Rockland & Rockport Auto Repair

Do you have a spare tire in your car? If you have to think twice about that question, I bet you either don’t have one or the spare you have needs attention. Your spare tire is one of the most important accessories on your vehicle, but it is often the most neglected.   If you never check your spare tire, it might not be useful when you need it. Here are some general steps you should take to make sure your spare tire will be ready when disaster strikes.Spare Tire Maintenance   Think about the most basic thing you check on your tires. That’s right, the pressure on your spare tire should be checked on a regular basis. Most tires should read between 30 and 35 PSI. This could change depending on the type of spare your vehicle is equipped with. A compact spare tire referred to as a donut, could require as much as 60 PSI. Always check your owner’s manual for appropriate inflation guidelines.   Not all vehicles have a spare tire and most vehicles won’t hav ... read more

Your vehicle is made of many different parts. In fact, a single vehicle can have 30,000 components or more! With so many parts, it’s hard to keep track of what they all do. In order to maintain your vehicle’s performance, your belts are something you should be familiar with.What Car Belts Do They might not be good at keeping your pants up but the belts in your car play a big role in your vehicle’s performance. The major belts in your vehicle are the serpentine belt and timing belt. Serpentines are responsible for power steering pumps, cooling fans, injection pumps, air conditioning, and a variety of other functions depending on your vehicle. Sometimes serpentine belts can do it all! With one long snaking path, the serpentine belt winds in and out of several different components in your vehicle. It is made of extremely durable rubber with a smooth side controlling some parts and a ribbed side controlling others. If this belt breaks you will hear a squealing noise, y ... read more

How much do you remember about tire maintenance from your driver’s education class? I bet you don’t remember much. Most courses cover the rules of the road, not how to maintain a vehicle. As a new driver, there are many things to learn. Taking care of your car is one of those things. Let’s start with the one part of your vehicle that touches the road, your tires.Flat Tires & Maintenance   That’s right, your tires are the only part of your vehicle that actually touch the road. That makes them an important safety feature, a factor in fuel economy, and a crucial part of your vehicle’s maintenance.  I want to make sure that you can take care of your tires and make them last!    Know how to check your tire pressure! Low tire pressure is the leading cause of tread damage, blowouts, and premature wear. To check your tire pressure all you need is a tire pressure gauge. Check your pressure by removing the cap from your valve stem and inserti ... read more

Let's talk about automotive performance. This term means a lot of things to a lot of people... from better handling, more speed, more off-road or track capability or even better fuel economy. For the purposes of this list, performance means one thing; getting where you are going sooner. Consider the following top pick performance upgrades if you want to put more power to the ground: Cold-air Intake - Factory air boxes are restrictive and are usually more about packaging under the hood than feeding your engine much-needed air. A less restrictive intake is an instant power adder.   Bigger Throttle-body - The intake feeds the throttle body, the modern equivalent of the carburetor. The more air and fuel you can stuff into the engine the more power you can make. A higher CFM throttle-body allows more air to pass through your engine.   Forced Induction - Turbos and Superchargers essentially have the same purpose; to stuff ... read more

We are the land of the man (or woman) who has everything. We have electric dog nail trimmers, vacuums that work without your help and phones with more computing power than a fleet of space shuttles. With all this great and not so great stuff, it's getting harder and harder to give a great gift. Before you go flailing around for a gift nobody wants or needs just to say you have something to wrap, consider the gift of safety; a new set of tires for a friend or family member. Maybe you think this gift won't be appreciated. After all, tires don't have the appeal of a diamond pendant or a 6-way adjustable cyclo-massage equipped lounger. Actually, though, a new set of tires is so much more. Your tires are the only part of your car that touches the road. Better tires mean safer handling and what could show your deepest feelings for someone you love like saving their lives with more capable handling.   And speaking of handling, giving the gift new tires means passing along ... read more