Mercedes-Benz: Transmission Service and Other Maintenance Essentials
Consistently rated as well engineered and well built, the Mercedes line fills almost every class of vehicle today, from small fuel-efficient people-movers like the Smart Car, to large over-the-road trucks and every niche in between. Our shop performs routine maintenance and more involved repairs on hundreds of Mercedes vehicles every year. Most of the models
Wheel Balancing: Making a Smart Investment in a Wheel Balancer
When you consider that only 1/4-ounce of wheel imbalance can produce a noticeable vibration on a vehicle, it’s easy to understand why it’s so important to have a wheel balancer that is both accurate and easy to use. Many balancers in today’s marketplace are capable of balancing a wheel to within a few hundredths of
Battery Charging: All Charged Up!
A battery charger is something every shop should own, and most do. But battery technology has changed in recent years. Battery chargers that were designed for older conventional lead acid batteries (called “flooded” cell batteries because the cells are filled with liquid electrolyte) may not be the best choice for newer batteries with absorbent glass
Top Five Tools
Gary Farber, president Debra Farber, vice president All Brand Auto Service Kensington, MD Snap-on MODIS — A powerful tool for a broad range of diagnostics and applications. Identifix — A world of information on one website. By checking www.identifix.com before starting a technical job, diagnostic time is saved because the answer is usually right there.
Mitchell 1 Adds Record Repair Content In Third Quarter
Mitchell 1 recently announced that it added an industry-record amount of new information to its OnDemand5 repair content database in the third quarter of 2006, making it the largest release of new material in a single quarter in the history of the company.
High-Performance Brake Pads
Friction and Fiction “I would like a more aggressive or high-performance brake pad.” If you work at a typical shop you will hear this statement at least once a week. It is a complex request that requires a line of questioning to flush out what the customer wants, needs and expects. “Aggressive”, “high performance” and
Diagnostic Solutions, Servicing Filters: Top-Notch Design Is Key When Selecting New Filters
Veteran auto mechanics well remember the days of oil-bath air filters, cartridge-type oil filters, and sediment-bowl fuel filters. While these early-design filters would work well under a narrow range of circumstances, most were woefully inefficient and inadequate in the long term. All were subject to careless installation and dirt contamination during servicing. As disposable “paper”
Brake & Suspension System Service
Brake and suspension repairs are the best type of routine maintenance repairs that coincide with major service intervals. Brake and suspension components that are in need of replacement could represent a significant profit center for shops when technicians take the time to perform complete chassis inspections. Worn suspension and brake components, as well as a
Precision is Key to Success
Precision Incorporated: The Facts Owners/Consultants: Mike and Chris Klinger Locations: Tucson, AZ Shop Stats: 4,000 square feet, 9 bays, 9 lifts Employees: 1 service manager, 1 parts manager, 2 service advisors, 6 technicians Recognition by Phoenix-based dealer Showcase Honda as its single largest purchaser of Honda genuine parts in the state of Arizona is a
Fundamentals of Electrical System Diagnosis
Electrical principles, like voltage, amperage and resistance, can be described as cars passing along the roadway. Voltage would be the vehicle’s speed, amperage would be the number of vehicles on the road at the same time, and resistance would be the potholes in the road’s surface. Basically, electricity is a supply of atoms with an