Automotive Industry News & Information - Jim Van Dyke's Automotive Center

Have you always wondered what a spark plug does? It's simple in theory but does quite a lot of work for such a small piece of equipment. Your spark plug forces electricity to arc across a gap like a bolt of lightning at high voltage and fits into your engine's cylinder head, where it “sparks” to ignite the fuel and creates combustion within your engine. Without it you wouldn't be able to drive your car or truck.

The spark plug must have an insulated passageway for this high voltage to travel down to the electrode, where it can jump the gap and, from there, be conducted into the engine block and grounded. The plug also has to withstand the extreme heat and pressure inside the cylinder, and must be designed so that deposits from fuel additives do not build up on the plug. Spark plugs use a ceramic insert to isolate the high voltage at the electrode, ensuring that the spark happens at the tip of the electrode and not anywhere else on the plug; this insert does double-duty by helping to burn off deposits. Ceramic is a fairly poor heat conductor, so the material gets quite hot during operation. This heat helps to burn off deposits from the electrode.

HISTORY TRIVIA: 171 years ago this month, the first known spark plug was invented by Edmond Berger, historians say. Unfortunately, Berger failed to patent his spark plug invention, so documented history points to Sir Oliver Lodge of England, whose sons parlayed the “Lodge Igniter” into a profitable company founded in 1903.

What a beauty. This JASPER Remanufactured Ford 302 engine is very cool, it includes custom paint, intake and valve covers. Plus a 3 Year | 100,000 Mile Nationwide Parts & Labor Warranty. Stop by and talk to us here at Jim Van Dyke in Washington CH about your vehicle restoration project or any car or truck engine that you are having issues with. If we can't fix it then a JASPER remanufactured engine may be a great fit for you. BUILT IN THE USA - Celebrating 75 Years in 2017!

Yes, this is an easy diagnosis once you SEE it. However, most drivers don't look at the tire tread so lifting the hood and checking out the belts and hoses let alone thinking about a water pump simply isn't going to happen. That's why our Washington CH drivers depend on Jim Van Dyke to keep their maintenance up to date and ensure this never happens.

So how do you know if you have a bad water pump? What are the signs? A major red light may start flashing in your driveway when you see a pool of liquid under your car when you are not running the A/C. If it looks like coolant on the pavement there is a problem. If you are driving down the road and your temperature gauge is is going up instead of remaining stead, there is a problem because your water pump will keep the temperature at a fairly stable range. If your dash light comes on it's another indicator that there is an issue. If you experience any of these issues, schedule an appointment or give us a call here at Jim Van Dyke promptly to avoid major repairs and a water pump that looks like this!

It's the National Day to Be Happy!!!! Kicking off the Month of Happiness Happens! We didn't know here at Jim Van Dyke in Washington CH but were all for it when we discovered there is "actually" an official group, the Secret Society of Happy People that organized in 1999 and created the Admit You're Happy Day. It's a genius idea and a holiday with the premise that happiness is unlimited and contagious so sharing your happiness can bring joy to other people's lives.

The process and idea was so contagious that the Society expanded and the celebration of happiness the next year and the entire month of August is Happiness Happens Month!

***Plus in 2012, the United Nations declared March 20th as the International Day of Happiness so this whole idea of Happiness is really a fantastic idea and we wanted to share it with our Washington CH drivers!!!

First rule of thumb - maintenance = lower repair bills. Here is a great example. If your vehicle has "ANY" part that looks like this you simply know you are in trouble right? CORRECT! Nailed it in one. Here the A/C wasn't running cool as they wanted so they wondered why. This came out of the truck and - the answer became very clear to our Washington CH truck owner. Simply wasn't getting the necessary amount of air to cool down the water in the evaporator so it was running HOT - HOT - HOT. We were able to get him working again and it wasn't a serious system failure meaning he didn't need a new engine or transmission or both - although we can do that as well if need be.

Here at Jim Van Dyke we like to avoid high repair bills and we treat your car or truck like it is ours. We don't like high repair bills and know that simple maintenance can avoid many of the issues we see on a day to day basis so that you can drive without a break down and more importantly know if a larger maintenance job is required and budget for it. The goal is to keep costs down and keep that car or truck running at tip top condition until you really feel motivated to buy another vehicle and have another payment.

It is all about customer service at Jim Van Dyke in Washington CH and we appreciate you choosing our ASE certified technicians to work on your cars and trucks!!!

Sometimes you can get that extra boost without having to reinvent the wheel. Other times, that wheel is "exactly" what you need and this is a perfect example of where a Truck and a Wheel match up meet perfectly with their needs! This shiny new performance part is a wicked wheel 2 capable of producing more turbo boost without spooling the turbo any faster which keeps the turbo operating as it was designed. Nice little upgrade to a stock 7.3L Powerstroke Diesel. Happy Monday to our Washington CH diesel drivers out there. If you have a truck that simply isn't performing as you would like it to, stop in here at Jim Van Dyke and let us take a look at it. It could be something simple like a maintenance fuel filter change or an easy performance upgrade but our diesel technicians are the best in Washington CH and they will get you answers and options that will fit the needs you have!

Thank you for choosing Jim Van Dyke as your truck repair facility!

We have had many customers who needed a transmissions they could depend on over the years when they had issues and now we have the solution here at Jim Van Dyke in Washington CH thanks to JASPER Engines & Transmissions! Just announced is the addition of their Chrysler 65RFE-66RFE remanufactured transmission for the 2012 through current model year for: Dodge Durango - Jeep Grand Cherokee - RAM 1500, 2500, & 3500 trucks! Backed by a 3 Year | 100,000 Mile Nationwide Parts & Labor Warranty which is one of the many reasons we recommend them.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and here, it MAY be possible that it is worth more than that. This filter is way past the point of no return and we can only say it goes without saying it should have been changed MUCH MUCH MUCH sooner! General maintenance is part of your vehicle's service requirements because it keeps your entire vehicle running at peak performance. If your fuel filter isn't changed out then your engine is not running at peak performance and the mess that was running through this vehicle made it miracle that it was driven into a garage at all. Let's keep you driving down the streets of Washington CH happy and with a vehicle that is getting optimum fuel mileage. A car or truck that will last you as long as you want it to and that holds its resale value because it is running in tip top shape!

Here at Jim Van Dyke we take great pride in keeping our drivers safe on the roads and ensuring we catch problems before they happen not after they do....this is NOT one of ours!