Got a Quick, Technical Question?

Mr_Shiftright · January 2004

Yeah, probably the shock mount is protesting a bit. If you don't hear anything when it's warmed up, or when you hit a hard bump, I wouldn't worry about it. Perhaps when you next get new tires and a wheel alignment, you can have the shock mounts looked at, or just replace them next time you do struts---about 70K-80K miles would be a good time.

akangl · January 2004

I just purchased a 2004 Ford Explorer XLS 4x4, and it's equipped with the tire pressure monitoring system, I know sensors in the factory wheels transmit continual readings to a control module on board. I want to use aftermarket wheels and tires for winter/snow use and I need to know what conflicts I'll have to deal with when not using factory wheels (if that can be done).

It seems to me that with the sensors (inside the wheels) transmitting a signal, warning lights will be activated and drivability problems may crop up without these readings. Can you explain if I can do this or not?

grizzlejwizzle · January 2004

Hey What up I have a 1986 Buick Riviera, and it has a Graphic Control Center. The thing is that the radio went bad on it, and I want to put a cd player I have in the car. I can't find where the radio is. IF any one can help me out it would be awesome thanks.

Greg

kkollwitz · January 2004

My power steeering pump works fine, but makes a whiny sound. Someone suggested I add a little "hi-tac" (sp?) to the fluid to quiet it.

Anyone heard of this stuff and/or if it or any additive can quiet the pump?

kkollwitz · January 2004

Ask over at www.crutchfield.com, I've had success with them.

comanche_aj · January 2004

does anyone know the answer to my question? the lights i want to install into my vehicle have a cigarette lighter adapter, can i cut that off, splice it, and run the connections positive and to ground and not ruin the light or my vehicle?

pastirik · January 2004

The vehicle (98 Jeep Wrangler Sport) has a knock in the steering when I turn left or right and when I go over a bump. Wonder what input everyone might have. I thought maybe cv joints the forward cylinder. It is a solid single knock and seems reminicent of air in a hydraulic cylinder.

alcan · January 2004

That's a relatively simple job for someone with knowledge of automotive electrical systems. However, no offence meant, the fact that you're asking indicates that you'd probably be better off having someone with electrical experience do the hookup. Hit the wrong wire and you could fry the engine control computer or catch a faceful of airbag.

swschrad · January 2004

more likely, you will roach the powerpack for that neon tube if you hook up the +12 and -12 volts wrong. but if you have to ask, you should have a local tech familiar with the stuff do it, and if s/he is so inclined, show you which wire goes where for your future reference.

alcan makes a very real and important point... you absolutely have to know WHICH wire in the car harness to fiddle with, or it's big trouble in a modern vehicle. big trouble at a half-stick of dynamite worth if you set off an airbag.

doitmyself · January 2004

I just repaired a broken wire to a headlight and installed a new battery in a 2000 Grand Am. Started car and parked it outside overnight.

Now the key won't turn in the switch. Tried another key, same thing. Key works o.k. in door.

Dearler said check battery connection - it seems o.k..

What gives? Did the ignition switch just go bad by coincidence to my repairs?

vidtech · January 2004

if your wheels are slightly turned you may have to hold your steering wheel away from locking stop point.otherwise you may have a damaged lock clyinder.hopefully it does not go beyond that because something might have broke in the steering columm.i vote for the first solution.

marion5900 · January 2004

Let me preface this by saying this my first car at age 43.We bought a 1997 Achieva this past Tuesday with over 112,000 miles on it.As we were coming back from Wal-Mart this afternoon we came to a red light and stopped.When the light turned dreen we pushed down on the accelerator pedal and the car just went very slowly with alot of hesitation and no power.We eventually got the car over to the middle of the road where a policeman pushed it over to the side of the road.I had thought it was out of gas.So we ran down to the gas station and got 2 gallons of gas and put it in it.The car started up like a dream and had alot power.Only thing is is that shift lever would not move out of park when we pushed down on the brake .The cop told me how hard it was for him to move the lever from 3rd gear to park.Has anybody got answers to what could be the problem is????This totally ruined a night of going to high school basktball games for us.Very ,very disappointing.The best thing was when the police cruiser showed up.

n198ua · January 2004

I have a 2001 Mercury Sable with approx 70K miles. Recently, I've noticed at highway speeds, there tends to be a vibration coming from the front of the vehicle, kind of like going over road bumps. However, the part of this vibration that I can't seem to understand is that its a "rolling vibration" Its not constant, but rather it starts and stops in regular intervals. For example, the vibration will last 1-2 seonds and then stop, then 5-15 seconds later start again. The process will continue until I reduce speed. My question is; I am overdue to have the tires roated and balanced, and I'm hoping this will take care of it. However, my concern is that there is more to this than the tires. Could it have something to do with the transmission?

abby18 · January 2004

My 2000 Tundra SR-5 does not make a sound if you turn off the engine and exit the vehicle with the headlights on. How should I begin to troubleshoot the absence of an aural warning that the lights are on. Is there a fuse dedicated to that circuit? I'm not sure where to start. Thanks.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2004

Tire balance is of course the easiest and cheapest first step.

With 70K miles you could have wear in the axle (CV) joints certainly, which could create the weird harmonics you describe.

mrreliable · January 2004

99 Deville, 52,000 miles. Cold morning car started and ran just fine. Mid day battery dead. Took to shop, new battery. One week later, started on cold morning, went to church, battery dead after 1 hour (at least it seemed dead). Went back to jump a while later, started right up.

I don't even know enough about cars to make me dangerous. But in my experience if a battery is going to have problems from the cold, it will be in the morning, not after it's already started and hasn't even cooled down completely. Any ideas about possible intermittent cold-related problems?

Thanks,

-lance

0patience · January 2004

Generally when you have a battery that is going dead on cold mornings, then it is a battery going bad.
But, before you condemn the battery, have the battery terminals checked and the battery load tested.
Your symptoms lead me to believe you have a loose or dirty battery terminal or connection.
Generally when a battery goes bad from cold, it will continue to be a problem.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2004

Yep, cables or connection---or---rare case of a bad battery out of the box. Sounds too quick for a battery drain, especially since it starts up again. Draining a new battery completely in only one hour would require leaving a lighthouse on or something like that.

Another long shot--a starter motor armature or brushes that are wearing out.

TRY THIS---next time it happens, turn your headlights on and either you (in the dark) or a bystander in the daylight observe a) if the lights go on with the "dead" battery. If NO, battery or cables are bad. If YES,they do go on, turn the key to start and see if they go off. If YES, they do go off, it's a battery issue probably ---but if NO, they still burn bright, then it's a starter issue possibly or an ignition key or some such.

0patience · January 2004

I agree Mr Shiftright.
With more and more of these new vehicles using a starter relay, I have seen many of these have the relays fail.

jsal1 · January 2004

Looking for advice on a reacurring problem with this vehicle. My daughter just moved up from Flordia, it seemed everytime there was a heavy down pour, she would have a loss of power, check engine light would come on The same problem is happening here in upstate NY. Car starts fine these cold mornings no problem, heavy moisture in the air, engine starts to run bad. Any suggestions? This engine does not come with a distributer cap & rotor.

revondrak · January 2004

My 1989 Lincoln Continental was losing pixels on its odometer. So, I installed another instrument cluster I bought at a junk yard. However, the mileage on the cluster I installed shows a lot more than my original mileage. The electronic display itself is fine. Does anyone know, can I swap out the circuit board from my old odometer to the new with no problem? Will this recover my original mileage? Makes sense that it will, but I'm not sure. Ay help is greatly appreciated.

swschrad · January 2004

my first guess would be a loss of HV. there are going to have to be coils and HV wires to the spark plugs. road salts, dust, crud, and corruption are likely suspects. use a rag soaked with windshield cleaner to clean the wires, coil and plug boots, and outsides of the coils.

when everything is dry, I would also pull each boot and put a film of dielectric insulating grease inside each one, to keep moisture out.

driftracer · January 2004

are under a recall for coil pack failures. If the recommended maintenance doesn't do the trick, check with your dealer - the replacements are free.

aurora10 · January 2004

i own a 1996 aurora, love the car however i have a noise that is consistant, when i accelerate from 0 up i hear a noise that sounds like a rattle of ice cubes in a glass, above 45 mph it goes away, does any one know what this might be? thanks jerry ward jjw235@earthlink.net

53rocket · January 2004

Sounds most like pre-ignition or knocking. Key contributors are low octane, advanced spark and running hotter than normal. I would try a good premium fuel like Amoco Gold or Mobil Super first. Also take note of your temperature gauge. The least likely issue is the timing since it is computer controlled.

don106 · January 2004

Can you tell me where the power window relay is in my 1987 Subaru wagon? Thanks

black_tulip · January 2004

I have a automatic '99 Camry with 170K miles. The only maintenance I do(at dealer) is changing oil(5K)/air filter(30K)/xmission fluid(60K) /coolant(30K)/tires(80K). I have also changed the brake pads once at 100K. Battery, struts,CV joints all seem OK according to the dealer's service department. The engine is whisper quiet, gives no trouble and gives over 35mpg on highway. Question: What is it that will most likely go wrong first? Can I do any sort of preventive maintenance on that? Or even replace it? I do a lot of nighttime highway driving and would hate to get stranded.
Thanks

Mr_Shiftright · January 2004

At 170K the car has statistically at least reached the end of its life. So really any mishaps are not predictable, as your engine, transmission, etc. are all on borrowed time.

Hopefully, they will continue to function. The best approach is preventive maintenance. Tow trucks drivers insist that most break-downs are from rather simple components failing, like hoses, belts, tires, tune-up, that sort of thing.

Some things seem absent from your list.

Was the brake fluid ever flushed out?

When was the timing belt last changed?

Also, I'd drop your maintenance intervals on the transmission to 30K and your oil to 5K

lolwalk91 · January 2004

i have a 1993 E300 that overheats.when the blower is kept on the temperature stays in the normal range. I have changed the radiator but the problem did not go away.What other areas should be checked to eliminate this problem.

black_tulip · January 2004

Thanks for the reply. The brake fluid or the power steering fluid was never flushed out. I guess I will need to do that. The timing belt was changed at 60K and at 120K. The next one is planned for 210K. I do the engine oil at every 5K and I will drop the transmission fluid flush interval to 30K.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2004

Okay black tulip, great. Oh, I meant to change the oil interval to 3,000 miles, sorry---reason being that as an engine wears internally, more combustion gases can contaminate the oil through worn rings.

You might also have the water pump looked at. If there is excessive play or any sign of slight weepage, that's a good thing to swap out before it breaks. Perhaps this was done along with the timing belt at 120K? Swapping out water pumps and timing belts at the same time is a logical sequence.

renco · January 2004

Whats the difference between turning circle, turning diameter, and turning radius?

How does the center diff attach to the T case and both driveshafts?

Whats the difference between a locking center diff and locking t case? Is one better than the other?

Mr_Shiftright · January 2004

A center diff is used for full time 4WD in conjunction with a transfer care, but a transfer case only is used for part-time 4WD that can be engaged and disengaged by the driver. The center diff prevents binding between front and rear differentials. I'm not sure what a locked transfer case is, unless you mean a full time 4WD system with a permanently engaged transfer case.

A full time 4WD system with center diff is often referred to as AWD.

There is no better or worse. It depends on vehicle type, driving conditions and the type of work you wish to do.

A viscous coupling can substitute as an inter-axle differential in some cars.

Turning circle and turning diameter are the same thing---the diameter of a circle made by a car in 360 degrees of locked steering. The radius of a circle is from the center point to its curved outer surface.

renco · January 2004

A transfer case is also used on permanent 4WDs like the Hummer and G Wagen.

But the Hummer (H1) has a locking transfer case while the G has a locking center diff. I'm reall curious as to what the advantage/disadvantage of each is.

Also I really can't figure out how the center diff on the G attaches to the t case. Any ideas?

hswintek · January 2004

2001 wrangler sport. Airbag light has been on for several mo. and horn doesn't work. Any ideas? Thanks, Harry P.S. dashbord is dry, fuses good and replaced relay under hood.

allchecks · January 2004

On my 2000 Grand Am the Service Vehicle Soon light is on an chiming. Owners manual says this will happen "..if it detects a problem on the vehicle, such as a DRL or an ALC malfunction."

What are DRL and ALC? Any specific things I can look at, do, replace? Is test equipment required?

alcan · January 2004

Sounds like the clockspring connecting the steering column wiring harness to the steering wheel is broken. It should be replaced by a shop qualified to do airbag system repairs because a faceful of accidental airbag deployment can ruin your day.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2004

DRL is daytime running lights but I don't know the other one, sorry. Maybe your DRL relay is defective or the fusing for that circuit is out or the light itself is out?

swschrad · January 2004

in any case, a tech should pull the computer codes with a scantool and follow the appropriate diagnostic tree (s) to narrow down the area of the fault and test to find the cause and solution.

allchecks · January 2004

RE #90. Some stuff to file under things you now know.

Daytime running lights got me started. On same page in owners manual is Automatic Lights Control or some such thing.

I have a headlight that is out. When I start the car during the day the Automatic Lights Control system must check for daytime running lights. One of mine is out, so it is telling me.

After dark the automatic light system is not working, is not looking for daytime running lights and does not chime or signal. I guess it is up to me to see that I am missing a head light at night. That's reasonable.

So the next time the temperature gets above 20 degrees I wil change the bulb.

Thanks for the help.

grs1961 · January 2004

The blower fan for heat/ac was only working on Hi speed. I replaced the resistor which solved the problem for about 2 weeks before if failed. I replaced it again thinking I got a bad resistor and again it lasted about 2 weeks. Any suggestions on what is causing it to go out?

Mr_Shiftright · January 2004

This "resistor" was an actual part you got from the dealer or something you got at an electronics store or ??? Why weren't you tempted to replace the switch itself?

mark156 · January 2004

I guess this is a general question that could fit any car. I have a '95 Mercedes Benz E-320 cabriolet with only 30,000 miles. I just put it in for service yesterday and the service guy said other than the normal tuneup that it will receive, that I should have the radiator flushed along with the brake fluid replaced and the tranny fluid changed.... is that a normal procedure with a low mileage, not driven much... car?

Thanks, Mark156

swschrad · January 2004

generically, the radiator should have a flush and fill not less frequently than every two years. in the case of a Dex-Cool system, it needs to be inspected annually, and something like every 5 years it needs a flush and fill. the reason is that anticorrosive additives go away with time, and then electrolytic corrosion will start to occur, and this will also eat up the ethylene glycol. all you end up with is rusty water and perhaps some clogs. if it freezes in the engine, it cracks the block, and you need an engine. up here on the tundra, it's a religion to change this out every other year. don't make any of us excommunicate you :-D

brake fluid in almost all systems (DOT3 or 4 based) is hygroscopic, absorbing water from the air, and wet brake fluid not only boils when you panic stop (causing brake fade) but gets rusty from corrosion at calipers, etc. and can plug orifices. a good idea to replace it every couple of years, otherwise, test by viewing at the bleeders and replace when corrosion becomes evident or color changes in the resivoir underhood.

tranny fluid (ATF in particular) generally has friction modifiers (fibers or micropills) as well as very high levels of detergent. it helps clutches seat as gears change, and also carries away little worn off chunks of crud. it is a good thing to regularly drain off the offal picked up from the system, replace the filter, and refill. overstressed fluid suffers burning, chemical modification, and that goo adds to the crud it can't move out of passages and valve bodies any more. another good idea to periodically change it.

if you wait too long on ATF changes, the shock of detergent action can kick chunks of crud loose that block shift changes inside, and can actually wear the tranny into failure.

so it's not just an evil empire plot to strip you of even more money. there are good mechanical reasons. "fluid is cheap" is not necessarily correct, due to the labor involved in changing some of them, but replacement engines and trannies are much more expensive.

there are european models that use different fluid bases than the domestics and most imports, so read your own manual. there are deteriorations and buildups of ugly that occur on all fluids used in cars.

alcan · January 2004

Mark, read this:
http://www.troublecodes.net/articles/brkfld.shtml

mark156 · January 2004

Swschrad and Alcan..... THANK YOU for the detailed information.

Mark156

Mr_Shiftright · January 2004

I'd flush out a low mileage car without question.

smootho · January 2004

when driving car hit bumps have a knocking in the front of car from under it bad is it the struts/or shocks help

alcan · January 2004

You're welcome, Mark.

swschrad · January 2004

I flushed my tranny at 27,000 roughly because I occasionally have a tow on. that will continue.

did a flush on the brake lines at about 36,000 as an excuse to get a MityVac, and there was some discoloration of the red variety at the calipers already.

had already changed out the PS fluid at 18,000 due to discoloration, and did it again at 42,000 due to the system developing a little bitty squeak, probably due to a tiny chunk of crud in the rack.

the radiator was still good to -35 when I flushed it.

it's a good excuse for a party afterwards, too

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