Car repairs!

[jim]

There is a website that escapes me that really does a good job explaining the basics of cars. howstuffworks maybe? I'd check that out if I was completely clueless about cars, I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination but I understand the basics so I can talk to a mechanic and know what he is talking about to some degree.

[Arthur Dent]

Just tell her cars these days are computerized and its pretty much impossible to work on them yourself (which is pretty much the truth).

It's the exact truth. When he told me the speedometer didn't work and the check engine light was on I immediately dismissed those two as being related. Impossible, there is a cable ..... Oh wait. No cable anymore, a freaking computerized sensor that probably registers a code and turns the check engine light on.

Scary thing, the mechanic told me that the new jeeps now have a sensor in the accelerator. Mine still has a cable. Now just happens to when THAT goes out?

Same thing that happens if your old-style distributor or timing belt fails: you lose power and have to pull over. I've actually had this happen in my car, and it wasn't that big a deal. I just pulled over. I was actually very close to work at the time and just idled my way in. The sensor costs much more than the cable, but there are significant advantages. Hybrid cars, for example, would be impossible with a throttle cable. The fact that some cars still have rotating cables from the transmission to the dash seems absurdly outmoded to me. Drive by wire steering or brakes are another story altogether.

The extent to which computerization means that you can't work on your car anymore is extremely overrated. The basic mechanics are essentially unchanged.

[jim]

Just tell her cars these days are computerized and its pretty much impossible to work on them yourself (which is pretty much the truth).

It's the exact truth. When he told me the speedometer didn't work and the check engine light was on I immediately dismissed those two as being related. Impossible, there is a cable ..... Oh wait. No cable anymore, a freaking computerized sensor that probably registers a code and turns the check engine light on.

Scary thing, the mechanic told me that the new jeeps now have a sensor in the accelerator. Mine still has a cable. Now just happens to when THAT goes out?

Same thing that happens if your old-style distributor or timing belt fails: you lose power and have to pull over. I've actually had this happen in my car, and it wasn't that big a deal. I just pulled over. I was actually very close to work at the time and just idled my way in. The sensor costs much more than the cable, but there are significant advantages. Hybrid cars, for example, would be impossible with a throttle cable. The fact that some cars still have rotating cables from the transmission to the dash seems absurdly outmoded to me. Drive by wire steering or brakes are another story altogether.

The extent to which computerization means that you can't work on your car anymore is extremely overrated. The basic mechanics are essentially unchanged.

Oh, but when your car starts acting like it's possessed, randomly revving and then stalling and then jerking about, just try finding some mechanical problem. What it just maybe is a $2 magnetic pickup sensor that tells the system where the camshaft is. When that little gizmo goes, the poor car just doesn't know what to do.

If it wasn't so scary it would have been funny the way the car was driving.

[cardinalkarp]

Whait is this "air intake" you speak of? I'd point to the window and proclaim it the best spot to install an air intake kit.

Assuming he put a cold air intake in, it basically lowers the temperature of the air going into the engine so it'll produce more power.

You are correct

[jim]

I would at least give myself a couple of hours of studying about cars to just have a basic idea. Here is a good start.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/engine.htm