The turbo on your diesel pickup truck is a precision-engineered component. As a result, proper maintenance is essential to keep it going strong, and Hoff's Automotive, Inc. in Hackettstown, NJ is the place to do that. At tens or even hundreds of thousands of RPM, keeping everything in good shape is absolutely necessary. Fortunately, turbos don't really require any special maintenance - they just make the maintenance you do all the more important.

Your turbocharger will work in essentially the same way, whether you drive a Powerstroke, Cummins, or Duramax diesel pickup. While there are differences in designs and applications, turbos haven’t changed all that much over the past century. Now that you know what one is made of, we’ll look at how it works.

When driving around town, your vehicle's engine needs clean air to burn the fuel – and it needs a lot. In fact, a typical vehicle needs about 216,000 gallons of air for every tank of gas. All that air passes through a filter that catches the dust and dirt. Eventually, the filter gets completely full, and because the filter can only hold so much, dirt starts getting through. At Hoff's Automotive, Inc. in Hackettstown, we want to help you get the best air quality in your vehicle, but first, we want to explain the process of where this dirty air is going. 

At Hoff's Automotive, Inc. in Hackettstown, NJ, we know there’s a lot of conflict on when you should maintain certain things on your truck. We also know there are consequences to neglecting maintenance; the difference between a truck that breaks down all the time and a truck that has covered over a million miles virtually trouble-free all boils down to maintenance.

The operation of your transmission depends on your hydraulics. Even if that sounds like a foreign language to you, at Hoff's Automotive, Inc. in Hackettstown, NJ, we speak the automotive language. We want you to understand what we're talking about, so here are the basics of the hydraulic functions behind your transmission.

If you drive a vehicle with more than a few miles on it, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed an occasional drip underneath it that leaves spots wherever you park. Identifying what is leaking from your car will help you determine whether or not it’s a cause for concern, and what to do about it.

There are seven liquids a car can possibly drip: oil, gas, brake fluid, transmission fluid, gear oil, water, and coolant. How do you tell the difference? This article aims to help your know-how.

Repairs are costly and we all want to avoid them including our team here at Hoff's Automotive, Inc.!  It's our job and we take it seriously.  Here, it is all about keeping your car or truck serviced and looking for problems "before" they happen to avoid those high repair costs and ensuring you avoid any breakdowns when it's hot outside or cold outside as either is a problem for our Hackettstown drivers!  Nobody can forsee a flat tire or blowout due to running over a nail, but we can avoid some of the regular issues we see all the time such as....

At Hoff's Automotive, Inc. in Hackettstown, NJ, our priority is keeping your Dodge, Chevy, or Ford truck reliably on the road. A major aspect of that is catching small issues before they become bigger ones.

Something will go wrong with your car, truck, or SUV eventually. The important thing is knowing what to do, and how to deal with it. Just knowing what to do in a situation often means the difference between a quick repair and thousands of dollars worth of work. If you see steam coming from under the hood, it’s important to deal with it appropriately and quickly. Here’s what’s going on, and what to do, from Hoff's Automotive, Inc. in Hackettstown, NJ.

Exhaust systems are one of the most neglected aspects of most vehicles. Exhaust pipes, catalytic converters, and mufflers are exposed to heat, emissions, and road damage. While your exhaust system is fairly simple and straightforward, these conditions mean it is inherently prone to rust and damage. As a result, this system is often one of the first systems you will have trouble within your car.

Once your transmission has been replaced and you’re shifting smoothly once more, you’ll probably want to keep it running smoothly. Here are some tips from Hoff's Automotive, Inc. in Hackettstown, NJ to help keep you reliably on the road.

Trucks aren’t like cars...your average personal vehicle usually holds about 5 quarts of oil, and you are supposed to change it every 3-5k miles. However, the same logic doesn’t apply to large trucks. At Hoff's Automotive, Inc. in Hackettstown, NJ, we know how important proper oil changes and diagnostics are to keep your truck on the road, for hundreds of thousands of miles. Here’s what you need to know:

Keeping your fuel system maintained will prevent premature parts failure and poor running conditions. Here at Hoff's Automotive, Inc. we have tips on the important aspects of diesel fuel system maintenance, to keep your diesel fleet trucks running smoothly - longer.

Air.Air in the system causes all kinds of issues, from hard starting, poor running conditions, or an engine that won’t run at all. If too much air gets in the system, the fuel pump won’t be able to deliver fuel, and the engine will stall, die, or fail to start.  Air enters the system via a leak or a bad seal - a deteriorated o-ring, worn component, faulty hose, or otherwise. Here we inspect your lines and connections to ensure they are in good shape and track down any leaks we notice air in the system.

Are you leaking oil? Hoff's Automotive, Inc. in Hackettstown, NJ can help. Oil leaks mess up your driveway and make a mess under the hood. It can also get pricey constantly having to fill the engine, not to mention inconvenient.

Sometimes it is EASY to see if your car or truck needs to come into our shop for professional repairs! 
1.  You see steam rising from the engine!
2.  The Check Engine Light is on!
3.  The engine starts, but there is an odor that is not right.
4.  You hear grinding or thumping noises.

Keeping your fuel system maintained will prevent premature parts failure and poor running conditions. Here are some important aspects of diesel fuel system maintenance, to keep your fleet running smoothly. While your system and components should typically be serviced by a professional technician, there are some things you can be conscious of that will go a long way toward keeping your engine in good shape.

Nothing works if your transmission doesn't work!  Simply put you are going nowhere without it and it is the one thing that both car and truck drivers alike never think twice about until it really acts up or they have no power or simply don't move forward.  Most of us have a newer car or truck with an automatic transmission in it vs. a standard transmission so do not notice that it is slipping gears until the problem is really serious so the question is how do you get the most out of your transmission?  The obvious answer is to take care of your transmission with scheduled service per your owner's manual recommendation but we have put together a simple checklist for our Hackettstown drivers to help them become "transmission aware" as it were.

Don’t you hate it when potholes sneak up on you? There is a lot of money being spent on vehicle damage due to potholes. Do you know what parts of your car could receive the most damage? Hoff's Automotive, Inc. is the leader in Hackettstown, NJ for the service and repair of automotive tires. We know the kind of damage that can be done, so if you suspect something is wrong with your car or truck, it’s always a good idea to stop by so we can take a quick look.

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 Hoff's Automotive, Inc. to perform proper maintenance, an average car battery can start your car reliably for roughly four years.