Cold weather can lead to strange problems with cars - in my case the gas pedal simply stopped working. In the late 90's many BMW and Mercedes models moved to electronic drive-by-wire gas pedals...
My wife called me on the telephone earlier this week to notify me that, without warning, our W124 Mercedes sedan began making an awful noise at a red light. She pulled over and turned it off immediately to avoid further damage, and reported that the coolant temperature and oil pressure were...
If you own a Volvo 940, you’ll be happy to know that replacing your front wheel bearings is no more difficult than replacing a set of rotors. In many cases that I’ve seen, backyard mechanics resort to amazingly long extension bars to get the axle nut to budge, sometimes hanging off of it like a...
It takes a lot to get a Volvo to perform like a modern sports sedan in the summer. Stock-for-stock, even the hottest 850R will handle worse than most sports sedans produced in the last 5 years. Since it's hard to recoup the investment of modifications on a vehicle, I've pretty much given up on...
An OBD-II scan-tool will help provide great insight into the dreaded “Check Engine Light” (CEL) and passing state emission inspections. Most states will not pass a car for emissions or safety inspection with an illuminated “CEL," so it's critical to have the right tools in your arsenal to get...
80's and 90's BMW models have long been known as great handling cars. Part of the reason for that came from innovations on the rear of the cars, in particular the multi-link rear suspension introduced on the E31 chassis called Integral III Axle. What's the job of rear suspension? Ideally it...
Winter is upon us again, and that means rain. If you're lucky enough to own a Volkswagen or Audi with a sunroof, you could be looking at a flooded interior if your sunroof drains aren't working correctly. Fortunately, these drains are easy to service, and in my experience, are the major source of...
If you own a W123, W124, W201, or W126 Mercedes, there is a replacement item lurking in your dashboard that can be the cause of great heart (and wallet) ache if it finally decides to give out on you. The part I'm speaking about is the ignition lock cylinder, and when it finally breaks, you will...
I'm not about to say that a dirty cabin air filter will cause emphysema, or make your children cough and sneeze while you take comfort knowing you saved $20 by ignoring this service. It's not that serious of an item as some companies will lead you to believe, and you don't need to replace it...
It's not uncommon for RWD and AWD cars to exhibit driveline vibration at some point in their lives. Specifically, European vehicles can start to show failure at the giubo flex-joint. Pronounced "Gew-bo" though often misspelled and pronounced as "Guibo" (Gwee-bo). As I understand it, the name...
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