car care

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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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I drive a recent model year Pontiac GTO and my wife has a Honda Odyssey minivan. Both of these vehicles were suffering from the same cloudy, foggy headlight condition. the headlight lenses themselves had become yellow and cloudy and you could definitely tell when driving at night that the headlights weren’t as bright as...
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I own a 1997 Ford Crown Vic (Victoria) and it is definitely a great running car that I’ve had for many years and put a lot of miles on (274,000 to be exact). It does have a few glitches every now and then though. One of the most annoying ones is when my turn...
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Want your car to run smoothly for years to come? Want to save big money on car repairs? Want your car running and looking great? Well, you have to take good care of you car if you want it to last and be dependable. What does that mean? It means you need to know...
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If you’re looking for a cheap way to gain added horsepower and fuel economy for your car then there isn’t a better way than to install your own hydrogen generator. There are kits out there that provide either the parts and components or the whole entire kit for use in your car or truck....
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I have been a mechanic for many years and retired in 2007 right before the big recession hit. I decided to spend more time with my family (when I was working at the dealership I worked long hours and came home too tired to play with my boys). So, I just up and retired....
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I own a 2009 Honda CRV and since the day I bought it I have found that there was an annoying smell of burning rubber or something like that coming from the wheel well areas on the right side of the vehicle. The smell is strongest from under the right rear wheel well and...
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Are you thinking of upgrading your car from halogen to HID headlights? Do you know what is involved in this change? Be careful. There are after market headlight bulbs marketed as being HID when in fact they are not. They may be slightly brighter then regular halogen bulbs or they may have a blue...
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If you drive an older car then I am sure you have probably heard its belt squeak at some point in time. You probably just put up with it until it became unbearable and then had the squeaky belt or belts (some cars have more then one belt) replaced. You might also have found...
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If you’re like me you’ve probably grown tired of the oil change shops trying to up-sell you to completely unnecessary repairs or replacements for your vehicle. Every time I’ve gone to the local Jiffy Lube for an oil change are always telling me to change my fuel filter. Even if I just had it...
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This may sound stupid but actually have people every day asking me to reset their check engine light on their vehicle for various reasons. Some want it removed so they can pass inspection. Others so they can sell their cars. And still others so they can get what ever is wrong fixed. My answer...
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My Mitsubishi lost its ac recently. On a hot day earlier this week I turned on the air conditioning as I was driving down the highway and no cold air came out. It used to start blowing cold in like 10 to 20 seconds. Now it wouldn’t turn cold at all even on a...
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I bought a pair of VGX brand semi-metallic brake pads for the rear wheels of my car at Carolina Auto Supply here in Charlotte NC for $24.15 for both. That is a pretty good price for a pair of decent quality brake pads. Autozone didn’t have anything comparable in both price and quantity and...
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