Posted on 4/21/2024
Have you ever seen a ballet performance? Have you wondered how all of those dancers manage to travel all over the stage jumping and twirling and never crash into each other? That's the job of a choreographer.Our auto engines are also highly choreographed. Pistons travel up and down inside cylinders. Valves at the tops of the cylinders open to let air and fuel in or exhaust out. These valves have to open and close at precisely the right time or the engine will run poorly if at all. The movement of the valves and pistons must be in harmony with each other. This choreography is the job of the timing belt or timing chain.Timing belts, or chains, rotate the shafts that control the opening and closing of the valves. Timing chains are metal and durable enough that they may never need to be replaced.Most vehicles, however, use a timing belt. Timing belts are tough and flexible, and considering the work they do, they last a long time for LANCASTER auto owners . But they do wear out. If the ... read more
Posted on 4/14/2024
So your vehicle won't start. What's the first thing that comes to mind? Battery dead? Starter motor worn out? Out of gas? Well, those are all reasons that make sense. But your vehicle may be refusing to start because one of its computers is being warned that to do so might damage it. Here's how that works. You have lots of computers in your vehicle. They need to know the status of things so there are several sensors monitoring various things going on. These sensors send information to the computers that adjust the fuel and air mixture so you don't waste fuel. They know when things aren't quite right and prevent you from starting your engine if that's going to damage it. Other sensors make sure the coolant is the right temperature, check to see you are not polluting the air and make sure other electronic components are performing their tasks correctly. Here's an example of a sensor doing its job. Your engine needs oil to lubric ... read more