Category Archives: Auto Mechanic Information Articles
Chevy Corvette Engine Overheating Problems
Last week I got to work on a Chevrolet Corvette that had an overheating problem. This was no ordinary Corvette though, it was a Supercharged Callaway Corvette! Let’s just say it’s quite a bit different than your regular every day Corvette. At first I thought there may have been some engine problem causing the overheating condition. Being supercharged, and having 560 horsepower, I figured it…
Hot Air Blowing From Vents With Air Conditioning On
With the very, very hot temperatures the country has been experiencing lately, especially the Midwest, I thought I would write a bit about how these temperature can affect your car’s air conditioning system. Basically, the hotter it is, the less effective the air conditioning becomes. This can be a real annoyance, since we all like to be cool in the summer. This past week especially,…
Spark Plug Failure Causing SES Code P0300
One thing I see quite a bit these days, is vehicles coming into the shop running badly, misfiring, check engine light code P0300 and getting very poor fuel economy. Usually upon a test drive, I’ll find it stumbling on acceleration. Back at the shop, while checking for trouble codes there will most times in fact be multiple codes for misfires. This is often due to…
How To Buy A Car Online Without Seeing It First
This article is about the many pitfalls of buying a new or used vehicle without seeing it first. Many people out there are buying vehicles on auction websites, from online ads, and more. This even includes agreeing to purchase a car or truck from a dealership that they have yet to have on hand. That is known as a ‘dealer trade’. Just about all aspects…
Chevy Silverado Engine Ticking Noise
I’ve heard many complaints from customers, in person and online, about a ticking-type noise coming from the engine on their Chevrolet Silverado. Usually at start-up it is loudest, and this may even cause a misfire condition on a particular cylinder. The noise seems to be rotational, usually about half the speed of the crankshaft. Lately, I’ve seen a few of these in the shop, and…
How To Buy A Good Used Car Or Truck
Now, I’ve often heard the phrase “No one trades in a good car”, or “No one gets rid of a good car”. That may be partially true, but there are definitely things you can look for when you’re in the market for a used vehicle to save yourself money, and get a good quality vehicle. To play devil’s advocate for a moment, there are far…
Rear Brakes Noisy But No Money To Fix Car
A customer came in with a complaint of his rear brakes are making a grinding sound on his car. He said that it just started. We get that a lot- “It just started”. Usually that means the brakes have been noisy for quite some time, but they finally now have brought it in for repairs because it got so bad. So I took his car…
Ford Taurus Used Car Transmission Failure
So my shop took in several Ford Taurus vehicles for our used car stock. I was to inspect and re-condition them before they went up for sale. Normally we take a quick test drive, check out how it feels, the brakes, any strange noises, A/C works, windows and locks, etc. The funny thing about all of the Ford Taurus- the transmission went out on every…
Where is The Thermostat on Chevrolet Trailblazer
This article comes about by the seemingly mass confusion of where the thermostat is located on 2002 and up Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy and similar body styles with the 4.2 liter inline six cylinder engine. I’ve seen many times, in person and online, people claiming the thermostat is on the right (passenger) side of the engine, inside a small housing that looks very similar to…
Saturday Was No Fun For This Auto Mechanic
Alright, have you ever had one of those days where everything went wrong? Well, today was one of those days! First off, it was about as hot and humid as possible which made everything else just even worse. Right from the get go this morning I could tell it was just going to be one of those days. First job of the day, a Chevy…
Chevrolet Camaro Engine Light And Lean Codes
So, today I had an older model Camaro, 2001, high mileage, and not very well maintained. It came in with the check engine light on, and had codes stored for the fuel trim being lean. Specifically, a P0174 Fuel Trim Lean Bank 2 code. This was surprising as while watching the info on the Tech 2 scanner, both banks seemed equally lean. Usually, lean codes…
Battery Failure Causes In Cars and Trucks
Here’s an interesting article on something that just happened to me and my family this past weekend. I get customers all the time wondering how an electronic component on their vehicle can just go out like a snap of the fingers. Well, this is exactly what happened to the battery in my wife’s car a few days ago. The drive started out normally, we were…