Auto Repair For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008929120
ISBN: 978-0-7645-9902-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
Deanna Sclar is also the internationally best-selling author of Buying a Car For Dummies, a money-saving guide to every aspect of car ownership including buying, selling, financing, auto insurance and claims, and more. A former contributing editor to Family Circle, Boys’ Life, Exploring, and the Los Angeles Times, her articles have appeared in Redbook, New Woman, and other national magazines.
As an automotive expert and consumer spokesperson, Deanna has appeared on more than 800 radio and TV shows, including her own segment on NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw; Good Morning America, Today; the Lifetime, CNN, and National Public Radio networks; and local shows in 30 major cities. 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. Her “Auto Repair for Dummies” course at California State University, Northridge, drew the largest crowds ever in their continuing education program.
A life-long environmental activist, Deanna led the group that threw the first Earth Day celebration in New York City and convinced Mayor Lindsay to start the first urban recycling program. The former “Thumbs Sclar” has restored two classic cars, a truck, and three homes. An inveterate gypsy and blue-water sailor, she has crewed her way across the Pacific and Polynesia, sailed and dived Hawaii and the Great Barrier Reef, trekked alone for nine months through southeast Asia and five months through Brazil, and crossed the Atlantic in a small sailboat 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!”
For my children, Gina and Casey; and my grandchildren, Jesse, Allison, Jacob, and Kylie, who will drive the vehicles of the future.
John O’Dell, for going far beyond all expectations to provide the erudition, insight, and dedication to make sure that this edition is accurate and up-to-date. Thanks so much for always being there for me!
Rosemarie Kitchin, for the support, intelligence, leads, and loving friendship that have been mainstays in my life for over 30 years.
Dave Steventon of the Canadian Automobile Association, for your friendship and guidance through every edition of this book.
Marilyn Levak, for your generosity and skill in organizing more than five years of Internet files and newspaper clippings for this edition.
Joanne Steventon, for researching and obtaining scrap art for this book.
Don Donesley, my first automotive guru, whose classes and advice made the original edition possible. Thanks for introducing me to three of the finest things in life: cars, beer, and the Mojave Desert!
The old Thursday Evening Auto Class at “Uni High,” who shared ideas, tools, and elbow grease; served as guinea pigs; and got it all together over beer and pizza afterward.
Lindsay Lefevere, Acquisitions Editor, and Alissa Schwipps, Senior Project Editor, for their heroic efforts and sensitivity from the planning stages right through to publication. Elizabeth Rea, Senior Copy Editor, for her sharp eyes and feel for style. Tracy Barr, Editor, and Bob Freudenberger, Technical Consultant, for shepherding the book through a last-minute review. Janet Wahlfeldt and Thomas Brucker, Technical Illustrator (Precision Graphics), for simple, clear illustrations of complex automotive systems; and the entire Wiley Composition Services crew who worked so long and hard on this edition. 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; to Honeybun, my dream car come true; and to Esmerelda, my lovely Prius.
This book is designed for people who think that anything technical will make their brains shut like garage doors, who sincerely care about how their vehicles affect the environment, and although they believe they can’t work on their cars themselves — and wouldn’t like it if they could — are willing to give it a try. How do I know that it will work for these reluctant readers? Because it’s written by a genuine, certified ex-Dummy who has found that, despite total ignorance and a complete lack of manual dexterity, getting personally involved with a vehicle is enjoyable, rewarding, and easy. Believe me: If I can do it, so can you!
It Is Not Written for Confirmed “Do-It-Yourselfers.” It Is for You If:
You have never held a wrench.
You are positive that, in your case, manual labor can lead only to disaster.
You haven’t the vaguest idea of how a car works.
You have failed shop or arts and crafts.
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 vehicle 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 Is That Enjoyable? Because You Will Be Delighted to Find:
Cars run on principles that are as easy to understand as common sense.
You can save a tremendous amount of money, extend the life of your vehicle, save on fuel, and do your bit for the environment if you know more about your car!
Most of the devices on your vehicle will not hurt you unless you really go out of your way to hurt yourself.
Here’s How Auto Repair For Dummies Accomplishes These Miracles:
It starts from scratch. It even shows you what a screwdriver looks like!
It explains each system in simple terms before you get to work on it.
It provides step-by-step instructions for even the simplest tasks.
It tells you exactly what you need and how to know if you’ve been given the wrong part, the wrong diagnosis, or an outrageous estimate.
It Tells You the Truth About:
What makes your vehicle go (and how and why as well)
How the car you drive, how you drive it and maintain it, and how you recycle or dispose of used parts and toxic fluids affect fuel economy and global warming
The easy work involved in keeping your vehicle well maintained and running efficiently, and how to tell what’s wrong if trouble strikes
How 15 minutes of “preventive medicine” avoids breakdowns
Whether you can handle a problem yourself, and how to get it fixed at a fair price if you can’t
How to extend the life of your vehicle; keep it clean and healthy; and repair the minor dents and dings it acquires on the road
These Features Will Make Life Even Easier:
A Practical Glossary of Automotive Terms that are in special type throughout the book so that you can refresh your memory if you’ve forgotten what something means
A detailed Index where you can look up a part, a problem, a symptom, or a specific job and find the page you need
A Maintenance Record so you can keep track of what you’ve done and when you did it
A Specifications Record for the data you need to buy the right parts
Tons of illustrations that show you how things look and where they are
This Revised Edition Also Tells You:
About alternatively fueled vehicles and other innovations so you can choose a safe and efficient vehicle when Old Faithful finally heads for the Used Car Lot in the Sky
You Have a Few Things to Supply, Too!
You have to buy the book . . . and read it!
You have to try to do one small, easy job yourself (you can pick the job).
There Are Fringe Benefits, Too!
Your vehicle will run better and live longer.
Automotive technicians will respect you.
You’ll have more money to spend on other things.
You’ll no longer be a Dummy!
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Senior Project Editor: Alissa Schwipps
(Previous Edition: Pamela Mourouzis)
Acquisitions Editor: Lindsay Lefevere
Senior Copy Editor: Elizabeth Rea
(Previous Edition: Wendy Hatch, Tamara Castleman)
Editorial Program Coordinator: Erin Calligan Mooney
Technical Editor: Karen Greenberg
Technical Consultants: Bob Freudenberger, Ken Lavacot (2carpros.com), Eric Pazer
Senior Editorial Manager: Jennifer Ehrlich
Editorial Assistants: Joe Niesen, David Lutton
Cover Photo: ” Bill Grove
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Composition Services
Project Coordinator: Bill Ramsey
Layout and Graphics: Karl Brandt, Joni Burns, Shawn Frazier, Stephanie D. Jumper, Rashell Smith, Julie Trippetti
Special Art: Precision Graphics
Proofreaders: Laura Albert, Dwight Ramsey, Shannon Ramsey
Indexer: Carol A. Burbo
Special Help: Alicia B. South, Joanne Steventon
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services