Got a Quick, Technical Question?

bill221

have a 2002 olds silhouette and am amazed how stiff the horn button cover is on the steering wheel, was hoping that a few yrs time and even warm summer weather would soften them up, but coming up on 2 yrs old and still very hard to work the horn, so hard its got to be a safety problem. anyone have any solutions? i'm hesitent to try any kind of chemical to attempt to soften up the plastic, since any changes to the plastic would probably affect the workings of the airbag if it ever had to deploy.

swschrad

probably won't help, anyway. I suspect those are little gutless switches for the horn located just out of the airbag's discharge area, not big honkin' leaf switches that are easy to close if the plastic turns soft. I also suspect that they replace with the airbag assembly, so you are plumb out of luck trying to cheat the system.

they aren't as easy to use as the horn button run by the big chrome ring on my old 64 dodge way back in history, either.

I would halfheartedly suggest that you try and find one of those old universal horn buttons, or a giant game-machine button like they use in pacman cabinets (GC electronics may still distribute them in several colors,) and find a place on the dash or on a console to mount it. run a wire to a common point for the horn control wire, and use the button to connect that to +12 volts; fuse it as well.

another option is to paint the car like the General Lee, and get one of those JC Whitney computer music horns, so you can whack a keypad and play dixie

methinks that engineers who work very late hours and can't sleep when weasels honk all night are behind this revolting development.

mary2

I have a 99 Grand Am. I have had it in for a oil leak twice that they fixed. There was never any oil on the garage floor. Now they say it is leaking again just 1 year after the last repair. The two previous repairs were the exact same thing. Has anyone else had this problem with a grand am? I have 80,000 miles on it, which are all highway miles. I get the oil changed every 3000 miles. Now the car is loud when it is being driven. It is not an exhaust leak, because it is only noisy when it is being driven. Any ideas?

58vw

My 1987 volvo has 263 miles, runs beautifully, suddenly loses power. If I downshift it makes it worse. If I put my foot down on acclerator it makes it worse, less worse at moderate accelerator. Turning it off and re-starting may fix it temporarily. New high-tension wiring and plugs. thank you very much 58vw

Mr_Shiftright

I think the fuel injection needs further diagnosis. One long shot would be to check for a rather large intake leak that is screwing up the air/fuel mixture.

russla

I want to install a 2nd cooler on my DGC 3.8,
I need to know which line is the return line to the tranny.

There are two lines coming out of the tranny on the drivers side of the vehicle, right next to one another, both the same size, does anyone know for a fact which is the return line?

Thanks in advance

bolivar

Are you being charged for the repair of these 'oil leaks'? Are you sure the told you 'oil leaks'?

If you see no oil on the garage floor, I think you have been ripped off, and they are setting you up for another rip off.

learning

Need techical advise~ new to all this but learning! 1994 Toyota pick-up. Started car the other day, temp. gage starting to rise and had very idle erractic, checked coolant, very low so topped off. Drove 50 miles and seemed fine. Next morning started car and exact same thing, so drove it to a mechanic, said 2 holes in radiator (one in top and one in bottom) and needed new radiator, so had new one installed. Next day exact same problem, checked coolant (none observed in new radiator) and oil and was milky white - blown head gasket, which is currently being fixed by a different mechanic. As this was the problem from the onsent, I took the old radiator had it pressure tested by another mechanic, who found only one hairline leak in one tube, about 2 inches from top of radiator. He said the leak would not have cause all my fluid to empty over short duration like it did (50 in-town miles), but would lower level of coolant to just below the leak and over time, eventually lower the coolant level as the coolant continually passes by the leak. This makes sense to me, particularly as the leak looks old and I have never overheated or observed coolant under my truck until the other day, but the mechanic who installed the new radiator says that is not the case at all. Will a hairline leak in 1 tube at the top of my radiator drain the whole thing instantly (say over the period of 50 in-town miles), or would it take some time to eventually lower levels? Any thoughts are appreciated!

Mr_Shiftright

You probably had the head gasket leak for some time and most of the water was consumed that way. Modern engines DO NOT like to overheat, not even once. These are not the engines that dad drove, big cast iron V-8s of agricultural toughness.

But regardless, any head gasket work should be accompanied by a new or re-cored radiator as standard good practice.

You'll never really figure out the "which came first, chicken or egg" argument. On a ten year old truck, stuff happens.

The most important thing you can get out of this is to become very aware of what the heat gauge is doing, and when it gets close to the RED zone, STOP the truck---don't drive those few more blocks.

akangl

That's so true. Right after I bought my new 2004 Explorer it overheated several times the day after I bought it. It was -50 degrees out and there must have been air in the system. It ended up blowing the cap off the overflow bottle and coolant when everywhere. We could drive a little ways, then had to slow down, ended up having to limp it to the gas station (overheating) and it sat there and cooled down while we stayed warm inside the building. After that it was fine, never did it again, but I always wondered if it hurt the engine. Doesn't matter now, after 14k miles we traded up to a Titan.

swschrad

when my brake pedal went to the floor, and I identified a ruptured brake hose, I just got hte truck positioned where a flatbed could get to it easily, and called AAA for a tow. lots of stories about how joe blow used a needle-jaw vise grip to tie off the bad hose and drove 666 miles to the only mechanic in East Hell, Texas, yada yada yada.

for me, nonsense. it's broken. it's critical life-safety in this case, engine-destroying in learning's case. sit back, turn it off, watch the weather and listen to tunes, and wait for the tow truck. the purpose of gauges and so on is to let you know when something is wrong. the purpose of living long enough to learn something is so you don't try and push a dead system, turning a $1000 repair into a $6000 repair or a rear-end collision because you can't get the vehicle out of it's own way on the road.

ross

My 96 Ford Winstar rear AC blows hot air when the A/C is on. Anyone know of a quick fix?

swschrad

clutch is turning when the a/c is on (that's the plate in front,) and that's about all joe blow can do. if the issue is failure to evaporate enough refrigerant to absorb the heat in your passenger compartment, there are a number of possible causes, and all tie together in a sealed system covered by federal EPA guidelines and backed by a federal EPA series of steep fines for screwing around and letting the gas out.

if it's the REAR ONLY, you probably have a blocked air duct or a bad plenum control motor (usually vacuum) that routes air into the duct to the back. there are days in which it might be too goldarned hot, and that cold air is heated up by residual heat in the seats, ducting, etc. and will be for a while. more likely there's a vacuum hose kicked off a motor by accident, or a failed motor.

if you can't find it with a fuse or loose connector to the clutch coil, nowadays you have to go to a shop. I have worked car a/c over in the days before freon was banned, and I've got a number of ideas... but dudes can't do 'em legally. only good news is your 96 may be all R134a designed, that's when it came in, 95 late and 96 models, so it's cheaper to work on.

ttdang123

Hi

I replaced the Main Air flow sensor (near the air filter) and that fixed it.

Thank you for your help

ttdang123

Hi

My 97 acura integra "check eng light" came on. I fixed all the issues using my ODB2 and cleared the codes - however, the light is still on even though the ODB2 shows 0. Any ideas how I can turn this light off?

Thanks in advance

lhook

I'm a first timer. Hope I'm in the right place. I have a 1989 M/B 300E. I have previously had problems with the engine shutting off for no apparent reason.If I let it set for a couple of minutes it would start This weekend I went to start it and no luck. I can spray fuel into the air intake and it will run as long as it has fuel. I plan on getting a fuel pump relay to start. Am I on the right track? Any info would be greatly appreciated.Thanks in advance; lhook

bravadaboy

Hello All,

I've been the owner of a 1997 Olds Bravada since Dec 2001. Bought it with approx 75k miles (also bought an extended warranty thank goodness). I now have 137k miles on it. The extended warranty has covered several thousand dollars in repairs (new transmission, new drive shaft, ac compressor, etc), however, it has expired and now it seems that my AWD Transfer Case (the one up front) is shot (making a clunking noise upon acceleration). I took it to a dealer and they confirmed the problem. Said there was a loose castle nut inside the transfer case (on the driveshaft that was replaced - which is also out of warranty from the dealer). They replaced the nut, but that didn't fix the problem. To replace the Transfer case with a remanufactured unit is going to cost upwards of $1800-$2000 (after labor). The truck isn't worth much more than that.

My question is, can the AWD unit be disabled or the driveshaft to the Transfer Case be removed without causing internal damage to the transmission or anything else, and be driven? I can't justify spending that much on this vehicle, but don't want the bottom to fall out whilst driving down the road.

Thanks in advance,
Rob

ananda

Hi,

I have a coolant problem with my 1993 190E 2.3L car. When I add coolant to the reservoir it dribbles out of what looks like an overflow pipe to the bottom of the engine compartment. This pipe seems to arise from the general area of the water pump. What is wrong and what needs to be repaired?
Thanks,

Ananda

lhook

I went to the Mercedes dealer today and purchased a fuel pump relay. After installation the car started and ran like a new one. Who says $184.00 can't buy happiness??

swschrad

and have that installed if you can't do it yourself. change the lube in it, and be sure you put the right stuff in. they'll be a lot cheaper. be sure to get a warranty with it; they are on the order of "ya got 15 days, if it's no good, we'll get ya another one."

swschrad

I'd say $25 would buy ecstacy and dancing in the streets. that is a nasty German price for a relay. and a good example of why I didn't consider a mercedes suv for very long, even though the price was about the same as a loaded, luxed exploder.

alternator

My 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier (2.2L) engine (30,000 miles) has a mildly rough idle (like little surges), that comes and goes from hour to hour of operation.

My dealer changed the fuel filter and then told me that my problem was a leaking valve cover gasket that had allowed oil to foul the plugs, ruin the plug wiring, and ruin the serpentine belt. He proposed to replace the valve cover gasket, replace the plugs, replace the plug wiring, replace the serpentine belt, clean the jets, all to the total of about $600 (I said no thanks).

I had already replaced the air filter and PCV valve. Only a minute amount of oil seems to have leaked out onto the block (at one corner only). The plugs are nearly new and look normal (no oiling or white deposit, and the gap is okay). There is no oil on the wiring and the serpentine belt appears clean to me. Please give me your best guess of what my problem might actually be.

Mr_Shiftright

egr valve comes to mind, as does a vacuum leak.

alternator

Is there an easy test to see if EGR valve is guilty? Is removal and cleaning of the EGR valve likely to be sufficient (rather than replacement)? Vacuum is evident at PVC valve.

Mr_Shiftright

Coolant leak----oh, it sounds like the tube connecting the overflow tank to the radiator has come loose.

EGR--sometimes you can fix them by cleaning them but it's often difficult, since on some cars there's a long tube as well that's part of the system and that could be hell to get at and clean. But if you can, sure, go for it.

ananda

There is a horizontal tube from the top of the thermostat housing to the neck of the reservoir which I believe is the overflow line. That is intact. The one I'm referring to is directed downward toward the floor of the engine compartment with clips.

Mr_Shiftright

I guess I'd have to see it in person. There really shouldn't be an outside line for radiator overflow on a modern car. That defeats the whole purpose of a sealed system w/ overflow tank. Someday we can do this by live webcam I guess!

ananda

I was wondering whether this was the outlet of a pressure relieving valve. The valve is defective, I guess corroded rubber, and now it has created an outlet for the sealed system. Is that too far-fetched? The car is a 1993 Mercedes 190E with about 114K miles. I'm out of town at the moment, but can send you a couple of digital images when I get back in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again for your thoughtful and prompt reply.

Ananda

steppenwolf

The camry has over 100,000k. currently it will not start. Turn the ignition key and you get the solenoid click, but nothing else occurs. In the past you'd have this happen occasionally but normally the second or third try the starter would kick in and the engine would crank. However, now, the starter won't engage at all.

I am unable to get out of park. The shifter will not move to another gear unless the engine is running - it's been that way since I purchased in a few months ago.

So my question is - how can I determine if the NSS is out or if it's the starter?

Bob

Mr_Shiftright

If the solenoid clicks that suggests the starter might be toast. Your NSS would not allow current to the solenoid.

Did you try starting with the headlights on? If the headlights go out completely as you turn the key, you have a battery issues of some sort more than likely. If they headlights continue to burn brightly and you hear a click, I'd guess the starter motor armature is defective or you've locked the starter gear into the flywheel.

The last gruesome possibility would be....well...let's not go there for now...

crankshaft

i had a starter act that way.when it acts up,try tapping it with a small hammer or even a broom handle if it's hard to get to.when i tapped mine the starter began to work.

swschrad

if that works, you have one shot winding on the starter. if you clang the thing a couple times with a chunk of plastic or a two-by-four (use NON-conductive NON-metal stuff, please, ugly happens if you short over the battery connection) you jog the armature and it usually makes contact on a different winding.

it was a very good old mechanic who knew what cars were about who tipped us to that. I've had to use it a couple times on my old buick, and my sister had to do it on and off for a couple weeks until she had cash for a starter in hand.

if nothing helps, you kinda need to lock all your car keys in a drawer, figure out which way the engine is supposed to turn, and try to turn it by hand with a 3/4 inch ratchet and the appropriate socket fitting over the harmonic balancer (big-[non-permissible content removed] pulley thing on the bottom front of the engine.) if it doesn't turn, this is a very bad thing indeed. very bad.

imadad2

I own a 2000 Chevrolet Prizm. I just bought my wife a new SUV and have taken the Prizm for my commute car. I drove it and noticed right away that it needed a wheel alignment and pulled to the right. I got the wheel alignment and the car still pulls to the right. The mechanic that did the alignment stated that the Caster on the front of the car needs to be adjusted and the Camber on the rear of the car needs to be adjusted as well. The car is still under warranty, so I called the local Chevrolet dealer. They stated that they would need to do an alignment to tell if this mechanic is right, and if there needs to have warranty work done. Here is the kicker. If there is signs of the car hitting something, it will not be covered. My wife claims she has hit nothing. I hit a curb with it a few years ago, but the problems are on the oposite sides of the car. Should I pay the $60 to find out? The wheel pulls to the right a touch and is not really that bad. I was thinking of rotating the tires and just living with it, but I would like someone's input.

kentkmok

Is it "OK" to drive a car with manual transmission until the clutch totally worn out -- that is without doing any damage to the car?

7937

What's the point of driving it? The transmission is going to slip anyway. You'll damage the pressure plate and flywheel surface and end up with a lot more expense to repair it. Once the clutch disc surface, (much like brake pad material) is down to metal, it's like driving a car with your brake pads worn down and you're damaging the rotors.

7937

What am I missing here? Why do motor manufactures always seem to turbo/supercharge their smallest engines? Let's take the Volkswagon Jetta for example. Their 2 liter 4 gives out 115hp. Then they go to a 1.8 liter 4 and turbocharge it to give 180hp. Why not stick to the bigger engine and turbocharge that less aggressively to achieve the same hp? Is it for the WOW factor? WOW look how much hp the get out of such a tiny engine!

Please help me somebody.

Sylvia

A newspaper reporter wants to hear from folks who were surprised by how expensive a recent automotive repair cost.

Please respond to jfallon@edmunds.com no later than Thursday, July 15, 2004 with your daytime phone number and a few words about your experience.

Thanks,
Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com

bravadaboy

I ended up finding a used Transfer Case at a local Salvage Yard back home. I took the truck home and had a mechanic install it and replace my upper ball joints for less than the cost the dealer wanted to charge me just for a used Transfer Case.

Truck runs great now.

Thanks again...

swschrad

basically, if you turbo, you do multiple things at once. (1), you have less gas usage for a certain driving profile, for instance, you could build the computer curve so that the EPA mileage estimate profile doesn't kick up the turbo. clever cheat, and I'm sure it's being used here and there. (2) it enables you in liter-displacement-countries, such as most of europe, to sell a performance car with an affordable annual engine tax. (3) it allows you to sell a car that is capable of amazing bursts of power to get to speed on the freeway ramp, but run at low or no boost in overdrive to maintain the speed, thus legitimately getting good mileage and acceptable power with an undersized engine for the US market. (4) it allows the parts organization to sell lots of turbos as repair parts, and a few crate engines more than usual, thus maintaining a good profit on the vehicle over more years.

you do some other fine things like keep the overall weight of a car down with a turbo, but you get the idea... for most people, since hammer-down is a rare thing, you can satisfy folks without doing things to get you in trouble for excessive government nonsense.

and since engineering and production by computer control makes better tolerances possible, turbocharging is affordable and less likely to be a money pit, so it looks appealling to an engineer.

7937

Ok, that's fine. But my choice would still be a decent sized engine loafing along. What about wear and tear on these screamin demons? Also, paging through the latest Consumer Reports New Car Buying Guide, I note that none of the turbocharged cars are outstanding when it comes to fuel consumption.

Rather, the 6 cyl. 200hp. Malibu is getting remarkable mileage per gallon. In fact, it's better than the 1.8 liter 150hp turbocharged Volkswagon Beetle and, the Malibu acceleration is almost to a second the same. I understand the need for engine capacity vs tax in European countries but that hardly applies in the USA.

Mr_Shiftright

Turbo is also cheap power. With a few modifications, you can make a 1.8 liter engine run as if it had the displacement of a 3.5 liter engine, but without spending a gazillion dollars in new engine development.

Think of the turbo as a "replacement for displacement". Now some people will tell you that "nothing replaces cubic inches" but they are wrong. What you DON'T get with small displacement is torque, which is heavily dependent on the displacement of the individual cylinders (not the number of cylinders but rather their size).

Or better yet, forget horsepower and torque and think of engine power in terms of "cylinder pressure", a term an engineer might like better. Turbos can generate very good cylinder pressure.

Last of all, a smaller turbo engine is a factor in body design and interior room.

alligator4480

Hi there,

I`ve got a great price on a new 2004 Cherokee SE, however, its in Windsor, and I`m 3 hrs away. the dealer says "they" will drive it to my location.

I`m nervous that driving 3 hours on the highway, doesnt give any chance for the car to "break-in".

will this hurt the engine ?

leeandgina

Hello everyone.

I have a 2001 hyundai accent with a wiper problem. All was ok till the other day when i noticed the wipers were moving slower. I looked under the hood and as the motor was on, the whole thing was flexing the bulkhead where its bolted on! I tried the wipers again this morning and this time the wipers barely move and looking at the motor this time, nothing was happening. I checked the connector and there doesnt seem to be any rust in it. Is this a bad motor or a problem elsewhere?

Mr_Shiftright

Sounds like the linkage for the wiper arms was binding and finally the strain blew the wiper motor.

You or someone could check to see if there is current going to the motor when you turn on the switch, and if so, then it's probabaly the motor. If no current, then you've probably blown the fuse because the circuit was overloaded by the linkage dragging so badly.

leeandgina

How would you even get at the linkage? It seems its all behind a panel and i cant see how you would remove it to check it out.

Thanks for your help

Mr_Shiftright

Gee I wouldn't know. All cars are different. I presume you'd take off the front fresh air cowl. Usually you pull off the wiper arms, then raise the hood and you'll see bolts or screws to remove the cowl.

7937

I'd try the easy things first. Try and dribble some penetrating oil from outside the car down the bushes where the shafts come through. Maybe it's just those bushes that have seized. They often do.

Mr_Shiftright

check your fuse box, too.

leeandgina

Ok, i found the cover for the linkages. I took the wiper arms off, turned on the wipers and the linkage moved back and forth a few times slowly then again wouldnt work. The motor does get hot on the outside. I found i could move the wiper arms without too much force by hand. On the motor itself, it looks like a bushing from the bottom bolt is missing and maybe thats whats causing the motor to rock when it was working. The relay is right next to the motor - could that be faulty or do relays generally work (or not work) and no inbetween? I did check the fuse and it looks fine to me, and i was getting 12 volts at the connector (checked with my tester that lights up a bulb, but it was bright).

Thanks again for everyones help

Mr_Shiftright

Well if the motor was loose it might have caused the arms to bind (and bend). A hot motor is not a good sign. The trick would be to load test the motor but you need a special ammeter to do that, one that can measure LOTS of amps, not just milliamps.

You could try replacing that bushing and lubricating everything and see what happens.