#2622: Starting from Stupid
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Car
Nissan 240SX
The Nissan 240SX is a sporty car made by Nissan that many people like because it handles well and is fun to drive. The 1990 version is from an older generation that car fans often modify.
Term
steering wheel shake
When your steering wheel shakes while driving, it usually means something is wrong with your car's wheels or brakes. This can make driving unsafe.
Term
brake pads
Brake pads are parts that help your car stop when you press the brake pedal. If they get worn out, they can make a squeaky noise.
Part
ball joint
A ball joint is like a pivot point that helps your car's wheels turn and move up and down. If it breaks, your wheel can come off, which is very dangerous.
Part
tire tread
The tread is the part of your tire that touches the road and helps your car grip the surface. If it wears away or comes off, your tire can blow out, which is very dangerous.
Term
shaking steering wheel
If your steering wheel shakes while driving, it means something might be wrong with your car's wheels or brakes. You should get it checked to stay safe.
Part
disc brake quiet
Disc brake quiet is a special grease put on the back of brake pads to stop them from making loud squeaky noises when you brake.
Part
fuel pump
The fuel pump is a part that sends gas from the tank to the engine so the vehicle can run. It's usually inside the gas tank to keep it working well.
Concept
Utility van
A utility van is a big car that people use to carry tools or stuff for their work. It has a lot of space inside to hold things.
Term
Plastic fuel tank
Many cars have gas tanks made of plastic instead of metal. Plastic tanks don't rust but can melt if you use a torch near them.
Term
Magic marker
A magic marker is a type of pen that makes marks that don't come off easily. People use it to draw lines on cars before cutting or fixing.
Term
Sawzall
A Sawzall is a type of electric saw that moves back and forth really fast to cut things. People use it to cut car parts when fixing or changing them.
Term
Jigsaw
A jigsaw is a small electric saw that moves its blade up and down to cut shapes. It's good for cutting parts of a car carefully.
Car
Subaru Outback
The Subaru Outback is a type of car that is good for driving in many conditions, like snow or dirt roads. It has extra grip on the road and lots of space for things you want to carry.
Car
Dodge Caravan
The Dodge Caravan is a type of family van that was common in the 1990s. The 1996 version is an older model that many people used for carrying lots of passengers or cargo.
Term
ethylene glycol
Ethylene glycol is a liquid added to car coolant to stop it from freezing or getting too hot. It helps keep the car's engine working properly in cold or hot weather.
Term
thermostat gasket
The thermostat gasket is a small part that stops coolant from leaking where the thermostat is attached to the engine. If it breaks, coolant can drip out and cause problems.
Term
alternator
The alternator is a part that makes electricity for your car when the engine is on. Sometimes it can make noise if it's having trouble working.
Term
loose belt
A loose belt is a strap inside the engine that helps turn parts. If it's loose, it can slip and make a screeching noise.
Term
air conditioner compressor
The air conditioner compressor is a part that helps cool the air inside your car. If it is broken, it can make noises and your car might not cool properly.
Part
tensioner
The tensioner is a part that keeps the belt tight so it doesn't slip and everything works right.
Term
oil pan
The oil pan is a part under the engine that holds the oil your car needs to run smoothly. If it gets damaged, your car can have big problems.
Term
quick oil change places
Quick oil change places are shops where you can get your car's oil changed fast, but sometimes they might make mistakes if rushed.
Part
oil filter
The oil filter cleans the oil in the engine so the engine parts don't get damaged or dirty.
Part
starter
The starter is a part that helps start the car's engine by turning it on when you turn the key or push the button.
Term
fire extinguisher
A fire extinguisher is a tool that sprays stuff to stop fires and keep people safe.
Part
brake lines
Brake lines are tubes that help send the brake fluid so your car can stop when you press the brake pedal.
Term
activated charcoal
Activated charcoal is a special material that can soak up bad smells and gases. People use it in cars to help get rid of stinky odors inside the seats or cabin.
Term
car carpet
Car carpet is the soft fabric that covers the floor inside your car. Sometimes it can get smelly or damaged and needs to be replaced.
LIVE
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Hello and welcome to Car Talk from National Public Radio.
With us, click and clack the Tapper Brothers,
and we're broadcasting this week from Action News Bureau here at Car Talk Plaza.
We're gonna love this.
Oh, you are.
You know, we have often spoken about the dangers of using a cell phone while driving.
Well, get this, a guy named Jack E, not Jackie, but Jack E Robinson,
announces a few weeks ago that he's going to run for Senate from Massachusetts against
none other than Ted Kennedy.
Not the world's greatest driver either, by the way, but that's another story.
So anyway, this fellow Robinson is doing an interview with WBUR here in Boston,
speaking from his cell phone while he's driving.
Nothing can be better than just going to the tape.
What you have is a Republican governor abdicating the United States Senate campaign
to Senator Kennedy just because the governor doesn't think that there could be.
I just got an accident.
Could you jerk?
You deserve it.
Do it again.
I missed a clump there.
What you have is a Republican governor abdicating the United States Senate campaign
to Senator Kennedy just because the governor doesn't think that there could be.
I just got an accident.
See, we told you.
That is absolutely poetic justice.
Indeed.
We don't even know if the accident was really his fault, but it was still good to pass up.
Of course it was his fault.
He was running his mouth.
Running his mouth, exactly, instead of paying attention to the road.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So if you're going to cell phone by definition, the accident's your fault.
You bet it is.
No matter what.
Anyway, if you want to call us and talk about your car or your cell phone or your most recent
accident, the number is 1-888-CAR-TALK.
That's 88-82-27-82-55.
Wow, then nobody gets longer every week.
What is it?
Like 15, 20 digits now?
Yeah.
Great.
Well, I'm going to see if I can express this as a power of five.
This is Liberty.
Liberty.
Liberty Valance.
Now, that's going to be a name that came.
You were born in the 60s?
No, I wasn't.
I was born in 1980.
Really?
Yeah.
Oh, 1980s.
Liberty.
Are you from Philadelphia?
No, I'm not from Philadelphia, and I was not born on the 4th of July, and my last name is
Not Valence.
Or Mutual.
Or Mutual.
And you're not from California?
No, I'm from Boise, Idaho.
Your parents are from California?
No, my mom is actually from New York.
All right, well, the question must be asked, what were they thinking?
I like the name, actually.
Well, I do too, but it is unusual.
They wanted something different.
So they call you Libby?
Yes.
Libby.
Yeah.
It's great.
Well, thanks.
Anyway, what's going on?
First of all, I drove a 1990 Nissan 240SX.
Okay, got it.
The first problem I'm having is my steering wheel.
Normally, between the speed of 35 and 65, shakes back and forth.
Got it.
Bad.
Really bad.
It's bad.
That's bad.
Yeah.
That's potentially dangerous, but we'll get to that in a minute.
Okay.
Next problem.
We'll do this on a triage basis.
And the next problem is, oh, about six months ago, I was having problems with my brakes,
squealing when I stopped.
Yeah.
So I went and had my brake pads replaced.
Yeah.
And it still does it.
Does it do it worse when you first start driving the car in the morning, or is it worse other times?
Probably when I first start driving the car.
Okay.
And every time you step on the brake, you hear...
Exactly.
And you haven't taken it back to have them look at it?
No.
I didn't.
Why bother?
Okay.
The triage says we got to look at the shaking business first.
Absolutely.
Have you had anyone look at it?
No, I haven't.
How long has it been doing it?
A couple months.
Oh, oh, liberty, liberty.
This is actually, I mean, this is really dangerous.
Oh, no.
It's so dangerous that if it's been doing it for a couple of months, you should not drive the car again.
Oh, no, you're kidding.
Could mean death.
You've heard the expression, give me liberty or give me death.
I'm just kidding.
Death may be waiting for you.
You could have a bad ball joint, which is ready to fall off and make the wheel come off the car.
Oh, no.
Well, you could have a bad tire, which is ready to strip its tread off and blow out when you're
driving at 60 or 70 miles an hour.
In either case, the potential of a grave danger here is high.
Yeah.
You should always, you should never forget about shaking steering wheels.
Never, let's let it happen.
Never ignore stuff like this.
You've got to really always look at that.
That's really dangerous.
Okay.
And the squealing brakes they can look at at the same time.
When they have the car on the lift, they can pull the wheels apart, make sure that in fact,
there's nothing wrong with the brakes, and I'm pretty sure there isn't.
And they may have to just deglaze the brakes and apply something called disc brake quiet
to the backs of the pads, and that'll stop that.
Okay.
I wonder, I just recently got new tires for the back, and I have the older tires on the
front.
Could that have something to do with the front?
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
You could have had a bad tire on the back that you moved to the front, and that
squirm that you were getting when it was on the back was unnoticed because the steering
wheels connected to the front wheels only.
And was the shaking coincident with that move?
Not that I remember.
Well, I didn't make that association.
Okay.
If you didn't make that association, then under no circumstances drive the car again.
I'm serious about it.
Have it told to wherever you have things fixed and have them look at it.
Wow.
I didn't realize it was that serious.
It's very serious.
Thank God you called us.
Thank God.
See you.
Well, thank you.
See you, Liberty.
Okay.
Take care.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Thanks for calling.
1-888-CAR-TALK.
That's 888-227-8255.
Well, now it's only 10 digits.
Oh, no.
Car-TALK.
Hello.
This is Mike in Lafayette, Louisiana.
How are you doing, Mike?
Oh, pretty good.
So what's shaking, Mike?
Well, I've got a 95 Dodge, three-quarter ton van.
And my son and I have a little disagreement about what to do.
He worked as a mechanic for a couple of years.
And there's a noise coming from the rear of the truck.
It's like a high-pitched wine that we've pretty much determined is the fuel pump.
Oh, really?
So you hear the noise even when you're not moving?
Right.
And for some unprisaken reason, I don't know why they do this.
You know, the fuel pump is inside the gas tank.
Where else?
I mean, why?
I just don't get it.
Well, it's a discouraged guy like you, Mike, from replacing their own fuel pumps.
Well, that's what I want to do.
And the discussion between my son and I is to...
My idea was to put an electric fuel pump, just bolt one up along the frame,
like, you know, cut it into the line and hook it up to the same wires.
You need to team up with...
So was that guy Doug that we spoke to?
No, you cannot do.
Really?
No, you can't.
I mean, you could.
If you could find a fuel pump that had the same characteristics,
i.e., deliver the same pressure and volume as the pump that's in the tank.
But the chances of doing that are pretty small.
And I think it's risky.
And I think you need to drop the tank and put the real pump in there,
which is not cheap, by the way.
I know.
But this is certainly within your grasp, don't you think?
You can do it.
I mean, your son has the tools.
I have them.
Yeah, you don't need much in the way of tools to do this.
No, a couple of wrenches.
Yeah, and the pump is right in the top of the tank.
Yeah.
Now, you would think, and I hate to be a complainer,
but you would think that most manufacturers would, if they had the opportunity,
make a hole in the floor of the truck, which would be right above where the fuel pump is.
Right above where the fuel pump is.
Wouldn't that be nice?
Why do you have to take the tank out?
Well, you know, this is a utility van.
I use it for my business, you know?
Oh, it's a van.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, it would be relatively easy.
You could do this.
I got a saw.
Don't do it with the torch.
No, no, that plastic tank just doesn't handle a torch too well.
No, but I mean, you might want to take it out the first time just to see where it is.
But as soon as you do, get right in there with the magic marker,
make yourself a nice big circle, and then while the tank is out,
what better time?
I would use a sawzall.
I've got a jigsaw.
It works just fine.
There you go.
That'll be good.
And then you just cut yourself out a little circle there, and if you wanted to,
you could get fancy and put a little handle on it, or just leave it there.
Right.
How many miles you're having this thing now?
100,000?
About 80.
80.
You'll be doing this again.
Yeah, so you might want to make a hole.
I mean, I certainly would if I owned one of these.
But it's not that hard to take the tank out.
I think it'll be a nice father-son project.
Oh, bonding experience.
It's bonding, man.
See you, Mike.
Well, thank you all very much.
All right, bye.
Bye.
We'll be right back with the answer to the puzzler after these messages.
These days, it feels like the news changes every hour.
Well, NPR has a podcast that does that too.
NPR News Now brings you a fresh five-minute episode every hour of the day
with the latest, most important headlines in episodes that are clear,
fact-based, and easy to digest.
Listen to NPR News Now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hi, we're back.
You're listening to Car Talk with us, Click and Clack the Tapper Brothers,
and we're here to talk about cars, car repair, and the answer to last week's puzzler.
Yeah, go ahead.
I know you didn't like this one.
No, I don't remember.
I remember it was all better ones, but I don't remember anything else.
Well, I remember you started ridiculing it right from the start,
saying that the better ones had nothing to do with it,
and I contrived the whole thing.
Here it is.
Two better ones are crossing the desert on their camels.
You with me so far?
Yeah, yeah.
It's early in the morning and they come across a suitcase in the sand that's partially open.
There are no tracks of any kind surrounding it.
Oh, I remember this.
They look at the suitcase and all they see is western style clothing, so they move on.
Right?
I gotcha.
They leave it there and they continue on their journey to the oasis.
A little while later, they find another suitcase in the sand.
Same thing.
It's open and closed, a strewn about.
They go on thinking of nothing but this suitcase.
A little while later, they come across a video camera in the sand.
A little while later, they find shoes, hats, pants,
shirts that continue on their journey.
Finally, they see a man in his underwear, obviously dead lying face down in the sand,
grasping a piece of straw.
The question is, what happened?
Well, you know, the only thing that had me stumped was the piece of straw.
Really?
Then that's the biggest clue, of course.
It is the biggest clue.
Otherwise, I figured that I fell out of an airplane.
So close.
He was grasping the short straw.
He was part of a party that was trying to make a hot air balloon trip across the desert.
And as they began to lose altitude, they began to throw off suitcases.
This is bogus!
The short straw!
And he held on to it all the way down from $20,000.
Yeah, other than his shorts!
And they began to throw off suitcases, shoes, and all the clues were there.
And finally him.
And finally, they said, we're going to crash.
Someone's got to go, and they had already thrown the sandbags off.
And of course, what do they have?
The basket is made out of what?
Straw.
They strip off a few pieces.
They hastily pull straws.
And this poor bastard has to jump off a bush.
You have sunk to a new low.
You have fallen into the abyss of crap.
I have never heard a more bogus!
I thought it was...
Grasping a straw!
I can't believe!
I think you failed to grasp...
The beauty?
The beauty and the elegance of it.
There's only one answer.
It's a one-answer riddle.
Philistines, I'm dealing with Philistines.
And none of you got it, and that's why you think it's bad.
Oh, jeez, I tell you...
You are going to get...
I don't want to be near your computer when the mail comes in.
Really, huh?
You are going to be bombarded.
If you think this one was bad, when did you hear the next one?
Anyway, do we have a winner?
Of course not!
Well, we do.
We're going to just give someone the prize
because no one figured this one out.
The winner is George Hasopadis.
I would say Hasopadis.
From of all places, Arlington, Massachusetts,
who actually did send his answer to us on a fish.
A plastic fish, thankfully.
And for having his answer selected at random,
from among those thousands of correct answers, none.
George gets a $25 gift certificate to the Car Talks
Shameless Commerce Division.
And with this certificate,
he can do his Father's Day shopping early
and get our Father's Day CD.
Why you should never listen to your father
when it comes to cars.
Congratulations, George, and thanks for the fish.
By the way, it floats the fish.
We put it in water to try to revive it.
Not all fish float, you know.
When they're dead, they do.
No, they don't.
They don't?
Well, I know sharks.
They start moving right to the bottom.
Oh, yeah. Well, they're not fish though.
No, what are they?
They're big things.
We'll have a new, maybe not so lousy puzzler coming up.
Maybe not so lousy.
You couldn't get lousier.
Wait, it'll be coming up in the third half of today's show.
So stay tuned for that.
In the meantime, you can call us and ask us questions
or say anything you want.
The number is 888-CAR-TALK.
That's 888-227-8255, a lawyer and car talk.
Hi, guys. This is Tony from Katona.
Hey, Tony from Katona.
I've been listening to you for years,
but you got to help me out.
I'm in a dispute with my wife and my 17-year-old son
over a 92 sob, 9,000.
I'll let my brother handle this because this is right as I am.
I have several wives and several 17-year-old sons.
Okay, but you're on a sob.
Are you qualified in that area?
I'm not.
Okay, well, let me run it by you anyway.
What sob have you got?
It's a 9,000.
It's got 165,000 miles on it.
It drives like it's new.
I love the car.
I really do.
Oh, this is your car.
Well, it was my car.
I graduated up to a Subaru Outback,
but at any rate, I'm getting a sweet smell
when I turn on the heat.
Yes.
I'm also losing in very cold weather.
I'm losing radiator fluid.
Yeah.
All right.
So sure enough, when the car is ice cold, I pop the hood.
I look down below the connection where the upper radiator hose is,
and I see it dripping out.
Now, radiator fluid being relatively cheap.
This car being relatively old,
I'm leaning towards just filling it up as necessary.
I got through the whole winter with a gallon.
The problem comes in with my son.
He's claiming that this is having a long-lasting effect
on his ability to concentrate.
And as a result of that, his grades are down.
Right.
His grades are down.
He actually dropped out of AP history,
stopped cleaning his room, and is not taking Spanish anymore.
I've been telling him that I've been driving this car
with this peculiar smell for about five years.
Yeah.
And maybe you started out stupid.
Well, I might have.
You may have less of a slide to make.
Well, I'm thinking that this may be such a gradual thing.
Exactly.
Then I don't know that something's wrong.
Right.
But he wants me to get effected.
And I'm telling him that if he keeps pushing me to get effected,
I'm going to get rid of it.
And he's going to wind up driving a 96-purple caravan,
so he better keep his mouth shut.
And your wife, of course, is on his side.
Without a doubt.
Yeah.
They're always on the side.
So he dropped out of what you're not on.
AP history.
That's gone.
In Spanish.
That's gone.
And he stopped cleaning his room.
Stop cleaning.
Tell me it's related to this peculiar smell
that's emanating from the car.
The cessation of the room cleaning
is the province of every 17-year-old male.
That's evolutionary.
I could safely discount this.
I think so.
I mean, that's a developmental thing.
And I'm surprised.
17 is just about right.
And the reason he dropped AP Spanish in history
is it's likely that the cute girls who were in the class
also dropped it for different reasons.
Right.
But, I mean, those, all of those things,
dropping AP history and Spanish
and the not cleaning of the room,
are all characteristics of 17-year-olds
with or without the inhalation of ethylene glycol.
So it may be that the ethylene glycol is having an effect,
but it probably has nothing to do with it.
Okay, that's certainly.
On the other hand, breathing ethylene glycol
vapors ain't good for you.
Okay.
I don't think.
I mean, we do know it's a poison.
Well, at this point, of course,
that's becoming less prominent because as it warms up,
I guess the metal is not contracting as much.
And I haven't had to add it to the last month
because the weather's been really.
But you might have something as simple, Tony,
as a loose hose clamp.
I think it should fix it anyway.
Or a thermostat gasket that's, I mean,
it could be a $20 fix.
Right, right.
It could be.
And you're risking countless thousands of,
bring, I mean, we know that you don't care anymore.
I could wind up having some tutors come into my house
except they have $50 a pop.
Have you lost any hair in the last few years?
Well, actually I have.
I have to admit that.
But I couldn't be at the cop and say it's hard to tell.
That's the other side effect of inhalation of ethylene glycol vapors.
All right.
So all I'll do is I'll just set a threshold of money.
And if it goes over that, I'm going to donate the car.
Make a deal with him.
If he re-ups for Spanish or history, one or the other,
you'll fix the car.
I'll fix the car.
See you, Tony.
All right, guys.
Thank you.
We'll be right back with more calls
and the new puzzler after these messages.
We're back.
You're listening to Car Talk with us,
Click and Clack the Tablet Brothers.
And we're going to discuss cars, car repair, and the new puzzler.
Please make it better.
Oh, you're going to love this.
Go ahead.
This Bedouin is driving his car home from work late one night.
And the car breaks down.
I love this puzzle.
No, no, no.
He's not.
He lives in the big city.
He lives in the Paterson, New Jersey.
He's a Paterson Bedouin.
I like this puzzle because it requires that you think outside the box,
as they say.
Yeah, go ahead.
So to speak.
Okay, go ahead.
He calls his brother.
And he says, I need help.
You got to come and rescue my car broke down.
So he shows up.
The brother does many hours later with his car.
They assess the situation.
The first brother whose car had broken down says, you ready to help me?
And he says, the second brother says, I can't tell you that you got a rope.
You know, I said, I can't tell you home.
And the guy who broke down says, that's okay.
I'll tell you home.
How could this possibly be?
So the guy who broke down is going to tell his brother who came to help him.
Exactly.
He said, I can't tell you home.
You get rather, you can't tell me home, but I can tell you home.
How could this be?
Now, if you think you know the answer, write it on a postcard or a 500 megahertz
Apple gene.
With a 21 inch studio monitor.
It's worth a shot.
It's better than a dead fish, isn't it?
If you say fish, you get one fish.
It's worth a shot.
Anyway, you can send anything you want to Puzzler Tower, including the correct answer
to the puzzler, Car Talk Plaza, Box 3500, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Matt 02238.
Or you can email your answer from the CarTalk section of cars.com.
If you'd like to call us, the number as always is 1-888-CARTALK that's 888-227-8255.
Hello, you're on Car Talk.
Hi, this is Jennifer Gross from DeKalb, Illinois.
Hi Jennifer.
Hi, how are you guys?
Oh, with help.
K-A-L-B.
There you go.
Perfect.
What's up, Jen?
Well, I have a 1991 Ford Tempo.
It has about 95,000 miles on it, and it was given to me as a gift from my husband's parents.
Oh.
Yeah.
So, of course, nothing goes wrong with it until I get the car.
And then, of course, everything goes wrong.
That's the whole idea.
Yeah.
How long have you had the car?
I've had the car now about a year and a half, two years.
Okay.
And one morning, about six months ago, I went out to start the car,
and when I turned the ignition key, it made this screeching horrible noise.
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Well, over the course of about three weeks, this begins to happen
more and more, and eventually it happens every day, every time I start the car.
Right.
Then we get winter.
Yeah.
And I go out one morning, I start the car, it makes the horrible noise.
I let it warm up for about three to five minutes.
Turn the heat on, I come to a stop sign.
I stop, and the second I start to accelerate, the same horrible screeching noise starts.
Interesting, huh?
Great.
I'm freaking out.
I'm thinking, oh no, I've hit a cat, I've got something horrible that happened.
So I slam on the brakes, I turn the radio off, I turn the heat off,
and that's when the noise will go away.
Yeah.
You have FSS, Ford screeching syndrome.
Well, I took it to my husband's mechanic, and he said that the initial noise when I
turned the engine on is the alternator trying to catch up, and that that's normal,
and it just happens in Ford's and blah, blah, blah.
And my biggest concern is, well, how bad is this?
And is it going to do this for the air conditioning when the winter's over?
The answer is absolutely.
It will.
Yeah.
And here's what's going on.
Okay.
I think.
I'm going to also suggest something, and you're going to say, yeah, that's true.
Okay.
Every time you've had the heater on, you've had not just the heater on, but in fact the defroster.
Yes.
Yes.
Good answer.
How would you like to be on stump the Trumps next week?
That was the right answer, Jennifer.
Yeah, you have either a loose belt or a faulty air conditioner compressor,
because when you have the defroster on in this car, it automatically turns on the air conditioner.
And when you go to accelerate, if there in fact there is a loose belt or a worn belt,
you will get slippage.
And that's the screeching you're hearing.
And as soon as you turn the heater, i.e., the defroster off, you shut off the air conditioner
and remove that load from the system.
And the screech goes away.
Because now the belt is capable of turning the other things, the power steering, the alternator,
et cetera.
But as soon as you impose the additional load of the compressor, then it'll screech.
And it would be consistent that it would do this as you accelerate it.
Okay.
Now, how expensive is this part?
Well, if you need a belt, the belt is short money.
You can have a new belt installed and maybe even a new tensioner.
You're probably looking at less than a hundred bucks.
Okay.
On the other hand, if it's the compressor, you're looking at several hundred.
And the compressor is pretty expensive.
Yeah, hope for the belt.
Hope for the belt.
Yeah.
Hope for the belt.
Hope for the belt.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate it.
Thanks for your call.
Good luck, Jennifer.
And nothing to do with your mother-in-law's hex that she put on you.
She didn't do that.
No, she didn't do that.
Thanks, guys.
Have a good day.
All righty, too.
Bye-bye.
Our number is 888-CAR-TALK.
That's 888-227-8255.
A lawyer on CAR-TALK.
Hey there, guys.
This is John from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Hi, John.
Hi, John.
So what's up, John?
Well, I've got a 99G Wrangler that is suffering lingering problems from an oil change from hell.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
They stripped your pan.
Oh, no.
No, no.
Much, much better than that.
Oh, really?
Okay.
They set the whole thing on fire.
You brought it into one of these quick oil change places and they torched it?
He dropped the oil filter onto the starter and across the terminals and it started an electrical fire.
It'll do it.
And the kid who was doing it panicked and took a water hose and sprayed down the engine.
So about this time, you know, I've got flames engulfing the engine.
The manager comes running over with the, you know, the fire extinguisher, pulls the pen,
squeezes the trigger, nothing.
It was a dead bottle.
I'm standing there in shock, right?
And they run to the next building, get another fire extinguisher and then down the engine with
powder and still nothing.
And finally, someone had enough sense and running up from the basement to connect to the battery.
But by this time, everything in the engine compartment was either burnt, cracked,
you name it, the brake lines, everything.
So I had it towed to my dealership and they replaced everything in the motor.
They did.
Well, yeah, the insurance, their insurance paid for it.
Yeah.
No, I mean, I'm surprised that they didn't total it.
Yeah, I was too.
Because I mean, this is the kind of situation where you want it to be totaled.
Right.
Right.
Yeah.
Okay.
This was my dream car.
I've been wanting one of these for 20 years and I ordered it from the factory and this was
its very first oil change when this happened.
You'll never do that again.
Oh no.
Never again.
Yeah.
Geez.
So what's the status?
Well, I picked it up from the dealership and it runs great, but it smelled horrible.
And I asked the guy, is the smell going to go on?
And he said, no, it's going to fade away and it's been a couple of months, but.
Oh, the fire smell.
Yeah, it smells like a bag of burnt popcorn.
Oh man.
And the smell is obviously strongest in the passenger compartment.
Oh yeah.
Well, I'll tell you that those fumes get into the seats.
I mean, fortunately, you don't have a lot of things like headliner and whatever the other cars have.
Right.
So you're at an advantage in that regard.
Right.
And I would recommend and I can't remember who sells it, but there are various mail order companies
that sell this bag of stuff, which is I think mostly activated charcoal that absorbs odors
and it's made for stinky basements.
Really?
Yeah.
All my brother's sneakers.
Want to need sneaker.
And you might get a couple of these things and shove them under your seats.
Yeah, but I mean, with all due respect, you shouldn't have to do this.
That's what I'm thinking.
I mean, your insurance company should be taking care of this.
Whatever it is that needs to be done, I mean, this smell, if it lasted for three months,
it may last forever.
Right.
And why should you take a car that's in this kind of condition?
You didn't do anything wrong.
Right.
So I mean, I would definitely go back and say this is unacceptable.
Right.
And if the seats have to be replaced, then replace them.
Oh, yeah.
But when they tell you to drop dead, you might want to.
Which they will do, but they might not.
They'll reopen the case, I'm sure, and they'll send an adjuster out to smell it.
And he may say that he smelled something and he may authorize new seats and new carpet
because there's not much under the hood that can smell anymore.
Right.
Whatever got burned up, they replaced already.
I've got a strong case to go back to the insurance company.
Oh, absolutely.
Right.
I mean, why should you drive around in your dream car having to smell this?
I mean, just tell them this is your dream car.
All right.
Stupid dream car.
That's a personal issue.
Exactly.
Yeah.
I would definitely go back and reopen the case.
All right, guys.
And they're going to give you new seats and new rugs.
And if not, you let me know.
If not, we'll tell you how to set it on fire again.
Last this time.
Say it, John.
Right this time.
Thanks for calling, John.
I like it.
Well, it's happened again.
You've underutilized another perfectly good hour listening to car talk.
Our esteemed producer has dug the subway fusion of not a slave to fashion bourbon.
Our social producers are Frau Catherine Fenolosa.
Thank you.
And Louie Cronin, the barbarian.
Our engineer is Dennis soon to be someone else's menace foley.
Our senior web lackey has dug the old gray mare and our technical spiritual and menu advisor
is the bugster John Bugsy make that two triple cheeseburgers, Lawler.
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known to the Red Sox rejects in Harvard Square.
As you, we, Louie Dewey, thanks so much for listening.
We're clicking, clack the tappet brothers.
Don't drive like my brother.
Don't drive like my brother.
We'll be back next week.
Bye-bye.
And now we have in the studio, Car Talk Plaza's chief mechanic, Mr. Vincent Kueben-Box.
Thank you very much.
Now, if you want to copy this year's show, which is number 15, you can get one on the web.
Just head on over to the store part of our website, the Car Talk section of www.cars.com.
And what if I wanted something other than that?
What if I wanted the father's CD?
You know, why you should never listen to your father when it comes to cars?
When I go to that same site, Vinny.
No, you go to www.cd.com.
Of course, you go to the same site.
You don't, the Car Talk section at cars.com.
You got it?
I got it.
Well, you ordered the old fashioned way by calling 888 Car Junk.
Well, thank you, Vinny.
That was very, very enlightening.
Yeah, sure.
Car Talk is a production of Dewey Cheetahman Howe and WB Oran Boston.
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whenever he hears us say it, this is NPR National Public Radio.
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About this episode
Click and Clack tackle a range of automotive issues with their signature humor and practical advice. Highlights include a dangerous steering wheel shake on a Nissan 240SX, a father-son debate over replacing a fuel pump on a Dodge van, and a persistent screeching noise linked to a Ford's air conditioning belt. They also discuss a Jeep Wrangler fire incident and lingering odor problems, plus a radiator leak causing family tension. The show features their classic puzzler segment and witty banter, blending car repair tips with entertaining stories.
Original notes
Tony has a Saab story for us that involves losing coolant -and, possibly, brain cells, too. The fact that he called Click and Clack should indicate how far gone Tony is already, but find out for yourself on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.
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