Special Report: Product Training and Technology: More Like Rocket Science
Just when technicians think they have a handle on product training, something new is introduced to the market. Do you have the time, money and smarts to stay informed?
Special Report: Training is an Attitude
It’s a fixed business expense just like heat, lights and insurance. Shop owners must be willing to change right along with vehicle technology to meet the challenges of the future.
Undercover: Getting a ‘Crash Course’ in ABS Systems
Vehicle Safety Hinges On Solid Preventive Maintenance Program
Under the Hood: Charging Ahead into Electrical System Testing
Although checking charging voltage at the battery terminals is the most popular method for testing an alternator, a charging voltage test seldom reveals less common problems like open or shorted alternator diodes, intermittent high or low charging rates, charging system wiring problems, intermittent cranking/no-start complaints or intermittent dead battery complaints.
Undercover: Sensing Dangers: Safety System Diagnostics
How Wheel Speed Sensors Play a Vital Role in Safety System Activation.
Opinion: What It Takes To Be An Automotive Technician — These Days
Most people inside and outside our industry drastically underestimate what it takes to educate the modern automotive technician.
Undercover: Suspension Upgrades for the Sport Compacts
Unfortunately, too many hot-rod sport compacts don’t have enough suspension upgrades to handle their muscle-car horsepower. Import specialist shops may be asked, on an increasing basis, to align, modify or fine-tune increasingly elaborate suspension systems.
Under the Hood: Cutting Back on Carbs?
Performance Carburetors Continue to ‘Stick’ Around
Undercover: Putting the STOP to Pedal Pulsation
If a customer complains of pedal pulsation or steering wheel shimmy when the brakes are applied, the most common assumption is that heat, wear, corrosion or mechanical stress is causing a variation in braking torque to occur that’s directly proportionate to wheel speed.
Lubricants: Variety of Oil Blends Required to Meet Today’s Engine Requirements
Today, a shop owner is confronted with stocking a variety of multi-viscosity oils, including 0w-20, 0w-40, 5w-20, 5w-30, 10w-30, 10w-40, 15w-40 and 20w-50, not to mention stocking some of these viscosities in synthetic and non-synthetic bases.
Shop Lessons: Accessing Repair Data – A Report From the Field
Gary Goms explains how today, diagnostic technicians are dealing with networked computer systems that are impervious to reverse engineering and other diagnostic techniques.
Component Connection: A Little Homework Goes a Long Way
A Study in Starter Failures – In the early days of the automobile, starting an engine consisted of first retarding the spark and adjusting the hand choke to optimum fuel mixture. The next step was to pull a cylinder onto compression stroke and “snap” the piston past top dead center with the hand crank. Modern starters, of course, use an electric solenoid to close the circuit between the battery and starter motor and to keep the drive pinion engaged with the flywheel until the engine achieves idle speed.