Santa Cruz Auto Repair

From Residue to Running Like NewHow a Fuel System Cleaning Can Restore Your Engine   Whether you put too much food down the garbage disposal (we prefer composting), too many leaves fall into the gutters or grandma's famous tuna casserole left your oven covered in an unknown greasy substance, things stop performing at their optimal level unless they're cleaned. The same is true for your car's engine.   Residue gets left behind in your engine every time you turn off your car. Any time an engine shuts down, it goes through a 'hot soak'. A hot soak is when your engine is still producing heat and there is no air flowing through it to cool it down. During the 'hot soak' period, fuel residues become thin deposits called gum and varnish. with time, these this residues accumulate and bake into rock-hard carbon deposits, which can ... read more

Coolant System Explained (Part two of two)Last week we discovered a pool of ‘green blood’ under the car…Is it an Alien’s?  As we learned in Coolant System Part 1, that "green stuff" is not some weird alien blood (although to some, a car may seem like an alien)! It is anti-freeze – also known as coolant.   What does Coolant do? Coolant performs a number of important roles in keeping your vehicle on the road. Its primary function is to cool engine parts around the cylinder walls and cylinder head where your car’s fuel is burned; that is, where combustion takes place. The engine needs coolant circulating through it continually; without it, the combustion chambers reaches temperatures over 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (RED HOT, in other words). Its secondary responsibilities are to heat the inside of your car (via the heater) and to keep corrosion from forming in the radiato ... read more

Coolant System Explained (Part one of two) Imagine; you've finished your food shopping, go out to put your groceries in your car and you notice a small river of green liquid oozing from underneath. “Yikes! Is that green stuff coming from my car???”There’s a pool of ‘green blood’ under my car…Is it an Alien’s?...Should I be concerned? That "green stuff" is not some weird alien blood (although to some, a car may seem like an alien)! It is anti-freeze – AKA coolant. GET THAT LEAK FIXED right away if you are concerned about keeping your car running, and  or about keeping the environment and  or animals safe! The loss of coolant often leads to overheating of your vehicle’s engine. Coolant smells and tastes sweet. We DO NOT recommend tasting your coolant – NEVER taste it – but you need to know that animals are attract ... read more

Summer is here and we love to travel to ‘hot’ places with our families. For example; there is much desert to be crossed to get to the Grand Canyon.   No one wants to get caught with the hood up on the side of the road. This tends to raise the temperatures of more than the vehicle. Before your trip we suggest checking your vehicle with a pre-trip inspection. Ideally do this a week or two before your scheduled departure date. Special attention should be made to the Cooling System and the Air Conditioning System.   Quick Factoid: Summer heat can send parts of your engine to nearly 200 degrees F – some engine bits can even reach 500 degrees, literally oven hot! NEVER open the radiator cap on a hot engine! Over- heating or not, the system has a lot of pressure in it. (Old Faithful is best viewed from a distance.)   The easiest way for you to determine if your car is cooling properly is to get in the habit of looking at your car’s temper ... read more

    ARE YOU HOT?!   Air Conditioning Explained  Your car's ‘skin’ of steel and glass is not only  protective and beautiful, but it also attracts  and stores a tremendous amount of solar  (radiant) heat in the passenger compartment.  Removing this trapped heat requires a very  efficient system. The Air Conditioning (A/C)  system is a combination of mechanical  components plus a chemical medium (Freon   – not a psychic) whose sole purpose is to move heat from the interior to the exterior of the vehicle. Your car’s air conditioner uses Freon Refrigerant to cool the air internally. Freon acts a lot like water. As liquid Freon warms up it evaporates into a gaseous state (vapor), and then, as it cools down, becomes liquid again. As the Freon changes from a liquid to a vapor it heats and cools the air. What path does Freon take ... read more

You might still be reeling from taxes this year, but there are many retirement options. Here is a guide to help you make the right choice. You can retire to Phoenix or Tucson, Arizona where... 1. You are willing to park 3 blocks away because you found shade. 2. You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town. 3. You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food. 4. You know that "dry heat" is comparable to what hits you in the face when you open your oven door. 5. The 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! OR You can retire to California where... 1. You make over $250,000 and you still can't afford to buy a house. 2. The fastest part of your commute is going down your dr ... read more

    Stress Reduction Tip A young lady confidently walked around the room while explaining stress management to an audience with a raised glass of water.  Half Full? Half Empty? Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, “Is this glass half empty or half full?” She fooled them all, "How heavy is this glass of water?" she inquired with a smile. The answers called out ranged from 8 oz to 20 oz. She replied, "The absolute weight does not matter.It depends on how long I hold it: If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance ... read more

  Humorous ways to think of things:)  1 * Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue! Am I a Pigeon or a Statue? 2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them. 3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. 4 * Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.. 5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. 6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it. 7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others. 8 * Never buy a car you can't push. 9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on. 10 * Nobody c ... read more

  Green Business Logo   Certifiably Green!                        Henry and I believe strongly in the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ principle. Long before starting our business, 20 years ago, we were dedicated to protecting our planet through Green practices. When the opportunity to become a Green Certified Business arose we said, “Pick us! Pick us!” We were the first Green Certified Business in Santa Cruz County. That was April 2004. Now the City of Santa Cruz has taken over the program and we have now re-certified for the third time.  Interested in being certified as a green business?    One key change in becoming Green was to replace all of our light fixtures with new ... read more

  Balance:    We are looking for balance in our lives. Balance is different for each person. Being able to accept what is is balance.   Acceptance of what is does not mean that there is no striving for the betterment of self. It means to embrace what is and to see everything from the lighter side of self.   When your meditation is balanced your heart opens - allowing room for more.  Yin Yang Heart