Suspension

Some car use Macpherson struts and others use the SLA Suspension (short,long arm)

Macpherson is a regular shock with the coil spring around it. This type only has a lower control arm.

SLA suspension has both and upper and lower control arm and a coil spring in between.

Tools

So i bought my tools the other day i ended up spending like a thousand dollars on everything. First i went online to sears and looked at all the different tool boxes they had and i finally chose the midnight blue bundle tool box with a roll box and a mini one on top for like $455. Then i went to sears and picked out all the tools that i would need for this quarter, pretty much all the basic tools like screw drivers, wrenches, sockets etc. When i got all the tools that i thought were enough it was a total of $535. So at the end i spent almost like $1000 but this is just for the first quarter there will be way more tools on the way later on.

Finals

Dam finals are next week. This quarter went by pretty fast, i remember the first day when i didn't know much about cars and now i have the basics down. For the final we are going to be separated into 2 groups. Then there will be like 9 different stations where you will have 15 minutes to complete each inspection. I hope i get a good grade on it, i think i got it but i have a feeling that i might forget things when i'm actually there.

Transmission Fluid

So yesterday i was doing an inspection on my 98 Cavalier and the transmission had a milky texture to it. Of course its not suppose to be like that. it turns out that the fluid was contaminated. Somehow water when into the transmission and that's why it was milky white. So i went to buy new transmission fluid and did the flush and put in the new fluid. Mine is a manual transmission so it needs Dexron Synchromesh don't let them convince you otherwise.

Oh and about the slave cylinder i am going to wait until next quarter to drop the engine and transmission. Hopefully it will last that long.

New Problem

So today i was in class and told my instructor that my clutch felt a little soft so we checked it and it turns out that i need to replace the slave cylinder from the transmission. He also said that since i'm already going to be in there might as well put in a new clutch and flywheel. But because we are at the end of the quarter i will not be able to install everything in our nice shop with lifts and numerous amount of tools. I will try to install everything at my house by myself. I will post an update later on. But it wont be until two or three weeks.

Brake Inspection

Start out by going into your car and step on the brake pedal and see if its stiff or if it has a spongy feeling. If its spongy then you might need to bleed your brakes. If you step on the brake pedal and it slowly goes down to the floor then you might have a bad master cylinder and must be replace as soon as possible. After the pedal test start removing the tires. If you are using a jack don't forget the jack stands. Start out by checking the front disk brakes. Check the brake lines for any cracks or bends. Then move on to the rotors, rub your finger on the rotor and see if its smooth or wavy. In some cases the rotor will be wavy but that does not always mean its bad. Next check the brake pads and see if they still have enough in them, if not start thinking on buying some new ones. Now check the drum brakes, if you have rear disk brakes then repeat the first steps. Remove the drum, some drums might need to be muscled out or hammered out. Check the brake shoes if they a thin or cracked then you should buy new ones. Check the wheel cylinder for leaks if leaks are present then new hardware should be put on. After you inspect everything put the wheels back on and make sure to torque them up properly.

How To Read Tires

Today we learned how to read a tire to know what all the numbers and letters mean. Every tire has their own set of numbers and letters for example P215/65 R15 89 H. The first letter on it is a P, this is the tire type. There are four different tire types P=passenger, T=temporary, LT=Light truck, and C=commercial. Next its 215 which is the width of the tire (top of tire, tread part) in millimeters so for this tire its 215 millimeters wide. The third number is 65 which means the side wall is 65% the length of the top.  The R is the construction type which there are three types, R=radial, B=bias belted, D=diagonal (bias). The 15 is the rim diameter in inches.  The 89 is the load index which tells you what the maximum load on it. And finally the H is the speed symbol, there are thirteen different symbols.

·         M=81 mph

·         N=87 mph

·         P=93 mph

·         Q=99 mph

·         R=106 mph

·         S=112 mph

·         T=118 mph

·         U=124 mph

·         H=130 mph

·         V=149 mph

·         W=168 mph

·         Y=186 mph

·         ZR=Above 149 mph

Try not to go more than what your tire reading is because if you do the tire will warp and and blow up causing an accident.  

98 Cavalier Fixed

I have a 98 Chevy Cavalier 5 speed and for the past 2 months its been having a really annoying problem. The problem was that while it was running it would start stalling and wanting to shut down. It even shut down on me on the highway. That was a really crazy thing to happen but i luckily knew how to restart the car while its running. For those who don't know how to do it, its simple depending on the speed your on put it in gear and release the clutch as fast you can and step on the gas the car should turn on. Well anyways its been having that problem so i took it in to the shop at school where i'm taking my automotive classes and my instructor helped me out me out with the problem. It turns out that the cable from the tachometer i installed was coming off loose and because it connects to the positive cable of the ignition coil the ignition would cut off causing the stalling in the car. So after i knew where the problem was located i got in there and soldered the wires professionally and put some heat shrink on it to keep it air tight. So for anybody having the same problem as i was try checking the ignition coil. Before i fixed it i took it to Autozone because it had the check engine light on and when they checked the codes it came out with the crankshaft sensor and the camshaft sensor, so i bought them but the car was still the same. So once again if you have this problem don't  get the sensors because that's probably not the problem.

Thanks for coming here and reading.

Beginning Electrical

This week we are starting to learn a bit about electrical wiring and how it works. Also we are learning how to solder the wires properly. Today was the first day of electrical and we started by learning about volts, amps and ohms. A volt is the pressure through the wires and ohms is the resistance. After we got the concept about how electricity flows we started working with circuit boards. It’s pretty cool seeing how a resister can make the electricity weaker this is called excessive resistance.

Then after we had everything down we went to the lab and learned how to solder properly. At first one of our instructors told us to gather around and watch him solder so we can see how its suppose to look like. It looked pretty easy but when we went at it we all started struggling it just takes some practice. It only took me like an hour and a half to finish the assignment, I think I got the hang of it. We had three different types of ways to solder the wires together: pigtails, T type, and Western Union.

Need A Oil Change?

If you came down and checked this page there is no doubt that you need to change your oil. Hi I am currently a student at Columbia Basin College and I am in the automotive program and I will be posting what I learn for you to learn also. Well let’s get started…

• ·         Start out by looking around your front windshield or the side of the driver’s door for a service sticker. If there is a sticker it should say when the next oil change is. Oil changes should be done every 3 months or 3,000 miles whichever comes first.

• ·         If it is time for the oil change or if you vehicle didn’t have a service sticker go ahead and open the vehicles hood.

• ·         Locate the engines oil dipstick and pull it out. Does it look dirty (dark)? If so it is time for an oil change.

• ·         Now that you know the vehicle needs an oil change go to your local auto parts and buy the oil and the new oil filter. Make sure you check the owner’s manual for the oil type that your vehicle takes and also how much it takes. When looking for a good oil make sure it has the starburst on the front and the donut on the back.  

• ·         Back at your garage start lifting your vehicle to whatever height is good for you just make sure to be safe and place some jack stands. Now let the vehicle cool down for a bit.

• ·         First things first remove the oil cap from the engine. Now go under the vehicle and locate the drain plug it should be on the oil pan. Make sure you have a container that can be used to catch the used oil. Start taking off the drain plug but be careful wear some safety glasses and gloves because oil will start coming out. After the oil is out place the drain plug back in but do not tighten it too much. Now locate the oil filter and take it off. When placing in the new one make sure it comes off with the O-ring (gasket). Lubricate the new O-ring from the new oil filter with the new oil you purchased and put it in place.

• ·         Now that everything is drained out of the oil pan get out under the car and start lowering the car.

• ·         Get a funnel and place it in where the oil cap was at. Now all you need to do is start filling it up with new oil. Make sure you fill it just enough don’t over fill it. When the required amount of oil is in remove the funnel and put the oil cap back on and start the car up for a few seconds so that the oil fills up the oil filter. Now turn it off and check the dipstick and add more if needed.

·         And now you are done, you have successfully changed the oil in your vehicle.