Last Chance Has Been Helping Vehicles Last Longer Since 1978

• Do you want your investment to last?
• How long do you want to keep your car?
• How many miles does your vehicle have?
• Have you been maintaining your car properly?
• Last Chance has been making cars last since 1978.

Making Your Vehicle Last Is All About Regular Inspections

Are you wondering how to make your vehicle (investment) last? Last Chance Auto Repair knows how to make a vehicle last. Any questions? Maybe the following will help out and answer your questions where you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your home. Otherwise give us a call were here for you day & night, rain or shine, sleet & snow, 24-7.

• Don’t Drive – As in the less you drive the longer your car (investment) will last. Silly but true. For one it will be better for the environment, two your wallet, three your health (hence walking, biking, etc) four your car will last longer. Plus can’t forget all the gas money you’ll be saving.

• Your Vehicle Doesn’t Like Short Trips – A short trips of 10 minutes or less can be extra hard on a vehicle, resulting in more wear and tear. During a short trip, your car’s engine never has a chance to reach its full operating temperature. Hence an importance of making sure your vehicle warms up before you getty up and go so to say. When cold, oil flow is insufficient to properly lubricate your engine because the oil is too thick and will not flow the same as when warm. Short trips will also not allow sufficient time for condensation in the oil system to burn off. Which hence may cause oxidation to build up inside your engine.

• Don’t Drive It Like You Stole It – Why drive it like you stole it? Are you a race car driver practicing for a race? Are you late for work? Is your wife about to pop? These are reasons to drive maybe 5 over the speed limit, safely of course. But typically you don’t have to peel out. You shouldn’t give your passengers whip lash as you drive. Are tickets worth getting and paying for in the long run one way or another? I don’t think so. Not driving your vehicle the way it was designed to be driven, only equals your vehicle not lasting as long as it could have lasted.

• Is Your Check Engine Light On – Typically your check engine lights don’t come on for no reason. If your engine oil light is on don’t drive it. You can blow your engine, hence your costly engine. If the engine temperature gauge and the brake lights are on you better figure out why with the quickness. If your brake light is on you might end up or even wake up in a corn field wondering how you got there. Temperature gauge lite up may mean your about to cook your engine and or transmission to the point of being well done. Regardless, not good.

• Extra Weight Equals Extra Wear & Tear – Are you driving around with stuff in your vehicle that you just don’t need? Extra weight adds stress to critical components and causes premature wear and tear that could of been prevented. It will also save you money on your gas bills in the long run.

• Keep Up On Your Maintenance – They don’t call it preventive maintenance for nothing.

• Change Your Oil & Other Fluids – Changing your fluids like the manufacturer recommends if not earlier is the way to go hands down. Not changing engine oil is the number one killer of engines these days period. Who is in second place you wonder? Broken timing belt. How do we know? Bills don’t lie. However that is pretty much covered under the maintenance section as changing your fluids are considered basic maintenance also it is so important we thought we’d list it under it’s own section. Better safe than sorry, keep up on your maintenance, plain and simple.

• Get Your Issues Fixed Sooner Than Later – You don’t want your vehicle’s problems to suffer from a snowball effect. Vehicle problems don’t typically fix themselves. However some problems are intermittent but don’t let it fool you the problem may come and go but in the long run it’s only going to get worse. If you think you have an issue with such things as your brakes, brake lines, ball joints, tie rods, airbags, seat belts or even the structural integrity of your vehicle, get it checked out ASAP. For one it’s not going to fix itself. Two if you don’t take care of it you may be putting people’s health at risk. Where in the long run is not worth it.

• Find A Mechanic You Can Trust Plus Afford – Finding a local auto mechanic you can trust is key to making sure your car plus wallet will feel better in the long run. Maintaining your car should be looked at as a partnership between you and your mechanic. When a problem occurs you should both be there for each other. Last Chance is here for you 24-7.

Dealing With The Shakes

When our customer’s car shakes, vibrates, pulsates, sometimes we can hear frustration in their voices. Everyone wants a comfortable ride as they drive. It can get frustrating when a ride isn’t riding the way it was designed to ride. You having a problem? Stop by.

What Causes A Vehicle To Shake, Vibrate, Pulsate?

Do you know what is causing your vehicle to shake, vibrate, and or pulsate? If not, bring it by will take a look at it for free of and charges. But lets breakdown the basics before you breakdown. Hum, where to start?

So many possibilities, before we make an educated decision it would be nice to know a few details. Here is a few questions you should ask yourself before you bring your vehicle to a mechanic. It always better to sound like you know what your talking about.

Question: Is your steering wheel and or brake pedal vibrating when you apply the brake?

Answer: If so more than likely your brake rotors and or brake drums are your usual culprit 9 out of 10 times. But however other culprits may include ball joints, tie rods, bearings, struts, shocks and or other steering-suspension components can be to blame. The only way to be 100% certain you’ll have to have a professional mechanic or at least someone that knows what they are doing take a look at it. But in most cases it is your brake rotors-drums that are warped.

Question: Is your check engine light on or is it maybe even flashing?

Answer: If so that can typically narrow down the many different possibilities. Hence when your check engine light is on usually it means you need a tune-up service. Including spark plugs, ignition wires (spark plug wires), air filter, fuel filter, some basics. Hopefully if your lucky a tune-up will solve your issue. If not, the list goes on. Which may include fuel injectors, ignition coils (where if your check engine light is flashing 8 out of 10 times, boom), fuel pump or even a fuel pressure regulator. After those basics, it’s going to start looking like a little bit bigger of a problem.

Question: Is your vehicle vibrating while driving?

Answer: Usually it turns out to be a tire or wheel problem, out of balance tire, out of round tire, separating tire (tread coming off of the core), or maybe even a bent wheel. Usually these problems are caused from plowing, slamming, or running into a curb so to say. Where if you run into a curb hard enough you may even bend your a-arm and or worse case senario, without smashing up your vehicle, the ever much more expensive to replace if it is even replaceable frame.

What To Do If Your Vehicle Is Shaking, Vibrating Or Pulsating

Are you having one of these many different problems in or around Plainfield, Naperville, Bolingbrook, IL? For one you should be careful and make sure to rectify your vehicle’s problem before it gets any worse. Two stop by our automotive repair shop in Plainfield, IL. Will actually look at it for free of any charges, then schedule it accordingly to what suits you best.

Otherwise if your vehicle is shaking, vibrating or pulsating it isn’t going to get better all by itself. It’s only going to get more dangerous over time. So the longer you wait the more dangerous it will get. The good news is that these problems are easily avoided, corrected and or fixed. By they can turn into a snowball rolling down a hill. Hence they will only turn into a bigger problem which typically means a bigger bill if not taken care of in a timely manner.

Have You Serviced Your Fuel System Lately

Are you around Plainfield, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Illinois thinking to yourself if you have serviced your fuel system lately? Servicing your fuel system sooner than later is always better then to late later. Do you want to know why? Let us break it down for you.

Well for starters before we break it down for you maybe we should tell you what consists of your vehicles fuel system.

• Fuel Filter • Fuel Pump • Fuel Line • Fuel Tank • Fuel Injector • Fuel Pressure Regulator • Carburetor • Throttle Body • Fuel Pressure Sending Unit • Level Sensor

Fuel Filter Replacement Service In Plainfield, IL

So maybe your wondering how do you service your fuel system? Well since you wondered, we will tell. Typically you start with your basic fuel filter replacement service. If applicable a fuel filter replacement service is the way to go. As in a clean, flowing, fuel filter will allow your gas to move from your gas tank to your combustion chamber with ease, as the way it was designed to.

What happens if I don’t change my fuel filter properly? Know one wants to pay for a costly fuel pump replacement service. If you find out “after the fact” you could of saved 400-1000 dollars if you would of just changed your fuel filter as preventive maintenance, you may kick yourself for it so to say. There is a lot of things that help make your vehicle’s engine last. One of the most important is clean, free flowing, fuel. Which know engine can live without.

How do I know if I need to change my fuel filter? For one you can always check your maintenance schedule. Two you can bring it to our auto repair shop in Plainfield, Illinois and will actually check it out for free of any charges. Three sometimes it will cause your check engine light to come on and produce several different codes which one happens to include a P0300 random cylinder misfire. Which if not taken care of in a timely manner can cause catastrophic engine failure. Don’t get me wrong P0300 can mean a lot of different things not just a restricted fuel filter.

Does your vehicle have fuel injector’s? Do you think your vehicle likes drinking dirty fuel? That is like asking someone if they like drinking out of the toilet. LOL, kind of funny but imagine your fuel injectors are like straws. Hence something over a certain size will not fit or if it does it gets clogged and creates a problem. As in a misfire typically. A problem that could of been prevented. Which misfires eventually will cause major problems. Not to mention the cost of some fuel injectors these days, oh don’t forget the labor to change them. Is your engine running funny?

How often do I have to change my fuel filter? There are typically two things that affect how often you need to replace your fuel filter. They are, drum roll please. #1 Where you drive. #2 Where you buy your gas. Hence (#1) if you drive a lot on dirt, gravel, dusty roads, your fuel filter will have a harder time keeping the fuel clean. Where in the long run you’ll have to change your fuel filter more often. Maybe your starting to feel a loss of power and or pick up?

Also (#2) the way gas stations maintain their fuel tanks differ from station to station. Hence some clean their tanks regularly and or properly. Then some seem to have forgotten then procedure. If they forget where do you think the contaminate that was suppose to be filtered out goes? Boom lucky guess, into your fuel tank, through your fuel filter, passed your injectors into your engine, if the fuel is lucky enough to make it that far. Hence that is a big reason for fuel injector failure, problems, and or bigger repair bills. But think about it, maybe you stay on top of your fuel filter replacement services and you have nothing to worry about. Are you worried?

Check Our Fuel Pump Replacement Plainfield, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Romeoville, IL on YouTube

Automotive Fuel System Basics For Plainfield, IL, Plus Beyond

Your vehicle’s engine requires a steady supply of clean fuel in order to run well and deliver good fuel economy. Know one want to waste money? But if you do stop by and please drop it off. Your fuel filter’s job is to clean dirt, rust, contaminants out of your fuel well before it gets to your engine. When your fuel filter clogs you may actually choke off your and worst case senario die out while your driving, who knows where, then may need to pay for tow. Another case we see a lot of times your vehicle won’t start or run as soon as it gets cold out. Why? Because your clogged fuel filter may have water in it and or some other material that may freeze at certain temperatures and since you didn’t change it now your stuck, late for work, blowing off that first date, etc. Remember changing your filter if applicable is preventive maintenance in most cases. Sometimes as early as 30,000 miles. Earlier is always better than too late.