Gene's Auto Repair

Gene's Auto Repair We are a second generation automotive repair shop that prides itself in giving our customers the service they deserve.

First off...I want to thank everyone for the comments on my last post as a whole. I sometimes get lost in the hustle of...
07/19/2026

First off...I want to thank everyone for the comments on my last post as a whole. I sometimes get lost in the hustle of the day to day grind. Those comments let me know I'm still on the correct path. Thank you!

Wheel bearings. This is one that seems to mystify people. Typically, the noise comes on gradually. A low growling sound or hum. If it's in the front, the noise should get louder and quieter when you turn the wheel from side to side while driving. A rear one will make no difference while doing this. This is the most common way a bearing goes bad.

A small percentage goes south in a different way, as is the example in the video of the customer driving around. Those are what I have labeled as "catastrophic" failures. One of the internal races have broken, and the wheel is now "wobbling" around. When this type happens, you have limited time before the wheel falls off. This can make a "crunching or high pitched squeaking" noise. It may even be fine one minute, then the noise returns. Chevrolet 1500's are well known for this issue.

This vehicle came with an added bonus. The A.B.S. light, and traction control light were on. The highlighted picture shows a chunk of missing "tone ring". This is a magnetic strip that the wheel speed sensor monitors. When it sees a missing signal, it thinks the vehicle is sliding. This can cause many misdiagnosed issues. The biggest one i see is a loss of throttle when you are driving. Many Ford's and Dodge's will go into limp mode if this signal is missing. You can hold the gas to the floor, but the vehicle won't go.

If you have a noise like I've described, swing by and let me take it for a spin. Buying tires, then finding that didn't fix it is a waste of money. Most of the bearings I install go beyond the typical 3 year warranty. I carry a line with a 5 year warranty for most vehicles. No price difference...I just get a better deal.

As a side note, I had someone pop in this week with a noise. I drove it, and told him it was the right rear wheel bearing. He said "I just had my buddy replace that one last week". I asked where he bought them from. Amazon...2 bearing set for $150. We'll, there you go. At least you have a second one to replace it with!

If you're still here: By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day.
Robert Frost

07/17/2026

Today, I realized something, and I feel the need to get it off my chest while it's still fresh. I don't like flooding your page with posts, but this one hits different.

I realized today that this is a business where people feel free to open up..and I don't know why. I hear daily stories of happy things, exciting things, everyday things, and of course, sad things.

I came home tonight and told Kristine that I had a long conversation with a customer that stretched past closing time. We were talking about her vehicle, then she instantly went to tears. She told me that her husband may be facing a tough medical issue. This is something that I have happen more than I realized until today. I have a number of customers dealing with tough issues right now.

What I find strange is the fact that this is a garage. A place where people are usually frustrated with. My dealings usually consist of how much it's going to cost you. Yet, this shop seems to bring something else out in people. This is far from the first time a conversation has erupted in to tears unexpectedly over a family issue.

I give my full attention to everyone when this occurs. Mostly, these are people that I've had dealings with for years. This case in particular has been with us for 30 years. How can you not feel for them? I have them scheduled for more work in August, and I told her that I want to know how things are looking then.

Does every shop have dealings like this? Does every shop take the time to talk to the people they're dealing with? Hell, I even get pics and updates from customers when they're on vacation, or come across something interesting. Is this normal for any business?

If you are a true customer of mine...why does it seem like this place is different..or not? I'm not looking for cut and paste responses. I truly would like to know why people seem to open up when they walk into the office. Have I done something, or treated you in a way that makes you more comfortable...or uncomfortable over other places you've been? Did you go home and say "Well that was unexpected"?

This is just me being me. I've dealt with the loss of many good people over my career. Many went beyond just being customers. I've learned a lot through our conversations, and have gotten to know, and work for, their family.

Let's try this again.It's Monday morning, and I get a call. The caller says he's 3 hours away, and needs me to replace ...
07/12/2026

Let's try this again.

It's Monday morning, and I get a call. The caller says he's 3 hours away, and needs me to replace the wheel bearing in his Subie. 3 hours away! I told him I was busting through my work and could get him in that afternoon. He said they were jumping in the car and headed my way.

They arrive, I hop in and move it ten feet. Jumped out and told him I couldn't believe he even made it here. This thing was toast. I also told him it was odd that it was a front bearing. In my experience, you rarely replace a front bearing on a Subaru. It's almost always the left rear. I told him it would be done by end of day.

Pop the wheel off...and there's my answer to it being a front bearing. I noticed the axle nut wasn't tightened down the whole way. I also notice the "junkyard paint" on the axle. Knock off the nut and see there are no threads left on the axle. It's time to make a call.

Call him and ask if he's recently had the axle replaced. He told me his normal shop just put a new axle in. I broke the news that it wasn't new, and they stripped the threads causing his entire problem. A used axle isn't a bad thing, but he paid for a new one. They improperly torqued the nut and stripped the threads. I explained that I now need to replace the axle and wheel bearing. He agreed, and I went to work.

I get everything put together, torque the axle nut to 160 ft. lb. and take it for a spin. Everything is fine again. He was amazed upon receiving my phone call to pick it up. He truly expected the extra work to take longer than it did. I told him that I deal with Subie's all the time and I have them down to a science.

I gave him the old bearing and axle to take back with him. He was disappointed with a shop that he had dealt with for years. I told him to talk to the owner and just see what he has to say. He did tell me that the day the work was done, the owner was away. I explained that a reputable shop will always make things right.

As far as the distance he covered to get to me...turns out he used to be a customer. Our digital records started in 2013, and he's not in them. He was here prior to that, and he remembered us. He was traveling from North Carolina and called me by memory from a rest area. WOW! I can't remember the beginning of this post, let alone a garage from more than a decade ago. That's someone that was happy with us when they moved away.

People never cease to amaze me. Kristine and I had a conversation on our way home from vacation about this. I told her that I am doing work for 3rd generation customer's now. That type of trust is definitely not something that is lost on me.

Disclaimer: Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
Dave Barry

I learned something today....there's one born every minute!Kristine and I have been traveling since last Sunday. We sta...
07/11/2026

I learned something today....there's one born every minute!

Kristine and I have been traveling since last Sunday. We started in Lewisburg, PA, then Harrisburg, Carlisle, and ended today in Staunton Virginia. We have been on an antique excursion this entire time.

Normal people vacation at the beach, or some exotic location. We just drive from state to state buying dead people's stuff. We've done it for 18 years now. We know nothing else. It is our glue!

Today started out normally. Breakfast at Kathy's in Staunton, then off to The Factory Antique Mall. If you've never been there, you need to go. It is the W***y Wonka of antique malls. If you can dream it, you can take it home with you. It's so large I think they have search and rescue teams on standby to extract lost customers.

Anyway... upon entering, Kristine takes one direction, and I head off in the opposite. We meet somewhere in the middle after a few hours. At the halfway point I come across a booth that ive seen many times. There's always an older husband and wife sitting there doing what they do at their booth. Today it was just the wife.

As I approach, her voice reaches out to let me know that "everything must go. Half off everything she has for sale". I talk to her for a minute, and she tells me that she has to sell everything, and she has much more at home. She told me, without saying, what I suspected. I noticed the empty chair across from hers. My heart broke because we've seen this couple here for years. She stressed again that everything was half off as I looked at her items.

An hour later, Kristine messaged me that she was at the halfway point. I replied, and asked if she hit this particular booth. I told her that he must have passed, because she was desperate to sell off everything. Her reply..."I'm sitting here looking at him"!? He's fine. They're sitting at the table together.

I messaged her the story and she replied that we had discussed in the past how shady this couple was. Over all the miles, and all the places we've been, I forgot about these two. They tear at your heart to make a sale!

We've covered a lot of territory, and literally have seen a million items this week. Sadly I was suckered by a little old lady with a story.
There's one born every minute...today it was me!

Disclaimer: This was my experience, yours may be better!

Due to a glitch in the matrix, my original post won't upload. I am going to work on it over the next few days. It's a ...
07/05/2026

Due to a glitch in the matrix, my original post won't upload. I am going to work on it over the next few days. It's a big one, and the video seems to be the issue.

Beyond that...I will be closed until the 13th. I'll be around, but I will definitely be unreachable until opening back up. This is the greatest time of the year for me. I get to turn everything off! No answering machine, messaging, texts, smoke signals...it all gets turned off.

While off, I want to work on my latest post. It is interesting, and unexpected. I recieved a phone call from someone 3 hours away that traveled to me to replace a Subaru wheel bearing. It went down hill from there! I think this is called a "cliff hanger".

Anyway, I hope your 4th was enjoyable, and you still have all 10 fingers. Numb hands and missing chunks are acceptable. Those get racked up to "little mishaps". Burning down the neighbor's house with your fireworks display..."collateral damage". Multiple victims in the emergency room...say hi to Bubba for me!

Happy 4th everyone!

Disclaimer: These are my experiences, yours may vary.

Before I get into what the pics are about, I need to address the comments from my last post.Several of you received your...
06/28/2026

Before I get into what the pics are about, I need to address the comments from my last post.

Several of you received your sticker back after having your windshield replaced...and that's great, but not protocol anymore. You had dealings with someone who is doing it the old school way, the right way. My technician told me that they have had their scrapers and glass cutters taken away. They are just doing it because it's right.

Think of it this way...when I'm treated well by someone, I treat them well. If I'm having a bad day, you may not get the same service. These technicians have the same feelings. Yes, their tools have been taken away, but some still want to do the right thing. Some won't go against the rules...your results will vary. In light of this last post, I have decided to end each message with a disclaimer. Read on to see it.

As far as the pics...if you've been here awhile, you know what they are. If not, I will enlighten you.

In the fall of 2024, Kristine and I donated a time capsule to Meyersdale for the 200th anniversary. Flash forward a year and a half. The Bronze plaque is now in production to mark the capsule. Hey, I don't procrastinate, I just put things off! I figured I have 50 years to get this done. I'm ahead of schedule.

It will take 7 - 9 weeks for production. Once done, we will place it on the spot that marks the capsule. I will be 98 when it will see the light of day again. I may need a diaper change beforehand, but I will be there!

Disclaimer - These are my experiences, your results may vary.

06/21/2026

So....I kinda, sorta, maybe, recieved a slap on the wrist for some inspections that I've done. I thought I was going by the book, but I wasn't. Let me explain.

You're driving down the road and a rock cracks your windshield. You call the insurance company to get it replaced. The glass company shows up and replaces the windshield. They SHOULD give you the section with the inspection sticker on it. You bring that to me, and I give you a replacement sticker. That's how it used to be.

Now, Safelite is no longer allowed to give you the sticker. Company policy. By Pennsylvania rules, I have to physically have that sticker to issue a replacement. I've been bending that rule lately, and it caught up with me 2 weeks ago.

Every Inspection Station is inspected once a year. It is a surprise Inspection, that happens randomly. 2 weeks ago I was visited by my Assurance Officer for my Inspection. He noticed in my log book that I had done some replacement stickers. He asked for those stickers. I explained the Safelite situation, and how I was handling it. This is where it went sideways!

I told him that if the vehicle was inspected by me, I have all the records. I just go back to my Inspection book, pull out the relevant information, and write up a new sticker. I have all the information that the customer would provide with the old sticker. If I didn't do the inspection, I told them to go back to the shop that did. In my mind, it's just commen sense. His mind didn't see it that way!

He was happy with how I kept records in triplicate, but not happy with going back to those records to do a replacement sticker. He told me I had to have the old sticker in my hand before making a new one. In actuality, this is the law. I was just doing what I felt was right considering the glass companies new rule change.

Long story, longer...you need to have your old sticker. If you can't bring it to me, you have to have the vehicle inspected again. This takes the price from $15 to $43.75...Just for a technicality. It also means you have to wait 6 weeks to get on my schedule. Yes, I'm booking into August now.

My advice...before they remove the windshield, bring the vehicle to me, and I'll remove the sticker. After they are done, I'll issue a new one. This keeps me out of trouble, and you keep a couple extra bucks in your pocket.

Pass this on to everyone in Pennsylvania. This is a new glass company policy that caught my Assurance Officer off gaurd. I'm the first to make him aware of it.

06/20/2026

Just want to give a quick heads up for anyone interested.

If you've even had a slight interest in checking out the kart races at the Fairgrounds, this weekends event is the one not to miss. A special series of unlimited, and winged karts will be stopping by to run. These guys will make you question how something so small can go so fast. They will tear up the track...and they sound awesome doing it!

6-20-26 at 6 p.m.

Tailgate, sit in the bleachers, or bring a chair and hang with us. Brown canopy next to Albright's concession stand. You WILL get dirty, but it washes right off. Join us at the best spot on the track.

I'm 50 years old. In those years, I've seen some things. Disappointing things, and amazing things. Let's start with a...
06/14/2026

I'm 50 years old. In those years, I've seen some things. Disappointing things, and amazing things. Let's start with a handful of disappointment.

Dodge Caravan comes in with a host of problems. None of the issues are related to each other, or make sense. Typically you have a number of problems that can be traced back to one point. One thing that causes other systems to malfunction. You fix that one thing, then the rest are in harmony again. This one had me scratching my head.

I'm looking around the engine compartment and spot something that just doesn't look right. A wiring harness that doesn't have factory tape on it. A grab a razor blade and start cutting through the tape. As soon as I see bare wires, I know I'm on the right track. The more I cut, the more disappointed in humanity I become. Laziness is my opponent.

At some point this wiring harness was damaged. Instead of fixing it properly, someone just twisted the wires together, and taped them up. Quick fix and out the door. At a point the the wires rubbed through the tape and caused my issue. Really! Does your life suck that much that this is the best you've got? An extra couple of minutes and some heat shrink butt connectors would have won you the gold medal. Sadly, I see bad electrical repairs frequently.

On the flip side, tonight I saw something amazing.

There were 7 of us under the canopy at the kart track tonight. The last race comes up and we see something flying around one of the flag men. At first we thought it was a bat. It was strange. It just kept flying in to him. I walked down, and discovered something I've never seen in my 50 years on this earth!

Cecropia Moth. Never heard of it, never seen it, had to Google it. Apparently it's common to this area, but the short lifespan makes it hard to find. I was amazed by this thing. A moth the size of a bat. It was beautiful and scary at the same time.

From sheer laziness to God's beauty in a week's time. Just when you're about ready to give up on humanity, a Cecropia Moth appears. Something tells me I haven't seen it all yet.

All dressed up, and nowhere to go!Canopy, wood, and rocket stove ready to load up...then the kart races were canceled ag...
06/07/2026

All dressed up, and nowhere to go!

Canopy, wood, and rocket stove ready to load up...then the kart races were canceled again. I'm sensing a pattern here. Sadly, I had 2 customers that were to join us tonight. They took my passes and planned on meeting us there. I bought the food for the night and checked my phone when I left the store. Canceled! I understand you can't help the weather, but I think it's time for planned rain delay dates.

Second is one I posted some time ago. It has renewed relevance.

We brought this vehicle in thinking an animal crawled in the muffler and died. To our surprise, it was just the fiberglass packing inside the muffler. We pulled out what we could, and sent it on it's way.

Flash forward a few years. I test drove a vehicle that had a strange "whistle" noise coming from the engine at higher r.p.m's. It wasn't scheduled for that, but I looked the engine over anyway. Not seeing anything, I did the work it was scheduled for. A few days later, the customer calls complaining about the noise. I explained that I heard it, but couldn't find the cause. It was scheduled for a deeper dive in to the situation, and that was that.

Later that day, the customer calls again. He's in the hospital, and his wife found a "tail" coming out of the muffler. Thinking back, it all became clear. The noise was caused by the restriction in the exhaust. Exhaust gasses had nowhere to go, so it "whistled" out of the weakest gasket in the system. I told him to have her pull on the "tail", and get as much of it as she could. Apparently it worked, I've heard nothing of it since. Weird issue...simple solution.

Monday morning, I discovered that many of you are listening. My phone blew up right away, and didn't stop for almost an hour and a half. All the dates are full before the 4th of July vacation. I am now scheduling mid July at the soonest. I still have a "drop it off and pray it gets done" policy in effect, but that is getting slimmer.

P.S. The answering machine has become my "Administrative Assistant". If you don't leave a message, I assume it's not that important. I only call back people who leave a message. I'm too busy to keep running to the phone all day. I check the messages before I close.

Address

110 Clay Street
Meyersdale, PA
15552

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 3:30pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Gene's Auto Repair posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category