Ervine's Auto Repair

You would never like to drink a glass of mud, right? Well, your car feels the same way. It needs a steady supply of clean fuel in order to run well and deliver good fuel economy. The fuel filter’s job is to clean dirt and rust out of the fuel before it gets to your engine. A clogged fuel filter can actually choke off the engine so that it won’t start or run. Some fuel filters have a bypass valve that allows fuel to go around the clogged filter so your car will still run. But, then the contaminated fuel can plug your fuel injectors and allow damaging particles into your engine.

A car with a partially clogged fuel filter might run well around town, but sputter and strain on the highway because it’s starving for gas. There are two things that affect how often you need to replace the filter. They are: where you drive and the gas you buy. If you drive a lot on dirt or gravel roads in rural Michigan, your fuel filter will have a harder time keeping the fuel clean.

And, we hate to say it, but buying the cheapest gas from cut-rate Grand Rapids area stations sometimes means dirtier fuel that’ll clog the filter sooner. Major brands tend to be cleaner and certainly have higher levels of detergent additives.

Of course, your manufacturer recommends intervals for changing the fuel filter. But, it’s a little more complicated than that. Some manufacturers stopped listing recommended intervals for fuel filter replacement or have very long intervals like every five years or eighty thousand miles. So you may need to look to other sources for recommendations. Cars older than six or seven years are especially at risk because they have had time for dirt and rust to build up in the fuel tank. A clean fuel filter keeps the gas flowing. Even a partially clogged filter puts added strain on the fuel pump. That can shorten its life and result in a costly repair.

As is often the case, spending a little money now on something as inexpensive as a fuel filter can save money down the road. At Ervine’s Auto Repair in Grand Rapids, we can check your fuel filter. It is better than fixing a burned out fuel pump or ruined fuel injectors.

With high fuel prices in Grand Rapids Michigan comes lots of gas saving advice. Some of it, like what you hear on AutoNetTV, is really great. Some is myth. And some is just designed to prey on Grand Rapids Michigan people desperate to save some money on gas.

When you get one of those e-mails that’s going around telling you how to save gas, try to think it through.

Does it really make sense? Does it defy the laws of physics?

Do some research on the internet or ask your Grand Rapids Michigan service advisor at Ervine’s Auto Repair.

There aren’t any magic pills you can drop in your gas tank and the government hasn’t suppressed a device you can clamp on your fuel line to make your car run on air. Not even in Grand Rapids!

So next time you get one of those e-mails, check it out with an automotive professional. You’ll get more bang for your buck with an oil change or an engine air filter replacement.

We’re Ervine’s Auto Repair, give us a call at (616) 532-6600 for good honest advice about your car.

One topic that hits the news in Grand Rapids on a regular basis is the price of gas. The answer for some people in Grand Rapids 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 Ervine’s Auto Repair 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 sedan as you drive around Grand Rapids. If your owner’s manual recommends a fuel system cleaning, come into Ervine’s Auto Repair 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.

Ervine’s Auto Repair
4311 Stafford SW
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49548
(616) 532-6600

Weight is the enemy of fuel economy. Everyone from here to Byron Center knows this makes sense.

Some of us in the Byron Center area carry a bunch of unnecessary weight, and I’m not talkin’ what you see in the mirror.

Guys; sports equipment and tools. Ladies; well, just take a look around the passenger compartment and trunk. I think my car has about forty-five pounds of French fries on the floor.

All that extra weight wastes gas as you drive between here and Byron Center, and everywhere else.

Lose the junk and save some money.

…And you really only need one of those spare tires.

In very simple terms, a fuel injector is a valve that squirts fuel into your sedan engine. Your engine control computer tells the fuel injector how much fuel to deliver as well as the precise time it should be delivered. Of course this happens thousands of times a minute in every single fuel-injected car driving down Wyoming, Kentwood, and Byron Center roads.

Most fuel injectors for gas engines are known in the Grand Rapids auto industry as port fuel injectors because they deliver the fuel to a port just outside the cylinder. The fuel pump provides pressure needed to squirt the right amount of fuel into the engine.

A few auto makers have recently introduced gas direct injection systems on some engines. They are now available at some Grand Rapids dealerships. These systems inject the gas directly into the cylinders under very high pressure – many times the pressure of port injection systems.

Although more complicated, direct injection technology promises greater power with improved fuel economy for gas-poor Wyoming, Kentwood, and Byron Center commuters. Michigan motorists can expect to see more of it in the future.

High temperatures under your sedan hood and variations in Grand Rapids gas quality cause fuel injectors to be fouled with wax, dirt, water, additives and carbon. Injectors can become partially clogged, preventing them from delivering the proper amount of fuel at the correct pressure.

When injectors are dirty, the fuel doesn’t burn as efficiently resulting in poor fuel economy and loss of power. So it’s important for Grand Rapids drivers keep their fuel injectors clean.

Your Grand Rapids Ervine’s Auto Repair service center can perform a fuel system service for you in which the fuel injectors are cleaned so that they operate properly and deliver the right amount of fuel at the right time.

Proper maintenance of your sedan fuel system means that you will spend less on gas, enjoy strong performance and prevent costly Grand Rapids repair bills down the road.