Have the winter blues jolted your car’s shocks or struts? Auto repair shop offers 4-for-the-price-of-2 shocking solution

The Midwest is not kind to your car’s shock absorbers, particularly in the winter. Snow, ice, salt and cold temperatures conspire to pockmark the roadways leaving nasty potholes everywhere as though we had an infestation of gigantic moths chewing at the asphalt and concrete.

While one individual solution would be to move south where the winters aren’t as harsh, as long as we’re here, and since this winter’s damage is generally done, it’s probably a good idea to check your shocks about now.

Another good reason to check your shocks now is that, this time of year, there are always good specials on shocks. For instance, Performance Unlimited in Ringwood is offering a 4-for-2 Special, along with NAPA Auto Parts. You merely pay for four and then send in for a reimbursement of the price of two. The deal is good for struts, too.

“The folks at NAPA know that this is the time of year when people often discover they need new shocks or struts,” said Denny Norton, the owner of Performance Unlimited. “Deals like this make life a little easier on the pocketbook of drivers.”

Norton pointed out that, just because winter is about to come to a close doesn’t mean every car on the road needs shocks. He said that most shocks should last close to 100,000 miles, though that figure is reduced based on road conditions and driving habits. Therefore, it’s important to check your shocks before you unnecessarily replace them.

“Drivers can bring their cars in and we’ll check their shocks for them or, if they’re coming in for an oil change or other service, we can check their shocks while we’re working on their car,” Norton said. “On the other hand, people can check their shocks themselves and get a pretty good idea if they need to replace them.”

To check your own shocks or struts, Norton described the following procedure:

On each corner of the car, push the car down several inches
Hold the car there for a moment and then, suddenly, release
Observe how the car reacts. If the car moves smoothly back to its original position and stops, your shocks or struts are probably in good shape. If the car jumps up and bounces, it’s almost certainly time for new shocks or struts.

When replacing front shocks or struts, it’s a good idea to have your front end alignment checked. You might even want to have your tires rotated and rebalanced while you’re at it. Even if your shocks or struts are still good, potholes may have knocked your alignment out of whack. Bad alignment will affect the way your car handles and will increase wear and tear on tires and your suspension.

Bad shocks and struts will also adversely affect the wear and tear on your chassis and tires.

“Bad shocks put stress on other suspension parts,” Norton said. “Whatever you pay for the shocks, there is a good chance you’ll pay more for additional repairs if you wait too long to replace bad shocks or struts.”

The 4-for-the-price-of-2 offer on shocks and struts from NAPA is good through the end of March and does not apply to labor. Expect to wait two to three weeks to receive your reimbursement in the mail.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment to have your shocks and struts checked, call Performance Unlimited at 815-728-0343 or visit www.4performanceunlimited.com.

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

Get out to McHenry Music Festival for a good time and music near to home

Some folks here in McHenry will load up the car and head out to Red Rock Amphitheater near Denver to see a show. Some will go to the MSG Sphere near Las Vegas. Some will go to the Bonaroo Festival Concert to see a show. That’s quite a bit of driving and you’d better make sure your vehicle is up to the trip. What happens, however, if something goes wrong – if your vehicle breaks down while driving there or back? What happens if the show is canceled, as happened this year with the Bonaroo Festival? We’re talking about some serious inconvenience, aren’t we? Wherever you go, whether your driving to Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee or anywhere else in this continent, you want to perform your due diligence and make sure the vehicle is up for the trip before you go. And it doesn’t really matter if you’re driving somewhere to see some live music or for any other purpose. A breakdown can be costly and may put you at the mercy of weather conditions or nefarious characters that come across you while y...

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