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.
Leaky Wheels Episode 4029, Episode 4042
This time let’s talk about something that we always see almost daily in the repair shops. And that is problems with the alloy wheels, but especially chrome plated alloy wheels. Over here, we have when we’re looking on the outside of it of course. And we can see where the chrome has peeled and is coming loose and in general, this is one ugly looking wheel.… Read More
Ratchet Straps Episode 4028, Episode 4041
Towing has become very popular over the years and no matter what it is that you tow, whether it is recreational equipment or vehicles as we see here or just plain boxes, you’re going to need a way to tie down the load. And that means you need to know something about straps. Now here we have a strap that’s specifically designed for a tow dolly. That’s where… Read More
Control Modules Episode 4024, Episode 4040
You know, there was a time with automobiles when there was a simple wire that went to it, and it controlled it. And that was the end of it. Well those days are long gone. Let’s talk about it. Now, what do I mean about those days are gone? Well, it used to be that things were really simple on automobiles. Take a headlight for example. It had three prongs on… Read More
Stuck Nuts Episode 4023, Episode 4039
There are thousands of parts on every vehicle. And you would think some of the more basic ones like lug nuts that hold the wheels on, that they would be infallible. But they aren’t. There is a relatively new type of lug nut that we are seeing in a lot of vehicles. It’s made with a steel cover over a non-plated mild steel lug nut. You can see the ridge right… Read More
Trim Panel Repair Episode 4022, Episode 4030
This time we are going to talk about a couple of things that, well, you might want to try yourself, and one thing that you probably don’t want to try yourself. Let’s start with the thing we shouldn’t be doing ourselves. And that is right here. If we look at this seat belt, it’s all frayed and certainly not safe to be used. So it needs to be replaced, but… Read More
Cloudy Vision Episode 4013, Episode 4027
Headlights. They have evolved over the years. Way back when they were made out of glass which lasted the life of the car as far as that part of it was concerned. But the filament inside would burn out or the light really wasn’t that good. Now, we have evolved into lenses and so on. If you look at here you can see that this one is styled to match the contours… Read More
Roof Racks Episode 4011, Episode 4026
SUVs, CUVs, they are everywhere. Seems like well they are like elbows, every driveways got a couple of them. But the big thing is SUV or CUV, the U stands for utility. Now that’s a good thing but one of the things that make them utilitarian is that they might have a roof rack on them. Because often you have to carry things on the roof of the vehicle. Now, you… Read More
Garage Floors Episode 4010, Episode 4025
Well, if you have a nice car that means it deserves a nice garage floor. Now most of us are gonna be dealing with concrete and no matter what you going to put on that garage floor, it has to be properly prepared. So decide what product you want to use and follow the preparation instructions to the letter. That way you’ll get a better job. Now some may require… Read More
Lift It (4x4) Episode 4009, Episode 4021
So you’re finally got your 4x4 and well in its stock form it will do a pretty good job in its average off-roading. Maybe you wanna get to the mountain cabin or something like that…but you’re a little bit different than that and you wanna do something a little more serious. Well in order to do that that means you’re probably going to have something that… Read More
Sound Advice Episode 4008, Episode 4020
New cars, old cars, or in between cars. Sooner or later all of them seem to have some kind of a noise you need to diagnose. Now, how could you go about doing that? Well, if you’re going to repair it yourself, you're going to need a couple of tools. If you’re going to take it to a shop, it would help if you take the time to write down when it happens. Does it… Read More