Kenvil & Lake Hopatcong Auto Repair

Our June Repair of the month features a 2005 Lexus GX470 4.7L V8, with an exhaust manifold leak. The exhaust manifold is the part of the exhaust system that comes directly off of the engine block. There is a gasket between the manifold and the block that seals the gap and keeps  any exhaust gasses from escaping. In this case, the gasket needed to be replaced. When the manifold is leaking like this one, it makes a ticking sound that can sometimes be confused with an engine misfire, tick or knock. The sound is apparent upon first startup of the vehicle when the engine is cold and sometimes may go away as the engine heats up, or may stay consistent.   A leaking manifold can cause serious problems if left untreated for too long. Besides the obvious health risks of exhaust leak making its way into the cabin for you to breathe in, the exhaust valves can get burned from the heat not being expelled efficiently from the cylinder. This can also cause  damage to the piston ri ... read more

One thing that we know for certain is that tires for your car or truck are expensive. The higher quality and longer lasting they are the price naturally increases. The bummer is that we can’t drive without tires and we shouldn’t drive with tires that are in poor condition, for safety reasons alone you should always make your tires a priority no matter where you live.   Here in the northeast, we have weather conditions that cause damage to the road surfaces, and ultimately can cause damage to your tires and your car in general. Getting a routine alignment check at Magic Lube and Rubber is a service that we offer to all of our customers. When your car is in alignment it ensures that your tires are in contact with the road surface evenly and can actually extend the life of your tires.  When your vehicle is in proper alignment you can avoid premature tire wear and detect if your steering and suspension are not at their proper settings.  ... read more

Petro "Pete" Chang is a graduate of Wyotech and specialized in automotive and light-duty diesel. He has over 13 years of experience in the automotive field. He brings with him first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of the auto repair industry and has played a key part in the business aspects. There isn't too much Pete doesn't know about how to get things done around the shop and he is enthusiastic about each challenge that is put in front of him.   Not only is he experienced with vehicles, but he is also very in tune with customer relations and cares for both the client and their vehicles, always setting the bar at the highest level.    We are excited to have Pete and his many talents on our team and we know that our clients will benefit from his passion for everything automotive.    Pete is an avid outdoorsman. On his time off, he enjoys being out in the woods, bow hunting, out on the water with his rod and reel, o ... read more

For Novembers Repair of The Month, we have a 2014 Dodge Charger 3.6L Pentastar that came in with an underperforming and ticking engine. The ticking sound was caused by a seized lifter which in turn, grinds down the camshaft lobe as you can see in one picture. When this happens, the valve does not open fully which dramatically hurts fuel efficiency and engine performance. If ignored too long a large amount of metal shavings will make their way throughout the entire engines oil system causing catastrophic engine failure. Our technician was easily able to diagnose and identify the issue.  And with a fresh camshaft and all new lifter and rocker arms, this engine was back to full performance, reliability and fuel efficiency in no time! 4 While we were there the customer also agreed to freshen up the timing components, replacing the timing chains, guides, and tensioners. These are common issues with these engines stemming from lack of maintenance, poor design and location of the engi ... read more

One of the merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America is for Automotive Maintenance. The requirements for this merit badge include safety equipment, tools,and clothing used while checking or repairing a motor vehicle.  Other requirements are understanding general maintenance, vehicle registration, vehicle insurance, understanding the vehicle dashboard, tires, engine, cooling system, fuel system, ignition and electrician systems, drive train, and brake system.  The scouts were also required to install the spare tire on a vehicle. Here at Automotive Magic in Kenvil we hosted this merit badge with the assistance of the merit badge counselor, Brian Kallok, and our General Manager, Albert Stashluk. The scouts had a great environment learning these skills in an actual automotive repair facility being hands-on under the hood of the car, inside the vehicle interior, and experiencing the underbody of a vehicle that was lifted in the air. The scout learned about cars and even e ... read more

This guy right here has some magic up his sleeves and then some! Meet Joshua (Josh) Occhiuzzo, He’s our newest addition to the Magic Lube and Rubber Team. Josh is a graduate of the automotive program at Universal Technical Institute. He brings with him over five years of automotive experience. Josh gained most of his hands-on experience from dealerships such as Honda, Kia and Hyundai, so he has a great deal of knowledge that he brings to the table. Josh loves a challenge and is always striving to learn and grow every day.      He enjoys fixing anything that has an engine and spends countless hours doing just that.  When he’s not fixing, fixing, and fixing some more, he enjoys video games and riding ATVs or Dirt bikes with his brother. Josh resides in Blairstown, NJ and it’s the perfect setting for him because he loves the great outdoors and nature. He’s a real family guy and spending time with his family, friends, and his girlfriend April ... read more

Our technicians work tirelessly behind the scenes every day and they certainly have their work cut out for them. Some days are more challenging and exciting than others, but they are always rewarding.  June's Repair of the month: Our super talented technician, Jay worked on this '08 Chevy Silverado 5.3 liter and the outcome was pretty spectacular. Here is a little overview. This '08 Chevy Silverado with 200k miles on it. The Client's complaint was that the check engine light was on and the vehicle was running rough at idle.   After a full health inspection, and code scan Jay was able to read that the PCM (powertrain control module) Had a Code   p0301-Cylinder 1 misfire only at idle. After swapping cylinder one and cylinder two spark plugs and swapping cylinder 1 and cylinder 3 spark plug wires, the misfire stayed in cylinder 1. He then swapped cylinder 1 coil and cylinder 3 coil, the misfire still stayed in cyl ... read more

Tyler Zehnbauer is our newest team member and technician here at Automotive Magic. He's a graduate of Warren County Community College's Automotive Program. He brings with him seven years of dealership experience. Tyler’s our “Honda” guy. If you have a question about your Honda vehicle, his seven years of dealership experience dedicated to just Honda's can set your mind at ease, that he's the right technician to see. He is ready to meet all your automotive needs. He's eager to tackle any job big or small and prides himself on taking each one through to completion with perfection. Tyler is from Hackettstown, NJ where he currently lives with his girlfriend Courtney and their four dogs Ruby, Tyke, Riley & Gunner. Tyler loves to work on all things mechanical. When he's not working on a vehicle, he's out fishing, riding on his quad, or hitting the open roads on his motorcycle. He also enjoys whipping up a little magic of his own in the kit ... read more