Hanover Park Auto Repair

Today's Kamphaus AutoCare and Emission post focuses on using the proper fluids for your vehicle. Significant advancements in automotive technology have lead to the development of high-tech fluids to keep modern cars operating at peak performance. This is due to both engineering advances and new high-tech materials used to build pickup automotive systems. A simple example of this is the cooling system. For decades it was primarily made out of iron, steel and rubber hoses. There was one kind of coolant that protected these components from corrosion. Now cooling system components are made with various metal alloys and plastics. These materials require different additives to protect them from corrosion. Since the materials used vary among pickup auto manufacturers, we now have a number of different kinds of coolant. It's essential for Palatine car owners to use the right coolant. If ... read more

At Kamphaus AutoCare and Emission we hear from a lot of people who are excited about the new diesel engines that will soon be available in passenger cars and SUV's. But our IL friends are often curious about the preventive maintenance requirements. People may not know that diesel engines have long been used extensively in Europe and Asia. In fact, in some markets, there're nearly as many diesel powered passenger cars as there are gasoline. Here's who's announced or is expected to announce new diesels for North America: BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and Subaru. Of course, the US auto makers will be expanding their diesel offerings as well. Diesels will become a very big deal here in IL. You may ask, why has it taken so long getting to IL and North America? There are a bunch of reasons like fuel tax policies and such, but the biggest hurtle was that IL diesel fuel had a high sulfur content – too high for the latest gener ... read more

A fuel injector is a valve that delivers fuel to a vehicle's engine. It has to deliver the precise amount of fuel, to precisely the right place, precisely when the engine needs it. The fuel also has to be mixed with air before it can burn in the engine. Fuel injectors are engineered to spray fuel in a specific pattern into the engine. (The pattern varies by engine type and design.) In order to achieve these spray patterns, the fuel must be pressurized. The pressure in a fuel injection system varies depending on its type. Many gasoline engines use port injection systems, which operate with a pressure of 60 pounds per square inch. Newer direct injection systems operate at 10 to 30 times that pressure. Some diesel passenger vehicles have fuel injectors that operate at 30,000 pounds or more per square inch. Vehicles have one fuel injector for each cylinder in the engine. Your vehicle's control computer constantly monitors the engine and various sensors in the v ... read more

We live in such a disposable society. It's amazing all the stuff we throw away. New stuff comes out so fast, we just toss the old and move on. In the old days IL folks were real sticklers about taking care of their things. If something got lost or ruined by neglect, tough – they had to do without. Most Hanover Park car owners couldn't afford new cars very often, so they had to make them last as long as they could. It's a good thing that cars are more reliable these days for Hanover Park car owners. They just don't break down as often. And the good news for us IL penny pinchers is that a modern car can easily go 200,000 miles/320,000 km with proper care. The engineering and the manufacturing quality is tremendous. The missing ingredient is us Hanover Park car owners making sure we follow the car maker's recommended maintenance schedules. Every time you go a couple thousand extra miles between oil changes you have created an opportunity for sludge to be formed and clog ... read more