Posts by dakotaridgeauto

Hello Littleton drivers! Let’s pretend you have three doughnuts right in front of you for our discussion of upsizing wheels and tires. Hey, don’t eat them now – you’re going to need them later. Many Littleton drivers want to accessorize their cars and make them theirs. One of the easiest ways to get a custom…

Littleton drivers should know that the axles are the last link in transferring power from the engine to the wheels. They’re strong parts that last a long time – but they can run into trouble. Axles just wear out over time and need to be replaced. And sometimes axle seals leak, causing the axle to wear out prematurely. Lubricant…

Question: I need new tires. How do I know which tires to get? Dakota Ridge Auto Answer: Let’s look at selecting new tires in light of three factors: Function, Fit, and Value. Function: This gets at what your needs are for new tires: weather conditions, terrain, temperatures, etc. New family vehicles sold in CO come with all-season tires. They can…

Question: What are the signs that I need a brake job? Dakota Ridge Auto Answer: Signs of brake problems often fall into one of two categories for Littleton: making noise or a pulsation in the brake pedal. Let’s start with the noise. Most brake pads have an audible brake wear indicator. This is a small…

Suspension systems should continue to operate effectively for many years and over long distances, holding your tires’ footprint on the road.  Eventually, components do wear out, but how long that takes depends a lot on how you drive in CO. As you can imagine, if most of your driving is on smooth Littleton, CO, highways,…

Basically, the power brake system helps you provide braking power so that you don’t have to do all the work with your brake pedal. The brakes themselves are applied at the wheel using hydraulic pressure. When we step on the brake pedal, we create pressure in the power booster that’s multiplied by the vacuum from the engine.…

Littleton drivers may wonder where the air in a vehicle’s passenger compartment comes from. Well, as your engine starts to warm up, it also warms the coolant/antifreeze that circulates around the engine and through the radiator. There is also a hose that carries coolant/antifreeze from the engine to the heater core and another that takes it back…

The oil and fuel in your vehicle give off vapors that are very harmful to the environment.  Evaporative emissions control systems – EVAP for short – are mandated in all cars and trucks.  The job of the EVAP system is to capture these vapors and direct them into the engine to be burned – a…

Let’s review some things that Littleton drivers can do to improve fuel economy. The bottom line,  the better you maintain your vehicle, the less fuel you will use. It all adds up in a big way. For example, replacing your dirty engine air filter will pay for itself in fuel savings before your next oil…

After they’ve had an accident, some people wonder why their airbags didn’t go off. Movies and television lead us to believe that airbags go off with the slightest bump. The reality is much more complicated. First, airbags come out with great force and speed. Now getting hit in the face with an airbag is way…