This week on The Car Doctor, Ron explains why the show isn’t on remote as planned and turns the change into a lesson from a recent shop repair. Then the phones light up, and it’s a full hour of fast-paced problem solving as Ron races to get everyone an answer before time runs out.
- Grab your Car Doctor gear – T-shirts & more at CarDoctorShow.com
-
Follow the wrench – Instagram @ronananian for shop life & behind-the-scenes
-
Watch & learn – Auto repair tips & videos on our YouTube Channel
-
Got a car question? Call the Car Doctor Hotline 24/7 – (855) 560-9900
-
Join the conversation LIVE – Saturdays 2–4 PM Eastern
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
You're listening to Ron and Nanian The Car Doctor, nationally
recognized auto expert trusted by Mechanics, Weekend wrenchers and vehicle
owners alike. Ron brings over forty years of hands on
experience and deep industry insight to help you understand your vehicle.
Join the Conversation Live every Saturday from two to four
pm Eastern by calling eight five to five five six
zero nine nine zero zero. That's eight five five five
(00:25):
six zero ninety nine hundred, your direct line to honest
answers and practical advice. Looking for more, visit cardoctorshow dot
com for past episodes, repair tips, and Ron's latest insights,
and be sure to subscribe to the Car Doctor YouTube
channel for exclusive videos, real repair footage and more. Now
start your enginies. The Car Doctor is in the garage
(00:47):
and ready to take your call.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
You know, if everything had gone as planned, I'll use
Tom's line, I'd be now looking out over ten thousand horsepower,
eight miles of chrome, and enough polish paint to make
anybody smile and be proud.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
You didn't tell me that Murphy was going to show up.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Well, you know, and here we are in studio by
the way, folks. So if you're expecting to find us
at the PBA two eighty six car show up here
in West Milford, technically we were there about forty five
minutes ago, well maybe a little long, maybe about an
hour and twenty five minutes ago. And then at the
last minute, the thing that talks to the thing that
(01:27):
talks to the watching McCall it that makes us go
out on air, went see you, and Tom said, I
think we have to go, and I went, well, they
have little porta potties all the way, and he said, no, no, no,
we got to go. And you never saw two guys
pack up their stuff. And thank God for our support
staff today, kudos to them. We piled everything into two
(01:48):
cars and ran down Skyline Drive, which is basically you
start at the top of the hill and it's a
five mile straight drop. It's kind of like dead Man's Hill.
All right, and here we are and we're ready to go.
We're ready to do a live show and they'll give you,
guys what you need. It's just we're not at the
car show, which is a shame. It was a great show,
it really was. It looked great. You know, some of
(02:08):
the cars that I got a chance to see. There
was a seventy nine Volkswagon bus camper right, you know
to pop up roof.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Wait wit, they were still making those in seventy ninety yeah,
oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
And this guy, this thing was really cool. I was
going to interview this guy. It had it had the
Peace signed pillow on the back. It had like a
living room couch set up with the chairs that swiveled,
and a stove and a cook top and a refrigerator
and a Volkswagen. It was the neatest thing. I was
impressed by that. They had a Type three Volkswagen, which
is basically a it's a Volkswagen mini truck. Right. Volkswagons
(02:45):
were big at this show. It was it was crazy.
There was and I forget what it's called, but it
was a nineteen ninety one Z twenty eight road racer.
It was the equivalent of a Yanko Camaro factory race car. Modified.
They only made I think he said five hundred of them,
(03:06):
four hundred and ninety one. We're gonna do you. That
guy didn't get to it. So there was some really
neat stuff. And there was the usual combination of you know,
big block, this big block that and some.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Weird There were some really cool things around the back.
Just see the thirty eight I think it was the
Ford and the thirty nine Chevy.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Did you see the peach colored Willies? I saw that
thing is sharp. I think that's from the neighborhood around
the shop. I really do, because I've seen that car locally.
There can't be two of them. But I couldn't find
the owner. But unfortunately Tom called me a quarter to
twelve and said, uh oh, and I know what oh means.
And I ran back to the booth and Tom was
(03:42):
sitting there. And let me tell you something, folks, It's
not on Tom's shoulders in the In the thirty three
years i'm on radio, in the fifteen years with Tom,
Tom has never failed to get me on the air.
And today the equipment just didn't cooperate.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Actually, it was more like the online application that would
have gotten us on the air, and it just did
not want to recognize the audio.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Yeah, and I you know, I can't wait to find
out what it is because we had a swivel at
the last minute. And you know, it's funny. That's what
order repair is about. We's a great segue. We had
a twenty fourteen Chevy Silverado pickup in the shop this week.
And maybe it's good we came back because I've been
dying to tell you this story. So we had a
twenty fourteen Chevy Silverado in the shop this week, a
(04:23):
regular two door plane Jane Chevy pickup, eight foot bed,
four wheel drive. You know, they probably made two three
million of these things. I mean, how it's so common, right,
And we were doing axle bearings. We had to do
an axle bearing in the right rear. The axle seal
was actually leaking. When we took it apart, we could
(04:44):
see the bearing was beat up too, so we had
to change the bearing. Now, this model year, this generation
GM pickup truck mounts the tone ring for the ABS sensor,
which is a toothed collar on the inside of the bearing.
So if you were looking at this from the outside,
you've got a seal, you've got a bearing pressed into
(05:04):
the housing, and then after that, inside the housing, you've
got this toothed ring on a collar setup pressed into
the tube. So you can't use conventional bearing removal tools
because in the past, that bearing removal tool it's a
tilting head. It would slide in you'd pull it straight
(05:25):
and would lock in behind the bearing, but there isn't
enough room now to allow it to tilt and pull
straight because the abist tooth collar is in the way. Okay,
well you know, I guess I've never done one of
these because I didn't have the tool I could. I
have done you know, hundreds of axle bearings, but for
whatever reason, I hadn't done this particular setup. Wait, look
(05:46):
it up. We go through tooling. We need j DASH
forty five eight forty seven kent more special axle bearing pullar.
Blah blah blah blah blah. Great, let's go get one
of those. Well how much is that? Well that's six
hundred and that isn't even the painful part. The painful
part is that JA eighty five four to twenty seven
or whatever the part number is is on International outer
(06:10):
Space intergalactic back order, like we might see it the
last week of December after Christmas. Well that's great, but
this is September and I've got this truck apart on
the lift. Thank god for Amazon. You know, in order repair,
you really have to swivel, you've got to be flexible,
you've got to be quick on your feet. I took
that JA eighty five number or that factory tool part number,
(06:32):
and I plugged it into Amazon. And you know, I know,
we all complain about Amazon, the big giant that's taken
over the world, the one that's you know, keeping people
from you know, shop local and all that. But sometimes
because I called on my local guys and nobody had anything,
and it turns out that, you know, what happened here
(06:56):
is is Amazon converted it to a cheap tool. I'm
not going to say it any other way. You know,
one of those cheap tools from China, right, those fifty
dollars toolkits, and that's literally what this was. It was
a fifty two dollars toolkit in a blow molded red
case with all the adapters. And Amazon said, well, this
(07:17):
has got a four and a half star rating. This
one's got a five star rating. But they were all
made that cheaper tooling quality from overseas. I didn't need
it to last, I needed it to work. Once I
ordered all three, I ordered the three possibilities. They were
all like fifty to fifty one fifty two. I spent
one hundred and fifty dollars to get three tools where
(07:37):
I'd have to spend six hundred to get one, knowing
that when I found the one that worked, if I
didn't damage the others, get them dirty, you know, muck
them up, mar them up, and so forth, I could
send them back. So I'm really spending fifty dollars to
get this truck off my lift, this bread and butter
Chevy pickup. And sure enough, with a little bit of
(07:58):
provocation and a little bit of heat, it worked. Auto
repairs about swivel and auto repairs about at the last minute,
the repair goes completely sideways, and you've got to figure
out how to get out of it. My youngest one
said to me, she said, Dad, you know what I
like about you the most. I said, what's that? She said,
(08:18):
you always think outside the box. And I really appreciated
that then and I appreciate it now. And her point was,
and she tells me all the time she goes, you're
never stymied. You're never stumped. She said. You may not
know the answer right away, but you keep looking and
you keep picking away at it until you get to
the point of solution. That's what we did today. That's
(08:38):
what we did Friday in the shop. You know it
was kind of It was kind of comical going back
to the car show story because remember that scene at
the end of The in Laws where Alan Arkins says
to Peter Falk standing and I'm dating myself. Old movie, right,
but you got to go see it. It's a great movie.
It's a funny movie. And Alan Arkin at the end,
they're blindfolded and their hands are tied behind their back
(08:58):
and are about to be shot by the firing squad
and Alan Arkin says, Okay, what's our next move? And
Peter Fowk's like, no, that's it. That's all I got.
Why what do you want to try? And he's like no, No,
that was me and Tom today. Tom's like we got
to go. We can't fix this. I'm like, no, Tom,
really tell me the truth, Like what are we gonna do?
There's there's got to be away, Like Tom, you're Tom Ray,
There's got to be a way to fix this. And
we just flew down Skyline Drive where if you know
(09:20):
Skyline Drive in West Milford. I do want to apologize
to that cop and Franklin Links because I went past
him full throttle, hammered down on the fifty five and
he just I think the look in my eyes. He
knew I was late getting somewhere, So I promise I'll
slow down next time. Anyway, let's pull over, take a pause.
We're going to come back and answer phone calls at
eight five five five six oh nine nine zero zero
(09:41):
again eight five five five six oh nine nine zero
zero to everybody up in Weston Milford at the PBA
two eighty six car show. We're sorry. We're gonna try
this again next year, we promise, but for now, we'll
be back right after this to answer your questions. Don't
go away. And of course, as bad as Tom and
I in company felt today when we couldn't stay for
(10:03):
the PBA two eighty six car show, there's Brad with
his BMW calling him from Florida. Because I kind of
know this story. I saw the email came across my
desk during the week. Brad, tell America what happened to
your BMW? Please welcome, Welcome, sir.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
All right, thanks for having me. So I got tired
of the dealership old changes. So I went to a
couple group bonds and you named the shops. It doesn't
really matter, Valvelene, Jeffy, Lub etc. And one of them
stripped the drill pan. And when I took it to
a BMW specialist just for one of those typical oil changes,
(10:42):
he called me up and said, your prior guy stripped
the drill pin and we have to take the engine
out to replace the drill pan. And it's a BMW.
It's about a six thousand dollars charge, and we'll do
it for about four grand for you. Again, it's a
sixteen BMW, it's worth about twelve grands. Doesn't seem to
make sense to do that.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
So why can't they hear? Why can't they healy coil it?
Speaker 4 (11:05):
I don't know the answer to that. I've asked a
couple of places and they've declined to do it.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I wonder why, you know, because when I saw the email,
as a matter of fact, did Jack call you?
Speaker 5 (11:18):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (11:18):
He did, Yeah, you know, I called. I called. I
called our BMW specialist here in the area, just to
get his two cents on it, and he said, let
me give the guy a call. And you know, his
comment was the same thought as mine, that why aren't
why isn't anybody lowering the cradle, supporting the engine and
lowering the cradle to this way the engine doesn't have
to be pulled. But you know, beyond that, the first
(11:40):
step would be, why aren't we why aren't we trying
to healy coil the pan? Is there a reason it's
an illuminum pan? Right?
Speaker 4 (11:48):
Yes? And I don't know the answer to that.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
If we can get clear access to it, you know,
if we can get clear access to it, a helly
coils as strong as anything else. We put helly coils,
A helly coil for everybody's information, it would look like
a spring and the outside of the spring would thread
into a threaded, pitched hole that would match the springs
(12:11):
outside diameter, but the inside would have matched the thread
pitch of the bolt or drain plug whatever we're screwing
into it. But we we healy coil cylinders, and you know,
spark plugs under compression and never an issue, So you know,
that would be that would be my question, of course.
My My other commentary is, you know, why aren't we
going back then? And I already know the answer, but
(12:33):
I just want to feel better saying it, why aren't
we going back to whoever stripped it? And saying, you know,
what are you going to do for me? You know,
it's it's you know, listen, and I'm not going to
lecture you bread. I feel your pain, but you've you've
learned the lesson, right, it's you get what you pay for.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
It's I did, I did.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
It's you know, it's difficult.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
It's a hard lesson.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Yeah, but again, it's a sixteen and it's not worth
a whole lot, and I don't really see the need
to put six grand into it. I'm trying to find
somebody to do the Healy coil the or a vacuum
oil change. I'm not sure you can do a vacuumle
change on this particular model.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Well, and you know, if you're doing a vacuum style
oil change, you're just you know, all, yeah, that's not
a sixty three Chevy Brother. You know, that's a BMW.
That's a rocket ship. That's you know, there's a lot.
There's a lot going on there in terms of things
that oil does, variable valve, timing, and a bunch of
other things. And I would be more cautious and more
content to you know, is there a way to do
(13:32):
this more economically? Have you been to a BMW independent shop.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
I've been to one, and I'm going to try another
one after this call.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
You know, yeah, why isn't this you know, a why
can't we healy coil this? And I think you have
to go at this with the approach of you know what,
I'm looking for a bm I'm looking for a mechanic
from my BMW and and I know this is you
talking to them, and I know you hear this all
day long. I'm looking for somebody competent, not necessarily cheap,
(14:06):
but somebody competent, right, And that's what you are. You're
you know, it's it's not that you dislike the dealer
because of what they are. You don't mind spending the money.
You just don't know if you're getting what you really need.
Is that a fair statement?
Speaker 4 (14:18):
That's exactly why I didn't go there, exactly right.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
It's it's there's no personal interconnection communication going on. It's
it's always in the back of your mind, do I
really need this? Am I being cheated? Am I? For
whatever reason? And I'm not picking on dealers. I think
there's good dealers, there's bad dealers. There's good independent shops,
there's bad independent shops. It's it's it's finding a mechanic
is probably you know, for most of us is a
(14:43):
very personal, you know, endeavor. It really is. You know, listen,
I go through it around the house. My garage door
broke at house. One of the garage doors broke at
the house over the weekend. The has a torsional spring,
you know, the two springs that wind up. One of
the springs broke. So you know, I called and left
the message, Hey, you know, this is Ron. It's such
(15:04):
and such, and you've been here before. It's five years.
It's time to change the torsional spring. Whenever you can
get out here, I'd appreciate it, you know, And just
you know, just come on out. And I just and
I know they're going to call me up and explain, well,
you know we got to charge your service. Go yeah, great,
I don't care. Come out and fix my problem because
I need this spring. You guys have been here before.
We have a relationship, right, And I think that's what
(15:26):
we're looking for in Audo repair. We're looking for that.
I think some of us are looking for that relationship.
We're looking for that tell me what I need, not
what I want to hear. And and and this is
the expensive lesson because you know, I'm not going to
tell you. You know, you're out of your mind. You're taking
a groupon to take a BMW to a cheap oil
(15:47):
change place, and look what happened? Right? You already know this,
you know it's it's but you know, how do we
recover from it? And and my bigger concern would be
pulling the engine out of the eight year old BMW?
Do we put everything back? What do we have to
what do we bend, poke, prod twist? What doesn't go
back right? What doesn't sit right? Will it ever be right?
Speaker 4 (16:09):
That hasn't crossed? I mean that has crossed my mind
as well, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
So can we helly coil it? Could we lower front suspension?
All right? And you're not gonna hold them responsible at
this At this point, it's almost like the car's mechanically
totaled until you solve this. And and you know, is
there a way to do that? The other option is
is there enough aluminum in the pan? And I trying
(16:34):
to remember what a sixteen looks like. They used to
make these transformer plugs. It would be an oversized plug
that would screw into the hole and cut its own thread,
and you would teflon seal them in place and then
it just had a ball valve literally like a like
a plumbing ball valve. You turn the spigot and out
it would come, or would have it would have another
(16:55):
bolt inside that it would be like an extension going
into the into the drain plug. Is that an option?
All right? I just I just kind of find it
hard to believe that it's got to be this six
to eight thousand dollars repair and there's no other course
of action.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
So all right, that's been very helpful. I'll keep going
down this path and I'll let you know.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
You let us know anytime. Brad, good luck to you.
That's horrible, right, And you can't just say, well, it's
a BMW. It is supposed to be expensive. Expensive is
one thing, Ridiculous is another. And you know, oh boy,
eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero,
running any of the card doctor. I'll be back right
after this. Don't go anywhere right now? You mean, like
(17:39):
right now, let's go to Lynn, Delaware.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
Lyn.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Welcome to the card doctor. How can I help?
Speaker 5 (17:43):
Hey, thank you for taking my call.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
You're welcome. What's going on?
Speaker 5 (17:48):
Oh yeah, Oh I have a twenty nineteen convertible Ford Mustang. Okay,
I had sixty five thousand miles on it. Okay, and
I've been working on this for four months. I've had
like a white grayish uh smoke come out. Timing's off.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
I got so you've got you've got a blown head.
You've got a blown head gasket, which is not complete.
Speaker 5 (18:12):
I found out a diagnostic testing. They took pictures of it,
and they had a very detailed free page report at
the coolants going into the head gasket, well.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Head, the head gaskets blown and cool and is going into.
Speaker 5 (18:25):
The engine apparently. So yeah, okay, and so I've been
doing research over the last four months. I found out
there's a lot of class action suits on Eco Boost.
That's what the main problem is. It's this particular engine,
the Eco Boost. It's expected Lincoln's four trucks, board Mustangs.
(18:47):
There's class action suits. There's no recall on any of
the vehicles. They don't have enough data or reports. I've
called corporate three times. I finally got a clean means number.
They will not reimburse me of the expense. It's going
to take place until there's a recall and then they'll
(19:08):
replace it. Okay, But in the meantime, I do have
it at a dealership. They had to tear the engine
apart to figure out what parts needs to be replaced.
But this is ridiculous, this show show here.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Let's let's cut to the chase. I would ask them,
why is it that on a Mustang it's not under
a recall an extended warranty, But this engine in an
escape is kind of the same problem on an escape.
Escapes went through this too, and I believe it was
the two three it was? It was it was the
one five if you go look up history on the
(19:44):
one five escapes of this generation and and the or
was that a two liter? Uh Escape? I'm trying to
remember now too, You're a two point three leader, correct,
I'm trying. I'm trying to remember which engine? Yeah, I
think you have FO right, I believe you're a two
point three liter turbo. But my point is a lot
(20:05):
of this generation it wasn't just a Mustang. And the
reason I'm trying to steer you away from the Mustang
is because if we compare the number of Mustangs built
versus the number of Escapes built, Mustang is a much
smaller volume of built vehicles. So the pattern of failure
to create a recall is going to be smaller. But
if we look at if we look at the same
(20:26):
engine in the Escapes, the same family and generation of
engine in the Escapes, the proportion of failure is much
much higher.
Speaker 5 (20:36):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
And we've had we've had more than a few customers
in the shop that have had the head gasket failure.
And the problem was it was porosity and the casting
of the cylinder head. As I understand, it created a
defective head and it didn't clamp the gasket correctly and
it caused the gasket to blow and leak cooling.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
So so my question to them was, if I side
it's cheaper to put a new engine in and buy
another car because the cars in pristine.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Addition, but it's ten grands for an engine, right, same
engine in. It's ten grands for an engine right right?
Speaker 5 (21:13):
Seriously, But I was like, are you putting the same
engine in? Yeah, the same ecopies, And and I said,
did you repair that fix this situation? And they're like,
you might want to google that and find that out.
Nobody ever asked us that, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
That's you know what that that that means you're dealing
with a bunch of dumbells. That don't want to know
the answers. Kid, Yeah, my friend, Yeah, listen, I you know,
you know why I'm here after thirty three years, Lend,
because I'm the only one that's not afraid to call
it like I say it. I would have been a
great I would have been a great baseball umpire.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
You know, is this the beginning of a new you're
my new best friend?
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Well it could have, you know, but you know and
now and now you know what? And now we're going
to play the game, right, you and I are going
to play the game, because if we were standing in
the shop, we'd be playing what what, what next? What if?
And what color? All right? What next is? What next?
Is what happens if? And then it leads into what
if if we put the engine in? What if the
(22:10):
turbo charger fails? And that's another six grand?
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Well, yeah, what's my warranty? What's my How many miles
am I going to get out of there?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Well, they'll warrantye the engine. They'll warrantye the engine. They're
not going to warrantye any any of the rest of it.
Part of the problem here, Lynn, I already know what
part of the problem is. All right, is it's a
convertible and you love the convertible, right.
Speaker 5 (22:35):
Yeah, it's about my fifth one.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Right, yep, you're a free spirit. You like that top down,
wind in your face and hair thing. You got that.
Speaker 5 (22:43):
Oh and guess what, my my vanity tiger is.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Right? I could, I could see it.
Speaker 5 (22:50):
You can tell that I freebird?
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Here, I can, I can, I can. I can see it.
I can see it from here. And I'm in New Jersey,
all right, I'm three states away. You know.
Speaker 6 (23:00):
It's well, you see, I consider I consider Central Jersey
and South Jersey state, so technically I'm three states away.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Yeah. So so the question becomes, before we dump a
bunch of money into this, do we buy something newer
with less miles and call this the loss? That it is? Right?
And that's the question only Lynn can answer because only
Lynn knows what her budget is. And that's that's the truth, right,
(23:33):
It's this This was a chronic problem. Listen, full disclosure.
And for all my Ford dealers out there that advertise
on all the affiliates that carry this show, I think
Ford has a really decent product in certain aspects. I
think they've got their headaches, like the rest of the
car companies, and this particular generation of engine is a headache.
(23:54):
It just is. Head gasket failures are not uncommon, and
turbo chargers are not onc And now you know, we
need to have a conversation about you know, quality of
oil change, frequency of oil change, regular maintenance, fuel system
cleaning and all that.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
I have it all backed.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Up, and none of that, None of that would have
prevented the head gas get failure. Because it seems like
if one of these things is going to have a stroke,
it's going to have a stroke, no matter how many
times it goes to the gym. But once you get
past that, it's the regular maintenance that keeps it going longer.
The question for you is this is now a six
almost seven year old vehicle, and you're not putting an
(24:33):
engine into this car to drive it another year. You're
putting an engine into this car to drive it another
five years, hopefully, And what if saying here's where what
if comes in? What if the turbo fails, what if
the transmission fails? And before before we spend this kind
of money, all right, you got to play what color
(24:56):
Pick a different color car, pick the same color car.
Can you go buy this car two or three years newer,
and what will that cost? What is this car worth?
What will that new car cost? What are you getting?
I'd like to think that if you bought something two
years newer or three years newer, you're getting a car
with half the mileage and some sort of extended warranty
(25:17):
for five years. Maybe we could put that on there
and get some sort of powertrain coverage.
Speaker 5 (25:22):
Right, it's tonight. Can I interrupt you for a anytime
you want to? Ford, who I was dealing with in
the service department, made me aware that he found a
program from Ford that will cover half of the costs. Okay,
so I like that idea, but I had they then
(25:43):
they called me back and said that they have to
tear the engine apart before they can approach Ford with
the situation. I don't know. As much research as as
I've done, I've never found anything like that. Maybe you
have to be inside the corporation to know that that's available.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Yeah, yeah, there. Well, the reason is is because Ford
is likely asking them, okay, what was the point of failure?
All right? They want to see proof, They want to
see pictures, They want to see the porosity of the casting,
they want to see that textbook picture of how the
head gas get failed. I think the question is, and
I like what I'm hearing that the dealer's doing. The
dealer's trying to their credit, right, I think you got
(26:21):
to have that conversation at their elbow with them and say, listen,
if we take the engine apart and I get it,
that's five hundred dollars I'm risking. And I turn around
and I say, no, I don't want to fix this.
What will this car be worth? And what else do
you have that I can buy as a used car
CPO certified, pre owned, two years old, three years old,
thirty thousand miles on it? What does that warranty look like?
(26:42):
What do those numbers look like? And if all that
makes sense, and they're willing to say, well, you know, Lynn,
if we take it apart and you don't want to
fix it, and we buy another car from you, it's
going to cost you this and this, and you can
make the numbers work, then you got somebody that's working
with you, and you can ask for more than that
in this day and age.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
You know what I'm saying, Yeah, I got slim pickens, right.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
So, but I mean that's Yeah, there's lots of way.
This isn't just. This just isn't just. You know, Yeah,
it's broke. How do I fix it? And what do
I do? There's a lot of what is, what color
and what's next to deal with? So go have some talks,
Go have some conversations, bring them coffee and donuts, and
that'll be your Monday Tuesday project. You give me a
call back, let me know what happens. Good luck to you, kiddo.
(27:23):
I'm running ENnie in the car doctor. We are back
right after this. Don't go away. Hey, let's go to
Matt and Michigan. Matt, you're on with Ronannie in the
car doctor at eight five five five six zero nine
nine zero zero. How can I help?
Speaker 5 (27:39):
Matt?
Speaker 4 (27:41):
Oh Man not man?
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Oh? Okay, who's Thiste Pete? Let's talk to Pete Pete
in Michigan. Do we have the state right? Yeah?
Speaker 7 (27:51):
We do had the state right?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
One out of two ain't bad, brother, So what's what's
going on? How can I help?
Speaker 7 (27:57):
First off, you know, I'm sixty one. You think i'd
have life figured out, But Ron, you set me right
with my two thousand and three Cadillac when you said
by my window regulator wasn't the problem. It was a
wiring problem.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
I got it was well, once in a while, I
get it right. That's why they let me do this.
Honest you think, yeah, probably, So it's you know, listen,
there's there's there's just sometimes you just you get you
get lucky, you know, right, some day the Mets are
going to return to the wheel series. Probably not in
my lifetime, but some days you never know what could happen.
So how can I how can I help you today? Buddy?
Speaker 7 (28:41):
Okay, well, I know this is going to be a shock,
but my two thousand and three Cadillac has a oil leak.
Only one, no several, but okay, we're going to concentrate
on just one.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Well wait, wait, do we really want to fix this?
Speaker 5 (29:00):
Pee?
Speaker 2 (29:00):
You know, if we having an oil leak on an
older car is a good thing until it hits the
rear bumper. It's just like built in rustproofing. The car
will never rode away. So you know, I consider that,
I know, but it's you know, the cleanup in the garage.
Speaker 7 (29:15):
That's the only problem. I love the fact that the
oil resecles itself awesome.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
But so you can't get the drain plugs out. You
can't get the bolts out for the pan or what.
Speaker 7 (29:27):
No, here's the thing is that I was under it. Well,
the radiators blown out and I'm going to replace that.
But the thing is is that I was underneath the
car and I said, you know what, maybe the oil
pan gasket just needs to be retorted back to the
eighteen foot pounds. And so I got my torque fringe
(29:50):
under there. I want to go and park it, and
it just kept going.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
I'm like, this is not good.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
Oh you mean the ults a stripped?
Speaker 7 (30:02):
Yeah? Is there a wait? I can do oversize bolts.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Well, if you, if you, if you, if you've got
you're gonna have to get it up in the air
on a lift. You need full height, all right, you
can't do it's it's kind of hard to do this
on the ground, all right, And you're gonna have to
pull the pan down, which I believe you have access
to do that. And then that is that is an
aluminum block or a cast iron block.
Speaker 7 (30:27):
Everything is illuminous.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
I thought it was alumininum. You're gonna heally coil it,
but you got to have a clear shot and you've
got to have a good steady eye and a good
steady hand.
Speaker 7 (30:37):
So I got to pull everything else to do the heating. Clue,
there's not like shelf snapping. I just put into it.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Well, they've got to remember, if I listen, you can
you can hack it up any way you want, all right,
I mean you can try, but chances are remember if
you have to put a bolt through, that's so course
to bite into the block, that's bigger than the stripped
threads in the block. That means it's gonna be bigger
than a hole in the oil pan itself. So you're gonna,
you know, snocker that up and then you're gonna make
(31:05):
the problem worse.
Speaker 7 (31:06):
So you're just breaking my heart round No.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Listen, brother, I'm here to tell you what you need
to know and not what you want to hear. All right,
this is it's you know what, and it's just it's
just the way it is. These are life lessons. So
God is tempering the steal. Remember that. Look, it's it's
it's got to be you. I'm just trying to, you know,
save it from yourself, because you're the guy driving the
O three Cadillact, which isn't exactly a car from yesterday.
(31:30):
So the only way I know of is a Healey
coil setup, and you could maybe try a longer bolt.
Where does that whole bottom versus the length of the
bolt that's in there, would a slightly longer bolt be
able to grab some threads that are up in the block.
I would take a blowgun and clear it out with
clear out whatever you know, dirt and air and debris
is in there, clean it out and just gently snug
(31:53):
it up. Chances are that's not gonna fix your oil
leak anywhere because it's an O three cadillact that was
I don't know. They never rusted, but they always leaked.
So good luck to you, Pete, and I was always
a fun time to talk to you. You'd be well
eight hundred, I'm sorry, eight hundred. I do that a lot,
eight five, five, six, nine nine zero zero. Let's take
them back to another time. I'm running Ady and the
(32:14):
car Doctor. I'll be back right after this. Some closing
thoughts for this hour. Had we been at the car
show and managed to stay the whole the whole day,
one of the things I was talking to the people
that came up to us, and we're again, we're just
so kind of bummed out because it was such a
connection with the crowd, just a great crowd up there
(32:36):
at the PBA two eighty six car show in West
Milford at the Wallace Homestead. And we're coming back next year,
we promised. Tom and I are already making plans for
the backup to the backup to the backup option. Automobiles
are a microcosm of history, and it's really that's really
what you're seeing when you go to a car show,
and this show was no exception because they had everything
(32:56):
from brand new just off the showroom flour corvettes to
stuff pre war. There was a couple of pre war
cars there. And you look at the manufacturing processes, you
start to think about all the little clips and bolts
and screws, and the way vehicles were manufactured almost eighty
years ago versus today, and how today everything is injection
molded and blow molded and you know, plastic pressed, and
(33:20):
such a microcosm of history of manufacturing and the way
the country was run and operated, and it's just neat
to look back. Cars are more than just cars. Some
cars are like well time machines because they take you back,
and that's what it's all about. It's been a pleasure
this hour, as always till the next time. I'm Ronning
Ay and the Car Doctor, and I'm reminding you good
mechanics aren't expensive, they're priceless. See you
You're listening to Ron and Nanian The Car Doctor, nationally
recognized auto expert trusted by Mechanics, Weekend wrenchers and vehicle
owners alike. Ron brings over forty years of hands on
experience and deep industry insight to help you understand your vehicle.
Join the Conversation Live every Saturday from two to four
pm Eastern by calling eight five to five five six
zero nine nine zero zero. That's eight five five five
(00:25):
six zero ninety nine hundred, your direct line to honest
answers and practical advice. Looking for more, visit cardoctorshow dot
com for past episodes, repair tips, and Ron's latest insights,
and be sure to subscribe to the Car Doctor YouTube
channel for exclusive videos, real repair footage and more. Now
start your enginies. The Car Doctor is in the garage
(00:47):
and ready to take your call.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
You know, if everything had gone as planned, I'll use
Tom's line, I'd be now looking out over ten thousand horsepower,
eight miles of chrome, and enough polish paint to make
anybody smile and be proud.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
You didn't tell me that Murphy was going to show up.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Well, you know, and here we are in studio by
the way, folks. So if you're expecting to find us
at the PBA two eighty six car show up here
in West Milford, technically we were there about forty five
minutes ago, well maybe a little long, maybe about an
hour and twenty five minutes ago. And then at the
last minute, the thing that talks to the thing that
(01:27):
talks to the watching McCall it that makes us go
out on air, went see you, and Tom said, I
think we have to go, and I went, well, they
have little porta potties all the way, and he said, no, no, no,
we got to go. And you never saw two guys
pack up their stuff. And thank God for our support
staff today, kudos to them. We piled everything into two
(01:48):
cars and ran down Skyline Drive, which is basically you
start at the top of the hill and it's a
five mile straight drop. It's kind of like dead Man's Hill.
All right, and here we are and we're ready to go.
We're ready to do a live show and they'll give you,
guys what you need. It's just we're not at the
car show, which is a shame. It was a great show,
it really was. It looked great. You know, some of
(02:08):
the cars that I got a chance to see. There
was a seventy nine Volkswagon bus camper right, you know
to pop up roof.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Wait wit, they were still making those in seventy ninety yeah,
oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
And this guy, this thing was really cool. I was
going to interview this guy. It had it had the
Peace signed pillow on the back. It had like a
living room couch set up with the chairs that swiveled,
and a stove and a cook top and a refrigerator
and a Volkswagen. It was the neatest thing. I was
impressed by that. They had a Type three Volkswagen, which
is basically a it's a Volkswagen mini truck. Right. Volkswagons
(02:45):
were big at this show. It was it was crazy.
There was and I forget what it's called, but it
was a nineteen ninety one Z twenty eight road racer.
It was the equivalent of a Yanko Camaro factory race car. Modified.
They only made I think he said five hundred of them,
(03:06):
four hundred and ninety one. We're gonna do you. That
guy didn't get to it. So there was some really
neat stuff. And there was the usual combination of you know,
big block, this big block that and some.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Weird There were some really cool things around the back.
Just see the thirty eight I think it was the
Ford and the thirty nine Chevy.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Did you see the peach colored Willies? I saw that
thing is sharp. I think that's from the neighborhood around
the shop. I really do, because I've seen that car locally.
There can't be two of them. But I couldn't find
the owner. But unfortunately Tom called me a quarter to
twelve and said, uh oh, and I know what oh means.
And I ran back to the booth and Tom was
(03:42):
sitting there. And let me tell you something, folks, It's
not on Tom's shoulders in the In the thirty three
years i'm on radio, in the fifteen years with Tom,
Tom has never failed to get me on the air.
And today the equipment just didn't cooperate.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Actually, it was more like the online application that would
have gotten us on the air, and it just did
not want to recognize the audio.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Yeah, and I you know, I can't wait to find
out what it is because we had a swivel at
the last minute. And you know, it's funny. That's what
order repair is about. We's a great segue. We had
a twenty fourteen Chevy Silverado pickup in the shop this week.
And maybe it's good we came back because I've been
dying to tell you this story. So we had a
twenty fourteen Chevy Silverado in the shop this week, a
(04:23):
regular two door plane Jane Chevy pickup, eight foot bed,
four wheel drive. You know, they probably made two three
million of these things. I mean, how it's so common, right,
And we were doing axle bearings. We had to do
an axle bearing in the right rear. The axle seal
was actually leaking. When we took it apart, we could
(04:44):
see the bearing was beat up too, so we had
to change the bearing. Now, this model year, this generation
GM pickup truck mounts the tone ring for the ABS sensor,
which is a toothed collar on the inside of the bearing.
So if you were looking at this from the outside,
you've got a seal, you've got a bearing pressed into
(05:04):
the housing, and then after that, inside the housing, you've
got this toothed ring on a collar setup pressed into
the tube. So you can't use conventional bearing removal tools
because in the past, that bearing removal tool it's a
tilting head. It would slide in you'd pull it straight
(05:25):
and would lock in behind the bearing, but there isn't
enough room now to allow it to tilt and pull
straight because the abist tooth collar is in the way. Okay,
well you know, I guess I've never done one of
these because I didn't have the tool I could. I
have done you know, hundreds of axle bearings, but for
whatever reason, I hadn't done this particular setup. Wait, look
(05:46):
it up. We go through tooling. We need j DASH
forty five eight forty seven kent more special axle bearing pullar.
Blah blah blah blah blah. Great, let's go get one
of those. Well how much is that? Well that's six
hundred and that isn't even the painful part. The painful
part is that JA eighty five four to twenty seven
or whatever the part number is is on International outer
(06:10):
Space intergalactic back order, like we might see it the
last week of December after Christmas. Well that's great, but
this is September and I've got this truck apart on
the lift. Thank god for Amazon. You know, in order repair,
you really have to swivel, you've got to be flexible,
you've got to be quick on your feet. I took
that JA eighty five number or that factory tool part number,
(06:32):
and I plugged it into Amazon. And you know, I know,
we all complain about Amazon, the big giant that's taken
over the world, the one that's you know, keeping people
from you know, shop local and all that. But sometimes
because I called on my local guys and nobody had anything,
and it turns out that, you know, what happened here
(06:56):
is is Amazon converted it to a cheap tool. I'm
not going to say it any other way. You know,
one of those cheap tools from China, right, those fifty
dollars toolkits, and that's literally what this was. It was
a fifty two dollars toolkit in a blow molded red
case with all the adapters. And Amazon said, well, this
(07:17):
has got a four and a half star rating. This
one's got a five star rating. But they were all
made that cheaper tooling quality from overseas. I didn't need
it to last, I needed it to work. Once I
ordered all three, I ordered the three possibilities. They were
all like fifty to fifty one fifty two. I spent
one hundred and fifty dollars to get three tools where
(07:37):
I'd have to spend six hundred to get one, knowing
that when I found the one that worked, if I
didn't damage the others, get them dirty, you know, muck
them up, mar them up, and so forth, I could
send them back. So I'm really spending fifty dollars to
get this truck off my lift, this bread and butter
Chevy pickup. And sure enough, with a little bit of
(07:58):
provocation and a little bit of heat, it worked. Auto
repairs about swivel and auto repairs about at the last minute,
the repair goes completely sideways, and you've got to figure
out how to get out of it. My youngest one
said to me, she said, Dad, you know what I
like about you the most. I said, what's that? She said,
(08:18):
you always think outside the box. And I really appreciated
that then and I appreciate it now. And her point was,
and she tells me all the time she goes, you're
never stymied. You're never stumped. She said. You may not
know the answer right away, but you keep looking and
you keep picking away at it until you get to
the point of solution. That's what we did today. That's
(08:38):
what we did Friday in the shop. You know it
was kind of It was kind of comical going back
to the car show story because remember that scene at
the end of The in Laws where Alan Arkins says
to Peter Falk standing and I'm dating myself. Old movie, right,
but you got to go see it. It's a great movie.
It's a funny movie. And Alan Arkin at the end,
they're blindfolded and their hands are tied behind their back
(08:58):
and are about to be shot by the firing squad
and Alan Arkin says, Okay, what's our next move? And
Peter Fowk's like, no, that's it. That's all I got.
Why what do you want to try? And he's like no, No,
that was me and Tom today. Tom's like we got
to go. We can't fix this. I'm like, no, Tom,
really tell me the truth, Like what are we gonna do?
There's there's got to be away, Like Tom, you're Tom Ray,
There's got to be a way to fix this. And
we just flew down Skyline Drive where if you know
(09:20):
Skyline Drive in West Milford. I do want to apologize
to that cop and Franklin Links because I went past
him full throttle, hammered down on the fifty five and
he just I think the look in my eyes. He
knew I was late getting somewhere, So I promise I'll
slow down next time. Anyway, let's pull over, take a pause.
We're going to come back and answer phone calls at
eight five five five six oh nine nine zero zero
(09:41):
again eight five five five six oh nine nine zero
zero to everybody up in Weston Milford at the PBA
two eighty six car show. We're sorry. We're gonna try
this again next year, we promise, but for now, we'll
be back right after this to answer your questions. Don't
go away. And of course, as bad as Tom and
I in company felt today when we couldn't stay for
(10:03):
the PBA two eighty six car show, there's Brad with
his BMW calling him from Florida. Because I kind of
know this story. I saw the email came across my
desk during the week. Brad, tell America what happened to
your BMW? Please welcome, Welcome, sir.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
All right, thanks for having me. So I got tired
of the dealership old changes. So I went to a
couple group bonds and you named the shops. It doesn't
really matter, Valvelene, Jeffy, Lub etc. And one of them
stripped the drill pan. And when I took it to
a BMW specialist just for one of those typical oil changes,
(10:42):
he called me up and said, your prior guy stripped
the drill pin and we have to take the engine
out to replace the drill pan. And it's a BMW.
It's about a six thousand dollars charge, and we'll do
it for about four grand for you. Again, it's a
sixteen BMW, it's worth about twelve grands. Doesn't seem to
make sense to do that.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
So why can't they hear? Why can't they healy coil it?
Speaker 4 (11:05):
I don't know the answer to that. I've asked a
couple of places and they've declined to do it.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I wonder why, you know, because when I saw the email,
as a matter of fact, did Jack call you?
Speaker 5 (11:18):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (11:18):
He did, Yeah, you know, I called. I called. I
called our BMW specialist here in the area, just to
get his two cents on it, and he said, let
me give the guy a call. And you know, his
comment was the same thought as mine, that why aren't
why isn't anybody lowering the cradle, supporting the engine and
lowering the cradle to this way the engine doesn't have
to be pulled. But you know, beyond that, the first
(11:40):
step would be, why aren't we why aren't we trying
to healy coil the pan? Is there a reason it's
an illuminum pan? Right?
Speaker 4 (11:48):
Yes? And I don't know the answer to that.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
If we can get clear access to it, you know,
if we can get clear access to it, a helly
coils as strong as anything else. We put helly coils,
A helly coil for everybody's information, it would look like
a spring and the outside of the spring would thread
into a threaded, pitched hole that would match the springs
(12:11):
outside diameter, but the inside would have matched the thread
pitch of the bolt or drain plug whatever we're screwing
into it. But we we healy coil cylinders, and you know,
spark plugs under compression and never an issue, So you know,
that would be that would be my question, of course.
My My other commentary is, you know, why aren't we
going back then? And I already know the answer, but
(12:33):
I just want to feel better saying it, why aren't
we going back to whoever stripped it? And saying, you know,
what are you going to do for me? You know,
it's it's you know, listen, and I'm not going to
lecture you bread. I feel your pain, but you've you've
learned the lesson, right, it's you get what you pay for.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
It's I did, I did.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
It's you know, it's difficult.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
It's a hard lesson.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Yeah, but again, it's a sixteen and it's not worth
a whole lot, and I don't really see the need
to put six grand into it. I'm trying to find
somebody to do the Healy coil the or a vacuum
oil change. I'm not sure you can do a vacuumle
change on this particular model.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Well, and you know, if you're doing a vacuum style
oil change, you're just you know, all, yeah, that's not
a sixty three Chevy Brother. You know, that's a BMW.
That's a rocket ship. That's you know, there's a lot.
There's a lot going on there in terms of things
that oil does, variable valve, timing, and a bunch of
other things. And I would be more cautious and more
content to you know, is there a way to do
(13:32):
this more economically? Have you been to a BMW independent shop.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
I've been to one, and I'm going to try another
one after this call.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
You know, yeah, why isn't this you know, a why
can't we healy coil this? And I think you have
to go at this with the approach of you know what,
I'm looking for a bm I'm looking for a mechanic
from my BMW and and I know this is you
talking to them, and I know you hear this all
day long. I'm looking for somebody competent, not necessarily cheap,
(14:06):
but somebody competent, right, And that's what you are. You're
you know, it's it's not that you dislike the dealer
because of what they are. You don't mind spending the money.
You just don't know if you're getting what you really need.
Is that a fair statement?
Speaker 4 (14:18):
That's exactly why I didn't go there, exactly right.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
It's it's there's no personal interconnection communication going on. It's
it's always in the back of your mind, do I
really need this? Am I being cheated? Am I? For
whatever reason? And I'm not picking on dealers. I think
there's good dealers, there's bad dealers. There's good independent shops,
there's bad independent shops. It's it's it's finding a mechanic
is probably you know, for most of us is a
(14:43):
very personal, you know, endeavor. It really is. You know, listen,
I go through it around the house. My garage door
broke at house. One of the garage doors broke at
the house over the weekend. The has a torsional spring,
you know, the two springs that wind up. One of
the springs broke. So you know, I called and left
the message, Hey, you know, this is Ron. It's such
(15:04):
and such, and you've been here before. It's five years.
It's time to change the torsional spring. Whenever you can
get out here, I'd appreciate it, you know, And just
you know, just come on out. And I just and
I know they're going to call me up and explain, well,
you know we got to charge your service. Go yeah, great,
I don't care. Come out and fix my problem because
I need this spring. You guys have been here before.
We have a relationship, right, And I think that's what
(15:26):
we're looking for in Audo repair. We're looking for that.
I think some of us are looking for that relationship.
We're looking for that tell me what I need, not
what I want to hear. And and and this is
the expensive lesson because you know, I'm not going to
tell you. You know, you're out of your mind. You're taking
a groupon to take a BMW to a cheap oil
(15:47):
change place, and look what happened? Right? You already know this,
you know it's it's but you know, how do we
recover from it? And and my bigger concern would be
pulling the engine out of the eight year old BMW?
Do we put everything back? What do we have to
what do we bend, poke, prod twist? What doesn't go
back right? What doesn't sit right? Will it ever be right?
Speaker 4 (16:09):
That hasn't crossed? I mean that has crossed my mind
as well, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
So can we helly coil it? Could we lower front suspension?
All right? And you're not gonna hold them responsible at
this At this point, it's almost like the car's mechanically
totaled until you solve this. And and you know, is
there a way to do that? The other option is
is there enough aluminum in the pan? And I trying
(16:34):
to remember what a sixteen looks like. They used to
make these transformer plugs. It would be an oversized plug
that would screw into the hole and cut its own thread,
and you would teflon seal them in place and then
it just had a ball valve literally like a like
a plumbing ball valve. You turn the spigot and out
it would come, or would have it would have another
(16:55):
bolt inside that it would be like an extension going
into the into the drain plug. Is that an option?
All right? I just I just kind of find it
hard to believe that it's got to be this six
to eight thousand dollars repair and there's no other course
of action.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
So all right, that's been very helpful. I'll keep going
down this path and I'll let you know.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
You let us know anytime. Brad, good luck to you.
That's horrible, right, And you can't just say, well, it's
a BMW. It is supposed to be expensive. Expensive is
one thing, Ridiculous is another. And you know, oh boy,
eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero,
running any of the card doctor. I'll be back right
after this. Don't go anywhere right now? You mean, like
(17:39):
right now, let's go to Lynn, Delaware.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
Lyn.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Welcome to the card doctor. How can I help?
Speaker 5 (17:43):
Hey, thank you for taking my call.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
You're welcome. What's going on?
Speaker 5 (17:48):
Oh yeah, Oh I have a twenty nineteen convertible Ford Mustang. Okay,
I had sixty five thousand miles on it. Okay, and
I've been working on this for four months. I've had
like a white grayish uh smoke come out. Timing's off.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
I got so you've got you've got a blown head.
You've got a blown head gasket, which is not complete.
Speaker 5 (18:12):
I found out a diagnostic testing. They took pictures of it,
and they had a very detailed free page report at
the coolants going into the head gasket, well.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Head, the head gaskets blown and cool and is going into.
Speaker 5 (18:25):
The engine apparently. So yeah, okay, and so I've been
doing research over the last four months. I found out
there's a lot of class action suits on Eco Boost.
That's what the main problem is. It's this particular engine,
the Eco Boost. It's expected Lincoln's four trucks, board Mustangs.
(18:47):
There's class action suits. There's no recall on any of
the vehicles. They don't have enough data or reports. I've
called corporate three times. I finally got a clean means number.
They will not reimburse me of the expense. It's going
to take place until there's a recall and then they'll
(19:08):
replace it. Okay, But in the meantime, I do have
it at a dealership. They had to tear the engine
apart to figure out what parts needs to be replaced.
But this is ridiculous, this show show here.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Let's let's cut to the chase. I would ask them,
why is it that on a Mustang it's not under
a recall an extended warranty, But this engine in an
escape is kind of the same problem on an escape.
Escapes went through this too, and I believe it was
the two three it was? It was it was the
one five if you go look up history on the
(19:44):
one five escapes of this generation and and the or
was that a two liter? Uh Escape? I'm trying to
remember now too, You're a two point three leader, correct,
I'm trying. I'm trying to remember which engine? Yeah, I
think you have FO right, I believe you're a two
point three liter turbo. But my point is a lot
(20:05):
of this generation it wasn't just a Mustang. And the
reason I'm trying to steer you away from the Mustang
is because if we compare the number of Mustangs built
versus the number of Escapes built, Mustang is a much
smaller volume of built vehicles. So the pattern of failure
to create a recall is going to be smaller. But
if we look at if we look at the same
(20:26):
engine in the Escapes, the same family and generation of
engine in the Escapes, the proportion of failure is much
much higher.
Speaker 5 (20:36):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
And we've had we've had more than a few customers
in the shop that have had the head gasket failure.
And the problem was it was porosity and the casting
of the cylinder head. As I understand, it created a
defective head and it didn't clamp the gasket correctly and
it caused the gasket to blow and leak cooling.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
So so my question to them was, if I side
it's cheaper to put a new engine in and buy
another car because the cars in pristine.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Addition, but it's ten grands for an engine, right, same
engine in. It's ten grands for an engine right right?
Speaker 5 (21:13):
Seriously, But I was like, are you putting the same
engine in? Yeah, the same ecopies, And and I said,
did you repair that fix this situation? And they're like,
you might want to google that and find that out.
Nobody ever asked us that, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
That's you know what that that that means you're dealing
with a bunch of dumbells. That don't want to know
the answers. Kid, Yeah, my friend, Yeah, listen, I you know,
you know why I'm here after thirty three years, Lend,
because I'm the only one that's not afraid to call
it like I say it. I would have been a
great I would have been a great baseball umpire.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
You know, is this the beginning of a new you're
my new best friend?
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Well it could have, you know, but you know and
now and now you know what? And now we're going
to play the game, right, you and I are going
to play the game, because if we were standing in
the shop, we'd be playing what what, what next? What if?
And what color? All right? What next is? What next?
Is what happens if? And then it leads into what
if if we put the engine in? What if the
(22:10):
turbo charger fails? And that's another six grand?
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Well, yeah, what's my warranty? What's my How many miles
am I going to get out of there?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Well, they'll warrantye the engine. They'll warrantye the engine. They're
not going to warrantye any any of the rest of it.
Part of the problem here, Lynn, I already know what
part of the problem is. All right, is it's a
convertible and you love the convertible, right.
Speaker 5 (22:35):
Yeah, it's about my fifth one.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Right, yep, you're a free spirit. You like that top down,
wind in your face and hair thing. You got that.
Speaker 5 (22:43):
Oh and guess what, my my vanity tiger is.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Right? I could, I could see it.
Speaker 5 (22:50):
You can tell that I freebird?
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Here, I can, I can, I can. I can see it.
I can see it from here. And I'm in New Jersey,
all right, I'm three states away. You know.
Speaker 6 (23:00):
It's well, you see, I consider I consider Central Jersey
and South Jersey state, so technically I'm three states away.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Yeah. So so the question becomes, before we dump a
bunch of money into this, do we buy something newer
with less miles and call this the loss? That it is? Right?
And that's the question only Lynn can answer because only
Lynn knows what her budget is. And that's that's the truth, right,
(23:33):
It's this This was a chronic problem. Listen, full disclosure.
And for all my Ford dealers out there that advertise
on all the affiliates that carry this show, I think
Ford has a really decent product in certain aspects. I
think they've got their headaches, like the rest of the
car companies, and this particular generation of engine is a headache.
(23:54):
It just is. Head gasket failures are not uncommon, and
turbo chargers are not onc And now you know, we
need to have a conversation about you know, quality of
oil change, frequency of oil change, regular maintenance, fuel system
cleaning and all that.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
I have it all backed.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Up, and none of that, None of that would have
prevented the head gas get failure. Because it seems like
if one of these things is going to have a stroke,
it's going to have a stroke, no matter how many
times it goes to the gym. But once you get
past that, it's the regular maintenance that keeps it going longer.
The question for you is this is now a six
almost seven year old vehicle, and you're not putting an
(24:33):
engine into this car to drive it another year. You're
putting an engine into this car to drive it another
five years, hopefully, And what if saying here's where what
if comes in? What if the turbo fails, what if
the transmission fails? And before before we spend this kind
of money, all right, you got to play what color
(24:56):
Pick a different color car, pick the same color car.
Can you go buy this car two or three years newer,
and what will that cost? What is this car worth?
What will that new car cost? What are you getting?
I'd like to think that if you bought something two
years newer or three years newer, you're getting a car
with half the mileage and some sort of extended warranty
(25:17):
for five years. Maybe we could put that on there
and get some sort of powertrain coverage.
Speaker 5 (25:22):
Right, it's tonight. Can I interrupt you for a anytime
you want to? Ford, who I was dealing with in
the service department, made me aware that he found a
program from Ford that will cover half of the costs. Okay,
so I like that idea, but I had they then
(25:43):
they called me back and said that they have to
tear the engine apart before they can approach Ford with
the situation. I don't know. As much research as as
I've done, I've never found anything like that. Maybe you
have to be inside the corporation to know that that's available.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Yeah, yeah, there. Well, the reason is is because Ford
is likely asking them, okay, what was the point of failure?
All right? They want to see proof, They want to
see pictures, They want to see the porosity of the casting,
they want to see that textbook picture of how the
head gas get failed. I think the question is, and
I like what I'm hearing that the dealer's doing. The
dealer's trying to their credit, right, I think you got
(26:21):
to have that conversation at their elbow with them and say, listen,
if we take the engine apart and I get it,
that's five hundred dollars I'm risking. And I turn around
and I say, no, I don't want to fix this.
What will this car be worth? And what else do
you have that I can buy as a used car
CPO certified, pre owned, two years old, three years old,
thirty thousand miles on it? What does that warranty look like?
(26:42):
What do those numbers look like? And if all that
makes sense, and they're willing to say, well, you know, Lynn,
if we take it apart and you don't want to
fix it, and we buy another car from you, it's
going to cost you this and this, and you can
make the numbers work, then you got somebody that's working
with you, and you can ask for more than that
in this day and age.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
You know what I'm saying, Yeah, I got slim pickens, right.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
So, but I mean that's Yeah, there's lots of way.
This isn't just. This just isn't just. You know, Yeah,
it's broke. How do I fix it? And what do
I do? There's a lot of what is, what color
and what's next to deal with? So go have some talks,
Go have some conversations, bring them coffee and donuts, and
that'll be your Monday Tuesday project. You give me a
call back, let me know what happens. Good luck to you, kiddo.
(27:23):
I'm running ENnie in the car doctor. We are back
right after this. Don't go away. Hey, let's go to
Matt and Michigan. Matt, you're on with Ronannie in the
car doctor at eight five five five six zero nine
nine zero zero. How can I help?
Speaker 5 (27:39):
Matt?
Speaker 4 (27:41):
Oh Man not man?
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Oh? Okay, who's Thiste Pete? Let's talk to Pete Pete
in Michigan. Do we have the state right? Yeah?
Speaker 7 (27:51):
We do had the state right?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
One out of two ain't bad, brother, So what's what's
going on? How can I help?
Speaker 7 (27:57):
First off, you know, I'm sixty one. You think i'd
have life figured out, But Ron, you set me right
with my two thousand and three Cadillac when you said
by my window regulator wasn't the problem. It was a
wiring problem.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
I got it was well, once in a while, I
get it right. That's why they let me do this.
Honest you think, yeah, probably, So it's you know, listen,
there's there's there's just sometimes you just you get you
get lucky, you know, right, some day the Mets are
going to return to the wheel series. Probably not in
my lifetime, but some days you never know what could happen.
So how can I how can I help you today? Buddy?
Speaker 7 (28:41):
Okay, well, I know this is going to be a shock,
but my two thousand and three Cadillac has a oil leak.
Only one, no several, but okay, we're going to concentrate
on just one.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Well wait, wait, do we really want to fix this?
Speaker 5 (29:00):
Pee?
Speaker 2 (29:00):
You know, if we having an oil leak on an
older car is a good thing until it hits the
rear bumper. It's just like built in rustproofing. The car
will never rode away. So you know, I consider that,
I know, but it's you know, the cleanup in the garage.
Speaker 7 (29:15):
That's the only problem. I love the fact that the
oil resecles itself awesome.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
But so you can't get the drain plugs out. You
can't get the bolts out for the pan or what.
Speaker 7 (29:27):
No, here's the thing is that I was under it. Well,
the radiators blown out and I'm going to replace that.
But the thing is is that I was underneath the
car and I said, you know what, maybe the oil
pan gasket just needs to be retorted back to the
eighteen foot pounds. And so I got my torque fringe
(29:50):
under there. I want to go and park it, and
it just kept going.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
I'm like, this is not good.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
Oh you mean the ults a stripped?
Speaker 7 (30:02):
Yeah? Is there a wait? I can do oversize bolts.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Well, if you, if you, if you, if you've got
you're gonna have to get it up in the air
on a lift. You need full height, all right, you
can't do it's it's kind of hard to do this
on the ground, all right, And you're gonna have to
pull the pan down, which I believe you have access
to do that. And then that is that is an
aluminum block or a cast iron block.
Speaker 7 (30:27):
Everything is illuminous.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
I thought it was alumininum. You're gonna heally coil it,
but you got to have a clear shot and you've
got to have a good steady eye and a good
steady hand.
Speaker 7 (30:37):
So I got to pull everything else to do the heating. Clue,
there's not like shelf snapping. I just put into it.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Well, they've got to remember, if I listen, you can
you can hack it up any way you want, all right,
I mean you can try, but chances are remember if
you have to put a bolt through, that's so course
to bite into the block, that's bigger than the stripped
threads in the block. That means it's gonna be bigger
than a hole in the oil pan itself. So you're gonna,
you know, snocker that up and then you're gonna make
(31:05):
the problem worse.
Speaker 7 (31:06):
So you're just breaking my heart round No.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Listen, brother, I'm here to tell you what you need
to know and not what you want to hear. All right,
this is it's you know what, and it's just it's
just the way it is. These are life lessons. So
God is tempering the steal. Remember that. Look, it's it's
it's got to be you. I'm just trying to, you know,
save it from yourself, because you're the guy driving the
O three Cadillact, which isn't exactly a car from yesterday.
(31:30):
So the only way I know of is a Healey
coil setup, and you could maybe try a longer bolt.
Where does that whole bottom versus the length of the
bolt that's in there, would a slightly longer bolt be
able to grab some threads that are up in the block.
I would take a blowgun and clear it out with
clear out whatever you know, dirt and air and debris
is in there, clean it out and just gently snug
(31:53):
it up. Chances are that's not gonna fix your oil
leak anywhere because it's an O three cadillact that was
I don't know. They never rusted, but they always leaked.
So good luck to you, Pete, and I was always
a fun time to talk to you. You'd be well
eight hundred, I'm sorry, eight hundred. I do that a lot,
eight five, five, six, nine nine zero zero. Let's take
them back to another time. I'm running Ady and the
(32:14):
car Doctor. I'll be back right after this. Some closing
thoughts for this hour. Had we been at the car
show and managed to stay the whole the whole day,
one of the things I was talking to the people
that came up to us, and we're again, we're just
so kind of bummed out because it was such a
connection with the crowd, just a great crowd up there
(32:36):
at the PBA two eighty six car show in West
Milford at the Wallace Homestead. And we're coming back next year,
we promised. Tom and I are already making plans for
the backup to the backup to the backup option. Automobiles
are a microcosm of history, and it's really that's really
what you're seeing when you go to a car show,
and this show was no exception because they had everything
(32:56):
from brand new just off the showroom flour corvettes to
stuff pre war. There was a couple of pre war
cars there. And you look at the manufacturing processes, you
start to think about all the little clips and bolts
and screws, and the way vehicles were manufactured almost eighty
years ago versus today, and how today everything is injection
molded and blow molded and you know, plastic pressed, and
(33:20):
such a microcosm of history of manufacturing and the way
the country was run and operated, and it's just neat
to look back. Cars are more than just cars. Some
cars are like well time machines because they take you back,
and that's what it's all about. It's been a pleasure
this hour, as always till the next time. I'm Ronning
Ay and the Car Doctor, and I'm reminding you good
mechanics aren't expensive, they're priceless. See you
Host
Ron Ananian
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.