10 Cartridge Oil Filter Tips
An oil change is probably one of the least expensive services your shop offers, but it can result in one of the most costly comebacks if a mistake is made.
Better Engines Need Better Filters
Neglected oil change intervals can ruin the best engine oils and filters. As engine oil and the filter accumulate miles, they become contaminated with carbon, water and various acids, all of which are a byproduct of internal combustion that combine to form a film of black, gooey sludge on the interior parts of the engine.
Programming Keys, Codes And Diagnostics
In the 1980s, the only thing standing between a thief and starting a car was the lock’s tumbler. The thief could pick the lock or violently remove the lock’s tumbler with a slide hammer. Re-keying a car involved installing a new lock cylinder – this is not the case with most late-model vehicles.
Understanding Idle Quality
Idle quality is challenging to diagnose because it is a vague description at best on most vehicles. The textbook definition is an engine speed lower or higher than the specification in the service manual. For drivers, idle “quality” is more difficult to define.
Multi-Spark Ignition Systems
You may have seen the stories about plasma or laser ignition systems that promise to give new life to the internal combustion engine. But while these ignition systems have yet to make it to market the latest ignition innovation still uses a coil and spark plug.
Overcoming Identity Crisis Means Equal Parts Art And Science
The automotive industry has suffered with an identity crisis for a number of years. Some of it is self-inflicted and some of it is due to public stigma which comes from a lack of understanding about what it takes to successfully move along with a large dose of commoditization in a race to the bottom.
Vehicle Inspection Impact
Inspection programs got their start in the 1930s, when fatalities on the road increased to almost epidemic levels. During this period, drivers were three times more likely to die in an accident than today.
$25 Billion Bounty Puts Hollywood Heists To Shame
The Auto Care Association and IMR Inc. report that in a recent survey, more than 100,000 American households (driving more than 170,000 vehicles) revealed they know that repairs or maintenance need to be performed on their car but have chosen to delay the work.
GM Tech Tip: Lin Bus Diagnostics
As more smart motors, switches and sensors are being used, there are more Local Interconnect Network (LIN) buses on vehicles.
Turbo Cooling: The Real Reason Turbochargers Are Back
The biggest part of the problem was deposits formed when the engine was off and the turbo was heat soaked.
Why Is Carbon An Issue Now?
The early 2000s was the golden age of port fuel injection. Carbon deposit problems had gone the way of worn ignition points and V-belts.
Intelligent Cooling Systems
Smart thermostats and pumps are adding a new wrinkle to diagnostics.
