Every mechanic has a story about a vehicle that was too nasty to work on. What’s your limit?
Ew, gross: are there cars you won’t service?
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HOT OFF THE PRESS
January Automotive Horoscopes
We read the astrological signs and predicted your automotive future.
It’s totally fine to run your fuel tank down to empty
Stop telling your customers otherwise—modern fuel systems don’t care.
LOF PSA: Don’t forget the lube job
Engine oil is a lubricant, but that’s not what the task’s title is referencing.
ABOUT SHOP PRESS
Shop Press is the news and idea hub for everything related to working on cars and trucks, focusing on repair, technology, and wrenching lifestyle. With interesting stories from around the world, features on creative people and solutions, and all kinds of other stuff that’ll make you use your mind and your hands.
SHOP STUFF
Auto care news and advice you can use.
Cars that make you think of something specific
Chances are you’re going to have a Pavlovian response when seeing one of these vehicles.
How to fix a Ford cupholder for almost free
The in-dash cup holder on certain late ’90s to early 2000s F-150s, Expeditions and Navigators tends to break, but it’s easy to repair.
How the electric starter motor helped start the automotive revolution
One man’s tragic death led to a device that transformed the automobile from a luxury fascination to something everyone could own and use regularly.
The other “Phillips” head screwdriver you might not know about
Not every Phillips head fastener is a Phillips head fastener. If you don’t know about Japanese Industrial Standard, now you’ll know.
In defense of the beam-style torque wrench
Beam-types have a few advantages that keep them relevant. If your arsenal doesn’t include one, you might want to think about acquiring one.
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Are you a wrench and a writer? A counterperson and a communicator? A service writer and a scribe? Get paid to share your experience and expertise with thousands of Shop Press readers.
SHOP STUFF
Auto care news and advice you can use.
How stop drilling can help to save cracked parts (VIDEO)
Learn how stop drilling can help to prevent cracks from propagating with a little know-how and a drill.
7 low-tech tips to help bleed difficult brakes
Bleeding brakes is one of those jobs most of us know how to do, but when a hard-to-bleed system pops up, experienced techs have a few additional tricks up their sleeves to help get the job done.
Why service writers should always charge a diag fee – and let techs earn it
Vehicle diagnosis is no walk in the park. Proper diagnosis is critical and difficult, and it shouldn’t be done without doing the work.
Choosing the right oil filter’s more complicated than you think
Installing an old-fashioned filter on a modern vehicle because that’s what’s in stock may not be the best course of action.
The Toyota Tacoma just doesn’t make sense any more
Hordes of man-bunned millennials and newly-minted softroaders probably just picked up their pitchforks and are calling for my blood.
VIDEOS
How accurately can you torque a fastener? (VIDEO)
Torquing accurately without a torque wrench is harder than it sounds, as you can see we learned in this contest in the Dorman Proving Grounds.
Hidden external speakers are changing the soundscape of our streets
One of the most noticeable changes we’ll experience with more electric vehicles will be the noises from their acoustic vehicle alert systems, or AVAS.
Automotive technical schools just saw the largest graduation drop in a decade
Troubling new report from TechForce Foundation shows that fewer and fewer people are graduating from technical schools with automotive degrees.