A clogged air filter not only lowers the quality of air in your cabin; it can also bust the A/C blower. So be sure to regularly clean or replace your cabin air filter every year or every 12,000-15,000 miles.

Changing cabin air filter is so easy you can do it in less than an hour. For a guide on how to change cabin air filter, watch the video below.

Engine Rebuilding

- Since you’d only be tinkering with select components, it might give 20-50% savings compared to engine replacement.
- You can customize your engine and determine the kind of parts that would be used in it.
- You get to buy components such as gaskets, seals, rings, bearing and lifters from the brand of your chocie and with the manufacturer’s warranty.
- You get to buy engine rebuilding kits that really match each other.
- You’ll be helping mother nature since you wouldn’t entirely junk your old engine.

Engine Replacement

- You don’t have to outsource labor to tear down the engine components and put them back again.
- You don’t need to go to machine shops to get the engine block bored, resurfaced, refinished, etc.
- You get to enjoy about 2-3 years warranty on brand-new engines.
- You don’t have to buy components separately since you can get a complete engine assembly.
- There are now remanufactured engine assemblies that perform just like brand-new ones but are far more affordable.

Prius tops Japan’s car sale chart*

Toyota’s Prius has become the first hybrid car to outsell all other vehicles in Japan, figures show.

It sold 22,292 Prius vehicles in June, from 6,231 in the same month a year earlier and from 10,915 in May said the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

A new model had helped bolster sales, analysts said.

In May the Prius had already become the top-selling car - a category that excludes popular mini-vehicles with engines of up to 660cc.

Honda’s Fit was the second most popular vehicle in the June, with sales of 13,016 vehicles. The firm’s Insight, a hybrid marketed as a cheaper alternative to the Prius, was ranked fourth.

Tax breaks

Hybrid cars are powered by both by petrol and electricity.

High oil prices and growing concern about emissions blamed for global warming has encouraged Japanese carmakers to lead the global development of hybrids.

The sale of fuel-efficient vehicles has also been helped by the government making them tax free.

The car industry hopes that hybrid cars will re-energise the flagging market, which has suffered in the global economic downturn.

*Article reposted verbatim from http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Photo courtesy of www.zimbio.com

1. Engine Mounts

When you got loose engine mounts, you’d most probably hear an occasional thud or rattle from your vehicle’s engine. The sound especially becomes obvious when the throttle is closed.

What you can do is check the engine mounts and the bolts that secure them. If the bolts are loose, tighten them. But if the problem is with the rubber element in the mount, the best thing to do is to replace them before they totally give way and cause your engine to twist or get misplaced in its mounts.

An illustration of Karl Benz’s Patent Motorwagen, the first road vehicle with an internal combustion engine.

A restored version of the three-wheeled Motorwagen

The Motorwagen’s 4-stroke engine that ran on gas and used a water cooling sytem.

Did you know that it was Karl Benz, founder of Mercedes-Benz, who made the first internal combustion engine for a road vehicle?

The vehicle, which he named Motorwagen, ran on gas and had a 4-stroke combustion system. Its engine had a 958cc displacement and produced 0.75 horsepower. Running with electric ignition and an evaporation type of cooling system, the Motorwagen was a three-wheeled vehicle and patented on January 29, 1886.

This covers all hydraulic components, which may be probably stuck or not calibrated. These include components in hydraulic suspension and braking systems.

The Hydraulic Brake Booster (source: motorera.com)

Your vehicle’s problem in this case would be with its stationary and moving parts, such as the rocker arms and pistons. Your auto parts may give in and cause trouble due to poor lubrication, corrosion, lack of clearance, too much friction, poor temperature control or ventilation, and improper adjustments.

Defects and broken rings in the piston head cause inefficient combustion in the chamber.

Your vehicle got a problem of this sort if it has malfunctioning electronic gadgets and controls, such as the ECU and other sensor-dependent equipment.

The Electronic Control Module — the master computer responsible for interpreting electrical signals sent by engine sensors and for activating automated engine components and processes accordingly in order to produce optimum performance. (definition by motorera.com)

1.  Electrical Trouble

This auto problem is caused by faulty electrical gadgets or equipment, such as your spark plug cables and alternator.  You have a problem of this kind if you’re having difficulty in generating, starting, ignition, lighting, and circuits.

Spark plug defects (click image to see in full resolution)