There are two ways to reduce your chances of breaking down.The first, and most important, is to stick to your manufacturer's advice on servicing. Your handbook will tell you when a service is due and exactly what's needed – just make sure you book your car into the garage promptly.The second is to do your own simple car maintenance checks. Here's our top 10:1. TyresEvery two weeks, check your tyre...

Safety Tip:Always wear safety glasses when working on your vehicle. Wear other personal protective equipment (PPE) when necessary, for example latex gloves or closed toe shoes.1.Open the hood and locate the power steering pump and reservoir. Note: the reservoir may be a separate container / independent of the hydraulic pump.2.Check power steering fluid level.3.Locate the power steering pressure an...

Diagnosing many car problems is easier with an automotive stethoscope, a tool that lets you hear inside the engine. Here's an introduction to using one to track down trouble.Sound amplifierStart with the sound amplifier attachment to locate the general area where the problem is.Metal probeTouch the scope's metal probe to the non-rotating part of the suspect component. If it's worn, you'll hear an ...

Avoid an expensive service or tow charge (and the worry of being stranded!) by keeping your car battery working at peak performance. This article will show you how to perform a simple step-by-step 10-minute seasonal battery check-up so you know whether your battery is performing well. This article will also explain how to replace your battery if it's failing, so you're not left stranded out in the...

Power steering works by way of hydraulic pressure. Fire up some hydraulic pressure in something like a backhoe, and moving giant rocks around becomes as easy as pulling a few levers. A forklift uses hydraulic pressure to lift pallets full of concrete blocks high onto this shelf or that. This miracle of hydraulic pressure also makes a great deal of the everyday driving experience easier. Turning th...

Safety Tip:Always wear safety glasses when working on your vehicle. Wear other personal protective equipment (PPE) when necessary, for example latex gloves or closed toe shoes.1.Secure your vehicle on a level surface, making sure your car will not roll or lean when jacked up.2.Break the lug nuts loose but do not remove. Lift up your vehicle using a floor jack.3.Secure the vehicle with jack stands ...

Safety Tip:Always wear safety glasses when working on your vehicle. Wear other personal protective equipment (PPE) when necessary, for example latex gloves or closed toe shoes.1 Park the vehicle on a solid, level surface and chock the front wheels.2 Loosen the rear wheel lug nuts a half turn. Using a floor jack, lift up the rear of the vehicle.3 Secure the vehicle with jack stands on both sides fo...

How to Replace Your Car's Halfshaft Most cars sold in the United States drive the front tires. It makes for inexpensive, easy-to-manufacture, roomy cars that get better gas mileage than the rear-wheel-drive alternative. Getting power from the transmission to the front wheels is a bit of a challenge though. That's what a halfshaft does. The two halfshafts have the simple job of transmitting torque...

In our travels into automotive repair services and time spent with wrenches, there is often mention of consulting the service or repair manual to help with your car maintenance task. When it comes to a removal and replacement of something fairly straightforward and simple like an air filter or an oil and filter, the procedure is more or less universal. A service or repair manual is probably a good...

Before you begin the process of replacing a fuel injector or fuel injection rail, you need to think about safety. Always keep fire safety in mind when you are working with fuel. You also need to be sure you are wearing eye protection. Even if you've released the pressure in the fuel injection system, there could be some fuel flying when you start disconnecting high pressure lines and removing inje...

Safety Tip: Always wear safety glasses when working on your vehicle. Wear other personal protective equipment (PPE) when necessary, for example latex gloves or closed toe shoes. WARNING: The dust created by the brake system is harmful to your health. Never blow it out with compressed air and do not inhale any of it. Use an approved filtering mask when working on the brakes. Use brake system cleane...

When it snows, most drivers slow down and take extra precautions. But that's not necessarily the case when it rains. Yet driving in any wet weather is considerably more dangerous than driving when the weather is dry. Poor visibility, lower levels of grip and the chance of hitting deep puddles are just some of the problems a driver needs to deal with.The good news is that modern technology has help...

Believe it or not, a key feature of our grand human design has made it into the suspension of almost every automobile on the road today. Like the ball and socket joint that connects your leg bone to your hipbone, so goes the ball and socket joint (or joints) that holds the front suspension of your vehicle together. In the same way that your leg can move up and down, and side to side, the automotiv...

For many years, the much-ballyhooed invention of the wheel has overshadowed the most likely, near-simultaneous invention of an equally important modern innovation: the axle. Without the axle, the wheel would not do anyone much good. Rocks can roll as well and, while this may be great for music, it's not very useful for transportation purposes.CV jointsWhile the wheel has remained more or less roun...

Vehicles' vital fluids normally perform two important functions: lubricating and cleaning. As the fluid circulates through the parts, it gathers the dirt and metal shavings that can accumulate over time. If you're lucky, this debris will settle on the bottom of the pan or housing and not circulate through the system. That’s why some auto shops use machines that perform a transmission fluid flush, ...

Automotive mechanical mishaps can range from a minor inconvenience to a major disaster. Leave the lights on? A dead battery is doable. Just call roadside assistance or walk over to the nearest hyper mega mart. Pick up a new battery and an adjustable wrench. Install the new battery, bring back the old one and you're off. Easy. Forget to put gas in the tank? That's not so bad either. You might even ...

It’s happened to us all: the painful sound of something solid – a rock or bits of debris – whacking your windshield. If you’ve had your car for a while and your windshield is immaculate, consider yourself lucky.The windshield of your car ensures your safety while driving, but it is also prone to chips and cracks. So what should you do when it’s on the receiving end of a rock?Repairing a small wind...

Batteries are a lot like people in winter; they like to stay warm and be fed regularly to keep their internal chemical reactions happy, even if they're getting less exercise. We compensate with multiple holiday feasts and beer. Your car's battery needs its own annual routine.Any car battery stored for a long period of time will suffer self-discharge, even in moderate climates—so southerners with g...

Replacing a truck bulb is more complex than a passenger car.You may have changed headlight bulbs or tail light bulbs in the family car, but if you've never had the chance to replace a tail light or brake light bulb in your pickup you may be surprised. Unlike the convenient access door your Taurus may have, the truck's tail light and brake light bulb is protected, sealed, and a pain in the neck to ...

These instructions apply to bearings in a non-drive wheel. In other words, if your car is front wheel drive, we're talking about the rear bearings. If it's rear wheel drive, you'll be replacing the front wheel bearings.How do I know if I need new wheel bearings? Most of the time we don't even know that they need service. We just drive and never think about them. Most car manufacturers recommend a ...

1.Understanding Your Pitman Arm (and Idler Arm)Pitman arm replacement is not too tough a job if you're prepared.Idler Arms and Pitman Arms are part of your steering system that links your steering box to the center link, and then on to the hub assemblies. The Pitman Arm, also known as the "steering arm," is the main player while the idler arm supports the other side and allows the proper movement ...

The ZEX SOHC Cam has been a popular choice amongst enthusiasts who prefer to stay in a Single Overhead Cam engine (SOHC), rather than opting out for the more popular B series Dual OverHead Cam engines (DOHC). And for those fearless enthusiasts, we’d like to take a look at the SOHC D series motor today, and how to install a ZEX cam and ZEX Springs without taking your motor apart!This is a technical...

Safety Tip:Always wear safety glasses when working on your vehicle. Wear other personal protective equipment (PPE) when necessary, for example latex gloves or closed toe shoes.1Secure the vehicle on a level surface, making sure the vehicle will not roll or lean too much when jacked up.2Lift up the front of the vehicle using a jack.Photo may not be specific to your vehicle3Secure the vehicle with j...

Safety Tip:Always wear safety glasses when working on your vehicle. Wear other personal protective equipment (PPE) when necessary, for example latex gloves or closed toe shoes.Locate the tire's valve stem.Using a tire pressure gauge, hold the gauge down on the valve stem to get the tire's pressure reading. Perform this step for all the tires on the vehicle.Compare the tire pressure to the Sticker ...

Axial Racing asked if I wanted to test its new Yeti Trophy Truck, a 1:10 scale 4x4. My answer was yes, because my interests and hobbies essentially haven't changed since I was 12. The Yeti arrived without a battery, so I bought a lithium-polymer. It's the type familiar to anyone with a remote-control car or a drone, but different from the chemistry that powers a human-size electric automobile.Whil...

A rear axle shaft is found on vehicles with rear wheel drive or all wheel drive. The rear axle transfers power from the rear differential to the drive wheels. The axle uses two joints to provide flexibility in the joint. Over time, these joints eventually fail and begin to grind. The problem will present itself as a constant clicking noise while making turns. When you notice this, you'll need to k...

I was changing my rear wheel bearings today and thought it might be cool to do it without the press and take some pictures in case anyone wants to attempt this at home. It's a pretty simple process, but a visual walkthrough might help some people so here we go. The first step is to take your wheel off.Next, remove the two 14mm bolts that hold your brake caliper bracket and move the whole assembly ...

No one is buying a new car any more, it seems. Unless you pay cash, no one's going to lend you any money, so keep your old car. Of course, I'm talking from the point of view of a repair shop, so keep the source in mind. Mwah-ha-ha and hugs to you all! But seriously, having seen lots of cars worth keeping well over 100,000 miles, as well as those whose owners have no choice but to keep them, we've ...

A worn-out ball joint will pivot horizontally and vertically, negatively affecting your handling at low speed, and becoming especially dangerous at high speeds. Recognizable for a knocking sound in the wheel well as you execute a turn, fixing old ball joints is an important part of keeping your vehicle road-safe. You can do it yourself for the price of the parts and the right approach.Prep the wor...

When removing a car battery, the first step is to disconnect the battery cables. The negative cable should always be disconnected first, and re-connected last.Remove The Negative Cable First,Re-connect The Negative Cable Last:Why? Because the wrench or socket is touching the live part of the electrical connector. There is a good chance that the wrench or socket handle will accidentally touch somet...

At this point there were 4 more things to do before the engine could be installed:Install the rear oil seal.Install the oil pan.Install the flex plate.Install the oil filter adapter.But I couldn't install the rear seal until I got the engine off the stand, so that meant I had to rent an engine hoist for the last few steps, and then shove the engine back in the car.picked up the engine and remove t...

Why Install A New Oil Pump?One, it's possible that the old oil pump had experienced some wear, and was not delivering enough oil pressure. Two, it's easy to do at this stage, and doesn't cost too much. Basically, replacing the oil pump is cheap insurance, and is recommended by many mechanics and engine rebuilders.The new oil pump and pick-up tube, which are sold separately. These two parts cost ab...

First - Installing The Oil Dipstick Tube:cleaned up the dipstick tube with brake cleaner, and scraped off the old sealant.then applied a liberal dab of thread sealant just below the ridge near the lower end of the dipstick tube.inserted the dipstick tube into the hole in the engine block and placed a 3/8 inch open-end wrench over the ridge. Then hammered on the wrench with a small hammer to drive...

Before the cylinder heads can be installed, the engine block and head mating surfaces must be perfectly clean. All traces of oil and dirt must be removed or else the head gaskets may develop a coolant leak, or worse, leakage of the high-pressure gases from inside the cylinders.Escaping combustion gases (essentially exhaust) can actually erode away the metal of the engine block and/or cylinder head...

Installing The Timing Chain and Sprockets:First,remove the Woodruff key from the old crankshaft and tap it into the slot in the new crank.slipped the crankshaft timing sprocket over the end of the crankshaft and aligned the slot with the key.To drive the sprocket all the way onto the shaft, used this 1-7/16 inch socket from a set of 3/4 inch drive sockets. It's important to hammer uniformly on the...

After the old rings are removed, the ring grooves need to be cleaned. Installing piston rings requires a special tool, which doesn't cost much.before removed the pistons, I used a set of number punches to stamp the cylinder number on each rod cap, just to ensure I would have no problem keeping track of which piston belonged in which cylinder.Removing Tight Rod Nuts:the connecting rod nuts where t...

Before the crankshaft is installed for good, the bearing-to-journal clearances must be measured with Plastigage.Once verified that the main bearing clearances are acceptable, you can install the new crankshaft with assembly lube.Installing Main Bearings:Inserted the new main bearings in the engine block, after to wipe the bearing pocket with a paper towel sprayed with brake cleaner.The main bearin...

If new piston rings are installed, the cylinder walls MUST be given an appropriate scratch pattern. The scratches help the new rings "wear in", and they also hold oil on the cylinder wall, which reduces the wear on the piston rings and the cylinder. It might even improve fuel economy because the engine has less internal friction.The best way to get the proper scratch pattern is with an electric dr...

Removing The Harmonic BalancerTo reach the timing gears, the harmonic balancer must be removed. The harmonic balancer fits very tightly on the front end of the crankshaft, and is secured by the snout bolt, which also holds the serpentine belt pulley which drives all the accessories in the engine compartment.BUT... you cannot use an ordinary gear puller to remove a harmonic balancer, because there ...

Fix A Connecting Rod Knock - GM 4.3 V6,May Also Apply To Chevy / GMC350 Cubic Inch V8 Engines.the exhaust manifolds, the rocker arms and pushrods, and the cylinder heads are removed in REMOVING THE CYLINDER HEADSTo turn the engine over to look at the crankshaft.pushed and pulled on each connecting rod, but not locate any looseness where any rod attached to the crankshaft.But that doesn't mean anyt...