I love the convenience of liquid car wax. Turtle Wax Ice wipes on creamy and smooth; dries to a dull haze then wipes off to a brilliant, shine.  Having completed a review of the best car waxes last year, I preferred the Turtle Wax Super Hard Shell over Mothers because it seemed to provider a thicker, hard shell just as the name implies. Of course, the other reason I loved the original Turtle Wax is for the dirt-cheap price. Because Turtle Wax Ice is nearly twice as expensive as the Super Hard Shell product, it better bet twice as good. The makers of Turtle Wax Ice proclaim that it is easy to wipe on yet provides a shine and protection that will last for many, many months.  That's a pretty bold claim, isn't it? I can

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Auto Assure is a specific brand of car assurance that works much like an extended auto warranty. The real difference with Auto Assure and other car assurance companies is that they will cover the repair bills on really old cars for up to 200,000 miles. I've looked at Extended Car warranties before, but only the kind that extend the manufacturers car warranty on cars that are still fairly new. Car assurance is a whole new ball game. I've never been much in favor of extended warranties of any kind, but a radio commercial for Auto Assure made me think twice. To explain, I'll talk about car assurance in general; then I will discuss the specific Auto Assurance brand and how it might benefit me using my own, old, old car as an example.

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I've bought a lot of inexpensive hand tools, parts and accessories from Harbor Freight, knowing that for the low price I didn't have much to lose. For the most part, the tools at Harbor Freight have held up pretty well.

 

Harbor Freight Tools are Not Made in Pittsburgh

Don't be fooled by the name, Pittsburgh. These tools are built in China, not America. Is that not a brilliant marketing ploy, using the name of a familiar, U.S steel city to make you think you're getting the kind of quality, old-fashioned tools your Grandfather used? Regardless, the Pittsburgh sockets and wrenches seem to be well made. The one exception is the 3/8" Torque Wrench which I never could get to work. I guess sometimes you really do get what you pay for. So on to the Harbor Freight floor jack, which is one of the more expensive tools I've purchased from this store.

 

Harbor Freight 1.5 Ton, Lightweight Floor Jack Specifics

This could be considered a small risk. The price, which is normally $89.00 was on sale for $59.00, so I took a chance and bought it. I don't have a lot of experience with floor jacks, but I've been very happy with this purchase so far. It is light-weight as advertised, but feels very solid. The wheels roll very nicely on my driveway and the aluminum handle, which is removable, screws in and out easily. Hydraulic floor jacks do use fluid, but leaking was not a problem. Well, how does it work for jacking up a car?

Can a Cheap Hydraulic Floor Jack Lift a BMW?

Harbor Freight 1.5 Ton Capacity Floor Jack

At 3750 pounds my BMW 540i, really tests the limit of the 1.5 weight capacity. I did seem to discover its weight limit one time while attempting to lift up the entire front end which is something I wouldn't do very often. For oil changes, it's best to use ramps and jack stands. Changing tires and lifting one side at a time is a breeze with the Harbor Freight Floor Jack.
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If you're been suckered or tempted to buy an engine or transmission from Engine and Transmission World,  you have my sincere sympathies. You and I are among dozens of people, nationwide, who have either lost a lot of money or spent countless, fearful hours of frustration and fear regretting the decision to place an order with this 'less-than-reputable' online reseller of engines and transmissions. In my case, Engine and Transmission World eventually did deliver the goods, but at the time-consuming expenses of a huge labor bill for a 2nd Install from my repair shop and the $395 cost of a 2-year warranty which looks dubious at best.

 

Problems with Engine and Transmission World

Right now, my BMW 540i is running fine after the first transmission was sent to my Arvada repair shop, Colorado Engine, dead-on-arrival. Three months later, I'm out about $3500. Only $1,745 of my total bill was paid for the actual Transmission; $395 of which was for a 2-Year extended warranty which I thought was the prudent thing to do. Obviously, any repair shop would charge labor for installation and diagnostics of the faulty transmission. Removing and installing  a transmission is a fairly labor intensive job. They aren't going to uninstall and re-install the 2nd one for free. To the credit of Engine and Transmission World, they did get the 2nd transmission shipped free, to Colorado Engine fairly promptly and it did work. However, there are two other problems: One: The warranty has still not been activated. Two: Their advertised mileage on Engines and Transmissions is fishy and that's putting it nicely. It appears to be an outright sham - as I will explain.

 
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mityvac 7400

If you've googled the term, engine oil extractor, you've probably discovered the Mityvac 7400. The Mityvac 7400 is the most often used and reviewed car engine oil extractor on the internet.  But the Mityvac 7400 is more than just an engine oil extractor. Read the rest of this entry