It is recommended not to back down when riding control

Which wheel balancer is right for your store?

Subaru wheel nut replacement is rusty

The updated ASE Renewal App provides the benefits of recertification

It is recommended not to back down when riding control

Which wheel balancer is right for your store?

Subaru wheel nut replacement is rusty

The updated ASE Renewal App provides the benefits of recertification

Sponsored by Bolt On Technology

Sponsored by Cloies Gear & Products, Inc.

Building customer loyalty: why oil changes are important

Building customer loyalty in any business is challenging. Getting customers back to the car repair shop is the most difficult task for car owners. If a store can crack this code, they will seize current and future repair and maintenance opportunities. The only inherent opportunity for each vehicle to increase customer loyalty is engine oil and functional fluid services.

In this one-hour webinar, our experts will discuss how they can establish oil change and vehicle maintenance plans to maintain customer return rates and help maintain healthy profit margins.

Speaker John Stotz, Senior Marketing Manager of Sheng Brand Lubricants. Andrew Markel, Content Director, ShopOwner

Sponsored by Bolt On Technology

Brake & Front End responds to emerging trends in the field of chassis repairs by providing application-specific technical information and solutions, thereby providing services to repair shops that perform a large number of chassis repairs. By subscribing, you will receive the ShopOwner digital magazine (12 times a year), which contains articles from Brake & Front End and Brake & Front End e-newsletters (twice a week). Today is ready for you to access digital editions, competitions, news and more!

Brake & Front End responds to emerging trends in the field of chassis repairs by providing application-specific technical information and solutions, thereby providing services to repair shops that perform a large number of chassis repairs. By subscribing, you will receive the ShopOwner digital magazine (12 times a year), which contains articles from Brake & Front End and Brake & Front End e-newsletters (twice a week). Today is ready for you to access digital editions, competitions, news and more!

It was Vange Proimos' experience as a technology and shop owner that provided a lot of information about his success as the CEO of AP Emissions.

Don't settle for "almost"-the location of the engine's manufacturing or remanufacturing is important. Sponsored by ACDelco.

GM gearboxes and transfer cases are unique to each vehicle. This video is sponsored by ACDelco.

Don't settle for "almost"-the location of the engine's manufacturing or remanufacturing is important. Sponsored by ACDelco.

Click here to view past questions.

One mistake to avoid when replacing the strut is to reuse the bearing plate or upper bracket.

The performance of the new strut or shock absorber depends on the components that fix it to the vehicle and suspension. This is because the shock absorber or strut is one of the parts that connect the suspension to the body. 

It is easy to replace shock absorbers or struts. It is not difficult to replace shock absorbers or struts with the right tools and suitable spring compressors. It's easier if you use loads that include springs or complete struts or shock absorbers. However, if you forget to repair the parts that secure the shock absorber to the vehicle, this is an easy way to cause a comeback. 

One mistake to avoid when replacing the strut is to reuse the bearing plate or upper bracket. It is like rebuilding the engine with a new crankshaft and reusing the old bearings and washers. 

The upper strut mount and the bearing plate were hammered. The mounting seat must not only bear the force of the spring, but also bear the damping force of the pillar. The upper strut mount also serves as a ball joint and bushing. 

The bearings in the plate are sealed components and cannot be lubricated. Therefore, if the bearing plate is rusty, loose, worn, noisy, stuck or damaged, it must be replaced.

Turning noises such as clicking, popping, squeaking or groaning when turning are symptoms of bearing failure. On some vehicles, the condition of the bearing plate can cause an increase in steering force and memory steering.

If you want to replace the rear strut, please pay special attention to the upper strut mount and replace the spring insulator. If you do not pay attention to isolating the upper pillar mount from the body, customers may come back and complain about the ticking noise under the rear window. 

The anti-collision stop installed on the strut should always be transferred from the old component or replaced with a new part. If it bottoms out, this is a cheap insurance to prevent damage to new equipment. Even if the old pillar is not available, please check the parts catalog for replacement.

If the strut or shock absorber hits the bottom, it may damage the valve in the piston or at the bottom of the hole. If the stopper is missing, it may indicate that the spring is worn. Some ride control vendors will package guidance and collision stop together. 

Shock absorbers or boots on pillars are critical to the exterior and interior of the device. When a stone hits the chrome-plated shaft of a shock absorber or pillar, it first causes dents or scratches. This may damage the seal, which may result in fluid loss. If the damaged area begins to corrode, it may cause the shaft to lose more chromium.

The seal on the top of the body is a barrier between the harsh external environment and the fluid and gas inside the device. If the shaft surface is dented or damaged, the seal will not function. Poor sealing surfaces can cause equipment leakage. If the loss of pitting or chrome plating is large enough, the seal may be damaged. This can cause water and debris to enter the device and damage the valve and piston seals. In order to protect the seal, the protective cover must be replaced. If any of these items are missing, it may cause the new device to fail prematurely.

After removing the struts, it is time to replace the cam bolts to adjust the camber angle. Failure to pre-sell these items may result in a second call to the customer for approval. It may also take up the alignment bracket while you wait for the parts and the time required to install the parts. 

Many new cars are called net-built cars, and their front camber and caster settings are determined at the factory. The vehicle is assembled on a platform that keeps the suspension and chassis aligned. The result is that there is no need to adjust the camber and caster angles during vehicle construction or maintenance of suspension components.

For example, if you are installing a front strut on a Ford Escape, you may need to add the cost of the camber adjustment bolt or upper strut installation to the estimate. Ford has limited adjustments in the upper strut mount. The upper strut mount has three different positions, which can change the camber and caster angles from the baseline by ±0.39º.

If you only need to correct the camber, it will be easier to replace the mounting bolts from the upper strut to the steering knuckle with cam bolts. These bolts can change the camber angle ±1.75º without changing the casters. 

One of the most overlooked parts of the suspension is the "third spring" that controls the body's movement. The third spring is called a swing or anti-roll bar. Although the rods almost never fail, the links to the suspension and vehicle mounting points can wear out and fail. Many vehicles use links with ball joints and plastic links. These links may malfunction and cause noise and unstable processing.

Replacing connecting rods with pillars can avoid possible noise return. 

Air suspension systems can be found in domestic and imported cars and trucks. Shock absorbers, struts and spring airbags are just a small part of the air cushion system. If the equipment leaks, the compressor must work harder to stay suspended. In addition, air dryers must remove moisture from large amounts of air.  

The main cause of compressor failure is air leakage. If the compressor continues to run, it will work on its own and die prematurely. 

It is important to ensure that the air source of the compressor is as clean and dry as possible. When air is compressed, the water vapor contained in the air condenses into liquid. If there is no way to drain the water from the system, it will enter all parts of the system, causing corrosion damage or freezing.

Most systems have a dryer connected to the outlet of the compressor to absorb the water entering the system. The dryer contains a moisture-absorbing desiccant, such as silica gel. The desiccant can hold a certain amount of water, and once saturated, it will let the water enter the system.

The clothes dryer installed on most systems does not have an indicator to show when it is saturated and can no longer absorb water. An additional dryer with humidity indicator can be added to the original equipment dryer. It can be installed in the supply pipeline and placed in a location where it can be regularly inspected.

Over the past 15 years, complete pillar assemblies have become the choice of many vehicles. This is a good choice because the main reason customers are in your store is probably because the spring breaks. If you have ever tried to source only springs, you will know that this can be difficult.

Load shock absorbers and struts solve many parts procurement problems with just one part number. But no matter what kind of vehicle it is, it is not a plug-and-play complete parts solution. You still need to pay attention to the surface of the vehicle that is in contact with the upper strut support. Many original equipment manufacturers will use noise-reducing materials to isolate the pillars from the vehicle. It can be as simple as foam tape or as complex as a gasket made of multiple layers of rubber. Either way, they need to be replaced or copied on the new device.

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