Riding The Waves
There are still some technicians who get thrown for a loop if they can’t find a sample or “known good” waveform for a particular circuit on a particular car.
Pre-Purchase Inspections
When a customer turns to you for advice and assistance in selecting a used vehicle, he’s asking you to help him shoulder some of the responsibility.
Green Backing
The focus of Part 3 in this series will be much broader and will touch on several related topics. I suppose this article could be subtitled “Environmental Shop Practices” because we will discuss what you can do to make your shop more environmentally “correct.”
Driveability Clinic: Diamond Star in the Rough
Last year we brought you a story about a balky Mitsubishi Conquest with a severe case of hydrocarbon halitosis.
Tech Tips
Previa Spark Plug Removal; Vacuum Testing; BMW No-Starts; Rear Axle Seal Leaks; Diesel Shut-Off Diaphragms; Pre-Pump Failures; 929 Oil Leaks; Little Green Men
tranZFormation
Maybe you can also remember at least one transmission that was ruined as its owner fruitlessly tried to “rock” his car out of a snow bank. Smelly, burned transmission fluid, scorched clutch plates-you get the picture.
Snap Judgment
When it comes to engine work, the cost in lost time and money can be tremendous if the job has to be done a second time.
Driveability Clinic: Birds Of A Different Feather
proper battery voltage and clean, tight connections in both the voltage supply and ground circuits of any car experiencing driveability problems. My own experience tells me that these factors are especially important when diagnosing any Porsche driveability complaint.
Tech Tips
Engine Pre-Oiling; Automatic Transmission leak; Heater Valve Replacement; Axle Nut Rerun; Exhaust Leak Sleuth; Intermittent Electrical Problems; Mazda Cooling Fan Operation; Cleanup Tips
Trooper Troubles: Part Two
We told you this vehicle was messed up, and we weren’t exaggerating. During disassembly of the engine, we discovered that it had already been rebuilt once before.
Driveability Clinic: K-Lambda “Lite”
Why K-Lambda? Our choice of K-Lambda was an easy one for a number of reasons…
Up In The Air
While it’s safe to assume that many of these cars will never be retrofitted to R-134a (the approved replacement refrigerant for R-12), there are still millions of others that will require retrofitting before they make that final trip to the wrecking yard.
Units of Electrical Measurement
This article will help you understand the numbers that are used in electrical and electronic system measurement.
Playing Fair
Unfortunately, other products such as used tires are not, and their proper disposal remains a major challenge.
Driveability Clinic: Failed Emissions Test
All of the important sensors appeared to check out, and a recent tune-up failed to solve the problem.
Bright ideas
After several window switch failures, a former customer complained that he had purchased a Mercedes-Benz to avoid frequent visits to the shop.
Another Notch
When Nissan introduced the new 300 ZX in 1984, they raised the performance level of their top of the line sports coupe another notch.
Bucket Brigade
The engine cranked very slowly at times. The customer speculated, as they love to do, that there was a bad battery.
Driveability Clinic: All Choked Up
The B2600 was Mazda’s first offering of a four wheel drive pickup to our small truck market. But back in 1986-87, Mazda’s new V6 wasn’t quite ready for use in the new Four-By.
Under Pressure
The slow but steady loss of coolant from the cooling system made that kind of denial impossible.
Trooper Troubles: Part One
Judging by the overall condition of this vehicle, it hasn’t been on the right side of a combination wrench for a very long time. It was running when we bought it, but just barely.