If the serpentine belt breaks on a car the alternator will quit charging and the water pump may not work, causing the car to overheat. Before the belt breaks it is good to inspect it for cracks on the inside where the ribs are located. Also if the belt is worn the topside of the accessory belt will look rough instead of smooth. In the picture you can see the arrow pointing to the belt tensioner. Depending on where this is located will judge how tough of a job it is to do. There is a breaker bar connected to the tensioner in this picture. The breaker bar is a 1/2 inch drive bar. Some tensioners will have a nut to place a wrench on instead of this square hole for a breaker bar.
(Full Article)
If your car won’t start, there are a few things to try. First charge the battery for awhile or have it load tested at a car parts store. If the battery holds a charge the alternator may be faulty. If the engine clicks but will not turn over after you have verified that the battery is bad, you may have a bad starter. This is a starter replacement on a 1995 cadillac sts with northstar engine. The starter on the northstar is located below the intake manifold. To the left you will see the picture of the engine. There are four plastic nuts on the top of the engine cover shown. They will need to be removed to access the engine’s intake manifold. Below the cover in the picture you will see the four spark plug wires.
(Full Article)
This is an article on how to replace a camshaft position sensor on a sunfire or cavalier 2.2 liter engine. The engine uses this for the timing of the engine and without it, the engine may not run at all. The cam position sensor could also intermittenly cause running or starting issues. If the engine backfires from another problem, it could cause the computer to show an error even if the sensor is working correctly. The arrow in the picture points in the general location of the camshaft sensor which is located on the backside of the engine. First you will need to remove the top air hose which is also located in front the arrow.
(Full Article)
This article will cover the replacement of a water pump on a 1996 miata. This is generally done when the timing belt is being replaced. You should start off by following this link to a Timing Belt replacement. Then come back to this article to finish. It is always recommended to replace the water pump when the timing belt is replaced as it saves alot of labor. If you do not need to replace the timing belt you can use the plastic tie strap method which will make things go much faster. This picture shows the water pump pulley located in the center of the picture. The four bolts will need to be removed and the pulley taken off. The thermostat housing bolts (arrows) will not need to be removed.
(Full Article)
Oxygen sensors also known as o2 sensors will go bad somewhere around 60,000 miles. When an oxygen sensor goes bad your check engine light will come on. You will need to have your computer scanned, autozone does this for free. Most newer cars, especially 1996 and newer vehicles will have two o2 sensors. Scanning the computer will tell which o2 sensor is bad. The primary o2 is located in the exhaust header manifold. It is visible in this picture in the bottom, slightly left of the middle. The secondary oxygen sensor will be located next to the catylitic converter. The location of the two sensors are generally the same on all vehicles. This vehicle is a 2001 2.2 liter chevy cavalier.
(Full Article)
If your car revs up when it shifts or when the gas is stepped on, the transmission filter may need to be replaced. This generally happens by the time a vehicle has reached 100,000 miles. The transmission filter should actually be replaced every 60,000 miles. Always check the transmission fluid level first, since this can cause the same problems. Almost all automatic transmission filters are the same to replace, this transmission is from a 1991 mustang. The bolts shown, run all the way around the transmission pan and will all need to be removed. Place a catch pan underneath the trans pan so it can catch the fluid that it will leak out.
(Full Article)
If your fuel pump is not working there is a possibility that your fuel pump relay is bad. When you turn the ignition key forward the coil inside the relay is energized. When the coil is energized you can generally quietly hear the fuel pump buzzing for a few seconds. The fuel pump will come on before the engine has a chance to start up so that the fuel system will be pre pressurized. If the relay has gone bad the fuel pump will never come on. If you don’t hear the fuel pump turn on, look under the hood, probably inside the fuse panel to locate the relay. The air conditioning circuit will probably use a similar relay. If the relays are the same, you can swap the two to test the fuel pump relay.
(Full Article)
