Your family car cooling system’s job is to keep your engine cool. Coolant (also called antifreeze) mixed with water flows through your engine and absorbs heat. The mixture then flows out to the radiator where it’s cooled by air flowing over the radiator. From there the cooled mix circulates back through the family car engine to absorb more heat.

Coolant, or antifreeze, is specially formulated to keep your engine safe in a wide range of environmental and operating temperatures in Salem.

Without coolant, the family car’s metal engine parts would expand so much that the engine would seize up and stop running.  Expensive parts could be broken or warp so badly they would have to be replaced at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem. It could even be so bad that the whole engine is ruined and has to be replaced.

Also, if it’s freezing outside in Salem, the water in your engine could freeze while your vehicle is sitting out in the Oregon cold. This is why you check coolant levels frequently and have your cooling system inspected for leaks. Also your manufacturer has a maintenance requirement for draining and replacing your coolant. These recommendations can vary widely, so check your Salem owner’s manual or ask your service advisor at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem.

The reason you need to change the coolant is that it has additives in it to protect the cooling system. As you can imagine, with all the heat, the cooling system’s a pretty harsh environment. The additives keep the fluid from becoming corrosive and damaging the radiator and other Salem cooling system components. Over time, the additives are depleted and the coolant just has to be replaced. A simple pH test can measure the coolant’s acidity.

You may have noticed that there are different colors of antifreeze at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc.: it is very important that you use the correct type.  The different coolant types are different colors so you don’t mix them up.  Manufacturers use different materials to make the cooling system, and they require different types of antifreeze to protect them.

So check with your treat you like family Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. service advisor or owner’s manual for the right kind because using the wrong coolant can void the warranty for your family car cooling system.

Ask us about tires, preventative maintenence and alignment & tires.

Give us a call

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc.
503-365-9702
675 Bartell Dr NW
Salem, Oregon 97304

At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem Oregon (97304) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 503-365-9702. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

A lot of people in the Portland area want custom wheels. When you do this yourself (over the internet . . .) you could run into trouble if you’re not careful. Sometimes they just don’t fit right: The tires rub in turns or over bumps. Consulting a tire professional at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem can ensure you get the right fit for your family car. First he’ll ask you a series of questions about your driving needs and what you want in your new wheels.

Now, not every wheel can go on every vehicle. Care must be taken so that tires and wheels are not too large or that the wheel is centered too far towards the outside or the inside. If you don’t want to make any modifications to your family car, you would need to focus on a wheel and tire combination that would fit. With trucks, some Salem people like much bigger tires so they need a suspension lift.

Also, most Salem people don’t realize that you need to keep the rolling diameter of your new tires – that’s the overall height of the tire – very close to what came from the factory in order for your anti-lock brakes and stability control systems to work properly.

The family car computers that control these systems are calibrated to a certain size tire. When you go bigger or smaller, the computer doesn’t know what changes you made so it can’t tell how fast you’re going. This, of course, means it sends commands to the brakes and traction control that are based on the wrong sensor information. If you go with a different rolling diameter, your family car vehicle control computer can be reprogrammed for the new tire size. At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc., we can give you information about control computer reprogramming.

Either way, there are hundreds of wheel and tire choices to choose from in Salem. You can pick the style of wheel you want and then talk with your Salem tire professional about how big the wheel should be – and select the right tire to meet your style, performance, ride and handling needs – and the best way to do all this is to have your treat you like family Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. tire specialist see your family car in person so mistakes are not made.

At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc., we also offer brake pads and preventative maintenence.

Give us a call

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc.
503-365-9702
675 Bartell Dr NW
Salem, Oregon 97304

At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem Oregon (97304) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 503-365-9702. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

With front-wheel drive being so common in Salem these days, the differential is just taken care of during a transmission service, so most Salem folks don’t even have to think about it. And most rear-wheel drive family car differentials don’t need to be serviced for many miles, so it’s understandable that it’s not something on the top of mind. So it’s not uncommon for Oregon people to not know they have a differential let alone know that it needs service.

To better understand what a differential does, think about a high school track. There are lanes marked off on the track. For the longer distance races, the starting lines are staggered. The starting lines for the outside lanes are ahead of the starting lines for the inside lanes. That’s to compensate for the longer length of the outside lanes. Staggering the starting lines means that each runner has the same distance to run.

The differential compensates for the difference in speeds on drive wheels between the inside wheel and the outside wheel in a turn, because they have to travel together through slightly different distances.

Many family car differentials do a lot of work and require very heavy duty parts. And those parts need protection. The differential fluid lubricates the gears in the differential and keeps them cool. The fluid eventually gets dirty and worn down. Some kinds of differentials require special additives that break down over time. So manufacturers and Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. technicians recommend intervals for replacing your differential fluid.

Your Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. service technician will drain the used fluid and check it out for metal bits, which could be a sign of excessive wear on the gears. He’ll then replace the fluid and install the additives if necessary.

Salem four wheel drive family cars need special attention to their differentials because they have a differential on both the front and rear axles that work at different times and sometimes under heavy loads – so they may need to be serviced at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. at different intervals.

Your Salem service advisor can look up the manufacturer’s recommended service interval or you can check your family car owner’s manual.

Give us a call

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc.
503-365-9702
675 Bartell Dr NW
Salem, Oregon 97304

At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem Oregon (97304) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 503-365-9702. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

You may not be familiar with all of the items on Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc.’s menu board so here is a quick description of some of the typical services that might be listed. Remember, the board is there for reference; speak to your Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. Service Adviser about other possible needs or services.

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. Fuel System Cleaning: Over time, the fuel system gets gum and varnish built up. A fuel system cleaning at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. gets rid of that and cleans out the fuel injectors. Saves gas as you drive around Salem and on Portland freeways, by the way.

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. Headlamp Replacement: Halogen and standard headlamps gradually fade. When one burns out, replace both so they’ll have the same brightness. Also, if your headlamp lenses are yellowed or cloudy, you can have them professionally restored to like new-condition. As your treat you like family Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. advisor for information.

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. Inspections: Salem drivers get inspections for many reasons. Maybe they’re going on a trip or just want to make sure their vehicle’s ready for summer or winter in Salem. Maybe they just bought a used car and want to give it the once over. An inspection at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. may reveal some things that are broken or are getting close to having a problem.

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. Oil Change Service – there are several options: Some Salem auto service centers offer just an oil change and new filter as an option. Most will also check and top off all of your other fluids and do a quick visual inspection with a full service oil change. There may also be options for higher mileage fluids or an upgrade to synthetic oil.

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. PCV Valve Service: PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation valve. It’s a little part that releases pressure from the engine. It can get gummed up and that can lead to engine damage. Just needs to be changed now and then.

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. Power Steering Service: Often overlooked. Your Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. technician will evacuate the old fluid, clean out the system and replace it with clean fluid. Keeps the system running well for a long time.

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. Serpentine Belt Replacement: That’s the belt that powers the engine’s accessories like the alternator, air conditioner, power steering and brakes. You’ll want to replace the serpentine belt at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. before it breaks or wears down too much, because that’ll lead to other problems.

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. Shocks and Struts Replacement: This starts with an inspection of the suspension components. Shocks last a long time and wear out slowly, so many Salem motorists don’t notice when it’s time to change them. If they’re worn or leaking, they need to be replaced.

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. Transmission Service: This involves removing the transmission fluid and replacing it with clean fluid. It’s like an oil change for your transmission.

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. Tire Rotation and Wheel Balancing: The tires are rotated from front to back using the recommended rotation pattern. This helps tires wear more evenly. Wheels need to be balanced from time to time to keep them turning without any wobble or bounce. Helps the ride and saves tire wear as you drive around Salem.

Give us a call

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc.
503-365-9702
675 Bartell Dr NW
Salem, Oregon 97304

At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem Oregon (97304) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 503-365-9702. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

When all of a vehicle’s wheels are lined up exactly with each other, your wheels are in alignment. Hitting a road hazard in Salem or even just the normal bumps and bounces of everyday Oregon driving can cause your family car wheels to be out of alignment. This can lead to expensive premature tire and suspension wear.

Here are some alignment basics from Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc.:
The first angle is called toe: do the wheels point in towards each other or away from each other at the front of the tire.
The next angle is called camber: do the wheels tip in or out at the top.
And finally, there is castor. Castor measures the angle where the front axles attach to the vehicle.

The ideal alignment for your family car was designed by its engineers. Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. alignment service starts with an inspection of the steering and suspension – so see if anything’s bent, broken or worn out. Then the Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. technician will look at tire condition. From there, the family car is put on an alignment rack and an initial alignment reading is taken. The wheels are then aligned to manufacturer’s specifications.

Your owner’s manual probably has a recommendation for how often your family car alignment should be checked – usually every couple of years. If you suspect an alignment problem with your family car, get it checked at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. before you suffer expensive tire or suspension damage.

Give us a call

Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc.
503-365-9702
675 Bartell Dr NW
Salem, Oregon 97304

At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem Oregon (97304) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 503-365-9702. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

In addition to just wearing out, Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. customers need to know that suspension components can be damaged in an accident or by a hard impact – like a pothole, hitting a curb or a rock in the road.

Because the life span of shocks can vary so widely, your family car manufacturer and Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. recommend periodic inspections. During an inspection, your Silverton service technician will check for worn, broken or missing parts.

Signs that shocks or struts are wearing out: The tires may have a cupped wear pattern. This is from the shocks bouncing unevenly as you drive around Silverton. You may notice a floaty or drifting sensation when cornering. If the front of your family car dives excessively when stopping, or rocks back and forth after you stopped, your shocks may be worn out. And if they are leaking fluid, it’s definitely time to replace them.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, come into Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. for a suspension inspection. Same if you’ve been in an accident that involved one of your wheels. Worn or broken shocks can cause premature wear or failure on other family car suspension parts such as ball joints and other steering components as well. If your suspension actually fails, it could lead to a serious accident, so let us take care of your suspension components at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc..

When you replace your shocks, it’s usually a good idea to replace all four at the same time. That’ll give you more even handling. Talk with your service advisor at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. because you don’t want a big difference between the performance of your shocks from wheel to wheel, and replacing all may be the safest bet.

At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem Oregon (97304) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 503-365-9702. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

First, the serpentine belt drives your air conditioning system. Next, the belt powers the alternator.

The serpentine belt may also run the pumps for both the power steering and power brakes. In some family cars, power steering may have an electric drive and power brakes can be vacuum driven.

And, on many vehicles, the serpentine belt powers the water pump (on some cars, the water pump is powered by the timing belt).

Your Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. service technician can perform a visual inspection of the belt to see if it has any cracks that signal the belt could fail soon and will measure the amount of belt material to make sure there is enough.

Salem drivers should be aware that there’s a special, spring loaded pulley attached to the engine called the tensioner pulley and sometimes an extra pulley call the idler pulley. Their job is to make sure there’s a constant tension on the serpentine belt so that it doesn’t slip. The spring can become worn and no longer provide the necessary pressure to keep the belt tight. That’s why it’s often recommended that the tensioner, and the idler pulley if so equipped, be replaced at the same time as the serpentine belt.

All in all, the serpentine belt’s an important part for the function of your family car. And it’s not that expensive to replace at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. – so it’s good to do so before it fails.

At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem Oregon (97304) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 503-365-9702. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

Let’s focus on stopping in wet Salem conditions. In order for a tire to have good contact with the road, it has to move the water out of the way. If it can’t move the water, the tire will actually ride on top of a thin film of water.

That’s called hydroplaning. At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. we want our customers to know that if it’s really bad, you can actually spin out of control. At best, you won’t stop as fast.

So how does a tire move water? It has channels for water to flow through. Look at a tire and you’ll see channels: channels that run around the tire and channels that flow across the tire. They’re designed to direct water away from the tire so it can contact the road better.

And the deeper the channel, the more water it can move. A brand new tire has very deep channels and can easily move a lot of water. As the tire wears down, the channels become shallower and can move less water. When it wears down enough, it can seriously affect your ability to stop on wet Salem roads.

So that’s why it’s so important for Salem drivers to replace the tires on their family cars when they get worn. Consumer Reports and other advocate groups call for a standard of 3/32 of an inch and they have the studies to prove it.

By comparison, you’ve probably seen the wear indicator that’s molded into tires. When tires are worn 3/32 of an inch, the tread wear bar is visible. So the recommended standard has twice the tread depth as a completely worn out tire.

And that little bit of additional tread makes a big difference. Stopping distances are cut dramatically on wet roads. A safe stop from Oregon freeway speeds with 4/32 of an inch of tread would result in a crash with worn out tires.

There’s an easy way to tell when a tire’s worn to 4/32 of an inch. Just insert a quarter into the tread. Put it in upside down. If the tread doesn’t cover George Washington’s hairline, it’s time to replace your tires. With a Canadian quarter, the tread should cover the numbers in the year stamp.

You’ve probably heard of this technique using a penny and Abe Lincoln’s head. That measure gives you 2/32 of an inch – half the suggested amount.

Of course, tires are a big ticket item for Salem car owners. Most of us want to get as many miles out of them as we can. But there’s a real safety trade-off. It’s your choice.

At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem Oregon (97304) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 503-365-9702. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

Now when you hear “severe service”, you may think it doesn’t apply to you because you don’t feel your driving conditions are severe or extreme – it’s just normal everyday driving around Portland. At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc., we discuss the conditions that manufacturers classify as severe so that you can make the judgment on your own driving.

• Most trips are less than four miles
• Most trips are less than ten miles and outside temperatures are below freezing in Portland
• You drive in very hot Oregon weather
• Driving at low speed most of the time (under 55 mph)
• Stop and go driving
• Operating your vehicle in dusty, polluted or muddy conditions
• You tow a trailer, regularly carry heavy loads or carry a car-top carrier on your family car

Most Portland drivers operate under severe driving conditions at least some of the time. How do you know which schedule to follow for your family car?

Carefully think about your driving conditions and decide if you should do your preventive maintenance closer to the severe service recommendation or the regular recommendation. Of course, your Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. advisor can help you with your decision.

At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem Oregon (97304) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 503-365-9702. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

The crankcase is the bottom area of the engine that holds the oil. When the family car engine’s running, fuel is burned to generate power. Most of the exhaust from combustion goes out through the exhaust system. But some exhaust blows by the pistons and goes into the lower engine, or crankcase.

These hot gases are about seventy percent unburned fuel. This can dilute and contaminate the oil, leading to damaging engine oil sludge. It can also cause engine corrosion in your family car. At high speeds, the pressure can build up to the point that gaskets and seals start to leak.

Keizer car owners need to know that over time, the vented gases will gum up the PCV valve and it won’t work well. That can lead to all of the problems I’ve already described, oil leaks, excessive oil consumption and wasted gas.

Fortunately, it’s very easy to test the PCV valve and quick and inexpensive to replace it at Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc.. Even so, it’s often overlooked because many Keizer drivers don’t know about it.

Check your family car owner’s manual or ask your Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. advisor. If this is the first time you’ve heard of a PCV valve, you might be in line for a PCV valve replacement.

Please ask us about your PCV valve. For the price of a couple of burger combo meals, you can avoid some very expensive deep engine repairs.

At Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc. in Salem Oregon (97304) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 503-365-9702. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.