Archive for July, 2008

2003 Toyota Matrix Front Brake Squeal

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

The brakes started squealing on my 2003 Toyota Matrix at right around 60,000 miles. Not one thousand miles before I had checked the brake pads and there was plenty of material on them so I eliminated the pads as being the problem. There was no pulling to one side or the other just a squeal [...]

Check Engine Light Is On – What Should You Do?

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

I was driving my 2001 Nissan Maxima home from work when the “check engine” light came on. The car was running great so there were no signs of anything going wrong, but there it was “Check Engine.”
I pulled over as soon as I could to check the easy stuff, like oil, coolant, and anything obviously [...]

Taps and Dies and Their Uses

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008

Taps and dies are cutting tools used to create screw threads in solid substances including, but not limited to, metal, wood, and plastic. A tap is used to cut the female portion of the mating pair (e.g. a nut). A die is used to cut the male portion of the mating pair (e.g. a bolt). [...]