Auto Repair For Dummies

596 Pages·2009·8.34 MB·English

by  Deanna Sclar

Praise For Auto Repair for dummies
"Ms. Sclar stresses preventive medicine for the automotive patient...
with a bedside manner that any physician would envy."
—Reprinted with Permission of The Dallas Morning News
"It has dispelled automotive myths and mystique for ... long-suffering
motorists, male and female."
—Paul Dean, Los Angeles Times
"This book may be easily used as a primer for both understanding auto-
motives and performing service and repair on all major car components.
If only a few titles are purchased for an automotive collection, this should
be one of them."
—Library Journal
"An auto repair manual for people who think they can't do it themselves."
—The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA
"... an idiot-proof guide to painless, money-saving car care."
—The Toronto Star
"An indispensable manual for any do-it-yourselfer."
—Auto Advocate
"If you're tired of macho mechanics who seem to talk to you in a foreign
language, who you suspect may be ripping you off... and who never
seem to completely-fix your car, then Deanna Sclar has just what you
need."
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"Even car owners who consider do-it-yourself car repair with the same
trepidation as they would a self-performed tonsillectomy will find valu-
able material in this volume .. .valuable to anyone who drives."
—The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA
TM
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1/01
Auto Repair
For
Dummies
Auto Repair
by Deanna Sclar
Hungry Minds™
HUNGRY MINDS, INC.
New York, NY • Cleveland, OH • Indianapolis, IN
Auto Repair For Dummies®
Published by
Hungry Minds, Inc.
909 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
www.hungryminds.com
www.duramies.com
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ISBN: 0-7645-5089-6
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About the Author
Deanna Sclar is the internationally best-selling author of Buying a Car For
Dummies, a guide to purchasing new and used vehicles, insurance, and
more. A former contributing editor to Family Circle, Boys'Life, and
Exploring, she also writes a regular column for the Los Angeles Times and
has written articles that have appeared in Redbook, New Woman, and other
national magazines.
As an automotive expert and consumer spokesperson, Deanna has
appeared on more than 700 radio and TV shows, including Good Morning
America, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Today, Sonya Live, and The
Gayle King Show. Her Auto Repair For Dummies video was a National Home
Video Awards finalist. She's co-hosted Outrageous Women, a weekly TV talk
show, and has produced, written, hosted, and edited several documentaries.
The former "Thumbs Sclar" has restored two classic cars, a truck, and a
house. An inveterate gypsy and blue-water sailor, she has crewed her way
across the Pacific and Polynesia, sailed and dived the Great Barrier Reef,
trekked alone for nine months through southeast Asia and five months
through Brazil, and crossed the Atlantic in a small boat with a companion
and a cat.
"My goal is to prove that we have control over our lives," she says.
"Whether you are working on a car or making a lifelong dream come true,
it's a do-it-yourself world. Knowing this has turned my life into a great
adventure, and I want to pass the good news on to everybody else!"
Dedication
For my children, Gina and Casey, who are now old enough for cars of their
own. May we stay "in tune" forever!
Acknowledgments
Terry Miller of the Auto Parts and Accessories Association (APAA), Tim
Sullivan, Rick Johnson, and Jack Trotter — the "godfathers" of the original
edition. Your good advice, bright ideas, valuable leads, and unhesitating
friendship meant a lot to me. I hope the good Karma flows back your way!
Don Donesley, my first automotive guru, whose classes and advice made
this book possible. Thanks for introducing me to three of the finest things
in life: cars, beer, and the Mojave Desert!
Tim Tierney and Bob McMinn, of the APAA, who offered valuable sugges-
tions for the revised editions. Thanks for the time and trouble!
Rosemarie Kitchin, Bob Rodriguez, Tom Houston, Anton Veseley, and A. B.
Schuman, who provided leads and illustrations for the first revised edition.
You are the kind of friendly, helpful people who make working in the auto-
motive field a pleasure indeed!
The old Thursday Evening Auto Class at University High School, a truly
communal group who shared ideas, tools, and elbow grease; served as
guinea pigs for one another; changed master cylinders by flashlight; and
got it all together over beer and pizza afterward. Wherever you all are now,
pals, thanks for being your beautiful selves!
John Cutsinger, who provided the kind of backup that every writer needs to
free her so she can write. Thanks for the hot meals, the errands run, the
unfailing good humor, and the sympathy that only another car-freak can
offer.
Paul Dean, John O'Dell, and Ira Siegel, whose technical insights were invalu-
able in updating this book.
All the wonderful people at Hungry Minds who held my hand, advised and
encouraged me, and worked hard and long on this book, especially Holly
McGuire, Acquisitions Editor; Pam Mourouzis, Senior Project Editor; Tracy
Barr, "Dummification expert"; Wendy Hatch and Tammy Castleman, Copy
Editors; Heather Prince, Acquisitions Coordinator and Internet wizard;
Regina Snyder, Project Coordinator; Brian Drumm, Graphics Technician;
Brian Torwelle, Page Layout Technician; Nancy Reinhardt, Proofreader; and
Carol Burbo, Indexer. You are absolutely the best editorial team I've ever
encountered. May the Fonts be with you!
And, finally, thanks to Tweety Bird, faithful Mustang, who survived all the
experiments and mistakes and grew up to be a fine car and a worthy steed,
and to Honeybun, my dream car come true.
What's So Special about Auto
Repair For Dummies
It Is Not Written for Confirmed "Do-It-Yourselfers." It Is for You If
V0 You have never held a wrench.
V* You are positive that, in your case, manual labor can lead only
to disaster.
t* You haven't the vaguest idea of how a car works.
V You cannot identify anything you see under the hood of your
vehicle.
!<" You have failed shop or arts and crafts.
W You believe that if you do something wrong, your car can
blow up.
To Enjoy This Book, It Would Help If
You don't believe that working on your car can possibly be fun,
but you're willing to give it a try for any reason whatsoever.
* You are sincerely tired of being ripped off because of your
own ignorance.
Why Should That Be Enjoyable? Because You Will Be More Delighted
Than Anyone Else to Find
f* Cars run on principles that are as easy to understand as
common sense.
V0 Most of the devices on your car will not hurt you unless you
really go out of your way to hurt yourself.
v>* Not only can you get a fair deal, but you can save a tremen-
dous amount of money, extend the life of your vehicle, save on
fuel, do your bit for the environment, and have a heck of a
good time working on your car!
V** It's fun because it's so easy and you expected to hate it or be
bored or befuddled.
Here's How Auto Repair For Dummies Accomplishes These Miracles:
By starting from scratch (it even shows you what a screw-
driver looks like)
0 By providing step-by-step illustrated instructions for even the
simplest tasks