Shifting Gears Archives

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Creative repurposing: Shims have all sorts of uses in an automotive shop

When you saw the image at the top of this article, you probably knew what you were looking at. If you hang panels all day, you said, “A body shim!” If your life is spent undercar, you said, “An alignment shim!” You might also think they're for antiques. But shims have...

Don’t let your scanner go unprotected

This article is a quick reminder to buy (and use!) a surge protector on your (or your shop’s) scan tool(s). The modern vehicle scanner has WiFi, a screen, and touch input. It is, for all intents and purposes, a computer, and it doesn’t like “dirty” power. Protect it...

One lesson is harder for more experienced techs to learn than their rookie counterparts (VIDEO)

Description If you're an experienced technician, you may feel as though you've seen, heard, and repaired just about everything. But don't let your wealth of knowledge and experience prevent you from learning more to stay up to date with today's complex...

Give your customers extra grease

I’ve mentioned the easy business you can score by offering to perform trailer service for customers that pull. When doing a job not long ago, someone asked me why I was adding lubricant to the dust caps. It’s a fair question. When getting into bearings, I know I’m...

This tungsten scraper is my new favorite tool.

Disclaimer: I purchased this tool at full retail price at my own expense, with no compensation to write about the item. I was watching a video the other day of Eric O. at South Main Auto replacing a manifold on a Pentastar. We have a little experience with that here...

Polishing headlights vs. replacing them! (VIDEO)

Description Yellowed, hazy headlights aren’t just ugly; they can reduce a headlight’s effectiveness for your customers. Would you rather polish the old lenses, or simply install a Dorman replacement?Related Videos

Parallel connectors vs. butt connectors

Dorman makes an item to join wires, the parallel connector, that is both helpful and widely misunderstood. If one reads reviews of these, they’re often rather negative. More than a cursory examination yields the issue, however: these are often purchased mistakenly by...

What’s the deal with permanent and lifetime antifreezes? (VIDEO)

Description Your customers may have heard the terms "lifetime" or "permanent" antifreeze, but those confusing names have very specific meanings. Make sure your customers know the limitations of antifreezes to protect their vehicles for many years of service.

The Toyota Tacoma just doesn’t make sense any more

by Lemmy | Dec 3, 2021

Allow me to deliver you a Very Spicy Take: the Toyota Tacoma is not a great truck. Oh, it was a great truck. At one point, it was awesome. The Hilux (and later the Tacoma) was small, light, capable far beyond its advertised abilities, rugged, and cheap to own and...