Albert Lea Auto Repair

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Hey Albert Lea! Let's talk about one of our MN summertime must-haves: your car A/C. It's real easy for Albert Lea auto owners to take their car's air conditioner for granted. Just push the right buttons and out comes cool, dry, clean air. But your air conditioning system needs attention from time to time to help it keep its cool. Do you hear loud noises under the hood when you turn on your air conditioner? Do you only get cool air sporadically? If so, it is time to get your air conditioner checked at Sanderson Auto in Albert Lea.  When most Albert Lea folks hear the words "air conditioning problems", it sends a shiver up their spine. That is because the air conditioning system is fairly complex. It has a lot of parts and when it's broken, it's costly to repair. What things can Albert Lea and Clarks Grove auto owners do to prevent air conditioning breakdowns? A common cause of a ... read more

Richard Petty once told AutoNetTV, “You’ve gotta have good brakes. If you’ve got good brakes you can keep yourself out of a lotta trouble.” That’s why a regular brake inspection is on every Albert Lea driver's maintenance schedule. An inspection at Sanderson Auto will check your brake system and let you know if there are any problems. Of course, if you’re having trouble with your brakes, get your car into Sanderson Auto in Albert Lea right away. Here are some important symptoms for Albert Lea car owners to watch for: If you are experiencing any of these, it’s time to get your brakes checked. To to your cheerful Sanderson Auto service specialist. There are two types of brakes: disc and drum. Disc brakes have a rotor that’s attached to the axle. Calipers straddle the rotor, kind of like the brakes on a bicycle. Drum brakes are most common on back wheels. Both types have pads or shoes that ... read more

The coolant system is a vital part of your vehicle. It is also the second most common cause for vehicle failures. Even though coolant system failure is fairly common in Albert Lea, it is easy to prevent. Sanderson Auto 131 West College Street Albert Lea, MN 56007 507.377.3320    507.377.3320 The most recognizable part of the coolant system to Albert Lea car owners is the radiator. It is connected to the engine with hoses and is filled with coolant. The coolant draws heat off the engine and then passes into the radiator. Air passes through cooling fins to reduce the temperature of the coolant and then it's back to the engine again. There are several ways for the cooling system failure. Most common is with the coolant itself. Coolant is comprised of water and antifreeze. The proper ratio keeps the coolant from either boiling away or freezing. Understan ... read more

Most Albert Lea motorists are too young to remember life before power steering - cranking those great big steering wheels! It was a pretty good workout. Now power steering is standard. Let's look at how it works. The heart of any power steering system is its pump. The pump pressurizes the power steering fluid that provides assist for steering. Most pumps are driven by a belt that is run by the engine - a few are electrically powered. A high-pressure hose passes fluid from the pump to the steering gear. A low pressure hose returns the fluid back to the pump. These hoses can develop leaks, so it is a good idea fir Albert Lea motorists to have them inspected at every oil change. Low fluid can damage the power steering pump. That is why fluid level is on the checklist for a full-service oil change. The fluid needs to be compatible with the hoses and seals, so check your owners ... read more

Here at AutoNetTV, we have national viewers, like your neighbors in Albert Lea, who write to us with questions or feedback. One common question we're asked is: "What is a differential and what does it do?" You may have been told by your Sanderson Auto service advisor that your differential needs service, or seen it as an option up on the service menu. Differential service at Sanderson Auto covers a lot of things, so let's first talk about what a differential does. As you drive through a turn, your outside wheels and inside wheels turn at different speeds. Kind of like the cars going around a race track - the ones driving in the outside lanes have a greater distance to travel than the cars in the inside lanes. The differential is what allows the outside and inside drive wheels to rotate at slightly different speeds so that the tires don't hop or skip while taking ... read more

The automotive professionals at Sanderson Auto would like to give Albert Lea car owners an update on some of the things happening in automotive fluids. You know, cars are becoming more sophisticated everyday - and fluids such as, oil, coolant and transmission fluid are becoming more specialized at about the same pace. The Albert Lea do-it-yourselfer has to be pretty careful so that they do not actually harm their pickup with the wrong type of fluid. That is why so many MN car owners rely on the advice of their cheerful Sanderson Auto service specialist to not only get the correct family of fluids, but to suggest the formulation that is best for their car and their driving habits in the Albert Lea area. Let's start with engine oil. Clarks Grove car owners who have been paying attention, will have noticed a number of new oil weights on the MN scene in the last several years. Modern engines are built to much tighter tolerances a ... read more

Here is a questions for smart Albert Lea auto owners What is a cabin air filter? Is it: A filter for a house in the middle of the woods? A fresh, piney scent? A filter for the passenger compartment of your car? Clever you, it's 3. A cabin air filter cleans the outside air before it comes into the passenger compartment. It filters out dust, pollen, spores, bacteria, pollutants, sparrows, harmful exhaust gas and odors. These high tech filters can block particles larger than 3 microns. By contrast, a grain of sand is about 200 microns. Now not all vehicles in the Albert Lea area have cabin filters. They are fairly new on the scene in MN. About forty percent of new vehicles come with cabin air filters, but the number is growing every year. Cabin air filters can make for a very nice driving environment for Albert Lea auto owners. Your car can be a haven during ... read more

So you’ve bought a used car in the Albert Lea area. Do you know what you’re getting? It is hard to know what you’re getting because people in the Albert Lea area sell cars for different reasons. Think about why you’ve sold cars. Did you just want something new or were there problems that you wanted to run away from. Maybe it was a little of both. Used cars in MN with 25,000 to 35,000 miles on them are often lease returns, Albert Lea corporate program cars or rental fleet vehicles. Most Albert Lea buyers feel pretty confident about these because they’re newer and may still be under warranty. But how well have they been maintained? Albert Lea auto owners who are planning to own a car for a long time will keep up on auto maintenance so that they can avoid expensive repairs down the road. But, if you know you’re only going to have the car for two or three years, you may not be so committed to maintenance. It would be easy to thi ... read more

Albert Lea drivers love their cars. And one of the most enjoyable things about them is taking a road trip. Freedom from daily schedules, new sights and the open road – it’s great! But there’s nothing like car trouble to bring the fun to a grinding halt. Now Albert Lea auto owners can’t always avoid problems, but you can take steps to reduce the probability of getting sidelined on your trip. The first step is to look at your trip plan from your vehicle’s perspective. What kind of roads will you be traveling – winding MN byways or interstates? Purple mountain majesties or fruited plains? What weather conditions are you likely to encounter? How many miles will you travel each day? How much weight will you be hauling – passengers and luggage. Pulling a trailer, roof top carrier, or ATVs? Will it be dusty? Prepared with answers to these questions, you can schedule a ... read more