Long ago, when cars and trucks were equipped with carburetors, regular tune-ups were a necessity. Engines needed to be adjusted in order to improve fuel efficiency and performance. Today, few people need to have their vehicles “tuned up.” Contemporary automotive design has all but eliminated many of the mechanical parts that once needed adjustment.

In this article, we’ll explore the myth of the tune-up in more detail. We’ll begin with the reasons your car is unlikely to need tuning in the first place. I’ll also note the components that should be checked on a regular basis, including those that directly influence your engine’s performance.

Dismantling A Common Automotive Myth

The purpose of a tune-up is to adjust certain components that have, over time, edged away from their once-precise settings. In older vehicles (i.e. those built prior to the 1980s), such components affect ignition timing, idle speed, emissions, and other key functions. The problem is, today’s vehicles are equipped with computers that control these functions. There is essentially nothing to adjust.

So, why are tune-ups still offered by dealerships and local repair garages? In some cases, mechanics correctly apply an updated definition that is more appropriate to the service. Hence, the work they perform (covered in more detail below) is valuable. In other cases, such as when dealerships promote their “5-Year Tune-Up Service,” the goal is to increase the service center’s revenue.

Important Engine-Related Items To Address

As you drive, your vehicle’s powertrain control module (PCM) monitors the operation of your engine. If any problems occur, even those that escape your notice, a trouble code is generated and stored in the computer. These trouble codes correspond to specific faults and provide clues regarding which components caused them. For this reason, consider investing in an OBD-II trouble code scanner to pull the codes. You can purchase one for less than $40 at most auto supply stores.

There are several other engine-related functions you should check. For example, check for compression leaks and problems with the ignition timing. Take a look at whether your car’s exhaust emissions are meeting your state’s standards. Check the idle speed, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, and the voltage produced by the battery. These are the main items to address since they have a significant influence on your engine’s performance.

Other Items To Check (And If Necessary, Replace)

You should also take the time to closely examine the hoses and belts. They’re made primarily of rubber, so they wear with use. Depending on the length of time that has passed since your last “tune-up,” consider replacing the spark plugs and filters (i.e. air, oil, fuel, and breather filters). These components are often neglected, but will impair your engine’s operation as they become dirty, clogged, or fouled (as in the case of spark plugs).

Lastly, test the distributor cap and the rotor. A large portion of both parts is made of plastic, and thus can develop cracks. Moreover, corrosion can form on the contacts, which may cause intermittent misfires.

Should You Replace Your Car’s Oxygen Sensors?

If your vehicle rolled off the factory floor during the last decade, its oxygen sensors will likely last over 100,000 miles. This, of course, assumes you’re driving in “normal” conditions. A lot of dealership technicians strongly recommend replacing them every 50,000 miles, but this is excessive.

First, replacing oxygen sensors typically costs a few hundred dollars. It’s an expensive job. Second, if a sensor malfunctions, sending bad data to the powertrain control module and causing higher emissions, the fault will generate a trouble code. Thus, unless your OBD-II scanner pulls a corresponding code from your car’s diagnostic system, there is rarely a justifiable reason to replace the O2 sensors.

To recap, your vehicle does not need a traditional tune-up. Instead, it needs ongoing preventative maintenance to ensure your engine performs as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

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When driving a car with a manual transmission, you know that the clutch is an essential part of the vehicle’s operation. It decouples the engine from the transmission, allowing the car engine to move independently.

Cars with automatic transmissions lack a clutch that would otherwise disconnect the engine from the tranny. They use a torque converter (TC) instead. It is a donut-shaped component that is located directly between your car’s engine and transmission. It transfers torque to the wheels of your vehicle. The faster your engine spins, the more torque the TC sends.

To illustrate, suppose that you were stopped at a red traffic light. While your engine idles, it moves slowly and sends a small bit of fluid to the torque converter. Even though the TC uses that fluid to send torque to your wheels, the small amount requires only light pressure on your brake pedal to prevent moving forward. If you were to accelerate, your engine would spin faster and send more fluid to the TC. In turn, the torque converter would send more torque to the wheels. You would need to apply more braking power in order to stop your car.

A Look Inside The Torque Converter

The TC is comprised of three main parts: the pump, turbine, and stator. The pump is made up of fins. Fluid enters the TC through the component’s middle and is flung outward by the pump’s fins as it spins. As the fluid exits, it creates a vacuum that draws more fluid into the torque converter.

The turbine, made up of blades, is attached to your vehicle’s transmission. As the turbine spins, it spins the tranny. The spinning activity is created by the fluid which enters the turbine from the outer perimeter and exits near the middle. However, before it exits, the fluid needs to change the direction in which it is flowing. That causes the turbine to spin.

Between the pump and the turbine lies the stator. It is responsible for changing the direction of the fluid (again) as it leaves the turbine on it way back toward the pump. The manner in which it accomplishes this is abrupt. The stator uses a clutch to connect to your transmission. As a result, it can only rotate in one direction. As fluid comes into the stator from the turbine, its direction is brusquely changed.

The activity taking place within the torque converter plays a dual role while you’re driving. First, it decouples the engine from the transmission, which allows you to bring your vehicle to a stop without letting the engine die. Second, it transmits torque to the wheels as you press down on your accelerator. That allows you to gain speed.

Late-model vehicles have an additional component on the torque converter called a lockup clutch. This allows the left and right sides to lock together, effectively rotating at the same rate. The result is better fuel efficiency and less slippage.

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When you own a car then absolutely there are a lot of good things and awesome benefits you surely get from owning a car. But along with all these good things and benefits are the troublesome car problems that always come with it. The sad part about a lot of these common car problems is that they could have been avoided. In this article we are going to discuss some useful steps and methods that you can take to avoid these problems.

First of all a car owner has to absolutely make sure not to really neglect their car. It is easy to just get in you car and go everyday. But doing that very thing can lead to problems that will pop up when you don’t take care of it. And when you have unexpected car problems then this is definitely when they are most expensive. So I suggest all my customers of my auto repair shop to always keep their car on a regular maintenance schedule.

Well part of that regular maintenance schedule is to make sure to take your car in for regular tune ups. Due to the fact that it takes care of a lot of the most important car problems, that is why tune ups are great for your car.

One of those real problems that can possibly happen as your car gets older are simply failing a smog test. I try to remind people in my smog test shop that this is a common problem they can avoid.

Finally, the brakes, are the area of the car that usually gets used so heavily. This is basically a source of another common car problem, the brake problems. But by just using your brakes correctly and the fluids right you can make your brakes last long. That is one of the main pieces of advice I give to my customers of my brake service.

So these were some common problems that happen to most cars. The nice thing about it is that if you pay good attention to properly maintaining it, then you can definitely avoid these common problems.

Have your car smogged at the San Diego smog check. Plus maintain all your car care needs at the San Diego auto repair.

Everyone loves for their car to get maintenance done at regular intervals, but most doesn’t really love the price they have to pay for the parts. You can reduce the cost of maintaining your car, and in total save on maintenance costs by shopping online for different car parts. Oftentimes, these much cheaper parts are just as good as the ones that are used in the shops.

You can find parts online that are the same makes and models, just sold at their usual price. Many mechanics will overcharge you for their parts and services just so they can make more money. You are hooked on them because they stay relatively cheaper than the dealership, but are charging more than they need to be. Most mechanics do this, but there are still a few food ones out there.

When you are looking for a good mechanic, you should be aware of three things. First, is their eagerness to bring your car in so that they can take a look at it. It this is the case, you know he might be he is anticipating to find a problem. Most good ones will discuss with you a bit so they can determine what the problem might be before checking it out.

The next thing that you should look for is the awards they have from local businesses and organizations. Do not pay any mind to the big flashy national or even international awards, but be keen about the local ones. This means that they have been able to serve the local community and have also gained their trust. The last thing to check out is how much they say work will cost when you ask them for an estimate.

Most superb mechanics will break down the expenses for the parts and the overall job, and will even give you the prices to check for yourself. Sleazy mechanics just want to cohort money from you and will get mad when they are asked to break it down, and will tell you to go somewhere else if you don’t trust them. Those no good mechanics will work with you even if you buy online parts yourself. They will install anything as long as they are getting paid for their time and labor.

When you go to buy parts for your vehicle online you can often find a good used deal depending on the part. Some parts you want new for obvious reasons, like spark plugs. However something like a gas tank or oil pan can be used and still serve you for a long time. It all depends on what you need, and when you need it.

Online shopping for car parts can sometimes take more time than you have anticipated. The older your car, the harder you will find those parts, due to lack of spare. Third party replacement parts are your only source for replacement on discontinues products. Just finding these parts, in most cases is a herculean task.

Another source of spares are versions of you model that are no longer in active duty. Although the quality of these parts is questionable, especially when they were damaged in the wreck. Sadly, in many cases you don’t have much choice in selection. If you love your car, you will to whatever is needed in order to keep it running.

Dorthy Weatherbush drives a Jeep so often times she gets her car parts online at 4 Wheel Parts. She can find everything for her Jeep with 4 Wheel Parts and she doesn’t have to worry about paying a lot of moneybecause they always have great deals.

The Dodge Ram has been on the road now for almost thirty years – across four different generations of models, and the current version of the Dodge Ram, a mighty car with the ultimate presence that a full sized pickup truck has to hand, is one of the true icons of US motoring.

Built to last, the Ram was a mighty vehicle in its original form with a choice of powerful engines and a variety of cab layouts and design which, coupled with many interior trim options, made customising yours to your own ideals easy, yet the current model, introduced for the 2009 model year, is one of the finest vehicles on the roads of the USA.

As the older models are long lived and seemingly indestructible it is little surprise that the call for Dodge Ram replacement parts is widespread, and the availability of genuine brand new aftermarket Dodge Ram parts means that updating your Ram or replacing worn out parts is no big deal.

Perhaps the best way of getting hold of quality Dodge Ram repair parts is through online sellers. The reason to buy online rather than paying a visit to a local dealership is two fold – 1) They have more parts in stocks 2) They are cheaper. For ease of use, simply type ‘Dodge Ram parts’ into your search engine and you will find a wealth of available suppliers.

Yes, looking online first is, as with most other purchasing decisions, the best way to go. It is quick, simple and secure to buy the Dodge Ram repair parts you require; whether you need mirrors or lights, engine parts or radiator cooling fans, there are many suppliers of Dodge Ram replacement parts with comprehensive websites and online catalogues for you to look through.

Should you decide that the dealership route is the one that you want to take, remember to put aside a good day or so to do some, because they tend to have only have limited stock and prices can vary significantly. You will therefore probably find yourself having to visit a few dealerships even if you only require one or two Dodge Ram parts.

The availability of quality aftermarket Dodge Ram parts means that your pickup can be made to look exactly as you want it, and suppliers of online Dodge Ram parts understand the needs of the driver. One final note though, ensure that you use a reputable Dodge Ram repair parts supplier, maybe one that has been recommended to you by a friend or is mentioned in an article on Dodge Ram parts. Do this, and you can confidently expect your Ram to be running sweetly for years to come.

If aftermarket parts are certified and meet OEM standards, you can relax in the knowledge that you have ordered the best Dodge Ram replacement parts available online. There are many quality sites that offer Dodge Ram Parts, but www.dodgeramreplacement.com/pickup is one of the best.

Have you thought of adding Headlight Repair to your auto detailing business? A new set of sealed beam headlights on a New Jeep Cherokee could run as high as $70, however your team can make money lightly sanding and coating these headlights with the Micro-Glass product in the Micro-Mesh Kit by Micro Surface Corporation. It is important for the detailing companies to constantly review such products, this innovation has propelled our team to come up with the solutions for our fleet customers and help us bundle services to compete against the other large vendors to these fleet companies. One company we compete with out of New Jersey does offer this service, but we do and we are able to use this to our advantage on bidding on fleet detailing work.

This is just one more way you can bundle services to provide a value added service to your customers. We have talked to managers of fleet wash companies and fleet detailing companies in their various markets. Some of these managers have told us they have been looking into doing headlight restoration, because their customers are now asking for the service. Many of the high-end to Auto detailing shops do offer headlight restoration using various methods. Recently with the floods that we’ve had in the United States, we have seen Auto auctions start to offer this service also. Generally the Auto auctions that we’ve seen do not know how to deal with sealed beams, instead they’re much better with none sealed beams, and by removing the lens and wiping down the inside and using glass wax they are able to make the lenses look transparent and therefore the car looks sellable as runs through the auto auctions.

Whereas this is a good idea for auto auctions it is not good enough for the fleet customers especially those that assign their cars to specific individuals. Companies like the Baby Bells, quest, Cox cable, AT&T, FedEx, United States Postal Service etc. have thousands and thousands of vehicles. Generally these vehicles are assigned for the most part with very few as a percentage of the total fleet being pool cars like at the GSA office. As the vehicles get back from Iraq and Kuwait and were ever they do next to wipe out terrorism from the face of the planet, they will have sand blasted headlights, from the very fine silica type sand of the Middle East. So how does one go about taking care of this problem? Well, it is much simpler than you think.

The first thing to do is to assess exactly how bad the damage it is this can be done in a number of ways; first, you would get the opaqueness or cloudiness of the lens. Second, you look to see if there’s any pit marks and hard water spots. This is how you assess which method you’ll use to either clean or restore the surface. Let’s face it if there’s too much damage, the time it will take to fix the lens will cost you more than to replace it. The micromesh is cool because you can use it either wet or dry when you’re sanding. How much do most detailers charge for this service? Well in depends the tupe of vehicles and locations of the fleets; vans such bread companies, wholesale companies, small package delivery companies, online grocery services, dry cleaners, flower shops, armored car services, limo services, school buses, garbage trucks any other fleets mentioned above, we have found that is not difficult to get 8 to $10 per lens, remember each of the service trucks or cars have between two and for lenses.

This can add up to quite a lot of money very quickly. We have also found that used car dealerships will go for it once you show them how it works. We also found it to be a nice add-on to keep our crews busy in inclement weather. As you know the Northeast United States has been slammed by snowstorms and Nor-Easters, these additional services provide an extra revenue generator when wash cars.

There is a great article in TSP magazine in the October — November 2003 edition about this product and ease of use. The micromesh soft touch pads are only three by four inches with a phone center but they were killer since they have micromesh upon both sides. When using them they bend with the lens as you’re working so you can go fast with even pressure. We found that we could clean, micromesh, white and buff a lens in about six to eight minutes. If you’re working indoors on a fleet of vehicles in the winter in the northern colder climates of the US or Canada you can make money no matter what the weather is in this is just one more way we are solving the problem of continuing sales with a mobile carwash or mobile detailing rig in the harsh winter weather climates. By using the micromesh can’t it cuts down the time to do the job significantly. The old way was to use different levels of fine grit sandpaper slowly working up.

Automotive Service Careers and Learning Resources

The Honda Company has a history of producing quality cars, motorcycles, scooters, trucks, robots, jets and jet engines, ATVs, water craft, and many other important technologies. One interesting historical feature of the Honda Company is the origination of the Honda engine. Honda is the largest engine manufacturer in the world, with more than 14 million internal combustion engines built each year.

After World War II, Soichiro Honda formed the Honda Research Institute Company Ltd in Japan. In 1947, Honda built the A-type engine, a 1-horsepower 50cc two-stroke that fastened to bicycles. Honda staff called it the chimney because of its tall cylinder. In September 1948, the Honda Motor Co. was formally established.

The first production automobile from Honda was the T360 mini pick-up truck which was powered by a small 356 cc straight-4 gasoline engine. The first production car from Honda was the S500 sports car. In 1961, the bigger Volvo model engines called the 122-S series B-18 engine were built. In 1965 Honda built a race car equipped with a 12-cylinder engine.

In 1973, The Ford Motor Company formed an agreement with The Honda Motor Company to obtain technical data on a new engine that would decrease air pollution. They created the first engine to meet the guidelines of the 1970 US Clean Air Act.

In 1991, Honda reported selling 7000 CRX-HF cars where the Honda engine used computers and sensors to control valve action and the air-fuel. The purpose was to increase the amount of air in the mixture to 20 parts per 1 part gasoline.

In May 1999, Honda announced that it would supply its new Formula 1 engines to British American Racing. The most important highlight of the announcement was that Hondas engine engineers had developed an oil trap that fitted into the engine. Also in 1999, Hybrid Electric Honda launched the first commercial hybrid electric car that was sold in the US as the Honda Insight. The first-generation Insight was produced from 2000 to 2006. This was the most fuel-efficient mass-produced car at the time. In 2000, Honda began mass producing clean high-performance engines.

The Honda Civic GX is the only natural gas vehicle (NGV) available in certain US locations. In 2001, the Civic GX was rated the cleanest-burning internal combustion engine in the world by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?.

In 2006, Honda announced it would build a $154-million engine plant near Alliston, Ontario, Canada. It would be the first engine plant in Canada. In late 2006, Honda’s Brazilian subsidiary launched flexible-fuel versions for the Honda Civic and Honda Fit. These models run on a mixture of hydrous ethanol (E100) and E20-E25 gasoline. Honda introduced the second-generation Insight in Japan in February 2009. It will be the cheapest hybrid available in the US.

Since 2002, Honda has been selling the Honda Civic Hybrid (2003 model) in the US. It was followed by the Honda Accord Hybrid, which was offered in 2005 to 2007 models. Honda is also planning to introduce a hybrid version of its Honda Fit, as well as another unique small hybrid vehicle based on the CR-Z sports car that was introduced at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.

Honda has a remarkable history of building solid engines. It will be interesting to see what the future of the Honda engine will bring.

It gets pretty boring when you are driving down the expressway and you see all the identical colors of vehicles. Sure they’re different makes and styles, but color wise they are totally the same and dull. And then every once in a while some thing really dynamic stops beside you. It’s one of those cars that has been painted with a custom design. To paint a car is one thing but to custom paint it is a whole new thing.

At the least when you went to purchase your car you had a couple more color selections then maybe your grandfather did in his day and age. Now today, not only do you’ve to determine on colour, you are required to decide if you want metallic, or rust-free or even scratch proof finishes.

You really got to know what you what when painting your car. It is not cheap to custom paint a car. The paints are a very high grade poly urethanes.

When it comes time and you want to paint a car and you have decided to have a custom design put on it, then you are going to have to choose which type you want. A couple of years back the burning flame was the rage. To see a black car with those flames running down the sides was the envy of every last avid car lover.

The flames are still really hot but the designs are more or less different. They cover more of an area.

Some other hot design is animals such as the wild mustangs or the flying eagle. Then there are designs that are just abstract in nature. The skulls and crossbones type art used to be much more popular when it came to motorcycles, but it has sort of caught on with those car buffs that really want to paint a car with the custom-made designs. Some other unusual observation as well is that people like to just have the art painted as a mural on their trunks for illustration.

One of the newer kind designs that truly sort of fit in between the skulls and the flames is the dragons. These’re becoming increasingly hot, and one has to admit they indeed look pretty amazing.

In nowadays age if you have decided to paint a car and have a custom design then you may find that an automotive logo design is suggested to you.

And then there are individuals who want to paint a car all in metallic with a variety of colors as opposed to whatsoever type of graphic. These can be quite stunning when the colour selection goes well together and the air-brush color application flows.

One thing to remember, it you want to paint a car and customize it with a design, it is not cheap. It could get rather expensive the more defined and elaborate you go. Unless your intention is to keep the car, it’ll be rather expensive to customise paint it..

you won’t believe it, but spray paint could truly be that simple.. That does not imply that you can just grab a tin of paint and go at it. There’re a couple of basics you require to recognize. Both in the preparation and application.

Step A: Start by gathering everything that you are going to utilise. Be sure your surrounding area is protected against any possible over spray. Whatsoever parts that dont need to be sprayed and that could be removed then do so. For some other areas cover well with paper and masking tape.

Step B: You’ll have to study the car cautiously for whatever rough spots. These will need to be sanded with 300 grit sand paper. This’ll smooth out the rough spots. It also permits the spray car paint to adhere better. Once you’ve finished sanding, be sure all of the dust dirt and debris are removed from the car. It’s imperative that the car be perfectly clean.

Step C: You’ll need to apply a primer. This would be sure that you get an overall even coat of your colored paint plus helps the paint to adhere well. When you spray the primer, make sure you apply light coats and permit for drying in between. How to spray car paint takes a little getting used to.

Step D: Now you are pretty well to the point where youre about ready to spray the color. You will have decided to use the spray car paint that comes in aerosol cans, or maybe youve opted for the spray gun. In either case, make few practice strokes on an object before you start with the car. Once you’re ready, start the passes with the paint with out hesitation. If you hold the spray can or gun in one spot, you’ll end up with inconsistent coverage and possibly the paint would run. If this occurs you’ve a major repair job on your hand. You’ll most likely have instructions as to how to spray car paint using the equipment or spray cans.

Step E: It’s up to you whether you want to wet sand ‘tween coats of primer and color paints. You may want to research this option on the internet, or check with someone thats familiar with how to spray car paint

Step F: Once youre entirely contented with the colour, you are down to the finishing touches. You will now want to apply several clear coats. This’ll give the gloss and completeed look to the car as well as protect the finish. Likely 2 coats will be enough but it’ll be up to you. Make very sure it is dry in ‘tween coats.

Step G: Once again, you’ve the selection of wet sanding if you choose. Once again, I advise you ask the advice of individuals that are familiar with how to spray paint a car. Say you decide to follow this step then you need to wet sand with the following grits in this order. Utilize 800, 1000, 1200, 1500 and eventually the two thousand. This will take out spots that would be too heavy in the clear coat application.

Step H: At present you’ll need to utilising a rubbing compound to buff the surface so you could use a 2000 grit to remove any scratches.

Step I: You should now buff the surface. To do this just utilise a moderate cut polish. Once you’ve done this, you should have a complete glassy look to the finish.

Step J: Lastly, you may want to apply a few coats of wax.

Once youve decided that you’re going to repaint your vehicle then you’re going to need to learn the techniques involved in getting a lasting finish. Naturally, the product you’re going to need is car spray-paint. This gets in a variety of forms, but each one has it’s very own unique way of using it.

You’ll find the most average type of car spray-paint utilizes compressed gas. Then compressed air is utilised to provide the ability to spray it. There’re also a variety of spray guns on the market specifically designed for this type of painting chores.

If you’re doing just touchup or a small job then you should find the standard canned spray paint adequate. These are aerosol cans of car spray paint that are very pressurized. To apply you keep your arm moving as you quickly apply a moderate coat of the paint to the desired area. Don’t hesitate in moving the can as you will wind up with runs.

Then you’ve to the choice of using the huge spray guns. In this case, the spray gun would mix the paint with the air to acquire the needed pressure. Over again, you’ll only want to apply a light coat and once again keep your arm moving. If you don’t keep an even sweep of the paint, you’ll end up with an inappropriate finish. There’s alot of over spray with this method as about 1/3 will go to the object while two thirds goes into the air.

Other type of technique you could utilize is with a High Volume Low Pressure sprayer. Its really identical to the conventional spray-gun except the gun requires less pressure. In this case, though a higher volume of air is required. This method if you utilize it the right way would mean reduced overspray so more car spray paint would reach the target area. In this case two thirds of the paint would be utilised with one third going into the air. Opinions differ as to whether one like using the HVLP techniques.

For hard to reach areas you can utilise the electrostatic spray-painting. Once again, this method is more efficient for the amount of car spray paint that hits the target region.

There’re numerous other methods that’re really alike. In regards to techniques it primarily depends on the kind of equipment you are utilising. Most of the equipment used for car spray paint would come with instructions and suggestions. In almost every case though it’ll urge various light coats as opposed to 1 or two heavy ones. The basic techniques of keeping the paint moving will most likely be instructed.

If possible, you may want to practise a little with several equipment you decide on. Better to make your mistakes on another object besides your car. If you don’t you could end up with a lot more work than you bargained for.