**Checking a Battery's Health**

Getting your battery checked is a simple thing that can tell you if it's good or not. It's a straightforward process that can save you from more complicated and expensive repairs down the line. If you're considering purchasing a used car, it's especially important to check the battery first. A dead battery can be a major issue, but it's often easily solvable by replacing the battery. On the other hand, if the problem persists, it could indicate a more serious issue with the car's electrical system.

**Lift Kits for Trucks**

If you're considering installing a lift kit on your truck, there are some things to keep in mind. A lift kit can be beneficial for off-road enthusiasts who want to improve their vehicle's clearance and maneuverability. However, it's essential to understand that lifting the transmission and drive train can cause problems with the suspension, steering, and drivetrain. If not installed correctly, a lift kit can lead to issues such as damaged drive shafts, snapped axles, and even loss of control while driving. Furthermore, trucks are already high off the ground, so lifting them further can increase their risk of flipping over or rolling over if cornered too quickly.

**Troubleshooting a 1986 Mercury X-4 Ti**

Nick Davis has a 1986 Mercury X-4 Ti with a Ford 2.3L turbo engine, but the turbo doesn't seem to be boosting properly. The issue lies in the waste gate, which is responsible for regulating the flow of exhaust gases to the turbocharger. If the waste gate breaks or becomes faulty, it can cause the turbo to malfunction and refuse to boost. To diagnose the problem, Davis needs to check all the hoses and vacuum lines to ensure they are properly connected. He also needs to spin the turbo by hand with the engine turned off to check if it's spinning freely. Additionally, he should use a scan tool to monitor the data from the oxygen sensor to determine if the issue is related to a faulty map sensor.

**The Impact of a Bad Map Sensor**

Anastasio explains that a bad map sensor can cause a car to jerk at high speeds and experience hard cranking. A map sensor is responsible for providing the engine's computer with the correct air/fuel mixture data, which is critical for maintaining optimal performance and fuel efficiency. If the map sensor becomes faulty, it can cause the engine to misfire, leading to reduced power and poor fuel economy. Fortunately, checking a map sensor is relatively easy using a scan tool. Davis should be able to determine if the problem lies with the map sensor by analyzing the data from the oxygen sensor at different speeds. If he finds that the reading remains consistent, it's likely that the map sensor is the culprit.

**Buying a 2010 VW Golf GTI**

895 is considering purchasing a 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTI with 72,000 miles and a six-speed manual transmission for $6,500. The car has been well-maintained by its previous owner, but it's essential to inspect the vehicle thoroughly before making a purchase. One of the main concerns is the automatic transmission, which has been known to be problematic in the past. However, if the engine is in good shape and the manual transmission has been well-maintained, the car could be a good buy. It's also worth noting that Volkswagens with high mileage may require more frequent repairs down the line, especially when it comes to issues like AC and electrical systems.

**Inspecting Spark Plugs**

Before buying any used car, it's crucial to inspect the spark plugs first. A mechanic should check the spark plugs to determine if they're worn out or damaged. If the spark plugs show signs of excessive wear or damage, it may indicate that the engine has been neglected and requires more maintenance in the future. In this case, it's best to avoid purchasing the car altogether. On the other hand, if the spark plugs are in good condition, it could be a sign that the engine has been well-maintained and is ready for use. By taking the time to inspect the spark plugs first, buyers can make an informed decision about whether or not to purchase a used vehicle.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines civilian dan says how do you change transmission fluid after a leak was fixed there's no dipstick to measure how much was lost that is a problem all cars these days most of them don't have dipsticks on their automatic transmission but they all have completely different procedures for checking the fluid you're best off paying a mechanic to do it because a lot of times it requires a fancy scan tool that can cost five grand you gotta warm them up drive them around and then check the level with your scan tool and then do some more tests add a little it is a royal pain in the butt i don't know why the idiots ever took the dipsticks out they were the simplest thing you would just fill them up drive them for 15 minutes till they're warmed up park them on a level surface check the fluid make sure it's at the max level once it's warmed up and that was it they're just butt heads changing it so you can't do a dipstick so you got to go back to them and they can rip you off with repairs that's what it comes but it is so complex and on most cars you need so many tools to do it pay a mechanic to do it i know a guy tried to do it himself he didn't get enough and he ruined the transmission in his toyota because he didn't have enough fluid he would have been better to pay a guy like me to do it correctly with all the equipment to make sure it's right because it's complicated and they're all different george darby says scotty what's your opinion on the ford lightning well i haven't seen one i've been in one i don't believe they sold them yet so i can't say it's an interesting idea an electric pickup truck who knows once they come out people start driving around we'll find out how they last do they really have any range when you tow most people get pickup trucks they're towing and carrying a lot of weight even a gasoline engine the gas mileage goes down the toilet that's why the big towers use diesel engines with electric vehicles it's even worse they really use up the energy when you're pulling a bunch of stuff so time will tell whether it's going to be fit with the public when they start selling then people actually start trying them up and like in canada will the heaters work in the winter when it's cold will they charge enough in the winter up there or will they discharge too much in really cold weather we won't know until they're out there and people are driving obi mohammad says scotty hope you're well i want to ask you what bmw your opinion is the best engine they've made straight six-cylinder engines for ages really well made the problem is all the electronics are high-tech everything's plastic on the rest of the car they're endless money pits as they age but their six cylinder engines are excellent engines there's nothing wrong i just came over one it was a 94 and it was a six cylinder convertible man it was a beautiful car still ran like a top they do make great straight six cylinder engine there's no arguing that but the rest of the vehicles are endless money pits the emanuel taylor says my 2010 ford fusion takes a really long time to ship from first to second gear and then a jerks heart is a transmission going on probably is they only last so long it is a ford fusion you know they had problems a lot of those things have a pro like me at least road test it with this fancy scan tool and pray that's a bad shift solenoid for the one to two shift it could be a bad shift solenoid and that could be replaced without having to rebuild the whole transmission and any good transmission mechanic can hook up a scan tool and he can watch it he can even force him to shift by pushing buttons on his machine to see if it's working do that first and pray could be a bad shift solenoid you never know rick pike says what's the best tool for removing an oil filter well it depends where the filter is now generally for me i bought it years ago at an auto zone a spring loaded oil filter removal that goes from this big to this bit the springs on the backside two kind of like c's on it and that grabs a filter when you take it off you stick the end of a ratchet extension in it so you can get to lots of different places now if there's room for that hey those are the absolute best but of course there's some of them are hidden all of some of them there's not any room for that but you can get a strap wrench that straps and slides up near the end and gets it the one i have i use for most cars but i've got about 10 different ones and then if you got one of those weird ones it's got like the octagonal shape on them and you got to take the whole canister off you got to buy the special cap that fits into that shape to get it off or it'll break well on kraut says what do you think of an old 80s el camino as a project car well they're interesting cars but there's one ginormous problem they're rust buckets now if you live in new mexico or arizona and you can find one with no rust go right ahead that's a gem but up north man those things just rot away grandson here had one the passenger side you could watch the road it was just all big hole you stuck a piece of wood plywood over it so people wouldn't drag their feet on it they are rust buckets make sure the frame isn't rot now if it is not rusted you can get v8 engines whatever you want automatic standard transmissions play with until your heart's contents they're fun to fool around with but don't get a rust bucket check that out first belty cat said should modern automatic transmissions be rebuilt or scrapped and replaced well unfortunately you don't have any choice because generally you can't buy new ones for most cars no one sells them your only choice is have a guy rebuild it or buy a rebuilt one you cannot buy new ones you know what he makes people don't know how to rebuild them or they do a sloppy job rebuilding them it is a quandary that's why you want to make sure you buy a car like a toyota or a honda it has really good ones that generally isn't going to break for a really long time you get a nissan one of their crappy jacko transmissions and it breaks down after you got the thing 60 70 000 miles you're going to wish you bought a honda or toyota really a quality automatic transmission these days because hardly off check the adjustments on the valves if they're really far off they need adjusting but unfortunately for those they don't have screws on them to adjust yeah take the engine apart you got to see how much the extra clearance was then write it all down for each one and then when you take the shim out you got to buy a shim that is that much thicker than the one that's in it you measure that one and let's say it's off by four thousandths of an inch you need one that's four thousand an inch thicker than that it's a real pain in the butt now if it is lift or tech but it runs okay i've seen people drive them hundred thousand miles that way with toyota corollas as long as they're still running down the road because you're gonna pay a small fortune getting the valves adjusted and it might take a really long time because a lot of those shims are not stock so you got the engine apart and you need 12 shims and they don't have them you got to order them could be weeks you'd be out of a car then too so you got to think about that off the line says morning scotty can a weak battery make your enhanced dad on a 2001 sunfire go nuts and display 40 codes it showed codes with parts i already placed any ideas well yes it can because you need a minimum amount of voltage for a computer system to work correctly and if it doesn't it can go absolutely haywire but of course it's never that simple if you have even one sensor that's bad it can feed back into the computer and then trip 39 other coats it can happen checking the battery is simple pray it's just that i hook up my machine it takes 30 seconds it'll tell you if the battery's good or not very simple thing get that tested first pray it's that because if it isn't it could be the main computer it can be wiring it could be any 30 40 different sensors it gets really complicated done prey it's just a bad battery isaac races scotty got a 2.3 liter two-wheel drive 2010 ranger 173 000 miles i want to put a lift kit but would be bad for the engine well not the engine per se it's the transmission and the rest of the drive the engine is still just sitting the transmission if you lift it then the drive shafts that are a different angle i've seen people lift them too much in the tail shaft of the transmission the end will snap right off because it's at such a high angle now because it was lifted so much that it just snaps off and you hit a big bump that's what you got to worry about plus they don't steer as well and of course trucks are high enough you lift them even higher they're really prone for flipping over and rolling over if your corner too fast it's not a smart thing to do unless you lived in the swamps of louisiana and you're only driving 15 20 miles an hour and you don't have to worry about flipping over lifting them isn't such a great idea that it's kind of bothering the engine much but man the transmission the drive train the suspension it'll wreck havoc nick davis says good day i got a 1986 mercure x4 ti with the ford 2.3 turbo who's in the mustang svl turbo doesn't boost no shaft player what could be wrong all right so the play's not going back and forth generally on those if the waste gate breaks then it always lets it waste and the turbo won't boost make sure all the hoses are connected all the vacuum lines are right and you got the turbo with the engine turned off spin it by hand to make sure it's not locked up the bearings eventually go bad it seizes up it won't spin it up but if it's spinning odds are your gate is stuck open or the control unit to it is opening it when it's not supposed to anastasio says can a bad map sensor cause the car to jerk at high speeds and also hard cranking it can but that's pretty easy to check you get any scan tool and even a forty dollar one will read math data and see what the data reads at idle and at higher speeds and if you see at higher speeds it's not going up like at idle if you've got like a 1.8 liter engine you should have about 1.8 grams per second flow at idle then when you go faster it goes up and up and up you have somebody else drive and you look at the data and the passenger seat on the scan tool if you see you're at higher speeds and it doesn't jump up and it stays low yeah then the map sensor is bad and you can easily replace it and use an oem one those aftermarket ones made chinese are crap don't waste your money trying to save money on those because they're any good fires 895 said should i buy a 2010 vw golf gti it's got 72 000 miles six speed manual for 6 500 bucks want my first manual car anybody that follows me you know i'm not a volkswagen fan the main reason that they crap out is horrible automatic transmissions that's a manual transmission volkswagen makes a very good manual transmission it's only got 72 000 miles on it it could be a good car if it was maintained i've seen volkswagens with that kind of mods were falling apart because people didn't change the oil enough the oil's been changed regularly mechanic checks it out and says it's in good shape and you really want to get that car as long as that engine's in good shape if you don't care about stuff like ac acs brake all the time at that age in a volkswagen gonna cost a fortune to repair if you don't care about ac what do you care you live in california where it's dry and stuff they are money pits a lot of stuff ac electrical systems but with a standard transmission it might be okay if a mechanic says it's in good shape now but haven't pulled out before spark plugs first look at them if the spark plugs show the engine's all worn out don't even think about buying it it's a simple test takes 10 minutes on that car and he can tell you hey look it's got oil all over the place it's all burned on the spark plugs don't buy it check that first so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that bell you\n"