Part of any routine maintenance schedule should be the inspection of the cooling system hoses. When visually inspecting the hoses there are a few things to look for:

• Oil saturation
• Cracks
• Abrasions (from contact with moving parts)
• Seepage
• Clamp tension

Now that you have visually inspected the hoses, it’s time to give them a squeeze. Hoses can deteriorate internally, they should feel firm, if too pliable then replace, the same goes for too hard. Regardless of condition it is a good practice to replace them at the manufacturers suggested intervals.

http://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-an-engine-cooling-system-works

Upper Radiator Hose

Oil is an essential lubricant in your engine. It lets metal press against metal without damage. For example, it lubricates the pistons as they move up and down in the cylinders. Without oil, the metal-on-metal friction creates so much heat that eventually the surfaces weld themselves together and the engine seizes. Which is not good if you’re trying to get somewhere. On the other hand, if you want someone else not to get somewhere, then draining the oil out of his or her engine is an effective roadblock!

Let’s say that your engine has plenty of oil, but you never change it. Two things will definitely happen:

• Dirt will accumulate in the oil. The filter will remove the dirt for a while, but eventually the filter will clog and the dirty oil will automatically bypass the filter through a relief valve. Dirty oil is thick and abrasive, so it causes more wear.
• Additives in the oil like detergents, dispersants, rust-fighters and friction reducers will wear out, so the oil won’t lubricate as well as it should.

Eventually, as the oil gets dirtier and dirtier, it will stop lubricating and the engine will quickly wear and fail. Don’t worry, this isn’t going to happen if you forget to change your oil one month and it goes over the recommended change interval by 500 miles. You would have to run the same oil through the engine for a long time — many thousands of miles — before it caused catastrophic failure.

Diagnosing a vehicle for emission inspection failure can be complicated. As an Idaho motorist, you are free to select a qualified repair technician or repair the vehicle yourself. However, due to the complexity of today’s vehicles, you should strongly consider having your vehicle repairs performed by a qualified technician who is experienced in diagnosing and repairing vehicle emission systems.

Vehicles not passing the inspection will receive a vehicle inspection report with the reason(s) the vehicle has failed. After appropriate repairs are made to the vehicle, you are entitled to one free retest within thirty (30) days of the initial inspection at any of the vehicle inspection station within Canyon County or Kuna.

When returning for a retest, 1981 – 1995 gasoline vehicles and all diesel vehicles will be subject to the entire anti-tampering and appropriate emissions test. 1996 and newer gasoline and 1998 and newer diesel vehicles will only be subject to the portion of the inspection for which the vehicle originally failed.

If the vehicle fails the retest, a vehicle inspection report will be provided indicating the reason(s) for failure. The vehicle must have the necessary repairs made in order to pass the vehicle inspection.

The next retest will cost $10.00 with the following retest (if needed) free. All subsequant retests are paid until the vehicle passes.

EMISSION COMPONENTS FUNCTIONS

Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) – recirculates exhaust gases into intake manifold and is controlled by vacuum pressure.

Spark Controls (SPK) – ensure that air/fuel mixture is ignited at the best possible moment to provide optimum efficiency, power, and cleaner emissions.

Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) – controls the flow of crankcase fumes into the intake manifold while preventing gases and flames from traveling in the opposite direction.

Thermostatic Air Cleaner (ACL) – supplies warm air to air intake during cold engine operation. This system is only active during cold engine warm-up.

Fuel Evaporative System (EVAP) – allows for proper fuel system ventilation while preventing fuel vapors from reaching the atmosphere. Catches and store vapors until engine is restarted. Vapors are then removed from storage and burned.

Catalytic Converters (OC)(TWC) – remove/reduce NOx, CO and HC emissions as gases pass through.

Fill Pipe Restrictor (FR) – prohibits the introduction of leaded fuel into the fuel tank.

Air Injection Systems (AIS) – draw filtered air in through the intake port and push air out the exhaust port.

Oxygen Sensor (O2s) – monitors the oxygen content of exhaust gases. It produces a voltage signal which is proportional to exhaust gas oxygen compared to outside oxygen.

When the charging system is operating normally, the charge indicator lamp will come on when the ignition switch is turned ON and will go out when the engine starts. If the lamp does not come on with the key ON you will need to check the warning light circuit or replace the bulb.

Keep in mind that an undercharged battery is often caused by accessories being left on overnight, or by a rear compartment or instrument panel compartment lamp that stays on.

Noise from an alternator may be caused by the following components:

• Improper routing of hoses, wiring or shielding against the alternator housing.
• A loose drive pulley
• Loose mounting bolts
• Worn or dirty bearings
• A faulty diode
• A faulty stator
• Brush/slip ring friction

Precautions:

• Do not reverse the connections to the alternator.
• Do not short across, or ground any of the terminals in the charging circuit, except as directed by the instructions.
• Do not attempt to hot wire the alternator by connecting B+ voltage to any of the alternator 4-way connector terminals. Use only an approved test harness as described in these instructions.
• Never disconnect the output terminal while the alternator is operating.
• Use only approved terminal probe adapters to connect the meter leads and the jumper wires to the connector terminals. Using improper adapters will damage the terminals and cause charging system or test harness failure.

Inspection:

Before testing the alternator inspect the following components and conditions:

• Battery. Verily that the vehicle battery is in good condition and fully charged.
• Built-in hydrometer in the battery. The green eye must be showing in the hydrometer.
• The voltage across the battery terminals with all loads OFF should be above 12 volts.
• Verify that the battery connections are clean and tight.
• Drive belt for damage or looseness.
• Wiring harness at the alternator. Verify that the harness connector is tight and latched. Verify that the output terminal of the alternator is connected to the vehicle battery positive alternator lead.
• All charging system related fuses and electrical connections for damage or looseness.

http://www.allinfoaboutautorepairs.com/index.php?page=923

You know to check our Air conditioning to make sure it is working properly. A couple other things that summer can have an effect on is your cooling system. Note if you see any coolant drips and check you coolant level regularly, especially in these hotter months your engine cooling system is very important.

Keep an eye on any warning lights on your dash and the temperature gauge if it appears to be getting into the red (hot) or if your car has a hot smell your vehicle is most likely overheating and you need to pull over and call someone. You don’t want to risk more costly repairs for your vehicle.

Check your tires year round to make sure they are in good condition, as well as checking your oil levels and making sure you keep up on getting your oil changed.

Every 3 Months/ 3K miles
Automatic Transmission Fluid
Battery and Cables
Belts
Check Engine Light On
Engine Air Filter
Engine Oil and Filter
Exhaust
Fuel Filter
Hoses
Lights
Power Steering Fluid
Tire Inflation and Condition
Windshield Washer Fulid

Check Every 6 Months/ 6K Miles
All 3K mile items and wipers

Check Every 12 Months/ 12K Miles
All 3K mile items
Spark Plugs
Steering and Suspension
Coolant (antifreeze)
Chassis Lubrication

Every 30K/60K/90K miles
Depending on your car these can range from a tune-up to a timing belt your mechanic or your owners manual can give you a list of what is recommended at these intervals. Every car has different intervals.
These are very important when it comes to prolonging the life of your car. If you are checking these things every 3,6,12 months then this may prevent more costly repairs in the future. The 30, 60, 90 thousand miles are extremely important in preventing more serious issues with your car if you monitor and take your car in when it is due for these services.

We want to provide you with the best experience possible with us, so we will go the extra mile for your convenience. Our shop offers a pick up and delivery service to our customers in the area, we will come pick up your vehicle from home or work, complete your service or repair, and deliver it back to you. We also provide our loaner car to customers that will be with out their car for a few days or if we are working on their only vehicle. These are both services that we offer free to our customers.

To assist our customers further we know that people have busy lives and we would like to contact you with your best form of contact be it fax, phone, email or text. We have these options for you so that we can contact you get your approval and get your car back to you as soon as possible. We have accommodations for people to wait in our office for services such as oil changes so that if you do not have the availability to leave your car we have a place for you to wait comfortably while we service your vehicle.
Our goal is to get you in and out efficiently. We want to fix your car correctly in the quickest time. All Tech Auto Repair knows how important our customers cars are to them so with our system we have the techs doing the inspections while our office is making an estimate for your so that we can call you with an estimate and get your repairs done as soon as possible.

Our Warranty- we provide our customers with a life time warranty for most repairs. We stand by our repairs and if any issues arise with a repair that we have done we will get you right back in and take care of that for you. We take pride in our customers and will do our best for you.
We send our reminders of any services or repairs that your vehicle is due for based on mileage or previous inspection preformed by our mechanics. These provide you with the information that your car may need some repair so you can be aware and prepared. On all our invoices that we give customers there is a list of any recommended repairs that you may not have completed at this time so that you know what additionally needs to be done with your car. We want our customers to be informed and aware of anything that their vehicle may need so we can keep their running in optimum condition.

Let us know how we are doing we would love the feedback and we encourage reviews so that we know what we are doing right and what we can improve on so we make your experience convenient and positive.

There are a number of reasons you could be having these symptoms in your car such as worn brake pads, improper size, worn rotors, even dust in your brake system can cause these sounds to occur.

There are different kinds of braking systems first off there is disk,  second there is drum. The main components of Disk Brakes  are brake pads, rotor, and caliper.There is also Drum Brakes that consist of brake drums and brake shoes and wheel cylinder.

In addition to the sound symptoms you may have additional symptoms or a different symptom. Pedal vibration, brake grabbing or dragging, soft or spongy braking are mechanical signs of your brakes wearing.

Having brakes that are not in proper working order is a safety risk for you and others if you are having any of these symptoms you should get your brakes inspected. It is also suggested to have your brakes checked every two years, even if none of these symptoms present.

All Tech Auto Repair will perform a free brake inspection for you and we guarantee our work with a life time warranty. We perform a brake inspection, make sure  your brake fluid is full, and give you a quote on exactly what you need.

Call us up and schedule an appointment for us to take a look at your potential vehicle.