At Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, we know that the first and most important step toward keeping your car, truck, or SUV reliably on the road, is knowing how to properly care for it. Here are a few tips on how to keep your vehicle in shape.

Travelling can be difficult, and traveling can be fun. The difference usually comes down to how much preparation you do in advance, and how many unplanned obstacles you meet along the way. A great way to avoid setbacks, mishaps, and stressful situations is to make sure your car, truck, or SUV is ready to hit the road. Here are some important points to check before travelling, from Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, WA.

At some point or another, it’ll happen to you. You leave your headlights on, your battery finally fails, or for some other reason, you don’t have enough juice to start your car. Don’t call a tow truck just yet, though...Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon has the info you need to properly jump-start your car.

Gauges are your first, and often only, line of defense in catching a major problem before it’s too late. At Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, we know that sometimes a faulty gauge is overlooked when the truck is still running fine and there’s a busy day ahead. However, gauges are extremely important, and are typically easy to repair.

Have you always wondered what a spark plug does? Our team here at Motorworks Northwest, Inc is here to help you out. 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. 

It’s a busy morning, you’ve finally gotten everyone where they need to be and you’re just pulling into the parking lot at work when your dash light starts glaring at you. Your check engine light shines bright, but you have no idea why. Whether you can tell a difference in the way your car, truck, or SUV is running, your car is trying to tell you something. At Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, WA, we can help!

At Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, WA, we recommend always making it a priority to change your oil on time. Here’s a look into why it’s so important, and what happens if you don’t keep up with oil changes.

Sludge - If oil stays in an engine too long, sludge begins to build up anywhere oil can go. The oil absorbs tiny debris and contaminants, kind of like a liquid sponge - once it’s at capacity, that oil begins to stick, clog, and build up throughout the engine. Small veins that carry oil to components like actuators, turbos, and bearings will become blocked, starving critical components of oil and causing component or engine failure.

Sometimes your car, truck, or SUV stops performing quite like it used to. At Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, we can fix that. A simple but common issue on vehicles equipped with a manual transmission is shifter bushing issues. Your shifter has a bushing on the end of it, where it connects to the actual transmission. Its purpose is to provide tight, smooth shifting. 

At Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, routine maintenance and repair isn’t the only thing we do. For custom parts installation, you can also count on us. Common modification enthusiasts do is swapping to a short-throw shifter; but what actually is a short-throw shifter, and what does it do?

At Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, WA, we know buying a used car, truck, or SUV can be a gamble. While there are no guarantees, there are key points of inspection that tell us a lot about the condition of a vehicle and how it has been maintained. There are some important points of the inspection we verify when checking out a used vehicle.

At Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, we know that few problems are simultaneously as simple and confusing as a bad ground connection on your car, truck, or SUV. Here’s a look at some symptoms of a bad ground, and what you can do to correct it.

All the lights on your vehicle have an important job to do. Brake lights, tail lights, blinkers, reverse lights, and headlights are a crucial part of driving. Lights make you visible, make things visible to you, and allow you to communicate with other drivers. All of a vehicle’s lights make driving easier and safer, and all of them are important...not to mention legally required.

In the market for a new car, truck, or SUV? Used cars aren’t always what they seem; here’s some advice from Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon to make sure you get the used car of your dreams.

Chances are you don’t pay much attention to your vehicle’s battery until it dies, when you get to perform the dreary dual task of waiting for a jump while simultaneously calling for an appointment to get a new battery fitted. Of course, that’s if you’re sure it’s the battery that’s dead in the first place. The only way to be certain is to take it in to be tested. However, it generally helps to know the health of your vehicle battery prior to finding yourself stranded.

Routine maintenance keeps your fleet trucks safe on the road and protects you against unplanned trips to your local automotive shop! One thing a lot of people forget about is to have their coolant flushed. Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, WA will help you make sure your fleet vehicle is properly flushed every time!

At Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, the history of cars is a huge topic of interest to us. Here’s an interesting piece of automotive trivia, from us to you.

Manual transmissions are durable, reliable pieces of equipment. Still, sometimes problems arise. Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon has the answer to a question that plagues many manual transmissions; why does my transmission pop out of gear?

Cars, trucks, and SUVs use and create multiple liquid substances. Here’s what you need to know about the puddle of liquid under your vehicle, from Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, WA. There are a few different substances that can pool under an automobile, and some are more serious than others. Knowing what to look for and what to do could save you from hassle with your vehicle in the long run. 

At Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, we know how annoying a dead battery can be. Here’s some information on the subject, that will hopefully help you understand your battery issues a little better.  If your battery dies after your car, truck, or SUV sits for a few hours, the battery itself isn’t necessarily the problem. While having the battery tested is a good place to start, many people mistakenly make a bad battery diagnosis, when actually something in the electrical system is to blame.

Routine services are routine for a good reason. Schedule them with us here so we can be sure that your vehicle stays in the best shape. Here’s a look into what happens when routine services aren’t performed, from Motorworks Northwest, Inc in Mt Vernon, WA.