Do It Yourself Car Maintenance

The clutch on a Chevy truck is a hydraulic system that needs to be bled annually to prevent air from building up in the clutch fluid lines. When there is air in the clutch line, you will not be...

Whether your recreational vehicle camper is a trailer, motorhome, or fifth wheel, you must protect its plumbing from ice damage before the next freeze hits. Here are some ideas for winterizing...

The tire valve stem on a car, called a Schrader valve, uses a pin in its center to help keep the air inside the tire. The stem itself is held to the inside of the wheel by air pressure; you must...

The Toyota Matrix uses a 143a freon coolant air conditioning system to lower the interior temperature of the vehicle. This coolant can leak out and require additional freon. If this is the case,...

A flat tire can be upsetting and frustrating. A tire can go flat from a variety of things: a puncture in the tread or sidewall, a broken bead seal or a faulty air valve. Over time, a valve stem...

The EGR valve on a VW TDI recirculates the exhaust gases back into the engine for a more complete burning. EGR valves are an emissions control component designed to reduce emissions into the...

The radiator in a car is a large tank made of copper/brass or aluminum. The radiator is constructed out of a series of small cooling tubes and fins. Coolant is pumped from the engine into the...

The idle control valve in your vehicle is mounted on the throttle body and controls the air flow into the engine from around the throttle body. The valve, as the name suggests, controls the idle....

A Chevy's IAC valve, known as the idle air control valve, monitors and controls the air flow coming through the throttle. When the IAC valve is dirty, your Chevy will not idle properly. It may...

It is a good idea to replace the positive crankcase ventilation, or PCV, valve at your car manufacturer-recommended intervals. The PCV valve is part of a closed ventilation system on your 1988...

The fuel system in your vehicle is under intense pressure. If you were to change the fuel filter in your Ford without relieving the fuel system pressure, you would risk a severe injury. There are...

Though the 350 engine is a generally reliable platform, many experience overheating problems with time or modification. There are as many solutions as there are causes for this particular issue,...

Rough idling can be caused by a number of things. If the engine's self-diagnostic system isn't of any help, then diagnosing the problem is a process of elimination. An engine requires three...

The exhaust gas recirculation valve, or EGR valve, recirculates the exhaust gases back into the engine for a more complete burn. A plunger mechanism opens and closes to allow the gases to...

Engine painting can make a dramatic difference in the appearance of your vehicle under the hood. This is important for those that are customizing or restoring a vehicle, and one of the best ways...

The EGR valve is a relatively simple device that reduces harmful emissions from your engine. EGR stands for exhaust gas recirculation, the method of emission reduction the valve uses. The Buick...

The glow plugs on your Ford engine are designed to preheat the engine in diesel systems, allowing the motor to start easier, especially in cold weather climates. These glow plugs eventually wear...

The Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valves on some Honda Odesseys clog up and do not operate properly, resulting in a faulty error message rather than being recognized as a valve problem. If your...

Toyota makes dependable sedans, cars, trucks and SUVs, and is a company with a proven track record of low-maintenance vehicles. While there are usually few, if any, major problems before you reach...

The exhaust gas recirculation, or EGR, valve is an important part of your car's engine. The EGR valve's job is to redirect some of the engine's exhaust into the engine's intake manifold, which...

The Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) valve of your Ford Focus is designed to take any unburned gases from the crankcase and reroute them to the intake manifold to be reburned. Occasionally the...

While the mechanics under the hood of a car may look like a foreign language to some, replacing the valve cover gasket on your Honda is a relatively simple procedure that can be performed by even...

The engine is the most important part of your vehicle. It is the heart and mind of your car, and like a human heart and mind, the engine needs regular care to continue functioning at optimum...

EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) valves have been used in vehicles since the 1970s to combat harmful emissions from automobile engines. The EGR valve's main job is to reduce nitrogen oxide. Many...

The Engine Management System (EMS) on your Ford Focus uses the Idle Air Control (IAC) valve to adjust idle speed. This valve works in combination with other electrical components. However, carbon...

Whenever a repair is done on any part of your Scion xB's manual transmission system, air will make its way into the hydraulic fluid. This air will cause your clutch to perform poorly, giving the...

Car air conditioning systems need a full supply of refrigerant running through their system to produce the cold air that all of us want in our vehicles in those hot days of summer. On 1995 and...

The Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve, or EGR valve, system in your Honda Odyssey reduces oxides of nitrogen by recirculating them back into the combustion chambers in your engine. By doing this,...

Do-it-yourself radiator repair requires a few special tools and some moderate skills, but if you're willing to give it a try, you could save yourself some time and money. The three most common...

EGR stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculation. The EGR valve is designed to redirect some of the engine's exhaust into the engine's intake manifold, which cools down the air inside the engine and helps...

All combustion engine automobiles have a positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve. This valve allows built-up gases to escape from the engine chamber in a controlled manner. These gases carry...

The positive crankcase ventilation valve, or PCV valve, is located in the crankcase breather chamber or in a hose that connects the breather chamber to the intake manifold. The PCV valve reroutes...

Adding air to air shocks doesn't need to be complicated, and equalizing both shocks to each other will provide a smooth, level ride. The average backyard mechanic can add air to air shocks in...

The throttle valve cable controls the air and fuel that flows into the engine. It meters the fuel that mixes with outside air by opening a valve--the throttle--which is a plate that opens and...

The Mazda 626 is a dependable sedan with a proven track record of low maintenance miles. And while there are usually few if any major problems before you reach 100,000 miles, you may notice that...

Fuel filter location on 1995 Ford Trucks differs according to the particular model. In-tank fuel filters are part of the fuel delivery system and need to be replaced along with the fuel pump....

Relieving the fuel system pressure on your vehicle is very important when working on the fuel pump, fuel injectors, lines and other related components. That system, especially on fuel-injectede...

A positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve is an important emissions control component in our vehicle's engine. It is a simple device and, in most cases, it is easy to replace. The PCV valve is...

Sometimes you have a leak that a gasket will just not fix or maybe you just need to get to that gasket that is causing your car to use up all of that engine oil. Well with these simple steps I...

If no cold air is coming out of your auto air conditioner, you may need to add more refrigerant to the system. This must be done with extreme caution because of the high pressure the system uses....

A bottle jack is a compact hydraulic piston that is in the shape of a small bottle, but it has the capacity to lift extremely heavy objects, including cars. Great care and caution should be...

A carburetor is a mechanical device that combines air and fuel in an internal combustion engine. The carburetor controls the flow of air into an engine. The speed of the air entering the engine...

A carburetor is a mechanical device that combines air and fuel in an internal combustion engine. The carburetor controls the flow of air into an engine; the speed of the air entering the engine...

A carburetor is a mechanical device that combines air and fuel in an internal combustion engine. The carburetor controls the flow of air into an engine; the speed of the air determines the amount...

The Chevrolet Cavalier is equipped with a 100,000 mile radiator. This generally means that the radiator will not need servicing till after the car reaches 100,000 miles. After you reach this mark...

Coolant, also known as antifreeze, was invented as an additive to your radiator water to keep it from freezing during cold weather. It was altered later to include a chemical additive that would...

If the EGR valve in your Honda gets clogged with carbon, you will feel the effects when your vehicle is idling at stoplights or while sitting in traffic. If your EGR valve is clogged, you don't...

When the EGR valve in your Mazda Protégé starts to fail, you will experience issues while idling in your vehicle, such as jumping and shuddering. Many Protégé drivers have...

Transmission fluid is the lifeblood of your Mazda MX-4's entire transmission system. The MX-4 is designed with a sealed transmission, which means that the fluid that is in it when it rolls off the...

Valve cover gasket oil leaks in car engines occur where the valve cover meets the head. Determine if a valve cover gasket is leaking oil in a car engine with tips from an automotive service...