Car talk? Free Repair Advice from an Expert?

otisptoadwater wrote: Rick, not sure if that particular car has problems with air locking in the cooling system. I had a Dodge Sprint with a inline turbo six cylinder engine, changed out the coolant in the spring one year just as a matter of routine maintenance and that sumbeach immediately over heated. Turns out on that particular model when you drain and refill the coolant Dodge recommends jacking the front end up in the air at a 30 degree angle because air would get trapped in the thermostat housing and it would drastically reduce the flow of coolant. Not sure why that was but it seemed to me that it was more of a design flaw than a special maintenance procedure!

Every car has a different degree of difficulty when it comes to bleeding air out of the cooling system, Some have bleed screws in water pipes that are not easy to see or like with some Audi's, there is a small hole in a heater hose that is opened when you pull the hose partially off the heater core. The key to bleeding most cars is to keep the rpms up to 1500 or higher so the waterpump can force air out of the higher spots where air pockets can accumulate... and like you mentioned, it helps to have the bleed hole (or radiator opening) as high as possible since air rises to the top.

Dead battery? Remember this - Red to Red and Black to Block. Connect your jumper cables to the running car first, red (positive terminal) to the red (positive terminal on the dead battery. Then connect the black terminal on the live battery to the block of the car with the dead battery, pay attention to where you route the cable so that it's clear of belts and other moving parts on both cars.

Why does it matter what gets connected to what? Lead acid batteries out gas hydrogen and while it doesn't happen very often there are occasional explosions and fires that occur when jumpers are connected to the wrong polarity or when batteries are connected directly to each other. An exploding car battery and/or subsequent car-b-que are the kinds of things that can ruin your whole day!

In Russia they just pull start their cars...

Just a random question for all of you. What car has been your biggest mechanical nightmare... what car was in the shop the most or was the most expensive to keep on the road? I specialize in cars that many mechanics refuse to touch and I always wonder if the owners of these cars knew what they were getting into before they made the purchase of if they were surprised by all the issues. Feel free to vent!

My worst all time pia vehicle to repair was a 1991 Toyota MR2. While it was tough as originally built the previous owner really complicated things.

Cold weather tip of the day...

If you have a car that you're not driving, be sure to start it up once in a while and let it run for 20 minutes or so. This is the time of year when auto parts stores sell a ton of batteries, because when it's cold your battery will discharge a little quicker, and once it's dead, it WILL freeze and can break the cells inside. You can also keep a trickle charger on it or spend bigger bucks for a dry battery like an Optima (I use these because they rarely let me down).

Anyway, just remember that if your battery goes dead, don't let it stay in the car overnight in sub-zero temps unless you put a charger on it or run it till fully charged. If you let one freeze, you may get lucky by pulling it and letting it thaw indoors (it may look bloated)... then give it a good charge and see if you got lucky.

Rick wrote: Cold weather tip of the day...

If you have a car that you're not driving, be sure to start it up once in a while and let it run for 20 minutes or so. This is the time of year when auto parts stores sell a ton of batteries, because when it's cold your battery will discharge a little quicker, and once it's dead, it WILL freeze and can break the cells inside. You can also keep a trickle charger on it or spend bigger bucks for a dry battery like an Optima (I use these because they rarely let me down).

Anyway, just remember that if your battery goes dead, don't let it stay in the car overnight in sub-zero temps unless you put a charger on it or run it till fully charged. If you let one freeze, you may get lucky by pulling it and letting it thaw indoors (it may look bloated)... then give it a good charge and see if you got lucky.

Such sage advice.....coming from the land of "head bolt" heaters (Fairbanks)....it seems like a common sense thing to start your parked car after several days/nites of sub zero weather.

On another note, what is the "truth" about PSI on your tires. Took my car to Big O to check pressure on
all 4 because the computer reading was way off...(this was last fall). They filled to 38 PSI when my
recommended PSI was 33 or 34. (drove away and it felt w-a-y weird and funky)....took it back and asked
why 38. They stated it was because the side panel recommendation was for sea level, at 9,000 you had
to adjust for altitude. WHAT? I lived here most of my life and NEVER heard that reasoning....WTH?

Really? You believed Big O? They are in the business of selling tires. Tire temperature also affects tire pressure. I would think that may be why your sensors are off.

homeagain wrote:

Rick wrote: Cold weather tip of the day...

If you have a car that you're not driving, be sure to start it up once in a while and let it run for 20 minutes or so. This is the time of year when auto parts stores sell a ton of batteries, because when it's cold your battery will discharge a little quicker, and once it's dead, it WILL freeze and can break the cells inside. You can also keep a trickle charger on it or spend bigger bucks for a dry battery like an Optima (I use these because they rarely let me down).

Anyway, just remember that if your battery goes dead, don't let it stay in the car overnight in sub-zero temps unless you put a charger on it or run it till fully charged. If you let one freeze, you may get lucky by pulling it and letting it thaw indoors (it may look bloated)... then give it a good charge and see if you got lucky.

Such sage advice.....coming from the land of "head bolt" heaters (Fairbanks)....it seems like a common sense thing to start your parked car after several days/nites of sub zero weather.

On another note, what is the "truth" about PSI on your tires. Took my car to Big O to check pressure on
all 4 because the computer reading was way off...(this was last fall). They filled to 38 PSI when my
recommended PSI was 33 or 34. (drove away and it felt w-a-y weird and funky)....took it back and asked
why 38. They stated it was because the side panel recommendation was for sea level, at 9,000 you had
to adjust for altitude. WHAT? I lived here most of my life and NEVER heard that reasoning....WTH?

Was this because it was hard to get to the engine? This car was my most favorite no power car to autocross. Totally stuck like glue in the corners.

gmule wrote: My worst all time pia vehicle to repair was a 1991 Toyota MR2. While it was tough as originally built the previous owner really complicated things.

pacamom wrote: Really? You believed Big O? They are in the business of selling tires. Tire temperature also affects tire pressure. I would think that may be why your sensors are off.

homeagain wrote:

Rick wrote: Cold weather tip of the day...

If you have a car that you're not driving, be sure to start it up once in a while and let it run for 20 minutes or so. This is the time of year when auto parts stores sell a ton of batteries, because when it's cold your battery will discharge a little quicker, and once it's dead, it WILL freeze and can break the cells inside. You can also keep a trickle charger on it or spend bigger bucks for a dry battery like an Optima (I use these because they rarely let me down).

Anyway, just remember that if your battery goes dead, don't let it stay in the car overnight in sub-zero temps unless you put a charger on it or run it till fully charged. If you let one freeze, you may get lucky by pulling it and letting it thaw indoors (it may look bloated)... then give it a good charge and see if you got lucky.

Such sage advice.....coming from the land of "head bolt" heaters (Fairbanks)....it seems like a common sense thing to start your parked car after several days/nites of sub zero weather.

On another note, what is the "truth" about PSI on your tires. Took my car to Big O to check pressure on
all 4 because the computer reading was way off...(this was last fall). They filled to 38 PSI when my
recommended PSI was 33 or 34. (drove away and it felt w-a-y weird and funky)....took it back and asked
why 38. They stated it was because the side panel recommendation was for sea level, at 9,000 you had
to adjust for altitude. WHAT? I lived here most of my life and NEVER heard that reasoning....WTH?

See my DH goes to Big O because they rotate the tires for "free" when u purchase there....NOT where I
would go,BUT,you know the compromise thing? The computer read out was AFTER I had driven Bailey
to Conifer, so the tires would have been "warm" and the computer read out was still way off....ANYWAY, it's just sad when men think they can BS woman when they come in for service....JMO

I was taught a long time ago that the exact right tire pressure depends all on the weight distribution of the car and sidewall construction.

What you want is to wear evenly on the tire. To do that you want the whole tread coming into contact with the road. Put a chalk mark across the tread of each tire. Drive a short distance on a hard, dry surface. Look at each chalk mark - if it's worn in the center and not the edges, let a little air out. If it's worn on the edges more than the center, put more air in.

But, if in doubt I go by the pressure range on the sidewall of the tire - cuz that's where the rubber really meets the road