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.