Posts Tagged ‘kdt’

Replacing Valve Guide Seals

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

gChanging valve guide seals in the vehicle.

A common problem among vehicles especially older vehicles is leaking valve guide seals.  They are a cheap item but the labor rate a shop can charge may make it very expensive.  The task of changing your valve guide seals is actually fairly straight forward and can be accomplished in a weekend with a couple special tools.

A valve seal is a simple seal.  There are several different kinds of valve seals depending on the time in which your vehicle was manufactured.  The most effective kind of valve seal is the positive style seal, this fits over the valve guide itself and is stationary.  The next seal is the umbrella style seal, this seal rides with the valve stem and prevents oil from going down the guide.  The last style of valve seal is the o-ring.  This was extremely common on older style engines and was the least effective of any of the seals.  You don’t have to worry if you have o-ring style seals they were still effective at sealing the guide, it is just over time they become brittle due to heating and cooling.

 

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How to Replace an Automotive Alternator

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

Products_Alternator2Replacing your alternator

If your battery on your vehicle is constantly going dead forcing you to have to jump start your vehicle, it is likely that you have an alternator that is not working correctly.

The alternator on your vehicle provides voltage to your vehicle.  This voltage is created and used by your vehicle and the accessories in your vehicle.  The alternator produces more voltage than your vehicle needs and the excess voltage is then stored in your vehicles battery.  The battery will provide a supply of voltage to start the vehicle.  If your alternator is not putting out as much voltage as it should be then it will not have any excess to charge your battery, thus causing you to have a dead battery when you go to start your vehicle.

I suggest that you review this Basic Electronics article before you go ahead and replace your alternator.  A simple test that you can do is to test the voltage at your battery with your vehicle running.  You should have something greater than 13.5 DC Volts, this shows that your alternator is providing enough voltage to charge the battery.

Once you have determined that you need to replace your alternator then you can move onto the next procedure that we will discuss.

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