McGillicuddy Auto Works

07/27/2019

I'm very sad to say that I can no longer continue business on my own here. I have received a job offer from McDonald motors in Conway which is simply too good to pass up and with recent changes in my personal life it doesn't make sense to turn them down. Over the next 2 weeks I will finish any work that's already scheduled and I will stand behind any work I have done.

These few months have been a high point for me and I'm very proud of what I was able to accomplish. Thank you to all of my customers, friends and family that made this possible. Perhaps I can do this again someday.

07/23/2019

Leaf springs arent supposed to bend up like that. These are likely 24 years old and should have been changed a decade ago. You can see the only new piece of metal in this suspension is actually a lift shackle to raise it back up 2 inches. Changing the leaf springs so their strong enough to support the jeep would have raised it more than 2 inches though so it's really a band-aid fix.

Quality springs are really important and I recommend replacing springs quite often but I actually sell very few. The 2 coil springs are also weak and needed to be changed (they're from my BMW) but they dont look broken and so they never failed NH state inspection.

And that's the problem with springs. because the springs continue to pass inspection no one recommends they be changed and customers dont want to spend the money. I certainly dont blame them either as a new set of springs often costs well over $1000.

There are very good reasons to change your springs though:
- High speed handling: this corner of the jeep sits 2-3 inches lower than the other, that has a huge impact on high speed handling. High speed in this case being 40 mph and up.

- braking: front springs counter nose dive. Nose dive during braking is a shift in the balance of a car and the jeep renegade has been shown to nose dive hard enough to lift its rear wheels off the ground. Needless to say it's not going to stop as fast when the rear brakes arent doing anything.

-impact mitigation: this is the primary function Of the spring and is more than just driver comfort. You dont want to beat the vehicle chassis up with rough roads just because the springs are weak, new springs can make ball joints, bushings and even frames last longer.

Thanks for reading my whole rant. Now I need to get some new leaf springs for my jeep because this abomination with its band aid lift kit is actually mine.

07/20/2019

Does your car, boat, motorhome, ATV or lawnmower need repair or servicing? Looking for a mechanic that is honest? A free estimate? And, will come to you?
Then you've come to right place.

06/25/2019

New Record: McGillicuddy Auto Works has
50 Likes!

06/24/2019

When your brakes start looking like this you should really call me. I'll fix it in your driveway so you're not driving something without brakes! Free estimates, highly competitive pricing, ASE master certified technician, convenient on site service. I come to you (603) 723 0620

06/16/2019

04/25/2019

Doing some basic maintenance on my dirt bike. They can be ugly on the outside but you dont want to be 30 miles deep in the woods and depending on that nasty spark plug to get you home. When was the last time you changed your plugs? We work on anything with a motor send us a message for a quote today!

04/19/2019

Story time!
Short version: contact me and in addition to a fair price I'll also give you the honest truth.

Long version: Customer was told by another shop that they needed front brakes and came to me because I can beat their price. I checked the brakes myself and ended up advising the customer not to spend the money. I'm not going to call out other shops or techs for this. I'm not going to say this was intentional, there is a lot of pressure in big shops to work faster and mistakes do happen. But theres also pressure to sell and we see a lot of over sold work in this field. I personally cant stand it. The brakes below arent new but the red gauge show minimum acceptable pad thickness (2/32"), the pad material its sitting on is actually a bit more than double that thickness(5/32"). No other issues were found with the brakes and the customer was given the impression that these needed to be done soon or the car wouldnt be safe. Worst part though? After looking the car over I found a failed bushing the other shop had missed.

04/13/2019

Time to get the lawn equipment out. When was the last time you changed the oil in your mower? Does that old w**d wacker not run right anymore? Maybe your chainsaw can barely cut these days? We can fix more than just cars!