Ford Truck Repair in Denver

Today we're working on a 2005 Ford F250 with the 5.4 engine. We're replacing the cam sensors and the famous spark plugs. This truck has 166K on it with the original spark plugs! Here is one of the broken spark plugs and the tip of the spark plug that stayed in the engine still on the extraction tool. When removing these plugs, they often break leaving part of the plug inside the cylinder head. Then, a special extraction tool is needed to remove the broken off piece. If you need Ford auto repair in Denver, call us today at 303-297-2886 or email us!

Happy Friday! 

Ford Repair in Denver

Our 2005 Expedition is up and running dependably again - FINALLY!!!

Have you ever heard from a mechanic that your car’s problem will have to get worse to be diagnosed? You may have thought that the mechanic was lying to you. You may have even thought that the mechanic was just not very good. We tell people this all the time and often they get mad at us or even doubt our skills.

The truth of the matter is that cars with intermittent problems are the hardest to diagnose - period. Recently, we encountered a car with an extremely intermittent problem that was very hard to diagnose. That car just happens to be our own 2005 Ford Expedition with the 5.4L V8 engine.

At first, our Expedition would randomly not start on the first try, but only on cold mornings. It would always start on the second or third try, but we never knew when it would act up. Any day the temperature was over 35˚ the car would start dependably! Every time we were able to get it to act up, it would run perfect as soon as we hooked it up to test equipment. The Expedition would start and run perfect for up to a week, then just not start on the first try when you least expect it to.

Every time we tested the car’s computer system it passed with flying colors! There were no diagnostic codes to work with. We basically had no idea where to start looking for a problem that only happened once in a while. This is when we knew we would have to drive the car until one day it just wouldn’t start at all or the malfunction was at least reproducible.

After about 3 weeks of driving the car and never knowing when it would leave us stranded, it finally totally quit running! Luckily, it decided to no longer run in our driveway, so we had it towed to our shop. With the Expedition no longer running at all, it only took about 30 minutes to determine the cause.

A Simple Fix

This entire nerve racking time of never knowing if it would just die out any second was caused by a simple little relay. Sometimes the relay worked and sometimes it would not. Unfortunately, this one little relay is built into an expensive central junction box. The central junction box is basically the fuse box for the entire car! In the central junction box there are a multitude of relays and fuses, most relays are replaceable, the fuel pump relay is not. The fuel pump relay that was causing our problem had no visual signs of failure, and tested good every single time we checked it! Now after many weeks of frustration, a $400 fuse box fixed the problem and we have our beloved Expedition back on the road again! Most importantly, I have a happy wife again!

At Mastermind Enterprises Auto Care, we understand why you get frustrated when your car is broken down. We are not exempt from frustrating car repairs, either. Please understand when your car is having a frustrating problem, it is not always the mechanic's fault if it cannot be diagnosed.

Be kind to the mechanic. The mechanic is only there to help you get your car back on the road. Honesty is guaranteed at our shop! We do our best to get you back on the road as quickly as possible! If you are in Denver and need auto repair, call us today at 303-297-2886 or email us!

Why Fixing Your Car Yourself Costs You Money

We all know how auto repair is not cheap. That's why it's very tempting to fix your car yourself. There are YouTube videos and forums all over the Internet claiming to give you "correct" information on how to fix your car all by yourself. Even if you have the correct information, you probably don't have the expensive, special tools that a lot of cars require to fix it correctly.

Fixing your car yourself is a lot like playing a slot machine. If you're lucky you'll get three cherries and save a ton of money. But, usually what happens is you get three lemons and that slot machine reaches out and grabs your wallet for much more than you would've paid a qualified mechanic to fix your car in the first place. It's a lot easier knowing what to do, then what not to do. That's why we won't always be able to help you if you've completed a job and still have problems. We don't know what you've done and what you forgot to do. We also don't know what parts you forgot to include or bolts you forgot to tighten.

Fixing your car yourself is like playing a slot machine.

We had a potential customer call this week with a 2006 Mazda 3 who had changed his own timing chain. He was now getting multiple engine codes coming from his ECM. Because of the complex nature of this engine AND the special tools required AND one time use parts that must be replaced when doing this repair, we told this customer we could not help him. Unfortunately, now this person is in quite a pickle because (as he admitted to us) not even the dealer will work on this vehicle.

2006 Mazda 3

If you do decide to fix your own vehicle, please make sure you are able to successfully complete it. Changing your own battery or a fan belt is one thing, but attempting a major repair without the special tools or more importantly the knowledge to do it can costs you way more than you could be saving.

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Proverbs 19:20

Happy Friday!

Kia Sorento Not Starting

Hard to believe this little camshaft sensor caused our customer's Kia Sorento to stop running. Accurate diagnosis is key to the right fix for your vehicle the first time. At Mastermind Enterprises Auto Care in Denver, we take the time to give you an accurate diagnosis for your vehicle. We offer FREE Diagnosis (up to 1 hour) with all repairs in our shop, too!

Our customer had their 2006 Kia Sorento towed into us after the dealer told them repairing their vehicle could cost them up to $8,000! They were receiving codes from their computer that included the camshaft position sensor, crankshaft position sensor and oxygen sensors. The oxygen sensor codes were due to the fact that the camshaft position sensor was not functioning correctly, therefore the air/fuel mixture was incorrect. Our customer was told they would need to replace all of the oxygen sensors and camshaft position sensor. The crankshaft position sensor code was coming up because of a weak battery.

We found that the timing belt was loose, had jumped a tooth on the passenger side intake cam and the camshaft position sensor was completely non-functional.  After replacing the timing belt and all related components with the camshaft position sensor, our customer's vehicle runs perfectly and purrs like a kitten. This customer paid no diagnostic charges to get this problem diagnosed at Mastermind Enterprises Auto Care.

Need help with Kia Auto Repair and Service in Denver? 

Call Mastermind Enterprises Auto Care at 303-297-2886! 

We would love to help you with your Kia!