How to Repair Your Car

Book excerpt: From Motorbooks, the leader in automotive publishing for over 4 decades, comes the most practical car care guide ever produced to help the average car owner maintain and repair his or her vehicle - How to Repair Your Car. In this easy-to-follow guide, author Paul Brand, a nationally known automotive expert, takes you through the steps of auto maintenance and repair—simple steps that could add years to a car’s life and save a driver thousands of dollars in repairs. This is also the only car maintenance and repair guide on the market to contain 50 do-it-yourself projects in full-color, step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow and understand. Focusing on post-1985 cars (with occasional explanations about earlier models), Brand introduces readers to the rudiments of automotive systems—from electrical, fuel, and cooling to drivetrain, suspension, tires, brakes, and exhaust—and discusses problems that arise in each system. The book includes practical advice for readers with only a passing knowledge of cars, as well as the basics of caring for a car’s exterior and interior. How to Repair Your Car is a must-have for any car owner who wants to extend the life of his or her car, learn how to perform car maintenance or repair instead of paying a mechanic, diagnose simple noises and knocks, as well as learn tips for knowing exactly what they're paying for when their car goes to the shop.