Albany Auto Repair

Why Do I Have To Change My Oil?   The reason oil changes are required is pretty simple: friction. An engine is a complex machine with a lot of moving parts. The internal parts of your engine are made of various types of metal, and when metal moves against metal, friction causes issues. As a kid, do you remember rug burns? That's friction. Without oil to lubricate your engine, the bearings, and other moving parts would seize up almost immediately. So now we know what the oil does in an engine: it lubricates and helps keep things cool.   The oil itself breaks down with age and time. Also, even though oil helps lubricate your engine, there is still normal wear that occurs. That wear causes small metal fragments to be deposited into the oil. That is why there is also an oil filter on your engine to catch those fragments before they get into a bearing or other small oil passage.   So, since we know that oil breaks down and engines naturally wear over time, then we s ... read more

Ever jump in your car, hit the key and nothing happens? Panic sets in, you don’t have time to deal with a dead battery!  Sometimes these things happen, maybe a light got left on, or something in the car failed and drained the battery.    Batteries will start your car or truck time and time again, but once they start to die sometimes getting your vehicle started can get harder. Typically they will die without much warning. That’s why proper battery testing is important during your normal maintenance.    During every service at Crabtree, we inspect all aspects of your vehicle, including the battery and charging/starting system.   A battery test will tell us what condition your battery is in and how much life it has left. We keep batteries in stock for nearly all makes and models. If it’s not in stock we can have it here in a short amount of time.   At Crabtree Automotive, we work on all makes and models, even Diesels. From Hond ... read more

Why Does My Car Shake Going Down The Road?   Have you ever started driving your car and notice its shaking or vibrating as you drive?   There are a few things it could be, but today we will talk about the most common: Tires. Tires play a vital role in your automobile. They are what connect your car to the road.  Tires are made of rubber and filled with air to cushion all the bumps and holes in the road, and to get traction in all sorts of weather and driving conditions. They also have metal wires inside of them to increase their strength and stability (called steel belts). Tires wear with daily use and also can dry out and start cracking from the sun.   Like any part of an automobile, a tire can fail as well. One of those failures can be the steel belts we just mentioned. Sometimes, those can break inside the tire and cause the tire to not be perfectly round anymore causing a serious vibration   Because of how fast a tire has to spin during normal use ... read more

How To Get Your Car Ready For Back-To-School   It’s that time of the year again. School shopping, getting your kid signed up for classes, and getting everyone ready for another school year.    You don’t want to deal with car trouble too! Sometimes breakdowns happen, but there are a few things we can do to help keep that to a minimum.   Getting your car ready for the extra Back-to-School duties is important. The miles that usually come with school duties, or a new teen driver can put stress on your automobile.    You can start by washing your car. Not only will it be nice to have a clean, fresh car to start the school year off with, but it can help you identify issues you may not have noticed.    Along with washing it, you can replace wiper blades and fill the windshield washer fluid. You also want to make sure that you have a good roadside emergency kit and a good spare tire with the proper air pressure.   The rest of ... read more

Do you ever get into a car on a hot summer day, turn on your A/C just to be met with an awful smell? Yeah, it’s no fun. I'm sure we have all experienced that, but what causes the smell? (This is a dirty A/C Evaporator from a 2012 Ford F-450 that was used on a farm. just goes to show how filthy they can get)   The A/C and Heating system circulate air throughout your car or truck much like the A/C used in your house. Also like your house, most automobiles have filters in the A/C and Heating System (these are called cabin air filters).   Cabin air filters trap a lot of smells and allergens. Regular maintenance of replacing your cabin air filter can keep odors at bay. For automobiles that don’t have cabin air filters the heater and cooling elements, and the vents, can collect dirt and allergens that a filter would stop. So cleaning those elements and vents are required.   BG Services steps up again with their Frigi-Fresh Service, It cleans and disinfect ... read more

What Can I Do to Remove Engine Oil Sludge? What is engine oil sludge? Oil sludge, or buildup, happens when proper maintenance is not done or in extreme conditions.    There are some engine issues that can cause oil sludging, but regardless we have the ability to clean it up no matter the cause.   Our partner, Northwest BG,  also provides us with a combination of chemicals to deep clean your engine and keep it clean afterwards.    The BG Engine Performance Service cleans the deposits, prevents future deposits from forming, and helps restore fuel economy and performance. This service is great for an automobile that has been neglected from proper oil changes, poor quality oil used, or severe use conditions.    It is also a great service to add to your regular maintenance, because it helps prevent buildup from the start.   Think of it like this, when you buy a new-to-you vehicle you would like for it to be clean. Your engine likes to b ... read more

Transmission Slip is a big problem. It’s not the only thing that can go wrong in a transmission but it’s one of the common ones. It is also a problem that can usually be prevented with proper maintenance. What is Transmisson Slip? It’s something you will feel more than hear, going down the road you press on the gas, the engine revs up but your car doesn’t move any faster. That is transmission slip! There are internal parts that use a combination of fluid and friction to move you down the road and they need clean fluid to keep working properly. Poor maintenance or abuse makes your transmission more prone to slipage.    We offer BG Transmission Services, which uses special cleaning fluid and a machine to circulate the clean and fresh fluid into your transmission. Not all, but most, transmissions have a filter which we replace.    So by draining your old fluid, flushing the entire transmission, replacing the filter and then refilling with a ... read more

Fuel system cleaners are more important than ever before with how complex modern fuel systems are these days.   That’s why we teamed up with BG Services to bring you the best chemicals to service your automobile!    Today we are going to talk about their Fuel System and Intake Services. The reason these services are needed is because carbon can build up in the upper part of the engine because most engines have the fuel injected directly into the engine cylinder vs fuel being injected into the upper intake like they used to be. Even then carbon would build up but not as quickly. When carbon builds up your engine can start to run rough, get poor mileage, and even loose power. Also the fuel we use matters. Some fuel can be pretty dirty and also build up junk in the fuel system.   The Platinum Fuel Service is designed to take care of this issue. By dissolving these build ups and deposits and burning them though the engine. This service is great for breathing ... read more

Diesel, mostly found in trucks and some cars in the United States. It is the most energy dense fuel with widespread use today. In most other countries, diesel engines are in nearly all makes and models of cars and trucks.   These engines require specialized equipment and knowledge to repair and maintain. That's why we use the best tooling and equipment possible and employ the best in the industry. In addition, we continue the education of our team for new and emerging technologies in the automotive industry.     We are starting to see more diesel engines being used in smaller trucks here in the Untied States, and more European cars coming to the US with diesel options. There are some shops that don’t work on diesels, but we look forward to working with any diesel powered car or truck!   At Crabtree Automotive, we work on all makes and models, even European.  From Honda to Audi and everything in between! So give us a call or schedule an appointme ... read more

Being able to go and stop are important, but what about turning? Yes, also very vital!   Modern vehicles have made driving a fun and easy thing to do. One of the many improvements is the steering system. Not that long ago, power steering was only an option and didn’t come with every vehicle.   Power steering allows you to turn the wheel with little to no effort. If you have ever tried to turn your steering wheel with the vehicle off, then you know what it's like to not have power steering.   The steering rack is the part that takes your motions with the steering wheel and turns the wheels from side to side. These parts typically last a very long time, so when this customer came in with steering issues we had to put their truck on the lift and take a deeper look.   The customer had a complaint of the steering wheel sometimes getting stiff or stuck when turning. Our team checked the ball joints and tie rods on the front suspension and they didn&rsquo ... read more