How to Adjust and Repair a BMW 5-Series Parking Brake (E34)

It seems the snow and cold fronts in the last few weeks have changed what had been a mild winter. Here are a few tips and reminders for drivers to help you finish out the season. To let warm up? Or not to warm up? That is the question... This concept of "warming up" often refers to car owners...

A very common wear item on nearly all transverse engine Volvos is the top engine or torque mount. Common symptoms of a failing or failed mount is lurching when first accelerating or applying the brakes. To further verify when a mount is at the end of its life, inspect for visible cracks in the...

Burning oil, low power, or misfires getting you down? Compression is the driving force that keeps an engine alive, and not enough can mean any one of these factors will set in. Often considered the benchmark of an engine's health, a compression test can provide a wealth of information to an avid...

Any car owner can probably tell you a horror story of some expensive repair or replacement part gone wrong. My worst one yet has been the ignition cylinder on my '99 Volvo V70R, and in the end it cost $489.00. But, there are certain purchases that are not only cheap, but make a significant...

We live in a throw-away society. If it doesn’t work, we tend to toss it in the bin. Bike tire has a hole? Toss it instead of patching it. Oven stopped working? Get a new one. Wiper blades start streaking? Buy a new one. Hold on there. Wipers are commonly tossed out in their entirety because the...

I'm not a fan of manual transmissions anymore. At all. Being a car enthusiast, this puts me in a tough place amongst others that swear by it. With modern DSG transmissions being so fun to drive (And non-DSG too! I'm looking at you, ZF 8-Speed) I feel that the need for a manual is dwindling....

A very common oil leak on any older VW is the valve cover gasket, but using the original parts is not always the best course of action. The factory gasket, used on pretty much all 4 cylinder VW/Audis from the early 70s to early 90s, is a three piece set, with rubber and cork, that leaves much to...

The M30 engine is one BMW's long run power plants. From a performance standpoint, its also one of the more common engine swaps performed to replace some of the lesser powered late 80's and early 90's BMWs like the BMW 535i. Most have stood the test of time with only minor valve adjustments and...

From the moment I became aware of the Pick 'n' Pull concept I was hooked. The notion you could just go wander a massive field of cars with your vehicle listing in one hand and a spanner in the other is very exciting. Every car and part on the lot is for sale. At some facilities a bucket full of...