A man once told me to never complain about gas prices. With the average price of regular unleaded gas at $3.34 a gallon, it's hard not to, even if it is the holiday season. Since my car averages about 22 mpg, the man offered me this proposition: "If I offered you $3.34, would you walk 22 miles?"
This next tutorial is going to show you just how easy it can be to check your vehicle's alternator. There isn't really much that you need, just a tester or DVOM and some time.
Your car needs care and maintenance to run properly. Let Firestone Complete Auto Care teach you the basics about keeping you automobile running smoothly. Check out this video tutorial for some helpful hints on checking the tire wear on your vehicle.
In this video, learn a great performance upgrade for your vehicle that costs nothing! Eric talks about his old Honda Integra and his irritation at its throttle response. But cars like this have cables that run to the throttle and sometimes they get loose. All you need to do is tighten the cables!
The engine has a number of cylinders, whether it's 3, 4, 5, 6… 8…. whatever, and each one of those cylinders is designed to produce the same amount of power. If one is not able to produce the same power as the rest, then that cylinder is down and the engine might miss a bit or have a check engine light. If you think this may be the case with your automobile, this video from Eric the Car Guy will show you how to perform a power balance test on your car's engine. It's very helpful in nailing do...
In this automotive repair video, you'll learn how to change your own brakes. Throughout this process, you'll also figure out how to remove your tire, calipers and brake pads, and how to clean the brake pad area. See how to take off the rotor and reinsert everything correctly. It's an easy process, and you don't need to be a professional mechanic to install new brake pads.
Hub bearing assemblies are one of the most expensive things you could get fixed on your vehicle. And it's not an easy task to repair yourself if you're not a semi-professional mechanic. But with the help of this video, you'll learn the steps to changing hub bearing assemblies, from a licensed technician.
Your vehicle's power steering pump is integral to your car functioning at all. That's because the power steering pump is what provides the hydraulic power for steering. Without it, your car would pretty much go nowhere. Inside the pump, retractable vanes spin, pulling hydraulic fluid in with low pressure and spitting it out at high pressure. Every pump has a pressure relief valve to make sure the pressure is never too high, but still your steering pump may wear out over time.
In the past, most mechanics ended up having to replace the speedometer head when a vehicle came in with a broken speedometer. Nowadays, there's a possible reset procedure that can be used, and it can be done by most car owners right at home.
In this tutorial, we learn how to replace the air filer in our vehicle. Remember to do this every 12 to 13,000 miles you drive the vehicle. First, you will need to buy a new clean air filter that fits inside of your vehicle. Now, turn the engine to your car off and open up the hood. Next, undo the clamps around the air cleaner housing and lift the housing up. Now remove the dirty air filter and insert the new one in its place. Now, lower and secure the housing clamps again and you're all fini...
The guys at Poor Man Mods show you how to clean an air filter with a can of brake parts cleaner. Instead of buying cleaning kits that cost $15 and can damage your mass airflow sensor with the oil they contain, a can of brake parts cleaner does the job awesome and brakes down all the grease, grime and oil, leaving the filter media squeaky clean!
Elemental Designs will show you how to carpet a basic subwoofer box for your vehicle's system in this two-part video series. If you've ever had any trouble in the past trying to carpet your sub box, this will help explain what you might have done wrong. First you have to pick the carpet for your subwoofer box, then you have to make sure it's the right size. It's just like wrapping a present, a present for your automobile's stereo. Carpet a basic subwoofer box for your vehicle's system - Part ...
This video tutorial stresses keeping on top of your car's tire alignment. If there is a problem with your tire alignment, it can cause your tires to wear out excessively and uneven. One of the few tips on detecting if your alignment is off is when taking turns. If your car feels like one tire is pulling in a different direction then others, then you might have a problem. They insist on getting your tires alignment checked before it can cause any long term damage to your tires and/or suspensio...
This video is regarding air conditioner services. Leaks are a major cause of problems. Water and air can leak into the system. Water damage, rust and refrigerant leaking all make the unti ineffiecient. You should evaluate the unit regularly and also run it periodically to keep the system from working properly.The manual should provide a good amount of information that will help you ensure you are not doing anything to damage the system of repair it incorrectly. Service your vehicle's air cond...
This video is on how to install an electric fan onto a ESC (Electric Speed Control) for cooling of your radio controlled vehicle's motor. With a little soldering know-how, you can do this task easy, and quickly.
See in these two videos, how to dye your radio controlled vehicle's parts. You'll see how to properly dye many plastic parts on your RC vehicle like Revo 2.5 or 3.3 rockers, high down force Ofna wings, pro-line rims, and many more parts. The project uses RIT dye that comes in many colors to include black, light and dark blue, green, and more. This will allow you to take any color of part (especially white) and make your RC into something that is customized with little effort.
Chris Chianelli talks a bit about nitro engines and using the main needle valve. Without knowledge of the vehicle's engine, you won't be able to use the RC vehicle to the max. Watch this video tutorial and learn the inner-workings of an RC vehicle engine.
If you're planning on restoring an old car, it's important to know what goes where and how to put it back on. Stripping the vehicle's parts can help when it comes to the paint job and makes things easier. So in this helpful video tutorial, you'll be finding out how to organize the parts to your car, in this case a VW Beetle, when stripping it. So pay attention, good luck, and enjoy!
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to sea foam a vehicle. By doing this, it will help the vehicle's engine to last longer. Users will need 2 cans of sea foam and 1 can of sea foam Deep Creep. Begin by opening the gas cap and pour 1 can of sea foam into the fuel tank. Open the oil cap and pour only half of the other can sea foam into it. Then open the throttle body and spray the Deep Creep. Now leave the vehicle to rest for 15-20 minutes. This video will benefit those viewers who have a...
Learn how to use vehicle stability control on a 2010 Toyota 4Runner by following the steps in this video. VSC allows a driver to maintain steering control in the event that traction for the vehicle is lost. This Toyota USA tutorial explains the purpose of the VSC system and what indicator to look out for on your vehicle's panel to know when the system has been activated. To better understand how your 2010 Toyota 4Runner maintains steering stability and traction, listen to this video tutorial.
Richpin demonstrates how to test an alternator with a standard multimeter. First make sure that the vehicle's battery is fully charged. Take the negative lead of the multimeter and put it on the negative post of the battery. Place the positive lead of the meter on the positive lead of the battery. Set the meter to DC voltage using the 20 scale and read the display to ensure the battery is fully charged. Next start up the vehicle and see what the alternator is producing. The display should now...
It's simple: if you've got a brushed motor, you'll want to break it in under controlled circumstances before taking it out into the world. Why break in your engine? The main idea of breaking in your engine is to wear down your engine's brush so as to maximize surface contact with the commutator, reducing resistance (and therefore waste energy) and thereby increasing power. For detailed instructions on breaking in your remote control vehicle's engine, watch this RC hobbyest how-to.
This guide will help you remove the heater from a Chevrolet truck - though the featured automobile is a 1979 pickup truck. If there's a bad smell coming from the heater, the guide will also help you learn how to safely clean the vehicle's heater with disinfectant, gloves, and goggles.
Someday, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday, you'll find yourself on the road in your car, maybe on the highway, and you'll hear something.
In this video, viewers learn about factory maintenance schedules and how to care for a vehicle. The series explains the differences between repair and maintenance, and the difference between do-it-yourself repair and professional auto repair services. Tips address choosing an auto mechanic and following factory and maintenance schedules. Increasing your vehicle's safety, reliability and longevity through proper maintenance also is discussed. This video will benefit all viewers who own a vehic...
Check out this automotive video tutorial to see how to relocate breathers on a Toyota FJ Cruiser. If you own a Toyota FJ Cruiser and you plan on getting it wet, you're going to be doing a scuba mod, which is nothing more than relocating the breathers up to a higher location. In this video, you will see how to relocate the breathers to your vehicle's gas fill area, to keep them neat and tidy and out of the way. This step-by-step presentation will get you to move those breathers with the scuba ...
Maps is great for making sure you always get to your destination, until you miss that critical turn because you couldn't hear the turn-by-turn directions.
Check out this car maintenance video on how to change your car battery in the smartest and safest way. So, get out that socket wrench or crescent wrench and get to work. Take out the auto battery and clean the battery cable connectors for a nice connection to your vehicle's new battery. Then just install the battery.
The first thing that comes to mind when your car is stolen is: ####!! However, once calm, cover these bases when your car is stolen to notify relevant parties and help ensure vehicle recovery or replacement.
When working on the dashboard of any vehicle, make sure you disable the vehicle's airbag system first. Your service manual should tell you how to do that. In this video, the heater core is plugged up in a 2001 Ford Taurus, which means it needs to be taken out. The book states it will take 5 hours to complete, mostly because of the dash. But this trick will cut the time down to 1.5 hours. First, get you heater hoses off in the engine area. Then proceed to watch a mysterious bracket being cut o...
You may have seen a "check engine" sign on your car's dashboard when driving your vehicle. Maybe "service engine soon," or just "check". What does this mean if the alarm won't turn off, or comes on when you're driving? Find out in this automotive video tutorial how to read those trouble codes on your automobile.
If you have a problem with your vehicle's serpentine belt tensioner, you may want to replace it soon. This is designed to hold a certain amount of tension and needs to be replaced. This video uses a Saturn S-series to display how to replace the part, so it can apply to other cars, but it won't be exactly the same. So check it out, be careful, and enjoy!
Coolant doesn't get used up during a vehicle's normal operation. If the coolant level is consistently low, your car has a coolant leak. Your mechanic can pressure-check the cooling system to find any leaks or you can check the situation out yourself. Watch this video tutorial to see how to check and add engine coolant in your car with antifreeze.
Learn all the basics for maintaining and repairing the sunroof of your car. This video tutorial from the DIY Network will show you all about how to maintain and repair the sunroof of your car. If you've been having your sunroof open, then it starts raining, and you can't close the sunroof on your automotive, then get these maintenance tips, like lubricating and cleaning your vehicle's sunroof.
Professional mechanic and emmy award winning car talk host Scotty Kilmer shows how to check your vehicle's suspension system out.
In this video, we learn how to check your engine health with a PICO scope. First, you will want to attach your computer to the PICO scope that is connected to your vehicle's "brain". After this, you will run through the different sections of the car to see how each of the different functions are running. Compare the results you are getting to a chart that shows what the healthy charts should look like. As you go through these, record the results you get, then print them out if you need to. Wh...
If you're having a hard time with starting your lawn mower, there could be several problems. One of the main issues can be because of the vehicle's carburetor. If unattended, it can give you a hard time.
Select Toyota 4Runner models are available with two 120-volt AC power outlets. To use this feature, the engine must be turned on and running. Press the AC switch to the left of the vehicle's steering wheel. The LED will be illuminated when active. One outlet is located in the center console. The other outlet is at the rear of the vehicle in the cargo area of the Toyota 4Runner. Use the outlets as needed.
Have you ever driven your car on rough terrains? Seems difficult to handle it. You can now steer, brake and accelerate at the same time with the new 2010 Toyota 4Runner. It has introduced a new technology called crawl control which helps determine optimum combination of speed and traction. It processes inputs from wheel speed sensors, vehicle's stability control computer, G-sensor and the engine control unit. To start this system, shift the transmission to neutral and then the transfer case t...
Scratches are unsightly and can alter the value and look of your car. Watch this automotive video tutorial to see how to fix scratches in your auto finish. You need to purchase primer paint made for use on an automobile. Pick a primer that is lighter in color than your car so it is easily covered by the touch-up paint in one coat. Use some mild laundry detergent to wash the scratch to remove any wax or coatings, which could effect your vehicle's paint job. The rest involves some sandpaper and...
