Automotive News & Information - Rhodes Engines

You know how often to change your engine oil; but what about the gear oil in your standard shift transmission? Here’s a short guide, from Rhodes Engines in St Charles.

Fuel economy isn't far from the minds of vehicle owners everywhere. Why can certain cars zip along at close to 40 mpg while others are lucky to get anywhere near 20? As it turns out, there are as many factors that go into how well your ride does at the pumps! Here are the 10 factors that have the greatest impact on fuel consumption.

Manual transmissions are durable, reliable pieces of equipment. Still, sometimes problems arise. Rhodes Engines in St Charles has the answer to a question that plagues many manual transmissions; why does my transmission pop out of gear?

Exhaust issues are extremely common, no matter what type of car, truck, or SUV you drive. At Rhodes Engines in St Charles, MO, we can get your exhaust back in shape in no time. Exhaust issues tend to be neglected, and we get that; there are just other parts of your vehicle that you'd rather focus on. Besides a clogged catalytic converter, there isn’t much risk of damage from a bad exhaust system - it negatively affects your gas mileage, and the sound is annoying but other than that, it’s an issue many people learn to live with.

Checking the fluid level on your transmission is fairly easy, but a bit more complicated than checking your oil. Firstly, this only applies to automatic transmissions, and secondly, some modern vehicles don’t have dipsticks or dipstick tubes to check and add transmission fluid. With that in mind, here are some tips from Rhodes Engines in St Charles, MO in regard to checking your transmission fluid.

Your car’s radio and headlights, plus a slew of other important functions, are powered by an electrical current generated by your vehicle’s engine. A vital part of generating electricity is having a place to store it while it’s not being used. This is where your car battery comes into play. The battery of your vehicle holds electrical energy while the car is off in order to help the engine turn over and create a spark to start internal combustion. Without a working battery, your car will not be able to start. If you allow our team here at Rhodes Engines to perform proper maintenance, an average car battery can start your car reliably for roughly four years.

Keeping track of maintenance done on your fleet vehicles and commercial trucks is one of the most important aspects of fleet management. At Rhodes Engines in St Charles, MO, we track maintenance and repairs for a number of reasons. Here’s why:

You’ve probably heard the term “transmission flush” before at some point in your automotive experience. But what exactly does it mean to have your transmission flushed, and why does it matter? Rhodes Engines in St Charles, MO has the answers.