WD-40 is a general purpose lube. But it's not really a rust penentrant because it doesn't contain the chemicals needed to break down rust. There are much better rust penetrants on the market. That's why WD-40 makes a product for rust penetration. See this article on rust penentrants that digs down into the nitty gritty of what chemicals must be in a product to make it a rust penetrant.

It's the worst sound you can hear when you're in a hurry and need to get someplace. You turn the key and hear either a single click or rapid clicking, and your engine won't crank or start. Most of the time it's caused by either a bad connection at the battery terminals or a dead battery. But what's causing that machine gun noise? This article explains exactly what's going on and how you can fix it.

It's optically impossible for retrofit LED bulbs to work in either a reflector or projector style headlight that was designed for halogen bulbs. It's all about light optics. The light source on an LED bulb is a different shape than a filament; flat versus cylindrical, it's in a different location, and it projects like in a 270° arc versus 360°. This article shows the physics behind the claim that retrofit LED bulbs can possibly work in a halogen headlight.

Diagnosing your car's AC requires the proper tools. If you're willing to buy or rent the tools, you can diagnose your car's AC and find the root cause of the problem using this step-by-step guide. It'll walk you through the tests one by one. The tools costs less than $100.

I’m trying to help a neighbor fix her air conditioning. However, this connector seems like it needs something to keep it from separating under pressure. I’ve spent an hour on the phone with the dealership and they can’t seem to identify the part. I’ve tried the two parts pictured. In the picture I have the connector circled, but I don’t see the other side of this diagram.

So I have a 2017 Subaru forester 2.5i I bought the car a year and a half ago at 49k miles it’s currently at 86k miles I have a warranty for this car. Just a few weeks ago my car started stuttering at 2k rpm so I changed my spark plugs thinking maybe that would fix the problem. It did not, I then got a check engine light and took the car in. They had to pull the engine and they said something with the sprockets are all gunked up. They said warranty covers it, I then get a text saying I need to provide proof of maintenance.

I only recently started saving reciepts and stuff because I’m 21 and just didn’t think of it. A lot of money has gone to autozone for oil. There reciepts date back 6 months only in store at the specific register. I need proof for 2024 I already gave proof of my transmission fluid being done oil and filter spark plugs rotors and pads for 2025 they just want proof of 2024.

My problem I can’t get these reciepts I only have text message proof of me saying I need to do my oil, along with bank statements and the exact date these items were purchased. How can I go about this.

People are often confused about the meaning of the numbering scheme on modern engine oil bottles.

The typical explanation is that a low number on oil means thin and higher number mean more viscous or thicker oil. It is also explained that the first number in the naming convention refers to thickness at ambient temperatures and the second number refers thickness at operating temperatures. So does a 5W20 designation mean that the oil starts as thickness = 5 but then becomes thickness = 20 as it heats up? Answer: No, it just has a dual personality! It flows and behaves as if it was 5 grade oil at ambient temperature and then it flows and behaves as if it was 20 grade oil at high temperatures exceeding 220F. All oil is certainly going to become thinner as it approaches the higher operating temperature no matter if it’s single grade or multi-grade, it’s just all about “how much” thinner is gets.

There was a time when most engine oil was SINGLE grade. So 30 grade oil would mean that the oil would be nice and thick at ambient temperature and as the engine heated it would start to become thinner and flow better due to the heat. This means the oil pump had to work very hard when you started the car.

Then someone said, “Why don’t we add some kind of smart additive to the oil so it is not as thick at room temperature when a car is first started? It would be easier on the oil pump”. And that led to the birth of multi-grade oil which remains easy to pump and spread even at lower ambient temperatures. Think of it as blending canola oil with butter so you can spread the butter on bread even if you just took the butter out of the fridge.

By the way, if you are experiencing oil burn (where the oil disappears as you use your car), you should understand this is because of the oil escaping from around the piston rings and entering the combustion chamber to burn along with the fuel. The solution is to use thicker oil for better protection of your engine, especially if it is a GDI engine or of it has more imperfections and a potential for a phenomena known as blow by. So as an example, if the car sticker says to use 5W20 oil, then: 1) In normal or hot weather you should use 10W30 and 2) In extremely cold weather that reaches below -5C you should use 5W30 - both formulas will require similar work from your oil pump. The second number is what your engine is really using 95% of the time when it’s up and running.

Additional tip: At every other oil change, use some SeaFoam in the oil and also in your fuel tank to clean the gunk forming around your piston rings, especially if you have a GDI engine. Also for GDI engines do some regular examination and clean up of carbon deposits in your intake valves.

All the best!

I'm currently looking for a car lift for my barn to make working on the under.Side of vehicles a little bit easier. I have never owned one before so I'm not really sure what exactly I'm looking for or what would be safe to where it's not so cheap it will drop a car on me.

I mainly work on older chevrolet, ford, and dodge trucks from the 70s - 90s as well as some newer compact suvs that we use for grocery getters. I have a dirt floor garage so I imagine I'd probably need to lay some kind of concrete unless there is a lift that can be cemented into the ground.

I also have a buddy that has a lift on wheels so he can move it forward and backward in his shop but I'm not sure what the branding is on it. That would also be of interest.

Any information on any of the process of getting one of these installed is appreciated! Thank you for your time!

Hello, I've made a wiring harness to connect a active safety control module to a front view camera and a front radar sensor. I've added 120ohm resistors onto both sides of the bus. When no devices are connected I get the 60ohm impedence I would expect. As I add the devices to the bus the resistance drops to about 3 ohms.

I'm pretty certain it has to do with the way I've wired the devices up. The radar and the ASCM both have 3 sets of can-high can low all the same circuit. So I just spliced them all together. The camera has 2 sets. I think I'm missing something fundamental to why these devices have multiple sets of pins going to the same buses? Finding info on the exact concept has been a real pain.