Diagnostic Solutions: Power Steering Pumps
Going Back to the Basics Can Often Resolve Troublesome Power Assist and Noise-Related Issues We often take the commonplace power steering pump for granted until the driver begins to notice a lack of power assist during parking or the pump itself begins to develop an irritating growling or whining noise. Although installing a new or
Time and a Half
One of the hot-button issues in the independent automotive service industry is how to charge for diagnostic time. Currently, the debate is framed by two basic schools of thought. The practitioners of the first school are the shop managers who regard “free diagnostic code reads” as a marketing expense needed to lure potential customers into
Diagnostic Dilemmas: Got a Light?
Every diagnostic technician experiences operational complaints that are more bizarre than they are technically complex. The problem is made difficult when the technician fails to stand back from the problem and look at what I call, “The Big Picture.” As you will see in the following case study, The Big Picture is a collection of
Selling Services: Handle Muscle-Car Horsepower with Complete Suspension Upgrade Packages
In the current import market, performance-modified vehicles known as sport compacts are finding themselves equally at home at local road courses and drag strips as they are on city streets. While the most popular hot-rod imports were originally designed to squeeze the last mile out of a drop of regular gasoline, these gasoline-miserly vehicles may
Diagnostic Solutions: COP Ignition Systems
For a number of reasons, the trend of modern engine management technology is leaning toward using coil-on-plug (COP) ignition systems. One reason is that COP ignitions are very compact and are very adaptable to individual cylinder tuning. With the exception of a few designs that incorporate a driver or “module” into the COP assembly itself,
Diagnostic Solutions: Cylinder Head Service, Restoring the Engine to Precise OE Tolerances
Although cylinder head repairs have been a staple of the import repair shop for many years, modern technology has changed the way we should sell and perform cylinder head services. In years past, for example, a cylinder head repair need last only 30,000 or 40,000 miles until the vehicle was retired from service. Today, however,
The Circle of (Engine) Life: The Important Role Water Pumps Play in Engine Preservation…Restoring the Engine to Precise OE Tolerances
Amazingly, up to one-third of the heat energy produced inside an engine’s combustion chambers ends up as waste heat that goes into the block. This heat must be eliminated, otherwise the engine will overheat and self-destruct. The water pump keeps coolant circulating between the engine and radiator to get rid of the heat. The pump
Diagnostic Dilemmas: Temperature Tantrums
Solving temperature-related, no-code intermittent failures can be a frustrating experience for the diagnostic technician because the exact level of heat or cold needed to trigger the failure is often hard to duplicate. It’s also important to keep in mind that all electronic vehicle components are exposed to temperature extremes and thus are vulnerable to temperature-related
Ride Control Repairs: Keeping Your Customers’ Tires Glued to the Road
Confused about modern ride control technology? Sometimes looking back into automotive history can put such technology into a more usable framework. A good illustration is how ride control technology evolved from the simple, early-century friction shock absorber to the electronic variable-rate shocks and MacPherson struts currently being installed on late-model imports. When early automobile manufacturers
Diagnostic Solutions: Fluid Maintenance…Selling Needed Services Vs. “Wallet Flushing”
Good import shop managers stay on top of their annual workflow by placing jobs like timing belt and brake replacements into categories that can be tracked on a historical basis. If a shop has faithfully tracked the kinds of work flowing through its service bays during the past 10 years, it might become apparent that
Hybrids: Basic Service & Safety Procedures
Hybrids are hot. As the price of gasoline goes up, so does the demand for new vehicles that can squeeze more miles per gallon from every drop of gasoline. Hybrids do that by combining the best of both worlds: electric power for low-speed, stop-and-go driving, and gasoline power for highway cruising and long-range driving. Current
Diagnostic Solutions: Brake Maintenance & Inspection
” height=”234″ alt=”” border=”0″ align=”right” /> Although brake systems wear at a relatively glacial rate, a point will be reached when they can no longer stop the vehicle in an emergency situation and brake system inspections are therefore required to prevent accidents caused by brake component failure. Inspection procedures vary from area to area. Mountainous