Online auto repair

I was working on a Ford cargo van that had a check engine light on. I connected my auto scan tool and received a code P0300 for a random misfire. If this were a newer vehicle the code would have specified which cylinder the misfire was detected on.

I spoke to the customer to get some auto repair help in the form of driver input. The driver stated that every once in a while the engine would kick and sputter or misfire. I started with the usual suspects and checked the tune up items like the spark plugs and air/fuel filters. All looked good for a vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it.

This cargo van was running smooth as silk and the problem was definitely intermittent. I went to a couple of other techs in the shop to get some more auto repair help. This van had a coil over plug set up that was fairly new at the time. The other techs had no real input on this newer system. I took the next step and put an ohmmeter on each coil pack.

All the coils tested good. The shop Foreman came over to see what was going on. I told him since the problem was not happening now the problem could not be diagnosed now. He said your wrong it can be diagnosed. This was my first experience with the online car repair manual.

This online auto repair help program saved me a lot of time. When we looked up the code for a random misfire. We clicked on the diagnostic help icon. It explained that the coil over plug system had multiple TSB's. When we dug into the bulletins we discovered that the coils where failing under load when the vehicle was hot.

That's why the coils tested ok with the ohmmeter. The bulletin went on to explain that the rear coils had poor ventilation and where the most likely to fail due to the heat stress. When I pulled the rear coils out I could see the bottom sides of both rear coils had hairline cracks in them. These coils passed the ohmmeter test but they where still bad.

With out All-Data's online auto repair help I would have most likely replaced all of the coils at a cost of $110.00 a coil. This online auto repair manual saved my customer $660.00 and saved me a lot of time.

Opinions vary on when brakes should be replaced. My preference on my own vehicle is 15-25% remaining. 25% remaining could mean 5,000 miles left of safe driving.

When brakes are recommended you can start buy asking if the brakes are metal to metal meaning that there is no brake pad remaining and the brakes are at 0 %. Using the above term also notifies the shop you know about brakes and may not be the easy sale they thought you were. His next response is important. If he says the brakes are 30% remaining or higher you can wait on the repair.

If he says they are 25 % or lower remaining ask if you would be able to see the brakes. On some vehicles you can look right through the wheel and see the brake pads. Some vehicles the wheel has to be pulled off

Brake job guidelines

You can also use this rule of thumb on brake pad wear. On average you can get about 35,000 - 45,000 miles from a set of brake pads.

The more city driving or stop and go driving you do the faster the brakes will wear. For example a taxi cab may need brakes every 25,000 miles due to severe stop and go driving.

So if the shop is recommending brakes on your car and it's been 35,000 miles since its last brake job then you probably need them. If they show you the brakes and your wheels are covered with worn brake dust and the brake pad looks thin about a quarter inch or less think about doing a brake job.

When in doubt go for a second opinion. Many chain shops offer a free brake inspection if you buy a brake job or low cost brake inspections if they are not needed. This will give you a chance to compare notes from the 2 shops and see if the stories match. Do not tell the second shop about the first shop they do not need to know this information.

My last piece of advice is learn all you can about automotive brakes. How many brake jobs will you need over your lifetime? Read a book and be as educated as your auto repair shop. They say knowledge is power. So learn auto repair and take control of your vehicle maintenance costs!

Some people are more then capable of performing there own brake pad replacement. If this applies to you or maybe you just want to see how its done then I have a video for you. But remember brakes are the most important safety item on any car. Think about having a auto mechanic help you with your first one. Now go watch the video about how to replace brakes.

This story is sad but true. A trusted mechanic teams up with an evil used car dealer to cheat at a large car auction. Learn how this dynamic duo was caught by reading the car auction scam story on the auto-facts website.

I believe in and use all-data every day. But I have heard a few complaints about the price point of 29.95 for a years subscription. Well I have an answer to this problem. Mitchell has been well respected in the repair manual field for decades and for good reason.

They now offer an online specific vehicle subscription like all-data for 11.99 for one week. This is without a doubt the lowest price for high quality auto repair manuals I have ever seen. Print out wiring diagrams and service procedures and take them right to the vehicle.

You can now have the same information the pros use to fix your own car problems for under 12 bucks. Why not try Diy auto repair and maybe you can tell your car mechanic it was nice knowing him!

Be honest, when you read an article about national gas prices and find that your costs are less than another region, you feel smug. It's a short lived joy because the same article probably told you that gas is less than a quarter a gallon US dollars in Venezuela.

I put together a page about the 2009 gas saver guide I purchased that had a lot of good information all in one place on the fuel saving subject.

My expert opinion on auto service manuals versus online auto repair help.

As an ASE Certified Master Technician I can tell you that the most important tool I own is my Knowledge and experience.

But even though I have been turning wrenches for more then 23 years I cant possibly remember everything related to the fast efficient repair of every car on the planet.

I have found myself reaching for the car repair manuals help on many occasions. Since I'm not a walking computer I find it necessary to consult the service manual for many things.

For example torque specs and tightening patterns, who could possibly remember the hundreds of different specs for thousands of different vehicles.

The online auto repair help that is now available can save you time and money. And auto repairs you thought you could never do yourself are easy and fun with the step-by-step instructions. Plus clear pictures and tech tips sections available in the program also help a lot.