AAA CAR DOCTOR JOHN PAUL 9/28/2001

September Chat Car Care

John Paul (1:58PM)
The Car Doctor is In. With Fall here and cold weather just around the corner it's time to take a look under the hood.

hobbes123 (2:07PM)
Is there any way I can help prevent rust from further attacking my 90 Camry?

John Paul (2:10PM)
hobbes123, like the song says rust never sleeps. You can try some of the rust reformer products, they turn the rust into a more stable material and may help. Other than that a good body shop might be able to do some preventitive repairs

Matt (2:10PM)
Having a radio reception problem with a 1997 Jeep Grand cherokee. Radio stations all came in fine, now we can get a single one. Any ideas?

John Paul (2:12PM)
Matt, sounds like an antenna problem. check the cable at the radio and the antenna itself.

Pam (2:12PM)
I drive a 1995 Eagle Talon. When I am on the highway and I get up to about 75mph, the entire car starts shaking. What could be causing this?

John Paul (2:14PM)
Pam, The best place to start is with an inspection of the tires and wheels. If the tires look okay then have them balanced. Tire balance solves most vibration problems

lapse (2:15PM)
I've noticed whenever it rains my car really bogs down. It doesn't accelerate well and will often stall. Any Idea?

John Paul (2:18PM)
lapse, The problem may be a faulty spark plug wire or wires. The easiest diagnosis method is to spray the wires with a little water and look for problems. Other possibilities could include one of the computer sensors getting wet

New Tires (2:19PM)
I need new tires and I've never bought them before. (My husband used to, before he died.) How much can I expect to pay for four new tires? It's a 1996 Neon.

John Paul (2:22PM)
New Tires, Tire prices vary depending on size, brand name and quality. Shop around and look for discounts/sales from some of the major retailers

Nobbie (2:22PM)
How often should I check my battery. I have a 1988 Camry.

John Paul (2:24PM)
Nobbi, Car batteries last 3-5 years. A good repair shop can test your cars battery and tell you what kind of shape it is in

unhappy_when_it_rains (2:24PM)
Hi John, I have a metal sunroof that no longer works and leaks water into the car when it rains. I am looking to permanently seal it and am wondering what is the best way to do that.

John Paul (2:27PM)
unhappy, If you can get the roof open you might be able to clean out the drain channel allowing water to drain from the roof. Some sunroof have a crank to allow manual opening and closing, even if the motor is faulty. If all this doesn't work there is always handymans best friend duct tape.

Lauren (2:28PM)
Can you suggest a good Honda service shop in the boston area? I have been taking my 95' Honda Civic to a dealership for the past year, but I don't think they do a great job for what they cost me. Plus they treat me like an idiot, because I am female. My car has been running extremely sluggish lately and I don't feel like paying $700 for someone to look at it.

John Paul (2:31PM)
Lauren, check out the aaa.com website under the autmotive section. We have over 175 approved repair facilities that perform quality repairs

BRIAN (2:32PM)
Have a 1988 Ford Temp sedan. Runs great except it sounds like I'm driving a bus. I get a lound vibrating noise from the back end. I have replaced all the tires and had it aligned. Didn't help

John Paul (2:34PM)
Brian, If the noise is present when standing still or racing the engine look for some sort of exhaust system problem. A loose baffle inside the muffler could be the problem. If you only here the noise when driving look for a rear tire or wheel bearing problem

joe (2:34PM)
I have a brand new SUV. Is there anything you can suggest as far as fuel additives or any supplments i should use etc... for it to last longer and be taken care of?

John Paul (2:38PM)
joe, I am not a big advocate of additives. A couple of time a year add a fuel injector cleaner like "Techron" to keep the valves and injectors clean. change the oil on a regular basis. Keep in mind some additive may void the the warranty

Val (2:38PM)
I'm buying a 6-year old Integra tomorrow. The guy says it was in an accident a year ago and had a hit to the front left corner. Can you please tell me how the overall mechanical condition of the car could be affected my this and what to look for?

John Paul (2:42PM)
Val, The front corner depending on how hard it was hit could cause some real problems. The frame could be damaged. Bring the car to a good quality repair shop for an inspection before you buy it to prevent a costly mistake. The typical cost for a full inspection is $50-$75

Steve (2:42PM)
Hi- I was just wondering if there was a good way to test if you have enough tread on your tires. I have heard that you can use a penny and if you see Lincon's head you need new tires - but how far up his head?

John Paul (2:45PM)
Steve, If you stick a penny head first into the tread and the tread covers part of Abe's head there is enough tread. This doesn't mean it may be enough for winter The bare legal minimum is 2/32 of an inch. A new tire has between 9 and 11/32. I would replace my tires well before that

Red (2:46PM)
We recently moved back from California and brought our Toyota pickup with us. I'm wondering what we should do to prepare it for winter.

John Paul (2:51PM)
Red, The basics, drain and refill the coolant and check the thermostat. Check all the drive belts and hoses. A good set of winter wiper blades will give you better visability. Check the tires and perhaps consider snow tires. Check the battery and charging system. Change the oil and filter and check all other fluids. Buy a snow brush and ice scrapper. The aaa.com website has more information on October car care-getting ready for winter

Wario (2:52PM)
I have a 94 Honda Accord that has issues with the AC system. When I use the AC (it works fine) and switch to fan, there is a "musty" ordor that eminates from the air vents. This oder isn't present when the AC is running (or at least I don't notice it).Is it a leak (ie AC refrigerant)? or is it something else? Any suggestions on how to diagnose this?

John Paul (2:57PM)
Wario, Your car has a build up of mildew in the airconditioner evaporator. First make sure the air conditioner drian hose is clear. Do you see water under the car whaen the A/C is on( you should) If that is okay you can try spraying a disenfectant like lysol in to the ducts and fresh air intake to kill the mold and mildew. Some repair shops have a/c cleaning kits that work pretty well to clean up and eliminate the odor if you don't want to try it yourself

Car man (2:56PM)
JP - My car is making an awful noise when I put it in reverse, what should I do?

John Paul (2:59PM)
CarMan, Drive foward ro a repair shop for a evaluation. Seriously it could be the transmission and you should consider getting it towed to avoid any addtional damage.

Statoon (2:59PM)
I have a Toyota Celica ST(97) and I want to boost the horsepower a bit. Any recommendations on intake or exhaust systems?

John Paul (3:02PM)
Statoon, The simplist is a low restriction exhaust system and a K/N (or similar)air filter system. Stay away from computer chip upgrades, you may get some performance increase but it may not pass state inspection

lamb (3:03PM)
Hi, I have a 95 acura integra SE with about 65,000 miles on it and besides oil changes and a little work on the brakes I have not had my car serviced at all. Are there certain things I should have checked on my car? For example, are there belts or certains liquids that need to be checked? I am very ignorant when it comes to cars!!

John Paul (3:06PM)
lamb, look in your owners manual. It is time for coolant service, perhaps the radiator hoses and drive belts replaced. The spark plugs and the rest of the ignition system as well as the emissions system could need a soem attention. At 90,000 miles the timing belt will need replacing

stephanie01905 (3:06PM)
Hi, I have a 1996 Hyundai Accent automatic with about 150,000 miles. For the past week, when I drive my car under 35 miles an hour (driving forward, not in reverse) it makes this really loud and annyoing noise that I can only compare to a quiet or muffled air raid siren. It's a whistling/moaning noise. It doesn't do it in reverse, and the noise stops when my car goes above 35 mph. I am thinking it's either a transmission problem, or a universal joint...please somebody email me at stephanie01905@lycos.com if anyone has the answer as to what it may be. I just know that if I take it to a mechanic for a diagnosis, I'll get ripped off...