Honda Pilots with Grille Guards

Posted on June 22, 2020 by

As I’ve written about many times, a lot of people like to put accessories on their cars, whether they make sense or not. Sometimes those accessories have a practical use, but are installed on cars that aren’t used in a way that would necessitate those additions.

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Toasted A/C Compressor

Posted on June 18, 2020 by

Dead batteries have been a common problem with a lot of people stuck at home in social distancing the last few months, but that’s not the only problem that can happen when a car sits for a long period of time.

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2001-2007 Dodge Grand Caravan Power Steering Cooler Replacement

Posted on June 15, 2020 by

New blog posts every Monday and Thursday, plus pictures throughout the week on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

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-Dan

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Missing Keyless Antenna

Posted on June 11, 2020 by

Many new cars come with keyless entry and ignition systems. So the car can tell where the key is, there are several antennas in different parts of the vehicle. If something goes wrong with one of the antennas, the car can have trouble recognizing that the key is in or near the vehicle, and will usually cause a diagnostic code in the computer.

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Snapped Timing Belt

Posted on June 8, 2020 by

The most common reasons to have to push a car into the shop are a failed starter, or something majorly wrong with the engine. When this Odyssey got pushed into the shop, it was because the engine was damaged. The timing belt had been replaced recently, and it had snapped.

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Rear Rotors In The Front

Posted on June 4, 2020 by

The front brakes of a car do most of the work in stopping a car, so they are usually larger diameter, with bigger brake pads, and the rotors are vented because of how hot they get during use. The rear rotors on most passenger cars are not vented, because they don’t have to do as much work and get as hot.

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1 Year on YouTube

Posted on June 1, 2020 by

New blog posts every Monday and Thursday, plus pictures throughout the week on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Watch Mechanical Malarkey on YouTube!

Mechanical Malarkey T-shirts, hats, and stickers are available to order!

-Dan

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Quarantine Rodent Damage

Posted on May 28, 2020 by

For the past couple months, many of the people in the US have been staying at home to lessen the spread of COVID-19. As a result, their cars aren’t getting used as often. One of the problems this has caused is a lot of dead batteries. Leaving your car sitting for weeks can easily drain the battery. Another problem, that fortunately hasn’t been nearly as common, is quite a bit more expensive than a dead battery.

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Unsafe Ubers

Posted on May 25, 2020 by

Cars that are used for Uber and Lyft get a lot more use than cars just used for regular commuting, so they need servicing a lot more often. With the extra mileage comes faster wear on a lot of components. The problem is when the car owners don’t maintain their cars.

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Overheated Flat Tire

Posted on May 21, 2020 by

Maintaining proper tire pressure is important for fuel economy, tire wear, and safety. All cars old in the United States since 2007 come with tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) and when the warning light comes on, don’t ignore it. If a tire goes flat and you keep driving on it, you will damage the tire. Drive long enough, and it will shred to pieces.

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