Goss’ Garage
Pat Goss, MotorWeek's resident master technician, helps consumers understand car problems and how to speak the same language as their technician. As cars becoming increasingly complex, fewer repairs can be accomplished at home. Effective communication with a repair shop is vital to keeping consumer and operating costs under control. From rattles and squeaks to leaks and drips, Pat covers a myriad of issues designed to keep cars on the road and out of the repair shop.
Visible Solutions to Invisible Problems Episode 2638
Few things are as important to safe driving as good visibility, so let’s start with the windshield wipers. The blades themselves have to be maintained in good condition, so you should look at them periodically to make sure that the edge of the blade isn’t torn, it isn’t gouged or anything like that. You can also make your blades last longer if you clean… Read More
Don’t Pour it Down the Drain! Episode 2637
Crushed Filters | Draining Filter As fuel prices climb, people are doing more and more of their preventative maintenance work. Things like oil changes, for instance, are a good way to save money. Just make sure that you do it properly: raise the car in a safe manner and dispose of the leftover products the way you’re supposed to. Now the oil filter, that’s… Read More
Basics of Shocks and Struts Episode 2636
We get lots of questions about the differences between shock absorbers and struts. What is the difference? Shock absorbers A shock absorber on an automobile does one thing and one thing only, keeps the car from bouncing. Struts are considerably different. Struts are a structural part of the suspension system and are mounted to the chassis of the vehicle… Read More
Induction System Cleaning Episode 2635
As gas prices have escalated, the crooks have come out of the woodwork with promises of huge improvements in fuel economy and all kinds of different things. Well, save your money because those miracles do not work. Now, there are lots of things that you can do to bring your car back to what its fuel economy was when it was new. One of those is to keep the… Read More
Tongue Weight and Towing 101 Episode 2634
It seems like everybody is using their sport-ute or their pick-up truck to haul something that involves the hitch on the back of the vehicle. Hauling might entail the use of a universal carrier that fits into the receiver on the vehicle, or a specific one that’s designed to haul a motorcycle. Whether it’s specific or universal, they all have ratings on… Read More
Hot Flush Episode 2633
It seems a lot of the preventative maintenance on automobiles these days involves keeping things clean. Now a prime example of that is the E.G.R. system. E.G.R. stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculation, and what it does is, it takes exhaust as it leaves the engine and recirculates it back into the cylinders to reduce the burning temperature of the fuel and air… Read More
Online Repair Pitfalls Episode 2632
If ever there was a double-edged sword, it’s the Internet. You can get some of the best automotive information in the world from the Internet, and you can get some of the worst. If you happen to be an Internet junkie, you have to use some common sense. If you do a search for just about anything you want, you’ll get a lot of responses, but some of the more… Read More
Flat Tires - To Plug or Not to Plug? Episode 2631
Here’s something that will ruin you’re entire morning, the old screw or nail in the tire deal that leaves you with a flat. Well, they usually can be fixed, but you have to use some precautions here: number one, you’re going to have to put on a spare. Your spare is probably a temporary. It’s going to have all kinds of writing on it. I would suggest that you… Read More
Accessories for Your Motorcycle Episode 2630
We get lots of motorcycles questions especially about Harley-Davidsons, and here to give us some tips about Harley is Lyndon Abell, he’s the General Manager of Patriot Harley-Davidson in Fairfax, Virginia welcome to the show! LYNDON ABELL, GENERAL MANAGER, PATRIOT HARLEY-DAVIDSON: Thank you, Pat. GOSS: Now, we have a stock Harley here. Why doesn’t anyone… Read More
Plastic Fantastic Parts Episode 2629
There are lots of plastic parts under the hood of an automobile these days, and they’ll actually last longer than metal in most cases if you take proper care of them. Don’t spray anything under the hood; don’t use any chemicals that might dissolve the plastic, and above and beyond all, take proper care of the cooling system. The reason for that is a lot of… Read More