CollinsAutomotive

Theres nothing you can really do, outside of maybe getting your hands on the source code. The hardware is easy to reverse engineer, its dealing with the security software. BTW you are correct. There are 2 reaons however for these newer security measures. The first one is to prevent parts theft, the second is to lock in a exsclusive on repairs. Mostly it is part of a well intentioned anti theft program. However they do need to make available to us as a group, the tools to make these repairs.

This is difinatley a problem. Why does every midsize car need a different balljoint. Why not commoditize some of these parts. It would save the manufacturers boatloads of cash !

I can read that as if nothing was wrong.

In my area, its the backyard partschanger/mechanic.

TQ converter problem more then likely.

this greatly depends on the volatility of the shops cash flow and the local economy. If you go out of bussiness paying salarys, your not doing your tech any favors.

Sounds they are using a current detecting transistor in the output from the module, either that or they are monitoring the feedback diode for current load and if the system sees a out of spec condition it will refuse to power the circut. I'd have to check the diagram but this AC clutch was not relay drive ?

ehh with today aluminum bearings I wouldn;t worry to much about dry starts. Plus the journals are well oiled during a oil change.

I'd really like to move out of the retail market. If you could share what it is that you are doing/have done to build this side of your bussiness I would really like to know more. I have several fleets now but I am not sure of how to really go out and get more and what types of fleets tend to be the most profitable. I have a well equipped 3 bay shop with everything you could ever need to fix a damn car/truck down to fabrication tools. So I would gladly take any input in this direction.

thats very beliveable actually. I remeber about 5 years ago replacement cats were a crap shoot. I don't replace many of them but I did notice less check engine lights on in recent years with replacement cats. There are programming tools which will allow you to change the switching thresholds of the sensors. But it requires a good bit of knowledge to execute and you won't be able to do all cars. chrysler trucks with the 5.2 and 5.9 and even some hmei models had cat efficiency checking that was so lax, you could take the cat off and it would likely not set a light.

I can put anything I want on the bottle. find out if the fluid has bene OEM certified. I doubt it. The thing with honda transmissions "in particular" is that honda units are very fickle about fluid. VERY. ZF's and other transmissions are more tolerant but the design of the honda unit, the friction metrials the shaft designs and the valve body, all designed for that specific fluid. I wouldn't chance a come back on it. Even on my honda overhauls I buy the clutchs at $16 each from the dealers and most units have 20+ clutchs becuase its all very critical. I am sure that someone is playing the wide end of the spec becuase merV and honda ATF and ZF's all have very different fluid requirements. There is no way to do a one size fits all fluid.

It is very prevelant in my economic area and it makes billing almost impossiable. I break my diagnostics into .5 hours segements. We usually charge .5 hours to do a quick trouble shoot and then break diagnostics into further increments based on the problems we find in teh initial .5 hour inspection. Unfortunately companies like autozone are devaluing our bussiness and Its is very very fustrating.

Aftermarket cats have less paladium and platinum in them, they also have different substrate materials to make the lower content of precious metals a more workable solution. They have vastly lower services life due to this. OEM cats in a market that demands 100% emissions conpliance is huge. Also alot of oil companies are adding nitrogen and more ethanol to the fuel. Ethanol leaves a very aggrevating residue lower tempature aftermarket cats may not be capable of burning off. I don't replace many cats. Although I get lots of exhuast repairs lately where cats have been stolen and the customer refuss to replace the catalyst. Thats becomign very prevelant. If you are in a area with lax enforcement you can also buy programming tools to remove the annoying codes if thats what your customers wish. We also work on alot of race cars and street performance mcahicnes so my customer spectrum may widely vary from that of the average auto shop.

I once knew a guy at the dealer who followed the diagnostic tree for a o2 code, he replaced a harness a ECM 4 o2 sensors. A older tech rolled over and cleaned the grounds and the car was fixed, morall of the story. If you have odd electrical behaviors, clean the terminals.

As far as I know, BG fluids specifically for transmissions have not been certified as viable replacements by the OEM's. they have not gone through the OEM validation process. Also mercV and Honda ATF have very different viscosity index's. While BG fluid is fine in most domestic transmissions putting it into a unit with say a paper clutch vrs a high carbon high energy clutch and a aggresive drive could certainly spell disaster in the right circumstances. Also there is a wide variance in the lubrication film strength as well. BG makes a good product, it just isn't suited for ZF AW or Honda units.I have used it in chrysler vehicles and within a few thousand miles they typically developed converter shutter. Basically my solution as the shop forman was to use BG synthetic in only vehicles where there was a wide tolerance of formulation. there are times when as a rebuilder I will change fluids but those are instances where I know how to modify the transmission to accept this and I have very valid reasons for doing so. claims by BG with me are largely ignored. They do not have a OEM certification or validation that I am aware of for that fluid for use in honda, ZF's AW or chrysler units.

BG synthetic fluid does not have the proper friction modfiers for use in honda transmission. there is no discussing this. The formulation is more akin to Mercron V. as I rebuild transmissions and I have done many honda units, the proper fluid is critical for shit timming, les or improperly friction modified fluid can and doe cuase shift timming errors which can cuase binding of the unit during shifts and ultimately more transmission failures. Honda have synchronus shifting transmissiona dn shift timming is critical. for that matter most of the 2007 up model american cars have gone to similar synchronous shifting. This creates all sort of new problems over the old Ascynchronus designs from 10 years ago. clearances clutch and band, fluid, shift timing all play a part in the service life of modern transmissions. this ain't you mommas 1975 ltd with a fmx.

Most modern engines come with a steel nitrided coated ring set on the top ring, a moly coated second ring and a low tension oil control ring in stainless. There is no wear problem or break in issue with any modern rings, not only that but most engine assembly lines test spin new engines at end of line and the ring seating is checked and done there. You can't over maintain a engine, what you can do is underdrive a engine and if the oil does not reach the proper tempature the detergents will not effectively clean the engine and moisture will not evaoporate out of the engine and you will get sludge. also carbon will accumulate in the rings and cuase oil burning and consumption. the worst thing in the world or a engine is to constantly operate it below the designed operating tempature. It takes a good 15-20 minutes of run time at full tempature for the detergent carbon etc to burn off. If you have customers who only short trip their vehicles it should be your job to alert them to the damage they are doing and that you need a more aggresive service schedule for things like the mity vac decarbon system, gm top end cleaner etc.

To your comment about how to ethically replace a rotor that is 40 thou heavy over spec is interesting. I think this depends on geography. We get plenty of rotors here in michigan which are technically cut capable but often they have so much corrosion that the venting is clogged, the rotor is heavily pitted, there is extremly amount of rust in the mounting surfaces. To bill to clean and cut these rotors is not normally economically feasable. Most of the popular rotrs from Napa " maste installer pricing" are very reasonable 15-25 usd. I think its also a case of can we ensure that the rotor does not overheat and if it does LRO goes out the window. I take rotors on a case by case basis but given our local enviroment we often replace over resurface simply becuase there are other factors beyond thickness. As to LRO, I have seen in recent years that new rotors have less LRO then they used to. Maching quality is substantially better. Alot of times I used to cut rotors for LRO and surface finish reasons. the other unmentioned factor is hub rotor interface corrosion. There are sevral kits avaialable now that make this job of cleaning and removing scale and rust far easier then it was 5years ago. So you have to understand not every geography is going to manifest the same isssues.

I used a ProCut machine for 2 years along side of a amcco lathe. The only time I found that machine worth using was on captvie rotor. I told my boss not to buy it as most captive rotors need replacing anyway and its not even difficult to do the honda rotors. Just remove the hub. Anyways The real moral of the story was that when guys used the procut we had much higher incidence of comeback with shake and brake. Root cuase was techs weren't properly cleaning the hub surface. Now my tech and I clean the hub surface rotors backs all moutning areas thuroughly. I have been in my currently location for 5 years and I have had 3 come back with shake and brake. We do 10-15 brake jobs a week during the sommer months.

Just a new member checking in Sean