Specialty Tools: Making a Once Difficult Task Easy to Accomplish
More and more, it is becoming difficult, if not impossible, to repair and service the cars on the road without a host of specialty tools. The days of being able to use just basic hand tools to repair vehicles is becoming a thing of the past. As the owner and lead tech on a couple of older Mercedes vehicles, this became painfully obvious to me over the last week or so. Faced with the repair and replacement of some suspension components, I ended up needing no less than four different vehicle-specific specialty tools to do the repairs.
Tech Feature: Toyota V8 Timing Belt Service
When I first started researching this article, I called and stopped by several shops that do work on Toyota vehicles. I asked if any of them had any V8 models coming in for timing belts so I could get some pictures of the process. Either a blank stare, or a question like: “What Toyota V8?” was the general response. The idea that there was a Toyota V8 needing a timing belt replacement seems to be generally unknown in the aftermarket.
Tech Tip: Toyota Matrix MIL ON/DTC’s P0011, P0012 or P0016 Set
Under certain conditions, customers may experience an MIL On condition with DTC P0011, P0012 or P0016 stored in the Engine Control Module/ECM.
Tech Feature: Sports Compacts – Performing in a ‘Maturing’ Market
What started out in the 1990s as an affordable way for kids to bang around with cars that were often handed down from their parents or siblings, later grew into a fledgling market all its own.
Toyota Underhood Maintenance
Our twin daughters just graduated from high school. For a graduation present, we allowed (and funded) them to accompany a group of other students on a 30-day trip through nine countries in Europe. They stayed in hostels, traveled by train and rental vans, and did a fair share of hiking. They took thousands of pictures, and gained experience and stories that will serve them for years.
Tech Feature: Identifying Ford Duratec 3.0L Cylinder Blocks
We are going to look at the 3.0L DOHC V6 engine known as the Duratec 30 or Mazda AJ. It was introduced in 1996 as a replacement for the 3.8L 232 Essex in the Taurus/Sable, but the Duratec never matched the performance of the pushrod engine.
Tech Feature: The Variables of Valve Timing
Today’s cylinder deactivation designs are used to reduce the fuel consumption and emissions of an internal combustion engine during light load operation.
Tech Feature: Northstar Supernova
Introduced in 1993, GM’s 4.6L 32-valve dual overhead cam all-aluminum V8 engine – housed in the Cadillac Allante, Eldorado and Seville STS – was considered a quantum leap forward for U.S. automakers. Initially rated at 295 horsepower, the Northstar V8 has grown over the years to an incredible 469 hp at 6,400 rpm (STS-V Supercharged Northstar engine).
Tech Feature: What’s New with Oil Pumps, Pickups and Pans
Good oil pressure is critical to engine longevity, whether an engine is in a race car or a daily driver. Oil lubricates the bearings, rings and valvetrain components, and also helps cool the engine internally (especially the pistons and bearings).
Toyota Tech Tip: MIL On, Misfire DTCs Set on 1MZ-FE Engines
Some vehicles equipped with 1MZ-FE (V6) engines without VVTi may exhibit a rough idle and/or an MIL-on condition with a diagnostic trouble code or codes for misfire caused by an improperly operating ignition coil assembly. Production changes have been implemented to prevent this condition from occurring.