As a P1 Volvo owner, I often feel that my car is a mutt of an automobile. Half of the parts on my suspension are stamped FoMoCo. I have Mazda 3 front calipers with Focus ST rotors, while I also...
Over the summer I was forced to replace the front rotors and pads on my Volvo V70 prematurely due to a seized caliper. There are many cheap local auto store options for these cars but none that I’ve been that happy with in the past. My brand of choice for rotors has been Zimmerman. These discs...
You would usually think that January in Southwestern Ontario would mean lots of snow, ice and cold weather. I’m not going to dive into our ever changing weather patterns, but with rain replacing the usual flurries, an otherwise innocent sunroof leak is now a consistent drip in wet weather. These...
Even at stock ride height, P1 chassis Volvos often suffer from excessive negative rear camber. Lower the car and that camber becomes even more extreme. From a performance stand point, a little negative camber helps on the twisty back roads. But from an economical standpoint, tire wear is...
There are usually two to three belts used on most vehicle engine's that you'll find on the road today. You'll find either a of V-belt ( or two ), a Serpentine belt, and most importantly, a Timing Belt. I commonly find some of our customers confused with the difference between the three, so let's...
It’s generally a good idea to replace your car’s thermostat as preventative maintenance with every major service interval. They are a critical part of your car’s ability to regulate it’s own temperature based on how hard your engine is working at any given time and fluctuating environmental...
Saab’s Workshop Information System (WIS) indicates a 20k mile replacement interval for the cabin filter. Occasionally I’d smell something odd coming from the vents and a passenger once said the same thing. I decided to change it ahead of schedule at 15k miles to ensure I wasn’t negligently...
Since I first purchased my Volvo V70XC the hood has been a bit of an eyesore. The paint on these cars is very tough and for the most part should last the life of the car without major issues. However when someone decides to get it repainted for whatever reason the results can easily be...
Spark plugs should be replaced every 60k miles on a 2004 Saab 9-3 Arc. It takes about 30min and your car will get better fuel economy versus that from worn out plugs. For this DIY write-up I’ll be using NGK G-Power spark plugs (part # BKR6EGP) which cross-references correctly for the car. I...
Preventive maintenance always sounds good, but when you have a failure of a worn-out part you want to be careful and review other items that might have been damaged or stressed by the initial failure. In my case, the serpentine belt broke while on the freeway. With the battery light on, the...