When it is necessary to make your own gaskets, small bolt holes are often the trickiest features to cut.
Making your own gaskets? Get a hollow punch set for pro results. (VIDEO)
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HOT OFF THE PRESS
Tire service tips (that aren’t just for new technicians)
The habits you form first can be the hardest ones to break.
TECHNICIAN CHALLENGE: The Mystery Box, Part 2
The Proving Grounds crew takes on another round of The Mystery Box Challenge with new parts and a few new faces.
Why auto mechanics should check cabin air filters in every vehicle (VIDEO)
Air filters are an easy service item to overlook, but most manufacturers recommend a new filter every year or 15,000 miles.
SHOP STUFF
Auto care news and advice you can use.
Best of Shop Press 2024
Let’s recap the best of this year!
Exhaust tips: three ways to fine-tune your method
Exhaust work is straightforward and (I think) easy to understand. Here are some pointers for service techs to avoid comebacks when hanging pipe.
Four not-so-obvious ways grease can come in handy
Lubricant? More like lubri-can. A very cheap staple of most shops, I’ve learned to use it in a few unconventional ways.
Two A/C checks you don’t wanna skip
Failing to perform these two vital service steps could cost time and money—or worse.
Five tips for servicing cartridge-style oil filters
Any of these mistakes can lead to an unwanted oil leak or worse—a blown engine.
ABOUT SHOP PRESS
Shop Press is the news and idea hub for everything related to working on cars and trucks, focusing on repair, technology, and wrenching lifestyle. With interesting stories from around the world, features on creative people and solutions, and all kinds of other stuff that’ll make you use your mind and your hands.
SHOP STUFF
Auto care news and advice you can use.
Sketching Skodas
Stevan Ivanov strives to give a little-known brand its rightful place in automotive history.
The seven words you never want to hear from a customer (and how to avoid them)
It’s your job to tell customers about warning signs and bad repairs.
Flip spare tires to make life easier for owners and techs (VIDEO)
From the factory with the spare’s valve stem pointing up, but you can flip it over and reinstall for easy checks and refills.
Three lessons from “Traffic: why we drive the way we do (and what it says about us)”
A textbook yields a few pearls of wisdom for those in the automotive biz.
The cheapest tool you can buy to turn more hours in a dead bay
Four reasons to buy a ½” breaker bar adapter.
VIDEOS
Do you mind working on customer vehicles equipped with dash cams?
As dashboard cameras become more common, repair professionals should know how to deal with them.
The story of the very first reverse gear in an American car
Reverse is an innovation that’s easy to take for granted—but it was a revolutionary addition to the automobile.
How to get a little more (temporary) performance out of your air impact gun
“Rebuild in a can” is not the right way to fix the tool, but it will get you by until you can repair it correctly.