Chesapeake Auto Repair

Arrive Alive In Chesapeake   We’ve all seen Virginia car owners do crazy things while driving to or from Chesapeake. A guy shaving in the rear-view mirror, a woman applying makeup, people talking on their phones, texting or drinking from an enormous coffee mug. It’s a wonder we even dare drive on Virginia roads. The truth is that all of us Chesapeake motorists are distracted when we drive. Unfortunately, traffic, road construction and other detrimental external factors are beyond our control. The distractions inside our car, however, are things we can often control. Here’s some things that’ll give you more control in your car, and help keep your attention on the roads around Chesapeake, Virginia. Chesapeake drivers who are 16 to 20 years old tend to be more distracted by the radio, CD or MP3 player. Chesapeake motorists who are 20 to 29 are more distracted by passengers in the car, including small children. Those over age 65 tend to be more distracte ... read more

West Service Center, Inc. Helps You Decipher The Menu Board: Part 2 Your browser does not support video Chesapeake service centers have a menu board that lists the services they provide. Some Chesapeake drivers may not be familiar with all of the items on the board so here is a quick description of some of the typical services that might be listed. West Service Center, Inc. fuel system cleaning: Over time, the van fuel system gets gum and varnish built up. A fuel system cleaning gets rid of that and cleans out the fuel injectors. Saves gas, by the way. West Service Center, Inc. headlamp replacement: Halogen and standard headlamps gradually fade. It’s usually good to change them every year or so. West Service Center, Inc. inspections: Chesapeake drivers get inspections for many reasons. Maybe they’re going on a trip or just want to make sure their vehicle’s ready for Virginia summer or winter. Maybe ... read more

Wheel Balancing at West Service Center, Inc.   So you love your job, and your family life is great. Congratulations! You have achieved balance. But can you say the same for your wheels? Chesapeake auto owners can tell if their tires are out of balance by vibrations at higher speeds on Virginia interstates. If one of the front tires is out, you feel the vibration in the steering wheel. If it’s a back tire, you’ll feel the vibration in your seat. Tires and wheels are pretty heavy. When a tire is mounted on a wheel at West Service Center, Inc., it is usually not perfectly balanced. So the service advisor will spin the tire on a machine to determine where it’s too heavy. He will then place weights on the wheels in strategic locations to balance it out. When a tire is out of balance, it actually bounces down the road instead of rolling smoothly. Since the average size tire rotates at about 850 revolutions per minute at 60 MPH, it is actually slamming into the pavem ... read more

Timing Belt   Ever heard the sad tale of a staggeringly pricey repair bill from a broken timing belt? Bad news. Let’s Chesapeake motorists take a lesson from their woes and remember to think about our critical timing belt. First, let’s review what a timing belt does. The top part of the engine, over the cylinders is called the cylinder head. The head contains the valves. There’s at least one valve that lets the fresh air into the cylinder. This air, mixed with fuel, burns to create power. Then another valve or two open to allow the exhaust out of the engine. Each cylinder has 2 to 4 valves – that’s 12 to 24 valves for a V-6, up to 32 values on a V-8. The opening and closing of the valves is done by a camshaft. The timing belt uses the rotation of the engine to drive the camshaft which opens and close the valves. It’s called a timing belt because it has to be adjusted to rotate the camshaft to keep proper time with the engine so that everythin ... read more