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...

Tires are often overlooked until one goes flat. Maintaining tires should be done all year round, not just before leaving for vacation or going on a holiday trip. Even weather conditions can affect...

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,...

Routinely checking the air pressure in your vehicle's tires is important to your safety, and also helps prolong the life of your tires. Here's how to do it.

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...

Valve lash adjustment should be done according to the owner's manual for the particular motorcycle. Harley-Davidson's pushrod style engine does not require adjustment as frequently as do some of...

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...

Chrome and alloy wheels have long been a source of problems for slow leaks and bead leaks on cars and trucks. While they look nice and add to the overall appearance of the vehicle, they are prone...

Audi engines use a mix of antifreeze and water to cool the engine while it is running. Over time the coolant in your engine can break down. It can collect contaminants including oil and corrosion...

Pneumatic transmitters and pneumatic positioners represent two of the four distinct elements in pneumatic process control systems. Pneumatic transmitters sense process variables such as...

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...

Tire valve stems can be made of rubber or metal that has been chrome plated. No matter what the material, all valve stems serve the same purpose: to hold air in a tire, and provide the entry and...

Exhaust Gas Recirculating valves (EGR) were first introduced in the 1970s as a way to reduce exhaust emissions that were not being cleaned by smog control devices. When the temperature in the...

Cylinder head rebuilding tools fall into one of three basic categories: Assembly/Disassembly, Measurement and Machining. For a quick rebuild of stock cylinder heads in good condition, the only...

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...

Nothing stops you from getting where you need to go as quickly as a flat tire. Whether it's a slow leak that you need to maintain, or you go outside to find your tire completely flat, it can be...

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...

Over time your Chevy Tahoe's air conditioner may begin to blow warm air. This is a sign that it needs to be recharged with refrigerant. Having a mechanic recharge your air conditioner can be...

Tires, the only components on a vehicle in contact with the road, are critical to a car's safety, handling and comfort. Because of this, properly maintaining and caring for them is a must. They...

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...

Chevrolet's small-block 350 engine was first used in 1968, and immediately became its most popular small-block. The majority of 350 engines were produced with hydraulic lifters because they were...

If you notice oily black deposits on the spark plugs of your small-block Chevy (SBC), if your "Service Engine Soon" light comes on for no apparent reason, you might think it's major. If your car...

The acronym PSI stands for pounds per square inch, and it is a unit of measure of pressure. It is commonly used when referring to the inflation of automobile tires. A person who is unfamiliar with...

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...

If one of your car's tires begins to lose pressure for no apparent reason, the problem may not be in the tire itself; it may be a leaking valve stem. The valve stem is a synthetic rubber or...

The brake system in automobiles works on the principals of hydraulic pressure. The pressure delivered to each wheel is distributed by a proportioning valve.

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...

An important part of car maintenance is keeping the engine's cooling system in good repair. Flushing the radiator of old coolant and putting in new antifreeze every two years will go a long way to...

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...

A Mitsubishi automatic transmission, like any other automatic transmission, is a device connecting directly to the engine of the vehicle which is designed to translate the comparatively stable...

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 positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve is a simple one-way flow valve that introduces recirculated unburned fuel, in the form of blow-by gases, back into combustion engine to dispel them...

An engine is powered by millions of tiny explosions. First a cylinder is filled with a mixture of gas and fuel, then that mixture is compressed and ignited, causing it to explode and push the...

Tubeless turf tires are made for lawn and garden equipment (for instance, lawn mowers). These tires differ from regular automotive tires in that they are not made for high speed travel. Because of...

An engine's cylinder head(s) is bolted directly to the engine block. The cylinder heads house the intake and exhaust valves, the valve springs, the rocker arms and the spark plugs. Water...

Faulty valve stems on your Honda Civic can be the cause of air leaking from your tires. When this occurs, it's time to change the valve stem. Thankfully, changing a valve stem is relatively easy...

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...