During warmer weather you may begin to notice a trail of liquid on the pavement underneath your recently parked car. On closer inspection, you’ll discover water released as harmless condensation dripping from the air conditioner’s cooling coils. Identifying an actual AC leak can be difficult as the refrigerant found in your car is released only as a colorless and odorless gas. Here’s how to identify air conditioning system problems, including a leaking air conditioner, and th

Turbochargers are rather genius inventions that recycle waste exhaust gas to boost engine power. This allows for smaller, lighter engine design and increased overall fuel efficiency. They can also be added to your engine if you’re looking for a little more power behind the wheel. Even though it’s relatively straightforward, however, adding a turbo engine comes with its own set of problems. After all, it’s one more part that requires maintenance. It also has a pretty intimate

So you finally decided to pull the trigger and paint your car or truck, and you want to do it yourself. Great! Now what? Unfortunately, you can’t just grab some rattle cans and start laying down color, there is a lot to do before you get to that point. Painting a car is a time-consuming process, but one that you can handle with some patience and practice, you just need to get familiar with the basics. Here are 10 car paint prep tips to get you started. 1. Deconstruction The f

Researching an engine before you buy a new car is one of the keys to being happy with the vehicle you bring home. Even two motors that, on paper, produce the same amount of power can deliver very different driving experiences, which means you should prepare yourself to understand the various differences between drivetrains before handing over your hard-earned cash. Let’s take a look at the most popular choices out there and summarize what they have to offer. V8 Engines All of

Gasoline-powered engines come in different shapes and sizes, but they all require three essential elements: air, fuel and spark. The spark makes its way through a distributor, which sends an electrical current along an insulated wire to the individual spark plugs, timed to coincide with an injection of fuel to produce the combustion stroke. Changing spark plugs is normal over the course of any vehicle’s life, and when it’s time, you’ll find you have options. There are three m

Fasteners are complicated, particularly screws. There many variations for screws, so many that it can be hard to figure out what you need, even with the old one in your hand. There are some common standards, and then there are the specialty screws that may or may not be replaced with one of the standard forms. This article is all about helping you sort that out. There are many types of screws, each with a particular purpose. From the left – countersunk wood, truss head wood,

During warmer weather you may begin to notice a trail of liquid on the pavement underneath your recently parked car. On closer inspection, you’ll discover water released as harmless condensation dripping from the air conditioner’s cooling coils. Identifying an actual AC leak can be difficult as the refrigerant found in your car is released only as a colorless and odorless gas. Here’s how to identify air conditioning system problems, including a leaking air conditioner, and th