisticated in recent years. They have more speeds than before: the base is four speeds, five is very common.

At Autotronics of ST Peter, we routinely service transmissions with six speeds and several have seven or even eight speeds. As you can imagine, this means more parts. Any they all have to fit into roughly the same space.

Transmissions are computer controlled these days, with some high end transmissions having two or three computers. Transmissions are engineered to last. But they are also engineered to tighter tolerances. If a portion of the transmission is starved for lubrication, it can lead to failure.

Not enough fluid can starve the transmission or dirty transmission fluid can clog small passages in the transmission, then the lubricant is blocked and can’t get to all the parts to protect them, so they wear out prematurely. The technicians at Autotronics of ST Peter see far too many transmissions that needlessly failed due to neglect.

And, as you can imagine, repairing one of these new transmissions at any St. Peter service center can be quite costly. That’s why auto makers have a schedule for how often you should change the fluid and what type of fluid to use.

It’s really important for Kasota motorists to carefully follow the manufacturer’s transmission service schedule.

At Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter, we hope you never become shiftless in Kasota because you didn’t take care of your transmission.

The Autotronics of St. Peter Guide to Caring for Your Transmission

Most vehicles have automatic transmissions, yet a lot of St. Peter drivers only have a fuzzy understanding about what a transmission does. Think back to the last time you rode a bike in St. Peter. You started out in a lower gear and shifted to higher gears as you went faster. Down shift for hills, stuff like that. Think of your legs as the engine – there’s an ideal speed you can pedal and you change gears to leverage the work you’re doing.

Lower gears for power on hills or for starting out. Higher gears for more speed. That’s what the automatic transmission does – it automatically starts in lower gears and shifts up to higher gears to go faster on MN roads. And it automatically shifts back down to climb St. Peter hills, pass or start up again.

Vehicle automatic transmissions have certainly gotten more sophisticated in recent years. They have more speeds than before: the base is four speeds, five is very common.

At Autotronics of St. Peter, we routinely service transmissions with six speeds and several have seven or even eight speeds. As you can imagine, this means more parts. Any they all have to fit into roughly the same space.

Transmissions are computer controlled these days, with some high end transmissions having two or three computers. Transmissions are engineered to last. But they are also engineered to tighter tolerances. If a portion of the transmission is starved for lubrication, it can lead to failure.

Not enough fluid can starve the transmission, or dirty transmission fluid can clog small passages in the transmission. Then the lubricant is blocked and can’t get to all the parts to protect them, so they wear out prematurely. The technicians at Autotronics of St. Peter see far too many transmissions that needlessly failed due to neglect.

And, as you can imagine, repairing one of these new transmissions at any St. Peter service center can be quite costly. That’s why owner’s manuals have a schedule for how often you should change the fluid and what type of fluid to use.

It’s really important for St. Peter area drivers to carefully follow the manufacturer’s transmission service schedule.

At Autotronics of St. Peter in St. Peter, we hope you never become shiftless in St. Peter because you didn’t take care of your transmission.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

 

Autotronics of ST Peter: Why Replace Your Engine Air Filter?

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Just as our bodies need clean air to function properly, your minivan engine needs clean air to operate efficiently. Let’s go egghead for a minute. For every gallon of gas we burn driving on MN freeways, twenty pounds of carbon dioxide comes out the tailpipe. Question: how can a gallon of gas that weighs a little over six pounds produce twenty pounds of carbon dioxide?

The answer is that the carbon comes from the gasoline, but the oxygen comes from the air. You see, it takes about twelve thousand gallons of air to burn a gallon of gas in your engine. Clearly, your minivan needs a lot of air to keep going in Kasota. A lot of clean air is best.

Autotronics of ST Peter: Why Replace Your Engine Air Filter?You’ve seen the pictures of people in Japan wearing face masks. They want some kind of filter to keep unwanted pollution and germs out of their lungs. Well, your minivan also works better when its internals are clean. When your minivan air filter’s dirty, it simply can’t trap any more dirt, so the pollutants just pass through into your air intake system. From there it can clog your fuel injectors and even get into the motor itself. Not surprisingly, burning dust and pollen in your minivan engine does you no good.

So, we’re talking potential damage for Cleveland drivers. But another big thing is wasted fuel. Your minivan engine management computer tries to mix the correct amount of air in with the fuel. If the filter’s clogged, there isn’t enough air for the optimal fuel to air mix and that really messes with fuel efficiency.

In fact, replacing a dirty air filter at Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter can improve your fuel economy by up to ten percent. At today’s Kasota fuel prices, you should be able to pay for a new air filter before your next oil change.

The verdict: When your minivan engine air filter needs to be replaced; it needs to be replaced. How often depends entirely on the level of air pollution where you drive in MN. A simple visual inspection at Autotronics of ST Peter will tell you when you need a new engine air filter.

When you look at the air filter on your furnace at home and see it’s all clogged up with dust and dirt, you don’t hesitate to replace it. When your Autotronics of ST Peter service advisor shows you your nasty engine air filter, you now know why you should go ahead and replace it.