A sunny, call-in-focused episode blends practical pre-trip advice with deeper shop-style explanations. The hosts kick off with routine under-hood checks, then tackle an oil supply warning and how to prepare without panic. A big thread covers A/C service: why R-1234yf is costly, the need for vacuum testing, and how slow leaks are found with dye and black lights—plus why recharging alone doesn’t last. Later, they troubleshoot driveline vibration (drive shaft joints) and field questions on floor wear, transmission drain-and-fill, wet belts, and sunroof-caused water intrusion.
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06:30
Term
alternators
The alternator is what keeps your car’s battery charged while you drive. If it’s not working well, other systems that rely on electricity can act up.
06:59
Term
free on
They’re talking about the chemical fluid that makes your car’s A/C cold. If the system leaks and you lose that fluid, the shop has to refill it, and that refill can cost a lot.
06:59
Term
one two, three, four YF
That’s the name of the A/C refrigerant in newer cars. It’s the stuff that gets pumped through the system to cool the cabin, and it’s expensive if you have to refill it.
07:27
Term
R one thirty four
That’s an older type of A/C refrigerant used in many cars. The point here is that newer cars use a different refrigerant that costs more, so AC repairs can be pricier.
08:18
Term
AC recharged
Recharging the A/C means adding refrigerant back into the system. If there’s a leak, it can run out again, so you may need leak repair too.
11:34
Term
coolant
Coolant is the fluid that helps keep the engine from overheating. It’s different from the A/C refrigerant that cools the air inside the car.
12:14
Term
holding vacuum
If the system “holds vacuum,” it means it isn’t leaking. That’s important before adding refrigerant so you don’t just refill a system that will leak it right back out.
12:14
Term
vacuum test
A vacuum test is an A/C service step where the system is evacuated to remove air and moisture, then monitored to confirm it holds vacuum. If it doesn’t hold, that suggests a leak or improper seal before refrigerant is added.
12:54
Term
proper levels
Your A/C needs the right amount of refrigerant. If there’s too much or too little, the system won’t work properly.
13:39
Term
compressor
Your car’s A/C has a pump called the compressor. It’s responsible for moving the cooling chemical through the system so the air can get cold.
13:42
Term
slow leaks
A slow leak means the A/C cooling chemical is escaping a little bit at a time. The A/C might work for a while, then gets weaker until it stops working.
13:45
Term
dye
Technicians can add a special dye to your A/C system. Later, they use a black light to see where the dye leaked out, which shows where the problem is.
13:48
Term
black light
A black light is used to “reveal” the special dye that leaked out. It helps the mechanic find the exact spot where the A/C system is losing refrigerant.
14:39
Term
fill it back up
This means adding refrigerant back into the A/C system. If there’s still a leak, it will just run out again.
14:39
Term
fluor us and die
They use a special fluorescent dye that shows up under a black light. That makes it easier to see where the A/C refrigerant is escaping.
My pappy said, son, you're gonna drive me to drinking if you don't stop driving out hot Rod Lincoln.
Where's rocking all the ready?
Pretty easy down the road at go, just keep checking.
Good afternoon, and welcome to the car show. Fifty five
cars they talk station.
Sorry, I was trying to clean up this uh this room, man, it's just a little a little disorganized, you know.
I kind of like a clean space.
So taking your car questions, then I'm gonna call five one three seven fifty five hundred. That again, five one
three seven nine fifty five hundred. It's a gorgeous Saturday afternoon.
I mean it's almost picture perfect. There's no humidity, there's
no you know, just nothing but sun and blue sky.
So perfect day to be out and uh, you know, getting underneath that hood, checking the you know, checking the tire pressure, checking you know, your fluids, which we.
Talk about all the time on this show.
But uh, I have a it's been a busy day and I barely made it here.
I got to hear it.
I got here at right about one o'clock. And Tony
Bender loves when I show up late, and so but.
Yeah he does.
That's that's correct. He does, just like when I show up,
but you know it's it's uh, it was. It's been
a busy day already, and my son's in a golf tournament, and uh, we have a fundraiser tonight for where I went to high school, Percell, Mary in high school. It's
called the Grand Event, and we sponsored it and my dad will you know, my dad sponsored it and said I can't go, see if Dane wants to go. So
I graduated in two thousand and three from Purcell. My
dad was in nineteen eighty and then my grandfather, I can't remember, I'm sorry, I don't remember what year he graduated.
But when I went to Purcell, it was three generations and unfortunately, gonna break that trend with my oldest he's going to Moeler. They're at All Saints just up the
street here. And but again we you know, at Donovans,
we still continue to support the school. But yeah, three
generations of there was a lot of Donovans that went through Purcell.
So good school and uh, gonna go this afternoon.
I think it starts at six thirty and uh, yeah, have a good time and maybe run into some uh maybe some old classmates or and again a lot of Parcell's a pretty well knit community. I mean, you know,
you don't realize it, but uh, it's a it's a good time.
So but.
You know, again it's it's always good to I haven't been back in a while. I just unfortunately just been
you know, busy with life, you know, and that's what happens.
But you know, working on cars, talking to you on the radio, trying to help you fix your cars.
Right.
So earlier this morning, I did get a I did go and get.
My hair cut.
I want to give a shout out to Gills Barbershop in pleasant Ridge.
My boy Dennis cut my hair.
I wanted to make sure I looked somewhat presentable at the fundraiser tonight, and so he he hooked me up.
And you know, Donovan's in pleasant Ridge has been in business again sixty that were celebrating sixty nine years. And Gills,
I do believe has been there longer than us, or equivalent to sixty nine years. So Ewers, Donovan's and Gills
have been the three. And I could be staying, you know,
I could be wrong, but I think we're the three oldest businesses and pleasant Ridge so been going there my whole life. So I want to give out to a
shout out to Dennis and Gills Barbershop And if you guys want to get a good haircut, Gills Barbershop right there in the heart of pleasant Ridge and they'll do a.
Great job for you. So already again taking your phone numbers.
The number to call five one three seven four nine fifty five hundred, that number gain five one, three seven four nine fifty five hundred. You know, again, we talk
about I talk about this all the time on the show.
I just want to put something in the back of your mind. There's no need to panic or anything like that.
But you know, earlier this week, I spoke with my oil supplier and he said, we're going to run out of oil here pretty soon. And I said, you think,
he goes, I don't think.
I know.
We're you know, orders are already getting back filled because because of the supply. So I talk about it all
the time on the show. You guys know this. I
beat this, I could. You know, it's like just continue
to kick a dead horse. But I want to put
this in the back of your mind. No need to
go panic and rush the stores. But we do need
to think ahead in the sense of, if we do have a supply issue and I and he swears by it that it's coming, we need to think about that.
We need to think ahead.
Maybe if you change your own oil at home, maybe stock up a little bit, not a little bit, you know, maybe a month or two, you know, just just in case.
Something to just think about. Okay, we all know that
gas prices are through the roof. We know that, you know,
oil's an issue, and it's just something to think about.
Because he was pretty adamant that something was that we were gonna have a difficulty trying to get oil in the future. So don't think about don't again, let's not
run the stores and you know, take every bottle of oil you can find. But it's something to think about, because,
right we want to make sure that we protect our cars.
We want to make sure that our cars continue to stay running on the roads. And how do we do that.
We do that but making sure that the car has oil in it. And again we talk about that all
the time. So something to think about the other thing is,
you know, it's a nice day out today. It's one
of those days where you can roll down the windows and leave the ac off. But you understand that in Cincinnati,
if you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes. You know,
it was thirty degrees the other day, and before you know, it's gonna be in the nineties. Right, So there's going
to be a run on batteries, on alternators, on air conditioning, right.
And it's something to just start thinking about. Now.
If you're in the car now and you're listening to me, turn on the air conditioning, just see if it works, right, because we usually get a massive influx as soon as it hits like eighty eighty five. I mean, people are
just like they're just dying, right because you get in your car and it's over one hundred degrees and they're they're like, hey, it's not keeping up.
So something to think about.
The other thing that I want to put on your radar is understand that a lot of these new cars, okay, have a free on it. It's called one two, three, four
YF and it is very expensive. Now it has come
down in price a little bit since it first came out.
But it is very expensive. Uh.
You know, a standard if you have a if you have R one thirty four, you know it's typically dependent upon how much free on.
You you need.
You know, it's anywhere between one hundred and twenty five to one hundred and fifty bucks.
Right, if you have.
One two three four yf you're looking at at least three hundred and fifty dollars, right, and the and it can it can add up really really quickly.
So if if somebody, if you.
You know, have a newer vehicle, their air conditioning's not working and you go to your mechanic and he's like, hey, it's going to be three hundred, three hundred and fifty dollars and you're like, wait a minute, it used to be one hundred and twenty five. Well you have the
new free on and is it is a lot more expensive.
So something to think about as well. And you know,
the these vehicles, you shouldn't neet the AC recharged, you know, in the in two or three years. But I'm seeing it.
I'm seeing these cars coming in with you know, two three years old and the AC needs to be recharged and again free on as a gas. Right, so when
it leaks out, we don't know where it leaked out at, so we you have to spend that three hundred and fifty dollars to fill it back up. We put a
dye in there, but then potentially, you know, six months later or six weeks later, you're out of free on again and we're putting hopefully with us putting the die in there, we're able to find the leak, but that's not always the case, right, and then unfortunately we're charging it up again for three hundred.
And fifty dollars. And it's just because of the product.
The product is is the is so expensive and it's just something to think about. And again we're it's gonna then,
you know, I hate to say it, but the nineties are gonna hit us here in just probably a couple of weeks. And uh, turning on that ac turn it on.
If you're going most of us, you know, we're getting into We're we're close to getting into May. All the
kids are gonna get out of school. We're going on
summer breaks, We're we're going on vacations. You want to
make sure that that car is ready to go, and now's the time to do it. Okay, the number call
five one, three, seven, four, nine fifty five hundred. The
phone lines are wide open. Love to hear from you,
give me a call again. The number to call five
one three seven four nine fifty five hundred. You're listening
to the car show on fifty five krc D talk station.
This is fifty five KARC and iHeartRadio station.
Your car isn't just a machine, it's your daily partner, and with new cars becoming more expensive than ever, smart maintenance for your current vehicle just makes sense. Hi, I'm
Dane Donovan, third generation owner at Donovan's Auto entire Center.
That's why at.
Donovan's we give you everything you need and nothing you don't.
Honest expert service to keep your car running longer. Donovan's
Auto entire Center Cincinnati's honest choice for auto repairs. That's
nineteen fifty eight three locations in Blue Ash, pleasant Ridge.
In our new location near Xavier, Donovan's Auto form find yours at donovantire dot com.
It's Glenn Beck weekday mornings at nine oh six on fifty five KRC the talkstation.
Taking your phone calls and number to call five one three seven four nine fifty five one hundred. Again, It's
Dane Donovan from Donovan's Auto entire Center. I mean, I
know it's a great Saturday, but I mean, come on, everybody has car problems.
Man.
The phone lines are they're just uh, it's just crickets.
And you got you got a like a cricket. There
we go. That's awesome.
Took me a second to find it. Yeah, that was
pretty quick.
So uh, again, the phone lines are wide open five one, three, seven, five hundred.
Again the the thing I wanted.
You know again, we talked about oil all the time on the show, and it's important. Uh, but again I
want to we'll delve into air conditioning and how it works simply because this time of year, there's a lot of confusion as to how it works.
Right, So.
Air conditioning, so there's a lot of confusion as to cool in, Like, uh, there's coolant, there's free on.
Right.
Coolant keeps the engine cool. Freeon keeps the air conditioning cold.
Right, So free on is a gas Okay.
So there's no way that I can just look at look at a you know, a tank and look at it and go oh yeah, it's fool and you know, we have to hook that up to a system, suck it down to find out what what freeon was in the system, right, do a vacuum test to make sure that the system is holding vacuum right, because the gas is pressurized, it's always under pressure. Even if you're not using your car
sitting in your garage right now, that ac system, the free on is still under pressure, right.
And then.
We suck it down, make sure we've got good vacuum.
If it passes that test, then we fill it back up.
We find out what every car is different. Now I
would recommend now you can't stop at a gas station or something like that and get a can of a free on. I would not recommend that because you've got
to make sure that you put the right amount. And
if you put too much free on in the system, it won't work. If you don't put enough free on
in the system, it won't work. You have to have
the right amount of free on. So you really have
to have a system and a machine that does that. Okay,
So once we've done that, we fill it back up, make verify whether or not you've got the proper levels in there. We'll put it in there and then we'll
test the system. Then we can check to see if
the compressor is doing what it needs to. We're checking
to make sure we don't see any major leaks. And
then a lot of times they're always slow leaks, right, So we put a dye in there to verify and make sure that you know, if there is a leak, we can find it with a black light, try to figure out where it's come from. And sometimes that might
take one or two or three visits before we can find it. And whether you bring it to Donovans or
any repair shop, you got to make sure that. Unfortunately,
it's a long process sometimes and it can be frustrating.
I get that, but understand kind of how the system works and how on the mechanical side, on our side, what we have to do in order to try to find that leak, right, because freeon doesn't just evaporate, just doesn't go away. If your AC is not working and
there's no free on in the system, you've got a leak.
And again with it being a gas, we don't know where it went, right, So we got to fill it back up, put a die in there and hopefully that leak shows itself with the green dye that we put in fluor us and die that we put in there with a black light and try to find it and it can. Again, it can be stressful and it can
absolutely with the new stuff absolutely be expensive. So just
always try to be patient and understand the process. And again,
if you're going to your mechanic, you know it may see's not working. You know, do your homework as well
in the sense of just ask questions like, hey, why isn't it working?
What was wrong with it? And you know, just you know,
try to educate yourself on it.
So you know, a lot of times when people don't know, we tend to and again, I don't know if I if I go to the dentist or the doctor and I don't know, what do we tend to do? We
tend to just get angry because we don't know, right, So just ask those questions, hey, why isn't my air conditioning working? What caused it to not work? What potentially
could fix the problem? Right, and just educating and knowing
what you now and knowing the process, because again, it can be frustrating if you don't know and you come to Donovan's or you come to your mechanic and you know, I charge you three hundred and fifty dollars or your mechanic cards is three hundred and fifty dollars and six weeks later or two weeks later, AC's not working again.
You're gonna be mad. I just spent three hundred and
fifty dollars to fix my AC. No, we didn't fix anything.
We filled it back up. It's just like an inner tube, right,
if you've got an inner tube or a you know, an inflatable pool toy at home, right, and you air it up and then two days later or three days later, it's empty. Well, we don't know where that air went.
We don't know where that air went, right, So what do we have to do. We have to fill it
back up to try to find where it leaked out at.
Right.
That's the process, and again it can be frustrating. I
get it, but you know, just ask those questions. We
always at Donovan's try to educate when we do this type of stuff, to educate and make sure that you know, our customers understand the process and what we're doing, right, because a lot of times we'll charge that AC and you know, they call back three weeks later, or maybe they come back year and're like, hey, you guys fixed my AC last year and now it's not working again.
Well, we didn't fix anything.
We filled it back up, and we we had to fill it back up because we didn't know where it leaked out at. Now there's a dye. But the problem
is if it goes an entire year. So let's say
the condenser's leaking, which is in front of the radiator, in front of the bumper. You know, that's that thing's
taking rocks and you know, potentially if the dye leaked out there, but you've you've got rain, you know, salt water, you know, uh, snow, all that stuff, it could just wash away, that die and then we've got to start the process all over again.
Right, So that's why.
We always tell our customers after we've charged inn Ac to bring it back in two weeks and then let's bring it you know, you know, and a lot of people go, well, I haven't been using it. It doesn't matter.
It's under it's under pressure all the time. If it's
gonna leak or when it leaks, it's leaking all the time, whether you're using it or not, whether it's been parked for two weeks or not, it's still gonna leak out.
So understand that. So all right, again the number call
five on three seven, four nine, five hundred. Let's go
to the phones.
We have Jack. Hey Jack, Welcome to the car show.
How can I help Dane?
This is a pertaining to a call you had last week.
Okay, you were talking to a gentleman and he had a on the CRV and he was chasing a vibration m and he was thinking it was possibly into transmission.
You guys discussed everything except for the drive shaft. If
that thing's all well drive, you know, it's got a drive shaft and h my high The only reason I know this is because my eyelander did the exact same thing Dane. I did new tires, made sure they were
road force balanced, went ahead and replaced the tyrod ends, you know, made sure it was lined up correctly, would not go away and ended up being my drive shaft.
And there was no leakage or nothing from that little carrier bearing in the middle of the draft shaft. It
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Rev limiter
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