Selling Services: Selling the Scope to Your Customer
While replacing a blown head gasket and re-torquing the head bolts, you reach into your tool box and grab your 1/2-inch impact and rattle the bolts down. Just kidding! You would reach for your torque wrench and accurately follow the manufacturer recommendations for torque patterns and values. To guarantee a quality repair, an accurate torque
Vehicle Mileage Maintenance
A mere 0.7 of a mile does not sound like much, it is about 3,700 feet, or less than one-third the distance around Daytona International Speedway. On average, the U.S. population of vehicles will get 20 miles per gallon (including light trucks and passenger vehicles). A 0.7 of a mile improvement represents only a 3.5
Alignment and Scan Tools
How can centering a steering wheel during an alignment cause a vehicle to turn a blind eye? In the past two years we have seen more vehicles on the market with stability management and adaptive cruise control. If a vehicle with one of these systems comes into your shop for alignment, be aware that any
BALL JOINTS & BUSHINGS: Worn Components Take Their Toll on Advanced Suspension Technologies
Too often, shop owners and technicians alike assume that suspension systems haven’t changed much in the past 20 years. In reality, nothing could be farther from the truth because today’s import vehicle may incorporate a number of technologies that can be affected by worn steering and suspension components. To illustrate, we’re beginning to see electronic
Under Pressure and Pounding: What Happens to Wheel Bearings and Suspensions When Wheels Get Big?…Stop Using Percentages if You Cannot Show Your Work!
Custom wheels and tires have been an automotive fashion statement since the 1970’s and today custom wheels have become automotive jewelry with 26-inch spinners on a Hummer as one of the ultimate statements. But, the hidden costs come at the price of wheel bearing life and other wheel end components. As an undercar shop, you
Using Caster to Properly Align Vehicles
Every story has an angle, and this one is no exception. In this case, we’re looking at one of the fundamental wheel alignment angles: caster. Caster is defined as the forward (negative) or rearward (positive) tilt of the steering axis as viewed from the side. Caster is measured in degrees from an imaginary line perpendicular
The Heat Is On…Helping Your Customers and Their Vehicles Keep Their “Cool”
What brings customers in for cooling system repairs? Usually, it’s a cooling system problem. No vehicle will go very far if its cooling system isn’t working. Sooner or later, the engine will overheat – possibly with dire results. Severe overheating can damage the cylinder head, head gasket, pistons, cylinders and/or valve guides. Many motorists don’t
When To Replace Steering Knuckles and Arms
ight passenger side because the right wheel is more apt to hit a curb than the left wheel. CAMBER CLUES Tire wear can also be affected by camber. Excessive camber loads one side of the tread more heavily than the other, resulting in uneven wear. Camber wear typically produces uneven wear on one side of
Chassis Dynamics
A Firestone sales jingle gave us a good definition of chassis dynamics: “Where the rubber meets the road.” There are four tire tread contact patches that support the weight and control the motion of a vehicle. There are a lot of terms used to describe the motion of an automotive chassis and how it affects
Performing Hyundai Maintenance and Profiting From It
Like so many other late-model vehicles, the Hyundai vehicle lineup won’t necessarily keep your bays busy with “repair” work, but can present you with profitable maintenance opportunities. We can no longer afford to let any opportunity for service go unnoticed, and hope that the customer will come back for the next job. It’s an important
Replacing FWD Wheel Bearings
When a wheel bearing goes out on a FWD car or minivan, it may or may not give much warning. Typical clues include noise from the vicinity of the wheel, possibly some steering wander or looseness in the steering, and/or some abnormal tread wear on the front tires. Also, an ABS light could illuminate. Any
Power Steering Repair
A long time ago in a garage far away a young technician was seeking a repair of a steering system. He found there are a lot of things that can go wrong with a rack and pinion steering gear. The steering wheel vibrates at speeds above 45 miles per hour; the steering wheel doesn’t return