In the diesel world, "blow-by" is a term you're bound to run across at some point if your line of work involves diesel-powered vehicles of any kind. What is blow-by, what causes it, and how concerned should you be? At Performance Auto Repair in Montgomery, AL, our fleet maintenance and diesel technicians see it on a regular basis. Here we'll take a quick look at blow-by, correcting it, and preventing it.
What is Blow-By? - Diesel blow-by is a term that describes an event of lost compression into the crankcase. Blow-by occurs whenever a burnt or unburnt fuel and air mixture escape from the cylinder and past the piston rings and into the crankcase. In a perfect world, the piston would be sealed tightly in the cylinder, able to move up and down but keeping all the air and fuel and exhaust that enters or exits the cylinder during the combustion process out of the crankcase. As you'll see, this perfect world doesn't exist, but it is important to minimize the amount of blow-by in a diesel engine.
Your drive belts are simple but integral components to the function of your car, truck, or SUV. At Performance Auto Repair in Montgomery, AL, belts are one of the first things we assess when looking over a vehicle, as they alone are in charge of operating your AC, water pump, alternator, and power steering.
Your vehicle configuration determines how it should be properly towed to avoid transmission damage. Specifically, it matters if your vehicle is front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive and whether it’s an automatic or a manual. From the professionals at Performance Auto Repair in Montgomery, AL, here’s how to tow your vehicle:
If you own or operate a fleet or commercial truck, you know it’s hard to keep everything working perfectly all the time. You have to choose what to give priority to, and what can wait. However, some small problems are indicators that a bigger issue is on the way. At Performance Auto Repair in Montgomery, AL, our goal is to keep you and your fleet going.
At Performance Auto Repair in Montgomery, we understand that safety and driving comfort are largely dependent on truck maintenance. Driving in the rain can be a hassle, especially if your vehicle isn’t prepared.
Essentially, there are a few things you can do to ease the burden of driving in the rain. Keep good quality windshield wipers installed, maintain a clean windshield, and regularly coat your windshield with Rain-X or comparable water-resistant chemicals. If applied properly, water-resistant coatings will dramatically increase visibility on rainy days. Quality windshield wipers, in good condition, are equally effective.
If your wipers don’t completely wipe away water with each pass, get them replaced. Driving in the rain is hard enough; inadequate equipment to deal with the situation only makes it that much more difficult. A clean windshield also goes a long way...rain won’t wash off the dirt that has had adequate time to adhere to your glass.
If you need new wipers, bring your truck to Performance Auto Repair and let one of our experienced technicians get you fixed up. No matter your repair or maintenance needs, our team has you covered.
Your brake master cylinder is an integral part of your brake system. When one fails, some odd symptoms may arise, and it may be difficult to diagnose. Here’s some information to help you decide if yours has gone bad. At Performance Auto Repair in Montgomery, AL we want you to know what to look out for so that you can be safely on the road.
Your pickup truck is heavy and hard working, whether it’s a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge. If you add towing to the mix, it’s even heavier and has to work harder. Your brakes are one of the most wear and tear prone systems on your diesel pickup, but at Performance Auto Repair in Montgomery, AL, we can help you keep yours in good shape.
Fuel economy isn't far from the minds of our Montgomery drivers and we hear these questions daily such as: Why can certain cars zip along at close to 40 mpg while others are lucky to get anywhere near 20? As it turns out, there are as many factors that go into how well your ride does at the pumps! Here are the 10 factors that have the greatest impact on fuel consumption that we would like to share with you.
