Archive Page 2

Car waxing tips (is paste the best type wax)

John’s question:

Hey Scotty! Just finished waxing my car with paste. Man, was it tough and tiring to “wax off”. I had to use many towels to remove all of it. Is paste the best type of wax or is there something else better? Any tips or alternative to make the wax come off with out using massive amount of towels?”

Answer:

Not if you want to do it right, it just takes a lot of work. Nothing beats the paste wax, it lasts longest. If you don’t like the tough rubbing, do just a quarter of a car at a time. I just did my old twenty eight year old work Toyota last week and I took three days to do the whole job by doing only part at a time. That way I didn’t go insane and sweat like mad in the already insane hot humid Texas summer. And of course, ALWAYS wax a car in the cool shade, don’t try it in the sun or you will be rubbing like mad. Yea, it’s a lot of work, but at least you know it’s been done correctly when you do it yourself. And realistically, you only need to do it four times a year, once a season.

2000 Toyota Camry le v6 front left wheel bearing replacement DIY

Shant’s question:

I have a 2000 toyota camry le v6. the front left wheel bearings need replacement. i would like to do the job myself. Your instructions or advice is appreciated. thank you much.”

Answer:

Taking the hub off the car is a pretty straight forward job, BUT removing the old bearings and putting the new bearings in required special tools And/Or a fifteen ton machine press. Many guys will remove the hub themselves, and then have a machine shop or professional garage press the old bearing out and the new one in. Here’s the basics on how to remove things:REMOVE FRONT WHEEL Torque: 103 Nm (1,050 kgf.cm, 76 ft. lbs.) CHECK BEARING BACKLASH AND AXLE HUB DEVIATION Remove the 2 bolts, brake caliper and disc. Support the brake caliper securely. Using a dial indicator near the center of the axle hub and check the backlash in the bearing shaft direction. Maximum: 0.05 mm (0.0020 inch) If the backlash exceeds the maximum, replace the bearing. Using a dial indicator, check the deviation at the surface of the axle hub outside the hub bolt. Maximum: 0.05 mm (0.0020 inch) If the deviation exceeds the maximum, replace the bearing. Install the disc, 2 bolts and brake caliper. Torque: 107 Nm (1,090 kgf.cm, 79 ft. lbs.) REMOVE DRIVE SHAFT LOCK NUT Remove the cotter pin and lock cap. With applying the brakes, remove the nut. Torque: 294 Nm (3,000 kgf.cm, 217 ft. lbs.) Remove the brake caliper and disc. w/ ABS: REMOVE ABS SPEED SENSOR AND WIRE HARNESS CLAMP Torque: 8.0 Nm (82 kgf.cm, 71 inch lbs.) LOOSEN 2 NUTS ON LOWER SIDE OF SHOCK ABSORBER Torque: 211 Nm (2,150 kgf.cm, 156 ft. lbs.) HINT: Do not remove the bolts. At the time of installation, coat the nut’s thread with engine oil. DISCONNECT TIE ROD END FROM STEERING KNUCKLE Remove the cotter pin and nut. Torque: 49 Nm (500 kgf.cm, 36 ft. lbs.) Using SST, disconnect the tie rod end from the steering knuckle. SST 09610-20012 DISCONNECT LOWER BALL JOINT FROM LOWER ARM Remove the 2 nuts and bolt. Torque: 127 Nm (1,300 kgf.cm, 94 ft. lbs.) REMOVE STEERING KNUCKLE WITH AXLE HUB Remove the 2 bolts on the lower side of the shock absorber. Remove the steering knuckle with the axle hub. NOTICE: Be careful not to damage the oil seal with drive shaft. INSTALLATION Installation is in the reverse order of removal. AFTER INSTALLATION, CHECK ABS SPEED SENSOR SIGNAL AND FRONT WHEEL ALIGNMENT For information on the testing procedures of the ABS speed sensor signal, refer to Brakes and Traction Control; Brakes; Antilock Brake System; Wheel Speed Sensor; Testing and Inspection; Procedures. Good Luck,

town and country van brakes

Roger’s question:

this is roger again,I asked about town and country van that I changed the brakes and does not stop,I loosen the bleeder valve when pushing the callipers back in the holes,you said if the padel goes down may be master cylinder problem, no the pedal does not go down its too tight and there is abs light comes .so what do think. thanks”

Answer:

If the pedal is too tight and the ABS light is on, then you either have a problem in the power booster (if it doesn’t boost the brake system, the pedal will be ROCK hard but will not stop quickly as there is no boost) AND OR you have a problem in the ABS system. Changing out the brake pads has absolutely no effect on the booster system directly, so I would suspect the problem is in the ABS system, because working on the brake system can cause ABS damage. The ABS system is very complex, and even something as simple as cracking a bleeder line can cause problems in the ABS system. Good Luck,

2001 Hyundai Elantra AC Fan Not Blowing

Frank’s question:

2001 Hyundai Elantra. 184,000 miles. A/C is really cold, but a day ago I turned the fan switch and it didn’t turn on. The A/C compressor DID turn on but the fan did not. Then after turning it back off 2 or 3 times it came on. Two days go by and no problems, now today it does the same thing, but this time it takes a long time for it to come on. I turn the switch 2 or 3 times and nothing. I leave it in the on position and after driving for a while it just starts blowing. Any thoughts?”

Answer:

THE most common problem with those symptoms is simply a worn out fan blower motor. The brushes inside the motor just wear out over time. Installing a new fan motor assembly should fix it.

Car window get stuck half way

John’s question:

My friends car window get stuck half way when try to pull it up. i noticed the window is misaligned and maybe the motor is bad. Knowing that it would probably be really expensive for a new motor, I sprayed PB50 lubricant on the edge. works fine now. Question: What is the “correct” type of lube to use because its rubber?”

Answer:

The correct type of lube to use on windows and ANY rubber parts is spray silicone lube. You can get it at any auto parts store or hardware store. Just spray a bunch on, and wipe off the residue, it doesn’t make a mess at all as it wipes off easily (just don’t do it in bright sunlight as paint can be damaged if the car is really hot when you spray it on.)

1987 Lincoln Town Car takes a while to start

RM’s question:

Hi Scotty, My 1987 Lincoln Town Car takes a while to start. I’ve changed the spark plugs & the wireset. The only thing left is the distributor cap and rotor. Should I change both, or just the rotor. Anything else you can suggest. I’ve put mostly OEM parts. Should I go OEM or is O’reilly/Autozone parts OK? Thanks,”

Answer:

OEM is best, and I’d change both the cap and the rotor. BUT, realize that an oldster like that can start hard from both ignition and or fuel problems. If it’s a fuel problem, most guys will live with it rather than spend a small fortune fixing it if the car does eventually start and run ok.

1993 Chrysler Town and Country van brakes too tight

Roger’s question:

thanks for your advice on nissan, now one more its a town and country van 1993,3.3 engine. I changed the brakes those are too tight but does not work like a brake mean does not stop,any advice. thanks”

Answer:

Many times guys will change out the brake pads and NOT loosen up the bleeder valve when pushing the callipers back into their holes. This can destroy the brake master cylinder and then you’ve got to buy that part also. It’s a very common mistake. If your pedal goes to the floor now and won’t stop, odds are that’s what went wrong.

My 1999 Ford Explorer will not go into reverse gear

Shirley’s question:

My 1999 Ford Explorer will not go into reverse gear. If I put it into reverse, and then quick switch to drive, it will go forwards, but really slowly. Before I end up spending a small fortune doing the transmission over, I was wondering if you’ve seen this before.”

Answer:

Yes, I have seen that before. Sometimes the transmission has to be removed and the broken parts inside replaced, BUT last year I fixed one like yours without having to pull the transmission off the car. It had a bad valve body, and only the bottom pan of the transmission had to be removed to replace the valve body. So you might check that first.

2002 Jeep Liberty leaking water pump

Michelle Williams’s question:

I have a 2002 Jeep Liberty I have noticed that over the year I have had my truck the motor area seems to be getting rusty colored I took it in and they said that my water pump has a leak and said that it has been leaking for a long time how could I have over looked this I take it to get a full check up and oil change and was never told that I had a leak so what do you think I should do?”

Answer:

Just replace the water pump. Many water pumps leak a little through their weep hole so that the water seal remains pliable. Mercedes Benze even states that some loss through the water pump weep hole is normal and not to replace the pump until the loss becomes large. As long as your temperature gauge ran normal, it has done no damage to the vehicle. The same truth holds for oil leaks, as most engines leak some oil as they age. Unless the leak makes a mess and starts smoking as it hits exhaust parts, it’s no big deal as long as you check to make sure the oil level stays correct inbetween oil changes.

Nissan Altima 1994 gxe low MPG No Check Engine Light

Roger’s question:

I have a nissan altima 1994 gxe four door .This car gives me only 13-14 miles /gallon. I changed plugs and no good sign came out.there is no check engine light comes.it has 105000 miles on it so what you suggest to me. thanks roger”

Answer:

The mass air flow sensors go bad all the time on those Altimas. They measure the air coming into the engine and tell the computer how much fuel to spray out of the injectors. This is the Number One problem with those cars. You can get a rebuilt mass air flow sensor just about anywhere these days, as they break down so often in those Altimas that practically everyone stocks them. And for some strange reason, a bad mass air flow sensor in Altimas often doesn’t set off the check engine light (bad software if you ask me.)



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