BMW Maintenance: The Right Equipment and Information Make Service Profitable
Well-designed and durable, the cars from Bavaria have had a reputation for handling and performance that many other manufacturers only aspire to. In the last 50 years, BMWs have gone from the three-wheeled Isetta microcar of the 1950s to today’s powerful and comfortable high-performance machines with all of the latest technology. One of my favorite
Diagnostic Solutions: Wheel Bearing Diagnosis
PROPER PROCEDURES AND CORRECT TOOLS PREVENT COMEBACKS Although wheel bearings are often the most neglected part of the vehicle, they nevertheless have a critical job to do, and in most cases, do it very well. Not only are wheel bearings designed to support the weight of the vehicle and allow it to travel over a
Tech Tip: Motor Mounts – Supporting the Engine and Transmission
Motor mounts are not a very glamorous product, but they do have an important function: They support the engine and transmission, and dampen noise and vibration. The mounts isolate the engine and transmission from the chassis so vibrations and noise are not transmitted to the rest of the vehicle.
Viewpoint
I recently bought a 1967 AMC Rambler American for a “beater rally” that will take the car from New York to New Orleans (www.baberally.com). The 1,500 mile trek is not that extraordinary, but when you consider that it must be done in a $250 car, it takes on a whole new dimension. Also, the more
Slotted & Drilled Rotors: Upgrades That Deliver Performance and Pizzazz
You’ve seen them on the race track. You’ve seen them on the street. You’ve seen them in speed shops, in magazine ads, online and probably on eBay, too. The product we’re talking about is slotted and/or cross-drilled high-performance brake rotors. They look great; no doubt about it. Performance rotors are an excellent upgrade for modified
Tech Tip: Spotting Problems with a Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer
Being able to measure temperature variances can play an important roll in diagnosing vehicle maladies for both undercar and underhood technicians. This can be easily accomplished by using a non-contact infrared thermometer. With this tool, technicians simply point the thermometer at the area of concern and they are immediately provided with the temperature of the surface in question.
Slotted and Drilled Rotors: Show or Slow?
You’ve seen them on the race track. You’ve seen them on the street. You’ve seen them in speed shops, in magazine ads, online and probably on eBay, too. The product we’re talking about is slotted and/or cross-drilled high performance brake rotors. They look great, no doubt about it. Performance rotors are an excellent upgrade for
News: Popular Aftermarket Columnist Mitch Schneider Joins Babcox Publications
Mitch Schneider, nationally recognized automotive service professional, author and lecturer, has joined Babcox Publications as a senior contributing editor. Beginning in July, Schneider’s popular commentary will appear monthly in Babcox’s Tech Group publications, including Brake & Front End, ImportCar and Underhood Service. In addition to frequent exclusives on aftermarketNews.com and Autocarepronews.com, another column written specifically
Management: Our Business is Still a ‘People’ Business
Can you imagine a business where you didn’t talk to your customers? The orders would appear on the printer or the cars would be lined up in the parking lot each morning just waiting to be serviced.
Snap-on Extends Their Sponsorship Commitment with Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
For almost its entire history, Snap-on has been involved in racing and uses its experience at the track to develop innovative new products for the vehicle service industry. In fact, some of the most innovative automotive systems were created at racetracks – disc brakes, hydraulic shock absorbers, turbochargers, fuel injection – and, consequently, so were the Snap-on professional tools used to service those systems.