As you can see from this picture this rusted transmission fluid pan has just started to form a leak due to rust. The transmission pan in this picture is from a 2012 Jeep liberty. I spotted this fluid leak starting on a routine maintenance check at my shop. It is important that
I haven’t seen an axle do this in some time and it’s not with just Honda’s. You see this can happen with any front wheel drive car, so when you bring your older front wheel drive buggy in for service it’s important that
If you live in the rust belt you are probably far too familiar with the negative effect that road salt has on your vehicle. You should not only be concerned about the rust you see but the
Well it’s true over the course of time most vehicles have issues that arise. Whether it be suspension problems,engine problems, or transmission problems time usually tells all. For 20 years I worked as a factory trained Honda automotive technician. I stayed with that product line because
New wheel bearing hub assembly
I have to first start off by saying that this post does not just pertain to Chevy Silverado trucks. This post is meant for any vehicle that has a hub style wheel bearing with an axle nut. Or for any vehicle with a rear wheel bearing hub assembly that has a spindle that goes through the the hub and is fastened by a spindle nut. I have Read more »
If you are driving your Ford F-250 and it does not want to steer or try’s to steer for you this may be what your problem is. That’s right seized front axle U joints. This truck has seen little maintenance and now the customer is Read more »
After disassembly
If you have ever wondered whats involved in replacing spark plugs in a 2005 Toyota Sienna well here you go. As you can see you have to Read more »
Well I have never seen this before and I thought would share it with you. In the picture for this post you see a blower motor from a Toyota. One day all of a sudden the blower motor for this vehicle stopped working on a cold New England winter day. There is never a good time for Read more »
At the end of the year people often think about replacing their cars or buying a first vehicle. If you need a last minute gift idea and know someone who is in the market for a used vehicle get them a copy of my book. It’s a great guide to buying a used car without falling into the most common pitfalls. From the first look at the car to the mechanic review and purchase, If That Car Could Talk will let you navigate the process with confidence.
It’s also a great book for parents of kids who are taking, or will take, a driver’s education course in anticipate of getting a driver’s license.
Click the links at the top right side of the page to buy a softcover or Kindle edition of the book, and as always, have a safe and happy holiday season.
Best wishes,
Joe Boulay
P.S. if you are in the process of reviewing a used car you can contact me at 603-358-6444 (the number for my garage in Keene, New Hampshire) with questions. If you’re in the area I can also examine a vehicle for you to spot any problems before you buy.
My article about a timing chain got mentioned on Reddit at the /r/JustRolledIntoTheShop subreddit. User “Disgustipated” liked my writeup and picture and it illustrate a point being discussed on the page. Thanks a ton, Disgustipated, for the kind words. Here’s a link to the discussion on Reddit where my article is mentioned.
To any Redditors who see this article – if you’re in the Keene, NH area you can take advantage of the special I offered folks who saw me on New Hampshire Chronicle as a thank you for visiting my site.
New Hampshire Chronicle aired the segment about Boulay’s garage again tonight. I had no idea it happened till a friend told me. That sure explains the rush of visits today! As a thank you to people who watched the show and then came here, I’ll offer a special for New Hampshire Chronicle viewers:
$29.95 for an oil and filter change for 10 people who saw me on the show! Just call 603-358-6444 to schedule an appointment between now and when the timer on the right side of the page runs out, and mention that you saw me on Chronicle. I have to limit it to conventional (non-diesel) vehicles.
Thanks again for visiting the site, and I look forward to hearing from folks who would like to take advantage of the special. Call soon!
So what do you do if your cars inside door handle breaks off? Well in this case the individual was able to attach a pair of vise grips to what was left of the inside door handle. This is one of the many things that I see from time to time. This is just a little taste of good old Yankee ingenuity at its finest! I would love to hear from you about some of the ways you may have fixed something on your car temporarily.
Vise grips used as an inside door handle. you just gotta love it!
I guess that we could call this post “Autopsy of an engine” please join me as we take apart this poorly maintained engine. Well the owner of the engine this vehicle learned the hard way about what can happen to an engine that has a timing chain and too few oil changes. This engine had issues for sure, it was burning a quart of oil every 600 miles to boot! This engine was Read more »
Well you are driving down the road and your check engine light comes on. You go to your parts store and they read the code that is stored in your cars computer. In this case you have a 2001 Honda Accord, and you are told that you have a code 1456 stored in your PCM (power control module.) What this code is saying is you have a leak in your vehicles evaporative emissions system. So the parts store sells you a gas cap because this is a good place to start. You have the code cleared and replace the gas cap, and a couple days later the light comes back on! A gas cap is a good place to start, but As you can see in this picture what the problem is, that’s right the fuel filler neck is completely rusted through. To better show you what a new fuel filler neck looks like take note of the one on the left, the one on the right is clearly the old one. Every so often your car will do a self check,by using the engines vacuum to check for leaks. In this case it was not to hard to find. I replaced the fuel filler neck and it took care of the problem.
October 10th, 2015 
Joe 
