Brake Fluid Inspections
Brake fluid inspections are an important yet easy to perform vehicle safety check. Often car owners will complain about brake system problems, in particular about the way the brakes feel or sound. The car owner should have a basic education on things that they can check themselves as well as being able to recognize signs of a problem.
DOT 4 Brake fluid
Checking the brake fluid is a good place to start and can tell you more about the condition of the brakes than you may realize. Brake fluid is the lifeblood of any hydraulic brake system and is responsible for proper operation.
Brake fluid not only serves as a lubricant to the many parts that it comes in contact with it also fights corrosion and rust in those components and brake lines.
On the negative side brake fluid readily absorbs moisture. This is known as a hydroscopic fluid, and is why brake fluid should be sealed properly and not stored in open containers.
Keep in mind that a mechanic should perform a complete inspection of the brake system including rotors, calipers, pads and road testing the vehicle to confirm any complaints.
But this doesn’t mean the average car owner can’t get involved with their own automobiles well-being.
Checking the brake fluid Read more
Car Battery Loses Charge
Battery terminal problem
It is very frustrating when a car battery loses charge over several days of the vehicle not being used. It is also not good for the battery and if this continues to happen in many cases replacement will be necessary.
The most common cause of the battery going dead after sitting for a short while would be a drain from the electrical system on the vehicle. Most often this can be traced back to a light in the vehicle that is either left on or will not turn off automatically.
A couple of examples would be a glove box light or a trunk light. In most cases these types of courtesy lights are supposed to turn off automatically. When they don’t the car battery loses charge.
The automatic operation of these courtesy lights is controlled in most cases by a pin switch but in some older vehicles you can still find the old-fashioned mercury switch. Testing of these items is further explained below. Click on read more. Read more
Car Battery Cleaning and Safety
Car Battery Safety Label
Car battery cleaning and safety are two important issues to address for car owners that like to get involved in the maintenance of their own automobile. When I say involved this does not mean you have to be a full-fledged driveway mechanic.
Performing some of the easier tasks yourself can increase the reliability of your vehicle as well as reduce trips to the auto repair shop. A few weeks ago I provided a post about car battery facts. You can visit the post to get all of the details but basically it discussed why batteries go dead and how long you can expect them to last.
Since these are issues that affect many drivers I thought I would take it a step further by providing links to the needed tools (below) as well as discuss how to prolong the life of your battery by cleaning it.
But also more importantly to identify the Dangers of working with batteries and provide some safety tips. Note: When in doubt let a professional do it! Ask them to show you how, so you can do the next battery service. Read more
Free Auto Repair Manuals
Paid for auto repair manual
Is there such a thing as free auto repair manuals? I receive several e-mails a day asking me to send free car repair manuals for specific vehicles. Of course I do not have any or the right to send copyrighted material for free (And I don’t) but it is a good question.
My mother always told me that nothing in life is free. But since I have seen advertisements for free car repair manuals around the net I decided to check into it and see if my mother was wrong.
There are several websites that state they have free repair manuals for your individual vehicle. I went to a couple of these websites to check it out for myself. I spent a couple of hours visiting several different locations with mixed results.
At one of these locations I typed in the year make and model of the vehicle I was looking for service procedures and diagnostic tree charts for. It brought me to a page that said click here to download. When I clicked on the button a pop-up was generated.
The box that opened up stated that I would have to jump through some hoops to get what I wanted. There were six necessary steps that needed to be completed before I would receive my free download. The first step was to join an Internet movie database that had some type of contract. The other five steps also included signing up for scary long-term agreements.
Is there any free auto repair manuals?
The next site I went too seemed a little better. Read more
300ZX Frame Bushing Repair
Z31 model repair manual
The 300ZX frame bushing repair was surprisingly the hardest repair I ever performed on my two-door Nissan sports car. The rear suspension on the 300ZX z31 model is quite complicated and very different than your average American car.
The rear suspension is completely independent. And out from the differential are rear CV axles. The rear suspension is completely adjustable including rear Castor, camber and toe as well. In fact negative camber is often seen on the older models due to coil spring sag. This can cause tire wear as well as poor handling.
My problem with the rear suspension was the right rear frame bushing deteriorated from dry rot and completely let loose. This is a major supporting point for the rear suspension and is largely responsible for holding everything together back there. Note that in the Nissan service manual they called this item a sub frame member insulator.
Repairing the 300ZX frame bushing
I will include some pictures of what the z31 rear suspension looks like (below) on this type of car. But take my word for it this repair was completely necessary. The rear frame bushing Read more
Facts About Car Batteries
Car Batteries look inside
Interesting facts about car batteries and what makes them go dead before there projected lifespan expires. If you keep your vehicle the average 5 to 7 years that most people do chances are you will need to learn something about batteries along the way.
With the average car battery only lasting 3 to 5 years and some not even that long due to harsh conditions, you may have to deal with the battery issue more than once.
Side note: A car battery can be dangerous! You should always wear safety glasses. You should always work in a well ventilated area. It is rare that it will explode but it can happen! The invisible gasses floating above can be triggered by sparks, flames or even cigarette ashes.
What shortens a batteries life?
An overcharging condition can cause a boiling condition inside the battery that eventually will reduce the amount of water and electrolyte in the cells. Read more
Reasons for Professional Auto Repair
My Toolbox
Most people bring their vehicles into a professional auto repair shop because they believe this will be the fastest and most cost efficient way to get their vehicle back on the road. In a perfect world this is absolutely the case.
As an automotive consumer you should be vigilant and ask questions to make sure your auto repair shop is holding up their end of the bargain (even if you trust the shop).
This is more important when you are paying for things such as check engine light diagnosis or even when you are trying to get drivability problems repaired that require pinpoint troubleshooting.
If you go in for an intermittent stalling condition or rough running car problems the way that the shop handles the troubleshooting and diagnosis can affect the total cost of the repairs. Your repair shop should be using a standardized diagnostic method that brings them to the failure in an orderly and efficient manner.
If the mechanic starts guessing at what is wrong and begins to replace Read more
300ZX Water Leak
The 300ZX water leak repair became top priority soon after I bought my Z. The previous owner had kept the vehicle in the garage for most of its life.
When I purchased it and left it outside, the rainwater quickly found its way inside the rear hatch compartment. It turned out that this water leak is quite common on both the 280Z and 300ZX.
Unfortunately I wasted some money on trying to get this leak fixed before I looked into technical service bulletins. I figured since the hatch compartment was wet that the aging hatch seal must be the cause of the hatch water leak.
I purchased a new hatch gasket from the dealership and this cost me around $150. After replacing the hatch seal I anxiously waited for the next rainfall to come and go. To my disappointment after a hard rain the rear hatch compartment was again like a miniature swimming pool.
How to repair the 300ZX water leak
After my first attempt failed at repairing the hatch water leak I looked into technical service bulletins as well as performing an Internet search. Many Z owners had reported the same type of rain water leak. Find out more about Car Repair Bulletins here. Read more
Common OBD Two Codes
Locking gas cap
One of the most common OBD two codes would be for the evaporative emissions system. These codes were designed by the manufacturer and mandated by clean air laws.
Basically this is that the fuel system on every automobile must be completely sealed. No longer are you allowed to vent fuel vapor into the atmosphere.
This means that a storage and burning system is necessary to properly handle the naturally occurring fuel vaporization process.
Depending on the year make and model of the vehicle the codes set will usually be in the P0400 range. These codes when set will help you determine what the problem with the system may be.
When the fuel vapor system is determined to be leaking the severity of the leak is measured. Individual codes may set for a small leak, a medium-sized leak, or even a large fuel vapor leak.
Also in the P0400 range of codes will be specific codes for the canister and purge valve functions of the evaporation emissions system. All of the failures in the P0400 range could be considered common OBD codes. Again depending on the year make and model of the vehicle. But I have seen failures in all parts of the evap at one time or another.
OBD two evap systems leaks
OBD two monitors the evaporative system by testing the ability of the fuel tank to hold pressure as well as purging the system to vent petroleum fumes from the charcoal canister storage device. The most common way that this pressure test is deployed is with a small pump. Read more
