So silver Bell on streets seta can't bring Me.

So silver Bell on streets seta can't bring Me.

Comes on, Ron Ananian.

Comes on, Ron Ananian.

If every mechanic refused to work on a broken car that was put in front of them and somebody else had tried to fix, you'd have an awful big pile of broken cars laying around somewhere because there's an awful lot of di wires that aren't properly fixing vehicles that get into this situation that Car Doctor, Do you think.

If every mechanic refused to work on a broken car that was put in front of them and somebody else had tried to fix, you'd have an awful big pile of broken cars laying around somewhere because there's an awful lot of di wires that aren't properly fixing vehicles that get into this situation that Car Doctor, Do you think.

There'll come a time Ron where they're going to push the California They're going to push the ego cars off the vote, that's what they're going.

There'll come a time Ron where they're going to push the California They're going to push the ego cars off the vote, that's what they're going.

Yeah, I think that's I think that's where they're headed because I do watch California for that basis, because unfortunately, what happens in California seems to leak its way across the rest of the country.

Yeah, I think that's I think that's where they're headed because I do watch California for that basis, because unfortunately, what happens in California seems to leak its way across the rest of the country.

Welcome to the radio home of Ronananium, the Car Doctor. Since nineteen ninety one, this is where car owners the world overturned to for their definitive opinion on automotive repair. If your mechanics giving you a busy signal, pick up the phone and call in. The garage doors are open.

Welcome to the radio home of Ronananium, the Car Doctor. Since nineteen ninety one, this is where car owners the world overturned to for their definitive opinion on automotive repair. If your mechanics giving you a busy signal, pick up the phone and call in. The garage doors are open.

But I am here to take your calls at eight five five five, six ninety nine hundred.

But I am here to take your calls at eight five five five, six ninety nine hundred.

And now he.

And now he.

Running, how was your week? Right? Well, mine was busy fixing cars. I hope your week was just as good as mine. We we were just slammed to the gills. I think everybody realizes, you know, they're getting ready for Christmas week, New Year's week, and you know a little bit into the year, fun stuff. And you could tell though that people are still spending big money on cars, and still we put we put big money in a lot of older vehicles this week. And I think it's you know, doing part because you know the price of new vehicles, not saying you shouldn't buy one, but just you know, is it in your budget? And it just cars are made so well today they can go on for a long time. We had a we had a twenty fourteen Subaru UH forester out back forrester. I think it was needed a passenger side rear wheel bearing, you know. And I guess you could sort of say that this conversation is about the uh oh. The uh oh to a mechanic. It's sort of like the same thing as the pregnant pause. You know, you go uh uh, you know, now what we had to put a wheelbaring in this, in this twenty fourteen suber and actually the customer said, you know, it's got higher mileage on Actually it was low mileage. I'm sorry, this is the low mileage one. But it had lower mileage on it. But it was, you know, eleven going on twelve years old, because it was an early fourteen car. And she said, you know, if you do the right side, do the left side too. And I said, yeah, that kind of makes sense because we were also doing back breaks, and if you're doing back breaks on one of these, you're you're you're kind of halfway to doing the wheel bearing anyway, so you know you might as well. It's it's only a matter of time. I think the problem with the subarus is the amount of rust, all right, because they get they get really good and rusty, you know, the undercarriage and such, and that's just no far reach. I mean, the way the roads are salted and treated and processed for snow in any part of the country where they have it, it's maddening. But you know, you take them as they come. So I started doing the right rear wheel bearing. Now there's a couple of ways you can do this. There's a bunch of tools in the market. I'm not fond of them. My concern is that these tools push against There's a press tool out there. There's a couple of them that will go in and latch onto the bearing assembly and then press on the center of the axle, which I don't like because it pushes against the pinion pin in the diff and I've seen somewhere they're so bad rusted. They will they will snap, they will break, and I always wonder about that. My method is that I will heat gently, heat the outside of the knuckle the casing, and after a short period of time, I will put bolts in from the outside and drive it out that way. I find that that usually works, so except in this case, it didn't work. Nothing worked. I never had one do this to me where you know, heat didn't work, pressing didn't work. I don't think the tool would have worked. That everybody raves about that they say works. I think it was one of those cars. And that's when you look at it and go uh oh. When the two pushbolts were stuck in the housing and I couldn't get them out, but I had just gotten it to move a little bit off the backing plate. I was able to take the saws all and cut the two bolts clean. And then at that point I was able to let everything cool down. And finally, and that's the trick. You've got to get a little bit of a gap between the bearing, the backing pl and the knuckle, all right, because otherwise penetrating whale can't get in there. Once I got that little bit of a gap, not much about an eighth of an inch, I was able to take some PB blaster shoot it in there right and let it soak, which I did, and Yeah, came back about twenty minutes later, hit it again, went back to work on the other car in Bay three, and you know, came back within forty five minutes and I was able to chisel the bearing out it. It just broke down the rust enough to do that. But you know, it's the uh oh moment. And then the other thing I always you know, you hate to it, you get into it, but this is what some of these jobs lead you to. You quote one number, you say, yeah, this is going to be a couple of three thousand dollars whatever it is, because it's going to be bearings and brakes and a bunch of other things. And then all of a sudden, you see that tiny little pinhole in the axle that's been spraying grease for a while in the boot. So now you've got to do a right side ax Well, the customers of the mind, if you're doing the right, you want to do the left. So now you're doing a left side bearing a left side act. All of a sudden, the job's gone up considerably. Is it worth it?

Running, how was your week? Right? Well, mine was busy fixing cars. I hope your week was just as good as mine. We we were just slammed to the gills. I think everybody realizes, you know, they're getting ready for Christmas week, New Year's week, and you know a little bit into the year, fun stuff. And you could tell though that people are still spending big money on cars, and still we put we put big money in a lot of older vehicles this week. And I think it's you know, doing part because you know the price of new vehicles, not saying you shouldn't buy one, but just you know, is it in your budget? And it just cars are made so well today they can go on for a long time. We had a we had a twenty fourteen Subaru UH forester out back forrester. I think it was needed a passenger side rear wheel bearing, you know. And I guess you could sort of say that this conversation is about the uh oh. The uh oh to a mechanic. It's sort of like the same thing as the pregnant pause. You know, you go uh uh, you know, now what we had to put a wheelbaring in this, in this twenty fourteen suber and actually the customer said, you know, it's got higher mileage on Actually it was low mileage. I'm sorry, this is the low mileage one. But it had lower mileage on it. But it was, you know, eleven going on twelve years old, because it was an early fourteen car. And she said, you know, if you do the right side, do the left side too. And I said, yeah, that kind of makes sense because we were also doing back breaks, and if you're doing back breaks on one of these, you're you're you're kind of halfway to doing the wheel bearing anyway, so you know you might as well. It's it's only a matter of time. I think the problem with the subarus is the amount of rust, all right, because they get they get really good and rusty, you know, the undercarriage and such, and that's just no far reach. I mean, the way the roads are salted and treated and processed for snow in any part of the country where they have it, it's maddening. But you know, you take them as they come. So I started doing the right rear wheel bearing. Now there's a couple of ways you can do this. There's a bunch of tools in the market. I'm not fond of them. My concern is that these tools push against There's a press tool out there. There's a couple of them that will go in and latch onto the bearing assembly and then press on the center of the axle, which I don't like because it pushes against the pinion pin in the diff and I've seen somewhere they're so bad rusted. They will they will snap, they will break, and I always wonder about that. My method is that I will heat gently, heat the outside of the knuckle the casing, and after a short period of time, I will put bolts in from the outside and drive it out that way. I find that that usually works, so except in this case, it didn't work. Nothing worked. I never had one do this to me where you know, heat didn't work, pressing didn't work. I don't think the tool would have worked. That everybody raves about that they say works. I think it was one of those cars. And that's when you look at it and go uh oh. When the two pushbolts were stuck in the housing and I couldn't get them out, but I had just gotten it to move a little bit off the backing plate. I was able to take the saws all and cut the two bolts clean. And then at that point I was able to let everything cool down. And finally, and that's the trick. You've got to get a little bit of a gap between the bearing, the backing pl and the knuckle, all right, because otherwise penetrating whale can't get in there. Once I got that little bit of a gap, not much about an eighth of an inch, I was able to take some PB blaster shoot it in there right and let it soak, which I did, and Yeah, came back about twenty minutes later, hit it again, went back to work on the other car in Bay three, and you know, came back within forty five minutes and I was able to chisel the bearing out it. It just broke down the rust enough to do that. But you know, it's the uh oh moment. And then the other thing I always you know, you hate to it, you get into it, but this is what some of these jobs lead you to. You quote one number, you say, yeah, this is going to be a couple of three thousand dollars whatever it is, because it's going to be bearings and brakes and a bunch of other things. And then all of a sudden, you see that tiny little pinhole in the axle that's been spraying grease for a while in the boot. So now you've got to do a right side ax Well, the customers of the mind, if you're doing the right, you want to do the left. So now you're doing a left side bearing a left side act. All of a sudden, the job's gone up considerably. Is it worth it?

Yeah?

Yeah?

I think so, you know, I think so. I'll tell you what.

I think so, you know, I think so. I'll tell you what.

In the end.

In the end.

You know, Jan got a card. It's quiet like a tomb inside this car. Now that bearing was so loud and noisy. You know, four tires were bearings, two axles breakoverhaul, the car'll probably go another fifty thousand miles and then some And maybe that's okay. You know, I tell you these stories because that was my week. But you know, maybe that's okay. We did backing plates with it, you know, which is you know, it's funny, right, I've never done backing plates whenever, well I can't say never, but usually I never have to do backing plates, and I do super rewheel bearings. But for that right side bearing. It was just it was welded by rust. It just wouldn't come apart to that bearing assembly. And when I called the dealer they have dozens of them in stock. I'm thinking, you know what, maybe that's the way to do it. It would be quicker not having to separate the bearing from the backing. But yeah, it's it's cars are funny, Russ does. Russ does some some strange things to them, you know, in terms of in terms of making it more difficult to work on. So but uh, yeah, it's it's tough stuff. So hey, coming up at the bottom of the hour, No, not the bottom of the hour, around at the end of this hour. You know, this is Christmas week, right, Christmas is the middle of the week this year. We're looking forward to it. We're gonna work Monday Tuesday, We're gonna do pizza at the shop on Tuesday, and then we're gonna be off Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, which I'll have to be because I'm actually I'm out of here Tuesday afternoon. I've got to get north to help Santa get the sleigh ridy. I'm actually doing a zoom call with them about three hours from now to show the elves where to put the anti drone device so we can get to New Jersey and New York and stuff. But you know, just just just busy week, just busy stuff. So I'm down around the end of the hour, which is where I was going with this, is we're gonna have the Night Before Christmas. I know you guys look forward to that every year. I enjoyed doing that. You know I did that. You know, I'll never forget a good thirty some odd years ago. I don't want to remember. It was so long ago, a good couple of years ago. We were at a trade show dinner meeting and somebody we needed to it's a long story, long story, shortest. We needed to entertain the troops, so to speak, because the actual speaker was late and showing up. So you know, I wrote that on the back of a bathroom paper towel, you know, the Night before Christmas, and we put it to that, and myself and a dear friend of mine who's gone now, Richie Johnson, we did that in Unison at a trade show meeting here in New Jersey. So a little bit of history of where the Night Before Christmas came from, and ever since then, We've made it part of the show and I get to sit and think about Richie and tear up a little bit and enjoy the enjoy the season. It's the holidays. So anyway, let's pull over to a pause. Eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I should point out eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero is the card Doctor's twenty four to seven number. Very important. Eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. You can call it anytime, day or night, leave a message. The hotline is is live and manned between the hours of two and four pm Eastern Time on Saturdays. But eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero has an answering service attached to it. You can leave a message, we'll call you back and get you in Q for the next live broadcast. And you never know, we do tape shows from time to time for to continue to get new content on air. If we're taking a weekend off for some reason, and you know, you never know when you're gonna get a call and say, hey, you want to talk about this, We'll put you up on air and make it into a call. So always keep that number handy. Eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I'm running ending the card doctor. Let me pull over and take a pause. I'll be back right after this.

You know, Jan got a card. It's quiet like a tomb inside this car. Now that bearing was so loud and noisy. You know, four tires were bearings, two axles breakoverhaul, the car'll probably go another fifty thousand miles and then some And maybe that's okay. You know, I tell you these stories because that was my week. But you know, maybe that's okay. We did backing plates with it, you know, which is you know, it's funny, right, I've never done backing plates whenever, well I can't say never, but usually I never have to do backing plates, and I do super rewheel bearings. But for that right side bearing. It was just it was welded by rust. It just wouldn't come apart to that bearing assembly. And when I called the dealer they have dozens of them in stock. I'm thinking, you know what, maybe that's the way to do it. It would be quicker not having to separate the bearing from the backing. But yeah, it's it's cars are funny, Russ does. Russ does some some strange things to them, you know, in terms of in terms of making it more difficult to work on. So but uh, yeah, it's it's tough stuff. So hey, coming up at the bottom of the hour, No, not the bottom of the hour, around at the end of this hour. You know, this is Christmas week, right, Christmas is the middle of the week this year. We're looking forward to it. We're gonna work Monday Tuesday, We're gonna do pizza at the shop on Tuesday, and then we're gonna be off Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, which I'll have to be because I'm actually I'm out of here Tuesday afternoon. I've got to get north to help Santa get the sleigh ridy. I'm actually doing a zoom call with them about three hours from now to show the elves where to put the anti drone device so we can get to New Jersey and New York and stuff. But you know, just just just busy week, just busy stuff. So I'm down around the end of the hour, which is where I was going with this, is we're gonna have the Night Before Christmas. I know you guys look forward to that every year. I enjoyed doing that. You know I did that. You know, I'll never forget a good thirty some odd years ago. I don't want to remember. It was so long ago, a good couple of years ago. We were at a trade show dinner meeting and somebody we needed to it's a long story, long story, shortest. We needed to entertain the troops, so to speak, because the actual speaker was late and showing up. So you know, I wrote that on the back of a bathroom paper towel, you know, the Night before Christmas, and we put it to that, and myself and a dear friend of mine who's gone now, Richie Johnson, we did that in Unison at a trade show meeting here in New Jersey. So a little bit of history of where the Night Before Christmas came from, and ever since then, We've made it part of the show and I get to sit and think about Richie and tear up a little bit and enjoy the enjoy the season. It's the holidays. So anyway, let's pull over to a pause. Eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I should point out eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero is the card Doctor's twenty four to seven number. Very important. Eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. You can call it anytime, day or night, leave a message. The hotline is is live and manned between the hours of two and four pm Eastern Time on Saturdays. But eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero has an answering service attached to it. You can leave a message, we'll call you back and get you in Q for the next live broadcast. And you never know, we do tape shows from time to time for to continue to get new content on air. If we're taking a weekend off for some reason, and you know, you never know when you're gonna get a call and say, hey, you want to talk about this, We'll put you up on air and make it into a call. So always keep that number handy. Eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I'm running ending the card doctor. Let me pull over and take a pause. I'll be back right after this.

He drives that way. But when it it comes to fixing cars, Ron has car advice done right.

He drives that way. But when it it comes to fixing cars, Ron has car advice done right.

Eight five to five five six zero nine to nine zero zero. Here's Ron. Let's do some emails. Or actually this is a social media post. This comes to us from Don, who writes in hey Ron, We've got a new twenty twenty four Chevy Equinox. It's been great, except for the entertainment center. The thing that is most frustrating. That thing is the most frustrating thing ever. It does not have a CD player. You know, isn't it funny?

Eight five to five five six zero nine to nine zero zero. Here's Ron. Let's do some emails. Or actually this is a social media post. This comes to us from Don, who writes in hey Ron, We've got a new twenty twenty four Chevy Equinox. It's been great, except for the entertainment center. The thing that is most frustrating. That thing is the most frustrating thing ever. It does not have a CD player. You know, isn't it funny?

Right?

Right?

A lot of vehicles don't have CD players anymore. It's getting to be the impossible to get option. And so we loaded a thumb drive with all our CDs that we had ripped to the computer. Then we found out that it would not play the WMA format. So I spent weeks transferring everything to the MP three format. Then when you are driving by yourself, the USB will only play by way of voice recognition. It does not let you manually browse anything. I don't think that's the fault of the equinox though. I just think, honestly, I think you're using it incorrectly. I don't think they make it so that it can index a thumb I've seen this before that that's a problem. He then goes on to say the problem with voice recognition is it never gets anything right after about a dozen times it's saying I'm sorry, I didn't understand you. You just give up. You can manually do everything else. You can change radio stations or the Serio six M station, but it does not let you manually browse the USB thumb drive. Yeah, Like I said, I think what I would do is, because everything plays through your phone, do and I would look to see, you know, can you make a music collection using Amazon Music or Google Music on your phone and then just get it to pick from that? And I wonder if it would voice search that because your phone is likely an accepted device, because your phone will likely pair with that infotainment system, all right, and you know, then will it search accordingly in that? You know, I've had success. I can do that in my wife's car, she's got Alexis GX four sixty, and it will search my It will search my phone as far as well. Actually, no, I take that back. It won't search my phone, but it will let me screw all through to the next song, the next song, the next song. So, you know, I think the way you're using and I understand how you want to use it, I don't think it's possible, and I think because it's not designed to do that, you know, But I get it. I get the frustration. No CD player, What do you do? They should they put I think they should have CD players, but they don't. You know, which is you know? Try that though? Or I wonder what would happen if you loaded everything onto Google Drive and then you can manually make playlists from that. I wonder if that would work also, So, but I think everything's going to come through your phone. Everything is headed to your phone anyway. So I'm just you know, get used to the idea. It's the future. This comes to us. This is actually a caller. She hasn't gotten an are yet. Hey, Ron, it's Kathy. I have a twenty fifteen legacy Subaru. It's got three hundred and fourteen thousand miles on it. I've kept it up and I'm sorry now because they tell me I need a new catalytic converter, or the dealer wants five thousand dollars, some guy wants three thousand dollars. Then I found an anthemarket parts dealer in Carol, Iowa who can do it for about one thousand. Put all the lights were on one day later, and the next day they went off, and then they came back on again like the service engine. Soon now they're off again. I don't know what's going on, if I should replace it or what. But when I when the lights are on, I can't use my cruise control. Well, yeah, and a lot of the Japanese cars do that that. You know, it's it's it's it's a lot of the Japanese cars do that that They will disable crews and some of the other accessory function because the vehicle isn't in peak operating condition because when the check engine lights on, which it would be if a catalytic converter was having a failure, if the check engine light was on, then their concern is the vehicle working too hard under limited power, and they won't allow crews to operate. Now back to whose cat would I put on this? You know, this is a question of I think this is a question of what if, Kathy, if if you put any form of a catalytic converter on this vehicle and it suffers a cataclysmic failure engine or transmission, would you fix it? Is body and good enough shape to justify it? If the answer is yes, I'd probably put the manufacturer's CAT back on it. I know it's a lot of money, but if you look at catalytic converters side by side, the factory cat is twenty four inches long, The aftermarket cat is twenty inches long, the aftermarket after market CAT is fifteen inches long. They get shorter and they get smaller, and I think the only thing you can, you know, justify in your head is you've got to have that. That that you got to compromise. How long are you going to drive the car? And what sort of return on your dollars do you want to get? The manufacturer's cat lasted three hundred thousand miles. It's pretty good, right, you know, you don't need to go another three hundred thousand. But WILL a good quality we'll call it WILL, a first line aftermarket catalytic converter last you know, one hundred thousand miles. You know, to get this car to four to fifty. To get this car to four hundred and fifteen thousand miles would be quite a trick. Now, the issue is too that if you use a dirt cheap cat, and there's a lot of dirt cheap cats out there, will it actually work and do the job it's supposed to. It's an older engine, there's I'm sure some imbalances in the fuel system in terms of how it how it operates, and what it's supposed to do. So you're making that after market cat work just a little bit harder. You know, there's no there's no mystery to catalytic converters in my mind, all right, you know, I understand how they work, and it's in terms of getting them to solve the problem out of the box. That factory cat works the best. It can swallow a lot of junk, and I'm not suggesting you allow it to, but it's it's it's more forgiving than the aftermarket stuff. But it has its place. Right If the aftermarket cat is half the price of the manufacturer's cat, there's there's an answer right there in terms of what you're what you're gonna do, because maybe you don't want want to, you know, make that major of an investment, you know, and it brings me back to my first comment about what if. I also think that you should be talking to your regular mechanic whoever's been servicing the car up to this point, because with this kind of mileage on it, you know, there's going to be other extenuating circumstances, and you want to deal with a guy that you've had good success with. You know, if you were going to a doctor and it was heart surgery, would you change doctors in midstream because the next doctor down the list was newer but maybe cheaper or maybe just cheaper. I don't think you would. It doesn't make any sense, and I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't do the same thing with a car. You know, you've had a relationship with this guy. It sounds like he's been doing a lot of the maintenance, and I think that counts for something, and I think that's where you're going to get the most bang for the buck, you know, in terms of in terms of keeping that car on the road twenty fifteen, three hundred and fourteen thousand miles. You know, as an a side, you say you've done a lot of maintenance. I would look through the maintenance records. You know, has it had head gaskets, has it had good cooling system maintenance? What does the undercarriage suspension look like? Because it's not this problem, This problem is repairable. You know, it's a question of whose part do you want to put on it. I'd probably go somewhere between manufacturer and the cheapest guy in the aftermarket. You know, it's like the rules in house construction, get three estimates, pick the guy in the middle. But I think it's also a question of do you just want to take this money and put it towards a different vehicle altogether, something newer, with less miles on it, because the mileage here is extraordinary, over three hundred thousand, And I think that becomes a concern for you know, what else, what else could fail? You know, that old subject about rotating electrical comes to mind. Starters, alternators, you know, back in the day, we'd always worry about water pumps past a certain point. So, you know, I get it. And then the last thing I want to put in your head is, depending upon where you're driving, if you're out in remote parts of Iowa, if you're on quiet back roads late at night. You know, maybe having a newer car with less miles on it is more peace of mind for you as well as well as any family members, because anything can go wrong with the vehicle. It's it's a matter of odds, the odds, and you know, just trying to do your due diligence. So I hope that made sense. And if you need more information, Kathy, you know where to find me. Eighty five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I'm on anady in the car. Doctor. We're back right after this. Let's answer or some emails. Let's get some quiet time together. You and I. Hey Ron, as an avionics mechanic, I appreciate your methodical approach to troubleshooting. I also enjoy the shows when you're talking about your dad and his experience as an aircraft mechanic, and I kind of help that one day my son will speak as fondly about me as you have about your dad. You know, it's funny the older you get, you have more memories about your parents. And you know, I was fortunate that in the early years I had my dad for the short time that I did, but the influence that he left on me and you know about fixing cars, and there isn't a day that goes by that I somehow, you know, either I'm pulling a wrench out of my out of my toolbox at the shop that is from the forties, from you know, his time working lead mechanic American Airlines, or you know, just just thinking about some of the advice he gave me when I was a little kid that still applies to this day. You know, it's weird you hold a wrench in your hands and they're all big wrenches, the big wrenches as I call them. You know, anytime we get a you know we're working on something huge and the wrench size is over an inch and a half or you know, any anything like twenty five millimeters and up. If it's a newer vehicle, I say to myself, Gee, is this the rent that worked on FDR's airplane? Because it could have he was in charge of he was in charge of maintenance on the President's plane. Anyway, Jeff Wright continues, Anyway, my daughter's two thousand and four Jeep Liberty had a rebuilt transmission installed at one hundred and thirty five thousand miles four years ago. I checked the fluid twice a year when I serviced the car, and it's normal. This past year I checked it. It was a dark purple color. It didn't smell burnt. The transmission seemed to be working fine. It now has thirty two thousand miles on it. So I dropped the pan, changed the filter, and cleaned the magnet. It had about an eighth of inch of paste on it. After filling and driving it, the fluid didn't look much better. I'd entrain the torque inverter, which you can't. You'd have to do a specific procedure of flesh out through the cooler line, et cetera. I suctioned out about a gallon, replaced it, and the color improved slightly. Repeated the sequence again and it didn't really improve. I sent in for fluid analysis and it came back in for high and embraces. Fast forward six months, six thousand miles, sent in another example, same results, just lower amounts. My question is work at the embrace the material enter in limited knowledge of automatic transmissions, and these suggestions appreciated. Jeff in the luth Minnesota. Uh, you know what, Jeff, and for everybody else out there, you know those those answers are not good all right, because generally embraces or material in the trans fluid. It's either the clutch material of the transmission itself, meaning the trans is coming apart, or and I would bet more money on this that it's the tor converter itself. The tor converter has a lock up function where they mechanically locked the converter. Think of two house fans and you turn and they're they're they're they're in front of each other, and you turn on the first fan, fan A, fan B. You turn on fan A. You do not turn on fan B, but Fan A runs and the wind from fan A drives fan B. That's a torque converter, all right. You've got, you know, an object under propulsion fan blades. In this case, instead of fluid being the medium by which we drive the second fan or the second set of splines, we're using air. But that's basically how a torque inverter works. Now, in order to make a modern vehicle most efficient, they will, through various methods, mechanically lock the outer spline to the innerspline direct lock of the converter. That takes use of a pressure plate and some clutch material, all right. That clutch material will wear out over time, and then it tears through the transmission and it causes nothing but havoc. It just creates a horrible time. It creates a tough time, and I'm willing to bet that's what you're seeing. So what I would do is, I would, you know, keep changing the fluid, all right, stay on top of it, because automatic transmissions react to particulate and contamination and it's never good. So you know, I just keep changing the fluid overheated, you know, I would look. I looked in your case, but I would keep an eye out just in case three four, five, six months from now they do something. You know, there's generally more more updates and reflashes for computers, for transmissions in the way that they operate for the manufacturer than I think anything else, truthfully, and I would keep that in mind. Do they see do you see a reflash for this? I don't think there's anything out there. I look the other day when I got this email, so I didn't see anything. So but just be aware. But heat fluid are the two main causes what causes a transmission to break down, So just keep changing it. Just very very important. All right, kiddo, And thanks for the kind words about dad. Yeah, you know what good stuff. You know what. I'm proud that my dad was a mechanic and that I got I got the bug from him. This comes to us from a longtime listener in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. We leve Ourkia. But one thing is it as this annoying little steering wheel squeak in the steering column behind the steering wheel when it's cold, the thing squeaks summer not at all, goes away with the interior when it's warm. So I guess I mean to turn the heat on. So much for electronics and the wheel buttons. Thinking to take to the dealer, but wondering if there's a simple fix like silicon spray, or if they have to pull it apart. Kind of sounds like a slight chalkboard squeak, much more faint, or like a squeak while washing windows. Thanks DJ DJ. Probably what's going on here is inside inside the steering wheel or at the bottom of the steering wheel where it meets the column, there's a copper contact ring. There's some type of a contact ring that's going to be there with a brush writing against it, a copper brush or a brass brush, whatever the material is to maintain connectivity. And it's dry, and it's going to be a case of pulling the steering wheel, putting a drop of dielectric grease on that, and putting it back together. And I bet you the noise goes away. If that's what it is, that'll do it. We see this as a common problem, and yes, do change from hot to cold in the shop. It's not completely uncommon, you know, but yeah, and it's annoying. Is the best way I can describe what happens is the brush contact is chattering or bouncing off that that copper track ring and it and you put a drop of dielectric grease on it and it just lubricates it the least little bit and it works well. So you know, to get it into your mechanic, I'm sure they'll know what what it is that they have to do. Let's pull over and take the pause. I'm ronning Andy in the car doctor eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. We're back right after this, and away we go. Let's uh, let's go to Diana in Florida. Diana, welcome, How can I.

A lot of vehicles don't have CD players anymore. It's getting to be the impossible to get option. And so we loaded a thumb drive with all our CDs that we had ripped to the computer. Then we found out that it would not play the WMA format. So I spent weeks transferring everything to the MP three format. Then when you are driving by yourself, the USB will only play by way of voice recognition. It does not let you manually browse anything. I don't think that's the fault of the equinox though. I just think, honestly, I think you're using it incorrectly. I don't think they make it so that it can index a thumb I've seen this before that that's a problem. He then goes on to say the problem with voice recognition is it never gets anything right after about a dozen times it's saying I'm sorry, I didn't understand you. You just give up. You can manually do everything else. You can change radio stations or the Serio six M station, but it does not let you manually browse the USB thumb drive. Yeah, Like I said, I think what I would do is, because everything plays through your phone, do and I would look to see, you know, can you make a music collection using Amazon Music or Google Music on your phone and then just get it to pick from that? And I wonder if it would voice search that because your phone is likely an accepted device, because your phone will likely pair with that infotainment system, all right, and you know, then will it search accordingly in that? You know, I've had success. I can do that in my wife's car, she's got Alexis GX four sixty, and it will search my It will search my phone as far as well. Actually, no, I take that back. It won't search my phone, but it will let me screw all through to the next song, the next song, the next song. So, you know, I think the way you're using and I understand how you want to use it, I don't think it's possible, and I think because it's not designed to do that, you know, But I get it. I get the frustration. No CD player, What do you do? They should they put I think they should have CD players, but they don't. You know, which is you know? Try that though? Or I wonder what would happen if you loaded everything onto Google Drive and then you can manually make playlists from that. I wonder if that would work also, So, but I think everything's going to come through your phone. Everything is headed to your phone anyway. So I'm just you know, get used to the idea. It's the future. This comes to us. This is actually a caller. She hasn't gotten an are yet. Hey, Ron, it's Kathy. I have a twenty fifteen legacy Subaru. It's got three hundred and fourteen thousand miles on it. I've kept it up and I'm sorry now because they tell me I need a new catalytic converter, or the dealer wants five thousand dollars, some guy wants three thousand dollars. Then I found an anthemarket parts dealer in Carol, Iowa who can do it for about one thousand. Put all the lights were on one day later, and the next day they went off, and then they came back on again like the service engine. Soon now they're off again. I don't know what's going on, if I should replace it or what. But when I when the lights are on, I can't use my cruise control. Well, yeah, and a lot of the Japanese cars do that that. You know, it's it's it's it's a lot of the Japanese cars do that that They will disable crews and some of the other accessory function because the vehicle isn't in peak operating condition because when the check engine lights on, which it would be if a catalytic converter was having a failure, if the check engine light was on, then their concern is the vehicle working too hard under limited power, and they won't allow crews to operate. Now back to whose cat would I put on this? You know, this is a question of I think this is a question of what if, Kathy, if if you put any form of a catalytic converter on this vehicle and it suffers a cataclysmic failure engine or transmission, would you fix it? Is body and good enough shape to justify it? If the answer is yes, I'd probably put the manufacturer's CAT back on it. I know it's a lot of money, but if you look at catalytic converters side by side, the factory cat is twenty four inches long, The aftermarket cat is twenty inches long, the aftermarket after market CAT is fifteen inches long. They get shorter and they get smaller, and I think the only thing you can, you know, justify in your head is you've got to have that. That that you got to compromise. How long are you going to drive the car? And what sort of return on your dollars do you want to get? The manufacturer's cat lasted three hundred thousand miles. It's pretty good, right, you know, you don't need to go another three hundred thousand. But WILL a good quality we'll call it WILL, a first line aftermarket catalytic converter last you know, one hundred thousand miles. You know, to get this car to four to fifty. To get this car to four hundred and fifteen thousand miles would be quite a trick. Now, the issue is too that if you use a dirt cheap cat, and there's a lot of dirt cheap cats out there, will it actually work and do the job it's supposed to. It's an older engine, there's I'm sure some imbalances in the fuel system in terms of how it how it operates, and what it's supposed to do. So you're making that after market cat work just a little bit harder. You know, there's no there's no mystery to catalytic converters in my mind, all right, you know, I understand how they work, and it's in terms of getting them to solve the problem out of the box. That factory cat works the best. It can swallow a lot of junk, and I'm not suggesting you allow it to, but it's it's it's more forgiving than the aftermarket stuff. But it has its place. Right If the aftermarket cat is half the price of the manufacturer's cat, there's there's an answer right there in terms of what you're what you're gonna do, because maybe you don't want want to, you know, make that major of an investment, you know, and it brings me back to my first comment about what if. I also think that you should be talking to your regular mechanic whoever's been servicing the car up to this point, because with this kind of mileage on it, you know, there's going to be other extenuating circumstances, and you want to deal with a guy that you've had good success with. You know, if you were going to a doctor and it was heart surgery, would you change doctors in midstream because the next doctor down the list was newer but maybe cheaper or maybe just cheaper. I don't think you would. It doesn't make any sense, and I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't do the same thing with a car. You know, you've had a relationship with this guy. It sounds like he's been doing a lot of the maintenance, and I think that counts for something, and I think that's where you're going to get the most bang for the buck, you know, in terms of in terms of keeping that car on the road twenty fifteen, three hundred and fourteen thousand miles. You know, as an a side, you say you've done a lot of maintenance. I would look through the maintenance records. You know, has it had head gaskets, has it had good cooling system maintenance? What does the undercarriage suspension look like? Because it's not this problem, This problem is repairable. You know, it's a question of whose part do you want to put on it. I'd probably go somewhere between manufacturer and the cheapest guy in the aftermarket. You know, it's like the rules in house construction, get three estimates, pick the guy in the middle. But I think it's also a question of do you just want to take this money and put it towards a different vehicle altogether, something newer, with less miles on it, because the mileage here is extraordinary, over three hundred thousand, And I think that becomes a concern for you know, what else, what else could fail? You know, that old subject about rotating electrical comes to mind. Starters, alternators, you know, back in the day, we'd always worry about water pumps past a certain point. So, you know, I get it. And then the last thing I want to put in your head is, depending upon where you're driving, if you're out in remote parts of Iowa, if you're on quiet back roads late at night. You know, maybe having a newer car with less miles on it is more peace of mind for you as well as well as any family members, because anything can go wrong with the vehicle. It's it's a matter of odds, the odds, and you know, just trying to do your due diligence. So I hope that made sense. And if you need more information, Kathy, you know where to find me. Eighty five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I'm on anady in the car. Doctor. We're back right after this. Let's answer or some emails. Let's get some quiet time together. You and I. Hey Ron, as an avionics mechanic, I appreciate your methodical approach to troubleshooting. I also enjoy the shows when you're talking about your dad and his experience as an aircraft mechanic, and I kind of help that one day my son will speak as fondly about me as you have about your dad. You know, it's funny the older you get, you have more memories about your parents. And you know, I was fortunate that in the early years I had my dad for the short time that I did, but the influence that he left on me and you know about fixing cars, and there isn't a day that goes by that I somehow, you know, either I'm pulling a wrench out of my out of my toolbox at the shop that is from the forties, from you know, his time working lead mechanic American Airlines, or you know, just just thinking about some of the advice he gave me when I was a little kid that still applies to this day. You know, it's weird you hold a wrench in your hands and they're all big wrenches, the big wrenches as I call them. You know, anytime we get a you know we're working on something huge and the wrench size is over an inch and a half or you know, any anything like twenty five millimeters and up. If it's a newer vehicle, I say to myself, Gee, is this the rent that worked on FDR's airplane? Because it could have he was in charge of he was in charge of maintenance on the President's plane. Anyway, Jeff Wright continues, Anyway, my daughter's two thousand and four Jeep Liberty had a rebuilt transmission installed at one hundred and thirty five thousand miles four years ago. I checked the fluid twice a year when I serviced the car, and it's normal. This past year I checked it. It was a dark purple color. It didn't smell burnt. The transmission seemed to be working fine. It now has thirty two thousand miles on it. So I dropped the pan, changed the filter, and cleaned the magnet. It had about an eighth of inch of paste on it. After filling and driving it, the fluid didn't look much better. I'd entrain the torque inverter, which you can't. You'd have to do a specific procedure of flesh out through the cooler line, et cetera. I suctioned out about a gallon, replaced it, and the color improved slightly. Repeated the sequence again and it didn't really improve. I sent in for fluid analysis and it came back in for high and embraces. Fast forward six months, six thousand miles, sent in another example, same results, just lower amounts. My question is work at the embrace the material enter in limited knowledge of automatic transmissions, and these suggestions appreciated. Jeff in the luth Minnesota. Uh, you know what, Jeff, and for everybody else out there, you know those those answers are not good all right, because generally embraces or material in the trans fluid. It's either the clutch material of the transmission itself, meaning the trans is coming apart, or and I would bet more money on this that it's the tor converter itself. The tor converter has a lock up function where they mechanically locked the converter. Think of two house fans and you turn and they're they're they're they're in front of each other, and you turn on the first fan, fan A, fan B. You turn on fan A. You do not turn on fan B, but Fan A runs and the wind from fan A drives fan B. That's a torque converter, all right. You've got, you know, an object under propulsion fan blades. In this case, instead of fluid being the medium by which we drive the second fan or the second set of splines, we're using air. But that's basically how a torque inverter works. Now, in order to make a modern vehicle most efficient, they will, through various methods, mechanically lock the outer spline to the innerspline direct lock of the converter. That takes use of a pressure plate and some clutch material, all right. That clutch material will wear out over time, and then it tears through the transmission and it causes nothing but havoc. It just creates a horrible time. It creates a tough time, and I'm willing to bet that's what you're seeing. So what I would do is, I would, you know, keep changing the fluid, all right, stay on top of it, because automatic transmissions react to particulate and contamination and it's never good. So you know, I just keep changing the fluid overheated, you know, I would look. I looked in your case, but I would keep an eye out just in case three four, five, six months from now they do something. You know, there's generally more more updates and reflashes for computers, for transmissions in the way that they operate for the manufacturer than I think anything else, truthfully, and I would keep that in mind. Do they see do you see a reflash for this? I don't think there's anything out there. I look the other day when I got this email, so I didn't see anything. So but just be aware. But heat fluid are the two main causes what causes a transmission to break down, So just keep changing it. Just very very important. All right, kiddo, And thanks for the kind words about dad. Yeah, you know what good stuff. You know what. I'm proud that my dad was a mechanic and that I got I got the bug from him. This comes to us from a longtime listener in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. We leve Ourkia. But one thing is it as this annoying little steering wheel squeak in the steering column behind the steering wheel when it's cold, the thing squeaks summer not at all, goes away with the interior when it's warm. So I guess I mean to turn the heat on. So much for electronics and the wheel buttons. Thinking to take to the dealer, but wondering if there's a simple fix like silicon spray, or if they have to pull it apart. Kind of sounds like a slight chalkboard squeak, much more faint, or like a squeak while washing windows. Thanks DJ DJ. Probably what's going on here is inside inside the steering wheel or at the bottom of the steering wheel where it meets the column, there's a copper contact ring. There's some type of a contact ring that's going to be there with a brush writing against it, a copper brush or a brass brush, whatever the material is to maintain connectivity. And it's dry, and it's going to be a case of pulling the steering wheel, putting a drop of dielectric grease on that, and putting it back together. And I bet you the noise goes away. If that's what it is, that'll do it. We see this as a common problem, and yes, do change from hot to cold in the shop. It's not completely uncommon, you know, but yeah, and it's annoying. Is the best way I can describe what happens is the brush contact is chattering or bouncing off that that copper track ring and it and you put a drop of dielectric grease on it and it just lubricates it the least little bit and it works well. So you know, to get it into your mechanic, I'm sure they'll know what what it is that they have to do. Let's pull over and take the pause. I'm ronning Andy in the car doctor eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. We're back right after this, and away we go. Let's uh, let's go to Diana in Florida. Diana, welcome, How can I.

Help hi car? Doctor? Have a similar question? Then about an older vehicle?

Help hi car? Doctor? Have a similar question? Then about an older vehicle?

Uh?

Uh?

Then, well maintained ninety seven Plymouth Voyager three point three lead minivan.

Then, well maintained ninety seven Plymouth Voyager three point three lead minivan.

Okay, uh the uh.

Okay, uh the uh.

Done quite a bit of work on it here and there. But you know, if it needed something, I kept it up, so did regular maintenance. You know, it all changes, all that. And now I was steering pumps, sleeking. Say it's not the hoses, Say it's the front seal. Uh, but it was kind of the price was a shock. Is at eight hundred bucks? Okay? How many?

Done quite a bit of work on it here and there. But you know, if it needed something, I kept it up, so did regular maintenance. You know, it all changes, all that. And now I was steering pumps, sleeking. Say it's not the hoses, Say it's the front seal. Uh, but it was kind of the price was a shock. Is at eight hundred bucks? Okay? How many?

How many? How many miles are on this Diana?

How many? How many miles are on this Diana?

Oh? Okay? Yeah, two hundred and eighty five thousand?

Oh? Okay? Yeah, two hundred and eighty five thousand?

Okay, And you want to do what you want to? Just replace the seal?

Okay, And you want to do what you want to? Just replace the seal?

Well, I didn't know. Everyone says it's just place for Pompton.

Well, I didn't know. Everyone says it's just place for Pompton.

Right, me too, I don't know, me too. Let's let's let's let's look at it. Let's look at it like this. Okay, So let's say this car is junk. It's you're not going to fix it. What are you gonna what are you gonna go buy?

Right, me too, I don't know, me too. Let's let's let's let's look at it. Let's look at it like this. Okay, So let's say this car is junk. It's you're not going to fix it. What are you gonna what are you gonna go buy?

Well?

Well?

I don't want to do that, right right, Yeah, the car's been well maintained, it's not overly engineered. I like simple things, right.

I don't want to do that, right right, Yeah, the car's been well maintained, it's not overly engineered. I like simple things, right.

Well, and so there's your answer, right, So what is it about the eight hundred dollars that bothers you? The price of the part, the price of the labor, the repair in general. Have you been putting a lot of money in the car of late or it this one just rubs you the wrong way?

Well, and so there's your answer, right, So what is it about the eight hundred dollars that bothers you? The price of the part, the price of the labor, the repair in general. Have you been putting a lot of money in the car of late or it this one just rubs you the wrong way?

Well, uh, I would say, because I'm older, I'm used to lower repair costs, and it's always a shock, it seems. What for that it needs to be thirty dollars?

Well, uh, I would say, because I'm older, I'm used to lower repair costs, and it's always a shock, it seems. What for that it needs to be thirty dollars?

Well, I don't I don't know if I ever remember paristereing comsts being thirty five dollars. But I understand. Listen, I had a call in the shop two weeks ago. The person calls up and she wants me to work on her Row seven Honda, and we talked to labor eight. And labor rates in North Jersey are very expensive. You know, labor eight in North Jersey's one hundred seventy five dollars an hour. And that might be a shock, but you know, come to New Jersey. See what property taxes costs, see what insurance costs, See what taxes are It's the cost of doing business. So anyway, my point is it's regional, it's reflective of where you're at. So you know, her comment was, well, I think the labor rate should be fifty dollars an hour. Yeah, it's ridiculous, right, And I said, listen, you get when you get out of your time machine and come back from nineteen fifty five the minute how your trip was. Of course she hung up on me, you know, but it's it's the truth. It's it's it's reality. You know, there's a lot of sticker shock in auder repair, and I get that. But what I think you've got to look at just my two cents, because I'm assuming you called for my two cents worth, is that it's cheaper. Whatever it is, it's cheaper than a new vehicle. You know, this vehicle. You like this vehicle. Right. My big, my big concern would be how much of the power steering system are they replacing. There's a pump, there's two hoses in.

Well, I don't I don't know if I ever remember paristereing comsts being thirty five dollars. But I understand. Listen, I had a call in the shop two weeks ago. The person calls up and she wants me to work on her Row seven Honda, and we talked to labor eight. And labor rates in North Jersey are very expensive. You know, labor eight in North Jersey's one hundred seventy five dollars an hour. And that might be a shock, but you know, come to New Jersey. See what property taxes costs, see what insurance costs, See what taxes are It's the cost of doing business. So anyway, my point is it's regional, it's reflective of where you're at. So you know, her comment was, well, I think the labor rate should be fifty dollars an hour. Yeah, it's ridiculous, right, And I said, listen, you get when you get out of your time machine and come back from nineteen fifty five the minute how your trip was. Of course she hung up on me, you know, but it's it's the truth. It's it's it's reality. You know, there's a lot of sticker shock in auder repair, and I get that. But what I think you've got to look at just my two cents, because I'm assuming you called for my two cents worth, is that it's cheaper. Whatever it is, it's cheaper than a new vehicle. You know, this vehicle. You like this vehicle. Right. My big, my big concern would be how much of the power steering system are they replacing. There's a pump, there's two hoses in.

A rack and okay, you know everything but the rack. I replaced that rack about three years ago, okay. And one guy told me it was leaking. The next guy said, no, it's not leaking. Uh, And the next guy said it wasn't leaking. Right now, I'm saying it's not leaking because I don't see any thoughts there only at that one, you know, drip.

A rack and okay, you know everything but the rack. I replaced that rack about three years ago, okay. And one guy told me it was leaking. The next guy said, no, it's not leaking. Uh, And the next guy said it wasn't leaking. Right now, I'm saying it's not leaking because I don't see any thoughts there only at that one, you know, drip.

Right, Let me ask you this question, how come you got so how come you have so many mechanics? How come there's so many people giving you giving you opinions? And looks.

Right, Let me ask you this question, how come you got so how come you have so many mechanics? How come there's so many people giving you giving you opinions? And looks.

Well, he used to have a good mechanic, but he kind of got pushed out of the business. Lets mechanics quit during the COVID virus, right, and so it was then I tried to find another one. And and right now I happen to kind of be in two places because of a move I'm trying to make. And so I don't really know the mechanics, you know. So I said, well I better get a second opinion, like you ud a doctor. Yeah, sure, yeah, so that's why. And I had the two opinions. The prices ranged from like seven to fifty quest to nine hundred. Okay, but on power steering with the two hoses, and so let me ask.

Well, he used to have a good mechanic, but he kind of got pushed out of the business. Lets mechanics quit during the COVID virus, right, and so it was then I tried to find another one. And and right now I happen to kind of be in two places because of a move I'm trying to make. And so I don't really know the mechanics, you know. So I said, well I better get a second opinion, like you ud a doctor. Yeah, sure, yeah, so that's why. And I had the two opinions. The prices ranged from like seven to fifty quest to nine hundred. Okay, but on power steering with the two hoses, and so let me ask.

It, Let me, let me, let me ask you this question. Let me let me make a comment. This way more important or just as important as the power steering pump you're driving a twenty semi twenty five year old vehicle, twenty six year old vehicle, and it's got almost it's got almost three hundred found miles on it. This is a prime example of a vehicle that needs somebody to you know, little TLC. This is the kind of vehicle. As a mechanic, I don't I can't necessarily charge for everything I do because there's always a nip and a tuck and a touch and a top up and something you're going to tighten and stay on, you know, because it becomes a mechanic's pride to keep this vehicle going to a degree, there's a sense of that. It's not like a newer vehicle. So my point is as important as keeping it repaired, is you need a good mechanic. You almost need somebody. This is a great repair to start with. You don't want to find out the hard way that the guy, regardless of what it was eight hundred or eighteen hundred. You want to make sure the guy working on it a stands behind their work, they do a good job. If there is a problem, and if there's a problem, it's likely going to be with the part because the vehicle is so old where's the new part coming from? And you know you want to make sure they can stand up for it. So I think I would be cautious jumping into this until you decide who's gonna be the mechanic and who's gonna work on the car on a regular basis. I think that is more important than doing this. I don't want to say piecemeal, but you know the other guy's gone, I get it. It happens every day in this country. It happens every day in this business. Got to find another mechanic that's more important right now, I think, than something that's dripping. My other concern is, you know, have you asked anybody, and this is the key language, right, will this fix my leak? Because you don't want anybody coming back and saying, well, we thought it was the paristering pump, but it's really a rack. Because they're changing the rack. I'm sorry they're changing the pump and the two lines just because you don't see a leak from the rack. Make sure they looked at the bellows, the rubber seals, the rubber bellows that are over the end of it, all right, that sometimes they'll fill with fluid. I would almost put a little pinhole in If they can't determine for sure, you know, depending upon where this rat came from, this might also be a cause or a source of the leak as well. You got some homework to do, kiddo, do that and you know, by all means, give me a call back if you need more. I appreciate the call, and good luck to you and Merry Christmas. Hey coming up next. You know a long term car doctor tradition. We've been doing the night before Christmas the better part of thirty years, some of it before I was even on radio way back in the day. And that's longer than thirty years ago. So that just goes to show you how long ago.

It, Let me, let me, let me ask you this question. Let me let me make a comment. This way more important or just as important as the power steering pump you're driving a twenty semi twenty five year old vehicle, twenty six year old vehicle, and it's got almost it's got almost three hundred found miles on it. This is a prime example of a vehicle that needs somebody to you know, little TLC. This is the kind of vehicle. As a mechanic, I don't I can't necessarily charge for everything I do because there's always a nip and a tuck and a touch and a top up and something you're going to tighten and stay on, you know, because it becomes a mechanic's pride to keep this vehicle going to a degree, there's a sense of that. It's not like a newer vehicle. So my point is as important as keeping it repaired, is you need a good mechanic. You almost need somebody. This is a great repair to start with. You don't want to find out the hard way that the guy, regardless of what it was eight hundred or eighteen hundred. You want to make sure the guy working on it a stands behind their work, they do a good job. If there is a problem, and if there's a problem, it's likely going to be with the part because the vehicle is so old where's the new part coming from? And you know you want to make sure they can stand up for it. So I think I would be cautious jumping into this until you decide who's gonna be the mechanic and who's gonna work on the car on a regular basis. I think that is more important than doing this. I don't want to say piecemeal, but you know the other guy's gone, I get it. It happens every day in this country. It happens every day in this business. Got to find another mechanic that's more important right now, I think, than something that's dripping. My other concern is, you know, have you asked anybody, and this is the key language, right, will this fix my leak? Because you don't want anybody coming back and saying, well, we thought it was the paristering pump, but it's really a rack. Because they're changing the rack. I'm sorry they're changing the pump and the two lines just because you don't see a leak from the rack. Make sure they looked at the bellows, the rubber seals, the rubber bellows that are over the end of it, all right, that sometimes they'll fill with fluid. I would almost put a little pinhole in If they can't determine for sure, you know, depending upon where this rat came from, this might also be a cause or a source of the leak as well. You got some homework to do, kiddo, do that and you know, by all means, give me a call back if you need more. I appreciate the call, and good luck to you and Merry Christmas. Hey coming up next. You know a long term car doctor tradition. We've been doing the night before Christmas the better part of thirty years, some of it before I was even on radio way back in the day. And that's longer than thirty years ago. So that just goes to show you how long ago.

This was.

This was.

The night before Christmas is something I threw together real quick at the last minute. I hope you enjoy it. It's a yearly tradition from my house to yours. Merry Christmas. Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the dark, not a car was still broken. All the plugs had their spark, the wrenches were stashed all snug in their boxes. Well, me by myself was having Christmas party leftovers, some bagels and loses out from the lot. There rose such a clatter. I sprang to my feet and yelled, hey, what's the matter now? What to my bloodshot, tired eyes should appear? But some crazy old guy one sleigh with reindeer. I winced, and I cried, Oh great, just one more. I'd rather sit back and have a cup of tea and some smores. He approached the front door with a smile so bright. I quickly unlocked it and turned back on the office light. Excuse me, kind sir, but I'm having some trouble. The left runner on my sleigh has started to wobble. The balance is wrong and it pulls to the right. The reindeer working too hard this cold night. I have so much to do and no time left to do it. Do you think that you could well please get right to it without saying a word. I went to work right away. Too bad the alignment machine had no specks for a sleigh. Meanwhile, the reindeer were prancing around that rootolph in common. What a couple of clowns. In a matter of moments from time one point two, the runner was straight and the alignment done too. I helped him bloat up all the presents but one. He left it to pay me for cash.

The night before Christmas is something I threw together real quick at the last minute. I hope you enjoy it. It's a yearly tradition from my house to yours. Merry Christmas. Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the dark, not a car was still broken. All the plugs had their spark, the wrenches were stashed all snug in their boxes. Well, me by myself was having Christmas party leftovers, some bagels and loses out from the lot. There rose such a clatter. I sprang to my feet and yelled, hey, what's the matter now? What to my bloodshot, tired eyes should appear? But some crazy old guy one sleigh with reindeer. I winced, and I cried, Oh great, just one more. I'd rather sit back and have a cup of tea and some smores. He approached the front door with a smile so bright. I quickly unlocked it and turned back on the office light. Excuse me, kind sir, but I'm having some trouble. The left runner on my sleigh has started to wobble. The balance is wrong and it pulls to the right. The reindeer working too hard this cold night. I have so much to do and no time left to do it. Do you think that you could well please get right to it without saying a word. I went to work right away. Too bad the alignment machine had no specks for a sleigh. Meanwhile, the reindeer were prancing around that rootolph in common. What a couple of clowns. In a matter of moments from time one point two, the runner was straight and the alignment done too. I helped him bloat up all the presents but one. He left it to pay me for cash.

He had none.

He had none.

I hope it's from Snap on a half inch drive air gun. He started the sleigh by merely calling their names a dasher and dancer, Donna and Blitzen. Get up off your butts, Rudolph comment and fix him. It started to idle and float in the air. Then Rudolph lit up the sky with his nose extraordinary, and I heard him exclaim this could have been quite a mess. The car doctor rings true. These mechanics aren't expensive, they're really priceless.

I hope it's from Snap on a half inch drive air gun. He started the sleigh by merely calling their names a dasher and dancer, Donna and Blitzen. Get up off your butts, Rudolph comment and fix him. It started to idle and float in the air. Then Rudolph lit up the sky with his nose extraordinary, and I heard him exclaim this could have been quite a mess. The car doctor rings true. These mechanics aren't expensive, they're really priceless.

And may Chris Lessus be

And may Chris Lessus be