Automotive Services

Cook Tire & Service Center is your one stop shop for all your automotive service needs. With our certified employees and state of the art equipment we are able to offer our customers a full line of automotive services. So next time you need brakes, a tune up, or just an oil change come see the professionals at Cook Tire.

To learn more about the services we offer select the category below.

We can help you choose the right battery for your vehicle and lifestyle. Our staff can safely and professionally install your battery and get you back on the road. We are an Excide Battery dealer.

Battery - When your car’s engine is off, the battery provides the required power to the rest of the system, as well as during start-up (cranking). It also supplements the power from the charging system during periods of high demand.

Charging System - This is the heart of the electrical system. It consists of three main components: the belt-driven alternator, various electrical circuits, and a voltage regulator. The alternator supplies power to the electrical system and recharges the battery after your car has started. Just like it sounds, the voltage regulator controls the voltage, keeping it within the operating range of the electrical system.

Starting System - This system consumes more electrical power than any other in your car. The starting system consists of three components which work in tandem: the ignition switch, the starter relay or solenoid, and the starter motor. The ignition switch controls the starter solenoid, which activates the starter motor. The starter motor then turns the engine until your car starts.

What Our ASE Certified Technicians Do?

The following components are inspected. Their condition is recorded and compared to manufacturer’s specs. Recommendations are made per the Motorist Assurance Program Uniform Inspection Guidelines

Exposure to heat, vibration and contamination makes belts and hoses wear out faster than any other components in your car. That’s why regular inspections are so important. Here are the belt and hose types in your car, along with their applications.

Belts Visual Inspection

• Checked for glazing, cracking, peeling and softening
• Checked for proper tensioning
• Checked for proper alignment of drive pulleys
• Condition of each belt is recorded

Accessory Drive Belts

While some accessories in your car are electrically powered by the charging system, others use the engine itself as their power source. The power for these accessories is delivered by a system of pulleys and belts. Examples of these accessories are:

• Alternator
• Water Pump for engine cooling
• Power Steering Pump
• Air Conditioning Compressor
• Radiator Cooling Fan

Many late model cars use a single serpentine belt in place of individual belts to drive these accessories.

Hoses Visual Inspection

• Checked for leaks
• Checked for hardening, cracking and softening
• Pressure test cooling system for leaks
• Condition of each hose is recorded

Hoses

The hoses that convey your car’s fluids are made of two rubber layers with a layer of fabric in between. Typical hoses include:

• Radiator and Heater Hoses-These hoses convey coolant to the engine and heater core.
• Fuel Hose- As the name implies, this hose transports gasoline from the tank to the engine.
• Power Steering Hose-It connects the power steering pump to the steering gear.

Problems with your brakes are serious and waiting to bring it when there is a problem may just make the problem worse. Bring your vehicle in for a free brake inspection at the first hint of trouble. Our brake repair technicians will inspect your car brakes and tell you exactly what the problem is.

What Our ASE Certified Technicians Do

The following components are inspected. Their condition is recorded and compared to manufacturer's specs. Recommendations are made per the Motorist Assurance Program Uniform Inspection Guidelines:

Disc Brakes

• Disc brake rotors
• Disc brake pads
• Calipers
• Caliper hardware

Drum Brakes

• Brake drums
• Brake shoes
• Wheel cylinders
• Return springs & hardware

Hydraulic System

• Master cylinder
• Brake fluid
• Brake hoses/lines
• Power booster

Parking Brake

• Cables
• Adjustment

The brake system is actually composed of two kinds of systems---Hydraulics and Friction Materials. Here's what happens within these systems between the time your foot hits the brake pedal and your car stops.

Hydraulics

Master Cylinder

When pressure is applied to the brake pedal, the master cylinder creates hydraulic pressure which pushes brake fluid to the wheel brakes.

Brake Lines and Hoses

Steel brake lines and high pressure rubber hoses are the avenues through which the pressurized brake fluid travels.

Wheel Cylinders and Calipers

These are the hydraulic cylinders that apply pressure to the friction materials, causing your car to stop.

Friction Materials

Disc Brake Pads and Drum Brake Shoes

These brake linings are composed of high temperature materials that create the friction that stops your car.

Types of Brakes

Disc Brakes

Disc brakes consist of a Disc Brake Rotor, which is attached to the wheel, and a Caliper, which holds the Disc Brake Pads. Hydraulic pressure from the Master Cylinder causes the Caliper Piston to clamp the Disc Brake Rotor between the Disc Brake Pads. This creates friction between the pads and rotor, causing your car to slow down or stop.

Drum Brakes

Drum brakes consist of a Brake Drum attached to the wheel, a Wheel Cylinder, Brake Shoes and Brake Return Springs. Hydraulic pressure from the Master Cylinder causes the Wheel Cylinder to press the Brake Shoes against the Brake Drum. This creates friction between the shoes and drum to slow or stop your car.

Parking Brake

The Parking Brake uses Cables to mechanically apply the brakes (usually the rear brake.) This is used to prevent the car from rolling when not being driven.

Anti-Lock Brakes: A System Built For Safety

Computer-controlled anti-lock braking systems (ABS) are a recently developed safety feature. When sudden stops are made, the ABS prevents wheel lock-up. The system is comprised of wheel-speed sensors that monitor wheel rotation, computer-controlled hydraulics that pulse the brakes on and off rapidly, and the on-board computer.

Wheel alignment is important to the health of your car or truck. If you hit a massive pothole, you might bump your suspension out of the carefully calculated locations that the components have been set. Cook Tire uses advanced computerized techniques to get your vehicle back in line-full.

What is it?

Essentially, alignment refers to the way your car's wheels are positioned. Ideally, your wheels should be parallel and facing forward.

How could it go wrong?

Everything from are to components wearing out to a bump in the road can cause your wheels to shift out of alignment. This could result in one of three different problems:

• Camber: The wheels are tilted either inward or outward. This will create pulling and tire wear.
• Toe: A change in the distance between the front and back of the rear tires. This will wear on the tires, too.
• Caster: A backward or forward tilt at the top of the wheel's spindle support arm. This will cause either loose or difficult steering.

How does it work?

When your wheels are properly aligned, you'll get better gas mileage; your tires will last longer; steering will be easier; your ride will be smoother; and, most importantly, the drive will be safer.

How do you recognize a problem?

Several ways: is your steering wheel straight when you are driving? Does your car pull to one side? Does your steering wheel vibrate? Do you notice uneven tire wear? Does your steering feel loose, or is it difficult to control? Use this guide to inspect your tires.

Check your tires periodically. A number of different things can affect your tires - from alignment to suspension components to improper inflation of tires. If you recognize any of these symptoms, bring your car in for a free inspection.

A Constant Velocity Joint is one that provides consistent drive shaft speeds regardless of the operating angle of the joint. CV joints are protected by rubber boots whose purpose is to keep contaminants out and lubricant in. Cracks or tears in the boot can lead to CV joint failure, as can normal wear and tear. Signs of worn or damaged CV joints include lubricant leaks, clicking sounds during turning, clunks during acceleration or abrupt deceleration and frontend vibrations.

The following guide may help narrow down the possibilities.

Symptoms	Possible problems or causes	Check for	Solution
Clicking or popping noise when turning	Bad outer CV joint Bad inner tie rod on the rack and pinion. Early signs Worn CV joint or torn boot	Torn CV Boot Check rack and pinion	Replace CV joint or CV axle Replace rack and pinion If ignored a failed cv axle will leave the car stranded. A failed rack and pinion may result in loss of steering control.

Our maintenance services are second to none! We will change your vehicle's oil, replace your oil filter, inspect your fluid levels and generally make sure your vehicle is in good shape. We use top quality products, and perform top quality service.

Every vehicle in our shop for oil service will receive a free 14-point maintenance inspection. Yes free. On every vehicle, we inspect the air filter, oil level, transmission fluid, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid, check and fill washer fluid, belts, hoses, wiper blades, lights, rear end, tire condition and tire pressure.

The primary function of your car's suspension and steering systems is to allow the wheels to move independently of the car, while keeping it "suspended" and stable. Any play or uncontrolled motion in these systems results in a deterioration of handling and accelerated tire wear. Let Cook Tire inspect your vehicles shocks and struts to make sure your vehicle is handling properly.

Suspension System

Worn or loose components affect the suspension system's ability to control motion and alignment angles, resulting in a deterioration of vehicle handling and stability, and accelerated tire wear. The main components of the suspension system are:

• Control Arms
• Ball Joints
• Springs (Coil or Leaf)
• Shock Absorbers
• Strut

Steering Systems

• Steering Gear Box
• Center Link
• Pitman Arm
• Idler Arm
• Tie Rods
• Rack and Pinion Assembly
• Bellows Boots
• Tie Rods

We have licensed state inspectors to assist you with any state inspection or question regarding the current state inspection laws.

• Horn
• Windshield Wipers
• Mirror
• Steering
• Seat Belts
• Brakes (system) (Parking - beginning with 1960 models)
• Tires
• Wheel Assembly
• Exhaust System
• Exhaust Emission System (beginning with 1968 models)
• Beam Indicator (beginning with 1948 models)
• Tail Lamps (2); (1) if 1959 model or earlier
• Stop Lamps (2); (1) if 1959 model or earlier
• License Plate Lamp (1)
• Rear Red Reflectors (2)
• Turn Signal Lamps (beginning with 1960 models)
• Head Lamps (2)
• Motor, Serial, or Vehicle Identification Number
• 1988 & newer - inspect for window tinting or coating
• Gas caps on vehicles 2-24 model years old.

Each tire on your vehicle wears differently. Rotating the position of each tire periodically will maximize the tread wear. At Cook Tire we will rotate your tires according to your car manufacturer's recommendations.

When should tires be rotated?

We recommend that high performance tires be rotated every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, even if they don't show signs of wear.

Tire rotation can often be done with oil change intervals while the vehicle is off the ground anyway. Tire rotation helps even out tire wear by allowing each tire to serve in as many of the vehicle's wheel positions as possible. Remember, tire rotation can't correct wear problems due to worn mechanical parts or incorrect inflation pressures.

While every vehicle is equipped with four tires, usually the tires on the front need to accomplish very different tasks than the rear tires. And the tasks encountered on a front wheel drive car are considerably different than those of a rear wheel drive car. Tire wear experienced on a performance vehicle will usually be more severe than those on a family sedan. Each wheel position can cause different wear rates and different type of tire wear.

It is an advantage when all four tires wear together because as wear reduces a tire's tread depth, it allows tires to respond to the driver's input more quickly, maintains the handling, and it helps increase a tire's cornering traction.

When your tires wear out together you can get a new set of tires, without being forced to buy pairs. If you replace tires in sets you will maintain the original handling balance. And our suppliers are constantly introducing new tires, each of which improves upon their past product's performance. If you replace your tires in sets, it allows you to experience today's technology, instead of being forced to match yesterday's.

Your tires will gradually develop an out-of-balance condition during the course of regular driving. This condition exists when one section of your tires is heavier than other sections and can cause the car to vibrate, usually at speeds greater than 50 mph.

When a wheel is unbalanced, there is an unequal distribution of weight around the rim of the wheel and tire assembly. The tire may seem round and true when rotated slowly, but on the road centrifugal force acts on the heaviest part of the tire, making it wobble or vibrate (like an out-of-balance ceiling fan). This can cause flat spots on the tire treads and is damaging to ball joints, bearings, steering, and shock absorbers. With special equipment, technicians can measure a tire and wheel assembly, then add special wheel weights to restore balance. Hitting potholes and normal vehicle wear-and-tear can cause unbalanced wheels. Uneven tire wear can indicate unbalanced wheels, so it's wise to check and rotate your vehicle's tires regularly.

We can handle up to 24" - 24.5" custom wheels.

We work on all brands of vehicles be it foreign or domestic. Please review our list of other services that we offer on most vehicles.

• Engine Diagnostics
• Coolant Flushes
• Alternator Repair
• Starter Repair
• Air Conditioner Service and Repair
• Differential Service
• Wheel Bearing Replacement
• Chassis Parts Replacement
• Electric Window Repair
• Radiator Repair