Hot Auto Maintenance & Repairs How-Tos


How To: Use Lysol to Clean Bacteria Out of Your Car's Air Conditioning System
Air conditioning systems are cold and wet and make great breeding grounds for bacteria and mold, and adding a nasty odor to the air coming out of the vents.

How To: Clean your AC drain if water is spilling into your car
This next tutorial is going to be showing you how to take care of a problem that is very common amongst drivers. If water has ever spilled on you from inside your car, it's probably from your HVAC. When you use your A/C, condensation builds up as well, and this usually goes down a drain. But if it gets clogged then you might have a problem.

How To: Find electrical shorts in a car with a test light and fix a broken 12v plug
Your car's electrical system is massive and complicated. Trying to find a short in the system might sound like a job for a professional, but in this video you will learn how you can use an $8 test light to locate a shorts in your car's electrical system. It will also teach you how to fix it if the problem is the cigarette lighter, now more commonly known as the 12 volt plug.

How to Fix Car Dents: 8 Easy Ways to Remove Dents Yourself Without Ruining the Paint
Only three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and getting a dent in your car or truck. Even if you're as careful as possible, you can't always account for runaway shopping carts, wrongly thrown footballs, out-of-nowhere light posts, and other real-life annoyances.

How To: Bypass the kickstand safety switch on a motorcycle
In this tutorial, we learn how to bypass the kickstand safety switch on a motorcycle. If you have broke your kickstand switch, you can easily bypass it while you are on the road so you can set your bike. All you need to do this is a piece of electric tape. If you don't have this on your bike, the vehicle will completely turn off while it's in use. To do this, unplug the switch that is the kickstand safety switch. There will be two electrical tabs in this, stick a screwdriver in them to remove...

Boiled Water: The Easiest Way to Remove Dents from a Car Bumper
Even if you're lucky enough to not be injured in a car accident, it's rare to escape without some sort of damage to your vehicle. It goes without saying that there are some things you shouldn't try to fix yourself, but if it's just a scratch or dent, DIY can be a cheaper way to go.

How To: Troubleshoot the air conditioner in a Saturn S-Series
One day, your car may break down and you won't be able to afford to hire a mechanic, so what do you do... you look on the web for some how-to vehicle repair videos and become your own car mechanic, that's what. You don't need any advanced training to perform repairs and simple maintenance on your automobile, but you may need a few tools. Invest in the basic tools and you'll be prepared for just about any car malfunction you can think of. These tutorials will help get you on your way, as long ...

How To: Stop the AC from blowing hot on Chevy Colorado pickup
The air conditioner in your car is supposed to keep your cool, so if yours is blowing hot air all the time you're probably pretty pissed. If you own a Chevy Colorado and your condenser is good, watch this video to learn a fix that may get your AC working again.

How To: Unlock a Car Door Using a Cell Phone and a Faraway Keyless Remote (Faux-To?)
What if you forgot your car keys and that keyless entry remote banded to them, how are you going to get in your car? Well, if you haven't forgotten your cell phone, too, you can call up someone who has access to that keyless remote, so you can unlock your car or truck via the wireless mobile phone! What?!?

How To: Open Your Car Door Without a Key: 6 Easy Ways to Get in When Locked Out
Locking your keys inside of your car is frustrating, to say the least, especially if you're in a hurry to get somewhere. You can always call AAA roadside assistance or a locksmith, but you'll probably have to fork over some money, as well as wait for them to get to you. You might even get towed.

How To: Fix a Huge Dent in Your Car at Home Without Ruining the Paint Job
There are two options when it comes to a dent in your car — live with it, cringing each time it enters your view, or get rid of it. While the latter is obviously the best option, most of us will probably just live with dents and dings since spare money is better spent on the actual functionality of the vehicle. However, there is a way to knock out automobile dents yourself with relatively little cash in the bank.

How To: Remove the blower motor resistor in a Saturn S-Series
One day, your car may break down and you won't be able to afford to hire a mechanic, so what do you do... you look on the web for some how-to vehicle repair videos and become your own car mechanic, that's what. You don't need any advanced training to perform repairs and simple maintenance on your automobile, but you may need a few tools. Invest in the basic tools and you'll be prepared for just about any car malfunction you can think of. These tutorials will help get you on your way, as long ...

How To: Replace and repair the rack and pinion on a Ford Escape or Mercury Mariner
The Mercury Mariner, Ford Escape, and Mazda Tribute are the exact same car with different skins, so what works on one works exactly the same on the others. Watch this video to learn how to replace the rack and pinion steering gears on any of these cars.

How To: Fix sticking power steering with Sea Foam Trans Tune
Is your power steering binding when you're trying to turn? Or maybe it turns real easy to the right, but extremely hard to turn to the left? Well, that's a classic sign of a power steering rack that has problems. But before you go out and buy an expensive rack and pinion, and take the whole front end of the car apart to replace it, you might want to try a little trick first— Sea Foam Trans Tune, which is also for hydraulic and power steering systems.

How To: Torque cylinder head bolts on a Honda Accord
Cylinder head bolts are big, strong bolts that do much of the work required to hold your engine together. If you've taken your engine apart and are putting it back together, you're going to have to torque the cylinder head bolts to get the block back together, and this video will show you everything you need to know to do it on a 2000 Honda Accord.

How To: Replace Water Pump, All Belts and Shaft Seals on a Porsche 944 S2
The video gives a step by step tutorial on how to replace the water pump, all belts and the shaft seals on a Porsche 944 S2.

How To: Replace the power window regulator for a Chevy Venture or Pontiac Montana
You're shown how to replace the driver's side regulator, but the procedure is the same on the passenger's side as well. You will need: a 10 mm socket and ratchet, a flat blade screwdriver and a pair of large pliers.

How To: Fix a plugged up air conditioner drain hose on a Jeep Liberty
A common problem on Jeep Liberty SUVs involves the passenger side carpet getting wet because of the air conditioner drain hose being plugged, where the condensation water is supposed to drain from. The drain hose sticks out about an inch inside the engine compartment, and is relatively easy to access. All you need to do is use a wire, at least six inches, to probe into it and release and buildup. You can also blow air into the hose. Watch and learn this simple A/C repair trick.

How To: Use 3M Finishing Glaze over auto body filler on your vehicle
After you've applied your auto body filler on your vehicle, you'll need to apply a glaze. In this video, you'll learn how to apply a 3M Finishing Glaze. Their new Dynamic Mixing System is a good one, and the product mixes instantly when it exits the tip of the gun.

How To: Fix a Broken Door Latch Cable in a 1980-97 Ford F150, F250, F350, or Bronco
Can't get your door open? Could be the door latch cable. This video will help you install a new door latch cable in your Ford F150, F250, F350, or Bronco pickup truck (1980-1997).

How To: Change the front brake pads on a Jeep Liberty
If you own a Jeep Liberty, the brakes are a pretty easy fix, whether you're a mechanic or not. This video demonstrates the step-by-step process to changing the front brake pads in a Jeep Liberty. Once you take the wheel off, you're down to the caliper, which is held on by two bolts. Take it off and slide the caliper off. Then your brake pads should slide right off.

How To: Replace a serpentine belt on a Chevrolet Aveo 1.6L
In this video, we learn how to replace a serpentine belt on a Chevrolet Aveo. Start off by turning the passengers side wheel to the right and raising your car so you can get underneath it. Now, remove the nuts and bolts that are underneath the belt so you can get to it. When you see the belt, remove it with tools and slide the belt off. Now replace the old belt with the new one and tighten the tension on the belt again. Make sure it's in all the grooves correctly, then reinstall all the parts...

How To: Remove the engine from a Saturn S-Series car
One day, your car may break down and you won't be able to afford to hire a mechanic, so what do you do... you look on the web for some how-to vehicle repair videos and become your own car mechanic, that's what. You don't need any advanced training to perform repairs and simple maintenance on your automobile, but you may need a few tools. Invest in the basic tools and you'll be prepared for just about any car malfunction you can think of. These tutorials will help get you on your way, as long ...

How To: Use Fiberglass Filler For Auto Body Repair
Assuring A Proper Repair When Welding Vehicle Sheet Metal Any weld that is performed on a vehicle requires certain steps to assure a proper repair. For example, weld-through-primer must be applied to the welded surface being welded; corrosion protection must be applied to the back side of the welded area, etc. In this article we are going to discuss why fiberglass is required for auto body repair.

How To: Reset a Busted Speedometer After Jump-Starting or Replacing a Vehicle's Battery
In the past, most mechanics ended up having to replace the speedometer head when a vehicle came in with a broken speedometer. Nowadays, there's a possible reset procedure that can be used, and it can be done by most car owners right at home.

How To: Stop Running Over Plastic Bags! And More Small Tips for Keeping Your Car Running Smoothly
Approximately 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. That’s more than 1,200 bags per U.S. resident and more than 54 times the number of people who live on the planet. That's why here in Santa Monica, thanks to a city-wide plastic bag ban, you won't find a plastic bag at any of the major retail stores.

How To: Fix Your Car Dent with a Hair Dryer
If you've ever dinged your car—or worse, a friend's or parent's car—and caused a dent, you know how expensive it can be to fix. A two-second mistake can end up costing hundreds of dollars, but you can save yourself repairs costs and a headache with just a couple of household items.

How To: Identify a Jeep rear axle in order to replace it
RichPin shows how to identify a rear axle on a Jeep Grand Cherokee to determine the correct replacement part. The first thing to do is to identify the axle by cleaning the fill plug on the back cover. Look at the inscription of the plug to find out the style of the rear end. In this example, Rich has a "Dana" style rear end. To determine if it is a 35 or 44 Dana, look at the web area to the right of the plug to locate the number. The two steps outlined in this video allow you to identify the ...

How To: Get a Dent Out of a Car Using Just a Plunger
Paying for someone to get a small dent out of your car can be expensive, especially when you realize that you can just do it yourself. If you've got a bathroom—and you probably do—then it's a surefire bet that you've also got a plunger.

How To: Bypass a broken air conditioning computer system in a car with a bypass switch
More and more car parts are controlled by computers, and the results are not always what we hope they will be. They often break for what seems like no reason and are expensive to fix. In this video you'll learn how you can fix a broken air conditioning control system on your car with a $30 bypass switch that will be much more reliable than your computer was.

How To: Replace rear brake pads on a Ford Explorer
When replacing your brake pads on your Ford Explorer, you first need to jack up the vehicle and remove the tire. This will give you access to the brakes. Locate the caliper, remove the two bolts and slide the caliper off. Inside the calipers are the brake pads. Pry out the outside brake pad off first, then the inside pad. Then it's time to reverse the process!

How To: Keyless Entry Remote Not Working? Try This Quick Fix Before Buying a New One
Most cars made in the last ten or fifteen years can be unlocked with a keyless remote, and once you get used to them, unlocking your car with a traditional key feels like a pain. The most common reason they stop working is just because the battery needs replacing, but when they're broken for real, a new one can cost a small fortune. So before you go out and buy one, try this quick fix that worked for Redditor diggalator, and cost absolutely nothing. Basically, he pried the remote apart and to...

How To: Replace the ball joints to a 99 Ford Explorer
In this next tutorial, you'll find out what tools you'll need to replace the ball joints on a 1999 Ford Explorer. It's a pretty easy to follow, especially if you know anything about cars, so good luck and enjoy!

How To: Replace the front crankshaft oil seal on a GM 3.1L V6
Richpin's Auto Care shows you how to replace the cam over seal on a GM 3.1L V6 engine. Once the vehicle is raised and is safely supported by jackstands, you'll be taken through the first step which involves removing the serpentine belt from the engine. After the belt is removed, the video shows you how to remove the splash shield in the wheel next to the engine, using the proper tool. Next you'll be removing the crank pulley using a pulley remover, allowing you to get access to remove the sea...

How To: Replace the electric fuel pump in a Chevy Tahoe
Don't let an overpriced mechanic take control of your Chevy Tahoe repairs, learn to fix your car yourself. Learn from an ASE certified Master Automobile Technician with over 14 years of experience. He'll teach you how to replace the electric fuel pump in a Chevy Tahoe. This step-by-step video tutorial will show you the exact actions to make when replacing the fuel pump. Pay for only parts and use your own time!

How To: Replace the clutch on a Dodge Dakota 4x4 truck
Rolf shows you how to replace the clutch on 1998 Dodge Dakota 4x4 Sport Truck in this automotive repair tutorial. Replacing a clutch can be expensive but your truck won't run without one! So watch and learn how to replace the clutch on a Dodge Dakota 4x4 truck so you can do it yourself.

How To: Replace a brake pad on a Honda Rebel 250 motorcycle
Learn how to change the brake pads on your cruiser style motorcycle Honda Rebel 250 or Honda CMX250C with this mechanics tutorial. Cruise the streets safer with this step by step motorcycle repair video.

How To: Install Replace Radiator 2004-08 Dodge Ram 5.7L
In this video 1A Auto shows you how to repair, install, fix, change or replace a broken, damaged, or leaking radiator. This video is applicable to the 04, 05, 06, 07, 08 Dodge Ram pickup

How To: Lift the bed of a Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck for easy access to the fuel pump
If you're working on a Chevrolet S-10 or similar pickup truck, the easiest way to getting to the fuel pump is not by dropping the gas tank, but by lifting the bed of the truck. If you have the mechanic's equipment, you can get this done fast! Doesn't have to be a Chevy S-10. Could work for any lightweight pickup truck.

How To: Hotwire a Nissan Patrol if you lose your keys
This tutorial is only for those who need it! Please don't be stupid and try to commit a crime. Anyway, in this tutorial you'll find out how to hotwire a Nissan Patrol in the likely event that you lose your keys. Messing with a cars wiring can be bad news if you don't have any idea of what you're doing, so be careful. Good luck and enjoy!