Muscling in on Restoration & Performance Work: Part 1
As automotive technology continues to become more complex with each new model year, you may be longing for the “good ol’ days” when engines had carburetors and distributors but no sensors, fuel injectors or computers. Most driveability problems were fairly simple to diagnose and only required a trained ear and a few basic tools. Alas,
Understanding Operating Strategies
As driveability technicians, we’ve been taught to solve diagnostic problems by gathering and analyzing data. Data usually comes in three basic forms, the first of which is sensory data that we can see, hear, smell or feel. The second form is measured values gathered by using test equipment like lab scopes and multimeters. The third
Hot Heads for Cool Cars
The numbers are not huge yet, but there is a growing demand for high-performance cylinder head work and other engine modifications on a variety of sport compact cars. The most popular nameplates are imports such as Honda, Acura and Mitsubishi, but coming on fast are Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Subaru and Volkswagen – plus domestic models
Engine Series: Proper Maintenance Can Extend an Odyssey
We all know that some vehicle owners don’t adhere to preventative maintenance schedules for their vehicles. So when a customer’s vehicle is in for a major problem or service, take advantage of in-depth system inspections. It may be one of the few times that you get to check the vehicle for severely worn parts. Although
Dusting Off Fuel System Fossils:
For many technicians these days, the sight of a real working carburetor may be as alien as the rover roaming the dusty Martian surface. But consider the opportunities that these die-cast, zinc alloy, fossil fuel-metering Martians present to us technicians. Opportunities abound, to repair emissions failures by re-calibrating the main circuits and diagnosing high carbon
Head Gasket Replacement
During some point in their service lives, most import 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 thousandths
Matching Your Techs with the Right Job
Just a single decade ago, many industry experts speculated that 80% of the workflow passing through an independent repair shop would involve some type of high-level diagnostic process. Today, it’s obvious that, with the infusion of electronic operating systems, high-level diagnostics is now approaching that level of total workflow. Nevertheless, many others continue to ridicule
NASCAR Performance
NASCAR Announces Changes to Provisional Qualifying
Talking Shop
Finding 2003 Tax Savings In 2004
Aftermarket Update
Trade Press Gets First-Hand Look During Tour of Bosch’s State-of-the-Art South Carolina O2 Sensor Plant Oxygen sensors are one of the key sensors in every engine’s fuel management feedback control system. Consequently, O2 sensors play a vital role in maintaining low emissions, good fuel economy and peak performance. Developed by the Robert Bosch Corporation, O2