Kenvil & Lake Hopatcong Auto Repair

Our repair of the month this July is a 2008 Subaru Outback. This car came in making some unpleasant noises from under the hood. Just from the knocking and squealing noises coming from the bottom end, we were led to believe the bearings in the bottom of the engine had failed. After some diagnostics with a stethoscope, kind of like the one your doctor uses, we were able to confirm that the main and rod bearings have “spun”. Spun is a term used to describe when engine bearings fail. This normally only happens when an engine is starved of oil, or the oil loses too much viscosity and can no longer lubricate the engine properly.   You see engine bearings are never supposed to contact each other while the engine is running. They are separated by a thin film of pressurized oil, which at the correct viscosity keeps everything running smoothly with no metal to metal contact. Oil loses viscosity over time from wear and tear, heat, combustion gasses, fuel dilution and condensati ... read more

What's That Noise Coming From You Brakes It seems as though a lot of people that were staying at home during the Covid 19 pandemic have noticed some brake noises that started to show up after their vehicles sat without being driven for some time.  How Having a Brake Inspection Service Can Benefit Your Vehicle In some cases the noises sound a lot worse than they actually are. From sitting a build up of rust can build up on the rotors. It is always best to error on the side of caution and schedule a routine check up by your automotive technician. Our technicians can diagnose the cause by disassembling the brakes so they can get an in depth understanding of where the noise is coming from and how the problem can be fixed. In some cases, all that may be needed is some lubrication. This can be effective in removing some of the rust that is causing the noises.     Diagnosis and Repairs Your ve ... read more

ROUTINE MAINTENANCE   Taking care of your car and getting routine maintenance and repairs on it is definitely like going to the doctors. In the respect that if you don’t take care of your body, it’s not going to work the way it should. Same for your vehicle.  DOCTORS FOR YOUR CAR   Choosing the right auto technician is like choosing a Dr. You want someone who is going to listen to your symptoms, make you stick out your tongue and say ahhh, notice if your blood work is where it should be, look, run test and understand what it is that you are experiencing and then, make a diagnosis and suggest a plan of action.    So, I’m taking the magician hat off for a minute and pulling out my charts and stethoscope on your vehicle and together with you, we will come up with a plan.   IT'S NO SECRET The super cool thing about your car, is that they guys who made it, gave you a little book, yup don’t believe me, look in ... read more