Slow coolant leak on your 2.0L Escape, Focus or Tribute? Most likely, your leak is coming from the thermostat housing, leaving a small puddle of radiator fluid under the engine on the driver's side. This thermostat housing is made of plastic and very common to crack, resulting in a coolant leak. Another common problem is due to an oil leak from the valve cover gasket. This oil leak makes it way down to the thermostat housing destroying the O-ring. When replacing the t-stat housing it would be best to switch from the original hose clamps to worm type hose clamps. The...

Electronic throttle bodies? Where’s the throttle cable? As you may already know, opening the hood in a modern car reveals systems a lot different than that of years past. As engine life has been extended and engine controls have become more complex, longer-life and higher-reliability electronic components are required. These advances in electronic components aid the power control module (PCM) to stay within the programed perimeters for the best performance and emission regulations. One of these components being the electronic throttle control (ETC) system often referred to as throttle-by-wire, fly-by-wire, drive-by-wire (DBW) or throttle actuator control (TAC). Using an array...

What does the EGR system do?  The function of the EGR system is to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOX) in exhaust emissions, reduces cylinder combustion temperatures, and helps prevent spark knock. The EGR system allows a predetermined amount of exhaust gas to recirculate and dilute the incoming air/fuel mixture to reduce peak temperatures during combustion. When is the EGR system needed? The amount of emissions NOX produced at low engine speeds is very small and is not needed at idle. It is also not needed during wide-open throttle driving, to achieve efficient acceleration. Recirculation is required during cruising and non-wide-open...

Well here is another part that is very common to fail with a bunch of different names to confuse you and us: 1. Front Differential Axle Disconnect Assembly (Most Normal People Call It This) 2. Intermediate Shaft Bearing Assembly (GM Dealers Call It This) 3. Splined Disconnect or Gear Pods In layman's terms, this part basically disconnects or disengages the front drive axle when the driver switches from 4WD to RWD or 2-Wheel Drive. There are two different versions of front differentials on these vehicles. One is called S4WD (Selectable 4-Wheel Drive) and A4WD (Automatic 4-Wheel Drive). The S4WD differential contains both...

Well, here is another part that is very common to fail with a bunch of different names to confuse you and us: 1. Front Differential Axle Disconnect Assembly (Most Normal People Call It This) 2. Intermediate Shaft Bearing Assembly (GM Dealers Call It This) 3. Splined Disconnect or Gear Pods In layman's terms, this part basically disconnects or disengages the front drive axle when the driver switches from 4WD to RWD or 2-Wheel Drive. There are two different versions of front differentials on these vehicles. One is called S4WD (Selectable 4-Wheel Drive) and A4WD (Automatic 4-Wheel Drive). The S4WD differential contains...