Car Blogger Diary

In our society with the global climate change concerns we keep hearing the buzz words “ Go Green ”. People are more aware of how their daily choices really affect the environment. Whether it is the car we drive, or how much we drive, what kind of fuel we use, what kind of equipment we use in our homes, how we dispose of our trash, what products we choose to purchase and how they are manufactured, going green is really being environmentally conscientious and making good choices that will increase the quality of life on our planet in the future. We have lots of choices to purchase more environmentally vehicles, whether they are electric, hybrid or just extremely fuel efficient. Those choices are offered by many of the vehicle manufacturers, like Ford, GM, Toyota, or Honda just to name a few, you would have many great cars to choose from. But if purchasing a new or barely used vehicle is not in your immediate future there are ways to make your current vehicle a little more green. Increasi...

How The Clutch Works The very basics of clutch operation is that the driver depresses the clutch pedal, selects a gear and releases the clutch pedal, while accelerating for a smooth transition into moving the vehicle. The clutch, when operated, allows the engine power to be applied gradually when a vehicle is starting out and it interrupts the power to avoid grinding gears when shifting. Engaging the clutch allows the engines power to transfer to the transmission and drive wheels. Disengaging the clutch stops the power transfer and allows the engine to keep turning without force to the drive wheels. The Parts Of A Clutch The basic components of a clutch are the flywheel , clutch disc , pressure plate , throw-out bearing and linkage . A hydraulic clutch uses some additional components like a clutch slave and master cylinder . The flywheel is bolted to the crankshaft of the engine, it has teeth around the outer edge and is used in conjunction with the starter motor to turn the engine o...

Over the last couple months the news has reported multiple car fires in our Portland Metropolitan area. These car fires were spontaneous and not caused by an accident. According to the National Car Care Council each year they are seeing statistics that prove more car fires are occurring each year due to deferred maintenance rather than accidents. Unlike collision damage that can be repaired, serious vehicle fires often result in a “total loss”. These fires burn really hot and can reduce the strength of metal, fire can buckle body panels and this is almost impossible to repair satisfactorily. The cabin of the vehicle can melt, glass can be damaged and the burned wiring can also be very expensive to replace or repair. These types of car fires can almost always be avoided with a few simple precautions. Having regular annual inspections performed on your vehicle, performed by a qualified technician is recommended. These inspections can be easily performed with an oil change or regular serv...

Over the last couple months the news has reported multiple car fires in our Portland Metropolitan area. These car fires were spontaneous and not caused by an accident. According to the National Car Care Council each year they are seeing statistics that prove more car fires are occurring each year due to deferred maintenance rather than accidents. Unlike collision damage that can be repaired, serious vehicle fires often result in a “total loss”. These fires burn really hot and can reduce the strength of metal, fire can buckle body panels and this is almost impossible to repair satisfactorily. The cabin of the vehicle can melt, glass can be damaged and the burned wiring can also be very expensive to replace or repair. These types of car fires can almost always be avoided with a few simple precautions. Having regular annual inspections performed on your vehicle, performed by a qualified technician is recommended. These inspections can be easily performed with an oil change or regular serv...

Carburetors VS. Fuel Injection Systems When vehicles were equipped with carburetors, it was a very common practice to clean and adjust the carburetor regularly. In the 1980s manufacturer’s phased out most carburetors, and switched over to fuel injection systems for the fuel mixing and delivery system of the vehicle.  Even though the primary function is the same, the differences are that a carburetor used low pressure and the intake of air rushing thru to add fuel.  Fuel injection uses fuel injectors with a very small nozzle and higher pressure to atomize the fuel. Over the years there have been different forms of fuel injection systems, single-point or the throttle body injected system, multipoint or central port injection, central sequential fuel injection, and now we are seeing a lot of cars with direct injection.  Which produces lower emissions, more power, and a better economy. All fuel systems in cars do have a couple of things in common, they tend to build up carbon...

What exactly does blown mean anyway? The head gasket in your engine is the gasket that seals the cylinder head of the engine to the engine block. There are coolant and oil passages that transfer the oil and coolant from the engine to the head and back. The reason for these passages is for the oil to lubricate the valve train, and the coolant to remove heat from the cylinder head. The other job of the head gasket is sealing the top of the cylinder to keep the compression contained. Head gasket problems arise generally due to poor maintenance of the cooling system. Acidic coolant can begin to eat away or erode the sealing area of the coolant passages in the gasket. This can cause a weak area and a leak can start to form. The head gasket leaking can travel either internally or externally. An external leak is visible outside the engine, an internal leak means that coolant can seep into oil passages or erode the compression sealing ring in the head gasket allowing coolant to enter the c...

Summer and warm weather is on its way finally! So it is especially important to make sure that the engine cooling system of your vehicle is in proper working order. It is recommended to have your engine coolant flushed every 2 years or 30,000 miles. Then taking care of any and all coolant leaks as soon as you are aware of them. This will keep your engine cooling system in good shape, to reduce chances of overheating and damaging the engine of your vehicle. The reasons I recommend regular flushing of your coolant are as follows: The function of coolant is to raise the boiling point, and lower the freezing point of the water/coolant in the engine and rest of the cooling system. Coolants also carry special lubricating properties to keep the water pump lubricated. When the components in coolant breakdown the PH balance begins to change.  Manufacturers recommend the PH starting pint to be at 10 on the PH scale.  When the PH drops it becomes acidic and can start to deteriorate zinc ...

Brake servicing is an important part of proper vehicle maintenance. When you take care of your brakes, they’ll take care of you when you need them most. However, even with regular maintenance, the brakes on your vehicle may require a professional inspection and servicing if you encounter one or more of these eight brake problem warning signs 1. Brake Light On If the brake light indicator appears on your dashboard, it’s either time for your regular maintenance or an alert to a potential problem. Consult your vehicle owner’s manual for possible causes for the dashboard indicator. Note: in some vehicles, this can be caused by your parking brake. Release it and see if the alert goes away. 2. Squealing or Squeaking Noises New noises coming from your brakes aren’t always a sign of problems. It could just be a foreign object lodged in your brakes (a pebble or debris). It could also be your brake-pad wear indicators. These bits of metal in your brake pad come in contact with the rotor to emit ...

The fuel system of your vehicle is either mechanical or electronic. Most of today’s cars are equipped with an electronic fuel system. The fuel pump is responsible for pressurizing fuel from a vehicle’s gas tank and sending it to the engine. Since the electronic fuel system is most common, we will discuss that design in this article. The electronic fuel system has injectors that squirt fuel into the combustion chambers of the engine. A computer controls this system and it monitors the position of the throttle, the air-fuel ratio, and the contents of the exhaust. The fuel pump is powered and controlled electronically to pump the fuel through the system. It is generally located on the inside or next to the fuel tank. The best way to maintain your fuel system and get longevity out of your fuel pump is pretty simple: 1. Replace your inline fuel filter on an annual basis or approximately every 12,000 to 15,000 miles, whichever comes first. 2. Keep your fuel system clean by having the throttl...

The future of the car will see two major trends: self-driving cars and research on new propulsion methods. Autonomous cars like Google Car and Uber and Tesla Motors self-driving cars seem to have come straight out of a science fiction book. The coming of driverless cars had actually already begun in 1990, but they’ve taken a lot of fine-tuning, and it will still be some time until we see them regularly on the roads!   The search is on for greener, more sustainable solutions to fossil fuels as consumers increasingly turn to renewable energies. However, the electric car didn’t just come about yesterday: the first prototypes were invented in 1834! Given the strong competition from steam-powered cars and combustion engines and the lack of performance and autonomy of electric models, this option was set aside for a very long time—until Elon Musk and his company Tesla Motors brought it back to life. In 2010, Japan automaker Nissan introduced the first 100% electric car for the general pu...