How do you know if you have a bad wheel hub or bearing? There are number of symptoms that can indicate a bearing or hub problem. They include:

• Grinding noises coming from the wheels
• Sounds of clicking, popping, or snapping from the wheels
• Steering that feels loose or sloppy
• Steering wheel vibrations that get worse at higher speeds
• Roughness or difficulty rolling in neutral gear
• Pulling to one side when you use the brakes
• Unusual or uneven tire wear on one side
• Lit up ABS dashboard light– on many cars the anti-lock brake system sensor is built into the hub

What Can Go Wrong With a Wheel Hub?

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Between packing your bags and shopping for school supplies, it’s easy to forget about what you’ll be relying on to get to class, your car. We’ve created a checklist you can follow to make sure your car is as prepared as you are to head back to school.

How’s Your Tire Pressure?

You can find the recommended psi for your tires on a sticker, in the door jamb, or in your owner’s manual. Keeping your tires inflated will give you better gas mileage and less likely you’ll get a flat, which could make you late for class, or worse, a midterm!

Most gas stations will have an air pump you can use to fill your tires. Some of these may or may not have a working tire gauge, so owning a one can come in handy. Then you can check your tire pressure wherever you are.

Check & Fill Fluids

Can’t remember the last time you changed the oil? Now is a great time to check. You want to find level ground and be sure the engine is off and cold. Then remove the oil dipstick. Clean it off and reinsert it. Then remove it again. This time, check the level by noting where the oil is on the dipstick. If it’s closer to the end or add line, add the correct oil for your vehicle accordingly by unscrewing the cap on the engine. If the oil looks black and feels coarse, it’s probably time for an oil change.

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How do I know that my Car is Overheating?

Temperature Gauge:

You’ll notice the needle on your dashboard engine temperature gauge (that’s the one marked with H for hot and C for cold) creeping up.

Plastic or Rubber Smell:

Plastic parts and rubber hoses in your engine bay may give off smells under intense heat.

Bubbling Sound:

A Bubbling sound coming from the engine bay might be a sign of hot, expanding coolant overflowing from the radiator to the coolant tank.

Ticking Sound:

A ticking sound from the engine could indicate that your oil is low, but can also be a sign that your oil is thinned out from overheating.

Steam:

If steam is starting to come out from under your hood, you most likely have an overheating problem.

What Should I do?

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You go out to your car in the morning or at the end of the work day, and there are drops of liquid, or worse yet, a big puddle, underneath it.  You wonder what’s leaking and how bad is it? You don’t necessarily need to call a mechanic or have the car towed off the bat. With a little knowledge and some testing you can figure out what the fluid is what to do about it.

First you’ll want to capture the leaks. It will be hard to get a good look at them on dark pavement, so put down a piece of butcher paper, newspaper, cardboard or aluminum foil underneath your car to catch the leaks. Park the car somewhere flat and level, and weigh down your drip catcher so it doesn’t get blown away by the wind. Once you’ve caught some of the fluid, it’s time to identify it. To do this, you’ll have to use your senses of sight, touch, and maybe even smell.

Identify where the leak is coming from

The first clue you’re going to use to identify your leak is where it’s coming from. If you have a rear wheel drive vehicle (common for pickup trucks, some sports cars, and most classics), a leak coming from the rear of the car is most likely differential fluid. A leak in the rear could also be coming from the gas tank.

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It’s almost time for 1A Auto’s annual charity car show in Pepperell, MA. We started doing this car show back in 2009 to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of America and the North Middlesex Athletic Boosters.

We wanted to give back to our local community and a great national cause. The North Middlesex Athletic Boosters award scholarships to our local high school students and support athletic programs. The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America connects people with multiple sclerosis with products and services that help improve their lives. Multiple sclerosis affects about 400,000 people in the US and 2.5 million people worldwide.

With our love of all things automotive, we thought, what better way to raise funds – and have a little fun – than a car show. The show’s been growing ever since. Last year, was our biggest year yet, with over 225 cars. We plan to build the event into New England’s biggest car show.

Join Us!

When: Sunday, July 23^rd at 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Where: Pepperell Town Field, 4 Hollis Street, Pepperell Massachusetts

Price:  $10 per vehicle
$20 for Vendors
Free For Spectators

Rain or Shine.

Pets are welcome

Check out Facebook for full details and see what people are saying!

Last year we spotted a lot of awesome cars like this GTO Judge:

These Beetles:

This GTR:

And this crazy contraption:

If you’ve got a sweet ride to show off, we’d love to have you join us.  All makes and models are welcome. And if you just want to check out the show, kids are welcome and entrance is free. It’s sure to be a great time.

Hello, Drift fans. The weekend of June 2nd concluded another heart-pounding New Jersey event at the Wall Raceway. Every season, this track tests the merit and ruling ability of the Formula D empire and this year was no exception.

As Formula Drift grows and expands, so do the rules and regulations. As these aspects change, driver meetings become inherent with every event, outlining scoring aspects and what the judges expect from the drivers. This year the course was changed back to the “peanut” shape, with no cross over in the infield layout as it was last year. Immediately after seeing the change, I personally took note and figured this event should be quite interesting.

Qualifying went about as good as one can hope. The main issue with Formula D qualifying is that there is no standard to base runs off of. Since the track, lines, and clipping points change from year to year, where is the basis for a 100 point run? It’s all judging the day of, and unfortunately that does not go in some peoples favor. The judging criteria has 3 main subjects: “Line, angle, and style.” All carry some sort of relative scoring percentage. Not severely trumped by one another as to have a perfect run, these judging areas need to harmonize perfectly. Controversy of judging this year came from some areas that can be pointed out in run scores. For example, Chelsea Denofa, who is having a fairly upside down season with large amounts of inconsistency in driving style and inability to maintain general vehicle composure on the track, somehow pulled out a 1st place qualifying pass, even though many may argue the 96 point run can be compared to some runs sub 80 points. Denofa off the bat failed to fill the entire outside Zone 1, yet still stands in 1st place for qualifying. Speculation against judging for favoritism and being more exciting than precise have murmured for some time.

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