Replacing Spark Plugs
Denso Spark Plugs
Replacing spark plugs has always been a favorite task of do-it-yourself auto mechanics. The interesting thing about this maintenance operation is that on some vehicles it is fun and easy.
On other automobiles the task is extremely difficult and sometimes the path of success is plagued with extreme problems that could lead to pulling the cylinder head.
Sometimes when spark plugs are removed from a cylinder head the threads will have traces of metal on them.
Each spark plug removed should be numbered with the cylinder it was removed from and inspected thoroughly for this type of thread damage. This type of car problem happens more often on engines that use aluminum cylinder heads.
If you run into this problem when performing your own sparkplug maintenance it is highly recommended to correct the condition before reinstalling the plugs. Patience and care at this point can save you from major auto repairs down the road. Read more
New Automotive Engines
3.8 L automotive engine
The new automotive engines on the market today have gone through a lot of changes compared to engines installed just a decade ago.
This new wave of engines is designed to meet the performance and fuel efficiency that the public demands.
It is clear if the automotive manufacturer does not come up with a strong power train that impresses all who drives it their sales will begin to sag and possibly never recover.
This is mostly due to the word-of-mouth from disappointed drivers. The power of this viral negativity is truly amazing.
Example: My father had a bad experience with a Ford Pinto. He told everybody that would listen about all the troubles he ever had with this car.
Right off the showroom floor this car would use a quart of oil a week. The pistons and rings had to be replaced under the old-fashioned 12/12 warranties. The hard part was getting the dealership to admit a problem existed.
It took much fighting with Ford Motor Company and the local dealer about what normal oil usage should be.
Every Christmas and thanksgiving our large family sat around listening to details of the battle for justice. The results are that nobody in my family or circle of friends has ever bought a Ford product since my dad’s bad experience in the mid-70s. Talk about holding a grudge!
New automotive engine construction
RX8 Rotory Engine
Modern automotive engines are made of lightweight engine castings, and in most cases non-iron materials.
Some of the types would include aluminum, magnesium carbon fiber materials, and in some cases reinforced plastics.
If the block is made out of aluminum the use of a stainless steel cylinder liner is used most often.
When it comes time to assemble the engine, fasteners that hold things together are now fewer and smaller than ever before.
This is made possible through computerized engine design (CAD, CAM) that optimizes the loading and sealing patterns when the motor parts are assembled. Read more
Auto Parts Counter Person
Online Auto Parts
What about the auto parts counter person. In a previous post I sent a little respect out to the auto repair mechanics of the world.
This led my friend to feel slighted, as his department was completely ignored during my previous post.
So in the interests of fair play this post is about the automotive part specialist. A parts counter person can have several different duties and is commonly called a materials person or specialist.
These dedicated people are found in nearly all car dealerships, as well as both retail and wholesale auto parts stores.
They sell auto parts directly to the customer and issue materials and supplies to car repair mechanics in both body shops and automobile service centers.
My friend, Jim M who is a parts counter person is friendly, professional, and very efficient when working with mechanics and customers.
About automotive part specialists
This career is an excellent alternative for those who know about cars but would rather not work Read more
Free Auto Repair Information
Sometimes Diy auto mechanics will spend a lot of time looking for free auto repair information. I mean who doesn’t like free. But what if all that time spent brings poor quality information and poor results.
Personally I would rather spend a few bucks to receive the best possible information and know at least my time and effort was heading in the right direction. Let me give you a quick example of this scenario.
Free auto repair information forums
I use to go to the popular automotive forums and try to help people with their auto repair questions. I noticed a common trend about these free car forums. A lot of people dispensing advice may mean well, but in some cases, the advice was very poor and in some instances harmful to the vehicle.
It was also very hard for the Diy auto mechanic who posted the specific question to pick out a quality answer from the massive amount of responses. The problem with using this method is that the people responding to your car repair questions may not actually be knowledgeable about the subject at hand.
But what if you did not need outside help because you had Read more
Auto Repair Information
Auto Mechanic
This was an auto repair information blog when I started it two years ago. Things stayed on topic, but changed a little when gas prices started to climb in early 2008. This is also when I purchased the water 4 gas systems and decided to share the details of my project with visitors. In today’s post I wanted to return to the original reason I started this blog. And that was to supply auto repair information for people that like to fix their own cars.
After fielding many questions over the last couple years on my car repair help page I have noticed one very common piece of advice that I continue to dispense. It also happens to be the first step in almost all of my automotive diagnosis procedures that I personally use. And this is the visual inspection. It is very common that I will uncover the cause of the car problem by simply performing a thorough visual inspection.
Auto repair visual inspections
I’m going to provide some examples of what to look for, and some of the most common things that I have found. It would seem that a visual inspection during these winter months are more important then in the summer. But regardless, I perform this procedure as a quick first step in automotive diagnosis no matter what the weather is like.
My first example actually happened yesterday and got me thinking about how I should share this with website visitors. I was working on a 2006 Read more
How To Fix Automotive Electrical Problems
One of the hardest do it yourself auto repair tasks is solving automotive electrical problems on your own. To be successful you will need a wiring diagram in most cases. But even when you have this electrical diagram in your hand it can still be hard to understand and diagnose circuit malfunctions.
When you are tracing electrical circuits using a standard automotive wiring diagram you always want to work from the load or component back to the battery. Find the load device first, for example: light, horn, solenoid or actuator, then find its ground, and then find the battery on the diagram.
Trying to read a schematic from positive battery voltage to negative or ground does not work well. Always work from your load back toward the battery. This rule is important because it gives you a standard and correct direction of diagnosis. If you have proper power and grounds to your load component then you have just solved your problem on the first diagnostic test indicating that the failure is in the Read more
Car maintenance
Car maintenance
when you are buying car maintenance you want to make sure that you receive what you paid for. A good example of this is that if you frequent a dealership and you purchase their 15,000 or even 30,000 mile maintenance service, there are a lot of things that are supposed to be performed on these checklists.
The 15,000 or 30,000 mile service is usually very expensive and includes many important car safety checks. If you are going to shell out $400 for a 30,000 mile service. Please take the time to review what is supposed to be accomplished During this expensive service.
How to buy car maintenance
A good way to verify that some of these vital safety checks were performed is to ask the dealership to provide information about some of the individual items that are checked. For example, there maybe a spot on the service that requires a brake inspection. Ask the dealership to document the percentage of the brakes that are remaining. In yet another example if the tire inflation is to be checked, again ask the dealership to document the tire pressure in all four tires as well.
As a mechanic that has worked at dealerships for more than 23 years, I can tell you that the technician is paid on a flat rate or percentage basis. The mechanic is motivated to move as fast as he can and may take some shortcuts. This means you have not received a good value for your car maintenance dollar.
Take some time to review, what is included in the individual car maintenance service and ask lots of questions about each item to your service adviser. This will put the dealership service department on notice that you are very hands on and involved in what is being done to your car. This will also make the dealership more likely to complete the maintenance service properly and to cut corners and rush on somebody else’s car.
Car maintenace tip
If your service includes a tire rotation take a minute to mark each tire with a crayon. So that you can verify the tires were rotated during the service. Also when the technician sees these marks on the tire.
He is immediately informed that you are watching him and is more likely to perform all the steps that are included in the maintenance service that you have paid hard earned money for.
Would you like to read more stories about car mechanics and what might happen during your auto service
carmaintenance carrepair autorepair automaintenance autoservice
Auto repair scam artists
Auto repair scam artists
I can’t help but break into a story about one of the sharpest most evil service advisor’s I ever met. This man would go through your vehicle and find out as much as he could about the vehicle owner.
He would look for bank statements past due bills and any thing he could get his hands on to find out what your financial position was. He would go through the trunk, the glove box under the seats he was relentless.
One time he came out to my bay and started going through a vehicle and I asked him what he was doing. His reply was making us money. Then He yelled out bingo. I said what did you find.
He said the best thing of all a baby seat and baby toys. He then said this vehicle needs brakes. I said I didn’t look at the brakes yet. He said it didn’t matter what it needed it only mattered what they were getting.
Most people are scammed at some point by the auto repair business
Now in this case the brakes were about 25% remaining so selling brakes to this person didn’t hurt anyone. But the service adviser asked about the baby to set up the sale for family safety reasons.
If the customer hesitated to buy, the service adviser would explain it was for the safety of the baby and how if she performed an emergency stop the vehicle would take longer to stop with worn brakes and he was looking out for her baby. This guy was a shark and pulled down more than $100,000 a year just for selling service.
I tell you this story so you can be on guard if you run into a shark. The shark will start asking you personal questions while you are waiting for the vehicle to be brought into the shop. Not because he cares about you. He is trying to paint a picture of you so he can find the button he needs to push to make a sale. And do not forget to clean out the inside of your car including the glove box. You must protect yourself!
Here is a perfect example of the auto repair business hard at work taking money for unneeded repairs. View one of my online auto repair stories here
carmaintenance carrepair autorepair automaintenance autoservice
