Windsor Locks Auto Repair

Like everything in the CT automotive market, there have been great strides in headlight technology in recent years. CT drivers can be safer at night because of it. Good headlights improve visibility on WINDSOR LOCKS roads, enabling you to see farther. They also improve your peripheral vision, helping you to see the sides more clearly. The more you can see, the more quickly you can react to road conditions. This is because nearly half of traffic fatalities take place at night. And as WINDSOR LOCKS resident population ages, everything that helps older eyes is welcome.Most new vehicles sold in CT come with halogen headlamps. A decade ago, halogens were exotic and expensive. Now that they are standard equipment, the price has come way down. Many luxury cars are equipped with high intensity discharge, or HID, headlamps. You have probably seen them on some WINDSOR LOCKS roads; they're very bright and have a bluish tint.From behind the wheel, there is no doubt that ... read more

Ever notice that your tire is covered with writing? It's like some hieroglyphic art form. Of course, WINDSOR LOCKS drivers know that it's not just graffiti, but to most of us, it might as well be. Would you like to know what all those codes on your tire mean? It won't lead you to buried treasure, but it could help you make a better tire purchase at your local WINDSOR LOCKS tire store.Prominently featured on your tire is a set of numbers and letters that looks something like this: 225 50 R 16 92 H. The first number is the width of the tire in millimeters, or the width between the sidewalls of the tire when it is fully inflated and not carrying a load. When WINDSOR LOCKS drivers replace tires, they need to match this width number, or the tires won't fit properly in the wheel wells.The 50 is the aspect ratio of the tire, which is measured by taking the height of the sidewalls and dividing it by the tread width. If you drive off-road around the WINDSOR LOCKS area, it should have a high asp ... read more

A lot of us drivers are asking ourselves the same question lately: how can we save on fuel? WINDSOR LOCKS area residents are all cutting back, if not in fuel consumption, then in other areas of our lives. Preventive Maintenance Preventive maintenance is an important way people in WINDSOR LOCKS can conserve fuel by improving fuel economy. And one of the easiest and most effective ways to do that is to keep the oil in our vehicle adequate and clean.Oil lubricates your vehicle engine and keeps it running smoothly. If you're running low, there is increased friction in your engine. Friction creates drag, which means it takes more fuel to keep the vehicle motor running. This all translates to lower fuel economy.Check your oil to make sure the engine is getting all it needs. Your owner's manual and service advisor at Scata's Auto & Truck Repair will tell you the proper weight and type of oil for your vehicle. Responsible Car Care Dirty oil grits up your ... read more

Your vehicle's engine makes a lot of heat when it's powering you down the road, so it needs a way to get rid of that energy.  That's why your vehicle has a cooling system, complete with a radiator and one or two radiator fans, also called cooling fans.  Those fans make sure air keeps moving across the radiator so that the heat stored in the coolant can be dissipated outside when the vehicle is stopped or not traveling fast. Radiator fans can develop problems and can stop working properly or stop working altogether.  Some signs to look for? If you're driving slowly and idling and you see your temperature gauge moving toward the red or hot zone, that could spell trouble.  Another thing you may notice when a radiator fan is failing is that there may be a loud noise coming from the engine compartment. There are two types of radiator fans.  One is mechanically connected to the engine and uses the engine's rotational energy to turn it.  The other is an electric ... read more

One thing all WINDSOR LOCKS drivers can do to extend the life of their battery is to keep it clean. A greasy, dirty battery holds in damaging heat. Same goes for removing corrosion from the terminals. Scata's Auto & Truck Repair can help maintain your battery.Allowing your battery to be deeply depleted – like from using your headlights when the engine is off – is very harmful to your battery. Most automotive batteries can only take that about 10 times before they are ruined.Also, making sure you have a full charge every month or so extends battery life. Either an extended drive at freeway speeds around the WINDSOR LOCKS are or using a battery charger will preserve your battery’s ability to hold a full charge.Give us a call.Scata's Auto & Truck Repair535 SPRING STWINDSOR LOCKS, CT 060968606230449http://scatas.com

  Most WINDSOR LOCKS drivers don't even think about their air conditioner. Now here's a tip for WINDSOR LOCKS vehicle owners: Run your air conditioner every so often during CT winters. This circulates the lubricant to help keep the seals from drying out. The air conditioner actually removes some of the moisture in the air. So if you have trouble with fogging on your vehicle windshield during CT winters or during a rain storm, running the A/C on the defrost setting should help. Now on some WINDSOR LOCKS cars you can't run the A/C at the same time as the defroster. Don't ask me why, but I suspect lawyers were involved.Also, air and water can get into the A/C system. That can reduce the efficiency of the system and also lead to corrosion that causes damage. WINDSOR LOCKS drivers should periodically purge the system and replace the refrigerant to remove the air and water.CT drivers w ... read more

Just as our bodies need clean air to function properly, your vehicle engine needs clean air to operate efficiently. Let's go egghead for a minute. For every gallon of gas we burn driving on WINDSOR LOCKS streets, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide comes out the tailpipe. Question: how can a gallon of gas that weighs a little over six pounds produce 20 pounds of carbon dioxide?The answer is that the carbon comes from the gasoline, but the oxygen comes from the air. You see, it takes about 12,000 gallons of air to burn a gallon of gas in your engine. Clearly, your vehicle needs a lot of air to keep going in WINDSOR LOCKS. A lot of clean air is best. You've seen the pictures of people in Japan wearing face masks. They want some kind of filter to keep unwanted pollution and germs out of their lungs. Well, your vehicle also works better when its internals are clean. When your vehicle air fi ... read more

Why are wheel bearings for WINDSOR LOCKS vehicles important? It's simple: your wheel bearings keep the wheels on your vehicle. In today's Scata's Auto & Truck Repair post, we'll discuss more about wheel bearings and how you can make sure they can do their very job while you drive around WINDSOR LOCKS, CT. Wheel bearings are pretty simple parts. They're made of high quality steel and are engineered to last 100,000 miles (160,000)  or more if properly cared for. The bearings do two jobs: First, they allow the wheel to freely rotate with as little friction as possible. Second, they support the weight of the vehicle. For example, if your car weighs 3,600 pounds (1600 kilogram), each wheel has to support approximately 900 pounds (400 kilograms). That's a lot of heavy lifting over those long distances.Even though wheel bearings are pretty straightforward, they need to be in near perfect condition to do their job for WINDSOR LOCKS vehicles. The bearings are packed with h ... read more

Working up a sweat is a great thing to do in a gym around WINDSOR LOCKS, but not in your vehicle. When WINDSOR LOCKS residents' vehicle AC Systems have a problem, they'll often feel it right away. The question is, how long do you put up with it? You know, the old comfort versus cost dilemma. But a more comfortable drive around CT has a lot of benefits, and keeping the AC System well maintained can help prevent repairs.A common cause of AC failure is water and air in the system. The system does not work as well with air in it. And water can cause rust that leads to damage of the A/C components. Also refrigerant, the stuff that makes the air cold, can leak out, reducing the efficiency of the system and making it work harder to try to cool the air. That is why periodically evacuating the air conditioning system and recharging it keeps the proper amount of clean refrigerant in the system for WINDSOR LOCKS residents, so it cools better and lasts longer.WINDSOR LOCKS driv ... read more

Let's talk about alternative fuel vehicles. In their quest to reduce the use of fossil fuels and harmful exhaust emissions in our CT environment, automakers will have a number of alternatives for WINDSOR LOCKS drivers very soon.For instance, Flex Fuel vehicles are already available in the WINDSOR LOCKS area. Flex Fuel vehicles can run on gasoline or on E85 fuel. E85 is a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. The ethanol is made from corn. The benefits to WINDSOR LOCKS drivers are in using less petroleum and reduced pollution. The drawbacks are that E85 gets lower gas mileage and when gas prices are low, E85 can be more than straight gasoline.WINDSOR LOCKS drivers should only use E85 if they have a Flex Fuel compatible engine. Flex Fuel vehicles have special seals and gaskets that can stand up to the high alcohol content of E85. Using E85 in a regular engine can lead to gas leaks and fires.Diesel engines have been a ... read more