TTAC Commentator KalapanaBlack writes:

My mother has a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0 with 60,000 miles. There have been four or five problems with it since new, but it hasn’t been as disastrously unreliable as I feared a $40,000 knock-off Caddy would be, especially given the “reliability” of the other K and G-Body sedans.

The problem: about two weeks ago, she attempted to roll the passenger side front window down and noticed that it wouldn’t budge. I thought it might loosen up with repeated closing of the door, but that didn’t work. The window lock button is not engaged, and the window refuses to work for the master (driver side) switch or the switch mounted on its own door.

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Motorlegends.com‘s motor legend David Holzman forwards an e-mail:

My six year old 2003 Mazda Protoge5 is rusting out pretty bad [see: attached]. I had the left rear panel repaired two years ago (I didn’t realize then that the body was still under warranty). But the panel has continued to rust, to the point where the bracket that holds the bumper failed. From my online research, rust seems to be a problem with some vehicles of this model. I have seen some on the road with similar rust and others with none at all. I called the dealer and they told me to go away. Mazda has washed their hands of this problem and left those of us unfortunate enough to have bought the vehicle from this particular batch up the creek. We obviously can’t sell the car for anything near what others are selling for and I doubt it can be on the road for more than couple years before the rust renders it useless. Do we have any recourse?

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TTAC commentator psarhjinian writes:

Thanks to the terrible economy, I’ve recently been given the opportunity to pick up a project car on the (very) cheap. The catch: the project car is a Caterham SV, sans powertrain. Googling around has given me all sorts of options, from four-cylinder Zetecs to small-block Chevvies to Hayabusa powerplants. I’m sure some madman has shoehorned a Prius’ drivetrain in there, but thus far I haven’t turned up the requisite Youtube video of it.

To say “I don’t know where to start” would be an understatement. What I’m trying to figure out is what kind of powertrain would be good, given a perfect storm of cheap, quick and easy for someone with not a lot of tools, experience and time to work on.

Oh, and I do have young children. So as not to invoke my life insurance policy, I think we can skip anything that’s too far into “Death Car” land.

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TTAC Commentator don1967 writes,

What’s the deal with these platinum/iridium-tipped spark plugs? Is there any reason to go through the (sometimes very high) cost of dismantling half of your engine to replace them every 100,000 miles if the car is running fine? Also, what do you think about periodically loosening and retightening them to prevent seizing . . . does that ever actually happen?

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Brad writes:

Some years ago in an effort to quiet hydraulic lifters, I ran a quart of ATF in my Isuzu Trooper for 500 miles before I changed the oil. ATF supposedly has a bunch of detergents and this would clean out all the oil passages. I can tell you, the drained oil was the blackest I’d ever seen come out of one of my cars. It also seemed to help with the valve clatter, but didn’t completely cure it.

So here is my question . . . I’m getting close to an oil change in my 1988 911 Carrera, I was thinking of doing the same thing to it, to really clean out the engine. What do you think?

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Before the days of anti-smog legislation and catalytic converters, anyone looking for more power in their ride needed a few tools, access to a drag strip and intimate knowledge of their carburetor. This concept lives on today, but the names and faces changed: Hot-Rodders are now Tuners. Here’s an idea: let’s see how much power is left on the table after a Tuner gets their hands on a fuel-injected, late-model performance machine. But first a word from our hacker . . .

Darwin S. writes:

I have a 1999 Buick Century that now needs constant water. It happens pretty slowly. I recently drained all the water and refilled with water and antifreeze. It doesn’t appear to be leaking anywhere. What’s happening? Thanks.

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TTAC’s Best and Brightest don’t need proof that Chrysler dealers are in a world of hurt. Still, seeing their misery displayed on a LED sign by the side of the road rubs salt into the wound. 76% off 2009 Dodge Ram Trucks! And this was before Chrysler filed for Chapter 11, from a dealer that dodge the ChryCo dealer cull bullet. Fine print? Lots. Slime-filled sales tactics aside, it’s only a matter of time before the real liquidation sales arrive. If so, is Dodge’s most basic of workhorses worth a look?

TTAC Commentator pleiter writes:

Convince me one way or another, about OBD-II. I want to know if I should invest in it for personal use. I need to know things like what are the major options, is it just pigtails and a PC laptop interface, now, does it work very well with one publication or not (Chilton’s, Haynes), will I still have the risk of purchasing wrong electronic parts that are not returnable.

Also, is there any emerging market for economy chips or economy (mpg) reflash? I know cold camshaft profiles are starting to show up, but I’m looking for something easier to implement and reversible, because I’m lazy.

I have a Scion tC and two 325i’s.

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Dave writes:

While I understand that recommended tire pressure is located on the door jamb in a car, what happens when the factory tires are replaced, upgraded, down graded, replaced with used or even recaps where available (are re-treads even available?), different tread and wear and heat ratings?

What I am trying to ask is: are the manufacturer’s recommendations applicable only to the factory tires, or to non- original brand replacements as well?

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TTAC commentator Lerxst writes:

I’ve got a 2004 Honda Odyssey with approximately 96k miles on it. It has developed a condition where the steering wheel mounted radio controls do not act as expected (i.e. Volume up changes the track, Volume down makes the volume go up, etc., sometimes). The dealer tells me that it’s not grounded well deep in the steering column, and thanks to the Odyssey Club, I have found the TSB that covers this problem.

The dealer would like about $280 of my hard earned money to go in and fix it. American Honda won’t cover it through goodwill due to the mileage.

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Hashim writes,

Dear Sajeev, I have a 2003 Model Honda Civic LX1. It has about 94000 Km (not Miles). I am very disturbed about the continuous chirp chirp sound I hear from my car when I start it. It goes like chrrp chrrp chrrp in continuous motion. Some guy told me to change the belts in my car, all done, even changed the timing belt; still the problem is there. I have no loose or cracked belts. But the problem is still there.

I have noticed that when I gently press my clutch, the sound immediately goes away, when I remove my foot, the chirping sound is back. I don’t like this, is there any easier way to get it fixed? Is the fix worth its price or should I just eat dust and be quiet?

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TTAC commentator edgett writes:

Since the current pushrod LS-X engines reportedly offers a better power-to-weight ratio than an equivalent Porsche engine, and returns excellent fuel economy, why aren’t other manufacturers emulating the same kinds of evolutionary upgrades which GM applied to their small-block V8?

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TTAC Commentator thetopdog writes:

I drive a 2006 Corvette Coupe (45k) with the 6-Speed manual. The past few months I’ve noticed that most of the time I try to make the 1-2 shift at high RPM, I get really terrible grinding coming from the tranny. It only happens at high RPM (5000+) and it doesn’t happen every time, but it happens enough for it to be a concern. If I clutch in, let the revs drop a little, then throw it into 2nd, there’s usually no problem.

I have the CAGS (1-4 skip shift) eliminator installed. I had the dealership replace the clutch packs under warranty. Apparently they screwed up because my entire clutch stopped working, leaving me stranded. After getting it flat-bedded to the dealership, I was told the entire clutch system was contaminated and the seals were destroyed. I’m not entirely sure what they did after, but they fixed it somehow (probably flushed the system and replaced the seals?). I also had a transmission leak (what a quality car, huh?) last fall that was also fixed under (extended) warranty.

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Mark writes:

I have a 2003 WRX with 198,000 miles. Only non-standard maintenance repair so far was a new driver side head and valves at 165,000 because a valve was hung and the head was starting to crack. Everything else, including clutch and turbo are original. Unfortunately, now the vehicle is burning 1.5 – 2qt of oil every 1000 miles. There are no leaks. I am tempted to trade it in for the nominal amount (Maybe $1-2k) and take advantage of the current new car incentives. However I hate to buy a new car if I can just feed this paid for WRX oil for another 20-30,000 miles. What do you think. Should I feed the car oil until the engine/turbo explodes or retire it and get another car?

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