So Fix it

Catalytic converters, also called "cats," absorb exhaust heat, and should, ideally, be as close as possible to the exhaust manifold for emissions compliance. This placement varies by make and model and can have a significant impact on performance.

The Y-Pipe

V-type engines often use y-shaped pieces of tubing to join the cylinder banks exhaust streams before entering into the converter. Converters are often bolted right to the back of this Y-pipe.

Direct Connection

Many manufacturers, such as Honda and Toyota, are becoming known for bolting the catalytic converters right to the exhaust manifold outlet, with nothing in between.

Down Tubes

Most turbocharged engines use a down tube, which is a smooth piece of tubing that allows a turbos exhaust flow to move away smoothly, before encountering the restrictive cat.

Oxygen Sensor

All new vehicles have an oxygen (O2) sensor somewhere between the exhaust manifold and cat. This works in conjunction with an after-cat O2 sensor to notify the engine control computer of any converter malfunction.

Exhaust Brakes

Large diesel trucks often have a large valve in between the cat and manifold, known as an exhaust or "Jacobs" brake. When closed, these valves create back pressure in the engine and allow a driver to control downhill acceleration without using the foot brake.

An engines firing order is the sequence that each cylinder is used in power delivery. The firing order for the 6.6L turbo diesel V8 in the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 2WD is 1-2-7-8-4-5-6-3.

Gasoline Versus Diesel

In a gasoline engine, the distributor or Engine Control Unit sends electricity to individual spark plugs to ignite fuel in each cylinder in a specific order. In a diesel engine it is determined by the order in which fuel is injected into each cylinder.

Cylinder 1

Engine firing orders always start with cylinder number one, which on this engine is located at the front left of the engine from the drivers point of view.

Cylinder Banks

GM V8 cylinders are numbered 1-3-5-7 on the left (drivers) side of the engine, and 2-4-6-8 on the right (passenger) side.

Muffler tape is an inexpensive method to repair damage to a muffler that has been dragged on the ground or has rusted through. Muffler tape is not adhesive, instead using the heat of the exhaust system to bond to your current muffler.

Function

Muffler tape should be used to repair your muffler or exhaust system for a short time. You should take your vehicle to a dealership or exhaust specialty shop as soon as possible.

Types

Muffler tape may come in strips that can be wrapped around your exhaust or in a patch kit that requires trimming the tape to the proper size.

Benefits

Muffler tape can help silence your vehicle quickly, keeping emissions levels down and your vehicle quiet as you drive.

Installing

Once you wrap muffler tape around the exhaust, the heat near the muffler will cause the tape to bond to the exhaust system. You may need to add more muffler tape if any falls off or holes in the muffler remain uncovered.

Expert Insight

Muffler tape is not a permanent solution. Vehicles are regularly subjected to extreme temperature changes, and you may find that your muffler tape falls off after only a few days or weeks of use.

Exhaust flex pipes are a flexible metal pipe sections that are used either in areas where an exhaust pipe needs to be flexible, or to repair a damaged exhaust system. While they are all-metal, it is common for one to fail and require replacement.

Construction

Automotive exhaust pipes get extremely hot from the exhaust gas passing through the system and out the tailpipe. Due to this, when an exhaust system needs to bend, shift or be flexible, the manufacturer cannot use traditional materials like rubber. The flex pipe is made of metal strips woven into a lattice, and thus can withstand exhaust gas heat. Higher quality flex pipes will be made of stainless steel.

Use

Automotive engines move slightly during operation, whereas most exhaust systems are fixed from the mid-section back. Flex pipes allow the engine to move and not crack or rupture what would otherwise be an inflexible metal exhaust pipe. Flex pipes are typically found where the exhaust manifold meets the downpipe or mid-section of an exhaust, which is closer to the engine than to the exit tailpipe.

Availability

Exhaust flex pipe sections are widely available at automotive stores in a variety of lengths and diameters.

The 1996 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck features daytime running lights, antilock brakes, independent front suspension, tinted glass, cloth upholstery and a standard monochromatic paint scheme. Options include four-wheel drive, heavy-duty suspension package, leather wrapped steering wheel and a more powerful 4.3-liter Vortec V-6. Base models come standard with a 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine and five-speed transmission. Certain optionally equipped 1996 Chevrolet S10 pickup trucks utilize a four-speed automatic transmission. Knowing the exact type of transmission your vehicle has will enable you to find order parts specific to your vehicle, or find a suitable replacement if repairs cannot be made.

Instructions

1

Open your vehicles passenger side door and open the glove box.

2

Examine the inside of the glove box for a small sticker containing a series of codes. These regular production option, or RPO, codes catalog exactly what options you have installed on your truck. Each code contains three characters; the first two characters of the code will utilize letters, while the remaining character will be a number.

3

Check through each set of codes for "M30", "M50" or "MW2". The "M50" code represents a New Venture Gear five-speed manual transmission, available on 4.3-liter V-6 equipped models; the "MW2" represents a New Venture Gear five-speed manual transmission available for the 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine. Vehicles that features the "M30" RPO code have a GM 4L60-E for speed automatic transmission installed, available on both 4.3-liter and 2.2-liter models.

Sometimes being a trend-setter can be a curse. When they debuted, LH-chassis cars like the Intrepid and Chrysler 300M were visually cutting-edge automobiles that looked more like road-going Le Mans prototypes than commuter sedans. Time and trends may march on, but these cars remain just as good at everything they were good at when new.

Part Costs

Head gaskets themselves arent particularly expensive -- perhaps $100 for the pair at 2013 prices. Getting to them though, means tearing half the engine apart, and thats where youre spending your money in parts and labor. A full upper-end gasket set that includes the head gaskets, intake gaskets and everything else youll need to replace them will run you about $250; add another $75 at least for oil, fluids and sealants. So, call it $325 to $350 in parts.

Labor and Total Costs

Shops determine labor costs according to "book time," which is how much time a job should take for the average mechanic. Multiply that by the shops hourly rate, and youve got the labor cost for the procedure. The book time for replacing one head gasket is 7.4 to 7.9 hours, and you can expect to pay 9.4 of book time for both. Most shops currently charge $65 to $100 an hour, so labor will run you about $480 to $740 for one head gasket, and $610 to $940 for both. So, adding together parts and labor, expect to spend between $935 and $1,300 to have both head gaskets replaced.

A catalytic converter is an exhaust component that was put on all production cars since 1974. The job of a catalytic converter on a Pontiac Grand Prix is to burn up any left over gas that went through the engine and was left unburned. The catalytic converter uses a chemical reaction to change the unburned engine gases to less toxic gases, like carbon dioxide and water vapor. This helps cut down on the pollutants emitted, from the Grand Prix, into the atmosphere.

General Location

Because the catalytic converter is an exhaust component, it is located in the exhaust system on the underside of the Grand Prix. On the Grand Prix, the exhaust system attaches to the engine block and to the underside of the car using brackets, and then exists out the rear of the vehicle with dual exhaust tips. The converter looks like a small muffler, or rectangular box, around the middle of the exhaust pipe. The primary components of the converter are usually made out of stainless steel.

Location on the Exhaust

The catalytic converter is located between the exhaust manifold and the muffler. The exhaust manifold is a pipe that moves the engine gasses from the engines combustion chamber into the exhaust system. The muffler is a large chamber located near the end of your exhaust system that reduces the noise energy of the exhaust gasses as they exit the exhaust system.

Why Its on the Car

Toxic gasses are released when the engine in the Grand Prix runs. These gasses could cause depletion of the ozone, as well as illness or damage to the environment, if they were released without being broken down into less harmful gasses. Because the government put emission restrictions into place to slow the buildup of pollution, all cars were equipped with catalytic converters after 1974. This has cut down on the pollution being released by automobiles significantly since the government required all cars to have the converter.

Why Its in the Exhaust System

The exhaust system on the Grand Prix, just like every other car, is used to move gas from the engine out to the surrounding air. The converter is located after the exhaust manifold so that it can take the toxic engine gasses and convert them into less toxic ones before the exhaust moves into the muffler and eventually exist the rear of the Grand Prix. Without the catalytic converter within the exhaust system, exhausted toxic gases from the engine would be released into the atmosphere, causing toxic buildup.

Its a commonly heard anecdote that an easy way to exact expensive vengeance on an enemy is to put sugar in the gas tank of his car. Its assumed the sugar will liquefy in the gasoline, turning it into a gummy, unburnable mess that ultimately destroys the cars fuel system and engine. It turns out that this is an urban myth. Putting sugar in the gas tank may slightly affect the vehicles running, but it is unlikely to do lasting or major damage.

Sugars Reaction With Gasoline

In reality, sugar does not dissolve in gasoline the way it does in water. When poured into the fuel tank, sugar will sink to the bottom and remain solid. If it is picked up by the fuel pump, it is caught by the cars fuel filter, which is designed to keep particulates from reaching the fuel injectors or carburetor where they can do damage.

Damage From Sugared Gasoline

Usually, the worst thing a handful of sugar in a gas tank will do is clog the fuel filter -- a time-consuming repair on some vehicles, but hardly an expensive or incapacitating one. If enough sugar is poured in, the tank itself may need to be removed and cleaned by a mechanic. The worst effect of a sugared gas tank it that it can cause the car to stall and be difficult to restart until the sugar is cleaned out.

Mythbusters

The television show "Mythbusters" put this theory to the test in 2004 by pouring sugar into a cars fuel tank and letting it run. The shows testers reported that the car was not damaged, and in fact ran even better after the tank was sugared! This does not mean that sugar can be considered a performance additive, of course.

Other Fuel Tank Pollutants

Other solid contaminants, like sand, react similarly in gasoline. Sand is less likely to get into the fuel filter because it is heavier than sugar and sinks to the bottom of the tank. A gas tank with sand in it will need to be removed and cleaned, but further damage is unlikely.

Properly working fuel injectors allow a vehicles engine to run and perform at a high level. However, even a slight clogging of an injector is enough to cause driveability issues with your vehicle. Its beneficial to be able to determine if a fuel injector is working properly.

Symptoms

There are several symptoms an automobile can display that will help you determine if your fuel injector is working properly, such as power loss to the vehicle. A car that hesitates when you attempt to take off from a dead stop is also a classic sign of fuel injector problems.

Testing

Another way to check and see if your fuel injectors are working properly is by running a flow test on them. The standard rate at which fuel should flow from the injectors can be compared with the injectors current flow rate. A flow that is not up to par indicates that your injectors have problems that need addressing.

Mileage

Yet another way to find clues about the condition of your injectors is by figuring out the mileage that has been traveled with them. Because experts suggest that fuel injectors should be cleaned before reaching 30,000 miles, distances over this benchmark indicate a need to at least have your fuel injectors checked.

Leaking exhaust at the engine on the 6.0-Liter GMC engine means the exhaust manifold gasket is faulty and there no longer is a good seal between the exhaust manifold and the cylinder head. To fix this leak, it is necessary to remove the exhaust manifold and replace the gasket. The exhaust manifold is secured to the cylinder head with six bolts.

Instructions

Removal

1

Lift the vehicle hood. Ensure the exhaust leak is coming from the mating surface between the cylinder head and the exhaust manifold, not the EGR valve or where the manifold meets the down pipe. Mark each spark plug wire with the paint marker to identify which wire belongs on what spark plug.

2

Turn each spark plug boot about a half turn and pull it straight off the spark plug. Do not remove any plug wires from their respective coils.

3

Remove each exhaust manifold mounting bolt with the proper size socket and ratchet. Gently pull the manifold away from the cylinder head a bit and remove the faulty gasket from the cylinder head.

Installation

4

Hold the new exhaust gasket to the exhaust manifold. Press the manifold and gasket to the cylinder head. Hand-tighten each exhaust manifold bolt.

5

Tighten the exhaust manifold bolts to 10 foot-pounds of torque with the proper size socket and torque wrench. First torque the inside bolts, then the two outside bolts. Once all of the bolts are torqued to 10 foot-pounds, repeat the same process to 15 foot-pounds of torque with the socket and torque wrench.

6

Install each spark plug wire by pushing it onto the proper spark plug. Pay attention to the marks previously made so the firing order is not disturbed. Shut the vehicle hood. Check the exhaust manifold bolt torque after the engine is warmed and cooled twice to ensure they maintain 15 foot-pounds of torque.

While modern air-conditioning systems use R-134 and other environmentally friendly rigerants, owners of vehicles manufactured before 1994 may have systems that use R-12 rigerant. Though the two rigerants are not compatible with one another, mechanics can adapt an older system for the new rigerant.

Differences

According to the automotive website Pro Car Care, R-12 rigerant is a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) that erodes naturally occurring ozone. The substance consists of slightly larger molecules than R-134, and this difference makes a direct replacement of R-12 with the newer R-134 impractical. The automotive website AA 1 Car also points out that no one should mix R-12 with any other rigerant, as doing so can result in serious environmental damage while also presenting a significant safety hazard.

Retrofitting

Vehicle owners cannot directly replace R-12 with R-134 rigerant. However, mechanics can perform a retrofit that replaces air-conditioning components with new lubricants and seals designed to contain R-134.

Warning

While often considered a more environmentally friendly rigerant, R-134 is a greenhouse gas and can still cause environmental problems if allowed to vent directly into the atmosphere, according to the automotive website Garage-Pak. In addition, Pro Car Care notes that either rigerant will instantly freeze skin and other surfaces if allowed to vent.

The instrument cluster contains the various gauges and indicators that drivers depend on to learn important information on the current status of the automobile. If this information wasnt accessible to drivers, potentially hazardous problems could occur and youd never know.

Function

The function of the instrument cluster is to keep the driver informed with the most current information as they drive. Gauges provide the information for speed, distance, heat and fuel. Indicator lights provide warnings and updates like the check engine light and the low fuel light. Different vehicles have different warnings available.

Identification

The instruments in the instrument cluster are gauges that are circular, and in most cases back lit. The instrument cluster includes the speedometer, fuel gauge, tachometer and odometer; it is located on the drivers side on the dashboard, in front of the steering wheel.

Components

The speedometer tells you how fast the vehicle is moving. The fuel gauge tells you how much fuel is currently in your gas tank. The tachometer provides the driver with the rotation rate of the crankshaft in the engine. The odometer tells you how many miles the vehicle has traveled.

Nema C-Face is a type of motor mount. It is used in all sorts of mechanical applications, from car motors to compressors to machine tools. A Nema C-Face mount is a face mount, which means it is attached with bolts that enter threads in the motor face.

Uses

The Nema C-Face mount is often used as an adapter of sorts. When a motor requiring a face mount is to be placed in a vehicle designed for another mounting style, a Nema C-Face mount can be used to adapt it to the situation. This allows for different motors to go in different vehicles easily.

Direct Attachment

A Nema C-Face mount is fastened directly to the motor through bolts that pass through the mount into threads in the motor casing. This allows it to be used in many different situations where a standard mount is not possible.

Purpose

The Nema C-Face mount secures the motor in place. This insures it doesnt move during operation, which is especially important in motor vehicles moving at high speeds. This mount is considered secure and is one of the most common types of mounts.

The hub bearing assembly is part of the mechanism of a car wheel. It is the assembly of hubs and bearings that facilitate the rotation of the wheel on the road surface.

Assembly

The hub bearing assembly consists of a wheel hub on which the bearings are mounted. The hub is attached to the axle and the bearings keep the wheel spinning smoothly. Hub bearing assemblies differ between front and back wheel sets.

Wear and Maintenance

A new wheel hub assembly should last up to 150,000 miles, after which it will probably need to be serviced and, eventually, replaced. If possible, replacement parts for specific makes and years should be found.

Problems

Signs that wheel bearings are faulty include wobbling of wheels, or a low growl or hum indicating too much friction. On detecting these warning signs, it is critical that you take your car to a mechanic to avoid further damage.

Various types of structures that support tensile loads use tie rods. For example, vehicles, industrial electronics and static structures use tie rods, which are sometimes referred to as "track rods."

Definition

A tie rod is any bar-like structure supports moving parts on a machine, especially those bearing heavy loads. Rebar is a type of tie rod because of how it performs in concrete; however, rebar is not usually called a tie rod. Metal bars in general that are used in cement, stone and metal can be called tie rods. Tie rods prevent lateral movement.

Most Common Tie Rods

The most common tie rod is found in a vehicle. The tie rod is part of the steering mechanism and has an inner end as well as an outer end.

Other Uses

Tie rods stabilize structures, such as acting as an anchor to hold parts of buildings together. They are also part of wheels on a bicycle, a steam locomotive and a Ferris wheel.

A car battery has a positive and negative post. Most cars have negative grounds, which means there is a large cable connecting the negative post to the engine block. The positive cable carries electricity to the starter and other vital places like the lights.

Battery Function

The battery provides a direct current to start the engine. Once the engine is running, all electrical energy is derived from the rotation of the alternator. During normal operation, the alternator not only provides alternating current to operate the various electrical units, but it also directs a small amount of electricity back to the battery for recharging.

Wire Parts

Battery cable wires have two basic parts. Tightly-wrapped strands of copper wire create an inner conductive unit, which is encased in a waterproof plastic material that acts as an insulator. When buying wire for battery cables, be aware of smaller gauge wires wrapped in heavy insulation, which may appear to be heavier than their actual size.

Actual Wire Size

The cables that conduct the direct current from the two battery posts to the block for grounding and to the starter to engage the engine draw the biggest current. These wires should be four-gauge. The wire from the positive post to the alternator is usually eight-gauge.

A VM carburetor, which is also known as a round slide carburetor, is a special type of carburetor that is produced exclusively by the Mikuni Company of Japan.

Significance

A VM carburetor is a type of carburetor produced by the Mikuni company of Japan as a performance part for motorcycles and all terrain vehicles. The Mikuni VM carburetors are considered to be the most popular performance carburetors in single-cylinder motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle events, as of 2010.

Function

The main function of a VM carburetor is much the same as it is for any other carburetor -- to blend air and fuel together in an internal combustion engine. The VM carburetor can be tuned to allow changes to the air-fuel mixture, which also allows for many different levels of performance for different conditions.

Features

The Mikuni VM style of carburetors comes in a wide range of sizes. The main bore can range from as little as 1.73 inches wide to as large as 39 inches wide. The carburetors bodies are usually constructed from aluminum or zinc, with the main jet installed so that it can be replaced easily.

Roller chains are most commonly used on bicycles, automobile engines and heavy machinery for the transmission of power. They come in a variety of sizes to meet almost any application. The larger the size of chain, the larger the roller diameter, pitch and tensile strength the chain is rated for. Choosing the right chain for your application is important for safety and functionality.

Roller Chain Terms

The chains pitch is the distance between the center of the neighboring rollers; its diameter is the width between the link side plates. The digit furthest to the right in the chains number denotes its type: 0 for a normal chain, 1 means a lightweight chain and 5 for a rollerless bushing chain. If the chain number ends with an "H" it is a heavyweight chain.

35 Chain

The 35 chain is a rollerless type chain. It has a pitch of 0.375 inches and diameter of 0.2 inches. It is rated for a tensile strength of 1,758 pounds and a working load of 480 pounds.

40 Chain

The 40 chain is a normal, roller-type chain. It has a pitch of 0.5 inches and a diameter of 0.312 inches. It is rated for a tensile strength of 3,125 pounds and a working load of 810 pounds.

Differences

The main difference between the 35 and the 40 chain is that one is rollerless and the other has rollers. The two chains also have different pitches and diameters, which will limit their interoperability. Additionally, the 40 chain is rated for a significantly higher tensile strength and working load than the 35.

Although all shocks give a manufacturers suggested replacement period, there isnt any way to determine the actual lifespan of an individual shock absorber. The normal lifespan is influenced by real world driving conditions.

Suggested Maintenance

The majority of car manufacturers suggest replacing shocks every 60,000 to 80,000 miles. Most shock replacements fall into this time frame.

Normal Lifespan

According to the website Basic Car Repair, "shock absorber life depends primarily on the roads over which you drive." They might fail almost immediately, at say 5,000 miles, or might last well into the 60,000 to 80,000 mile range. The average manufacturer suggested replacement time is between 20,000 and 30,000 miles.

Individual Shocks

An individual shock may be structurally defective and should be checked periodically, whenever you do basic maintenance. Because there is no way to predict the life expectancy of shock absorbers your best bet is to pay attention to the way your car feels when it goes over bumps. If there is a sudden change and you start to feel residual bouncing after hitting a bump, it is probably time to check the shocks.

Friction drive belts, also known as V-belts, are used in a variety of automotive, agricultural and industrial machines that use pulley systems.

Function

Friction drive belts are used in mechanical systems that utilize pulleys to do their jobs. The friction drive belts, which are also known as V-belts because of their trapezoidal shape, are attached to a set of pulleys, and the friction of the belts against the pulley surfaces causes them to move, much like a gear or a chain system.

Significance

The unique V-shape of the friction drive belts is what increases their efficiency. The area where the belts make contact with the pulley surfaces are wider, allowing them to achieve more grip and better transmission of power. The tops of the belts are compressed more tightly to produce a more solid, durable "spine" that increases the overall strength of the belts.

Considerations

Friction drive belts transmit power purely through friction between the belts and the pulleys. Because of this, you should never make the mistake of lubricating them as you would a normal gear or chain system. Lubricating a friction drive belt system will only make the belts slippery, which will cause them to lose their grip and their efficiency.