Automotive Industry News & Information - Reeves Automotive

Your car’s fuel system works with the rest of the engine control system to deliver the best performance with the lowest emissions. Check your car’s fuel system regularly or immediately if you smell gas or suspect a problem.

What does it do? - The fuel system transfers fuel from the fuel tank and passes it through a fuel filter for straining before it arrives at the injectors. A pressure regulator controls fuel pressure to ensure good engine performance under a variety of speed and load conditions. Fuel injectors, when activated, spray a metered amount of fuel into the engine. Some vehicles use a return line system to return unused fuel back to the tank.

Your fuel system is comprised of a variety of parts, each tasked with keeping your engine running strong - Chevy, Ford, and Ram all have small differences, and diesel systems have changed over the years with innovation in the field; however, the fundamentals haven’t changed. At Reeves Automotive, our technicians are familiar with the differences between models and generations, but for the intents and purposes here they aren’t necessary to know. Here’s an overview of the major components you’ll find in most diesel fuel systems.

technician holding a clean and dirty air filter comparison in the front seat of a car

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 Reeves Automotive in Decatur, 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.

mechanic messing with a tire on a lifted car

The operation of your transmission depends on your hydraulics. Even if that sounds like a foreign language to you, at Reeves Automotive in Decatur, TX, 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.

Coolant leaks can be a pain - they’re elusive and have a lot of damage potential. Fortunately, at Reeves Automotive in Decatur, TX, our technicians know exactly how to diagnose and repair a coolant leak, no matter where it is. Knowing more about where these coolant leaks appear and why they're a problem will help you to recognize a problem and get it repaired before it does further damage.

Whatever type of truck you run in your fleet, they all have a driveshaft that connects the transmission to the differential, transferring power to the wheels. At Reeves Automotive in Decatur, TX, we specialize in diesel truck and fleet vehicle maintenance and repair, including precision driveshaft care.

Obviously, the dirtier your fuel system is, the bigger the improvement you will see in performance and fuel economy after a fuel system cleaning. But it is important not to wait until your system is running poorly. If you do, by the time you get a cleaning, you’ve wasted hundreds of dollars in gas or even possibly damaged your fuel injectors and catalytic converter.

With temperatures dropping around the country, it’s understandably tempting to let your car or SUV idle to stay warm. At Reeves Automotive in Decatur, TX, one of our goals is to keep you informed on how to best care for your performance and luxury vehicles.