I have been in the automotive business for quite some time and over the years I’ve seen quite a few cars that have had some pretty nasty, smelly and stinky odors. mostly these are either trade-ins from customers that just neglected their cars or cars we bought at auction or from a wholesaler. You’d...
Read more »
The book Driving with the Devil by Neal Thompson is a fascinating look at Nascar’s true and somewhat hidden past. I have to say the word hidden because for over 50 years Nascar has tried to hide it’s true heritage and lineage other than to say the sport started in 1948 with the start...
Read more »
Before too long there was infighting inside the NSCRA and it soon started to fall apart. Prior to this it was every bit as big as Bill France’s Nascar, but Big Bill took advantage of the situation and quickly offered larger payouts and literally stole all of the great drivers from Bruton Smith’s NSCRA....
Read more »
I got this CarMD vehicle health system kit off of Amazon.com for a few bucks under a hundred dollars. I saw an advertisement for it in my Men’s Fitness magazine and thought it would be good to help diagnose problems with our cars. This way I could keep the repair shops honest and not...
Read more »
I have had to fix a few radiator leaks in my day (a lot actually as I used to be a Chrysler mechanic in the 80′s and 90′s when Chrysler was well known for making the worst vehicles on the road – and the best vehicles for us mechanics because they were always needing...
Read more »
Years ago I bought a used Nissan Maxima and I got a great deal on it. I got it for $5,000 less then it was worth at the time. Part of the reason I got such a great deal was that the thing literally reeked of cigarette smoke. It smelled like an ashtray on...
Read more »
It’s something that most of us rarely put much thought into – cleaning the engine and engine compartment. Have you ever cleaned that area under the hood on your car? Do you know how to clean it? Why would you want to clean the engine compartment? Well, I’m going to cover all that along...
Read more »
This may not fix all of the oil burning problems you may see in a Toyota Camry, but it certainly will fix most of them. The problem is first uncovered by a burning oil smell. It gets worse as the car is run more. So, for long trips and highway driving it will smell...
Read more »
I have a 1997 Honda Accord with over 180,000 miles on it (I have to say over because the odometer stopped working last year in December when it read 180,000 miles and so I don’t know the true mileage on it but it is clearly over 180,000 and maybe even a tad over 200,000...
Read more »
Sunroofs are a lot of fun on a hot or breezy day. Oh to have the feel of wind blowing through your hair. The problem is that sunroofs are notorious for leaking and ruining your headliner and leaving your carpets wet and smelly of mildew or mold. Who wants to get in their car...
Read more »
Most every car you find on the road today is made with clear, plastic headlight lenses. You will not see glass headlights on cars made since the early 1990′s. This is because glass headlights break easily in car accidents and the glass shatters everywhere. The auto industry found plastic headlights to be better constructed...
Read more »
I am an automotive detailer for several car dealerships in the Chicago area. I am very busy detailing cars from about 9 am until dark. In some cases later especially on busy days like Saturdays and Sundays (Sundays I do more sideline work and this pays more then the car dealerships do). In the...
Read more »
This is probably the most common problem or complaint I have seen from customers in our service area – vibration while braking. You clearly can’t miss it and it can be really bad in some cases. It’s like a thud, thud, thud that occurs every time you press the brake pedal. This thud or...
Read more »
This may sound stupid, but just because it sounds like the squealing is coming from the serpentine belt doesn’t mean that it really is. The squealing you may be hearing could also be coming from a bad water pump, the alternator, the air compressor and even the belt tensioner pulley. Any of these items...
Read more »
advertising It seems to me that I am seeing a lot of problems with the braking systems on the Ford 500. Lately that is pretty much what 80% or more of the Ford 500′s that we have coming in here for service have – a serious braking problem and rear wheel noise. Their rotors...
Read more »
advertising Have you seen the TV show Lizard Lick Towing? It is supposedly about the hard knock life of a small knit and redneck repo family in Wendell North Carolina. But if you just use 1% of your brain and a little common sense you will see that this reality TV show has absolutely...
Read more »
advertising If you happen to own a first generation Oldsmobile Aurora (1995-1999 and in my pinion the best looking Auroras made)then I am sure by now you have probably had to replace a battery or dealt with some electrical issues. Not to say the Oldsmobile Aurora is a bad car because it definitely isn’t....
Read more »
advertising The economy is right now the worst it has been in probably 80 years. This recession is still on (don’t listen to what the government liars like Obama want you to believe – they just want to get reelected – besides he’s still lying about his place of birth (it’s really Kenya)) and...
Read more »
If you have a 1996 or similar year and model Ford Contour they all have one similar problem that by now you should have run into – the alternator dies. It is a multiple part fix, however. Replacing or rebuilding the alternator will not complete the fix. Besides I do not recommend rebuilding the...
Read more »
Is your car or truck’s headliner looking sad? Does it sag or hang? Is it ugly and annoying? Well, I am a professional car restoration expert and I am going to tell you exactly how we fix all sorts of automotive headliners in our shop. It isn’t that hard to do and, depending upon...
Read more »
