repair

Recently, I wrote about my wife’s “new” car. After rolling over the sixth digit on the odometer a third time, it just seemed like it was a good idea to put her in a car with less than 320,000 miles on it. As well as I’ve maintained that car, it’s

If you have an older car, chances are that one tune-up item you need to pay particular attention to is your ignition system. One item you don’t see too often anymore is the distributor. Most cars, these days, have long since transitioned to distributorless ignition systems, thus simplifying the tune-up

Recently, my car developed a misfire. I was experiencing a recurring P0302 trouble code, indicating the misfire was in cylinder 2. Knowing there could be multiple causes of the misfire, I approached the problem by investigating the simpler possibilities first. Starting with spark plugs. After combing through the entire ignition

All good things must come to an end – even car ownership. Only a select few will shell out their hard-earned money for a car and keep it for life. Some will part with their transportation in an unfortunate accident. Most of us, however, end up selling our cars at

Three letters you don’t want to see when shopping for parts for your older are NLA. In case you didn’t know, NLA stands for “no longer available.” Often, when a car is older and long out of production, the vehicle manufacturer no longer makes or stocks certain parts for it,

In the past, I’ve discussed exhaust system layout and the functions of the individual parts. Sometimes, these parts need to be replaced. This is doubly true if you live in the rust belt and drive on salty winter roads, or otherwise subject your car’s exhaust system to abnormal wear and

You’re driving along, hit the brakes, and all of sudden you hear a scraping sound you haven’t heard before. Or, maybe that brake pad wear indicator light in your instrument cluster comes on for the first time. Either way, this means one thing – it’s time to replace your brake

Like most parts of your car, you wouldn’t necessarily notice it when your suspension is working properly. You’d be more likely to take notice when it’s broken. After all, its primary function is to smooth out the ride. So, what would you look for in order to spot a problem?

Like me, a lot of my friends are seasoned do-it-yourselfers, and drove beater cars through college, making repairs themselves when they broke down. Eventually, many of them moved on to brand new cars. Still, they like to handle at least some of the work themselves. The question, then, is what