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Talking
to a mechanic is like talking to your significant
other: they can't read your mind. You must articulate
(describe) clearly what the problem is or it's symptoms.
Be as specific as possible.
Put
your vehicle through several controlled tests so you
can describe exactly what the vehicle is doing and
when it does it. For example, turn corners, back up,
engage and disengage the 4WD, go up and down hill,
and determine exactly what the vehicle is doing under
these conditions.
A
good example is a vibration. To pin down a vibration
try several tests. Drive it fast. Drive is slow. Get
on good pavement and drive it. Find out if it happens
at certain speeds more than others. Put it in and
out of 4WD and drive it. Go someplaces where there
are curves and see if it's worse or better. Put it
in and out of neutral and make it coast and see if
it goes away or gets worse.
What
you're trying to do is to give the mechanic enough
information to save him time tyring to pin down where
to start looking. This saves you money. The more you
pin it down for him, the less time he has so spend
digging and testing.
So
once you have the problem isolated to certain conditions,
describe exactly to the mechanic what you did and
what you found. Again, be as specific as possible.
More than likely, if you can isolate the system -
cooling, suspension, braking, steering, etc. - your
mechanic will find the problem in minutes.
Plus,
if you've ever spent time around a garage, you know
this. The first thing the mechanic does is take the
Jeep for a test drive to determine what the problem
is. If you can save them this step, you will save
yourself money by saving the mechanic time.
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