We could have used Paul Hogan’s help, probably. In Four Wheeler’s parking lot, we ran the Subaru up a steel ramp (see chart) to measure its suspension-travel index. This should have been painless. Instead, the Outback attempted to crush its front valance — frog-eyed driving lights and all. Of course, this modified automobile offered the [...]

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Last year, we rustled up a five-speed Land Rover Defender 90 to carry us to the “Loneliest Spot in America” (C/D, July 1996). Also back home. This year, the same off-road tool is marginally refined by a four-speed ZF automatic mated to the familiar transfer case with lockable center diff. It still feels about as [...]

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The Chevrolet S10 ZR2 light pickup truck looks like Dennis Hopper during a tax audit. Add a dozen gallons of unleaded and it’s ready for off-road duty, right out of the showroom. Check out the equipment: Bilstein shocks, car blanket, widened track, 250 pound-feet of V-6 torque, 8.5 inches of ground clearance, and tires as [...]

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What is this?
This is the inspection of the metal, plastic or rubber hoses that carry fuel from the gas tank to the engine. There is also a return line that takes unused fuel back to the gas tank.
Should I do this service when it’s recommended?
Definitely.

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What is this?
A lube job replaces grease between parts of your vehicle that rub together. The grease keeps the components from grinding each other to death.
Zerks, or self-sealing grease fittings like this one, mate to a grease gun.
Back in the old days, when my brother had hair and the earth’s crust was still hot to [...]

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What is this?
Getting your parking brake inspected has two purposes. One is to make sure the parking brake works. The other is to see that it “unworks,” which means it releases properly when it’s supposed to.
Should I do this service when it’s recommended?
Yes.
Why do I have to do this?
Over time, the working parts will wear [...]

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What is this?
Because you can’t actually see inside most fuel filters these days without breaking them apart, there’s really no point in inspecting a fuel filter anymore, is some car we can inspect fuel filter from the bottom of the car, lying on a thermal blankets. Just replace it at the required interval. The fuel [...]

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What is this?
In your car’s cooling system, coolant flows between the engine, radiator and heater core through a bunch of metal tubes and rubber hoses. The hoses are held in place by metal clamps.
These hoses, clamps and metal tubes need to be inspected for wear and degradation and replaced if they are in poor condition.

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This service involves checking the airbag circuitry to ensure that the system is functioning properly. The exact service varies from one manufacturer to another. All that is involved in some vehicles, such as Hondas, is turning the ignition key to the accessory position, checking for the airbag light to come on and then watching for [...]

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BMW has announced that it will invest an additional $600 million and add 1000 associates to its South Carolina manufacturing facility over the next two years. The expanded facility will be the sole manufacturing plant for the “Sports Activity Vehicle”.

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