With winter just around the corner now is the time to be certain that your vehicle is ready to tackle the cold, wet and possibly snowy weather ahead. Though modern cars (those built within the last couple of decades) are often in fine shape to tackle all seasons it is best to be 100% sure that everything is in good order.

Here Are Some Items To Pay Extra Attention To For Winter Driving:

• Good battery Condition: a weak battery will not start your car when the temperature drops.
• Antifreeze Protection: your engine coolant protection should be good for at least 5 degrees below the coldest temperature that you are expecting to experience.
• Washer Fluid Antifreeze: you washer fluid should be of the antifreeze type this time of year.
• Tires: whether you have snow tires or all season tires the treads must be in good condition and the tires properly inflated (more on snow tires below).
• Wiper Blades: should be in good condition and all lights should be functioning.
• Block Heater: if you plan to visit very cold areas a functioning block heater may be needed.
• Any deferred maintenance that might be affected by cold or wet weather should be repaired (if you have questions about any items, please call us)

Snow Tires
The question of snow tires often comes up. Living around the lower mainland we are blessed with a mild winter climate where snow tires are optional. When deciding on whether to get snow tires or not here are a few things to consider: will you drive only in Vancouver? Will you drive your car in the snow? If you answered yes to these, then snow tires are likely not needed.

If however you plan to head to the mountains skiing or on trips to Whistler or the interior then snow tires are a very good idea and may be legally required. Do remember that while snow tires do require an additional investment they save the life of your other tires so over the long run don’t add a huge cost.

Air Conditioning
While few people think of air conditioning at this time of year in Canada, a properly functioning A/C system is actually a safety feature! When you need to defog your front window, which occurs frequently in our wet climate switching on your A/C will defrost the windshield in a fraction of the time that it takes without the A/C.

Brighter Lights
If you find your night vision less than optimal (and it is not your eyes) we have many options for brighter headlamps and would be happy to discuss what is available.

Safety Kit
Another item that is often overlooked is a safety kit: this could save your life if you happen to slide off the road or become stranded. A few items that come to mind for this kit would be candles & matches, a sleeping bag and/or warm blankets and some extra food and water.

As always we are happy to answer any questions that you have about your vehicle and its readiness for winter. If you have snow tires to put on please call us to book now to avoid the rush.

Wishing you a safe and happy winter driving season.

If you feel a wobble, vibration or hear clunking sounds while driving your vehicle it would behoove you to have your vehicle inspected for the concern as soon as possible. We recently serviced a Mercedes with, what the client described as a vibration in the vehicle at around 60 kilometers an hour. During my road test the vibration was very apparent and to the point that driving in the vehicle was uncomfortable. I suspected a bad tire in the rear and slowed my speed because it felt dangerous. Up on the hoist it was apparent that both rear tires were badly worn especially the right rear. After inspecting the old tires off rim I noted this very dangerous crack between the tread and the tire casing: it was only a matter of time before this tire completely blew apart. The lesson here is you never know when a shake or vibration is going to cause a catastrophe so it is best to have the concern inspected immediately. The same goes for clunks and other odd noises. Sometimes noises and vibrations are really no safety concern at all but it is best to have it professionally looked at to be certain.

Dangerous tire: note the crack running along the edge of the tread

Certified AirCare Repairs

Pawlik Automotive is a licenced AirCare Repair Center, and we have year after year maintained a 100% (or near) pass rating on our AirCare repairs including in the most recent 12 months.

We are Certified AirCare technicians which means that we have passed the required extra exams to get the certification. Not all AirCare repairs are created equal… call (604) 327-7112 to set your appointment with the Pawlik Automotive service team.

Catalytic converters fail for many reasons and the consequence of failure can cause several things to occur including a failed AirCare emission test, a check engine lamp warning, rattles under your car and poor engine performance.

A replacement catalytic converter

Let’s look at what your catalytic converter is, what it does and what causes it to fail.

Catalytic converters use a catalyst to transform harmful carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and oxides of nitrogen emissions in your engine’s exhaust into carbon dioxide and water. The catalyst consists of a combination of precious metals: platinum, palladium and rhodium. When the hot exhaust passes these elements a chemical transformation occurs.

The precious metal catalyst is bonded onto a very fine ‘honeycomb’ grid which sits inside the converter housing. It is a simple structure with no moving parts and only requires the heat of the exhaust and the right exhaust gas mixture to operate.

Inside the catalytic converter: the "honeycomb" substrate

Catalytic converter failures occur in several ways: First, impact failures which can occur if the unit is hit, often involving running over something. Second, thermal shocks which can occur if the unit is suddenly cooled. A likely cause would be going over a puddle in cold winter weather and the hot converter receiving an intense dousing of cold water. Third cause of failure is poisoning of the catalyst which can come from several sources: use of leaded gasoline (very rare these days); antifreeze entering the unit likely through a blown head gasket or other internal engine coolant leak; use of improper silicone gasket sealers; and use of oil additives which contain zinc. Fourth, is coating of the substrate: this is the honeycomb structure with the catalyst. This can occur from excessive carbon deposits and/or excessive engine oil consumption. Fifth and final cause of failure is overheating of the catalyst and this usually occurs from too rich a fuel mixture and/or engine misfire.

Do Catalytic Converters Simply Wear Out?

While all manufacturers seem to claim that they don’t and that they last the life of the car, it simply isn’t true. Many cars experience early failure due to a substandard size or quality of converter. Aftermarket replacements, always much cheaper than the original manufacturer’s part, are usually inferior in quality.

There are various grades of aftermarket converters. Here, you truly get what you pay for as the cheap ones often fail quickly whereas the good quality aftermarket units usually give years of great service. This is why we always recommend high quality units.

Catalytic Converter Maintenance

As a conscientious car owner looking to maximize catalytic converter life the best thing that you can do is to maintain your car meticulously and always address any check engine lamp concerns, correct rough running and misfiring engines or any performance issues. Failure to do so will result in you buying new catalytic converter(s) sooner than necessary and these are, by the way, normally very expensive to replace!

For more on repairing Catalytic Converters here’s an article at AirCare

Recently I worked on a gem of a 1978 Chevy camper van that a client had acquired with only 60,000 original kilometers.

In many respects this vehicle was near new, at least it certainly ran like a new vehicle. When she mentioned a concern about how the engine revved excessively high when cold it got me to thinking about the way these and other vehicles used to be. Mostly it reminded me of a Chevy van that a close friend purchased brand new in 1981. I spent a lot of time driving in this van and serviced it for several years.

Though an excellent vehicle overall, there was a few irritating things about this van, most particularly the way it would rev excessively high when started. This happened cold when the choke was on and it stayed revving high for a couple of minutes until the choke could be kicked off. What was even more irritating was when the engine was restarted, even when hot: the choke would come on full again and the engine would rev like crazy for a couple of minutes.

Clearly, this was something that shouldn’t have happened. But that’s just the way the vehicle was designed and the choke on the carburetor was not adjustable.

The late 1970s to early 1980s was a rather difficult time for the US auto industry when many less than stellar products were produced.

The US government had legislated stricter emission standards and the manufacturers were still stuck with old technology: engines with inefficient combustion designs and carburetors that delivered fuel in an imprecise manner. Only so much could be done with these outdated technologies. Many systems were added to improve emissions: catalytic converters, EGR valves and air injection systems. While none of these additions were particularly bad, and all vehicles of today use some or all of these additions, they were often installed without much consideration for overall engine operation and created a great deal of underhood clutter.

1980s era Chevy V8 with carburator and emission piping

This brings me to the next complaint about this era of Chevy van: they were horrible to work on. With the engine cover removed there was a sea of pipes for the air injection system which made accessing spark plugs difficult and servicing valve cover gaskets, once a simple job on a Chevy, very time consuming. Many feet of vacuum hose ran overtop of the engine to actuate various emission control items on the carburetor, the EGR valve, hot air intake system and so on.

In all fairness, many vehicles of this era, both American and Japanese, had this added complexity. Thankfully within a decade and a half, by the mid to late 1990’s things had changed for the better.

The carburetor was extinct, replaced by the precision of fuel injection.

Engines were redesigned to be inherently more emission friendly. Many of the added emission devices like EGR valves and air injection were electronically controlled. In fact electronic controls of almost everything has revolutionized the car. Today we have integrated control of the ignition and the fuel injection; all emissions devices are activated electronically, transmissions are controlled electronically and even the throttle, which was always actuated by a cable linked to the gas pedal is controlled electronically.

The bottom line is that we no longer have to put up with engines that rev too high at certain times. We can hop into our car, drive it at any engine temperature and it performs at 100%. Engine compartments are still very tight and complex but all components are meaningfully installed and the complexity has come by way of additional camshafts, multiple valves per cylinder and variable intake runners. All of these have helped improve exhaust emissions while maximizing horsepower and performance.

Enjoy our new technology, we really have come a long way!

We Have Great News Today!

We are “The Georgia Straight” Best of Vancouver winner for Best Auto Service (independent) again for 2011.

These winners were selected by readers in an on-line survey conducted earlier this year.

We’re very thankful to all our customers who supported us. It’s an honour that we take very seriously and will continue to do our very best to take great care of you, your car and/or light truck.

Best of Vancouver list for Best Auto Service

Complete list of winners

We recently did a rear brake job on 2004 Chevy Tahoe and I realized two things: this is a great vehicle, and routine maintenance makes it even better.

This truck was getting its first rear brake job: new pads and rotors at an astonishing distance of 144,000 kilometers. What is amazing is that the front brake pads still have 5mm remaining and will likely last at least another year.

While this is a huge amount of life to get out of a set of brakes, some of the longevity is due to our client following our maintenance recommendations and especially having the brakes serviced. A brake service involves taking the brakes apart, removing rust corrosion from the pad and caliper sliders and lubricating these parts. Doing so prevents the pads from seizing up and wearing out prematurely.

So there you have it: the winning combination of routine maintenance and a high quality vehicle! By the way all of the Chevy/GMC trucks from the early 2000s and on are great.

Very rusty brake caliper bracket before brake service

Caliper bracket after cleaning

When buying a used car take a few minutes to make sure that the model of car that you are looking at is not a Canadian only car. Just exactly what is wrong with a Canadian only car?

Well nothing, …and several things!

Here are a few examples of reasons that you might be wary of owning a Canadian only model: hard to find parts; very hard to find repair information; parts available only from the dealer.

Hard to find parts may delay repairing your car, lack of repair information makes it difficult to accurately diagnose and repair the car and can add costs for service. Finally, dealer only parts mean a lack of choice often resulting in higher repair costs and delays in getting parts. If you are unsure about the car model that you are looking at, call us or a trusted auto service shop and ask about that car. Knowing the difference can make your car owning experience better.

By the way there is no lack of quality in the Canadian only cars. In the North American automotive business most of our parts suppliers and repair information providers are American companies and cater to the huge number of cars sold in the US. Canadian only cars are such a small segment of the market that they get left out of the mainstream.

If you really love a car by all means buy it, but I can’t think of many “Canadian only” cars are that so fabulous that they are worth the grief that you may encounter by owning one.

1993 BMW 320i: an example of a Canadian only model. A 325i would be a much better choice as it was sold in the US as well.

Acura Repair Diagnosis – The Computer Does Not Make it Simple!

Today we’re going to do a diagnosis on an Acura 3.2 TL. Our clients complaint is that the check engine light is on and the vehicle otherwise runs fine.

We’re going to go through the whole diagnostic process and you’re going to get to see just what’s involved in diagnosing a “check engine lamp” concern.

Clients often are concerned about the cost of diagnosis. They can’t quite understand what’s involved.

“Can’t you plug a computer in and tell me what’s wrong with it?”

Here’s a video that shows why…

Our clients complaint is that the check engine light is on and the vehicle otherwise runs fine.

We’re going to go through the whole diagnostic process and you’re going to get to see just what’s involved in diagnosing a “check engine lamp” concern.

Clients often are concerned about the cost of diagnosis. They can’t quite understand what’s involved.

“Can’t you plug a computer in and tell me what’s wrong with it?”

Once we plug it in… that only gives us a direction with the information. To find out what’s wrong we have to follow up with further tests. The piece of equipment that we’re going to use today is our Snap-On Modus diagnostic tool.

We can scan the vehicle’s computer and from there we can get the basic information about what codes are stored in the vehicle’s computer.

On our scan tool, we’ve got several codes that are stored. One, the P1676 I’m not certain of so we’ll have to look that one up. There’s several engine misfire codes from cylinders 1, 4, 5, 6 and there’s also a code for the Evap system.

We’re going to take the vehicle on a road test now to find out what’s going on… I’ve been driving for a little bit and the engine doesn’t appear to be misfiring and it seems to be OK.

Back at the shop, let’s look into those trouble codes that were shown on the scan tool in 3 different systems of the vehicle. The first issue P1676, is a communication issue between the transmission computer and the vehicle computer.

The second issue is all the engine misfire codes. The third issue is the P1456 Evap code and that seems to be involved with the fuel cap. That has been a very common failure on this vehicle.

…

We produced this video to show you what’s involved in diagnosing a modern vehicle that has the check engine lamp on. The test procedures are different for every vehicle and every type of concern.

The basic principle is still the same. It is not simply a matter of plugging in the diagnostic computer and having it tell us what is wrong. The computer is only part of the diagnostic process, giving us trouble codes and information that the vehicle computer sees.

From here, we must test specific components and wiring circuits to find the real cause of the concern. During this diagnosis you got to see both a simple and a complex diagnosis and we hope that this helps you understand what’s involved in properly diagnosing and repairing a modern vehicle.

While repairing a water pump on a 1990 Toyota pickup equipped with a 3 litre V6 engine we came upon this very badly worn and about to break timing belt. It was perhaps by good fortune that this water pump was leaking as the vehicle was new to our client and he had no idea of the timing belt’s condition.

Severely cracked timing belt

Here are a few facts about timing belts:

➢ The timing belt’s primary purpose is to drive the engine’s camshaft(s) in perfect synchronization with the crankshaft. This precisely times the movement of the engine pistons with the intake and exhaust valves.
➢ Some engines have 2 timing belts and often one of these operates balance shafts. Balance shafts are installed to smooth out the subtle but inherent shaking that occurs in 4 cylinder engines.
➢ On some engines the timing belt also drives the water pump and/or the oil pump.
➢ On many engines if the timing belt breaks the pistons and valves will collide and cause very expensive damage. This type of engine is known as an interference engine.
➢ On all engines, when the timing belt breaks, the engine stops immediately and cannot be restarted until repaired.
➢ Timing belts almost always give no warning before they fail.
➢ On most engines inspecting the timing belt can be quite time consuming as it is located under plastic covers and these are often covered with pipes, hoses and accessories.
➢ A proper timing belt replacement involves not just replacing the timing belt but also the front camshaft and crankshaft oil seals, timing belt tensioner pulley, idler pulley(s), tensioner assembly and water pump (depending on design of engine).
➢ Replacement intervals for most vehicles since the 2000 model year is 168,000 kilometers or higher, however consult your manufacturer’s maintenance schedule to be certain. Cars previous to this usually have shorter intervals and many cars made in the 1980’s or 1990’s require replacement at 96,000 kilometers or sooner.