"A can of carb cleaner can cure a lot of idle problems, even with FI cars."

Another cheap way to cure some idle problems on older FI motors is a spray bottle of throttle body cleaner and a tooth brush! Carbon builds up in the TB over time. It was cheap fix for my idle problem.


Cant seem to find that air leak on the tire? Fill it with air and drop the wheel/tire in a large container of water and look for bubbles.

 

Here's a screw removal tip. Usually the valve grinding compound works good, but if it let you down try this on any pan head screw. Get a large Vise Grips with the jaws at the end good and sharp. Approach the screw straight on and clamp it and in most cases it will get a grip and twist and your done. Use the Vise Grip brand with good sharp jaws and it works great. People will be blown away when they see you do it.

 

You can also leave the tire on the vehicle and spray Windex all around the tire and around the valve stem, the leak will make a bubble, then mark the spot with a grease pencil so you know where it's at.

Don't start drinking beer until you've put the last quart of oil in, the new filter is installed, and the vehicle is off the jack stands and jack....

 

Only make one repair/adjustment at a time
If you use the shotgun repair method and are successful, you still won't know why it didn't run.

Never go under the truck without the drain plug in one hand and a wrench in the other.

 

I know this may sound rather simplistic and basic, but time spent reading, planning and prepping is never wasted. Read and research all you can about what repair you need to do and how to do it before you pick up a wrench. It will be a time saver, not a time loser in the long run. Do you have the right wrenches, sockets and other tools for the job? Get them out and keep them handy. Do you have the right parts for the job on hand? Do you have the right sealants, glues, gaskets, compounds, cleaners, fluids, etc., on hand? Do you have a good repair manual for your vehicle on hand? Do you have hand cleaners, rags and gloves on hand? (no pun intended) Do you have jack-stands on hand? Do you have a nice well-light clear area to do bench work? If you accidentally light something up, do you have a way to put it out? Do you have enough beer on hand?....ooops how did that get in there. Well you can celebrate after the job is done.

When things come together and click into place, a good repair job can be almost a religious experience. But there is nothing I hate worse than having to wrap my greasy black-and-bleeding knuckles around the wrong tool for the wrong job for the wrong reasons punctuated only by frequent head scratching, tool searches, and long trips to the auto parts store.

Planning is good.

 

Never let brake fluid touch paint - unless you like patches of bubbly paint or bare metal

 

I've often found it a lot better to wrap a rag (folded in thirds) aorund a screwdriver handle in the direction I want to twist it to get a bigger advantage on a stuck screw.

If you have drivers with hex flats under the handle, use the smallest wrench you can that will do the job. Avoid using vice grips , pliers, or other "Manglers" on fasteners or tools - they'll get chewed up in no time.

In alloy castings, slow even torque is a must! More screws and bolts are broken by hurrying than anything else.

Keep in mind that a steel fastener in an alloy casting will most likely be roughened by corrosion, and may even have been weakened by corrosion over time. The problem is caused by dissimilar metals.

Use anti-sieze compound on reassembly.

 

You can also grip it with a crescent wrench and get some leverage!

 

hey my freind bought a 72 chevy nd a 92 motor it runs somtimes and sometimes it trys to cutout i was wondering if tha 92 motors have electronic or mechanical fuel pumps

thanx

 

Windex is too expensive for my taste. I use only water and a little bit of Dawn.

 

When you pull the plugs out, stick them back into their plug wires if you may want to know where they came from.

 

If you are unable to locate a slow fluid leak try sprikling baby powder on the surface and follow the wet spot up to the source.

if your ac is not blowing as cold as it use to first thing is to clean the rad and a/c condenser(do not us a pressure hose as this may bend the fins) it is often that the condenser is unable to release the heat back to the air do to inproper air flow.
for a good cheap battery post treatment spray the postswith wd 40 every oil change.
also if you have a vibration or shake do not let a mechanic do a wheel alginment. balance the tires and check drive line. a alignment problem will not cause a vibration.

 

Cleaning the MAF Sensor.

This has happened to me on two Ford/Lincoln cars....if you're getting intermittent stalling and/or poor upshifting, occasional rough idle, or generally p-poor performance and have checked the other easy stuff;

...and you've looked for bad wiring
...and you're hating the idea of vacuum leak searches
...and you hate the idea of fuel pump fiddling or replacement
...and you've replaced your fuel filter...

remove and clean the MAF sensor if you've got one. You'll probably need a $2 "tamperproof" torx bit (a tamper-proof torx head has a little peg in the middle), and you'll need a good electrical cleaner. Radio Shack has a spray can of electrical connection cleaner that has a applicator brush right on the nozzle.

Unplug the MAF sensor, remove the 2 or 4 torx head screws holding it on and lift the sensor out, don't lose track of the o-ring. GENTLY spray and clean the wires...it looks like two sets of goal posts, one taller than the other (each is two small posts with a wire across). If they're broken, you'll have to replace the sensor.

Let it dry, and put it back. Takes all of 3-5 minutes and if it's the problem, your car/truck will run like new. BTW, this problem will NOT throw a code to alert you.

 

Ah... let's see...

If you have a screw where the head has been munged, don't be afraid to take a hacksaw blade and "tune up" the slot. Or even make a new one...

If you have a bolt that's broken off flush, put a smaller nut over it and weld the nut to the bolt. Then just inscrew it...

 

If you have to anchor something to conrete, drill a hole in it slightly bigger than the screw or nail you have, insert a piece of wire, pound nail in or drive screw in. Makes for a very strong anchor and comes out relatively easy.