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Maintenance tips of small refrigerated van
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By Mighty Auto Parts
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link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view. Four-Wheel and All-Wheel Drive vehicles have flooded the market. Look around your neighborhood, parking lots, daily traffic routes, etc. They come in the form of trucks and SUVs, many of which will never encounter off-road or inclement weather conditions that would require a four-wheel drive application. With these additional driveline components come some challenges for […]
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By Counterman
Litens Aftermarket introduced its new “System Reset” campaign, aiming to bring awareness to the importance of proper drive-belt system maintenance.
In an effort to educate professional vehicle service technicians, Litens details what a system reset entails, its significance and the potential repercussions of neglecting this essential maintenance step when replacing a drive belt.
For a belt-drive system to perform optimally, the system’s components must be properly maintained and in tune with each other throughout the lifespan of the vehicle. When it’s time to replace the drive belt, it’s also time to replace the drive-belt system’s tensioners and pulleys. The system is properly reset when all components of the belt-drive system, including the tensioner, idler pulley(s) and the belt, are all replaced at the same time.
“As vehicle belt-drive systems become more complex, we’re aiming to equip technicians with both education and solutions,” said Scott Howat, national sales manager, Litens Aftermarket. “Properly resetting the belt-drive system enables the technician to reset the vehicle to its optimal OE level of performance.”
Benefits of a system reset – replacing the tensioner and idler pulley(s) along with the belt – include enhancing the system’s reliability and longevity, as well as reducing the risk of component failure and subsequent breakdowns. Resetting all of the belt-drive system components together promotes optimal power transmission, minimizing slippage and improving overall efficiency, which can contribute to enhanced fuel economy and performance.
Failing to fully reset the system can lead to imbalanced stress distribution, reduced overall system efficiency and premature wear of both the newly replaced parts and the remaining older components. This could result in increased friction, potential belt slippage and an elevated risk of component failure, ultimately compromising the entire belt-drive system’s reliability and performance.
Litens designs OE belt-drive systems and components to last for a designated period of time. While that number also depends on miles driven and the number of vehicle starts/stops, the belt-drive system typically runs for 100,000 miles before needing maintenance. As all of the system’s components are designed to work together, when the belt is due for replacement, it’s highly likely that the rest of the components in the system are also due.
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By Counterman
We all have a cache of stories involving weird, wacky and downright strange customer parts requests, but the majority of them can be traced back to mechanical failure and/or human error.
You may be familiar with “Just Rolled In,” a YouTube channel highlighting some of the most terribly maintained and unsafe vehicles brought into shops across the country, along with strange “customer states … ” complaints that must be seen to be believed. While the worst damage is due to lack of maintenance and misguided DIY repairs, sometimes there’s no one to blame but Mother Nature.
Animals of all varieties can inflict serious punishment on your customers’ vehicles. Collisions with deer cost insurance companies more than $1 billion annually, the result of roughly 1.5 million accidents. Of these, nearly 200 people are killed each year, and (presumably) a much larger number of deer! West Virginians have a one in 37 chance of being involved in a deer-related accident, the best (worst?) odds of hitting the Bambi lottery in the continental United States.
Alaskans, New Englanders and our Canadian friends also need to watch out for moose. At nearly 7 feet tall and more than 1,000 pounds, a collision with a moose is more than 10 times as likely to result in a human fatality when compared to striking a deer. With long legs and a higher center of gravity, a struck moose often clears the hood and winds up in the windshield or on the roof of the car that hits it.
When Animals Attack
Smaller animals are capable of doing a lot of damage too. In Texas and across the South, road-killed armadillos are a common sight along the highway. With a Spanish name meaning “little armored one,” the armadillo’s hard plating has been known to puncture tires, and more than a few people have been struck by ricochets when attempting to shoot them.
These little tanks also have a peculiar defense mechanism. When startled, the armadillo jumps up to 3 feet straight up into the air! It may scare predators in the wild, but it also means that when a car or truck passes over one in the road, it’s likely to jump up into the underside of the vehicle, killing it and causing damage to vehicle components.
Even without the benefit of a shell, raccoons, woodchucks and other small mammals can wreak havoc on the underside of low-slung vehicles. One of my body shop customers shared an insurance estimate with me containing more than $3,000 worth of damage to a late-model Dodge Challenger. The owner had struck a raccoon, damaging the bumper cover, radiator, condenser and support. Fortunately, it wasn’t a skunk!
Proving that size doesn’t matter, some of the most common damage claims result from small rodents chewing on wiring, insulation and other underhood materials. Here in the United States, this damage is widely blamed on mice, rats, chipmunks and squirrels. In Europe, the prime suspect is a weasel known as the marten (marden) or stoat. These ferret-like animals are such a nuisance that many insurance providers offer “weasel policies” specifically to cover losses from marten and stoat damage. Claims in Germany, Switzerland and Belgium are equivalent to U.S. $60 million annually! Individual claim values average $500 per incident, but are increasing due to the complex interconnectivity between wired systems, and the higher cost of damaged hybrid and electric-vehicle components.
This is such a well-known and widespread problem that even the OEMs are designing electronic marten-repellent kits. Audi actually has a factory accessory (P/N 8U0054650) that the automaker markets “so that rodents do not make themselves at home in your Audi.” (For the record, martens are not rodents, but the deterrent annoys mice too!) Audi’s ultrasonic “anti-Marten device” will set you back around $300, plus installation.
Unfortunately, the damage isn’t just limited to chewing on tasty auto parts. Like others in the weasel family, these little guys also “mark their territory” once they’ve taken up residence underhood. Even after repairs have been made to the rubber, plastic and electrical components, the vehicle needs to be deep-cleaned to remove the residual “stoat-stink,” which can attract other weasels that start the process all over again! LIQUI MOLY also offers Marderspray, an aerosol designed for the express purpose of “reducing marten odor” underhood, which should be used every couple of weeks for best results.
My favorite thing about this industry is that no two days are exactly alike. Sure, our jobs can become a bit repetitive; you may have pads and rotors for their BMW, and control arms for their Audi. But how often do you get the opportunity to upsell a customer on weasel spray?
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By Counterman
The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) recently introduced ProProctor, a remote testing option available for all ASE recertification tests, except for the L1 and L2 tests. ProProctor makes it more convenient for service professionals to take recertification tests without visiting a test center. All tests must be scheduled in advance, and test takers are continuously monitored by multiple live proctors during the testing process.
ASE offers five helpful tips to make the ProProctor test-taking process easier and less stressful:
Consider selecting a test date more than four days in the future to allow time to download and install the Chrome browser and ProProctor application, complete the system readiness check to confirm that your computer or laptop meets system and resolution requirements, and connect a movable web camera. Read the appointment confirmation email or registration ticket to confirm that the selected date, time including AM/PM, and test(s) are accurate and for important need-to-know information. Before the day of your scheduled appointment, select a room in your home or business that is well-lit with solid walls (no window walls or window doors) and a solid door that can be closed. Ensure the room and workstation are clutter-free. Read the remote testing rules to adjust the testing environment accordingly. Be sure that no person or pet is present in the testing environment or enters the room once testing has begun. Review the remote testing user guide before the day of your scheduled appointment. The guide link is included on the appointment confirmation email and registration ticket.
link hidden, please login to view to view a fact sheet about remote testing and to learn more about the ASE remote testing option, visit link hidden, please login to view. The post
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