Diy auto repair manuals 10/17/2009
Do some research into diy auto repair manuals when it comes to repairing your own automobile at home. You may just avoid a catastrophe. Sometimes car repairs seem straight forward until you are well into the job and then you discover special tools or equipment is required to complete what you started.  Diy car repair Your personal vehicles are a giant investment not to mention the life blood of most lifestyles. When it comes to repairing your own car it can go one of two ways. You can be successful, save money and repair it right the first time. Or you can make things worse by creating more automobile problems. The second will increase costs as well as the down time of the car being repaired. Let me give you a real life example of this. Let’s say your engine is running rough and you have a check engine light on. Without owning a scan tool to pull codes you decide maybe it's time to catch up on vehicle maintenance.  engine air filter So you replace the spark plugs, fuel filter and air filter. Still the engine runs rough and the check engine light remains on.
Now after a day's work and being $100.00 lighter you decide to get a online diy auto repair manual. You go to the section about technical service bulletins and look up publications by complaint. Bingo you notice a bulletin about runs rough with a check engine light on. It turns out defective fuel injectors are causing poor idle and fuel economy and the factory is aware of the problem. Also the dealer is providing replacement under a special policy. Add Comment Park Brake Interlock 09/13/2009
The park brake interlock is a safety system that stops you from putting the vehicle in gear unless the brake pedal is depressed. But what if you put your foot on the brake and it does not come out of park?  Interlock Solenoid Not only have I received a lot of questions about this common shifter problem I have also seen it on the vehicles that I work on locally. Since the mid 90's all vehicles now come equipped with a park brake interlock system.
This is a great safety feature that requires you to have your foot on the brake pedal before it will allow you to shift from the park position to your desired gear. This system operates by a switch on the brake pedal that intern operates a interlock solenoid on the shifter mechanism. When you apply the brake the solenoid pulls the shifter lock out of the way to allow free shifter movement. Some vehicles are equipped with a cable that is activated by a solenoid mounted on the brake pedal. Either system will release the safety lock on the shifter that allows you to move it from the park position. Overtightening Bolts 08/23/2009
Overtightening bolts can be a common error made by many Diy auto mechanics and professional technicians alike. Every bolt has a torque spec, and some of these are very critical, and some not so much.  overtightening bolts A good example of a non critical bolt torque spec would be a fender bolt. Yes it does have to be tight but slight over tightening will not affect the reliability of the vehicle.
An example of bolt torque specification that should be respected would be when you replace a water pump. The individual retaining bolts will more than likely have at least one torque spec, but might even have multiple torque specs. Water pumps that mount to a timing cover will have long and short bolts. The long bolts that screw into the engine block will have much higher torque values than the short ones that just thread into the timing cover. Over tightening the short bolts can damage the timing cover, and the gaskets or seals. Auto repair stories 07/31/2009
A site visitor asked me to post their auto repair story for others to learn from. The lesson to be learned is the power of the second opinion. Let’s see how Dreka saved 50% on her 94 olds cutlass car repairs.  94 Olds Cutlass Hello my name is Dreka. I absolutely loved reading your free auto repair book and I want you to know that it has encouraged me even more so to pay attention to my car. I recently obtained my first car it’s a 94 cutlass supreme Oldsmobile. So of course it being 15 years old I’d imagine will call for a few repairs every now and then. With this being said I hope to stay in close contact with you in the future if I have any questions. I must say the things you were able to do for the other people needing your assistance was astonishing! You truly are in a league of all your own. My auto repair storyI have a story to tell you. Two months ago I went into a chain auto service garage to find out why the brake lights didn’t work.
They hooked my car up to a machine for 75 bucks and said that it was a wiring issue and with labor and everything would cost 600 dollars. They said they would need to get under my dashboard but really couldn’t help me understand why. I didn’t have the money so I told them I’d come back. My auto repair book 07/03/2009
I give away my auto repair book for free to site visitors. This is a 68 page report I wrote a few years ago. Some visitors find it helpful and others may feel that it does not apply to their automobile situation. Here is an example of the latter.  Hello Mark I started reading your free auto repair book because I don't know what to make of the car repairs that are being suggested to me.
I think I'm learning a lot about how the auto repair business is run in some places, but I'm not sure how to apply it to my current repair as I've already approved several. I took my rebuilt car in to the closest auto service shop I could find because the car had an engine light on for a few months. The car then started stalling in the last two weeks. But the first day not only did they suggest that the camshaft sensor be replaced to fix the stalling problem but they said the right outer tie rod end should be replaced for safety reasons. Auto repair advice 06/26/2009
My auto repair advice to a 2001 Ford Focus owner that has had major repair work done yet the car remains troublesome. See what can happen when you sink a lot of money into car repairs. The car question follows.  2001 Ford Focus I need automobile advice. I have a 2001 ford focus with 132k miles. The engine blew out in February. I called an auto repair shop, and was told that the engine could be rebuilt for less than $1,000. I took the car there and left it at the shop for him to look at.
The next day I came back to the shop and was told that the repair maybe $1,600 plus $200 to replace the timing belt. I told him I couldn’t afford it and wanted my 01 Ford Focus back; however he told me that the engine was disassembled and it would take time to put back together. His auto repair advice was to set up a payment plan with him and he would guarantee the car repairs for 90 days. So I agreed to the engine repair. When I came to pick up the car, the total charge was now $2,200! Diy Auto Repair 06/05/2009
Diy auto repair has been gaining in popularity throughout the decline of the economy. People are hanging on to their cars longer, and doing what they can to save money by performing their own maintenance and repairs.  When I first got my drivers license, a car with 100,000 miles was on its way to the junkyard as it was conceived its usable life had passed. Now it is commonplace to see vehicles with over 200,000 miles that are still in service.
In fact, the fleet that I am currently working on has 4 1996 E350 vans with the 7.3 L power stroke diesel. All of these vehicles are close to 300,000 miles if not over. This is with the original engine. Although the 7.3 L power stroke diesel is very impressive and continues to provide good service at over 300,000 miles they still need lots of maintenance and repair. We have done our share of water pumps, starter motors and alternators on all of these vehicles. And we have also repaired some major oil leaks including the dreaded rear main seal. Auto Repair Manuals 04/18/2009
This post is about auto repair manuals. Where they came from and how they have progressed through the years. Auto repair manuals are published by independent companies rather than the manufacturers themselves. However they do pay for and get most of their information from the carmakers. Auto repair manuals on CD The same information that is available in service manuals is also available on several different electronic formats. In the beginning, this information was offered on CD-ROMs. And next, they were offered on DVDs, which were able to hold more information per disc. Web based auto repair manuals The latest wave of this electronic auto repair information is offered in a web-based format. All of the information once contained on compact discs or DVDs is now uploaded on a central server network. This allows subscribers to access the information that is required. It also eliminates the update procedure that was required on the disc format. | Car Repair Help
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