Ron An Aian.

Ron An Aian.

If I stick my finger in it and try to turn it, it doesn't make it turn. It just it spins, but it never it never actually runs fast. So of course, naturally I had a question of you know, Steve, never stick your hand in the fan when it's not working, because you never know when it's gonna come on and you're gonna get a You're gonna get a horrible manicure. The Car Doctor wondered.

If I stick my finger in it and try to turn it, it doesn't make it turn. It just it spins, but it never it never actually runs fast. So of course, naturally I had a question of you know, Steve, never stick your hand in the fan when it's not working, because you never know when it's gonna come on and you're gonna get a You're gonna get a horrible manicure. The Car Doctor wondered.

What your thoughts were on the aftermarket prices and the part.

What your thoughts were on the aftermarket prices and the part.

I think there are places and points where after market makes perfect sense. So here's a car that's ten years old with three hundred thousand miles on it.

I think there are places and points where after market makes perfect sense. So here's a car that's ten years old with three hundred thousand miles on it.

Welcome to the radio home of ron An Aian, 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.

Welcome to the radio home of ron An Aian, 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 opening, but I am here to take your calls at eight five five five six ninety nine hundred and nah pee.

The garage doors are opening, but I am here to take your calls at eight five five five six ninety nine hundred and nah pee.

Running.

Running.

I think I'm on a mission this year that I want to I want to talk more about oil changes. We don't talk enough about simple stuff, and I want to talk about you know, God, it's the simple things that seem to have the biggest effect on vehicles today. Oil changes, you know everybody, And I think I don't want to say everybody. I have to get that programming out of my head. But I think a lot of you have gotten away from that Gee I want a cheap oil change. I think a lot of you are asking for an efficient oil change. I think a lot of you are asking for a correctly done oil change, and I think you're seeing the value in it. And I think the reason you're seeing the value in it is because of the price of a replacement vehicle. And you realize that the oil change still is the most critical thing you can do to a vehicle when done properly and efficiently and effectively. And there's still a lot of little mistakes. And I don't realize the mistakes that are being made until I see a new customer for the first time that's been having their oil change is done somewhere else. I had that experience this week. Someone brought me a twenty twenty one Lexus g X four sixty. You know, nice vehicle, super nice vehicle. And you know, big heavy tank of a vehicle, the three point five liter V six the Toyota's had forever and ever. You know, it's just it's a bulletproof motor. It's just it runs forever. But it's got to get serviced correctly. And some of the faults that I saw this other shot make was in the way that they they they didn't pick up after themselves. You know, I can't stand a messy room. When you leave the room, make sure the room is clean. When you do the oil change, make sure the vehicle's clean. You know, when you change the filter, can we wipe down the excess oil that's left over from from you know, when you take the case, it's a filter housing. When you take the housing down, can we get rid of the extra oil? I mean it's important because the next time you go to look at the vehicle, how do you know it's not an oil leak? Because you're starting to see oil slung around, and you know, you start to question it. And over time, over a couple of oil changes two three, four, that oil leak becomes g is it an oil leak? Or is that leftover? Or what is that? So it's important the other shop needs to really clean the oil from from the housing area when they when they take that old filter down. I love these shops that won't replace drain plug gaskets. You look in the majority of owners manuals. You know, when you take the oil drain plug out, when you take the bolt out of the bottom of the oil pan, there's a gasket there. And in a lot of cases they're removable. They're replaceable. Now some are part of the plug. General motors applications come to mind, Ford applications come to mind, Chrysler Jeep. You know where it's it's not replaceable, and that's okay. I'm not saying those have to be replaced. Those get replaced eventually that the O ring gets crushed so bad to the point it's it's it's not a it's a reusable gasket up to X number of times. It also depends on how much of a gorilla the guy is when he's putting the drain plug back into the oil pan. But I'm talking specifically a lot of the Japanese vehicles, toyotas, hondas where they call for drain plug gaskets to be replaced Nissans. This Lexus has a from the factory. They use a fiber board style twelve millimeter hole gasket. And you know there's there's aftermarket versions. There's some Toyota versions where it's a gasket with a rubber o ring. There's all, but they call for them to be replaced when you have to take a hammer and a chisel to the drain plug gasket because it's so stuck and embedded to the oil pan. A. You know it's over tightened. B it's time to replace it because it's it's it's critical when you have to overtighten the drain plug to get the gasket to stop leaking or seeping, you're actually pulling on the threads that the drain plug goes into, and over time you're going to strip that drain plug out, or even worse, you're going to break the nut off inside the pan because the nut that that stack of threads, so to speak, it's just spot welded to the to the bottom of the oil pan and you're gonna you're gonna break that nut free and then you're stuck with it. And you know, I've seen it happen where you're you're trying to tighten it, and now the nut breaks free. You're trying to loosen it, and the nut breaks free, and now you've got this drain plug that you can't move either way because it's wedged itself into this threaded nut that has threads that are gnarled up. And now the nut just spins against the bolt, so to speak, and you can't tighten it, you can't loosen it, and you've got this constant You've got this constant leak forcing you to have to replace the oil pan. So just change the gasket. It's not hard. I don't understand, and I'm calling out the shops that just can't seem to get oil or any fluid levels.

I think I'm on a mission this year that I want to I want to talk more about oil changes. We don't talk enough about simple stuff, and I want to talk about you know, God, it's the simple things that seem to have the biggest effect on vehicles today. Oil changes, you know everybody, And I think I don't want to say everybody. I have to get that programming out of my head. But I think a lot of you have gotten away from that Gee I want a cheap oil change. I think a lot of you are asking for an efficient oil change. I think a lot of you are asking for a correctly done oil change, and I think you're seeing the value in it. And I think the reason you're seeing the value in it is because of the price of a replacement vehicle. And you realize that the oil change still is the most critical thing you can do to a vehicle when done properly and efficiently and effectively. And there's still a lot of little mistakes. And I don't realize the mistakes that are being made until I see a new customer for the first time that's been having their oil change is done somewhere else. I had that experience this week. Someone brought me a twenty twenty one Lexus g X four sixty. You know, nice vehicle, super nice vehicle. And you know, big heavy tank of a vehicle, the three point five liter V six the Toyota's had forever and ever. You know, it's just it's a bulletproof motor. It's just it runs forever. But it's got to get serviced correctly. And some of the faults that I saw this other shot make was in the way that they they they didn't pick up after themselves. You know, I can't stand a messy room. When you leave the room, make sure the room is clean. When you do the oil change, make sure the vehicle's clean. You know, when you change the filter, can we wipe down the excess oil that's left over from from you know, when you take the case, it's a filter housing. When you take the housing down, can we get rid of the extra oil? I mean it's important because the next time you go to look at the vehicle, how do you know it's not an oil leak? Because you're starting to see oil slung around, and you know, you start to question it. And over time, over a couple of oil changes two three, four, that oil leak becomes g is it an oil leak? Or is that leftover? Or what is that? So it's important the other shop needs to really clean the oil from from the housing area when they when they take that old filter down. I love these shops that won't replace drain plug gaskets. You look in the majority of owners manuals. You know, when you take the oil drain plug out, when you take the bolt out of the bottom of the oil pan, there's a gasket there. And in a lot of cases they're removable. They're replaceable. Now some are part of the plug. General motors applications come to mind, Ford applications come to mind, Chrysler Jeep. You know where it's it's not replaceable, and that's okay. I'm not saying those have to be replaced. Those get replaced eventually that the O ring gets crushed so bad to the point it's it's it's not a it's a reusable gasket up to X number of times. It also depends on how much of a gorilla the guy is when he's putting the drain plug back into the oil pan. But I'm talking specifically a lot of the Japanese vehicles, toyotas, hondas where they call for drain plug gaskets to be replaced Nissans. This Lexus has a from the factory. They use a fiber board style twelve millimeter hole gasket. And you know there's there's aftermarket versions. There's some Toyota versions where it's a gasket with a rubber o ring. There's all, but they call for them to be replaced when you have to take a hammer and a chisel to the drain plug gasket because it's so stuck and embedded to the oil pan. A. You know it's over tightened. B it's time to replace it because it's it's it's critical when you have to overtighten the drain plug to get the gasket to stop leaking or seeping, you're actually pulling on the threads that the drain plug goes into, and over time you're going to strip that drain plug out, or even worse, you're going to break the nut off inside the pan because the nut that that stack of threads, so to speak, it's just spot welded to the to the bottom of the oil pan and you're gonna you're gonna break that nut free and then you're stuck with it. And you know, I've seen it happen where you're you're trying to tighten it, and now the nut breaks free. You're trying to loosen it, and the nut breaks free, and now you've got this drain plug that you can't move either way because it's wedged itself into this threaded nut that has threads that are gnarled up. And now the nut just spins against the bolt, so to speak, and you can't tighten it, you can't loosen it, and you've got this constant You've got this constant leak forcing you to have to replace the oil pan. So just change the gasket. It's not hard. I don't understand, and I'm calling out the shops that just can't seem to get oil or any fluid levels.

Right.

Right.

We tend to check new oil changes for the first time cars we haven't seen before, and this one was no exception. It takes eight point two courts as perspective. You know, is it seven point eight? Is at eight quarts? Is it eight point three? Yeah, this vehicle was half a quart over. This vehicle probably had close to nine quarts of oil in it, And that's a problem. So too much oil is bad, too little oil is bad, too much oil is bad. Can we get the levels right, and you don't see that as the consumer, but you'll see it somewhere in the longevity or lack of longevity in the vehicle entire pressure. Now it's getting harder for a shop to do incorrect tire pressure because many vehicles today will display tire pressure up on the dashboard, so that's sort of a good thing, but you know, they're always they seem to be right at the bottom of the razor's edge. There's no there's no adjustment for temperature, there's no adjustment long term. And then you see, like in the case of this Lexus and this particular vehicle owner, she didn't understand really how to display things on the dashport, so she never saw it. She had one tire that was six pounds over from what the rest of them were, and one of her tires was three pounds under. So you know, we had a nine pound tire pressure spread in opposite corners left front, right, rear. And you wonder how that affects the ability. You wonder how that affects alignment long term, and you wonder how that affects tirewear long term, and you know, it's all the little things. Oil changes. It's a game of inches. It really is. It's the minutia in the detail that makes a good oil change, and you've got to start to be aware of it. I think that, yeah, I think that quick oil changes do have their place, but I think they have to be done correctly. I think that having a mechanic attend to your vehicle needs on a full time basis is getting more and more important because you have to stop and consider the alternatives. You have to stop and consider it's not what your vehicle's worth, it's what's it What is it going to cost to replace it? And I have this conversation more and more coming up later this hour, in the next hour this weekend, I'm going to talk about the twenty eleven Honda Odyssey that needed a couple of thousand dollars worth of work as the result of an oil leak that you know, created quite a serious issue with it. And when we talked about replacement, it was, you know, round numbers. Do you spend three grand to fix this Honda or do you spend sixty five thousand dollars to replace it? And this is a twenty eleven Honda with one hundred and seventy five thousand miles on it. So you start to weigh the value of what does it cost to keep a car? What does it cost to replace a car? And you start to think about the repairs, and you come back to gee, simple is important. Basic is important. Correctly is important because it all adds up. It all counts taking care of a car. And I'll leave it here all right, before we go into the into the pause. You know, taking care of a car is no different than taking care of ourselves. You get to bed by ten o'clock, you wake up at six. You had a good night's sleep. You know, you have a decent breakfast, You've got fuel and the tank. All right, you do all the things you need to do to get your day started, to carry on your day. You always tend to feel better when you're running on three hour nights and lots of coffee and lack of food and no protein and general logica. You know what, like your car, you're just going to start the buck and misfire and have problems all throughout the day. So you got to take care of yourself. You got to take care of the car. It really is that important. Hello and welcome Roninini and the car doctor who else would you expect to be here right phone numbers eight five five five six oh nine nine zero zero. We are live and in color in the studio today. Tom and I are both here and we're working hard to keep you guys informed about your automobiles. That phone number again is eight five five zero nine nine zero zero. And keep in mind that phone number is twenty four to seven. Regardless of where you hear this radio show, I don't care what time the day or night it is when you hear this show, or if you're on listening via the stream or listening via the podcast, that eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero phone number. That number is there for you all the time. We leave it up all the time. There is a messaging service applied. You get to hear Tom's melodious tones instructing you to leave a message and we will call you back and put you in the queue for the next live broadcast, which is Saturday afternoons two to four pm. So that means that regardless of whether or not you can hear this radio show in your time zone, your planet zone, or wherever you are in this dimension, if you call eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero Saturday two to four pm Eastern time. You get to talk to us, and more importantly, we get to talk to you and solve your car's problem, because that's what we're all about. Let's pull over, take the pause. We'll kick open the garage doors when every turn. I'm ronin Ay and the car Doctor. Don't go away for the best in car advice, give Ron a call eight five five five six zero nine to nine zero zero.

We tend to check new oil changes for the first time cars we haven't seen before, and this one was no exception. It takes eight point two courts as perspective. You know, is it seven point eight? Is at eight quarts? Is it eight point three? Yeah, this vehicle was half a quart over. This vehicle probably had close to nine quarts of oil in it, And that's a problem. So too much oil is bad, too little oil is bad, too much oil is bad. Can we get the levels right, and you don't see that as the consumer, but you'll see it somewhere in the longevity or lack of longevity in the vehicle entire pressure. Now it's getting harder for a shop to do incorrect tire pressure because many vehicles today will display tire pressure up on the dashboard, so that's sort of a good thing, but you know, they're always they seem to be right at the bottom of the razor's edge. There's no there's no adjustment for temperature, there's no adjustment long term. And then you see, like in the case of this Lexus and this particular vehicle owner, she didn't understand really how to display things on the dashport, so she never saw it. She had one tire that was six pounds over from what the rest of them were, and one of her tires was three pounds under. So you know, we had a nine pound tire pressure spread in opposite corners left front, right, rear. And you wonder how that affects the ability. You wonder how that affects alignment long term, and you wonder how that affects tirewear long term, and you know, it's all the little things. Oil changes. It's a game of inches. It really is. It's the minutia in the detail that makes a good oil change, and you've got to start to be aware of it. I think that, yeah, I think that quick oil changes do have their place, but I think they have to be done correctly. I think that having a mechanic attend to your vehicle needs on a full time basis is getting more and more important because you have to stop and consider the alternatives. You have to stop and consider it's not what your vehicle's worth, it's what's it What is it going to cost to replace it? And I have this conversation more and more coming up later this hour, in the next hour this weekend, I'm going to talk about the twenty eleven Honda Odyssey that needed a couple of thousand dollars worth of work as the result of an oil leak that you know, created quite a serious issue with it. And when we talked about replacement, it was, you know, round numbers. Do you spend three grand to fix this Honda or do you spend sixty five thousand dollars to replace it? And this is a twenty eleven Honda with one hundred and seventy five thousand miles on it. So you start to weigh the value of what does it cost to keep a car? What does it cost to replace a car? And you start to think about the repairs, and you come back to gee, simple is important. Basic is important. Correctly is important because it all adds up. It all counts taking care of a car. And I'll leave it here all right, before we go into the into the pause. You know, taking care of a car is no different than taking care of ourselves. You get to bed by ten o'clock, you wake up at six. You had a good night's sleep. You know, you have a decent breakfast, You've got fuel and the tank. All right, you do all the things you need to do to get your day started, to carry on your day. You always tend to feel better when you're running on three hour nights and lots of coffee and lack of food and no protein and general logica. You know what, like your car, you're just going to start the buck and misfire and have problems all throughout the day. So you got to take care of yourself. You got to take care of the car. It really is that important. Hello and welcome Roninini and the car doctor who else would you expect to be here right phone numbers eight five five five six oh nine nine zero zero. We are live and in color in the studio today. Tom and I are both here and we're working hard to keep you guys informed about your automobiles. That phone number again is eight five five zero nine nine zero zero. And keep in mind that phone number is twenty four to seven. Regardless of where you hear this radio show, I don't care what time the day or night it is when you hear this show, or if you're on listening via the stream or listening via the podcast, that eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero phone number. That number is there for you all the time. We leave it up all the time. There is a messaging service applied. You get to hear Tom's melodious tones instructing you to leave a message and we will call you back and put you in the queue for the next live broadcast, which is Saturday afternoons two to four pm. So that means that regardless of whether or not you can hear this radio show in your time zone, your planet zone, or wherever you are in this dimension, if you call eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero Saturday two to four pm Eastern time. You get to talk to us, and more importantly, we get to talk to you and solve your car's problem, because that's what we're all about. Let's pull over, take the pause. We'll kick open the garage doors when every turn. I'm ronin Ay and the car Doctor. Don't go away for the best in car advice, give Ron a call eight five five five six zero nine to nine zero zero.

Now back to Ron.

Now back to Ron.

Hey, let's take it right up to New Hampshire and talk to Steve. Steve, welcome to the Car Doctor, sir. How can I help you in your own for Tahoe.

Hey, let's take it right up to New Hampshire and talk to Steve. Steve, welcome to the Car Doctor, sir. How can I help you in your own for Tahoe.

Hey there, Ron, I've got a two thousand and four Chevy Tahos the seventy one package, and I'm kind of at a crossroads in the road. The vehicle just came out of paint. It's in great shape, just to three hundred k. However, it will not pass inspection. It't just broken in exactly, it will not pass inspection due to there are these body support mounts. They look like big rubber cheeseburgers. Yeah, with hardware sandwiched in between the two. I've got it out of mechanic and he called me on Friday and he said, Steve, uh, the only way we can make this repair because of the Z seventy one package. And that's the reason for me calling you. I wanted to get your opinion. He says he needs to remove the rear carpet and the rear seats and cut a hole with a grinder to get to these. Am I getting bad information here? Well?

Hey there, Ron, I've got a two thousand and four Chevy Tahos the seventy one package, and I'm kind of at a crossroads in the road. The vehicle just came out of paint. It's in great shape, just to three hundred k. However, it will not pass inspection. It't just broken in exactly, it will not pass inspection due to there are these body support mounts. They look like big rubber cheeseburgers. Yeah, with hardware sandwiched in between the two. I've got it out of mechanic and he called me on Friday and he said, Steve, uh, the only way we can make this repair because of the Z seventy one package. And that's the reason for me calling you. I wanted to get your opinion. He says he needs to remove the rear carpet and the rear seats and cut a hole with a grinder to get to these. Am I getting bad information here? Well?

Wait minute, now, is it the body mounts on the frame or on the body side, Yes, on the frame, on the frame, So it's the it's the ear that's sticking out of the frame.

Wait minute, now, is it the body mounts on the frame or on the body side, Yes, on the frame, on the frame, So it's the it's the ear that's sticking out of the frame.

Can go all right?

Can go all right?

So why does he have to cut? Why does he have to gain access VISA V through a hole in the floor.

So why does he have to cut? Why does he have to gain access VISA V through a hole in the floor.

Exactly? That doesn't it does not make sense.

Exactly? That doesn't it does not make sense.

That doesn't make any sense to me either. I would have to see this now. I will tell you this a Z seventy one Tahoe, a Z seventy one suburban. Ask me how I know this has has a different running board set up. I will tell you that the running board is specific to the vehicle as far as because of the Z seventy one option, because of the lower balance, the way the running board is molded into it. So I would think the running boards come off just for the moment, and then you're going to be looking at the frame. You're going to be looking at the which is just basically a piece of rounded steel welded to the frame as a brace, and then the cushion sits between it and the body if the body mount, not the body mount itself, but the portion that the bolt goes into against the floor pan. If the floor pan is intact, I don't know why. I'm why I have to come at it from the top. I would think the way you're going to approach this is from underneath. Maybe you have to take out the fuel tank to get in there and weld something, or you have to remove part of the exhaust to gain access. But I would want to see a picture. I would want to see a picture of that. I don't think it's in I don't think it's unrepaarable as long as it's not the floor pan side. As long as the piece that the bolt threads into is still solid and intact, I think the frame side is very repaarable.

That doesn't make any sense to me either. I would have to see this now. I will tell you this a Z seventy one Tahoe, a Z seventy one suburban. Ask me how I know this has has a different running board set up. I will tell you that the running board is specific to the vehicle as far as because of the Z seventy one option, because of the lower balance, the way the running board is molded into it. So I would think the running boards come off just for the moment, and then you're going to be looking at the frame. You're going to be looking at the which is just basically a piece of rounded steel welded to the frame as a brace, and then the cushion sits between it and the body if the body mount, not the body mount itself, but the portion that the bolt goes into against the floor pan. If the floor pan is intact, I don't know why. I'm why I have to come at it from the top. I would think the way you're going to approach this is from underneath. Maybe you have to take out the fuel tank to get in there and weld something, or you have to remove part of the exhaust to gain access. But I would want to see a picture. I would want to see a picture of that. I don't think it's in I don't think it's unrepaarable as long as it's not the floor pan side. As long as the piece that the bolt threads into is still solid and intact, I think the frame side is very repaarable.

All right, Okay, all the hardware those rubber cheeseburgers have been compressed rye rotted right, the pocket, the ear that those sits into, those are all rusted out. So he wants to fabricate and well new ones on good, but to go through.

All right, Okay, all the hardware those rubber cheeseburgers have been compressed rye rotted right, the pocket, the ear that those sits into, those are all rusted out. So he wants to fabricate and well new ones on good, but to go through.

Yeah, yes, what a couple of thousand bucks?

Yeah, yes, what a couple of thousand bucks?

Yeah, actually about thirty five hundred, he quoted me.

Yeah, actually about thirty five hundred, he quoted me.

Okay, so let's let's let's play the game this way. Let's make it four thousand. Let's say he's going to have a problem. You're dealing with rust, all right, So there's a lot of unknown here. Okay, Yeah, and let me ask the important question first. Is this guy your regular mechanic?

Okay, so let's let's let's play the game this way. Let's make it four thousand. Let's say he's going to have a problem. You're dealing with rust, all right, So there's a lot of unknown here. Okay, Yeah, and let me ask the important question first. Is this guy your regular mechanic?

No, new guy came recommended on the internet locally here in NASHAUA.

No, new guy came recommended on the internet locally here in NASHAUA.

Okay, what happened to your last guy?

Okay, what happened to your last guy?

The last guy was in Merrimack. He had the truck since May seven months, sat on it. Obviously, he didn't want to do the work. I just had it flapped at a via triple A from that facility in Merrimack because he was a total you know, just non responsive, and I've towed it to this place.

The last guy was in Merrimack. He had the truck since May seven months, sat on it. Obviously, he didn't want to do the work. I just had it flapped at a via triple A from that facility in Merrimack because he was a total you know, just non responsive, and I've towed it to this place.

It's amazing there's shops like that out there. But I'm sorry to hear that they represent that they represent the industry. Badly.

It's amazing there's shops like that out there. But I'm sorry to hear that they represent that they represent the industry. Badly.

So, you know, have you ever heard of safety cap products?

So, you know, have you ever heard of safety cap products?

No, that doesn't mean anything. It could be regional, it could be you know, just something I don't see on a regular basis. Why what do they do? They make a repair kit.

No, that doesn't mean anything. It could be regional, it could be you know, just something I don't see on a regular basis. Why what do they do? They make a repair kit.

For this exactly? They custom fab these pockets or ears that get welded onto the side of the frame. I went on to their website and they recommended three shops in the area. And I've got it. At this guy that wants thirty five hundred?

For this exactly? They custom fab these pockets or ears that get welded onto the side of the frame. I went on to their website and they recommended three shops in the area. And I've got it. At this guy that wants thirty five hundred?

Is this guy?

Is this guy?

Is this guy from Hollis?

Is this guy from Hollis?

Is this guy one of those shops?

Is this guy one of those shops?

He is? He's an authorized dealer, all right. But what's strange is he doesn't want to buy the highway from them. He wants to fabricate it himself, him and his son. Why, I know, the plot thick and.

He is? He's an authorized dealer, all right. But what's strange is he doesn't want to buy the highway from them. He wants to fabricate it himself, him and his son. Why, I know, the plot thick and.

Well, yeah, yeah, why, I mean that's a legit question. And listen, I don't think this is a conversation you can have over the phone with the guy. I think he got to go down there in person, you know, I think, Hey, listen, you know whatever his name is, John Fred Joe, Hey, listen, can we put it up in the air. Can you show me where the rod is I'm curious. Look, I'm trying to develop a relationship with you as a mechanic. I welcome the opportunity to, you know, to forge this relationship and steal, so to speak, as you do. My frame mounts. But I've got it. I'm just trying to process it in my mind. And you know what shocked the guy a little bit. If this is how you feel, it's not the thirty five hundred dollars, you don't care if it's forty five hundred dollars. You just want the job done right and you don't want to have a problem. That's what you're after, you know, And tell him the last guy I was at And I'm reading your mind here, Steve, so you know if I'm off base, just tell me. But I think your problem is you're spooked by the last guy. You're like, God, am I am? I going from bad to worse? Am I setting myself up for not only failure, but another seven months of not having my truck back?

Well, yeah, yeah, why, I mean that's a legit question. And listen, I don't think this is a conversation you can have over the phone with the guy. I think he got to go down there in person, you know, I think, Hey, listen, you know whatever his name is, John Fred Joe, Hey, listen, can we put it up in the air. Can you show me where the rod is I'm curious. Look, I'm trying to develop a relationship with you as a mechanic. I welcome the opportunity to, you know, to forge this relationship and steal, so to speak, as you do. My frame mounts. But I've got it. I'm just trying to process it in my mind. And you know what shocked the guy a little bit. If this is how you feel, it's not the thirty five hundred dollars, you don't care if it's forty five hundred dollars. You just want the job done right and you don't want to have a problem. That's what you're after, you know, And tell him the last guy I was at And I'm reading your mind here, Steve, so you know if I'm off base, just tell me. But I think your problem is you're spooked by the last guy. You're like, God, am I am? I going from bad to worse? Am I setting myself up for not only failure, but another seven months of not having my truck back?

You know.

You know.

What I'd be concerned about is my question would be, what does the rest of the truck look like? It's three hundred thousand miles, it's twenty one years old. I would pull the gas tank out. I'd make sure all the break and fuel lines are in good shape, all right, if you haven't done them, now's the moment I would weld all the frame projects. Okay, all right, yeap, then you know, and.

What I'd be concerned about is my question would be, what does the rest of the truck look like? It's three hundred thousand miles, it's twenty one years old. I would pull the gas tank out. I'd make sure all the break and fuel lines are in good shape, all right, if you haven't done them, now's the moment I would weld all the frame projects. Okay, all right, yeap, then you know, and.

Then I've kept up on the maintenance with it. Yeah, And then I say, yes, it's sad. Yeah, well, let's want to keep it alive. But I want to have the right mechanic do right by me with the right work right now.

Then I've kept up on the maintenance with it. Yeah, And then I say, yes, it's sad. Yeah, well, let's want to keep it alive. But I want to have the right mechanic do right by me with the right work right now.

Then there's the Then there's the other side of this. Let's say you don't fix it and you want another one. A base Tahoe is sixty five thousand dollars. Brother, it's a lot of coin. Now, it's a lot of coin, And I think you have to approach it from that perspective. It's not what it's going to cost you to fix. It's what's it going to cost you to replace at some point, provided the vehicle justifies it. Look, let's say he fixes the frame and it's four thousand dollars, and let's say three months from now, whether you've done it or not in the past, the transmission fails and that's five grand. And let's say six months from now, the engine. Let's go, and that's ten grand. You're still under twenty thousand dollars driving a vehicle you like. That looks good, that's now mechanically fit, and you don't have six years worth of car payments. But you've got to make sure you've got the right mechanic, the right guy doing the job. Good luck to you, Stevie. It's time to go down and have a cup of coffee and talk to the new guy. Let us know what you do. I'm Ronning Andy and the car doctor. I'm back right after this. See welcome back by the way. Eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero is the phone number, and we can talk to you about your car and it's problem eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I want to go back to that caller Steve in New Hampshire and just talk about that for a second. The danger in that repair. There's a lot of unknown, all right. You're dealing with rust. Rust is a problem, all right, and it's it's it's so hard to give an estimate, and and you don't know if you don't know if you're high, you don't know if you're low. You know, estimates are a ballpark. But by the very definition if you look up Webster and Websters what an estimate is, it's an approximation and it changes accordingly. And it's a it's a hard first date for Steve and this new mechanic because you know, they've got to have a trust bond between the two of them as to what to expect. And a lot of times order repair isn't isn't about the repair. It's managing the expectation of what's to come and and that's the hard part. And that's what a good shop we'll try to do with a new customer and what to expect and explain. And that's why I suggested for Steve to go and talk to this guy and you know, have that verbal cup of coffee, maybe your physical cup of coffee, and say, hey, where are we at? What's you know? And a shop, I think that part of a shop's overhead. You know, a shop will on a small on a small time level of shop has the ability to to bring somebody in and you know, kind of walk them around the ouh and the ah and the tour and you know, here's what we're about. Because the shop is looking at that new person too. And they got to decide that they really want to work for that person. And I think a lot of you are finding out that not every shop wants to work for everybody anymore. It's it's, you know, people are just people are Some people are just a nightmare. And I'm not suggesting Steve is by any stretch. He sounds like a real nice guy. But you know, it's it's it's an estimate. It's it's it's a guestimation. And as I said to somebody the other day, somebody wanted an estimate to do a power steering pump on a on a two thousand and nine Accura something or other, and I told him what I thought it could be. And I said, but you know, because he asked, He goes, oh, so is that the price? I said, No, that's the estimate, I said. In the first bolt that snaps off in the cylinder head and I have to drill tap, remove the engine, remove the head, take half the car apart. All that goes out the window. Just being honest, it's it's an estimate. You don't know what going to run into, especially in a mechanical repair, but even in a welding fabrication repair. Especially in a repair and a vehicle you've never seen, because you know, it's like a doctor. Some people walk into a doctor's office and they're physically fit, and they're not smokers, they're not drinkers. They go to the gym, they work out, they do what they're supposed to do. The doctor usually kind of knows what to expect. It's that person that abuses their body and doesn't take care of themselves and you know, get their you know, eight hours of sleep a night, and there's always a bump in the road, there's always a surprise. I want to talk about the danger of teaching your kids how to use a piggy bank. I read this story on All Data News, and if you go out to aldata dot com and slide over the resources, you'll get down to their newsletter they put out every month. This story made me think about I've run into this before. The title of this article from All Data is spare Change shuts down Chevy Express Van and it goes on to talk about a two thousand and eight Chevy Express Van fifteen hundred with two thus thousand miles on it. So your mind, get out of your mind. Your mind automatically goes too well, it's old. The problem was the Chevy van would not crank or start, and it was towed to the shop. Now, about a month ago, this repair shop replaced the underhead fuse box because of corrosion. Because it's a two thousand and eight, it's fifteen sixteen years old, it's got two hundred thousand miles on it, so that's our reasonable expectation. So they found that the underhead fuse box had corrosion in it, so they vehicle ran fine, and then about after about two months, it came back with the exact same problem, but this time around there were no trouble codes. The technician went through his due diligence. He went through fuses. All the fuses were good. He checked power power and power out. He looked at the power mode module circuits all good. He then went through the ignition switch and found everything there to be correct. Everything looked right, all right. Even looked at the engine controller the powertrain control module and it showed a crank request in the proper position. You can do all this with a scan tool and see what is the computer looking for. Sometimes you can see what it's missing. When he used the scan tool, to crank the engine over. He commanded the crank relay and he got a message on his He got a message on his scan tool saying that they were unable to carry out. Hey energize the crank relay, which would then energize the circuits to allow the vehicle to run because there was an immobilizer fault. There was a problem in the anti theft system. So they went through some wiring and they talked to All Data Tech Support and Old Data Tech line. Old Data has a very good hotline. By the way, if you're using All Data, you should try their hotline. It works really well. And they went through. They walked them through checking various network communication points, and basically a computer network of which all modern day vehicles have is nothing more than that connection of phones in your house or used to be right when phones were hardwired, or a computer network at work. Everything you know is hardwired on a land bus. You know it's going in through a router and a switch and so on and so forth. So the technician when he checked the computer network of the vehicle at various points, he took out the comb. The comb is the junction point or the splice box where a lot of the computer network comes together, and basically, through various test procedures, they were able to narrow it down that there was a problem in the radio. The radio was actually pulling down the theft side of the network, preventing the theft module from speaking to the rest of the system. So the computer never saw it, so it never allowed the vehicle to start. So he took the radio out for some further testing. And this is what made me think of the repair I ran into. It seemed that my customer had just taught his small child how to save Nichols. Right. They were teaching them about, you know, saving money every week, so daddy, and it just happened. This happened to be a Chevy vehicle too. This was quite a few years ago. Was in a van, though I think it was a car. I think it was a Chevy, and pala and the kids saw the father got out to put gas in the car. My customer got out to put gas in the car, and the child looked down and they saw some quarters in the cup holder, and they saw the slot of the CD player, and the father got in the car. The car won't start. Well, sure enough, let me tell you that was quite the repair, right, Sure enough, the technician and all data. You know, as he's taking the radio out, he hears clunk, rattle, rattle. Right, here's like something rattling around inside the radio. Okay, takes the radio apart, finds the change, takes the change out of the radio, plugs the radio back in, while all of a sudden the computer networks back up the short circuits. Garne, the veagel starts. So maybe the point is teach your kids how to save money, but don't teach him that not every slot is where a nickel should go, right, because I think there was about eight cents. Well in my case there was. There was two quarters a nickel and a dime, so for about sixty five cents across this guy a couple of three hundred dollars in diagnostics back then. I don't know how much change was in this van for that all data was working on. You haven't heard of the small CDs. Well, you know, it's tom. It's just you know, it's funny the things you see as a mechanic. And you know the point becomes that there's one hundred points here, right, You got to teach your kids about, you know, saving nickels and the piggy bank. But you got to teach them that, you know, it's the piggy bank, not every slot's where the change goes. Okay, And then you got to stop and think about the poor technician, all the weird things mechanics see that prevent the vehicle from starting and create the issues. You have to wear so many hats as a mechanic. But I just thought it was a great tipp it's in there. It's in All Data's letter this month All Data dot com, and you slide over the resources you can get out to it. But it just it. It stirred up memories inside of me of things gone by, days gone by, needless to say, unfortunately for the customer. He explained to me that he then taught his kid about saving dollar bills, which wouldn't short out the radio. But then he started finding that, you know, well, it was costing him a couple of bucks a week until he solved that problem because he also had a CD player at home. That's a whole nother story. So eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I'm running any of the card. Doctor I'll be back right after this. Welcome back Ron the car Doctor phone number eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero again eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. Tom and I are alive and in color this weekend and Labor days, this Labor Day. No New Year's it's got to be something. I know it was different New Year's weekend. I'm sorry, so you're not listening to a tape. We are live this weekend. A five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I should point out again, as I always do, that that phone number is active after the show is off era. We're on the air live on the network Saturdays two to four pm Eastern Time, but we keep that phone number active with a messaging service so you can leave a message and we will call you back. I should also point out this week and part of the following week, we're trying to finish up a live or a fresh show for the weekend of the eighteenth. I think it is, so if you want to give us a call, we will be doing some recordings on Wednesday, and it might even be some other nights too, but we're looking to do some evening recording. So if you've got a message, and you can't get to us during normal show hours two to four pm Eastern time. Please leave a message and double do our best to get back to you and get you in qu for that as well, so we can get your question answered. Because that's what this radio show is about, right. It's not just to hear me flap my gums. It's to answer your car questions and solve your problem. And that's what we've been doing for thirty three I think it's thirty four years now. I have to do the math, but it's been a while, so we like answering questions like this one. Hey, Ron, Happy New Year. This comes to us from Billy. I think Billy's in Colorado. If I remember who this is, Happy New Year. I hope you and yours had a great holiday. I had a scary experience yesterday. It turned out okay. I was wondering if you'd ever seen or heard of it happening. I have a twenty fifteen GMC Akadie with a three point six liter GDI engine. It has one hundred thousand miles on it. Developed light misfires at idols, not enough to throw a coat. I have a wolln up lasting rig that I use on my BMW's, but I decided to try the easy route and use an intake valve cleaning kit. I followed the directions carefully. I ran the whole can through the throttle bodies the car idle, didn't turned the car off and let it sit for thirty minutes. When I went back out to start it up, the engine was hydro locked and would not crank. Apparently, some cleaning fluid pulled in the intake and then dan then ran down into the open cylinder while the engine was sitting. I went back a half fire later, and the effected cylinders had dried up enough that it started and soon ran normally. From now on, I'll stick to WALMN up lasting lots more work, but more effective. This I weren't safer. Have you ever seen this, Billy. I've seen something close to it, Billy, And I think here's the missing part to that. All right, it's hard today on a modern engine, and some of its trial and error. But where do you hook the spray? How do you go in? You would think the throttle body is a safe point, which on most applications it is. I don't run a fuel system cleaning at idle. I generally run it at a minimum twelve hundred doar pm, typically fifteen to eighteen hundred rpm, and I will only do it on a warmed up engine. I actually will hook up a scan tool on a lot of vehicles and I will look at OBD two level readings, just nothing fancier than that. And on a newer vehicle it will give me CAT temperature. And I will only do a fuel system cleaning a on a closed loop engine when CAT temperature is over a thousand degrees. All right, and off idle so I know I'm getting enough airflow through to carry it through and then before I shut the vehicle off. Although some these kids they want you to do that soak all right, I will take it around the block. It depends on the vehicle, but I don't want to let it sit specifically for the problem you're having, I are had. I think the other thing I look at is, depending upon who's cleaning solvent, I use not all of them ask for that that let it sit in soak period, And if they do, I'm much more careful about where I put that in. And unfortunately for you, yes, it's trial and error. There have been some issues but you know, it's not uncommon. I would say this. I agree walnut lasting is safer, but it is a ton more work. And I think I've gotten more response out of regular on a you know, if I'm doing this once every hundred thousand miles, that's too much. You know, every thirty to every thirty to thirty five thousand miles thirty, let's make the number thirty. And so I'm thinking about it in my head. Every thirty thousand miles for a fuel system cleaning is not out of the realm. And and I should mention by time, at least once a year is a good time to get a fuel system clean because those cars that don't go anywhere, that have low mileage on them, they're more prone to carbon deposits than the ones that run twenty thousand miles or more every year. So yeah, that's not all fuel system cleanings. It's not a can job. It's not every car comes out the same. It's there are some specifics to it. Appreciate the call, Billy, but I wouldn't be afraid of fuel system cleaning. Maybe just try a slightly different method. Call me or text me or I mean email me. If you got any more questions, runnin Eating the Car Doctor here eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. We're coming back right after this. Why this car is automatic, it's systematic, it's dromatic.

Then there's the Then there's the other side of this. Let's say you don't fix it and you want another one. A base Tahoe is sixty five thousand dollars. Brother, it's a lot of coin. Now, it's a lot of coin, And I think you have to approach it from that perspective. It's not what it's going to cost you to fix. It's what's it going to cost you to replace at some point, provided the vehicle justifies it. Look, let's say he fixes the frame and it's four thousand dollars, and let's say three months from now, whether you've done it or not in the past, the transmission fails and that's five grand. And let's say six months from now, the engine. Let's go, and that's ten grand. You're still under twenty thousand dollars driving a vehicle you like. That looks good, that's now mechanically fit, and you don't have six years worth of car payments. But you've got to make sure you've got the right mechanic, the right guy doing the job. Good luck to you, Stevie. It's time to go down and have a cup of coffee and talk to the new guy. Let us know what you do. I'm Ronning Andy and the car doctor. I'm back right after this. See welcome back by the way. Eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero is the phone number, and we can talk to you about your car and it's problem eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I want to go back to that caller Steve in New Hampshire and just talk about that for a second. The danger in that repair. There's a lot of unknown, all right. You're dealing with rust. Rust is a problem, all right, and it's it's it's so hard to give an estimate, and and you don't know if you don't know if you're high, you don't know if you're low. You know, estimates are a ballpark. But by the very definition if you look up Webster and Websters what an estimate is, it's an approximation and it changes accordingly. And it's a it's a hard first date for Steve and this new mechanic because you know, they've got to have a trust bond between the two of them as to what to expect. And a lot of times order repair isn't isn't about the repair. It's managing the expectation of what's to come and and that's the hard part. And that's what a good shop we'll try to do with a new customer and what to expect and explain. And that's why I suggested for Steve to go and talk to this guy and you know, have that verbal cup of coffee, maybe your physical cup of coffee, and say, hey, where are we at? What's you know? And a shop, I think that part of a shop's overhead. You know, a shop will on a small on a small time level of shop has the ability to to bring somebody in and you know, kind of walk them around the ouh and the ah and the tour and you know, here's what we're about. Because the shop is looking at that new person too. And they got to decide that they really want to work for that person. And I think a lot of you are finding out that not every shop wants to work for everybody anymore. It's it's, you know, people are just people are Some people are just a nightmare. And I'm not suggesting Steve is by any stretch. He sounds like a real nice guy. But you know, it's it's it's an estimate. It's it's it's a guestimation. And as I said to somebody the other day, somebody wanted an estimate to do a power steering pump on a on a two thousand and nine Accura something or other, and I told him what I thought it could be. And I said, but you know, because he asked, He goes, oh, so is that the price? I said, No, that's the estimate, I said. In the first bolt that snaps off in the cylinder head and I have to drill tap, remove the engine, remove the head, take half the car apart. All that goes out the window. Just being honest, it's it's an estimate. You don't know what going to run into, especially in a mechanical repair, but even in a welding fabrication repair. Especially in a repair and a vehicle you've never seen, because you know, it's like a doctor. Some people walk into a doctor's office and they're physically fit, and they're not smokers, they're not drinkers. They go to the gym, they work out, they do what they're supposed to do. The doctor usually kind of knows what to expect. It's that person that abuses their body and doesn't take care of themselves and you know, get their you know, eight hours of sleep a night, and there's always a bump in the road, there's always a surprise. I want to talk about the danger of teaching your kids how to use a piggy bank. I read this story on All Data News, and if you go out to aldata dot com and slide over the resources, you'll get down to their newsletter they put out every month. This story made me think about I've run into this before. The title of this article from All Data is spare Change shuts down Chevy Express Van and it goes on to talk about a two thousand and eight Chevy Express Van fifteen hundred with two thus thousand miles on it. So your mind, get out of your mind. Your mind automatically goes too well, it's old. The problem was the Chevy van would not crank or start, and it was towed to the shop. Now, about a month ago, this repair shop replaced the underhead fuse box because of corrosion. Because it's a two thousand and eight, it's fifteen sixteen years old, it's got two hundred thousand miles on it, so that's our reasonable expectation. So they found that the underhead fuse box had corrosion in it, so they vehicle ran fine, and then about after about two months, it came back with the exact same problem, but this time around there were no trouble codes. The technician went through his due diligence. He went through fuses. All the fuses were good. He checked power power and power out. He looked at the power mode module circuits all good. He then went through the ignition switch and found everything there to be correct. Everything looked right, all right. Even looked at the engine controller the powertrain control module and it showed a crank request in the proper position. You can do all this with a scan tool and see what is the computer looking for. Sometimes you can see what it's missing. When he used the scan tool, to crank the engine over. He commanded the crank relay and he got a message on his He got a message on his scan tool saying that they were unable to carry out. Hey energize the crank relay, which would then energize the circuits to allow the vehicle to run because there was an immobilizer fault. There was a problem in the anti theft system. So they went through some wiring and they talked to All Data Tech Support and Old Data Tech line. Old Data has a very good hotline. By the way, if you're using All Data, you should try their hotline. It works really well. And they went through. They walked them through checking various network communication points, and basically a computer network of which all modern day vehicles have is nothing more than that connection of phones in your house or used to be right when phones were hardwired, or a computer network at work. Everything you know is hardwired on a land bus. You know it's going in through a router and a switch and so on and so forth. So the technician when he checked the computer network of the vehicle at various points, he took out the comb. The comb is the junction point or the splice box where a lot of the computer network comes together, and basically, through various test procedures, they were able to narrow it down that there was a problem in the radio. The radio was actually pulling down the theft side of the network, preventing the theft module from speaking to the rest of the system. So the computer never saw it, so it never allowed the vehicle to start. So he took the radio out for some further testing. And this is what made me think of the repair I ran into. It seemed that my customer had just taught his small child how to save Nichols. Right. They were teaching them about, you know, saving money every week, so daddy, and it just happened. This happened to be a Chevy vehicle too. This was quite a few years ago. Was in a van, though I think it was a car. I think it was a Chevy, and pala and the kids saw the father got out to put gas in the car. My customer got out to put gas in the car, and the child looked down and they saw some quarters in the cup holder, and they saw the slot of the CD player, and the father got in the car. The car won't start. Well, sure enough, let me tell you that was quite the repair, right, Sure enough, the technician and all data. You know, as he's taking the radio out, he hears clunk, rattle, rattle. Right, here's like something rattling around inside the radio. Okay, takes the radio apart, finds the change, takes the change out of the radio, plugs the radio back in, while all of a sudden the computer networks back up the short circuits. Garne, the veagel starts. So maybe the point is teach your kids how to save money, but don't teach him that not every slot is where a nickel should go, right, because I think there was about eight cents. Well in my case there was. There was two quarters a nickel and a dime, so for about sixty five cents across this guy a couple of three hundred dollars in diagnostics back then. I don't know how much change was in this van for that all data was working on. You haven't heard of the small CDs. Well, you know, it's tom. It's just you know, it's funny the things you see as a mechanic. And you know the point becomes that there's one hundred points here, right, You got to teach your kids about, you know, saving nickels and the piggy bank. But you got to teach them that, you know, it's the piggy bank, not every slot's where the change goes. Okay, And then you got to stop and think about the poor technician, all the weird things mechanics see that prevent the vehicle from starting and create the issues. You have to wear so many hats as a mechanic. But I just thought it was a great tipp it's in there. It's in All Data's letter this month All Data dot com, and you slide over the resources you can get out to it. But it just it. It stirred up memories inside of me of things gone by, days gone by, needless to say, unfortunately for the customer. He explained to me that he then taught his kid about saving dollar bills, which wouldn't short out the radio. But then he started finding that, you know, well, it was costing him a couple of bucks a week until he solved that problem because he also had a CD player at home. That's a whole nother story. So eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I'm running any of the card. Doctor I'll be back right after this. Welcome back Ron the car Doctor phone number eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero again eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. Tom and I are alive and in color this weekend and Labor days, this Labor Day. No New Year's it's got to be something. I know it was different New Year's weekend. I'm sorry, so you're not listening to a tape. We are live this weekend. A five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. I should point out again, as I always do, that that phone number is active after the show is off era. We're on the air live on the network Saturdays two to four pm Eastern Time, but we keep that phone number active with a messaging service so you can leave a message and we will call you back. I should also point out this week and part of the following week, we're trying to finish up a live or a fresh show for the weekend of the eighteenth. I think it is, so if you want to give us a call, we will be doing some recordings on Wednesday, and it might even be some other nights too, but we're looking to do some evening recording. So if you've got a message, and you can't get to us during normal show hours two to four pm Eastern time. Please leave a message and double do our best to get back to you and get you in qu for that as well, so we can get your question answered. Because that's what this radio show is about, right. It's not just to hear me flap my gums. It's to answer your car questions and solve your problem. And that's what we've been doing for thirty three I think it's thirty four years now. I have to do the math, but it's been a while, so we like answering questions like this one. Hey, Ron, Happy New Year. This comes to us from Billy. I think Billy's in Colorado. If I remember who this is, Happy New Year. I hope you and yours had a great holiday. I had a scary experience yesterday. It turned out okay. I was wondering if you'd ever seen or heard of it happening. I have a twenty fifteen GMC Akadie with a three point six liter GDI engine. It has one hundred thousand miles on it. Developed light misfires at idols, not enough to throw a coat. I have a wolln up lasting rig that I use on my BMW's, but I decided to try the easy route and use an intake valve cleaning kit. I followed the directions carefully. I ran the whole can through the throttle bodies the car idle, didn't turned the car off and let it sit for thirty minutes. When I went back out to start it up, the engine was hydro locked and would not crank. Apparently, some cleaning fluid pulled in the intake and then dan then ran down into the open cylinder while the engine was sitting. I went back a half fire later, and the effected cylinders had dried up enough that it started and soon ran normally. From now on, I'll stick to WALMN up lasting lots more work, but more effective. This I weren't safer. Have you ever seen this, Billy. I've seen something close to it, Billy, And I think here's the missing part to that. All right, it's hard today on a modern engine, and some of its trial and error. But where do you hook the spray? How do you go in? You would think the throttle body is a safe point, which on most applications it is. I don't run a fuel system cleaning at idle. I generally run it at a minimum twelve hundred doar pm, typically fifteen to eighteen hundred rpm, and I will only do it on a warmed up engine. I actually will hook up a scan tool on a lot of vehicles and I will look at OBD two level readings, just nothing fancier than that. And on a newer vehicle it will give me CAT temperature. And I will only do a fuel system cleaning a on a closed loop engine when CAT temperature is over a thousand degrees. All right, and off idle so I know I'm getting enough airflow through to carry it through and then before I shut the vehicle off. Although some these kids they want you to do that soak all right, I will take it around the block. It depends on the vehicle, but I don't want to let it sit specifically for the problem you're having, I are had. I think the other thing I look at is, depending upon who's cleaning solvent, I use not all of them ask for that that let it sit in soak period, And if they do, I'm much more careful about where I put that in. And unfortunately for you, yes, it's trial and error. There have been some issues but you know, it's not uncommon. I would say this. I agree walnut lasting is safer, but it is a ton more work. And I think I've gotten more response out of regular on a you know, if I'm doing this once every hundred thousand miles, that's too much. You know, every thirty to every thirty to thirty five thousand miles thirty, let's make the number thirty. And so I'm thinking about it in my head. Every thirty thousand miles for a fuel system cleaning is not out of the realm. And and I should mention by time, at least once a year is a good time to get a fuel system clean because those cars that don't go anywhere, that have low mileage on them, they're more prone to carbon deposits than the ones that run twenty thousand miles or more every year. So yeah, that's not all fuel system cleanings. It's not a can job. It's not every car comes out the same. It's there are some specifics to it. Appreciate the call, Billy, but I wouldn't be afraid of fuel system cleaning. Maybe just try a slightly different method. Call me or text me or I mean email me. If you got any more questions, runnin Eating the Car Doctor here eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. We're coming back right after this. Why this car is automatic, it's systematic, it's dromatic.

What's greased?

What's greased?

Lightning? Some four met and we are here once again at eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. Run An Eating the Car Doctor coming up next hour, by the way, in case you me talking about it, We're going to talk about the twenty eleven Honda Odyssey, and you may want to go and catch that episode if you're listening to this on podcasts, or if you're catching us on a live show out in your affiliate you may want to stick around because we're going to talk about how an oil leak stopped this Honda dead in its tracks. And no it's not because oil. The oil ran out of the engine and caused it to seas. It was a very repairable problem, but it was just kind of weird how it happened. So oil leaks. And I'm going to close out this hour the way I started it and talking about oil engine oil and how critical it is and oil changes and oil leaks and everything else to be done properly, so I should point out too. Let me just do this. Eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero is the twenty four to seven number. I know I've said that a lot this hour, but I want you to be aware of it, because you know, a lot of these seem to be confused unfortunately, that you can call that number when this show is not on the air, all right, and regardless of when you hear this show, we are on the network. We are live in studio Saturday afternoons two to four pm Eastern time. But you can call that aforementioned eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero phone number, leave them message and we will call you back and get you in queue for the next live broadcast. I also want to point out that coming up in the next two weeks, if you do leave a message at eight five to five five six zero nine nine zero zero, we're also putting together a fresh show for the weekend of the eighteenth. We want to get some calls in, so we want to talk to us during the week. I'll be calling people at night this week. Coming up in the following week, a little car doctor at night midweek, that kind of thing. So we want to talk to you about that. And solve your problems there as well, because again, that's what this radio show is all about. I want to say thank you everybody. By the way, the launch of the Car Doctor store, hats, t shirts, mouse plays, all that stuff you've been asking for, sweatshirts, it's been a great success. Everybody seems to be loving them. We're very happy. We hope you're happy too. If not, let us know, shoot me an email Ron at cardoctorshow dot com, let us know your thoughts and just to let you know, we had a production meeting yesterday with the group. We've got some ideas for you for this year, so you want to stick around for us this year. We got a bunch of exciting things the way again, help you keep fixing your vehicles. That's what we're about. I'm Roninani and the Car Doctor. It's been a pleasure till the next time. Good mechanics aren't expensive, they're priceless. Seal

Lightning? Some four met and we are here once again at eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. Run An Eating the Car Doctor coming up next hour, by the way, in case you me talking about it, We're going to talk about the twenty eleven Honda Odyssey, and you may want to go and catch that episode if you're listening to this on podcasts, or if you're catching us on a live show out in your affiliate you may want to stick around because we're going to talk about how an oil leak stopped this Honda dead in its tracks. And no it's not because oil. The oil ran out of the engine and caused it to seas. It was a very repairable problem, but it was just kind of weird how it happened. So oil leaks. And I'm going to close out this hour the way I started it and talking about oil engine oil and how critical it is and oil changes and oil leaks and everything else to be done properly, so I should point out too. Let me just do this. Eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero is the twenty four to seven number. I know I've said that a lot this hour, but I want you to be aware of it, because you know, a lot of these seem to be confused unfortunately, that you can call that number when this show is not on the air, all right, and regardless of when you hear this show, we are on the network. We are live in studio Saturday afternoons two to four pm Eastern time. But you can call that aforementioned eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero phone number, leave them message and we will call you back and get you in queue for the next live broadcast. I also want to point out that coming up in the next two weeks, if you do leave a message at eight five to five five six zero nine nine zero zero, we're also putting together a fresh show for the weekend of the eighteenth. We want to get some calls in, so we want to talk to us during the week. I'll be calling people at night this week. Coming up in the following week, a little car doctor at night midweek, that kind of thing. So we want to talk to you about that. And solve your problems there as well, because again, that's what this radio show is all about. I want to say thank you everybody. By the way, the launch of the Car Doctor store, hats, t shirts, mouse plays, all that stuff you've been asking for, sweatshirts, it's been a great success. Everybody seems to be loving them. We're very happy. We hope you're happy too. If not, let us know, shoot me an email Ron at cardoctorshow dot com, let us know your thoughts and just to let you know, we had a production meeting yesterday with the group. We've got some ideas for you for this year, so you want to stick around for us this year. We got a bunch of exciting things the way again, help you keep fixing your vehicles. That's what we're about. I'm Roninani and the Car Doctor. It's been a pleasure till the next time. Good mechanics aren't expensive, they're priceless. Seal