blown3qtr

My advice is buy it you won't regret it!! I guess I bought mine about January. I thought about it A LONG TIME before I bought it. I wish I had bought it sooner! (Redline Smoke Pro) I bought mine from the Matco truck. He made me a "smokin" deal. At the time they were offering a package deal with a code reader that I had no use for so he knocked a little off the price. I paid $1000. I have used it for all kinds of things you can really get creative with it. I joke that I even use it to find bad ball joints (doubt that's possible). It really does work for oil leaks, some cooling system leaks, plugged EGR passages, I have even verified EGR valves are sealing correctly. It really is necessary for most EVAP concerns. It really turned seeing EVAP codes on the the scan tool from "****!" to "$$$$".

That's some great advice. I've been looking into relfashing capabilities for awhile now. There are not many independent shops in my area that do it. I had been looking into the drew technologies mongoose cables or dardaq, but ended up with a BWD Iflash because I got a good deal on it. I plan on offering this service to some of the other shops in my area as well. I feel there is enough work out there for all of us and by workin together we can all make a living. I have also bought rebuilt ECM's from other suppliers, not the NAPA store I primarily buy from because they could not offer a flashed pcm in a cost effective timely manner. I have tried to approach one of the NAPA salesmen as well as the store owner about working with them to flash replacement computers but somewhere the communication didn't quite go through. They just didn't seem to understand that I was trying to help them recapture the ECM/PCM sales they had lost in the past by offering that service to them (or other shops by way of recommendation). Anyway now that I have the hardware I will try my approach again.

I recently purchased a smoke machine for my shop and want to use it to it's full potential. Any Tips, tricks, and suggestions are welcome. Does the smoke oil with dye come in handy? I have the redline machine. If so could I just add a few drops of fluorescent dye to the mineral oil? Using it to increase profits, Redline suggests "smoking" every vehicle in order to find problems the customer may not be aware of. I am a hands on kinda guy and I like to show my customers their problems or failed parts first hand. I feel it gives them more of an assurance that "it really needs it". I'm sure showing a customer smoke rising out of a leaky intake gasket is far more convincing than "you need an intake gasket to fix your check engine light" Again any hints tips or tricks and especially ideas to use this tool to make money are welcome.

I use the OTC Genysis and find it OK. It does most of what I need. Some bidirectional controls. At times it is VERY slow to update PIDs, seconds behind what the sensors are actually reading. I have even reverted to my cheap autoxray for faster response at times. I miss the TechII from the dealer. I am always looking for something bigger, better, and more bang for the buck. The Autoenginuity seems very appealing.

WOW! I had heard new tires on the rear, but I was always of the opinion if it were my car i would want the best tires on the front in case of a blowout until now. Then again I understand the importance of having good tires in the first place. When my customers ask me about used tires I tell them used tires are tires that someone else threw away.

So far I have had no issues with aftermarket cats, but i am always leery of it. I use Magnaflow and IMCO cats. I get direct fir when I can, but have installed some universals as well. I got a good tip from my exhaust supplier. If the vehicle has a LEV or ULEV emissions tag which ALOT of cars do only use the California cats. IMCO is the parent company of the revamped Cherrybomb. Their pricing on the direct fit and california cats is scarily competitive. Like I stated before I am still leery of the aftermarket cats but so far so good. Food for thought. OEM cats bring upwards of $80 apiece for scrap. Aftermarket cats are virtually worthless.