Cindy writes:
I have a 2009 Honda Pilot that I love very much. I was wondering how far I could drive once the gas light comes on. Highway or city. Thanks!
Sajeev Answers: Read More >
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Category: Piston Slap
TTAC Commentator WaftableTorque writes:
I’m driving a 2002 Lexus LS430 with Ultra Luxury Package. It has OEM 17″ chrome rims, and one of the tires has an air leak. My mechanic diagnosed the problem as peeling chrome at the bead, causing an improper air seal. I asked to put a tube on it, but he refused because of the potential for overheating, and they weren’t designed for tubes anyway. He also commented during my seasonal rotation that the other 3 rims are doing the same thing, so they’ll all eventually develop leaks. He recommended getting 4 new rims.
Fortunately this car has a full-size spare, so I’m not in a hurry to replace the one rim. The chrome is peeling on a couple of the non-leaking ones near the lip where it’s been curbed by yours truly, but otherwise they look new.
I’m going to put my winter tires on aftermarket rims this fall, but want to keep the OEM rims for summer duty. My goal is tasteful understatement, so I want my car as close to stock as possible.
My question is: can a reputable wheel shop fix these rims?
TTAC Commentator shores4now writes:
I have 111,000 miles on my 2000 Volvo S40 and it does not leak any oil. Have always changed the oil around 5000 miles. have never used synthetic on it before. I have heard I have too many miles to change over to synthetic. That it could cause my seals to leak if I switch over at this point. Have heard the opposite that if I don’t have any leaks that it will be fine. What do you think, should I switch over to a synthetic or a synthetic blend, or stick with what I have been using?
TTAC Commentator Sinistermisterman writes:
I have a 1997 Ford Escort (Manual) with far too many miles on the clock. If I’m particularly harsh with the gear changes, I get a clunk every time the revs drop off. I’m guessing this may be the engine/transmission mounts wearing out. Now if they are wearing out, can I just be gentle from now on and not worry about it? Only I really don’t want to spend much on the car. The reason I ask is that when I used to live in the UK I had a 1996 European Ford Escort and the rather puny rear engine mount broke (after thrashing it mercilessly)… and the engine tried to twist its way out of the car in a rather spectacular fashion. Are the engine mounts on US Escorts equally as weak/rubbish as the European versions?
TTAC Commentator PartsUnknown writes:
I just picked up a 2010 Accord sedan (don’t start – at least it’s a 5 speed stick) a month ago. Last weekend I was driving with a full, 2 gallon gas can in the trunk. I was forced to stop short due to some creative driving by some jabroney in a white panel van ahead of me. The ensuing gas spill wasn’t quite BP/Gulf of Mexico, but it did manage to soak part of my trunk carpet, and in a stroke of good fortune, the nozzle managed to wedge itself between the seatback and trunk floor, allowing gas to flow underneath my back seat cushion.
TTAC Commentator 67dodgeman writes:
Sajeev, I have a question for the Piston Slap expert. My son drives my old ’99 Ford Ranger (extended cab, 4 cyl, manual, 2WD) with roughly 130,000 miles on the odometer. I had new tires put on 5 months back at the Firestone place. Then last week, the anti-lock brakes started acting up. As in heavily manipulating the pedal even during very light braking. I assumed the sensor was fried and pulled the fuse, after which everything worked normally. There was a slight ticking sound from the drive train, so I replaced U-joints. Still ticking, but no other obvious issues.
Then, Friday, the driver’s side rear tire and axle came loose. Luckily he was making a low speed U-turn and the last 6” of axle was still in the housing by time he stopped. We jacked the truck up, pushed the axle back in, and pushed it home (two blocks – very very lucky it happened there and not on I-45). I pulled the differential cover and immediately found the (bleeping) C-clip loose in the housing. The anti-lock sensor works off of teeth on the ring gear (just now figured that out), so I’m assuming that having about half the teeth ground off is the cause of the brake malfunction. The oil appeared original, had that burnt smell, and was full of grit. I’m now in the process of changing the whole assembly with a salvage yard spare due to the gear damage.
While LeMons’ Judges Jonny and Phil took a breather to get married (not to each other) I was one of four people with the honor of taking their place. It’s true, there was a quartet of judges needed to do what those two professionals do on a regular basis, no matter what previous accounts may suggest. So I inspected close to 100 crap cars to see if they meet LeMons’ $500 purchase price criteria. And while I did, I found the Ten Coolest Engineering Feats of The 24 Hours of LeMons. So let’s get right to it. Read More >
Jim writes:
I had a transmission problem with my Fusion. Dealer tells me lots and lots of people are having the problem, and parts are backordered. It appears 2010 Fusions being sold today have defective transmissions. Ford has a TSB on the issue to dealers. People claim transmission leaves them stranded on freeway. Search Fusion Transmission Problems on Google and you will see. I think someone in the media needs to do a story on this.
TTAC Contributor David Holzman writes:
Sajeev, my friend Polly, an avid sheepdogger, wants to know how much weight her early to mid-80s Vanagon can pull. Specifically, she is interested in buying a 700 lb trailer, in which she would haul up to six sheep, each of which weighs 100-150 lbs. Thus, she could end up pulling as much as 1,600 lbs, and who knows, maybe more. How much can she pull without damaging her pride and joy?
The Vanagon has a ’94 engine from a Subaru Legacy–she doesn’t know which engine–but is otherwise all old Veedub. 212k miles on the car, less on the engine, but how much less is unknown. No rebuilds that she knows of. I don’t believe she’s going to be doing any major hill climbing.
John writes:
What do we know about the 1.8L V6 used in the 1990s’ Mazda MX-3 sport coupe? Why such a small engine and where did Mazda get it from/how did they design it and market it in the MX-3?
Chew Bacca (no, really) writes:
I have a 1963 Ford Ranchero with the 144 cu in six, it hasn’t run in 8 years, but I recently got the go ahead from my dad to work on it, in addition to changing the oil, oil filter, draining the gas tank, and fuel filter, I replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wires, and ignition coil, and it still won’t spark. I put a charged battery in and the starter works, strong enough to move the car, any suggestions?
Luke writes:
Sajeev, I was hoping you’d have an answer to my unusual problem and post my letter so I may get some feedback from the brilliant people who visit your website. I bought a 2004 GTO (automatic) back in September ’09. It’s in beautiful condition, yet has an unusual plight. Here goes:
John writes:
Hello: I have a question about a 2003 Toyota Camry with 130,000 miles. Every time I get the oil changed the attendant comes out with a clipboard and a long list of items needed to be done. Such as flush the engine oil, flush the power steering fluid, start using high mileage oil etc. Should I do this? So far I have not given in as the car runs good and it’s paid for.
TTAC Commentator Daanii2 writes:
Hello, I enjoy your Piston Slap column. My question is this: my 1994 Honda Accord gets less than 10 miles per gallon. In fact, in mixed city and highway driving it gets about 7 miles per gallon. The figures are supposed to be 20 in city, 27 on highway, and 23 combined.
Is the car just drinking gas because it’s old? It has less than 100,000 miles on it. It has been maintained fairly well (although the paint has peeled and looks like crap). The idle is a bit rough, and seems to be getting rougher.
If something can be done to get better gas mileage, I’d like to do it. If it’s time to put the car out to pasture, though, I’ll do that too.
TTAC Commentator Windswords writes:
My co-worker told me the other day that her daughters brand new 2009 Honda CRV (11,000 miles) was making a noise. Her daughter described it as a “chirping” sound. Thinking it had something to do with the belts I told her to see the dealer about it. She later told me that the dealer found the car was low on oil. As a matter of fact the car was 2.5 qts low. The car has the 1.6L 4-pot motor which takes (according to her) 5 qts. The car had just had the oil changed at the same dealership. They gave it another (complimentary) oil change and made sure it was filled this time. The noise is gone. The engine light did not come on during this episode.
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