Your vehicle's belts and hoses are essential to the cooling, air conditioning and charging systems, and the engine. Don’t take these routine replacement intervals for granted because they can break down and leave you stranded.

What is the purpose and importance of your belts and hoses? The timing belt keeps the crankshaft and camshaft mechanically synchronized to maintain engine timing. Whether serpentine, V-belt, or fan belt (the belts on the outside of the engine), they all transmit power from the front of the engine to accessories that need to be driven, such as the air conditioning, the charging system, and fans. Radiator and heater hoses carry coolant to and from the engine, radiator, and heater core.

Whether you drive a BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche (some exclusions apply), Subaru, or other performance automobiles, your car has a cooling system. With winter right around the corner, at Jake's Auto Garage we want to make sure your cooling system is ready for the cold.

Coolant leaks can be a pain - they’re elusive and have a lot of damage potential. Fortunately, at Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, TX, our technicians know exactly how to diagnose and repair a coolant leak, no matter where it is. Knowing more about where these coolant leaks appear and why they're a problem will help you to recognize a problem and get it repaired before it does further damage.

Your brake master cylinder is an integral part of your brake system. When one fails, some odd symptoms may arise, and it may be difficult to diagnose. Here’s some information to help you decide if yours has gone bad. At Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, TX we want you to know what to look out for so that you can be safely on the road.

If you’re ever in a situation where you must remove the battery from your vehicle, it’s important to know what you’re doing. It seems pretty straight forward, and it is. However, there are some important things to remember when disconnecting the battery in your car, truck, or SUV. Here are some tips on disconnecting a car battery, from Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, TX.

If you’re ever in a situation where you must remove the battery from your vehicle, it’s important to know what you’re doing. It seems pretty straightforward, and it is. However, there are some important things to remember when disconnecting the battery in your car, truck, or SUV. Here are some tips on disconnecting a car battery, from Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, TX.

While some keys or key fobs can only be obtained from dealerships, most cars can be programmed to accept a new key or key fob without expensive dealer intervention. At Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, we often provide such services, at a fraction of the cost.

At Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, TX, it’s important to us that your car, truck, or SUV is ready for any condition. Coolant flushes are an important part of getting your vehicle ready for winter - here’s why.

Your brakes have a lot to do with how your car drives. Brakes are a frequently neglected item on a lot of people’s checklist, and many drivers on the road have subpar brakes and don’t even know it. A car that brakes well and brakes correctly are just as important as acceleration, handling, or any other aspect of a vehicle’s drivability. A car with brake issues has the potential to be a far more enjoyable ride when fixed.

At Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, TX, transmission maintenance and repair is our specialty. Here’s some information on your transmission pump - what it does, and how to know if yours needs to be replaced.

Your car’s belts and hoses are essential to the cooling, air conditioning, and charging systems, and the engine. Here at Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, our team takes them seriously as we understand that ignoring the routine replacement intervals will result in a costly breakdown that could leave you stranded. There are so many components tied together with your belts & hoses that it isn't just a simple belt or hose requiring repairs when you allow things to progress to the stage where your car or truck has a breakdown due to a faulty belt or hose.

Obviously, the dirtier your fuel system is, the bigger the improvement you will see in performance and fuel economy after a fuel system cleaning. But it is important not to wait until your system is running poorly. If you do, by the time you get a cleaning, you’ve wasted hundreds of dollars in gas or even possibly damaged your fuel injectors and catalytic converter.

Are you driving around with a loud scraping sound coming from beneath your vehicle? Chances are, a piece of your splash shielding has come loose under your car. At Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, we can have that annoying sound taken care of in no time.

Your drive belts are simple but integral components to the function of your car, truck, or SUV. At Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, TX, belts are one of the first things we assess when looking over a vehicle, as they alone are in charge of operating your AC, water pump, alternator, and power steering.

At Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, we know that transmissions are one of the greatest technological marvels of the automotive world. How does a standard shift transmission work? Why should you care? Our expert technicians here at Jake's Auto Garage in Harper have the answers.

Your drive belts run everything - your AC, power steering, alternator, and water pump are all dependent on the belts that turn them. At Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, TX, our goal is to keep your truck maintained, so you’re never stuck out on the road. Drive belts are a critical part of that goal.

You know how often to change your engine oil; but what about the gear oil in your standard shift transmission? Here’s a short guide, from Jake's Auto Garage in Harper.  Unless you’re lucky enough to own a car with a transmission dipstick, inspecting the gear oil in a manual transmission is a lot more inconvenient than doing so with an automatic, or checking your engine oil. The car must be jacked up, supported, and the oil checked from underneath. As a result, you may just want to change it when the time is right. But how do you know when that time comes?

Your car, truck, or SUV is equipped with various filters that keep the air going into your engine clean, the air you breathe in the vehicle, the fuel that supplies your engine, and the oil that keeps it going. How often should you have them replaced? It depends on the filter, the vehicle, and the environment. Here’s what you need to know, from Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, TX.

Foggy headlights are a problem that has arisen in the past couple of decades, as we have moved away from glass sealed beam bulbs and into an era of plastic lenses with bulbs inside. While modern headlights are superior to the sealed beam headlights of years ago, they do tend to fog up after years of use. It’s a good trade for far better illumination and easier replacement, but an issue nonetheless. Hours and hours of heat, sunlight, and age eventually cause them to cloud up, which can reduce visibility at night in addition to worsening the appearance of your car, truck, or SUV. From Jake's Auto Garage in Harper, TX, here are some tips on taking care of your foggy or cloudy headlight issue.

If you drive a vehicle with a manual transmission, you know that clutch replacement can be an expensive and time-consuming job. Jake's Auto Garage in Harper has some tips to keep your clutch replacements as infrequent as possible.