Sunday Session: Car Check

Buying a used car is not always as easy as it seems.

Are you getting a good deal?

Are you buying a safe, reliable car or are you buying a lemon?

We know not everyone knows about cars. Who do you trust?

Bring your car to us. We offer Car Check - a total diagnostic check to ensure you're buying a good, safe, solid used car. For $25 we'll run a total diagnostic check. We'll test drive the car for you as well as check all warning lights, the car's computer, brakes and braking system, fluids, oil leaks, suspension, tires, and overall condition.

Give us a call at (404) 508-9654 to schedule your Car Check.

Sunday Session: Engine Cooling System

As I mentioned last week, Sonny and I are creating a video every Sunday where we'll cover a specific automotive topic. Last week it was the air conditioning. This week it's the cooling system. Next week? Who knows! Maybe oil if we don't change our minds from now until next Sunday. 

These videos are done in one take; so if we mess up, oh well! We're trying to stick to one take. Mostly because neither of us has time to sit down and learn how to create nicer videos, but also it's kinda fun to see how it turns out. We hope you enjoy these as much as we like making them :)

Sunday Sessions

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd own a business - let alone an automotive repair shop. Over the past 40 years, I've learned to expect the unexpected. 

As a woman, I used to dread getting my car fixed. I just came to expect I'd be lied to and overcharged. It's not right, but it is reality and I know I'm not alone in that. It wasn't until I met Sonny, General Manager of AAS, that this changed for me. Sonny is super knowledgable about all things automotive. He explains to every customer what's going on with their car in an informative/non-condescending way. We strive to be as transparent as possible with you, our customers, because it's our mission to inform you of what's going on with your car & replace only what is needed. No one wins when you feel like you overpaid for something you don't understand. 

Sonny and I have been saying for awhile we want to produce videos where we share automotive repair knowledge with everyone. We finally sat down and did it today. It's our first - the quality can only get better! We're also looking for topics, so let us know your car-related questions! 

It's hot out. Stay cool in your car. Here we offer a few reasons as to why your A/C may not be working. Almost Auto Service is located in Clarkston, Georgia.

2012 BMW 650i Convertible - Engine Replacement

A champagne colored 2012 BMW 650i convertible was towed into the shop. We knew the engine was blown. We discovered there was coolant filling the right-hand side of the throttle body. When we drained the oil, coolant came pouring from the oil pan, then oil followed. We dropped the oil pan and saw bits and chunks of metal in the pan. 

BMW engine looks to be intact...but we'll discover that it isn't

To remove the engine, we had to remove the front bumper and radiator support.

We know there is a catastrophic internal problem because the engine would not turn - it was locked. We had to remove the transmission to get to all the torque convertor bolts. 

This is what a 650i looks like with no front bumper, engine, and transmission. The design of this car is even more interesting when taken apart. 

Coming up, Part 2 - read just how catastrophic the engine failure is and see the new BMW engine!

2009 Volkswagen CC Sport - Transmission Cooler Leak

A 2009 Volkswagen CC Sport was brought into the shop for an oil leak coming from under the front of the car. The bottom of the car and inside the lower valance were covered in oil. Once we located the oil leak, we determined we had to replace the transmission cooler because this is where the oil was leaking from. We ordered a new transmission cooler and proceeded to replace it. This turned out to be a fairly complicated job because we had to remove the bumper and the upper radiator support to remove the transmission cooler. Once we removed all this, replacing the transmission cooler was not that complicated. All that had to be done next was to put everything back together again. You can't be cool if your transmission cooler is a leaker!

2009 Honda Civic DX - Starter Replacement

This 2009 Honda Civic DX was towed into AAS and the customer was reporting a "no start". When I got in the car and turned the key, the radio worked and all the lights in the car worked. Then, when I turned the key to start the car, nothing - silence. We did a complete electrical test of the ignition system and found that the starter was worn out. If the starter, the component that starts your car, doesn't work when you turn the key, then good luck starting your car. We removed and replaced the starter and the customer was happy to have his car back. Can't start your day if you can't start your car! 

2004 Mercury Mountaineer - Rear Brakes

This 2004 Mercury Mountaineer came in for a rear brake job and did it need it! The customer waited so long to get her rear brakes done that the brake pads were gone and she had metal to metal grinding on her rear rotor. The rear rotor looked as thin as a potato chip (see picture below). After inspecting the rear brakes, we determined she needed two brake rotors, new brake pads, and a new rear caliper. The rear caliper was needed because the piston on the caliper was pushed out too far and we were unable to get it to budge. 

Top photo: Left - old rotor, Right - new rotor

Bottom Left photo: Old rotor (top) is potato chip-thin; New rotor (bottom) is thicker

Bottom Right photo: This is what it looks like when you wear your brake pads down to the metal; you get metal-to-metal brakes. This causes part damage as you can see. 

This is what it looks like when the piston on the brake caliper fails to retract.

Old brake pads on the top, new brake pads on the bottom. Notice the difference in thickness. 

2005 Ford E350 Passenger Van - Rear Axle Assembly Replacement

This 2005 Ford E350 passenger van is one of our fleet customers'. We discovered the rear axle assembly (also known as the rear end) was worn out. This part was very difficult to find; I had to call at least six places to locate it. Here's why:

When replacing a rear axle assembly in a vehicle, you have to make sure the new gear ratio is the same as the old one. What I found with the 2005 E350 is that Ford made it with many different combinations of engine, transmission, and rear axle assembly. I had to find the correct rear axle assembly for this van's particular combination. We found the right one at a local used parts dealer after six plus tries. Now it's on the road. Picking up real live rear ends! 

2010 Dodge Challenger SE - Tune Up

This 2010 Dodge Challenger was brought in to AAS because of two issues. One was that the heat had stopped working. Two was that the engine was running rough (what mechanics refer to as "missing") with a 'Check Engine' light. The customer also asked us to give his Challenger a tune-up. We found the heater core was clogged, so we did a full coolant flush and unclogged the heater core. Now the heat works great! Nice and toasty! 

We diagnosed the 'Check Engine' light and discovered one of the cylinders had a bad ignition coil. The engine on the Dodge Challenger has an ignition coil pack for each cylinder. We replaced the faulty ignition coil first to make sure the engine ran smoothly again, cleared the check engine light, and re-programmed the engine computer. After this, we went on to do the tune-up, so we took out all six coils and replaced the spark plugs. When changing the spark plugs on the right-hand side of the engine (the passenger's side), you need to un-install the intake manifold to get to the spark plugs. When you take off the intake manifold, it is recommended to replace the intake manifold gasket to create a new seal because the old gasket will no longer seal. After that, we reinstalled all the coils including the new one and the car now runs smooth and purrs great. This is one hot kitten! 

2007 BMW 328i - Valve Cover Gasket Replacement

Customer towed his 2007 BMW 328i to AAS and informed us that smoke was coming from the hood while the engine was running. We ran the engine to operating temperature (about 180 degrees) to replicate the issue. Upon inspection, we found oil spilling onto the exhaust manifold because of a leaky valve cover gasket. We also noticed a secondary leak on the oil filter housing gasket. When we started to remove the valve cover gasket, we noticed 3 of the 6 spark plug ports were filled with oil. Once we removed the valve cover gasket, we saw the gasket was broken in several places. We also noticed there was sludge on the valve cover gasket and inside the head. When you have sludge like this it means that the owner (or past owner) hadn't kept up with the engine maintenance. The sludge and infrequent engine maintenance lead to a brittle valve cover gasket which then led to the gasket break and valve cover leak. 

Don't get sludged. Change your oil. 

Top: Brittle and broken valve cover gasket

Bottom Left: Spark plug ports filled with oil.

Bottom Right: Sludge in the valve cover. 

1999 Nissan Maxima - Radiator & Water Pump Replacement

Customer had his 1999 Nissan Maxima towed in to AAS. He told us smoke was coming from under the hood of his Maxima. We ran the engine to operating temperature (approximately 180 degrees). Radiators are constructed with seams and sometimes the seams can fail and leak, which is what we saw here. We replaced the radiator and ran the engine to operating temperature again and noticed a new leak coming from the front of the engine.

To find the source of the new leak, we had to remove the A/C compressor and A/C bracket. We discovered the water pump leaking. This is a common occurrence because once a new radiator is installed and the correct amount of pressure is restored, there is a tendency for new leaks to occur under the new, correct pressure. We called the customer and he gave us the green light to replace the water pump. No more leaky car. Be careful when its cold out. Systems can fail. 

New water pump (top), old, rusty, broken water pump (bottom left), radiator seam leak (bottom right).