Volvo Service And Driveability: Ways to Simplify Repairs and Promote Maintenance
Keeping a record of scheduled maintenance and service repairs is probably the best selling feature when the time comes to trade or sell a vehicle. You know the type: They baby their car, and their friends and family want first dibs when they decide to sell it. In most cases, that level of upkeep is
Water Pumps: Why They Fail and When to Replace Them
If you’ve wondered how much work a water pump must do, remember that only about 30 percent of the heat energy produced by combustion results in mechanical energy. That estimate, of course, is a mathematical comparison between the heat value of the gasoline going into the engine, and the heat value of the mechanical energy
OBD II Diagnostics: Checking into Mode $06
In this scan tool diagnostics article, we take a look at Mode $06 functions which govern non-continuous monitors (EVAP, catalyst, EGR, etc.)
Odds & Ends
Building The Mustang Ministock includes everything a racer needs to know to competitively build, set up and race a Mustang 3 car. Using eight informative chapters based on a project car built as an example for this book, Building The Mustang Ministock thoroughly covers all areas of race car fabrication, suspension systems, chassis setup and
Yes, It is Rocket Science!
W hen I was a young man, I remember my dad saying something to the effect that working on cars wasn’t exactly rocket science. He was right. In the days of carburetors and contact point ignition systems, a mechanic didn’t need much diagnostic equipment. All you needed was a timing light to check spark timing,
Muffler Technology: A Look Inside
Is a muffler nothing more than a steel can with some baffles and tubes inside? That’s how most mufflers look, but there’s a lot more to muffler science than meets the eye. A muffler’s job is to muffle sound. That’s why we call them mufflers. In England they’re called silencers. Regardless of the name, they
Increasing Summer Profits with A/C Work
Warm weather is just around the corner in many parts of the country, so it’s not too soon to start thinking about ways you can promote A/C service work and boost your profits this summer. More than 90% of new vehicles are now factory-equipped with air conditioning, and more than 80 percent of the cars
Parking Brakes: The Forgotten Fourth Pedal…Or the Seldom-Used Stick
How Much Is Really Enough?
Sales Opps in Head Gasket Replacement
During some point in their service lives, most older gasoline engines built with cast-iron cylinder blocks and aluminum cylinder heads will need a cylinder head gasket replacement. The vulnerability of aluminum-head engines to head gasket failure is caused by the aluminum cylinder head expanding approximately 1.5 times more than the cast-iron block. Although measured in
A/C Update
The Mobile Air Conditioning Society (MACS) 25th Anniversary Convention and Trade Show is a great event for shop owners and technicians to learn about the latest trends in air conditioning technology and to see the latest A/C service products and equipment. This year’s show was held in Las Vegas February 1-3. One question that came