A shop foreman who did it for a year gained some firsthand experience that might help you answer the question.
Is your shop ready for the 4-day work week?
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HOT OFF THE PRESS
Thread repair for mechanics: an incomplete guide to essential products and procedures
Proper tooling and techniques are critical to repairing threads—and if you’re a mechanic, neither are marketed well to you.
The one part of the car you’ll never install for a customer
DIFM customers just won’t purchase this common underhood part.
TECHNICIAN CHALLENGE: Can you identify these dash lights? PART 3 (VIDEO)
Think you know your dash lights? Shop Press contributors Keith, Miriam, Chris, and Greaser try their best to identify all kinds of lights, symbols, and indicators.
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.
PSA: Be Safe With Carburetor Cleaner, Too
Is carb cleaner actually more dangerous than brake cleaner?
What type of part should you use to repair a car?
There’s a spectrum of parts ranging from fresh and new to tired but cheap. What should you use and when?
Is side work OK for service techs?
Does the shop retain right of first refusal, or is moonlighting A-OK?
Ranking the best fictional TV mechanics
From Colonel Hogan to Mr. T to Fonzie, here’s a completely unscientific list of television wrenches.
Jeep Spotter’s Guide (VIDEO)
ID Jeeps generation by generation with a few easy tricks.
Want to contribute an article to Shop Press?
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.
Is the Oil Change Interval in a Vehicle’s Owner’s Manual Always the Right Choice? (VIDEO)
Pete Meier explains how vehicle usage and oil/filter quality should affect your maintenance schedules.
Does your shop handle performance work?
Here are a few things consider before taking on work that falls beyond the scope of repair or maintenance.
Ralph Nader inspired a vehicle safety revolution and all he got was a lousy bolt named after him
Door striker bolts became known as Nader pins after “Unsafe at Any Speed” caused a national uproar and led to the first FMVSS rules.
Before asphalt, automotive pioneers used the beach as their racetrack
Several speed records were once set on the beach of Cape May, New Jersey
Schedule more work by improving the life of the waiters
If your waiting room stinks, so does waiting in it.
VIDEOS
Preventative maintenance is great, but are you performing preventative repairs?
Repairing future failure points before they fail is a lucrative way to save your customers money, just like maintenance does.
A/C bypass pulleys: a history lesson on a part you can’t get from a dealer
Accessory belt drive evolution can provide some clues for the most efficient way to get a customer back on the road.
The pros (and more than a few cons) of chrome
Although I love the look of chrome on cars, there are very good reasons why it’s not used much anymore.