Repair And Fix it

Snap-on Tools has long been an understood mainstay supplier of professional mechanic garages, given the companys wide array of tool choices. From hundreds of hand tools to pneumatic and automated ones, the company consistently produces a quality product. This is important since much of the work mechanics perform regularly would break home tools quickly. Manufactured for significant harder work pressure than normally expected with consumer grade tools, Snap-on instruments for automotive work have been available for 90 years, with ratchets, sockets, wrenches and screwdrivers making up the basic bread-and-butter of the choices.

History

Snap-on automotive tools, along with its general product line, first came on the market in the early 1920s. The initial product line focused on basic wrenches with interchangeable sockets. Prior to this time, tools did not have such flexibility, and what you bought only worked in terms of one function and one size. As a result, a mechanic typically needed a lot of molded tools for different work sizes. Using the door-to-door salesman approach, Snap-on was an early innovater visiting mechanic shops and showing their tool product value on the floor. This immediatey created a growing boom driven by eager customers.

Todays Automotive Tools

Snap-on tools today still delivers via a stocked dealer van just the way they were beginning in the 1950s. Again, the emphasis is on instant proof of the tools value on the shop floor. Tools today include hand versions, diagnostic measurement units, and power or automated tools (electric and pneumatic). Snap-on has also branched out its tool line into software and vehicle repair database management.

Hand Tools

The hand tools still resemble the basic categories of the 1920s: screwdrivers, wrenches and sockets. In addition, Snap-on also provides a wide line of automotive-specific tools such as specialty tools, punch and chisels, specialized hammers, big and small crowbars, and plenty of versions of pliers for a wide range of jobs. For engine work, Snap-on provides a wide line of bearing and oil seal installation and removal sets, piston work tools, bushing and suspension-specific tools, and specialty lathes and cutting tools for fabrication.

Power Tools

Snap-on power tools come in two categories: electric and pneumatic. These units tend to be for heavy duty work and high-powered applications. The selection includes impact wrenches, air drills, pneumatic ratchets, hammer tools and many types of fabrication tools (grinders, cutters, polishing, and hammering).

Automotive Tool Storage

With the wide array of tools to choose from, mechanics will quickly find a need for storage to make sure tools are secure and dont get lost. Snap-ons selections provide for storage units ranging from rolling drawers to full-size closet storage, all being lockable as needed. More importantly, the storage units are stronger than retail grade, so they dont buckle under the tool weight.

The typical automotive air-conditioning system uses a compressor, receiver drier, condenser, rigerant, evaporator and thermostatic valve. This was not so in the early days of automotive air conditioning for cars and trucks, which were primitive by todays standards. The history of air conditioning started with a patent submitted by Willis Carrier in 1906, for building structures. The invention caught on with car and truck applications during the early middle half of the 20th century.

Automotive Air Conditioning Debut

A New York company was the first source of air conditioners used on cars in 1933. The units were highly customized and individually fitted on expensive, privately owned cars and limousines.

Freon Beginnings

The compound chemical Freon, invented by Charles Kettering and Thomas Midgley, was composed of chlorofluorocarbons -- a mixture of carbon, fluorine and halogens of hydrogen and chlorine. Although the invention and application of Freon was first used in air-conditioned buildings, it would later be applied to automotive air-conditioning systems that used coils, condensers and compressors to circulate a rigerant.

Packard Motors

The Packard Motor Car Company offered the first workable air conditioner and heater combination for cars in 1939. The unit cost $274, considered an expensive option at the time. The compressor, a 1.5-ton unit, ran off a belt from the engine. The unit had no thermostat control for turning it down or shutting it off, as it required removal of the belt from the engine. The cool air was gathered at the rear of the vehicle and discharged forward.

Cadillac

Cadillac followed suit in 1941, manufacturing its own air-conditioning system, similar to the Packard design. Cadillac sold over 400 cars that had the expensive option. The bulky unit was located behind the rear passenger seat; it also had to be deactivated by removing the compressor belt.

Frederick McKinley Jones

Frederick Jones was a mechanic and inventor who applied for and received more than 40 rigeration patents for air conditioning. In July 1940, he was issued a patent for a cooling device that mounted to the roof of a truck. Not long after, the invention was produced for rigerated trucks that transported flash-frozen foods, which was an invention of Clarence Birdseye.

Nash

The Nash-Kelvinator Corporation was the first manufacturer of a integrated ventilating, heating and air-conditioning system. The unit was mass produced and used on the Nash Ambassador in 1954. It boasted a compact style, affordable price at $345, adjustable dash controls, electric clutch, dash-mounted vents and was located entirely in the engine bay. The mass produced units were called the "All-Weather Eye."

General Motors

General Motors manufactured a front engine-mounted air conditioning system in 1954. It came as an option on its Pontiac cars, which had straight eight-cylinder engines. Separate controls were added for air distribution and cooling levels. The design differed slightly from the Nash layout and concept.

The 1960s

Air conditioning for cars and trucks picked up in popularity and application by 1960, outfitting about 20 percent of U.S. vehicles. The Southwest used systems in 80 percent of its vehicles. American Motors introduced air conditioning on all AMC Ambassador models starting in 1968. At the turn of 1969, 54 percent of all domestic vehicles had air-conditioning systems. Automatic climate control thermostats were first introduced and applied during this time.

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Introduction of R-134a

R-134a rigerant was introduced in 1992 as a replacement for the original R-12 Freon. The old R-12 Freon, invented by Kettering and Midgley, was found to contain ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons. The new R-134a had no toxic or ozone depleting chemicals, and followed the criteria set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency. All new vehicles manufactured after 1995 were fitted with new air-conditioning systems that used only R-134a rigerant. R-12 was discontinued, with some countries outlawing its use. As of 2011, 99 percent of all vehicles manufactured and on the road have air-conditioning systems, with climate control programming, directional vents and increased performance, allowing for better fuel economy.

You might need to remove side molding from your vehicles exterior for a variety of reasons. You might want to replace damaged or worn out molding, or you might be preparing to repaint the vehicle or do some body repair. The exterior side molding on most cars is attached with heavy duty double-sided tape. In addition to double-sided tape, some vehicles also have long plastic prongs on the backside of the molding strips that attach to the vehicle exterior through small holes on the cars body panels.

Instructions

1

Wear gloves and spray WD-40 along the full length of one piece of side molding.

2

Wait 10 minutes. To save time, you might consider spraying the other molding pieces now, if not just one or two.

3

Wrap the Spackle spatula tightly in microfiber cloth.

4

Insert the business end of the wrapped spatula between the end of the molding strip and the body panel.

5

Push the spatula toward the end of the molding strip with one hand while peeling away the molding with the other hand until you reach the end of the molding strip.

6

Spray Goo Gone on remnants of double-sided tape and work the bits and residue loose with microfiber cloth.

7

Move on to the next molding piece.

The intake manifold on old engines provides the entryway of fuel and air into the engine and eventually the combustion chamber, where it turns to energy, powering the engine parts. Identifying this critical channel is fairly easy on old engines, since its connected to the carburetor, which performs the air-fuel mixing prior to going into the engine.

Instructions

1

Park the car in a place that is easy to work in if the car can be moved. Lift the car engine hood and prop it up to stay open on its own. Locate the carburetor assembly on top of the V-8 engine.

2

Use a flashlight to help see the engine parts if you cant see well with the regular room or area light. Locate the exit side of the carburetor where the air-fuel flow will go to the engine. Look opposite the side of the air filter and fuel lines connected to the carburetor.

3

Follow the carburetor to the metal tubular channels that go from the carburetor into the engine casing itself -- this is the intake manifold. Note how the manifold is bolted to the engine case to maintain its connection.

4

Check underneath the engine if the intake manifold is not visible from the top exiting the carburetor unit. Look for a manifold that enters the engine from the side after looping downward vertically from the carburetor.

A large portion of automobile components are fabricated from plastics such as ABS. ABS is one of the strongest and most versatile plastics used in the automotive industry. Both collision damage and parts modifications can leave holes in this material that can lead to moisture getting into a cars interior. While small holes are quickly repaired with a few drops of epoxy, larger holes require more work. Use a few simple tools and techniques to repair larger holes, avoiding a costly trip to the auto body shop.

Instructions

1




Clean the area being repaired thoroughly. If the part youre repairing can be removed from the vehicle, remove it and clean both sides of the part. Otherwise, clean the area around and inside of the hole, especially the holes edges. The reason many glues and body fillers fail to work is because a layer of oil or grease forms a barrier between the glue or filler and the part being repaired. This keeps the glue or filler from completely adhering to the part. Liquid dish washing detergent and hot water will work well for cleaning parts, as long as the detergent is formulated to remove grease. After the part is completely dry, apply a 2-inch border of masking tape around the hole.

2

Cut a small disk of ABS, 1/4 inch larger than the hole. Use 1/32-inch thick ABS, purchased at any plastic retailer. Test fit the disk to make sure that it covers the entire opening. Apply a thin bead of gap filling cement around the disks outer edge. Mount the disk on the backside of the hole. Most ABS comes with a textured side and a smooth side. Use either side. Allow 6 hours drying time.

3




Mix the body filler and cream hardener. The body filler should be mixed with the cream hardener in a 10-to-1 ratio, 10 parts filler to 1 part hardener. This is a general rule of thumb. Refer to the instructions on the side of the fillers can for the specific mixing ratio. Mix the body filler and cream hardener until an even color is reached. There should be no streaks of hardener visible. Mix only enough to fill one hole. Most body fillers start to harden after five to 10 minutes. Using a small putty knife, apply the mixed body filler to the hole. Smooth the filled area out with the putty knife. Allow one hour drying time.

4

Sand the body filler down until it is level with the parts surface. Sand the area down, by hand, with 120-grit sandpaper. Add additional filler to raise the level of the repaired area if needed. Sand again if necessary. Once the filled area is level with the parts surface, sand with 220-grit sandpaper. Wipe all dust and debris off of the repaired surface.

5

Spray the sanded area with auto primer. Use a standard gray automotive primer. Using painters masking tape, adhere old newspaper to the rest of the part to keep it from becoming covered with primer. Lightly sand the primed area with 600-grit sandpaper. Wipe down the sanded area with a rag to remove any sanding debris. After the primer dries, apply automotive paint matched to the parts color and the project is complete.

No matter how large or small, theres no such thing as a synthetic automobile. Whether its bituminous carbon, petroleum products or the amino acids used to produce many of the materials used in construction, a car has enough organic components that it is almost in itself a living organism. Rubber is one of the most versatile and obvious of your cars organic components, and can show up in some surprising places.

Tires

Ask any six-year-old to name something made of rubber on a car and most likely theyll point to those round, black things underneath it. However, your cars rolling stock actually contains far less rubber than you might think it does, about 15 to 20 percent by weight. The rest of the tire is made up of carbon black (an asphalt product), silicon dioxide (sand or glass), silicone and metal reinforcements.

Bushings and Isolators

Bushings are thick cylinders of rubber that surround a few of the crucial bolts in your suspension, most notably the control arm and steering component fixtures. Your vehicles suspension contains dozens of rubber bushings and isolators that keep road vibrations from transmitting through the metal components and into your spine. Soft rubber does the best job of isolating the driver, but bushings that are too soft will allow the suspension to squirm around instead of reacting in a controlled manner. Most racers do away with rubber bushings altogether and replace them with hard, polyurethane inserts.

Grommets and Plugs

Wires passing through the engine firewall, trunk wall or vehicle floor are typically surrounded with some sort of grommet where they pass through. The grommets keep sharp edges on the metal hole from cutting through the wires and causing a short. The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) technically prohibits any car from using rubber firewall grommets or plugs, as they can burn uncontrollably in the event of an engine fire. However, the rule is rarely enforced since almost all modern production cars use them.

Fluid Lines

Some portion of your cars fuel, cooling, transmission cooler and power steering systems use rubber lines. These rubber lines are generally less than 24 inches long, and allow the engine to rock under torquing forces. Most production cars also use a short length of rubber in the brake lines to allow for suspension movement; even the braided steel lines that racers use are rubber on the inside.

Weatherstripping

Many modern cars use rubber-based weatherstripping to seal the windows, doors and trunk-lid. However, manufacturers have begun moving away from rubber weatherstripping in favor of plastic, urethane or foam-based alternatives.