Hot Auto Maintenance & Repairs How-Tos
How To: Repair Vehicle Dents Using a Hammer and Dolly
The hammer and dolly method is probably the easiest repair technique for dents, but it requires that you have access to both sides of the panel being repaired. However, newer cars have many areas that do not allow you to use the hammer and dolly method. There are two techniques when using hammer and dolly—hammer off dolly and hammer on dolly.
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: 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: 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: Change the fuel filter on a Ford Escape and most other cars
Changing the fuel filter on your car isn't too hard and is great way to save money for the DIY automotive enthusiast. This video will teach you how to replace the fuel filter on a Ford Escape, but these principles apply to most other cars too.
How To: Change out the front wheel bearings on a Ford Windstar
Having properly functioning wheel bearings is important on any wheeled vehicle. If your old Ford Windstar is needs new bearings and you feel up to replacing them yourself, watch this video. It will teach you everything you need to know to change your own front wheel bearings.
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: 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: 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: Make an external fuel tank and pump for starting dead cars
If your car cranks and won't start, you may need to put some fresh fuel in it. Rather than push the car inside, why not construct an external fuel tank and pump system for fixing the car in the field? This video will show you how to do it.
How To: Replace the fuel filter in 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: Change Automatic Transmission Fluid and Filter on 1966 Mustang
You jump in your car and notice that is feels like it is slipping out of gear or shifting in and out of neutral. What could the problem be? One problem may be that the transmission fluid and filter need to be changed.
How To: Replace the transmission filter 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: Get a Car Dent Out with a Pot & Vacuum Cleaner
Instead of taking your car to the mechanic, save yourself some money by going MacGyver and creating your own suction-style car dent puller from objects you've got laying around at home. All you need is a pot (or bucket), a vacuum cleaner, and some tape and you're pretty much set.
How To: Install a New Serpentine Belt Tensioner on Your 96-06 Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra
In this video we will show you how to install a new serpentine belt on your 96-06 Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra.
How To: Read a car electrical diagram with a Toyota Tacoma clutch start switch example
Being able to read an electrical diagram will greatly aide your ability to correctly diagnose car problems. If you need some help with it, watch this video for a detailed explanation of how to read an example map for the clutch start switch on a Toyota.
How To: Replace an oil pressure sending unit to fix a low engine oil pressure gauge
Your "check gauges" light comes on inside your vehicle, which prompts you to notice your oil pressure gauge, which is reading pretty low. What do you do to resolve this car problem? In this video, Scotty Kilmer shows you what you can do to shut that low engine oil light off for good!
How To: Remove and replace the valve body for a Toyota A750E/F or AB60E/F transmission
If you need to replace your valve body on your transmission, this video tutorial will show you how simple it is to do yourself. This focuses specifically on the valve body replacement of the Toyota A750E or A750F model transmission, and can also be applied to the AB60E or AB60F transmission, which can be found in vehicles like the Tundra, FJ Cruiser, 4Runner, Sequoia, and more.
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: Remove the coolant hoses on a Honda 919 motorcycle
In this automotive repair tutorial you will learn how to replace the coolant lines on a Honda 919/Hornet 900 motorcycle. Learn how to drain the coolant, replace the existing hoses with new ones (in this case braided stainless steels ones) and refill the coolant. If you want to upgrade the coolant hoses or just need to replace the existing ones on your Honda 919 motorcycle, this video shows you how it's done.
How To: Replace the Front Inside Door Handle on a 04-10 Toyota Sienna
In this video we will show you how to replace the inside door handle on your 04-10 Toyota Sienna.
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: 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: 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: Unlock Your Car Door with a Shoelace in 10 Seconds
Have you locked yourself out of your car? Well, as long as you have a shoelace, you may be able to get back in.
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: Replace Headlight Bulb on Pontiac G6
Cars are quite different than they used to be. Sure, modern cars have some cool things, but repairing them are becoming difficult. Even simple things like changing a headlight bulb.
How To: Fix Broken Plastic Tabs on Bumper
A common problem on bumper covers is that the tabs that attach the bumper to the car get broken. This is critical, as this is what secures and aligns the bumper cover. Many times, a broken tab is all that is wrong with the bumper cover. With the cost of these plastic parts $200 to $700, the replacement cost can break the bank.
How To: Remove the rear door panel from a 2000-05 Chevy Impala
You may need to remove the rear door panel on your car in order to attempt other repairs. Learn how to take a door panel off and put it back on by watching this how-to video. Take the first step towards maintaining your car all by yourself.
How To: Replace the headlight switch on a Dodge Durango
Has the switch for the headlights on your Dodge Durango shorted out or broken? This tutorial is here to help, demonstrating how to replace the switch yourself. This method will work on any year of Dodge Durango between 1998 to 1003.
How To: Figure out what's draining your car battery and fix it
Figuring out what was causing your old car battery to drain power was easy, but on modern cars it's more complicated due to their large number of electrical devices. In this video you'll learn how to find out what's draining the battery on your new car and fix it.
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 a shortcut to quickly remove a heater core on a 2001 Ford Taurus
When working on the dashboard of any vehicle, make sure you disable the vehicle's airbag system first. Your service manual should tell you how to do that. In this video, the heater core is plugged up in a 2001 Ford Taurus, which means it needs to be taken out. The book states it will take 5 hours to complete, mostly because of the dash. But this trick will cut the time down to 1.5 hours. First, get you heater hoses off in the engine area. Then proceed to watch a mysterious bracket being cut o...
How To: Replace the windshield washer pump in a Saturn car
This video demonstrates how to replace the windshield washer pump in a Saturn S series car. Remove the reservoir by unscrewing the bolt and lift the reservoir and slide it back to take it off the mount. Disconnect the electrical connector by squeezing the clips and pull the connector off. Next remove the hose, making sure to cover the opening with the winger to prevent loss of fluid from the reservoir. Drain the fluid from the reservoir as shown. Get the pump off the reservoir by tapping the ...
How To: Fix the fuel system in a Volkswagen Fox
In this automotive repair video Rolf shows you how to diagnose and fix a fuel system problem in a Volkswagen Fox. In this VW Fox the gas gauge isn't working properly and the car is sluggish. Rolf will show you how to check and fix the fuel system to resolve these problems.
How To: Replace Ball Joint on Grand Prix
Video: . This is how I replaced the warn ball joints on my 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. This should be similar for Buick Regals from 1997-2003, Grand Prix from 1997-2008, and Chevy Monte Carlos from 2000-2007.
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: Wire a Trailer on a Nissan X-Trail 2005
Hi there, first I'm canadian and my SUV so. I'm a hobbyist doing his best, not a mechanic, I don't take charge of other people's installation issues. Anyway, I decided to buy a SUV some months ago, and it comes without the wiring harness for the trailer and the hitch. I made it myself. In this part, only the wiring will be presented. This is for 4 pins harness connector. In any doubt, you can do as I have done for some wires; use a multimeter. Everything on that car works on a 12VDC. Ground y...
How To: Start a Car After a Very, Very Long Time in Storage
My grandfather's brother won this car in a lottery during 1957. He had no driver's license, but his brothers used to give him a lift in it. From 1975 to 1996, the car was parked in my grandfather's brother's garage. My grandfather moved the car on a trailer in 1996 to his garage a few miles away, but it's been standing still there until this year when I rolled it out and started it up. This was the first time someone turned it on in 38 years!
How To: Install Front Signal Marker Running Lights on a 2002-07 Chevy Silverado
In this video we will show you how to install a new set of headlights into your 02-07 Chevy Silverado.