Lower Your Costs for Car Engine Repairs
Car engine repair can be very expensive at many repair shops, but thankfully Hoffman Automotive in Martinsburg, WV specializes in lowering the costs of engine repairs. Usually when a vehicle has a problem like brake noise or uneven tire wear, diagnosis of the problem is fairly quick and easy and repairs are often routine. However, when a problem develops in a car’s engine, diagnosis can take more time, and engine repairs are often more complicated and labor intensive. Many car repair shops avoid doing engine repairs, because they are generally a less profitable revenue stream as compared with brakes, struts, tires, etc. Garages can assign young inexperienced, and lower paid mechanics to non engine repair jobs, and thus can earn a higher margin. Hoffman Automotive on the other hand specializes in engine repair. Jim Hoffman and his team are accustomed to dismantling and rebuilding entire engines, replacing engines, and doing deep engine repairs. Not only are we used to repairing car engines, we are also not bothered by the lower margins, and we are happy to work on harder engine repair jobs. And most importantly for our customers, because we do car engine repair jobs all the time, we are also able to do them at lower costs, and pass on the savings to the customer.
Types of Engine Repairs
An engine is made up of several systems each with many component parts. Engine repair often consists of determining which parts are not functioning properly and replacing them. At Hoffman Automotive your mechanic may listen to your description the problem you are experiencing, scan the engines computer system for codes indicating problem points, and run diagnostic tests to determine which system is causing the problem. This will help to pinpoint what type of engine repair needs to be performed.
Deep Engine Repairs
At the core of the engine is the engine block which houses the cylinders where combustion takes place. Inside the cylinders, pistons compress air into which fuel and spark are introduced at exactly the right time to cause combustion and force each of the pistons back down with power in a precisely timed sequence. The linear downward motion of the piston is transmitted and converted into rotational motion via piston rods connected to the crankshaft. The pistons have rings around them which seal the gap between the pistons and the cylinders sectioning off a high compression area above off from a low pressure area below. The mechanical connections from the pistons to the piston rods and the crankshaft have various other parts including lubricated pins and bearings. Engine repairs such as replacing rings when they become worn or broken, replacing cylinder liners, or cracked pistons are all major engine repairs. Engine repairs involving any of these parts are considered deep engine repairs requiring the removal of many other parts first to get to these parts. Many car repair shops do not even attempt to do deep engine repairs. They simply refer you to a dealership or to a shop like Hoffman Automotive that has the expertise to handle deep engine repairs.
Three Primary Systems
In order for combustion to take place, three things need to be introduced into the cylinder: air, fuel, and spark. These are introduced by three respective systems. Sometimes engine repairs involving these systems are located on the surface of the engine or are exterior to the engine itself. Replacing air intake filters, fuel filters, or spark plugs are relatively easy and routine engine related repairs. These easy types of engine repairs are performed by many garages.
- The Air Intake System
- The Fuel Injection System
- The Ignition System
Some engine repairs require removal of multiple unrelated parts just to get to the faulty part. For example, for precision air intake control, some cars like this Mercedes have individual air intake control flaps located in the air intake manifold. Consequently, if an air intake control flap goes bad, all the components on the top of the engine have to be removed to get to it.
Engine Repair: The Cylinder Head
The three primary systems along with a fourth, called the exhaust system, converge at a part of the engine called the cylinder head. The cylinder head, or head for short, is a large metal cap running across the block at the top of the cylinders. Engine repairs involving the cylinder head are often considered to be deep engine repairs and avoided by many garages for similar reasons to the deep engine repairs involving the block. Many components have to be removed in order to remove the head rendering this type of engine repair time consuming and complicated for lesser experienced mechanics. For example a blown head gasket is considered a major engine repair by many auto repair shops and is something they won’t even attempt to do. Hoffman Automotive does not shy away from these types of major engine repairs.
The cylinder head is bolted down to the block with a head gasket squeezed between the two to seal the high pressure gases from escaping. It has holes in it through which the air, fuel, and spark are introduced to the cylinders and through which the exhaust is allowed to escape. The air intake and exhaust ports have valves with springs that control the openings to allow air in and exhaust out at specific intervals. There are various means for controlling the timing of these valves. The parts involved often include a timing belt or timing chain, a camshaft, hydraulic lifters, and rocker arms with springs. Air intake and exhaust manifolds attach to the head and convey air to or exhaust away from the engine. It is not uncommon for these manifolds to house oxygen sensors, air flow sensors, and air flow control mechanisms or connect to auxiliary systems such as emissions control. The spark plugs also screw into the cylinder head.
Engine repairs involving the cylinder head such as a blown head gasket, a broken head bolt, warped head, or valve replacements are all considered major engine repairs and avoided or priced very high by most auto repair shops. Hoffman Automotive mechanics have the experience needed to complete these major engine repairs in a timely and affordable way.
Many cars have a timing belt that needs to be replaced somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 miles. The belts are made of durable materials, but after so many miles they become worn and can skip or snap resulting in a valve going down when it shouldn’t. The mistimed valve hits the top of the piston resulting in bent valves, cracked pistons, or worse. Replacing a timing belt can be a time consuming job, but it is much less time consuming and much less expensive than the deeper engine repairs for removing the head to replace valves or even deeper engine repairs to replace pistons. If your car is due for a timing belt replacement DON’T PROCRASTINATE. Many people wait too long and end up ruining their engine when the timing belt breaks or slips. Call us to set up an appointment as soon as possible.
Other Engine Repairs
Other systems that often call for engine repairs include the cooling system, the exhaust and emission control systems, the lubrication system, and computer control and sensing systems. The cooling system keeps the engine cool by pumping coolant through the engine where it gets hot, then cooling it with air that flows through the radiator. Around the car’s engine are various cooling hoses with clamps connecting the engine, the water pump, and the radiator. When the water pump leaks or starts to squeal, it usually needs to be replaced. Unfortunately the location of the water pump often requires removal of multiple parts including the timing belt cover. That is why sometimes engine repairs like the timing belt and water pump replacement are done at the same time. The in addition to the typical exhaust system components located away from the engine, there are components that are connected to the engine or very close to the engine and which have significant effects on the engine’s operation. Examples are the catalytic converter and oxygen sensors. These can cause the engine to run rough or not at all, as well as to cause additional damage to other components. Often times problems with these components can be pinpointed by scanning the codes in the vehicles computer. Emission control involves both controlling the exhaust gasses emitted as well as making sure that the fumes from gasoline are not escaping into the atmosphere. This system also has sensors and poor readings can negatively effect how the engine runs. Engine repairs involving the lubrication system may involve replacing an oil pump, pressure and temperature sensors, changing the oil and filter, or servicing the engine to clean oil passageways. A faulty crankcase pressure control valve can cause excessive engine lubrication oil to get sucked into the combustion chamber fouling spark plugs and passing through to to catalytic converter causing it to burn out. Engine repairs on one system are sometimes needed to avoid further engine repairs in other systems.
Hoffman Automotive is able to perform nearly all of your car engine repair needs from the simplest oil change to the biggest engine replacement.