Tech Tip: Vehicle Safety Hinges on Understanding, Checking and Replacing Ball Joints
If the engine quits at 60 mph, you have a chance of getting off the road safely. If a ball joint quits, you have a chance of crashing off the road. The ball joint is one moveable part of a control arm assembly. The control arm bushings are just as important as the ball joint – if the ball joint is worn, chances are the bushings are just as worn. In the case of a strut suspension, the upper mount can receive as much wear as ….
Update On CAN Diagnostics
Whether you like it or not, Controller Area Networks (CAN) have taken over. CAN technology has been steadily creeping into more and more new vehicles since it first appeared in 1992 on certain Mercedes-Benz models. Thanks to federal emissions rules, it is now required on all 2008 model year vehicles, and will be forevermore. What
Tech Update: Scan Tools & Code Readers
One thing you can always count on in the automotive repair business is that diagnostic equipment is constantly changing. It must to keep pace with changing automotive technology. So the latest crop of scan tools and code readers have more features, more capabilities and give you more bang for your buck than ever before. There’s
Tech Tip: Fixing Front End Squeaks on Cadillac Escalades
Your shop just installed a new set of tires on a 2002 Cadillac Escalade. The very next day, the customer returns complaining about a squeak and a rattle coming from the front end that wasn’t there before you replaced the tires. What happened? The noise could be coming from the front shocks. The shocks are equipped with upper insulator pilot rings that can wear ….
Tech Feature: Performance Exhaust for Late-Model Vehicles
What’s hot in exhaust performance products? Bolt-on free-flowing exhaust systems for diesel trucks, big bore mufflers for sport compact cars, and low restriction street performance mufflers for cars like Mustangs, Pontiac G8s, Dodge Chargers and Chevy Corvettes. The diesel market has been really hot lately. Turbo diesel engines are a popular option in full-size Dodge, Ford and GM pickups because a ….
Tech Tip: The Ins and Outs of Indirect and Direct TPMS
This is the year of the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitor System). It’s been coming for some time. In response to a rash of highly publicized rollover accidents caused by tire failures on SUVs, Congress passed a law called the TREAD Act in 2000 which required all vehicle manufacturers to have TPMS on all their cars and light trucks by 2008. Time has run out, and as far as we know, all the vehicle manufacturers have complied ….
Ride Control Upgrades: Struts, Springs and Sway Bars
Some magazines write about suspension modifications on some of the most mundane vehicles, BRAKE & FRONT END never takes the easy way out. When most people think about lowering springs and other modifications, they think of Asian imports shaking the fillings out of a young driver. You almost never think of a BMW 7 Series.
Performance Exhausts for Late-Model Vehicles
What’s hot in exhaust performance products? Bolt-on free-flowing exhaust systems for diesel trucks, big bore mufflers for sport compact cars, and low restriction street performance mufflers for cars like Mustangs, Pontiac G8s, Dodge Chargers and Chevy Corvettes. The diesel market has been really hot lately. Turbo diesel engines are a popular option in full-size Dodge,
Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems: The Ins and Outs of Indirect and Direct TPMS
This is the year of the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitor System). It’s been coming for some time. In response to a rash of highly publicized rollover accidents caused by tire failures on SUVs, Congress passed a law called the TREAD Act in 2000 which required all vehicle manufacturers to have TPMS on all their cars
Kia: 4WD Front Hub and Brake System Service
Being import specialist techs, we may not be real familiar with 4WD systems and the associated parts, but that’s no reason to turn away this profitable work. For this article, we’ll look at the 2000 Sportage. The most common complaint you’ll encounter is no 4WD operation, which can usually be traced to problems with the