You'll often hear about many different ways to wash your car, and it seems that nearly everyone has their own opinion on this subject. In this article, I cover the products and steps needed for one...
Compression testing is one of the most common procedures for checking the relative health of an engine. After all, engines are air pumps, and without compression, they tend not to work well. If you ever want to know where you stand in terms of the overall health of your engine, a compression...
All N55-powered BMWs use an electric water pump. They’re efficient and reduce parasitic engine losses, but they remain a source of headaches. More recently, owners have found their water pump’s aluminum ground bolt failing on them, shearing off for whatever reason and leaving the pump inoperable....
Negative stereotypes affect just about everything we can get our hands on, and that includes European vehicles. Common criticisms surround their complex technology, expensive parts cost, and general drain on the wallet. That can be true for certain models, but the days of overly-complex systems...
Have you ever wondered how the muffler on your Volkswagen MK5 GTI works, and what makes aftermarket mufflers sound considerably different? Our MK5 GTI has been in the hands of the highly capable, Charles (HumbleMechanic) Sanville. Seeing as the entire exhaust from turbo back needed replacing,...
One of the more aggravating things about owning and maintaining an ultra high-mileage Volvo (my Volvo XC70 has 350k kilometers) or similar car is that there are some features that you come to appreciate, but when they break, they don't contribute to getting you from point A to B. So,...
Volvo's new generation of electrically driven water pumps offer a substantial boost in efficiency over outgoing pulley-driven units. The lack of belt drive allows for new packaging options for the cooling system. If you're nearing 100,000 miles, it's around this time that you can expect to see...
It's no secret that the BMW E36 chassis is an awesome platform for building a race car, but it's not without some design flaws. When BMW designed these cars, they wanted to shave weight on the chassis to help offset the additional weight of the safety equipment and modern technology that would...
The Mk5 Volkswagen GTI was the slam dunk that Volkswagen needed to bring the reviewers and buyers back to their hot hatch. Among the various updates was a new engine that used direct fuel injection and a high-pressure fuel pump. The improvements aided fuel economy and the engine’s power...
For decades, BMW has prided themselves on providing cars that drive better than the competition. A failing steering rack in your E9X or E8X can significantly affect the driving feel and performance, as well as your ability to keep safe control of the vehicle. If you hear and feel a loud clunk...