Cracked Rotor

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Dan

A customer at my dealership was test driving a used car when they heard a strange clunking noise. It was given to one of the technicians to find out what was wrong with it.

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Leaking Aftermarket Parts

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Dan

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the problem of brand new parts arriving with problems. That caliper with the bent bracket that I showed was an aftermarket unit. Unless you go with the cheapest aftermarket parts they’ll usually be about the same quality as OEM parts, but sometimes they’re just not very long lasting.

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Throwback: Identical Mismatched Tires

Posted on November 5, 2018 by Dan

This was one of the more unusual problems I diagnosed on a car, so I’m bringing this post from 2016 up again.

Now this was a strange one. A customer came in because she had gotten her tires replaced at a tire shop and her low tire pressure warning light kept coming on. The first thing I did was make sure all the tire pressures were set correctly, and then I started recalibration and took it out for a drive.

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Oil Pressure Switch Causing Lean Code?

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Dan

This is going to be a long and technical post, but if you want to learn about car engines, this should be a good read even for the non-technician. A Honda Odyssey came into the shop with the check engine light on. I scanned the codes and found two seemingly unrelated codes. When you have multiple codes you have to decide if you can diagnose both at once or if you have to fix one before the other. The two codes that I had were P0171 Bank 1 Fuel System Too Lean and P3400 Valve Pause System Stuck Off Bank 1. Besides both being on Bank 1 of the engine, I wasn’t sure how they could be caused by the same problem.

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Bad New Parts

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Dan

There are a lot of frustrating things about working on cars, but I would say this is one of the worst. Waiting for parts to arrive can be bad enough, because unless you have work you can do while you wait, you’re stuck and maybe not making any money.

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Throwback: Old Engines

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Dan

Going back a few years for this one for some engines you don’t get to see every day.

While I was in school, an older friend invited me to her husband’s engine shop. It was pretty cool seeing the shop, all the specialized equipment, and the engines they were working on.

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Swollen Lug Nuts

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Dan

Sometimes even a simple part can have a bad design that makes a job take way longer than it should. One example is a certain design of lug nut. Lug nuts have a simple job, all they have to do is hold the wheels on. They’re usually chromed so they don’t rust as quickly.

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Tool Review: Streamlight Stylus Pro USB

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Dan

Out of all the tools I’ve reviewed, this might be the one I’ve used the most.

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Rusted Exhaust Studs

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Dan

A somewhat common problem on Hondas as they get older is an exhaust leak at the joint between the converter and tailpipe. This happens when the nuts and studs holding it together rust away and let it loosen.

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The Wrong Way to Repair Brake Lines

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Dan

When brake lines start leaking, they need to be replaced. Usually they leak from rust, and when they happens, either the whole line needs to be replaced, or just a section of it. The right way to do it is with either an entire new line, or connect a new section to an original section using proper flares and a union.

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