Welcome to the Mid-City Auto Service site!

We are equipped to do factory programming/re-flashing on Ford and General Motors vehicles!

Specialties include: Electrical Systems -- Computer Diagnostics -- Brakes -- "Tune Up"-- Internal Engine Repair -- Clutches -- Differential -- Cooling System -- Air Conditioning/Heating Systems -- Routine Maintenance -- CV & U Joints

Service/Check Engine Light Specialists! Cadillac Northstar Specialists! Corvette Specialists! Ford PowerStroke Diesel Specialists!

Maintenance

Maintenance is THE key to the longevity and reliability of you vehicle! VERY few people know how to PROPERLY maintain their vehicle….even those that DO read the owner’s manual, usually misinterpret the guidelines and therefore follow the incorrect service intervals.
Oil Changes
Here is a case of neglect…….
Here are the photos after pulling the oil pan….
  
Folks…the car maker’s specify a particular viscosity oil for a REASON…and no you do NOT know better than them…no your uncle does not, not your husband, wife, neighbor, or dear old dad. Vehicle technology has come a LONG way in the last few years, and old school opinions net THIS result! And no you CANNOT assume the quickie lube shops are putting in the correct oil…it ain’t rocket science, but they ain’t paid bucketfuls EITHER, not all of them CARE. If you do not specify, they just may be using whatever bulk oil was the cheapest last delivery. YOU need to know your car….if you do NOT, you need to ask us….and you need NOT pick the maintenance facility by who quotes the cheapest price, OR by who can do it while you wait!!!!This engine is shot…done…kaput….it is NOT old….it is NOT high mileage….it either has been getting the wrong viscosity oil, or not frequent enough oil changes….or BOTH! NOTHING to do with brand…NOTHING to do with conventional or synthetic….plain old neglect, that’s all….and it does not matter if it was intentional or a misinterpretation of the manual, the engine is STILL busted!
Cooling
Let’s talk cooling system. When was the last time you had your cooling system flushed? Maintenance intervals vary from car maker to car maker…but REAL WORLD experience in the trenches over the last 25 years tells me that cooling systems should be flushed every 12 to 18 months, REGARDLESS of what the maintenance interval says, and REGARDLESS of claims of 100,000 mile coolant life!!!!
Here is a prime example of what NOT doing this leads to… This is a shot of a water pump we changed on a Ford V-6 engine with less than 100,000 miles…the impeller is completely eaten away, and this is NOT the first time we see this…on import OR domestic, and whether it was standard OR longlife coolant! Next is a shot of what the pump SHOULD look like for those that do not know…. And
THIS shot of a new pump is what a 100,000 mile pump looks like if the cooling system IS maintained properly! And buyer beware…when I say cooling system “flush”, this does NOT mean a fluid exchange with one of the “flush machines” so popular today….a TRUE cooling system flush requires taking things apart…THAT is the ONLY way to get ALL of that old contaminated coolant out of the system!!!!
Here is a clip of me blowing compressed air through a 6.0L Ford Powerstroke diesel Engine Oil Cooler…
 
See that nasty goo hitting the floor? THAT is cooling system neglect, plain and simple, and THAT is why 6.0 Engine Oil Coolers take out EGR coolers and head gaskets! It CAN be PREVENTED!