AAA CAR DOCTOR JOHN PAUL 10/16/2000

October Chat Car Questions

John Paul
The Car Doctor is in.

Bill
I have a 93 Ford Conversion van 302with 83,000 miles. It starts right up every morning and runs great, but sometimes when you start it when the engine is hot it turns over for 10 seconds before it will start again. Do you think it is the fuel filter. It has been doing this now for the last 4000 miles.

John Paul
bill --this is a classic example of hot soak. a sticking idle air control motor could be the cause.

Richie Vee
Doctor - The doors in my '94 Jeep GC freeze in the open postion during the winter months. Is there someting I can spray into the area in the door were the springs are loacated?

John Paul
richie vee try any good light oil, stay away from product like wd-40 since it will evaporate and leave no lubrication---silicone spray will also work---ps if your doors freeze shut spray the door gaskets with silicone and they won't freeze shut

Woody
I have a '96 Ford E150 van with a 6 cyl. engine. it runs smooth but the check engine light stays on. any hints as to what it might be?

John Paul
woody---any time a check engine light comes on the on board omputer is signaling some sensor is out of range??. a guess the EGR valve sensor --but bring it in for a scan of the computer system. this will help pin point the problem and not waste money guessing

kurtzd
Hi, I have a 96 Buick Regal Custom. Right in the front, on the front bumper, the paint is starting to flake away. I've heard of people getting issues like this taken care of for free (having something to do with a warranty claim). Do you have any advice?

John Paul -
kurzd i have not heard of a claim for this contact the buick web site for more information. a good buick dealer may also help--ps i check for technical bullitens and didn't find any for paint problems on this model

Gabriel
I have a 94, 4 cylinder, 2.5 L, jeep cherokee with 185000 miles on it. This car has been under water, hit by a drunk driver and so on. I love this car, what can I do to make sure it sees 220,000 miles? Also, the exhaust, catalytic converter, etc. is a year old and it sounds like the catalytic converter or closer to the engine is rattling. What could it be? No holes, no rust, and the clamps are all tight.

John Paul
gabriel at 185,000 be very nice to your car. change the oil and watch all the fluid levels. most cars die because the fluids run low. the rattle could be internal to the exhaust system. a quick trip on a lift could identify the problem.

Amy
How do I know when I need new brakes? My brakes have beens screeching since the car turned 6 months old 2.5 years ago.

John Paul
amy the best way to tell if your brakes are worn is to have the wheels removed and the pads and soes checked. brakes can sometime make noise if the driver "rides" the brakes. still have the pads checked on all four wheels

Major
I have a 1990 Lincoln Mark VII. The suspension system has a mind of it's own. The car has sat for a week with no problem butsometimes after only a couple of hours the rearend will sag way down. Upon re - start the pump comes on and the car raises to it's correct level. Any ideas

John Paul
major many lincolns have leaks in the air system-- especially as they get older. have your repair shop check all the lines to the rear shocks. this is the most common area for a leak

oilman
do you recommend changing oil every 3000 miles? also - what is your recommendation for changing other fluids such as differential/transmission/coolant?

John Paul
oilman in most cases 5000 miles is fine---if you drive all city no more than every 6 months. trans fluid when the fluid get discolored --rule of thumb every 30,000 miles. coolant every two years. don't forget brake fluid, change it every two-three years

Eric
John, my car has an automatic transmission and the shift is in between the seats. Lately, whenever I want to put the car in drive or reverse, it becomes stuck and I have to use significant force to move the shift. What could be causing this, it just started to happen all of a sudden.

John Paul
eric look for worn transmission mounts or engine mounts. if the car has a shift interlock (you have to step on the brake) the interlock may be failing silly but sometimes junk(cookie crumbs) can fall between the seat and jam the linkage

jimbo
good day dr.my 92 pontiac bonneville has 120k miles on it. recently the oil pressure gage has been bouncing around but mostly it is buried at the max, especially at high speeds. The oil is changed regularly..no other recent problems.. any idea what is causing this and if it is dangerous to the car?

John Paul
jimbo pull the gauge sender at the engine and install a temporary gauge and read the actual pressure. if it is normal, it is most likey the sender unit

Chevy Guy
I have a 2000 Silverado 4wd while in 2wd when starting off I hear and feel a thump in the rear end like something is catching. Is this normal?

John Paul
chevy guy go back to the dealer, it could be a loose mount or even a driveshaft yoke that needs lubrication--a road test should reveal the problem

CAR
My '89 Toyota Landcruiser runs well, but has experienced exhaust problems due to extreme rust throughout the undercarriage. What types of problems can I expect will result, and what can I do to proactively avoid/reduce these?

John Paul
car-at this point there isn't much you can do. keep the vehicle as clean as possible. watch out for rusting brake and fuel lines. any rust can be repaired but at some point it is just to expensive

Carrie
Hi, My 88 Camry tends to rattle/vibrate a bit through the doors and sometimes on the steering wheel when I am at a stop light. Any idea why? Thanks

John Paul
carrie --it may be the engine is running poorly the good news could be a bad spark plug or vacuum leak. the bad news a valve(engine )problem could be lurking

Cracked
John, I found oil in the coolant tank of my daughter's '95 Saturn. Diagnosis is either a cracked head or blown head gasket. Two Saturn servicemen told me they have seen cracked heads in Saturn SOC engines but no blown head gaskets. Is this a design fault of Saturn SOC engines? Should she avoid Saturns in the future?

John Paul
cracked--saturns are generally pretty good cars. head gaskets and cracked heads are not typical of these models

Amy
How can I prevent being snowed by a mechanic? I brought in a flat tire for repair that the AAA tow guy said could be easily repaired, but the tire shop I brought it to mysteriously found a huge gash in the sidewall that was not there previously. Guess I should have taken Polaroids of the tire before I brought it in.

John Paul
amy most repair shops do a good job. but there are a few that scare me. aaa has approved repair shops that you can trust. call 800 222 8252 for a list of shops near you or check aaa.com

chris
john - i have replaced the ball joints on my ford explorer (96) twice now in the last 2 years - is this normal?

John Paul
chris ball joints have been a common failure with that model--is it normal not really

Gabriel
Do you recommend putting Marvelous Magic Oil or any other oil in your unleaded gas as a cleaner? It says it helps gas mileage but it sees like it have worse gas mileage when a use this type of product.

John Paul
gabriel--with the exception of fuel injector cleaner --i am not a big believer of magic in a can. good preventitive maintenence is much better

Patrice
There is a grinding noise when I turn the wheel to the right while driving or reversing. But it doesn't happen when I turn the wheel to the left. Any ideas?

John Paul
patrice-- a brake backing plate could cause the noise. have the brakes and steering components inspected to rule out problems

Dan
I recently purchased a 98 Taurus SHO and was wondering if there were any technical bullitens or warnings for it and where I can find this kind of info? Also do you know of any local repair shops that specialize in this type of vehicle, if I ever do need work done?

John Paul
dan check the alldata.com site. you can get the titles of TSB's for service with this modle i would try to find a local SHO club, they probably have a network of good repair shops for this model. the yamaha engine can be tricky. other items brakes steering air cond etc is all pretty standard

brian
My 95 Isuzu Rodeo shakes at a certain point when accelerating through 2nd and 3rd gears. If I try to maintain that speed, the shaking continues. Otherwise, I can accelerate through it. I recently had the muffler system replaced. Any thoughts?

John Paul
brian, sounds engine speed related. perhaps a worn u-joint since it is 2nd and 3rd gear it would rule out tires, wheels etc.

lurker
About how much should a tune up on a 96 Plymouth Neon cost? A dealer recently charged me more than $500.

John Paul
lurker---the word tune up and i still use it is almost a thing of the past. you need to see what requires changing or inspecting based on the owners manual. 500.00 would be ok if you needed 500.00 worth of repairs a 60,000 service maight be 500.00

Catherine
Hi there! I brought my car to a mechanic last week because the coolant was leaking. They replaced the coolant flange. I got the car back and now it won't always start and it revs out of control (even when I'm in neutral). Its not drivable, basically. I brought the car back to the dealer (the mechanic) and they claim that now I need to have the Coolant Temperature Sensor replaced. They claim there is no correlation between the job I had done last week and my new problem. By the way, when I brought the car in last week it ran perfectly. No problems starting or with revving or anything. It seems like the two problems would be related. Am I being royally ripped off or are these fellows at all honest? Thanks for your input!

John Paul
catherine---to wierd, sounds like someone damaged the sensor during the repair. in many cars the sensor is located on the flange i think you are referring to

Patrice
My 95 Saturn SL1 hestitates and then jumps after putting into reverse. Have you heard of similar problems with Saturns? No repair person has been able to tell me the problem.

John Paul
patrice--some saturns have had faulty oxygen sensors. in some cases these sensors cause a a fast idle or a start and stall condition. it is especially true in wet weather