Continue reading Ask Autoblog: How are Michigan roads made?

Ask Autoblog: How are Michigan roads made? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Ask Autoblog: How do you cook with your car engine?

Ask Autoblog: How do you cook with your car engine? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Lamborghini Reventon vs. Panavia Tornado

Continue reading Who's faster? Lamborghini Reventon vs. Tornado jet fighter

Who's faster? Lamborghini Reventon vs. Tornado jet fighter originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 25 Nov 2007 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Ford Verve Concept

Continue reading VIDEO: Designing the Ford Verve concept car

VIDEO: Designing the Ford Verve concept car originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Kia pro_cee'd (EU)

Continue reading Kia pro_cee'd fully unveiled ahead of Frankfurt

Kia pro_cee'd fully unveiled ahead of Frankfurt originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 Aug 2007 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With all the discussion about the domestic automakers' future lately, a few of our readers have left comments requesting some additional background on the situation; primarily, the history of the oft-touted "legacy costs" and how they affect the Big 3's survival.

Continue reading Explaining the burden of "legacy costs"

Explaining the burden of "legacy costs" originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Sep 2006 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the first half of this particular write-up, we showed the basic process of replacing the front rotors and pads on a VW Jetta. Now we'll go ahead and hit the rear brakes, since the car is already up in the air and we're already covered up to our elbows in grease and brake fluid. We'll also go through the process of flushing out the old fluid and bleeding the brakes, since this car was far overdue for that task.

Continue reading Autoblog Maintenance 201: Brake pad replacement, Part II

Autoblog Maintenance 201: Brake pad replacement, Part II originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Jul 2006 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While many aspects of maintenance can be put off until the odometer rolls past 100K, odds are that you'll be doing some work on your vehicle's brakes long before then. Vehicles continue to get heavier and our highway speeds are ever-increasing, both of which put an incredible amount of strain on even a modern braking system. Pads and rotors will wear, and the brake fluid will become contaminated with moisture. If you're lucky enough to live in the Midwest, you can also look forward to the effects of corrosion on braking components. The braking system should be inspected every time the tires are rotated, and one can expect to go through the front brakes every 20-40,000 miles, depending on the vehicle and its usage (rear brakes often go much longer, due to their lesser role).

We'll walk through the process of servicing the disk brakes on a friend's 2000-ish VW Jetta. This vehicle was in need of new pads, and the owner decided that he also wanted to install new rotors rather than deal with the hassle of turning the ones currently on the vehicle, as the vehicle had been sitting for over a year.

Continue reading Autoblog Maintenance 201: Brake pad replacement, Part I

Autoblog Maintenance 201: Brake pad replacement, Part I originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Jul 2006 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

eBay Find of the Day: Mercedes-Benz Lotec C 1000 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 May 2006 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With descriptions of the engine control module (Part 1) and sensors (Part 2) now out of the way, it's time to take a look at some of the other hardware that keeps engines running. Some of these devices will be quite familiar, and others may not seem to be immediately related to engine management or emission controls. Rest assured, however, that all are necessary to keep things running smoothly, reliably, and cleanly.

Continue reading Engine management and emission controls (Part 3)

Engine management and emission controls (Part 3) originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Apr 2006 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In Part 1 of this series, we took at look at the engine control module (ECM), the "brains" of a modern vehicle's engine management and emission control systems. Next, we're going to dig a bit deeper and investigate the various sensors that feed information about the vehicle's operating conditions to the ECM.

Continue reading Engine management and emission controls (Part 2)

Engine management and emission controls (Part 2) originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Apr 2006 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A modern engine makes use of a wide variety of technology, but it's not necessarily well-understood by the majority of the motoring public. Considering that this stuff isn't rocket science (for the most part), we figured that it's time to lift the hood on one of the cars in our garage and walk through its engine management system. Getting through it all will take a while, but your patience will be rewarded with a significantly improved understanding of what makes your car's powertrain tick.

Continue reading Engine management and emission controls (Part 1)

Engine management and emission controls (Part 1) originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Apr 2006 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With fresh fluids in the rest of the drivetrain, it is now time to turn our attention to the axle lubrication. Where as we stated that the transfer case fluid leads a relatively easy life, the same is not true of the rear axle. The reason for this is heat; due to the relatively high frictional losses of the hypoid ring-and-pinion gears, axle lube temperatures can exceed 300F during high-speed cruising. While certain ultra-high-performance vehicles such as the Corvette Z06 have provisions for axle cooling, most of us aren't so lucky. Throw in the fact that this lube isn't filtered and is prone to contamination by water and other environmental matter, and it's essential that it be changed on a regular basis (two years or 25,000 miles isn't a bad starting point for a recommended service interval). We'll show you how it's done on the 9.5" 14-bolt axle under the rear of our '96 GMC K2500.

Continue reading Autoblog Maintenance 101: Differential/axle lube

Autoblog Maintenance 101: Differential/axle lube originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 02 Apr 2006 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With an oil change and transmission fluid swap out of the way, it's now time to exchange the oil transfer case lube for some fresh stuff. For those of you with manual transmission, you'd follow most of the same steps to service that unit, so please don't feel slighted (there will be a few in-depth posts on manual transmission service in another month or so).

(Click on through the jump for the full walk-through)!

Continue reading Autoblog Maintenance 101: Transfer case fluid change

Autoblog Maintenance 101: Transfer case fluid change originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 01 Apr 2006 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Automatic transmissions are among the most complex mechanical devices ever assembled into a mass-market consumer product. As a result, automatic transmission fluid (ATF) has a tremendously difficult task. It has to lubricate the myriad of moving parts, providing sufficient protection to components that will rotate literally billions of times over the life of the transmission. It also has to provide enough friction to the various clutches within the transmission. ATF also provides the vast majority of the transmission's heat dissipation, and serves as a means of transmitting hydraulic signals and power.

Yes, the demand on ATF is significant, but yet it's often neglected when performing routine maintenance. Transmission service is certainly not as easy or straightforward as oil changes, but considering the frustration and inefficiency of a transmission that isn't operating properly and the jaw-dropping cost of a rebuilt unit, we'll happily roll up our sleeves and crawl underneath our '96 GMC K2500 to show how it's done.

Continue reading Autoblog Maintenance 101: Transmission fluid and filter

Autoblog Maintenance 101: Transmission fluid and filter originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Mar 2006 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's been said countless times that oil is the lifeblood of an engine. In addition to its primary task as a lubricant (a difficult enough job by itself), the oil also serves to maintain the proper operating temperature for components that cannot be serviced by the primary cooling system, and engine oil is expected to carry away wear particles and neutralize the harmful chemical by-products from combustion gases that escape into the crankcase. Ignore your engine's oil, and you'll soon be facing a variety of expensive failures.

What's more, engine oil is now being used for a variety of actuation duties, such as controlling diesel fuel injectors, adjusting valve timing, or deactivation cylinders. This means that ignoring the condition of one's oil isn't just an issue in the long term; allow the oil to break down, and there can be a variety of drivability, economy, and emissions trouble.

Fortunately, all of these problems are easy and inexpensive to avoid. Sure, it's possible to take your vehicle into one of those quick-change places and get the job done for about the same (or even less!) than it takes to do the job at home, but we actually like getting under our vehicles for a look around once in a while; you never know what problems you may come across. It just so happened that we were able to experience a very real example of this while changing the oil on my '96 GMC K2500.

[Keep reading after the jump to walk through the task of an oil change...]

Continue reading Autoblog Maintenance 101: Oil change

Autoblog Maintenance 101: Oil change originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Mar 2006 09:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When it comes to increasing fuel economy and minimizing the amount of pollution that your vehicular activities create, there is no better bang-for-the-buck than proper maintenance. A variety of sources state that the worst 10% of vehicles on the road emit nearly 50% of total automotive pollution, suggesting that a regular regimen of wrenching could reduce total vehicular emissions by up to 40%, and poorly maintained newer cars can easily out-pollute an older vehicle that's received the appropriate amount of TLC. 

For this reason we're beginning a new series called Autoblog Maintenance. Some posts will be 101 level stuff that includes everything from changing spark plugs to rejuvenating an old air filter. Some maintenance will be more advanced, but we'll be there every step of the way getting our hands dirty on your behalf. 

Read on for more info and look for our first Autoblog Maintenance post later today on changing your oil.

Continue reading Autoblog Maintenance: Improving economy and decreasing emissions the DIY way

Autoblog Maintenance: Improving economy and decreasing emissions the DIY way originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Mar 2006 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Autoblog reader Ryan H. requested that we get some picture of the '07 Jeep Wrangler undercarriage. Oh man - those are never easy shots to obtain. Regardless, we're willing to go through the effort it takes to please our readers, even if it means crawling over rocks and dangling expensive cameras precariously near to pools of water. Hopefully they're of some use.

Click through for the pics, which you can click on for some higher-res shots.

Continue reading Chicago Auto Show: Next-gen Jeep Wrangler undercarriage shots

Chicago Auto Show: Next-gen Jeep Wrangler undercarriage shots originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Feb 2006 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We're headed out to the 2006 Chicago Auto Show... anyone need anything? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Feb 2006 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In our post on truck payload capacities, one of our readers asked about the physical differences between trucks rated for different payloads. I'll take a crack at describing this, but space limitations necessitate painting with a broad brush. Feel free to add additional info in the comments. To start, we can break things down into three basic categories - single-rear-wheel trucks under 8500 lbs GVWR (half-tons and some "light" 3/4-tons), single-rear-wheel trucks over 8500 GVWR (all "true" 3/4-tons and some 1-tons), and dual-rear-wheel trucks (the remaining 1-tons).

Continue reading Ask Autoblog: What determines a truck's payload capacity?

Ask Autoblog: What determines a truck's payload capacity? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Sep 2005 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.