Over the past few years, I've had a handful of vehicles that all at one point vibrated my teeth out. Whether it be bad luck, bent wheels, or poor balancing jobs - I've seen it all and then some....
This week I wanted to do a shorter post, and hopefully instead stimulate more discussion via comments. The topic is ‘copper grease’ - have you ever heard of it, much less do you use it on wheels or brakes? It’s my experience that this is much a more a European thing than American so I’d love...
As these cars get older, the rubber bits and pieces under the hood tend to get soft, crack, or in extreme cases rupture. It's a good idea to keep your car running well with good condition hoses and vacuum lines. The Venair intercooler silicone hose kit from FCP is a nice addition. These silicone...
It's no secret that fuel alcohol is a hotly debated topic in our community. Ethanol is hailed as the future of sustainable fuel for automotive engines, but it has been known to cause issues with older vehicles. I for one am very hopeful and optimistic about the future of Ethanol as a motor fuel,...
For a vehicle with such a prestigious heritage of chauffeuring, buying my Mercedes S500 with a stuck trunk was a bit of a disappointment. It would not open from either the button on the trunk or the button on the drivers door. Apparently this is a common problem as these cars age. There is a...
I once had 2000 BMW 740iL with a problem that wasn't immediately apparent, but was causing my oil to disappear into thin air. Large clouds of blue smoke after starting the vehicle were not fun. The internet and its dog will tell you this is a classic problem with the M62 V8 engine – failure of...
Early Volvo XC90 V8 models were plagued with premature alternator failures, often happening well before 100k miles. This actually happened to my 2006 XC90 V8 at about 92k miles. When I was searching around to have it repaired, I got quotes of over $1400 to replace the alternator. Perfect...
If you own an E36 M3, chances are that you love it. Sometimes you may hate it; I mean really hate it - but when you get it back out on the road you forget you ever felt that way and the hate turns back into love. The reality is, even though the E36 M3 is a very strong car and can take a lot of...
An enthusiast-driven European vehicle will require diligent maintenance to keep it performing the way it was intended. There is a huge difference between brakes that "work," and brakes that work great. Vibration, grinding, or excess noise while braking can be signs that the brake pads or rotors...
As enthusiasts and avid car nuts, we tend to know from bumper to bumper what we are looking for when we go used car shopping. Be it a car we need for the daily commute, or for when we get it in our heads that maybe it's time for another project. We scour the usual online sites for what we think...