Front Disc Brakes and How to Replace Them

Well I've been out for a bit but I'm back with yet another video in the EricTheCarGuy series. This one was requested by more than one of my followers and with good reason. Disc brakes and their replacement are one of the things that will come up in the life of every car. In the case of the car that I worked on the brake pads were not necessarily worn out but it had a brake pulsation that warranted the replacement of the brake rotors, I replaced the pads at the request of the customer and at my recommendation. When you replace rotors it's always a good idea to start with new pads. The old pads after they have been on the car for a while tend to wear into the rotors that they worked with over time, putting new rotors on without changing the pads means that the pads will not have the same contact area that they did with their old rotors. Bottom line, new or machined rotors=new pads.

The tool that I used in this video is easy to make, all it requires is an old soft drink bottle with a hole drilled in the cap. Then take some aquarium tubing or some plastic tubing that you may find at a hardware store and insert it into the opening of the bottle. The tubing that I used was not of a diameter that could go directly onto a bleeder valve so I used a small piece of vacuum line at the tip to attach to bleeder valves. Over time the tubing may get hard or brittle, I keep a little fluid in the bottom of the bottle for weight but it also seems to prevent the tubing from hardening if it stays submerged in brake fluid. This same tool can be used to bleed brakes to keep from making a mess but I've also found it helpful if you don't have a friend to help bleed, you won't suck air back into the system because the end of the tube is submerged in fluid.

I think I may do another video just on removing rotors. I got lucky on this job, the rotors just fell off. This is not usually the case mind you, normally you have to beat on them for some time before they finally come off. I have special magic to apply in these situations that I will share with you at a later date.

I'm also going to cover rear disc brake rotor and pad replacement. These can be tricky because of all the different ways you can compress the caliper piston. Look for that sometime in the future.

I can't think of much else I can impart here. Good luck.

Visit me at EricTheCarGuy.com

See the video

Stay Dirty

ETCG

1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Steering Repair

This is one of those videos that I did because the repair fell into my lap. I had some help from Jason Matherson the owner of this jeep with the camera on this one, thanks Jason. Well I think the video speaks for itself on this one, loose steering, loose parts, replace them and get an alignment, pretty straight forward in the end. A few exceptions however, during the repair I ran into a couple of snags. First, everything was rusted together as expected and I had to break out the "big red wrench" (torches for those of you not familiar with the term) to get things apart. Next I had trouble installing one of the new tie rods because I did not lube the heck out of it with oil before I installed it. I almost ran out of gas when taking the second end loose and barley got this job done. In the end after a bit of sweat and tears I won the day and Jason drove away happy. He got an alignment the next day and says it drives like a new car. He is looking to get another set of tires now that things are all tight and straight, and I have lived to fight another day.

On a side note I'm working on a deal to get some t-shirts made so look for this in the not too distant future.

Hope you enjoy the video.

See the video

Visit me at EricTheCarGuy.com

Stay dirty

ETCG

No Start Diagnostics

Here is a video I've been meaning to do for a while. I've had a lot of questions about no start diagnosis where people want me to give them the "magic bullet" to fix what is wrong with their car. Do I replace the computer? distributor? fuel pump? etc. So I decided to make this video of the basic steps of diagnosing and fixing a no start condition. The best advice I can give is to keep it simple, so often I see technicians go down the path of a complicated diagnosis only to find that the car was out of gas. The most important thing you can do when diagnosing a no start condition is to keep things simple, follow logical steps and make solid conclusions based on the facts you observe during your testing. Look for spark, fuel, and assess the mechanical condition of the engine before you condemn the computer or some other electronic part that you may not understand fully, it's still an internal combustion engine and they all work pretty much the same and need the same basic components to run, fuel, spark, and mechanical integrity.

With that said I hope this video is helpful in keeping you on the path to an accurate and successful diagnosis and repair.

See the video

Visit me at EricTheCarGuy.com

Stay dirty

ETCG

Questions Answered #1

This long video is a response to a group of questions posed by a new subscriber, Nobelheight. He had several questions that were all over the place and instead of trying to answer all of them separately I decided to make a little video so that all could see the answers I gave. The questions were everything from a fluctuating idle on Hondas, different color antifreeze, the shielding under cars and why it is there, and lastly one on using bolts instead of studs to fasten a wheel.

I wish I had some feedback from him on whether or not the video helped but I have yet to hear from him. I hope you can benefit from the answers casual viewer.

Watch the video

Visit me

Stay Dirty

ETCG

Drum Brakes

I'm going to combine 2 videos into this one. In this installment I go over the basics of drum brake operation. This video is like a baby version of the original video that was designed to cover the replacement of brake shoes on your average car. There are many different styles of drum brakes but for the most part they have a lot of similarities. I think what will happen is that I will combine this repair with a couple more vehicles for the finished video so that I can cover some of the issues that may arise while performing this repair. I want the end viewer to be able to watch my video and go out to their garage and replace their drum brakes with confidence, if I do that, I've done my job.

The second video "Drum Brakes, when to Discard" is a response to a question posed by my friend and video artist Readymade777 who wanted to know at what point did drums or rotors get replaced. I thought of just doing a text response but the car that I worked on needed new drums because the rivets from the shoes had scored the inside of them so badly they required replacement. When you get a gift like that I think you just have to go with it so I made the "Quick Tip" video to respond to the question.

EricTheCarGuy started at the end of January 2009 and has grown steadily ever since. It has allowed me to become the "teacher" that I thought I would become at the end of my automotive career. For some reason since I started this professionally I knew in the back of my mind that things would go this way, I just didn't think it would happen this soon. I'm glad your watching and I hope your getting something from what I've created.

See the video

See the video response

Readymade777

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ETCG

AC System Basics

In this video I cover the basic components of the AC system. It is a very brief overview of the components of the basic automotive AC system. I try not to get too technical in this one, I still feel burned by the O2 sensor video that I posted. I did however feel I covered the basic components and what they do to keep you cool. I think I will be posting future videos on the subject if this one gets some response.

See the video

Visit me at EricTheCarGuy.com

Stay dirty

ETCG

Throttle Cleaning and V6 Access

These videos were a part of my series "Quick Tips". I shot them both on the same day and posted them together. The Throttle Cleaning video was a video dedicated to BowlingBallOut who posted a question about a sticking throttle on his Saturn. He was so pleased with the result he sent me my first video response. I was happy to help with his car and possibly getting into his wife's "good graces". Chalk that one up for another person helped by EricTheCarGuy.

The second video, V6 Access is about getting just a little bit more room when your working on a transversely mounted V6. I think it will be helpful to those who are looking to swap out spark plugs or in my case replacing a hose to the heater core. I hope I save some scraped forearms here.

See the videos

Throttle Cleaning

V6 Access

As always visit me at EricTheCarGuy.com

Stay dirty

ETCG

O2 Sensor Basics

I have fallen behind on these posts lately, sorry. I posted this video last week as a video response to the check engine light video that seems to be my most popular video. I did some cool custom graphics for you on this, made em from scratch I did, took me a whole day. Thing is this video seems to have fallen on it's face. I thought I covered the material well but perhaps I went a bit too fast with my voice over and lost some people. It's funny how you can put so much effort into one video and not get any response back, while the video that I just threw together to get something up gets all the attention. Well at the end of the day it is all market research for me because one day soon you will have to purchase the good information. I will still be posting free FYI videos but if you want the nitty gritty you will have to pony up some green to get such useful information. At this point I think the more I do the better, I think I'm still figuring out my audience and they're still figuring me out. So for now I will just keep making videos and see what sticks.

See the video

EricTheCarGuy.com

Stay dirty

ETCG

Checking fuel Pressure, the quick way

Here is a video that I posted as a response to the Honda main relay video. I had a lot of questions on that video about main relays so I decided to do some clarification. I tried to stress in the original main relay video that if you don't have fuel pressure to look to the main relay as a possible cause, I think this video does a better job of covering that instance. I must stress however that this is a quick check and should be performed with a great deal of caution as gasoline is very flammable and should be kept away from any ignition source. If not you may have more than a no start condition to deal with if you are not cautious.

I've had some great questions posted to this video that I hope to cover in future episodes such as, old gas, sticky throttle, and a dirty fuel system. I like questions, it makes it easier for me to cover topics that you have an interest in so keep them coming.

See the video

Visit me at EricTheCarGuy.com

BE SAFE, have fun and stay dirty.

ETCG

Test Drive

Test Drive is a new play list that I created for the ETCG YouTube Page. I took some of the old videos that I posted on my ICK69 channel and re-edited them for ETCG. These were videos I did of cars that I thought were cool, or cars that I had to drive for my old job. I hope these videos will be entertaining and give you some food for thought. Watch the whole play list if you get the chance.

The design of the opening sequence was contributed by Cputub1, a friend of mine on YouTube. I added the motion graphics and the rest is history.

I hope you enjoy these, they were fun to make.

See the videos

9Second Mustang

1998Acura Integra Type R Supercharged

1957Chevy

2009Acura RL

2009Acura TSX

Acura NSXT

The Galaxie

Visit me at

EricTheCarGuy.com

Be safe, and stay dirty

ETCG

New Website

Well the time has finally come and the new EricTheCarGuy website is up and running. I'm proud of what has been accomplished here, ETCG was just an idea 6 months ago and now it is a full fledged reality. The future for ETCG is to make the full length versions of the videos available in the next couple of months on the "Fix It" page. Those of you wishing to get the latest updates on the availability of those videos as well as see the occasional ETCG news letter are more than welcome to sign up on the "Fix It" page.

I've also started a series of videos called "Quick Tips" that cover quick how-to topics on auto repair and maintenance. As the title implies these are just little facts to file away in the back of your skull for future reference.

Well I'm off to do more work, I hope you enjoy the new site. If you have any questions or comments you can send them to me at Eric@EricTheCarGuy.com.

Special thanks to Matt Snedaker for his help with the functionality of the movie player and the sign up section.

See the site.

Stay Dirty

ETCG

Honda No Start? Possible Main Relay

Well it has been some time since I posted a video or blog, did you miss me? Well you don't have to be mean about it. Well this latest video is about fixing a Honda/Acura no start condition created by a lack of fuel pressure. The most common cause of this I've found to be the Main Relay located under the drivers side dash. Once you get it out it may be a matter of soldering a poor connection on the circuit board, if this is the case you will be able to perform the repair for $0, yes you read that correctly. I hope this helps you get where you are going, if it did, remember me fondly and buy my videos. Speaking of...

This brings me to the reason that I have not posted in a while, I've been working on the new ETGC website. I have the overall "look" of the site created, I only need to make a few things work like they should and we will be ready for launch. I've had a heck of a time learning the language of the web but thankfully I know someone who does that sort of thing that needs some work done on his car, this will save loads of time and hopefully mean that the site will be up and running in the next week. You really want to see it, I made it very pretty to look at. There is also a page where you will be able to sign up to purchase new full length ETGC videos that will be on the market in the very near future if things go as planned. If you think you saved money with this video wait till you see what is on the horizon, I'm not kidding.

For now look at the lame site that is about to be extinct.

EricTheCarGuy.com

See the video

Till next time

Be safe
Have fun
Stay dirty

ETCG

Episode 9, Octane Ratings and the 4 Stroke Engine Cycle

I know it has been some time since my last post but here we are to talk of octane and compression. As the video states I was having a conversation with someone the other week and the subject of what grade of gas should they put in their car came up. I thought the subject would make a great ETCG video and here we are.

I wanted to take a different approach to this one than the traditional videos I have been making up to this point and use more voice over as well as some animation. The animation was courtesy Ford Motor Company by the way, thanks guys. I have been noticing a trend in my videos of late becoming somewhat long-winded for YouTube purposes and was hoping to find a way to make them more efficient in getting the information across. The next step for me is to actually script these before I shoot and I think I can get even more from them. Keep watching.

I know I am getting less frequent with my video postings of late but the reason for that is because I'm teaching myself some new software that will enable me to create a new website for ETCG. Look for that in July, perhaps sooner. Also on the new website I will be making longer more in depth repair videos available for purchase as well as some other interactive parts to the site. I have a lot of footage that I have yet to edit. As I said, keep your eyes out for that sometime in July.

Well that about wraps things up for this blog. As always if you have any questions or comments you can visit me at EricTheCarGuy.com.

See the video

Be Safe and Stay Dirty.

ETCG

Episode 8, Precious Automotive Fluids and How To Check Them

Back again after a little hiatus to bring yet another episode to you. I've been busy with work some of it was filmed for future videos and the rest was just making a living. I hope I was missed. It won't be that long before the next installment. It will cover octane ratings and why they are important as well as a little background on the 4 stroke cycle, look for it in the next week or so.

Lets talk about this video for now. I got the idea when archiving some of the movies in my collection one of which was "Dr. Strangelove". I thought the tie in with the movie and checking automotive fluids was too much to pass up. I've had some ideas on how to make the production of these videos go a little smoother. I find with the current methods that things can get lost and critical details missed, I'm not here to make unclear videos, I wish to educate so being accurate is very important to me. Perhaps a script would be useful, up to this point I haven't used them, the future will be a little different. I've shot some of the latest videos with this in mind so you will be seeing a change in the style in the next few videos. If I don't understand or want to watch the video how can I expect you to stay interested? Look for those starting with the next video.

I've also recently obtained some new software that will allow me to make the EricTheCarGuy website a little more dynamic. Up to this point I've just used the website tools that come with my hosting service which is adequate but not what I had envisioned. Look for changes to the site in the next couple of months. I will also be incorporating a page for the videos I plan to sell as downloads and DVD's. I'm hoping to have this off the ground by the end of the summer. From there I have other plans that I won't go into just yet, lets just say, "stay tuned".

As always you can visit the EricTheCarGuy site for the latest videos and post questions or request service via e-mail.

See the Video

Till then, be safe and stay dirty.

ETCG

Episode 7, How To Jump Start A Car

I'm happy to report that this one was a request from Jennifer Shannon. As you may know I have been trying to get viewers to submit their car questions for me to answer. I can keep going on my own and doing what I do but it's always nice to answer a question that someone has instead of me just doing whatever. I've also had a request for brakes that I hope to get to soon. I think with that I will just cover one type at a time like doing a video on disc brakes and one on drum brakes. Lets face it, it will be some time before I run out of topics.

I'm thinking of having a contest to get viewers to submit car questions. I would also like to use it as an opportunity to gain more viewers and subscribers. I haven't figured that one out yet, perhaps I will require that people submit a video response to one of my videos as their entry that way their viewers will learn about my channel. If you have any ideas on this I'm open to suggestion.

I was happy with the way this video went from start to finish. This is the way I like them short, clear, and accurate. I wish they all went this well. Keep in mind that I am still shooting videos that will be available for sale from the EricTheCarGuy.com website as downloads or DVD's. Remember that I am always thinking of you (the audience) and what you might find useful from all the crap in my head.

It may be a couple of weeks before the next video, I have a lot of work lined up for the next few weeks and I might not get the chance to post something new. I hope I am missed.

See the video.

Till next time, be safe and stay dirty.

ETCG

Episode 6, Tire Basics

Well I guess it is about time I got this posted, I've had it for more than a week. The thing about these videos is that whenever I shoot them and start to edit I think of 12 other things that I should have covered. I guess I can take the point of view that I will have plenty of work to do in the future, I suppose that is a good thing for me and you casual reader.

Yes, tire basics, as I said in the video the most important thing on your car or truck. If you are going to spend extra money, or any money on your vehicle for that matter, tires will give you the best return by far. A good set of tires can make event the scrappiest of "hoopties" drive like a new Cadillac. Of course there are other things that make your ride what it is but all of the other stuff comes down to where the "rubber meets the road".

I think I might make kind of an amendment to this one covering the importance of alignments, tire rotation and tire pressure and how they affect tire wear and fuel economy. I also was not as happy with how I covered the meaning of the numbers on the sidewall, I'm thinking more of an interactive type of thing that illustrates the meanings better. I might end up with some kind of cool animation or something. I'm still happy with it don't get me wrong but I'm rarely completely satisfied. Perhaps you might have some suggestions on topics that you want covered. I might run a contest for the best car question but I'm not sure what I would give away.

Here is the link that I used to get the majority of the information for the video. TireRack is one of the best places to get tires on the Internet in my opinion by the way. They have a tremendous resource for this kind of information as well, I recommend you check them out if you get the time.

I'm not sure what the future holds at the moment because I have a lot of "heavy" work scheduled for the next couple of weeks that is too advanced for what I want to cover at this point. These are things that will show up in the future on DVD such as a transmission replacement on a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as rear main seal and headlight replacement. I also might have a GM 2.4 head gasket and timing chain for you. Thing is that I don't cover these topics with the posted videos I'm saving them for DVD where I can take my time and give you all the dirty details.

See the video.

As always visit me at EricTheCarGuy.com for the latest.

Stay safe and stay dirty.

New Opening Intro

I know kind of lame to do a blog about an opening intro but I'm doing it anyway. It is my blog after all. I did some tweaking to the opening, I still want to do more but I will let this one go for a bit before I do. I have really been getting into doing sequences these days. They may only last a few seconds but they sure do take some time to make. Like I said I like doing this kind of thing, it can be a bit more challenging and interesting than your standard video edit.

I have already edited the video I did on tires. I hope to have it posted before the end of the day. I'm in the best place with this right now because I have a lot of video shot and ready to edit on many subjects. I'm hoping by the end of the summer to have the "basics" covered so that I can move on to more advanced subject matter.

Short blog for a short video. Thanks for reading. Keep up on the latest at EricTheCarGuy.com.

See the video here.

Stay dirty.

ETCG

Episode 5 A and B, Oil Change Basics

This turned out to be a little longer than expected. I didn't realize that there was so much to changing your oil. I've been doing it for years and I never really thought twice about it until I did this video. I have to give a shout out to my friend Scott Armstrong from Armstrong Automotive for letting me use his shop for this one. I needed to change the tires on my wife's van and he was kind enough to let me come over and shoot some video as well as helping me out with my tires. His contact info is at the beginning of the first video.

I won't make this blog too long, I think the video about covered it. As always if you have questions just look me up at EricTheCarGuy.com. I have a tire video in the works also and I'm almost finished with my Honda V6 timing belt and water pump replacement video. Expect to be able to purchase that one by the end of March 2009 or early April from the EricTheCarGuy website, I need to work out some of the logistics more than anything.

Stay dirty

See Part One here

See Part Two here

ETCG

Episode 4, Check Engine Light Basics

I know I'm late in getting this one up but as they say better late than never. If I'm honest I don't consider this my best video. There are the technical issues for sure bur more importantly I don't think I was able to convey the information as well as I would like. There can be quite a bit to a check engine light diagnosis and I don't think I can cover all of those possibilities in just one video. We can take this one as a trial run and I will post something more concise in the future. Speaking of the future I have a couple of videos on tap for the very near future that I hope will interest you. One is on Oil Change Basics and the other is on Tire Basics. I'm shooting them at the end of the week and hope to have them edited by the beginning of the following week.

Yesterday I shot one of the first videos that will be available on DVD in the future, Honda V6 Timing Belt and Water Pump Replacement. I got some great footage and know this will be helpful to anyone attempting that service for the first time. This is a bolt by bolt how to video that I know will benefit anyone who watches it. I've also put a few things in there like how to break a crank bolt loose without using special tools. Look for it on sale at the EricTheCarGuy website in the not so distant future.

I also have some other footage that I have shot of other repairs that will not appear on YouTube or on the website. These videos will also be made available on DVD starting mid summer.

I have also added a service link to the website for those in the Cincinnati area looking for automotive service from EricTheCarGuy. I may use your repair on the show. Just click on the Service link at the top of the home page for contact information.

See the video

Stay dirty, and I will see you next time

ETCG

Episode 3, Free Money!!!

Who doesn't want free money? I know I could use some. Well the premise behind this episode is to do just that, get you some money that you didn't know you had. That money can be found in the owners manual of your car. You read it correctly. So many of the questions that I have encountered over the years could have easily been answered by referencing the owners manual. I can't say that you are completely at fault because I myself have been guilty of this very thing, in fact in my last episode (Changing a Tire Using The Tools in Your Car) I incorrectly used the tools and jack to lift the car I changed the tire on. Had I read the owners manual for the car I would have known how to correctly use the jack and its tools.

So in this episode I go over the finer points of reading your owners manual and its benefits. One of those benefits is knowing what your maintenance intervals are and what is done during those intervals. This can save you quite a bit of money when you get your car serviced ensuring that you get the correct service at the correct time. You know you could always send me your extra cash...

I won't hold my breath. Until next time, be well.

See the video.

As always you can visit me and stay up to date at EricTheCarGuy.com

ETCG

How To Change A Tire With The Tools In Your Car

I'm in the process of uploading the latest episode of EricTheCarGuy entitled "How To Change a Flat Using The Tools In Your Car". It is as the title states a step by step overview of changing a flat. I realize that this may be beneath many of you however I have done my best to show some tips that I think will be helpful to viewers of all skill levels. Some of the tips however did not make the final cut because YouTube will only allow videos up to 10:00min in duration. No worries because I plan to compile this tip among others at a later date on a DVD that I plan to make.

I took the time to phone the Ohio State Patrol to see if they had anything to add to keep drivers safe should they ever encounter anything like this. Their recommendations were as follows:

First, do whatever possible to get off the road or highway to a safe area. Second, if you have no choice but to perform this on the side of the road, pull over to the right side of the road not the left. Other drivers will not be expecting a disabled vehicle on the left side of the road. The other item of note is to make yourself as visible as possible to other drivers by turning your 4 ways on and setting up flares or reflectors to help ensure your safety.

For the rest, see the video. It is posted on YouTube and EricTheCarGuy.com.

ETCG Episode 1, Creds

Time for the second blog already. I just posted the first episode of ETCG on YouTube. Nothing too exciting on this one, just a list of my credentials and a brief overview of shows to come. It was quite cold that day, ice stalagmites growing up from the floor from the broken dripping pipes on the celling.

I'm hoping that questions are submitted that I can use on the show in the future, so start asking. I have some ideas that will keep me busy for some time but it is always nice to have an interaction with the audience. In the future that is exactly what I hope for 2 way street of Q&A.

I've watched other how-to videos and I don't think they have the same approach as me. I'm going for something a bit more engaging and dynamic than just reciting facts. I think this shows in my intro witch I "tweaked" a little for this first episode, I hope you liked it.

Well that's all for this blog. In future installments I'll have more detailed blogs to go with them. I'm shooting footage for the next show on Thursday Feb 5, this one will be "How to Change a Tire Using the Tools in Your Car". I'll see you then.

See the video.

ETCG

EricTheCarGuy blog 1

Well this is the first installment of EricTheCarGuy the blog, welcome. This blog is part of the launch of EricTheCarGuy that will take place at 12:00am January 31, 2009.

I suppose I should start by explaining what EricTheCarGuy is all about. From now on I will substitute ETCG for EricTheCarGuy, it's just easier that way.

For the past 2 years I have been making videos on YouTube under the pseudonym Ick69. I have had a lot of fun with the videos I made under this name but recently I've hit a wall. I began to notice something over the past couple of months, it had no consistency. I would do a video about driving a new car one day and one about some piece of art that I did years ago the next, it was all over the place. As a result the YouTube channel Ick69 will be taken off the air as of 12:00am February 1, 2009 (I have other reasons for deleting the account but that is for another blog). I'm doing this because I want to bring consistency to my work as a video maker and create an audience based on the new brand ETCG, I got the most views from videos I did concerning cars so I've gone in that direction. I've noticed that the most successful channels on YouTube carry a similar theme throughout their run. I think audiences have certain expectations when they subscribe to someones channel and that is to know that the person they are watching is going to give them what they came for, I suppose that isn't too much to ask. I'm hoping this can create a brand that people can identify with do-it-yourself auto repair. I'm also hoping to create a larger subscriber base and eventually become a YouTube partner so that I can begin to profit from my work as well as fulfill my artistic needs. A week before the demise of Ick69 I posted a video stating that I was going to delete the account, during that last week I gained 7 subscribers, the most I've ever done in one week, the biggest increase ever if I'm honest. This falls under my theory that the best way to sell someone something is to tell them they can't have it. I hope that some of those subscribers will move with me to ETCG, and this is why.

I decided to move in this direction because of my extensive background as an automotive technician and video producer. For the past 14 years or so I have been working as a technician for both dealer and privately owned garages, for the past 6 years I have run my own video production company The Collective We Productions. As an automotive technician I have dealt with many issues regarding peoples main form of transportation, their cars. From this experience I have learned that people wear their cars like their clothes, you would be surprised at how much what you drive and how you maintain it says about you (perhaps a future topic for the show). I have also noticed that most people hate dealing with auto repair issues, it is just another unexpected expense that usually comes about at the worst time. I understand this, in fact it's one of the main reasons that I became a mechanic in the first place, I just didn't have the money to fix my car and I needed to get to work. In fact this is one of the main reasons that I am doing this service. I myself have suffered a recent job loss that has set me and my family back to square one, I know I'm not alone in this and my heart goes out to anyone who has had to live through it or is living through it now. My solution is to offer the public at large the opportunity to save some money by watching my videos and possibly avoid a costly repair bill, thus keeping a small part of their hard earned money to use for other things like groceries.

Everyone that I have mentioned the idea to has taken to it thus far with enthusiasm. I did some research on the market for such videos and I can say that many of them are filled with great information concerning automotive systems and service however, they are kind of boring, even for me and I do this. Well that is about to change. A lot of my customers over the years have been very happy with the explanations that I have given them concerning their repairs as a result, I have a lot of very loyal customers. One of the comments that has come up more than once is "You should teach this stuff." Well I guess that is exactly what I am about to do.

My goal is simple, to provide information useful to the general public about auto repair and maintenance as well as entertaining them. I think I am uniquely equipped to do this very thing. What better person to do these instructional videos than someone with an extensive background in automotive technology and video production. It almost seems too easy. I know there will be challenges along the way but I'm ready for it. So, hold on and be prepared to be educated and entertained at the same time.

For starters I will make a video introducing myself and my credentials. The next few videos in the series will consist of simple informational content that the everyday person can use such as: "How to change your own oil", "How to change a flat tire with tools in your car", "How to buy a used car", "How to talk to a service writer", the list goes on. From there I will get more in depth: "How an engine works", "How an automatic transmission works", "How a manual transmission works", "Brakes", "Suspension","Electrical", and the list goes on. I also plan to field questions from the website and my YouTube channel. Some of these questions will be answered on my YouTube show and others will be stepping stones for the topics of other videos and DVD's.

In addition to the videos I'm going to take my notes from over the years (I have about 5 large notebooks) and compile them into a book. This book will be sold on the website as well as on Amazon and wherever else I can find a venue. The book will be a companion to the DVD's I plan to make. The idea is to create a "brand" of EricTheCarGuy so that perhaps I will be able to make a living from my passions of making video and auto repair as well as provide a valuable service to the public at large. Are you game?

Well, there you have it, the genesis of EricTheCarGuy. I hope you will stay tuned and keep watching the website, the YouTube channel, and this blog for regular updates. Please feel free to contact me via e-mail with your car questions, I may field them on the show.

The website

The YouTube channel

Thanks for reading and have a great day.

Eric