If you do your own auto repair your going to save a lot of money. You will not have to pay high labor charges, and the parts you buy will not be marked-up. The money you save on each and every DIY auto repair could add up to incredibly large yearly savings.

Another good reason to do your own auto repairs is you will not be selling yourself unneeded work. Again, the auto mechanic is in the business to make money, and he may certainly point out things that could be done, but may not need to be done. I'm sure when you're working on your own car, that you're not going to sell yourself a power steering flush or a brake system flush. When it is not required by the manufacturer or recommended at that mileage.

Troubleshooting car problems needs to be approached in an organized and logical fashion, as opposed to just guessing, or even educated guessing. Many times when I am working on a car, I might get lazy and take an educated guess at what the cause of the problem may be. I know it is wrong, but I will start diagnosing a system and see that I have three choices of what the failure may be. Instead of following the proper procedure of testing each component and continuing to diagnose the problem thoroughly, I will try to take a shortcut known as an educated guess.

This brings me back to the professional method of troubleshooting car problems. Get a good auto repair manual and perform all the step-by-step diagnosis that the troubleshooting manual provides. When you feel like you have found the problem take the extra step and test the individual component.

In the two above examples, a multimeter will be needed to test the individual components. A multimeter can measure voltage, amps, resistance and check for continuity. Now days a multimeter is a very inexpensive tool and a very good thing to have in your toolbox. All multimeters come with instructions on how to use the device. Become familiar with the operation of this meter before you begin troubleshooting car problems or performing Diy car repairs.

Proper bolt torque applied with a torque wrench for any given repair is the best way to assure that your completed auto repair will last. When the do-it-yourselfer tackles an auto repair job, in most cases, they will have no choice but to tighten down the bolts to what they believe is tight enough. With out a torque wrench, bolt torque chart and tightening pattern what else can you do.

Back in the seventies and early eighties bolt tighting specs were not as important as they are today on modern vehicles. This is largely impart to the wide spread use of aluminum housings and composite sealing gaskets.

Here is another example where a torque wrench must be used. The general motors 3.1-liter engine is having a common problem of coolant leaks from the intake manifold gaskets. The gaskets themselves are made of plastic with sealing strips.

This is another reason to have a torque wrench. The new cars and trucks today have a lightweight composite brake rotor. When you over tighten the lug nuts or have a UN even torque you will start to warp the rotor. This will result in a very annoying brake pulsation.

Shopping for auto parts online is probably one of the best modern conveniences life has to offer. My name is Mark Gittelman and this is a picture of my old Snap On toolbox with a starter motor supplied from the parts train. You don't have to leave home to search places to buy car parts. Everything is only a click away and can be delivered right to your doorstep, office or garage. It doesn't get any better than that. I have purchased auto parts online many times with mixed results. I eventually returned to my local parts store and was just dealing with them.