AUTO REPAIR GUIDE

A bad car thermostat can ruin the car’s engine if you’re not if it not properly diagnose and fixed immediately. Ignoring a faulty thermostat will lead to a much  more expensive damage. Here are some of the ways you can recognize a defective thermostat  1. Overheating engine Once the thermostat becomes defective, it can cause over heating in your engine. This is usually the result of a stuck thermostat that won't allow antifreeze to flow from the radiator and so halts heat regulation in the engine as it begins to overheat. Before deciding on whether to replace your thermostat, check your hoses to make sure there is no leakage of coolant. 2. Under Heating engine This problem occurs when the thermostat allows continuous flow of coolant into the engine or has lost it's ability to regulate the flow of coolant into the engine. When this happen the engine will too cool and lose it's ability to function properly 3. Fluctuating temperature readings Once you start noticin...

Maintaining a clean fuel supply is essential for proper and reliable engine operation which makes the the job of the fuel filter very important. The fuel filter is guides the the fuel system against dirt, rust, and all kinds of debris. Without the fuel filter components of the fuel system like the carburetor and valves become exposed to contaminants and this could lead to serious issues like preventing valves from seating or clog the injector inlet screens and starve the injector for fuel. Fuel filter also separates water from fuel and this helps protect the injectors and pump from corrosion There are two kinds of fuel filters i. In-line filters - located between the fuel tank and carburetor ii. Internal filters- these are fitted inside the carburetor fuel inlet on older vehicles A lot of late model vehicles with gasoline engines have a fuel filter designed to serve a lifetime and they are located inside the fuel tank with the pump. Factories do not give recommended serv...

The function of the air filter is to keep dirt out of the engine, it's maintenance depends on where you live or how your vehicle is being used. Manufacturers often recommended air filters replacement after 30,000 to 50,000 miles but if you do a lot of driving on dusty areas, rural roads then you may have to replace yours every couple of months When doing an air filter replacement, always compare the old filter with the one you are about to replace it with and make sure they are the same height and size. Doing this will help prevent unfiltered air leaking through

Driving your vehicle with a temperature warning light on will increase your car's risk of critical engine damage, whenever you see the temperature warning light on it means your vehicle is over heating and this is mostly caused by defective cooling system. An engine should not overheat if the cooling system is properly filled and is working normally except on abnormal driving conditions like towing a heavy vehicle or trailer during hot weather. This could overload the cooling system and reduce it's heat control capacity More often than not a temperature warning light means trouble and if you continue to drive an engine that is over heating, serious damages could arise. The engine may start to knock and this could lead to ring, piston and head gasket damages. If the over heating continues it will create tremendous thermal stress in the head and block which can lead to cracking or warpage WHAT TO DO IF ENGINE TEMPERATURE WARNING COMES ON : Pull your vehicle over once it...

If your vehicle has a monitored system like OBD II, Diagnostic Trouble Code(DTC) will set in your vehicle's on board computer when ever a fault occurs Every code number corresponds to a type of fault and can be used to diagnose your car's problem. In 2009, the state of Illinois inspected 1.67 million cars for clean air compliance. Of the vehicles tested, 6.3 percent ( a little over 100,000 vehicles) failed their initial test because of the presence of one or more trouble codes The following is the list of the 20 most common OBD II trouble codes with the percentage of failures for Illinois vehicles tested in 2009: P0420 - Catalyst System Low Efficiency - 13.2% P0171 - Fuel Trim System Lean Bank 1 - 10.4% P0401 - Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Flow Insufficient - 8.4% P0174 - Fuel Trim System Lean Bank 2 - 6.8% P0442 - Evaporative Emission (EVAP) System Small Leak Detected - 6.7% P0300 - Engine Misfire Detected (random misfire) - 6.4% P0455 - Evaporative Emission (...

You are driving and your Oil Pressure Light comes on, what do you do? ANS: you pull over immediately and turn off your engine REASON: The reason your Oil Pressure Light came up could be something as simple as being low on oil, or it could be an indication of serious engine problems. The thing is you don't know if the problem is serious or not but you can be sure that if your oil pressure goes down to nothing, it could damage your engine to the point where you will need significant repairs, and may even need to replace the engine CAUSES : i. Low oil level - check your dipstick, if this is the case it is very easy to correct– just top off your oil,  see if the light goes out, and if it does, you can get back on the road ii. Bad oil pump - If the level on the dipstick is showing between “add” and “full,” and then engine was running noisily, you need to stop driving until the issue can be corrected. You could have a bad oil pump iii. oil pressure gauge or warning swi...

You walk into your garage and you noticed some odd smell, it's new. You can't pin it down CAUSE: Might be some fluid leakage. Check beneath your car SOLUTION: If you notice stains on the floor, there is most likely some leakage. Drive carefully to your local mechanic or have them come over if the leakage seems severe

CAUSE: White exhaust smoke is generally steam caused by condensation. It is caused by Leakage of coolant or engine oil into the combustion chamber of your vehicle as a result of a faulty gas casket. It could also result from cracked engine block or cracked or warped cylinder head SOLUTION: call the professionals and make sure you don't run your engine too much before they arrive

Check Engine Light officially known as the Malfunction Indicator Lamp(MIL) informs you when there's an emission-related problem with your engine control system. Depending on how critical the problem is, your check engine light may stay on continuously or just flash. It will most likely stay so you don't forget it needs checking If no other warning lights are on, and the engine is running normally (no unusual noises, smells, vibrations, etc.), you can assume the fault that is causing the Check Engine Light to come on is probably minor and won't hinder your ability to continue driving. But if other warning lights are on, you should stop your vehicle, come down and investigate the problem OBD II - HOW IT WORKS When the On-board diagnostics(OBD) detects faults that may lead to an increase in emission, the OBD sets a pending code in the vehicle's memory and if the same problem occurs on a second trip, under same condition the OBD system will then set a diagnostic tr...