Is your car sometimes hard to start on an early Wyoming morning? When you turn the key, does it hesitate or stutter? If so, the problem could be the result of a dirty fuel system. Your car’s fuel system starts with the air filter and ends in the top of your engine. Over time, different parts of the system get dirty, which robs you of performance and hurts your fuel economy.

Bob & Dave’s Garage
2863 Byron Center Ave
Wyoming, Michigan 49519
616-532-7209

Most of our vehicle in Wyoming have fuel injectors, rather than a carburetor. Fuel injection systems have fewer problems and require less adjustment. But they still need to be properly maintained. This is why your owner’s manual has a schedule for cleaning your fuel injectors and other parts of your fuel system.

Some people are interested in buying fuel system cleaners that you can pour into your gas tank. You can do that – and there are lots of great products available that can help maintain an already clean fuel system – but these products cannot do a major cleaning. For that, you need to see your service center at Bob & Dave’s Garage. Bob & Dave’s Garage has the professional tools and chemicals to really do a complete service.

Your service center at Bob & Dave’s Garage in Wyoming Michigan uses a process that gives your car a deep, professional fuel system cleaning. You need to remove particles, gum and varnish from your fuel system and get those injectors running cleanly and efficiently. After a professional fuel system cleaning, you’ll notice more power, better fuel economy and reduced exhaust emissions.

The cleaners also help prevent rust and corrosion in your fuel system and lubricate vital engine parts.

Fuel system cleaning is just one of those recommended service items that helps keep your vehicle running strong. As with all maintenance, it can help avoid costly repairs that often result from not taking the right preventive steps. And you will notice the difference in how well your car runs. Check with your service advisor at Bob & Dave’s Garage in Wyoming Michigan to see when your car is scheduled for a fuel system cleaning.

An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.

If you’re a quart low in your vehicle, there isn’t enough motor oil to lubricate your engine properly. The extra friction causes drag that reduces fuel economy while you’re driving around the Wyoming area.

The same goes for dirty oil; it doesn’t reduce friction properly. The result is you get to watch those numbers at your local Wyoming gas pump rolling higher and higher.

The transmission also needs the proper amount of clean fluid to do its work. When it’s in need of service, the transmission drags your fuel economy down.

So keep it clean and give yourself a fighting chance.

Bob & Dave’s Garage
2863 Byron Center Ave
Wyoming, Michigan 49519
616-532-7209

One topic that hits the news in Wyoming on a regular basis is the price of gas. The answer for some people in Wyoming is to buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. For the rest of use, we need to improve our fuel economy anyway we can.

Following recommended service intervals by coming into Bob & Dave’s Garage is one of the best ways to keep your car running efficiently. That means better fuel economy. When you give it some thought, it only makes sense. Dirty oil or transmission fluid can’t lubricate or clean. That means more drag which reduces fuel economy.

Keeping up with scheduled oil changes and transmission services will save gas.

Dirty engine air filters are another efficiency pirate. They rob your engine of enough air to effectively burn the fuel, so you need more gas to get the job done. Replacing a dirty air filter can pay for itself in fuel savings before the next oil change.

You can imagine what dirty fuel injectors can do to your vehicle as you drive around Wyoming. If your owner’s manual recommends a fuel system cleaning, come into Bob & Dave’s Garage and ask us to get it done for you.

A simple, but very effective way to save gas is to keep your tires properly inflated. Low tires can cost you up to a mile per gallon. Check your tire pressure when you gas up – or at least once a month.

Bob & Dave’s Garage
2863 Byron Center Ave
Wyoming, Michigan 49519
616-532-7209

There are a surprising number of small, inexpensive parts that can lead to expensive engine damage when they fail. It doesn’t seem right.

Fortunately a lot of those things can be taken care of in routine maintenance. They may not be easy to remember, because it is a long list, but your service center at Bob & Dave’s Garage can help you know what’s scheduled to be taken care of.

Some of us in Wyoming Michigan really don’t look forward to going in for an oil change and then getting a list of the other things the manufacturer recommends.

But automotive maintenance is all about prevention, and addressing small problems before they get big. Let’s take the fuel filter for example.

You may not know this but the median age for private vehicles on our Wyoming Michigan roads is over nine years. When cars get older, five years or so, they’ve accumulated a lot of dirt and rust in their gas tanks. If that dirt gets into the engine it can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage. So somewhere between that dirty gas tank and the price of a great vacation – is the lowly fuel filter: a very inexpensive part that doesn’t cost too much to replace. And your car’ll just run better too.

A clogged fuel filter can’t let enough fuel through. You might notice at first that your car is running fine around town, but struggles or sputters on the Wyoming Michigan freeway or when you accelerate. Enough fuel can’t get through to meet the demands of higher speed. If it gets bad enough your engine might just shut off or not start at all, which could be dangerous.

Some fuel filters have a bypass. When they get clogged, they allow dirty fuel to move around the filter element so dirt ends up in the engine. We’ve already talked about how expensive that can be.

The fuel filter is even very important for newer cars. The fuel is still dirty even if there isn’t rust in the tank. It’s just that the fuel filter will need to be changed more frequently as the vehicle gets older.

How often should you change your fuel filter? Check your owner’s manual. Your Wyoming Michigan service advisor at Bob & Dave’s Garage can tell you as well. It’s usually around thirty thousand miles or so. Ask if it’s time for a full fuel system cleaning as well. They often go hand in hand.

It’s good to know that your Wyoming Michigan service center has your back. When you’re motivated to maintain your vehicle’s performance and to reduce operating costs, you’ll think of Bob & Dave’s Garage as your ally – and maybe even your memory.

Getting enough bobanddavesgarage.com.ebozavr.com fuel to your engine is very important for performance, fuel economy and safety. In order to accomplish this, your fuel system needs to be clean.

Today’s production cars have fuel injectors, rather than a carburetor. The injectors need to be cleaned from time to time in order to deliver the fuel with the correct pressure, spray pattern and volume.

You can buy fuel system cleaners that you just pour into your gas tank that can help maintain an already clean fuel system, but can’t do a major cleaning. For that, you need to see Bob & Dave’s Garage. They have the tools and chemicals to do the job right. Bob & Dave’s Garage can remove particles, gum and varnish from your fuel system and get those injectors running cleanly and efficiently.

You’ll find Bob & Dave’s Garage at 2863 Byron Center Ave in Wyoming, Michigan 49519. Or just give us a call at 616-532-7209 to schedule an appointment.

You’ll enjoy more power, better gas mileage and reduced exhaust emissions. The cleaners also help prevent rust and corrosion in your fuel system and lubricate vital engine parts.

And, as with all maintenance, it can help prevent costly repairs that can happen because you didn’t take preventative steps. Check with your service technician at Bob & Dave’s Garage and see when your car is scheduled for a fuel system cleaning.

No matter how well they’re made, cars in Wyoming Michigan will have design or manufacturing problems.

And when the government thinks a problem is really serious for people in Wyoming Michigan, they require the manufacturer to issue a recall notice and fix the car free of charge. The manufacturer then tries to contact everyone in Wyoming Michigan who owns that type of car to get the recall work done.

These recalls always affect safety, so take them seriously. It’s easy to see if a vehicle’s being recalled.

The government has links on its websites, or just visit AutoNetTV for links.

There are many websites with free recall information and searches. There’s CarFax, AutoByTel and the DMV.

Recalls are serious, but not all that common. But sometimes there are less significant issues, and for these, manufacturers issue a Technical Service Bulletin, or TSB, that tells service centers like Bob & Dave’s Garage how to repair a frequent or difficult problem.

The pros get updated information through subscription plans, also available in consumer versions for a reasonable cost.

So when vehicle recalls occur, get the work done, and keep you and yours safe.

Most of our Wyoming clients want to save on gas and seek our advice on improving fuel economy. At Bob & Dave’s Garage, we are frequently asked, however, just how much money Wyoming motorists can actually save.

Well the US government has a website dedicated to helping us use less fuel. It presents the cost savings in a way Wyoming car owners can relate to and is relevant for all vehicles. Let me give you an example: Having your vehicle engine properly tuned, can save up to 4%. If you’re paying three-fifty for a gallon of gas, you could save fourteen cents a gallon.

In today’s Bob & Dave’s Garage post, we’re going to talk about several things you can do to improve your vehicle fuel economy driving around Wyoming. We’ll tell you the potential savings per gallon of gas at three dollars and fifty cents, and we’ll show a graphic that also shows the savings at three and four dollars.

The next item is replacing a clogged engine air filter. Your engine needs enough air to burn fuel efficiently for the best economy. A clean air filter means you get plenty of air. The fact that the air’s clean protects your engine. That can save you up to ten percent or thirty-five cents a gallon.

Fixing a faulty oxygen sensor can improve economy by up to forty percent. That’s a whopping dollar forty in savings per gallon. Bring your car to Bob & Dave’s Garage and we’ll check your oxygen sensor.

Chances are that if your oxygen sensor is kaput your check engine light will come on. Now, there’s any number of things that could cause your check engine light to come on besides oxygen sensor problems. But if it’s on, get it checked out as soon as you can at Bob & Dave’s Garage.

Here’s an easy one. Inflate your tires to the recommended pressure. That could save you three percent or eleven cents a gallon. Even a little drop in pressure will cost you at the pump so check your tires every week.

Your vehicle manufacturer has recommended a specific weight of motor oil. The recommendation is based on engine design and will give you the best protection. Using a heavier weight could cost one to two percent in reduced fuel economy, or up to seven cents a gallon.

Here’s one that’s free: Take it easy when you drive. Aggressive driving (we’ve all seen this on Wyoming roads), rocketing away from stop lights, standing on the brakes, punching it for lane changes – really takes a toll on your fuel economy.

Cutting out aggressive driving around Wyoming can save five percent or eighteen cents a gallon. Now on the highway it gets really costly: thirty three percent or a buck sixteen a gallon. Think about that.

 A related item is exceeding the speed limit. For example, if the speed limit is sixty miles per hour an additional five miles will cost seven percent or twenty-five cents a gallon. Fifteen miles per hour will cost you upwards of eighty cents a gallon.

The last thing we’ll talk about is excess weight. Our vehicles tend to accumulate a lot of things and the weight adds up. Clear out the trunk and only haul stuff when you really need it. For every one hundred pounds you can save two percent or seven cents a gallon.

Sorry honey, your brother can’t come with. It’d cost an extra thirty cents a gallon.

The function of the fuel filter is pretty self-explanatory. It filters your fuel. The fuel filter is in the fuel line somewhere in between the fuel tank and the engine. Both gas and diesel vehicles around Wyoming Michigan use fuel filters.

For more information about your fuel filter, visit Bob & Dave’s Garage or come by our shop located at 2863 Byron Center Ave in Wyoming, Michigan 49519.
Please call 616-532-7209 to make an appointment.

Generally speaking there’s not a lot of dirt in our Wyoming Michigan auto fuel supply, but there is enough that you want to screen it out. The problem actually gets worse the older your vehicle becomes. That’s because dirt, rust and other contaminants will settle out of the fuel and onto the bottom of the fuel tank. After your vehicle is five years or older, it can actually have a fair amount of sediment built up.

That just means that the fuel filter has to work harder as your vehicle ages. It’ll get clogged sooner and need to be replaced more often.

A symptom of a clogged fuel filter is that the engine sputters at highway speeds or under hard acceleration. That’s because enough fuel is getting through around town, but when you need more fuel for speed, enough just can’t get through the filter. Obviously, that could be dangerous if your car or truck can’t get enough power to get you out of harm’s way.

For just that reason, fuel filters have a bypass valve. When the filter is severely clogged, some fuel can bypass the filter all together. Of course that means that dirty, unfiltered fuel is getting through to be burned in the engine.

This dirt can then clog and damage your fuel injectors. Now injectors are not cheap to replace, so you don’t want to cause them damage just because you didn’t spend a few bucks to replace a fuel filter.

You know, in a way, the fuel filter can be the poster child for preventive maintenance. It’s a little part, it’s simple and it’s cheap to take care of. But if it’s neglected, it could lead to thousands of dollars of repair bills.

Those auto service schedules in your owner’s manual are there for a reason. If ever you don’t understand a recommended service, just ask your Wyoming service advisor at Bob & Dave’s Garage. We’ll be happy to explain.

If the fuel system in your vehicle is dirty, you will be wasting gas and losing performance as you drive around Wyoming Michigan.

Unless you drive a vintage car, you have fuel injectors. They need to be properly maintained. That is why your owner’s manual has a schedule for cleaning your fuel injectors and other parts of your fuel system.

Your service technician at Bob & Dave’s Garage has the tools and chemicals to do the job right. Bob & Dave’s Garage uses a process that gives your car a deep, professional fuel system cleaning. The particles, gum and varnish that build up in your fuel system are removed so that it can run cleanly and efficiently.

After a professional fuel system cleaning, you’ll notice more power, better gas mileage and reduced exhaust emissions. AutoNetTV strongly recommends you follow your manufacturer’s fuel system cleaning service recommendations to keep your vehicle running strong.

It’s expensive to replace a fuel injector that’s been damaged by neglect. Check with your service technician at Bob & Dave’s Garage and see when your car is scheduled for a fuel system cleaning.

Have you ever gone to Wyoming to listen to an orchestra? The musicians take the stage early and tune their instruments. Each individual instrument must be in tune, but the critical thing is for the entire orchestra to be in tune with each other.

That’ s why they tune up together.

Now this is no surprise; I’m going to relate the orchestra to your car. Your engine has many component systems that each need to be working properly. And the components need to be working in sync, all timed up together in order for the engine to work efficiently.

We call this, (ta-da) a tune-up. When an orchestra’s out of tune you get a bad concert. When your vehicle’s out of tune you get bad performance and bad fuel economy.

So check your owner’s manual for recommended tune-up intervals. Or ask your Wyoming service advisor at Bob & Dave’s Garage what he thinks.

…Just be careful not to say you want to make beautiful music together – that kinda makes us uncomfortable.