Just like a good tailgate party, your engine requires three basic things to get cooking, fuel, oxygen and heat. In your engine — hold the bratwurst — oxygen is delivered by the intake, heat by spark or compression, and fuel by the fuel pump. Before fuel gets to the cylinder, though, it passes through tubes and fuel filters, maybe one or two fuel pumps, and finally to the fuel injectors. If you’re having trouble starting your engine, a failure in any one of these areas could be the culprit, but can a fuel filter stop a car from starting? Can a Fuel Filter Stop a Car From Starting? Absolutely! Unlike your car’s electrical system, which is a parallel system, the fuel system is a serial system.

Many of the tools needed to change brakes are probably sitting in your toolbox or garage already. If not, purchasing these tools is something of an investment since most can be used for a multitude of other tasks. Here are the tools needed to change brakes. Start With the Right Protection Before you start any project on your car, make sure that you are properly protected. You should have a pair of mechanic’s gloves to protect your hands, protective eyewear and a dust mask so you don’t breathe in brake dust. Brake Pads and Rotors Before you get started, make sure you have the right replacement parts on hand for the job. This includes brake pads, rotors if they’re being replaced and even brake

Valve stem seals control the lubrication of the valve stem as it slides in the valve guide. Too little oil causes stem and guide wear. Too much oil increases oil consumption and can cause a buildup of carbon, leading to valve seat damage and an early valve grind. Faulty valve stem seals increase oil consumption. Increasingly stringent emissions regulations make it imperative that oil not enter the combustion chamber. These regulations, combined with today’s engines running hotter and valves opening and closing as often as 100,000 times an hour, make it necessary for valve stem seals to be made of the highest quality materials and latest technology to ensure a long-lasting seal. This has lead

There are so many parts, practices and procedures in car maintenance, it’s hard to keep track of them all. So don’t feel bad if you’re asking yourself: “What is an oil flush?” An oil flush is a liquid that breaks up harmful deposits in your engine so that they’ll drain out when you change the oil. Are They Necessary? Yes, but not for every car. An engine oil flush is a quick way to clear out years, maybe even decades of accumulated gunk from an engine. By that very definition, you can tell we’re not talking about somebody’s well-maintained baby, but more likely a neglected or possibly even a stored car over a long period of time. How Does It Work? A well-formulated oil flush will have the

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS team raced inside the top five for much of Sunday’s 500-lap race and led a total of 49 laps en route to a second-place finish at Martinsville Speedway. Elliott and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team took the green flag in the seventh position on Sunday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway. The 23-year-old driver wasted no time moving forward as he jumped to third on Lap 12. Halfway through Stage 1, the first caution of the race brought Elliott to pit road. Quick work by the NAPA team advanced Elliott to second for the ensuing restart. With 20 laps remaining in Stage 1, Elliott continued to run second as he battled to take the lead. He ultimately ended the stag

When finishing a trip, you place the transmission in park, turn off the ignition and take your keys with you before exiting the vehicle. But there is another step you should include: engage the parking brake. The parking brake supplies an extra measure of insurance when your vehicle is stopped. We’ll answer, “how does the parking brake work?” and explain the potential consequences of not using one. The Purpose of a Parking Brake A parking brake is sometimes known as an emergency brake and is typically designed as a hand- or foot-controlled lever in most vehicles. In some modern vehicles, the parking brake is switch operated and may automatically engage when the transmission is in park. Regar

Tire balance and wheel alignment are often micro adjustments with macro consequences. Beyond being a part of routine tire maintenance, keeping everything rolling smoothly affects steering, suspension and ride feel. So it’s worth learning about and keeping an eye out for when things might be out of whack. Rough and Tumble A wheel alignment and tire balancing often go hand in hand, but they are not the same thing. An alignment deals with all of the tires on the vehicle, specifically their angles and their relationship to one another. Tire balancing, however, is done on each individual tire. Both alignment and balancing need to be redone every now and then as conditions change: tires wear, susp

Here’s a question: How many miles can an oil filter last? You’ll probably get some amazing answers to that question, especially on the internet where there’s bound to be some guy who’s on his vehicle’s original oil filter at 100,000-plus miles. But the real answer is how often should you change an oil filter? An oil filter isn’t something you use until it gives out. So resist the urge to put the question “How many miles can an oil filter last?” to the test. That is, unless you want big engine trouble and big repair bills. What Could Go Wrong? Oil filters trap dirt, sludge, metal particles and other impurities in your motor oil. That’s to keep the oil as clean and pure as possible, which allo

Every year, Americans put over 3 trillion miles behind them, enough to drive to Voyager 2 and back almost 300 times. At all hours of the day, short trips and long trips, across town or across the country, drowsy driving is a serious problem. A recent American Automobile Association study calculates nearly 10 percent of car crashes are related to drowsy driving. Considering driving long distances can be mind-bendingly dull, driving while tired can make it difficult to stay awake. Some of the signs of drowsiness are obvious, such as yawning, frequent blinking, difficulty focusing, or drifting or swaying. Other signs aren’t so obvious because sleep isn’t an on/off switch, but more of a spectrum

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS team finished 11th in Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway. Elliott and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team took the green flag from the eighth position. The driver of the No. 9 was shuffled outside the top 15 after being stuck in the unfavorable inside lane in the opening laps. After Elliott radioed to his NAPA team that the grip close to the wall wasn’t as good as during Saturday’s practice sessions, the team elected to make a scheduled green-flag pit stop for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. When Elliott returned to the track, he was running 17th with a much-improved NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. He moved his wa

A great lawn doesn’t just happen; it requires the right preparation at the right time. Whether your lawn was great last year or it needs a little help, right now is the time to prepare your lawn for a summer showing. A great lawn doesn’t only look good, but according to The Lawn Institute, it also controls erosion, protects groundwater, moderates neighborhood temperatures and improves local air quality. Of course, who doesn’t love roaming barefoot on the grass in the summer? If you prepare your lawn right now, using these five steps to a great lawn, you can enjoy the benefits all year long. Gather Your Equipment In the spring, even before the snow melts, start getting your equipment in order

What happen when a spin-on filter is removed from service and upon inspection it is noted that the filter has collapsed in on itself. Why? What has caused this condition? What causes oil filter collapse? It Isn’t What You Think The first thought might be that the filter has some type of manufacturing defect that has caused this problem. This is usually not the case. Lubrication systems are equipped with a bypass valve that is present in either the system or within the system’s oil filter. This bypass valve is not to be confused with the pressure regulating valve that controls system oil pressure. The pressure regulating valve opens to redirect oil flow back to the sump when system pressure b

If you’re a vehicle owner who knows the dangers associated with lead-based car batteries, you’ve probably asked the question, “How are car batteries recycled?” Recycling these batteries is essential. The average lead-acid car battery contains as much as 20 pounds of lead. If not properly disposed of, this metal can cause toxicity that can be harmful to both humans and the environment. Below, we’ll take a look at what happens to car batteries during the recycling process. Battery Recycling: Step by Step Battery drop-off. The recycling process starts with battery drop-off. You’ll need to take the car battery to a recycling facility, or you can drop it off at an auto parts store.car a Battery b

Do headlights dim over time? It’s a question you may have asked yourself one evening while traveling along a darker-than-usual back road in your vehicle, not entirely convinced that your headlights are giving it their all in terms of illuminating the path ahead. The answer is “yes,” but it’s not always easy to tell just how far gone your own lights are due to how gradual the process can be. What’s more, the reasons headlights get dimmer are varied, with different solutions available to try and rectify the problem. Let’s take a look at dimming headlights and what you can do to get back to having bright lights. Old Bulbs, Bad Bulbs Although LED and HID headlights are becoming more common, the

Your vehicle’s cooling system is tasked with keeping your engine from overheating. It consists of several parts, including a radiator, water pump, thermostat, heater fan, heater core and radiator hoses. When a radiator hose fails, the cooling system eventually shuts down. The signs of a bad radiator hose are easy to detect, once you lift the hood and search for the problem. Top Signs of a Bad Radiator Hose 1. One or More Broken or Separated Hoses A working radiator hose should be firm to the touch and fixed to each clamp. A hose may soon break if you notice swelling, cracks, holes or leaks. Also, a hose may be in fine condition, but it may have separated from its fitting or a clamp may have

Part of what can make going abroad feel so foreign is showing up in an otherwise familiar scene — a street lined with trees and dotted with cafés, grocery stores and banks — and realizing there’s something a little funny with the traffic. You notice it most when you’re trying to cross the street and almost get mowed down: The cars are driving in the opposite direction. What is the history of right-hand vs. left-hand driving, and why do different parts of the world drive on different sides of the road? History, Horse-story The answer goes way back to before cars existed. When people first started building and using long-distance roads in Europe, they were traveling them primarily by horseback

Hailie Deegan made a dramatic last-lap pass to capture the lead in order to win the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track on Thursday night. The 17-year-old from Temecula, California finished second in last year’s event and she was determined not to settle for the runner-up spot this time. “For some reason, in the back of my mind I knew it was going to come down to the last lap again,” said Deegan, who is in her second season driving the Bill McAnally Racing No. 19 Monster Energy / NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry. Deegan, tagged early in her off-road racing career as “the Dirt Princess,” charged hard in chasing down race leader Jagger Jones in t

How do windshield wipers work to keep the glass in front of you clean when you’re dealing with more than just heavy rainfall? Wipers are designed to take care of more than just water — they are also intended to swipe, slip and slosh almost anything that might be obscuring your vision. Snow and Ice If you live where the winters are cold and harsh, then you know just how important it is to have a set of windshield wipers that can maintain visibility in even the deepest of blizzards. How do windshield wipers work when the temperature drops below the freezing point? The key is to use rubber compounds that remain flexible even when everything else around them is stiffening up from the extreme con

Catalytic converters live toward the end of your exhaust system just before the tailpipe (usually). They take harmful gasses that are the result of the combustion process and turn them into less harmful gasses via chemical reactions before releasing them into the atmosphere. But a bad catalytic converter causes more trouble than just increased emissions — it will affect performance, sometimes to the point of a no-start condition. While they are usually dependable parts with long lifespans, they are not infallible, and knowing different diagnostic procedures can help you get to the bottom of things. Under (Back) Pressure Common signs of failure include a loss of power, both at idle and upon a

Chase Elliott finished ninth in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In addition to the final result, Elliott and the Hooters team also collected stage points in the opening two stages to turn in the team’s best performance thus far in 2019. Elliott and the No. 9 Hooters team took the green flag in 12th on Sunday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The fourth-year driver was able to gain positions early in the race before settling into sixth place. The driver of the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pitted along with the majority of the field during a scheduled green-flag stop on Lap 41. For most of Stage 1, Elliott battled inside the top 15. With just four laps t