Diagnostic Dilemmas: The Market Value for a Repair to an Older Vehicle
It’s a sign of the times that many people are bringing older vehicles into shops for repairs that they would not have considered several years ago. So it’s not unusual to see people spending more to repair a vehicle than its market value.
Tech Feature: Air Springs and Suspensions
Passenger car air helper springs have been around since the early fifties. Fifty years ago (1958 model year), GM introduced air suspension as an option for all of its passenger cars. It featured a single cylinder belt driven compressor from Bendix Westinghouse. Goodyear supplied its rolling lobe and sleeve type Super-Cushion air springs. The option lasted for two model years. In the late 1960s, Mercedes Benz applied air suspension to their SL sedans and limousines. Air springs returned in ….
Air Springs and Suspensions
ed air suspension to their SL sedans and limousines. Air springs returned in 1974 for the rear suspension of the new GMC Motor Home RV26. This time the springs came from Firestone and the compressor was driven by an electric motor. The mid 1980s saw a revival of air suspension at all four corners for
A/C Update: The Logic Behind Automatic Temperature Controls
Many new cars and trucks now have automatic temperature control (ATC) systems that not only regulate cooling but also heating for year-round passenger comfort. Most of these systems have their own computer that may be built into the control panel head, located elsewhere or integrated into the body control module. One thing’s for sure: the
Smooth Sailing: Steering, Suspension & Ride Control Repair Opportunities
Original equipment chassis parts on late-model cars and trucks are supposedly engineered to go 150,000 miles or more. But is that 150,000 miles of highway driving on nice smooth roads or 150,000 miles of bumps, potholes and rough roads? The OEMs say it’s some of both. Nobody can predict exactly how long a chassis part
Another Valve Stem Recall Launched
Dill Air Controls Products announced the voluntary recall of automobile tire stem valves sold in the U.S. between November 2006 and July 2007. The snap-in rubber valve stems under recall were manufactured by Topseal (Shanghai) Auto-Parts Co., in Shanghai, China, and imported and distributed by Dill Air Controls Products under its Dill ACP brand name ….
AMRA Hosts 2018 Spring Technical Committee Meeting In Chicago
The day-and-a-half meeting included informative and technical presentations covering topics that affect how service providers repair and maintain vehicles today.
Make TPMS A Profit Center With Consumer Education
Tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) started off on the wrong foot with both customers and auto repair shops. Far too many customers came to look at the early high cost of replacement TPMS sensors or the fees for service kits to think that TPMS must just be a cash cow for everybody involved. Those at
Tech Feature: The Past, Present and Future of TPMS
Ebenezer Scrooge would probably fear the Ghost of Christmas Past and welcome the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, if the Scrooge and Marley firm of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” was a player in the tire pressure monitoring system industry instead of London’s financial lending community.
TPMS Tech Tip: Popular Questions for an Unpopular Topic
A recent 19th-hole opinion exchange among friends included Gulf of Mexico oil drilling, Tea Party rallies and LeBron. Chatter about pre-season college football polls had just escalated to a feverish pitch when a participant in the conversation thought it was time to test the popularity of a discussion topic that would benefit all automotive drivers in the room – TPMS.