Scottsbluff Auto Repair

While many components of your vehicle are complex and composed of lots of mechanical and electrical parts, there's one that isn't complicated but still important.  It's your engine air filter. (And, we should point out, the engine air filter isn't to be confused with the cabin air filter.  The cabin air filter cleans air that goes into the passenger compartment while the engine air filter cleans air that goes into the engine itself.) Why does your engine need a filter? Think of all the stuff–dirt, dust, and debris in the air¬–that gets kicked up on the road.  If that were to go unfiltered into your engine, it could damage other components. There are many different materials used in an engine air filter, including paper, cloth (frequently cotton), and other synthetic fabrics.  The material is usually folded tightly to maximize the filtering capability over a relatively small surface.   Before computers were employed to determine the proper mix of ... read more

Engine air filters may not seem like a big deal, but when they’re clogged up with dirt, dust, and insects, your engine could wind up choking for air and not delivering you the power and performance it was designed to give. There are actually a couple of air filters in your vehicle.  One filters the air going into the cabin (the cabin air filter), and the other filters air going into the engine.  That engine filter is the one we’re talking about. After several months and long distances traveled, your engine air filter accumulates the junk it’s preventing from getting into your engine. You may notice your engine misfiring, your acceleration may not be what it used to be, it may make strange noises, and the Check Engine light may come on. When you notice any of those signs, it’s time to bring in your vehicle to have us figure out what’s going on. We’ll visually inspect your air filter.  Keep in mind that your vehicle’s manufacturer ... read more

The internal combustion engine in your vehicle counts on two things that mix together to be burned in the engine for power: fuel and air.  Both are important, of course.  If you run out of fuel, your engine won’t run at all.  Since there’s plenty of air around, you won’t run out of air, but you could feel your vehicle’s performance suffer if the engine air filter starts to get clogged.  It's important that the air that enters your engine be free of dirt, dust, and debris to prevent damage to internal components.  That’s where the engine air filter comes in.  It prevents those particles from entering the engine, an important job that most people just take for granted. After a while, your air filter will get dirty, which results in less air reaching the engine.  Modern fuel injected engines can adjust the amount of gas to mix with the air that is getting in, so your fuel economy won’t change significantly.  What ... read more

All of us in Scottsbluff know we have to get the oil changed in our vehicles periodically. That's just part of good vehicle care. But when Twin City Auto technicians change your oil, they also usually inspect your air filter. That's why they sometimes let you know that your air filter needs to be changed before releasing your vehicle.Don't just chock this up to trying to sell you something else. Scottsbluff area drivers really do need to change their air filter when it gets dirty. You can check your owner's manual to see how often your air filter should need to be changed, but remember, if you live in an area in NE with poor air quality, or if you drive a lot or drive under harsh conditions in the Scottsbluff area, you may need to change that filter more often than is recommended.Changing an air filter isn't guesswork. If a filter's dirty, it needs to be replaced. Air filters aren't very expensive at ... read more

When your experienced Twin City Auto technician changes your oil, he will also inspect your air filter. You shouldn't need a new air filter at every oil change, but you will need to change it regularly. Heed your technician's auto advice if they tell you to change your air filter.An air filter does what its name implies: it filters stuff out of the air. Air is drawn into your engine through the filter because your engine needs air to burn fuel. If the filter weren't there, a lot of dust and debris would come into the vehicle engine with the air when you are driving around Scottsbluff. That dust and debris would get hot, burn and produce all kinds of ash and gumminess that would eventually clog up your engine. Drop in an air filter and voilá! Problem solved. But air filters themselves get clogged up with all the junk they clean out of the Scottsbluff air. This doesn't allow the junk into the vehicle engine, but it does ... read more