Shops that don’t necessarily specialize in diesel engine repair and maintenance need to do their homework to stay abreast of both previous and current diesel engine control systems in order to service their light truck/towing customers. Here we’ve included a selection of various tips and tricks to help you get your feet wet in the diesel light truck market.
Lewisville, with a population of about 106,586, is located about 22 miles northwest of the heavily populated Dallas/Ft. Worth area, close to the huge recreational area of Lewisville Lake.
Madison Heights is about 14 miles northwest of Detroit. Approximately 50% to 60% of Interstate Auto Care’s customer base is within a three-mile radius of Madison Heights, with the remainder within an hour’s drive.
Jamie Carlson and her husband, Eric, have built a business over the past 25 years that attracts the highest caliber automotive professionals as well as a loyal following of customers throughout the Grand Rapids, Mich., market area. While Eric and the other ASE technicians handle the shop’s high-end service, Jamie’s mission is to continually strive to promote the shop and to elevate the image of automotive repair professionals.
Two brothers, Nolan and David Pike, started their repair business in 2011 as a mobile tech service. After about one year, business was booming, with the brothers deciding to move into a brick-and-mortar shop.
Ever wonder why hypoid gear oil stinks so bad? Most of us simply accept the fact that gear oil stinks and grudgingly anticipate the horrid smell when we service a drive axle assembly as a necessary evil.
V&F Auto is located in Agawam, Mass., about four miles southwest of Springfield, Mass., and midway between Albany, N.Y., and Boston. The town’s population is about 29,000.
Sharing diagnostic and repair information provides a real-world aid to all technicians. Rather than finding a fix and keeping it a secret, by sharing, everyone benefits. There’s enough work out there for all shops, so it isn’t a matter of safeguarding tips or tricks from a competition standpoint. By helping each other out, the industry benefits as a whole. Thanks to those who pitched in.
Every vehicle requires periodic maintenance (preventive maintenance) to avoid problems. The same holds true for certain tools and shop equipment. Lifts should be inspected annually, office and shop computers require updates, torque wrenches require periodic calibration, pneumatic tools require in-line lubrication to prevent dry running and lockups. Bay door rollers require cleaning and lube to keep them running smoothly.
While technological changes and advancements are in the works for future vehicles, such as electronic braking systems, we thought it best to discuss what’s happening at the current time, in terms of brake pad, rotor and fluid technology. Included in this article are comments from several brake system parts manufacturers.
There are tools that allow you get the job done, and there are tools that allow you get the job done quicker and/or more efficiently. In this brief article, we cherry-picked a few examples of items that help to make shop life easier, with less effort and that help to maximize labor profit.
Problem diagnosis of our occasional faulty memory can sometimes prove difficult, especially when the concern occurs on an intermittent basis. Sometimes, we just need to step back, take a deep breath and perform a step-by-step reprogram. Take the following example, wherein I misplaced a Torx T15 bit:
Audra Fordin’s shop was not selected for this reader profile article because she’s a female in a predominantly male occupation. Far from it. Rather, she represents a new breed of repair shop owners and technicians who go out of their way to educate customers, specifically female customers.
Instead of using a shop’s in-house scan tool, CarMD Pro Scan allows you to use the company’s app in conjunction with the plug-in hardware device in order to scan the vehicle, obtaining all data from their remote location directly to your smart phone, laptop or tablet.
We recently surveyed our readers to find out what you’ve seen with regard to tire wear and damage. While the leading causes you mentioned came as no surprise, some things will surely raise eyebrows, and provide a chuckle at the same time.
Today’s SUVs (sport utility vehicles) and CUVs (crossover utility vehicles) face the same steering system issues as other types of vehicles, in terms of steering system component wear, braking system operation and wheel alignment concerns.
Exotic Motorwerks is a one-stop center for all motorized objects of desire of Germanic origin. It comes as no surprise that the shop’s ausgezeichnet (German for excellent) reputation draws enthusiasts of German sportwagens (sports cars) from near and far.
Like most shops, mine has become increasingly populated with cordless power equipment, ranging from impact wrenches, drills, saws, grinders, vacuums, a wide array of flashlights, tablets, cell phones, cordless desk phones and on and on.
If you’re looking for an ideal example of a quality-minded shop located in a small town setting, look no further. Smitty’s Car Service has been taking care of locals since 1939 in a town that rivals the idyllic Mayberry for its charm and all-American flavor. Located about 13 miles southwest of Akron, Ohio, Smitty’s lies on the immediate outskirts of 200-plus-year-old Doylestown.
It’s all about information. The more we know, the better job we can do. No one is an expert on everything. That’s where information sharing becomes so critical. Every tech has faced a problem wherein the remedy isn’t easily found in a repair manual. When a specific problem is faced and a technician discovers a fix, sharing that information with others helps those who may be faced with the same challenge. We’re in this together, so let’s help each other out.
Toby Cossette, co-owner of The Main Street Garage in St. Augustine, Fla., obtained an associate of arts degree from North Dakota State College of Science. However, he followed his passion and served as a master technician for import and exotic import diagnostics and repairs at Sports Car Engineering.
Turbochargers are essentially compressors that direct more air into the engine’s cylinders in order to produce additional power. A turbo derives its energy source from both temp and pressure of exhaust gas. Intake air enters through the air cleaner into the turbo compressor inlet. The air is compressed which raises air density and volume.
This happens frequently, with many shops experiencing a frustrating issue with what we tend to identify as “difficult” customers. A passenger car enters the shop for a reported “brake noise.” Your inspection reveals badly scored front rotors, a badly rusted right rear rotor, stuck calipers, badly worn front pads and flexible brake hoses that have seen better days.
Neubauer’s Auto Repair is located in Ellicott City, Md., in northeast Howard County, approximately 10 miles north of the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Following is a brief history of the business, in owner Jim Neubauer’s own words.
