Technorati Tags: auto repair, Car repair, car servicing

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Technorati Tags: auto repair, auto servicing, Car repair, car servicing, driving

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Very good advice here from Eric Hill. Remember if you are doing your own repairs,,,,Safety First

Barry Newton

How to Repair Your Own Car

By Eric Hill

When it comes to repairing your own car, you need the ultimate manual before starting to touch anything - the car repair guide. While the leaflets and books prepared for you by the manufacturer of your car seems all you need, it really doesn’t tell there what you are supposed to do if your brake is loose or if the horn doesn’t seem to work. Problems like these are not user-repairable, it seems. That means you need to take your car to the repair shop. And sending your car for repair is good as several hundred dollar’s worth of cash. With today’s dwindling economy, you don’t want to spend another dollar on something you can do yourself, right?

If you want to repair your car, you have to first find a good book that would teach you what you need to know. Get something that you can easily understand. Determine the level of your knowledge about cars and start from there. How well do you know anything about cars anyway? Are you a beginner in car repair? Is this the first time you’re going to take a look at the insides of your car? Or have you done a couple of minor repairs here and there before?

To get the guide you need, you have to first know the make, year, and model of your car. It would take a whole book to describe how to repair each and every part of your car. So expect to find a book that solely talks about your car’s model and nothing else.

When you do get hold of the car repair guide you’re looking for, make sure to read it thoroughly before you start digging your car’s engine. It pays to know everything head on instead of groping for the manual right in the middle of the repair job. You don’t have to read the whole book. Just the section that pertains to the problem of your car would do.

However, don’t assume that the car repair guide in your hand is the be-all and end-all of all car problems. Car problems are much like sickness. It requires thorough diagnosis to be able to fix the problem effectively. This is why you need to get a book that’s a perfect match to your expertise level. You want something that you can easily understand.

Get car repair guides from the internet or from local bookstores. If you can leaf through the pages of the manual or book that you’re going to buy, that’s better. By doing so, you can be sure that you are getting exactly what you need. Keep in mind that you’re going to repair your own car. You don’t want to do something wrong that could otherwise ruin your vehicle.

If your time allows it, it is best that you enroll in a car repair school that can help you greatly in broadening your knowledge about cars. This is perfect for people who want to be car hobbyists. There are many schools that are offering car related courses today. They can certainly help you repair, upgrade, and even build your own car from scratch.

PacificNissan - used cars dealer from San Diego, offering also quality car repair services in San Diego.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Hill
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Repair-Your-Own-Car&id=1412813

(I don’t know about the area you live in but in the UK but in Scotland all these manauals are sealed to prevent you loooking inside. However, most maunuals will cover the sort of repairs we are we recommend on this site.) BN

Stuff For Sale

Technorati Tags: auto repair, auto repair manuals, Car repair

By Theodore Olson

“It’s all about beating the clock.” This quote comes from a wise old service manager, advising me on how to maximize my income as a flat-rate technician. If you have ever wondered why your car doesn’t get fixed correctly, or all your concerns weren’t addressed, you can blame, in part, the flat-rate pay structure.

Flat-rate simply means that your mechanic is paid a flat fee for a particular repair, regardless of how long the repair actually takes. In other words, if your car needs a water pump, which pays two hours of labor, and the mechanic completes the job in one hour, he gets paid for two.

In theory, this can work to your advantage. If the job takes longer, you still only pay the “predetermined” labor amount. In THEORY, not reality!

The flat-rate pay structure is designed to drive productivity. It’s very effective. The flat-rate pay system encourages technicians to work hard and fast, but it does not promote quality.

In terms of getting your car fixed correctly, the flat-rate pay structure has disastrous effects. Flat-rate technicians are constantly looking for shortcuts to beat the clock in order to maximize the number of hours they bill. Experienced flat-rate technicians can bill anywhere from 16 to 50 hours in an 8 hour day.

It’s these shortcuts and the breakneck speed at which flat rate technicians work that result in some of the most idiotic mistakes. In the rapid-fire pace of a shop I’ve witnessed technicians start engines with no oil. I’ve seen transmissions dropped, smashing into little pieces onto the shop floor. And I’ve seen cars driven right through bay doors—all in the name of “beating the clock.”

Flat-rate technicians can get quite elaborate with shortcuts. My favorite was the implementation of an 6-foot-long 2-by-4, which was placed under the engine for support while a motor mount was removed. It made a job predetermined to take 1.5 hours achievable in twenty minutes. A win-win, right? The technician makes extra money; you get your car back faster.

Actually, in many cases the placement of this 2-by-4 damaged the oil pan. Moreover, it caused the car, your car, to balance precariously 6 feet in the air, while the technician manipulated the car lift to access your engine mount.

This tactic was abruptly discontinued when a technician’s 2-by-4 snapped causing the car to crash nose down onto the concrete floor.

Sometimes the shortcuts create very subtle disturbances, which create problems overtime. A quick example: a vehicle had its transmission serviced with a new filter, gasket, and fluid. During the procedure, the technician was able to save time by bending the transmission dipstick tube slightly, in order to get the transmission pan out faster. The vehicle was reassembled, and the technician re-bent the tube back into place and off it went—no worries….

Six months later, the vehicle returned with an intermittent misfire. The engine wasn’t running on all cylinders. After extensive diagnostics, it was discovered that the transmission dipstick tube had chaffed through the engine harness, intermittently grounding out an injector. Hmm, that’s strange. Don’t usually see that.

The high-speed environment and the subsequent shortcuts illustrate the devastating effects of the flat-rate, sales-driven pay structure on the quality of car repairs.

No wonder even an oil change gets screwed up!

The poor quality of work encouraged by the flat rate pay structure is disconcerting enough. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop here. The negative effects of flat-rate get exponentially worse, as it opens “wide” the door to rip you off!

Technorati Tags: auto repair, Car repair, car service

By Richard Trent

Everyone knows for sure that to drive in our North American cities, we have to pass emission smog test. This is required so we can protect our atmosphere and at the same time, save on gas consumption. However, it is almost always a nightmare to pass such test because you either have to bring it to a garage or fix it yourself. Going to a garage is not a problem if you have money but what do you do if you have to fix this yourself? How do you start? What kind of tools do you need? And where do you acquire the information to repair this problem?

Sometimes, it is very intimidating to bring your vehicle to a garage especially when you consider the cost: (1) cost of scanning the codes including the initial one hour troubleshooting which can ran you between $100-$150 (depends on the type of vehicle) (2) additional $100 per hour for the time the mechanic actually starts the repair. In the end, your total cost can easily reach about $300-$800 to repair one code. But this can easily escalate if there are additional codes found.

So does it look attractive to fix it yourself? One example on how a knowledgeable driver can repair his own vehicle by using the check engine light displayed in his dash panel: My 2001 Ford F150 Pick up truck has failed the smog test and this code P0402 (EGR flow high) came on the other day on my vehicle. I tried to fix this myself and when I introduced vacuum to the egr valve port at idle, the engine quit which tells me that the valve is OK. The engine seems to run OK except this nagging light that will surely fail my smog test. Is there a common fix for this code so I can pass emission test?

Analyzing his problem by using my common fixes database, his problem is familiar and this is what I suggested to him: There is a common fix for this and most of the time it needs the replacement of the DPFE sensor. This sensor looks like a small box with 2 ports coming from the exhaust. The sensor is located between the valve cove and throttle body with tubes running from it. This sensor measures the exhaust back pressure when the EGR valve is activated. The passages (tubes) for this sensor can get cracked and leak to trip the code but there has been a lot of failure on the sensor itself. Also, if the tube has a build up of carbon and restrict the flow; the code can be set too. To check, measure the signal voltage of the sensor using a wiring diagram. Max reading is about 0.9 volt and any reading higher means you have to replace the sensor.

Being one of my subscribers, he saved himself the cost of scanning after reading my courseware but had to buy a vacuum pump for $20. He ended replacing the DPFE sensor which he bought from a Ford dealership. He also bought a digital voltmeter for $100 and after paying for the other hand tools, his total expenses are about the same amount had he visited a garage. But these are the major advantages: he now has a set of tools, built up his self-assurance and he is now ready for the next vehicle problem if it occurs.

Does this appeal to you? If it has, then you are ready to hug the new internet miracle by providing you the latest electronic vehicle information. You can read it at my blog at: http://www.check-engine-light-codes.blogspot.com

Technorati Tags: atuo repair, Car repair, emission test, MOT

By Craig Wilson

Like death and taxes, car repairs are an unavoidable part of life and with the costs involved in keeping a car in good shape increasing all the time it is important to know the best strategies for avoiding unnecessary expenses. Some of these savings can be made simply by following maintenance schedules for your vehicle but more importantly knowing how to deal with the repairer when it comes time for a visit to the repair shop.

From being a self employed motor mechanic for the last six years of my life and hearing tales of woe from vehicle owners on an almost daily basis I can comfortably say that there are more dishonest shop owners in our industry than we would care to admit. Unfortunately when the consumer is totally uneducated to the way these repair shops work they are often taken for a ride, simply because they have no choice but to believe what they are being told by the repairer.

The key here is knowledge. Arming yourself even with the most basic information about how your vehicle works and what to look for in a repairer has the potential to save you thousands of dollars on your repair bills. Many repairers will take your lack of knowledge about your motor vehicle as an invitation to fill your head with stories of additional repairs need to be carried out and why these repairs need to be done immediately when this simply may not be the case.

Quite a few workshops also employ tactics that encourage you to take your car in for a discount service that may seem great value on the outside but often times it is merely a way to get your car in their workshop so they can up sell you on a host of other ‘necessary’ repairs. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for making a living from the service you provide but how can you be sure that what you are being told is the absolute truth?

Sure there are honest mechanics and workshop owners out there and if you have been lucky enough to find one I suggest you treat them like gold. If they value your business and their reputation I am sure they will treat you just as good however if you have not been so lucky now is the time to educate yourself and start saving your hard earned dollars instead of lining the pockets of these not-so-honest operators.

For more information and access to one of the best resources for educating yourself against paying too much for your auto repairs please see Autofix.com.au
Craig Wilson is a trade qualified mechanic, workshop owner and the author of http://autofix.com.au, offering Free Online Auto Repair Advice, DIY Tutorials and Automotive News n Views.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_Wilson
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Keep-Your-Car-Repair-Costs-To-A-Minimum&id=1106293

Good stuff   More later

Technorati Tags: auto repair, Car repair, car servicing

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