AAA CAR DOCTOR JOHN PAUL 12/17/2004

December Chat Car care

JohnPaul (Moderator)
01:56PM The Car Doctor is in. As well as your car repair questions, what kind of car would you like to find in your driveway on Christmas morning

car4xmas
02:08PM Hi John - what are some good gifts to give to car lovers?

WindowWatcher
02:08PM Jon, I have a 94 mercury with the fast up/downpower windows. I have replaced both motors once already. Now, the driver side is really slow to go down in the middle section. It comes to a halt unless i give a little push. the same when it goes up. did I burn thru another motor in less than 3 years?

JohnPaul (Moderator)
02:09PM Car4xmas, there is nothing like a good sound system or remote car starter as a gift. A little cheaper a car care kit, with wax wash and cleaner. With winter coming a good snow brush and ice scrapper.

JohnPaul (Moderator)
02:11PM WindowWatcher, what can happen is the winow jams in the frame and slows it down. If you can take the door panel off and look and see what is going on. Many times window motrs burn out because they are working against a sticking window

hondagal
02:11PM I have a 97 used Honda Accord with about 95K miles. I've heard from a friend that I should get teh timing belt changed soon. Do you agree and if I can't find out from the prior owner if it was ever changed is there a way to tell?

JohnPaul (Moderator)
02:13PM hondagal, 90K is a good time to change the belt on a Honda. A good technician may be able to look at the belt a "guess" how old it is. There is a chance maybe it was changed at 60,000. If it has never been changed and it breaks it will cause major engine damage

hondagal
02:24PM thanks! About how much should it cost to get the timing belt replaced?

JohnPaul (Moderator)
02:26PM hondagal, your looking at about five hours labor plus the cost of the parts. This is for a four cyclinder engine. The parts depending on what it needs will run about $100.00 and up.

benz
02:26PM I have an `81 Mercedes that I bought in May of `03. It has 130K miles on it and I have faithfully changed the oil every 3K miles but I have not gotten a tune up yet - the guy that sold it to me said he did a lot of work to it before we bought it - how often does that need to be done? thanks

JohnPaul (Moderator)
02:29PM benz, this is one of those cases where you might want to do the tune up now so you know where you are with the car. After that then you can follow the recomended schedule If you email me the model and engine size I will email you the schedule accrding to my data base alldata.com

benz
02:31PM great, what's your email? thanks

JohnPaul (Moderator)
02:31PM that would be nice sorry, jpaul@aaasne.com

fcruven
02:34PM What is your opinion on K & N air filters?

JohnPaul (Moderator)
02:35PM fcruven, they are expensive, but if you keep your car forever or are looking to wring out the last inch of performance it can be worth it. You might also look at the Fram Airhog

fcruven
02:38PM I will be keeping my car for many years. How much do they help with MPG?

JohnPaul (Moderator)
02:39PM fcruven. Depending on the car, you may not notice.

Lee
02:39PM Hi! I have a 97 Geo Metro with 52K miles on it. It has been running well but in the recent cold snap it had this high pitched whine when i put it in first. By the time I shifted to second it was gone but I don't know if this is an indication of something I should attend to or if it was just due to it being very cold out?

JohnPaul (Moderator)
02:41PM Lee, it really hasn't been that cold yet ( well a couple of days). I would bring it into a shop ans ask them to leave it out overnight to let them hear the noise. It could be as simple as a lose alternator belt. But it could be the beginnig of a transmission problem

raoulduke
02:45PM i just bought a skyhook from my local dealership. they said it would be good to pull me out of snowbanks in the winter, but i don't know where i attach it in the sky. any ideas?

JohnPaul (Moderator)
02:46PM raoulduke, I'll leave this one up to someone else

JohnPaul (Moderator)
02:55PM If questions come up, you can always email me. My email is jpaul@aaasne.com and you can always tune into my radio program Saturday mornings from 9-11 on WJDA am1300 and WESX am1230.