Vehicle speed sensor problems 05/31/2011
What car problems will a bad vehicle speed sensor cause? Defective vehicle speed sensors can cause many problems in the computer output control systems. Speed is used by the control module as an input for many systems. If the input is bad the output will not be good either.  Vehicle Speed Sensor Examples: defective vehicle speed sensors may cause improper torque converter clutch lockup as well as a cruise control malfunctions. A bad VSS can also cause inaccurate speedometer operation. It's really nice to have the vehicle hoisted up on a lift so that the drive wheels can spin freely when you attempt to diagnose vehicle speed sensor problems.
When it is not possible to have a safe way to spin the wheels without moving the vehicle it may be necessary to take the vehicle in for proper diagnosis. There are a few checks that can be made to vehicle speed sensor without spinning the wheels. One test would be to connect an automotive electrical volt ohm meter and get an accurate resistance reading on the sensor. Add Comment How long does a water pump last? 05/19/2011
Today I will answer this question, how long does a water pump last. I will provide a rule of thumb that might be helpful to motorists. Just keep in mind that this is one automotive component that can last forever or at least until the vehicle goes to the junkyard or may fail at any given time.  water pump impeller In an attempt to answer the question I will provide some guidelines or at least some things I have noticed about the longevity of automotive water pump. On older vehicles with the standard green ethylene glycol antifreeze a water pump could fail or start to leak if coolant flushes are ignored when they are required.
In some cases neglected anti freeze can become like an acid and start eating away at the impeller fins that push the coolant. When this happens and the fans are deteriorating the water pump can lose its balance and the shaft can begin to wobble. This will eventually wear away at the water pump shaft seal. Engine cooling systems and overheating 05/07/2011
Have you ever been driving down the road on a hot summer day and thought to yourself "boy do I feel sorry for my engine". Most motorists probably don't experience these emotions but I know I did until I learned more about how an engine cooling system works and that it was specifically designed to make my engine feel better on a hot summer day.  Internal combustion engines generate a tremendous amount of heat this is just a fact of life that needs to be dealt with in the design stage of automotive development. This is why even a vehicle that does not have a visible grille will have some kind of method to throw air through the radiator while the vehicle is traveling down the road or sitting still at a stoplight.
The heat from the engine is created when the fuel is ignited inside the combustion chamber of each cylinder. Combustion chamber temperatures can run extremely high. They can approach 1000°F. If it wasn't for the engine cooling system internal parts like the Pistons, valves and cylinder walls would eventually melt. Do I need to clean engine carbon? 04/26/2011
A popular auto repair service up sell when you go in for an oil change would be cleaning carbon deposits from the engine. Sometimes they want to remove carbon from the throttle body or the throttle plates and usually make claims about improved idle or fuel economy.  In other cases they talk about cleaning deposits from the cylinder which is a much different process than removing it from the TBI air inlet. The throttle body service in my opinion has become a much more common auto repair up sell then cleaning cylinders and Pistons.
Again this is just my opinion but I believe there is a time and place for throttle body services. Chances are you would be asking for one if you really needed it, instead of being up sold the service during a scheduled oil change. For one thing the engine control module is capable of compensating for some deposits. Are factory auto parts better 03/26/2011
People wonder if factory auto parts are better than the aftermarket ones that in many cases can be purchased at cheaper prices. In my opinion it might come down to the specific auto parts.  There is no simple answer to this question so I put together a quick article that provides some examples of when I prefer to use factory auto-parts and a situation where I prefer to use aftermarket stuff.
When it comes to what parts are better I want to make it clear that I am just providing my opinion, that is based on my own personal experiences and that your results will most likely vary. Some background on where my opinion comes from may also be helpful. My original training, 26 years ago was provided by General Motors and I was in a special program where I worked at a GM dealership part time while going to school and then full-time after I graduated the program. In fact I stayed at General Motors dealerships for nearly 20 years. When you work at a dealerships service department you generally use factory auto-parts. Seat Belt Problems 03/17/2011
I have seen a lot of seat belt problems over the last 25 years. In this article we will discuss some of the most common and what to look for. I truly believe that car manufacturers try to keep seat belt problems to a minimum for obvious reasons. Despite their efforts you can still have problems.  In my opinion one of the most troublesome parts of the restraint system would be the seat-belt retractor. The system was designed so that when the seat belt was unbuckled it would stow away automatically to allow the passengers to easily exit the vehicle. These retractors may also work as a pretensioner to take up the slack in the belt during an accident while at the same time maintaining comfort for the driver.
When you add in the fact that these mechanisms have an inertia lock that holds the belt firm during an accident the retractor itself can be complicated with many internal parts. Over the years I have found one of the leading complaints from drivers is that the spring that pulls in the slack or stows the extra seat belt stops doing so. Car Radio Problems 03/06/2011
A site visitor asked me how to handle his car radio problems. So I decided to write a quick article about how we handled radio problems at the dealerships I worked for. The short answer is we would do some basic checks and then send the unit out for repair if the problem was internal.  First of all the kind of car radios we are talking about would be factory installed units not aftermarket ones. In the case of the site visitor that asked the original question his specific radio problem was poor reception.
When your factory car audio system has this problem there are a few things that you can check. The first thing would be to make sure that the fuses are good. Your owner's manual in most cases will identify which fuses power the radio. Some car manufacturers will use more than one fuse to power the audio unit. Also note on some factory car radios that there will be an additional fuse in the back of the unit itself. On some models you may have to pull the radio out to gain access to this separate fuse. Another thing that you can check would be the antenna. Aftermarket exhaust systems 02/21/2011
A lot of people ask me if I recommend aftermarket exhaust systems. I thought I would write a quick article so that I could express my opinion. The answer is overall I do not but there are times when using selected aftermarket components are not only okay but may be desirable.  Aftermarket Exhaust Parts To sum it up the newer your vehicle is the more efficient its exhaust system will be. Back in the old days we put headers and straight dual exhaust on our vehicles because the factory systems where too small and inefficient. But because of the increased demand for performance while at the same time increasing fuel economy and keeping engine emissions under control most car manufacturers were forced to design and install some of the most efficient exhaust systems known to mankind on new cars. Exhaust system components
When to Replace Tires 02/03/2011
I do not write about tires on this blog very often. But after a record breaking slippery winter driving season I decided to put my two cents in about when to replace tires. The motivation for this article was watching some videos on the weather Channel showing vehicles slipping and sliding on the ice.  Although no tire is good for driving on a solid sheet of ice except maybe a studded snow tire or ones with ice chains installed, it sure would be a good idea to check your tires when you plan on driving on snow and icy roads.
They actually make a measuring device for checking tires called a tread gauge. This is a handy little tool that only costs a few dollars. It works a lot better than using a penny that may have been recommended in the past. A lot of friends and family ask me when to replace tires. In my own personal opinion I believe it is time to replace tires when there is less than 3/32 of tread remaining. If the winter driving season was approaching I might up that to 4/32 seconds. How brake calipers work 01/24/2011
Sometimes brake problems can be traced back to caliper problems. See how they work and learn about replacement options when they go bad. A brake caliper converts hydraulic pressure into mechanical force. This force is multiplied from the driver’s foot applying pressure to the brake pedal.  Therefore some driver complaints about the way the car stops or the way the brake pedal feels can actually be a problem with the calipers. Also a common front brake problem would be a hard and sometimes scary pulling condition where the car pulls to the left or right only when braking.
The caliper housing is usually a one-piece construction of cast iron or aluminum. The brake caliper housing contains a cylinder bore. Machined into the cylinder bore is a groove to allow a square cut seal to be seated. At the top of the cylinder bore will be another groove that allows for a dust boot to be installed. | Car Repair Help
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