Glen Beanard, Author at UnderhoodService
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Ford EGR-ESM Diagnosis

The EGR system module (ESM) is one of Ford’s latest EGR system for gasoline engines. It is an EGR valve, EVR, MAP and DPFE sensor rolled into one package. Though the DPFE sensor on an ESM is referred to as “DPFE” by the scan tool and also wiring diagrams, it is not a traditional DPFE sensor as used on the older EGR system. It is actually two separate MAP sensors.

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Volumetric Efficiency Diagnostics

A few years ago, I obtained an OBDII scan tool/dynamometer simulation/calculation program that can graph volumetric efficiency (VE) over rpms. Using real world vehicles, and no useful instructions, I devised a test sequence that allows a technician to see things another way. What is Volumetric Efficiency? Let’s keep this simple to start. An engine is

Suspension Bushing Testing: When is a Bushing Bad?

There is no real maintenance schedule for a bushing beyond periodic inspection. While tie rod ends and ball joints might occasionally receive a little “thanks” for all their hard work in the form of a greasy treat, the bushing gets no such thanks. In fact, such a “treat” can mean death to a rubber bushing.

Tech Feature: Transmission Fluid and Filter Service

To prevent any service from being over sold or under sold, it is important to not only know that a particular service should be performed, but also why it should be performed. That knowledge can also help you spot when to recommend that service, and when not to. When speaking about transmission fluid, the short version of the explanation is that it gets dirty and wears out.

Tech Feature: Courage Under Misfire

Generally, when a customer brings a vehicle into a shop that has a misfire concern, they will describe it as bucking, jerking or loss of power. They also may describe it, depending on the cause, as a jerking when they take off from a start, but smoothes out once the vehicle gets moving. They may tell you the check engine light has been flashing.

Uniformity in Uniforms

In Pittsburgh, a man awaits a trial for manslaughter. He is, or was at the time, a technician for a repair shop. He had been assigned inspect the brakes on a Dodge Caravan. The driver of the van had brought the vehicle to the shop for a brake inspection because the brakes “did not feel right.”

Tech Feature: Eliminating the Con-‘Fusion’ of Servicing Ford’s Mid-Size Vehicles

Nestled into the marketing space between the Focus and the Taurus/Five Hundred is the Ford Fusion. The Fusion came with a choice of four-cylinder and six-cylinder Duratec powerplants. The inline four-cylinder Duratec 23 is a 2.3L 16-valve DOHC engine.

Tech Feature: Predicting Failures Through Mode $06

The PCM has several diagnostic modes. Depending on your scan tool and your use of it, you may get to see some or all of these modes. Also, depending on your scan tool, you may be accessing the various modes in the PCM without referring to them as “modes.”

Tech Feature: Engine Technology Gets a Boost

As a technician, you’ll need to understand how Ford’s EcoBoost turbocharged gasoline direct injection engine works, since the automaker plans to incorporate it in 90% of its new vehicles over the next three years.

Selling Services: Wheel Speed Sensors

There are two main types of magnetic wheel speed sensors — passive and active. Both use a tone ring to reference against and each look very similar to one another.

Tech Feature: Ford Hybrid Braking

A hybrid vehicle is a different animal than many of us are used to seeing. After all, if the engine of a typical vehicle were to stall out at a traffic light, the driver of that vehicle would know something was wrong with it. If that same vehicle still drove with the engine off, then that would mean they were probably going down hill. But in the hybrid world, that is all normal. Several systems around the vehicle are impacted by two key elements.

Tech Feature: ‘Exploring’ Ford 4.0/4.6L SUV Engines

Since 2002, the Ford Explorer and Mecury Mountaineer have undergone a number of noticeable engine changes. Glen Beanard reveals which engines offer newer features and offers tips on how to handle service and repair challenges with these vehicles.