Automotive Industry News & Information - Westerville Automotive

There is nothing like watching those smiling faces through the windows of the school bus knowing that our children are safe and learning new and exciting things! Each year we like to reach out and remind our Westerville drivers to watch out for our kids as they wait for the bus and to be careful around the buses themselves. This year we found some really interesting facts as well.
Did you know that students are about 70 times more likely to get to school SAFELY on the bus than by car?!

When your wiring harness or just ONE wire is compromised it can cause serious problems for you as a driver. It could be as simple as your window not working the way you want it to staying down vs going up on a rainy day to issues with your steering column which will seriously compromise your ability to drive safely. Anytime you have an unusual problem or smell burnt wires, don't simply decide it's a crazy idea that couldn't possibly be true! Small rodents can get into your vehicle and cause minor or major damage to your vehicle wiring and you know your car or truck better than anyone else so give us a call here at Westerville Automotive in Westerville and let us know your concerns. We will take the time to talk with you about it and see if there is a safety issue or a small problem that can be handled quickly before it becomes a larger one

This is way over due for a change in their antifreeze! Looks like old hand cleaner in here instead of antifreeze doesn't it? Here at Westerville Automotive in Westerville our drivers don't find their cars or trucks in this kind of shape. Not one of our drivers but we hope they choose to stay here and make our garage their first choice for maintenance and repairs from now on to avoid costly repairs and unnecessary bills like this one.

What a beauty. This JASPER Remanufactured Ford 302 engine is very cool, it includes custom paint, intake and valve covers. Plus a 3 Year | 100,000 Mile Nationwide Parts & Labor Warranty. Stop by and talk to us here at Westerville Automotive in Westerville about your vehicle restoration project or any car or truck engine that you are having issues with. If we can't fix it then a JASPER remanufactured engine may be a great fit for you. BUILT IN THE USA - Celebrating 75 Years in 2017!

Have you always wondered what a spark plug does? It's simple in theory but does quite a lot of work for such a small piece of equipment. Your spark plug forces electricity to arc across a gap like a bolt of lightning at high voltage and fits into your engine's cylinder head, where it “sparks” to ignite the fuel and creates combustion within your engine. Without it you wouldn't be able to drive your car or truck.

The spark plug must have an insulated passageway for this high voltage to travel down to the electrode, where it can jump the gap and, from there, be conducted into the engine block and grounded. The plug also has to withstand the extreme heat and pressure inside the cylinder, and must be designed so that deposits from fuel additives do not build up on the plug. Spark plugs use a ceramic insert to isolate the high voltage at the electrode, ensuring that the spark happens at the tip of the electrode and not anywhere else on the plug; this insert does double-duty by helping to burn off deposits. Ceramic is a fairly poor heat conductor, so the material gets quite hot during operation. This heat helps to burn off deposits from the electrode.

HISTORY TRIVIA: 171 years ago this month, the first known spark plug was invented by Edmond Berger, historians say. Unfortunately, Berger failed to patent his spark plug invention, so documented history points to Sir Oliver Lodge of England, whose sons parlayed the “Lodge Igniter” into a profitable company founded in 1903.

Yes, this is an easy diagnosis once you SEE it. However, most drivers don't look at the tire tread so lifting the hood and checking out the belts and hoses let alone thinking about a water pump simply isn't going to happen. That's why our Westerville drivers depend on Westerville Automotive to keep their maintenance up to date and ensure this never happens.

So how do you know if you have a bad water pump? What are the signs? A major red light may start flashing in your driveway when you see a pool of liquid under your car when you are not running the A/C. If it looks like coolant on the pavement there is a problem. If you are driving down the road and your temperature gauge is is going up instead of remaining stead, there is a problem because your water pump will keep the temperature at a fairly stable range. If your dash light comes on it's another indicator that there is an issue. If you experience any of these issues, schedule an appointment or give us a call here at Westerville Automotive promptly to avoid major repairs and a water pump that looks like this!

It's the National Day to Be Happy!!!! Kicking off the Month of Happiness Happens! We didn't know here at Westerville Automotive in Westerville but were all for it when we discovered there is "actually" an official group, the Secret Society of Happy People that organized in 1999 and created the Admit You're Happy Day. It's a genius idea and a holiday with the premise that happiness is unlimited and contagious so sharing your happiness can bring joy to other people's lives.

The process and idea was so contagious that the Society expanded and the celebration of happiness the next year and the entire month of August is Happiness Happens Month!

***Plus in 2012, the United Nations declared March 20th as the International Day of Happiness so this whole idea of Happiness is really a fantastic idea and we wanted to share it with our Westerville drivers!!!

First rule of thumb - maintenance = lower repair bills. Here is a great example. If your vehicle has "ANY" part that looks like this you simply know you are in trouble right? CORRECT! Nailed it in one. Here the A/C wasn't running cool as they wanted so they wondered why. This came out of the truck and - the answer became very clear to our Westerville truck owner. Simply wasn't getting the necessary amount of air to cool down the water in the evaporator so it was running HOT - HOT - HOT. We were able to get him working again and it wasn't a serious system failure meaning he didn't need a new engine or transmission or both - although we can do that as well if need be.

Here at Westerville Automotive we like to avoid high repair bills and we treat your car or truck like it is ours. We don't like high repair bills and know that simple maintenance can avoid many of the issues we see on a day to day basis so that you can drive without a break down and more importantly know if a larger maintenance job is required and budget for it. The goal is to keep costs down and keep that car or truck running at tip top condition until you really feel motivated to buy another vehicle and have another payment.

It is all about customer service at Westerville Automotive in Westerville and we appreciate you choosing our ASE certified technicians to work on your cars and trucks!!!