The oil filter is like a screen for the engine oil. When you change the oil, shops usually replace the filter too so the oil stays cleaner.
Term
steering suspension components
Steering and suspension components are the parts that control how the car turns and how it rides over bumps. Worn or damaged components can affect handling, tire wear, and steering feel.
A visual inspection is when the technician looks over the car for obvious problems. It can spot early wear or damage before it becomes a bigger repair.
Tire wear is how your tires get worn down over time. If the wear pattern is uneven, it can be a clue that something like alignment or suspension isn’t right.
Term
maintenance interval schedule
A maintenance interval schedule is the car maker’s recommended plan for when to do services. It helps prevent small problems from turning into expensive repairs.
Valve adjustment is a service where the mechanic sets the correct spacing in the engine’s valve system. If it’s not set right, the engine can run rough and parts can wear out faster.
The timing belt helps coordinate the engine’s moving parts so the valves open at the correct moments. Shops often combine related work—like valve adjustments—because they’re already getting into the same area of the engine.
A filler gauge (feeler gauge) is a set of thin metal blades used to measure the clearance between valve train components. During a valve adjustment, the technician uses it to confirm the gap is within the manufacturer’s specification before tightening everything down.
Rockers are part of the engine’s valve system that push the valves open. When the shop adjusts them, it’s to make sure the valves are timed and spaced correctly.
They’re saying some Honda engines are more likely to need periodic valve adjustments. The best rule is to check your own car’s maintenance schedule for what your engine requires.
Spark plugs are the parts that make the engine’s fuel ignite. Using the right replacement plug (the same type/spec as the original) helps the engine run the way it was designed to.
Tire fitment is whether a tire size will physically fit and work correctly on your car. Bigger or different tires can rub on parts or change how the car’s systems behave.
The transmission is how the car changes gears to match driving conditions. If you change tire size, the car may “feel” like it’s geared differently because the tires cover more or less distance per rotation.
A differential is the part that lets the wheels turn at different speeds, like when you’re turning. If you change tire sizes, the car’s gearing can act differently than intended.
The brake caliper is part of the braking system that squeezes the brake pads to stop the car. The tire has to clear it, so tire size changes can create fitment problems.
Your speedometer is based on how fast the tires spin. Different tire sizes change how far the car moves per rotation, so the speed reading can become wrong.
Cars have a computer that uses sensor data to figure out things like speed. If you change tire sizes, you may need to update the computer settings so it reads everything correctly.
Term
different size tires front and back
Putting different tire sizes on the front and back can change how the car measures speed and how it grips. It’s not always a problem, but it needs to be set up correctly.
This means the car’s starting switch can’t be accessed because there’s no key. If the ignition can’t be unlocked, it can be harder to tow or move the car safely.
VIN is like your car’s fingerprint number. It can be used to help a locksmith or dealer identify the exact vehicle so they can make the right key—usually after you prove you own it.
Wheel-lift towing lifts the car by the wheels instead of putting it fully on a trailer. The idea is to keep certain wheels off the ground so the car can be moved without causing problems.
A flatbed tow puts the entire car onto a trailer. It keeps the wheels from turning on the road, which can be safer when a car can’t be started or moved normally.
Recoded means the car’s security system has to be programmed to accept the new key. Without that, the key might physically fit but the car may still refuse to start.
The ignition switch is what the key turns to let the car power up and start. The host is saying the work might not stop there—it could also involve the door lock system.
“Codes read” refers to using an OBD-II scanner to pull diagnostic trouble codes from the car’s computer. Those codes help identify whether the issue is related to fuel, emissions, or another system.
Car
2021 ram truck
They’re talking about a 2021 Ram truck where one tire lost pressure quickly. That usually points to a leak or a sealing problem.
Driving on an underinflated tire makes it flex more and wear out faster. It can get damaged inside even if the outside looks okay, and that can end up costing more later.
The sidewall is the outer part of the tire. If you drive with the tire too low, that outer wall bends too much and can get damaged even if nothing looks wrong at first.
The air filter element is the part that filters the air going into the engine. Cleaner air helps the engine run properly and protects it from dirt.
Term
washable filters
Washable filters are reusable filter media that are cleaned instead of replaced on a fixed schedule. Whether they work well depends on the filter design and whether they’re cleaned properly without damaging the media or leaving contaminants behind.
A “used motor” is an engine taken from another car and installed in your car. Since you don’t know how it was treated before, it’s smart to ask what was checked or replaced and whether there’s any warranty.
A Nissan Maxima is a regular family sedan with a V6 engine. Here it’s mentioned because someone is planning to install a used replacement engine in one.
A warranty is a guarantee from the seller that they’ll help pay if something goes wrong after you install the engine. With a used engine, that protection can be especially important because you don’t know its past.
The oil filter cleans the engine oil as it moves through the engine. When you install a replacement engine, using a fresh oil filter helps protect it right away.
A thermostat helps control engine temperature by regulating how coolant flows. If you’re installing a replacement engine, swapping in a good thermostat can help the engine run at the right temperature.
Term
cylinder engine
A cylinder engine is an engine with multiple chambers where fuel is burned. More cylinders can change how the engine feels and how it’s built and repaired.
“Two liter” refers to engine displacement—how much air/fuel the engine can move in one cycle—measured in liters. It helps identify the engine size, which can affect parts availability, labor time, and how common certain issues are.
Labor rates are what a shop charges per hour for the mechanic’s time. Different shops and different areas charge different hourly prices.
Car
1986 Ford eight cylinder
They’re talking about an older Ford (from 1986) that won’t start. When a car like this won’t start, mechanics usually check the fuel system first—things like whether fuel is getting to the engine.
A siphon is a method to move liquid out of a tank. Here, they’re suggesting draining the old gas out first so you can fix the problem without leaving bad fuel in the system.
A fuel additive is something you mix into gas to help it work better or clean the fuel system. They’re suggesting it might help if the gas has gotten old.
Diagnosing is the step-by-step process of figuring out why a problem is happening by checking likely causes in a logical order. Here, the speaker emphasizes not jumping straight to replacing parts and instead verifying whether the fuel pump is powering up and producing pressure.
A catalytic converter is part of the exhaust system that helps reduce pollution. People sometimes steal them because the materials inside can be valuable.
The fuel tank holds the gasoline your car needs. If someone damages it by drilling holes, it usually has to be replaced because it’s not safe to just patch it.
Refrigerant is the “coolant” inside your car’s A/C. It’s what makes the air conditioner blow cold air, and the shop has to use the right kind and charge it the right way.
In A/C service, pulling a vacuum removes air and moisture from the refrigerant lines and system. This helps prevent poor cooling performance and reduces the risk of internal corrosion or contamination.
Recovering refrigerant means the technician pulls the A/C coolant back out and stores it properly. It prevents releasing it into the air and supports correct recharging.
LIVE
It is another Saturday morning in CCO land when we talk cars, trucks, vans and
the problems you might be having with yours and before you bring it in for
service, your favorite shop or favorite dealer, you might want to know what could
be ailing, what you're facing. Well this is your chance to call in or text in to
an actual auto mechanic who's been in the business for quite some time. Well
sounds like you're really old. Next awful from Lloyd's Automotive in St. Paul,
you're not. You're just a kid but you've been in the business for a while and you're
back here to help our listeners out by phone or by text. Good morning Nick.
Good morning and I'm not sure about the kidding anymore. What's it next
month? I turned the big 5-0 so we'll see how that goes huh? Goodness yeah well
happy birthday early and it's great to have you back here on CCO helping folks
out, our listeners out and that's the way we do it. Now Nick will be with us
till just about 7.45 our time goes by so quickly so if you have any kind of a
car care question we'd love to hear from you either by phone or by text. One
number will get you either 651-461-9226. Busy week this is the time I think you
mentioned it last week when people are hitting the roads maybe checking out
some colleges for the kids or grandkids or whatnot or maybe just road
trips. I was at the dentist the other day talking to the hygienist who was
saying her daughter and boyfriend are hitting the road for I think someplace
in Missouri. A lot of road trips I assume that's what folks at least one of the
reasons they're getting their vehicles checked out at Lloyd's. Absolutely you
know that as we're ramping up schools or school season is winding down and
people will start planning those road trips and I think we're almost a week
out scheduling wise now so that as we get through May that'll just increase and
kind of hit its peak through June and July but if you need to get your car
service call your shop dealership get on their schedule. Things are filling up
fast and the last thing you want to do is have forgotten. Now we're leaving next
week or tomorrow for a long trip across the country across the state and you
haven't had your car service yet so don't forget to take care of your car
before you hit the road. And one I assume one of the main things people are
going to want to get done is an oil change and you and I've talked about
this before for example if and I'm going to be in this coming week but if
people bring in their vehicle say I'm gonna do a road trip coming up in a
couple of weeks but I need an oil change what does that technician look for? Not
just the oil and filter. Yeah obviously the oil and filter they're gonna we call
shake down the front end you know the steering suspension components we look
at the tire wear. This is a really good thorough visual inspection look for
anything that might be due check the history for any kind of maintenance
items check the maintenance interval schedule based on the mileage you see
there's anything in those items do so it's kind of a multiple different
perspective of looking at these things and make sure that we're hitting all
the all the needed items and get that car on the road and safely that people
driving it. Yeah absolutely we're already getting birthday wishes via the tech
screen for you Nick. Slow down we got we had about a month ago so let's just
pump the brakes on that. There you go again a car care question we'd love to
hear from your 6514619226. Texter asked this that's a rather long
paragraph but let me just kind of summarize and I've heard about this
before but there's listeners that I have heard from a friend that some cars
maybe mine theirs might need a valve adjustment is that a real thing and what
is it? It is a real thing and essentially what they're doing is the
valve chain the rockers push rods the upper part of the engine some vehicles
need some adjustment at a certain interval you know it's usually around
that 100000 mile interval a lot of times it goes hand-in-hand if the
vehicle's equipped with the timing belt so while you're taking the side of the
motor part of the top of motor or access in those areas is the time to make
those adjustments if it's required obviously if you look through your
maintenance interval on your schedule you'll see a valve adjustment and you
pull the valve cover off some cases use a filler gauge if you remember that what
those are you kind of adjust those rockers to the appropriate depth and
it's just a maintenance item things will tighten up a time or loosen up a
time so we just want to make sure that they're right where they need to be and
that's when that adjustment would be made. Are we talking about all cars that need
that from time to time? No, honestly it's mostly Honda's and you know it's just
the way they design them and the other engines that do require but it's
probably farther if you were between than it used to be quite honestly most newer
vehicles are pretty designed differently so they don't have that type of setup
but once again you look at that maintenance interval you'll see something
along the same timeframe as the timing belt if it's equipped that'll say that
that adjustment needs to be done and it's not a big you know it's part of the
process it's not a huge thing to take care of so now that's good. That's good.
Now the maintenance question we've hit this once in a while generally speaking
when should spark plug you mentioned spark plugs when should spark plugs be
changed in a vehicle it doesn't mention any particular manufacturer. This should
be done based on the maintenance schedule it varies there are some vehicles
that will say 60,000 miles I say vast majority more back to that hundred
120,000 mile interval but you know check with the manufacturer check your
owner's manual look online and the one thing I will say I feel very strongly
about this is when you do have your spark spark plugs replaced that we're
using the original equipment meaning the plug that came out is the same one
going back in somebody might say oh these are better or these are just like
them I just stay away from that if it's made by certain manufacturers a certain
part number that's what you want to replace it with. All right if you're
out there fishing and you want to ask a car care question we can do that too by
phone or by text 6514619226 again don't forget mom tomorrow mother's day
tomorrow 6514619226 for any kind of a car care question you may have I was
thinking about this particular text and Nick when I was behind a vehicle
kind of an SUV type of off-road huge tires I thought well these don't look
like they came from the manufacturer really wide tires and the text here wants
to know can you use different size tires on a vehicle technically yes I would
probably advise against it there's a lot a lot that goes into it you know you
don't realize that the differentials the transmissions all that's designed based
on that tire fitment if you change the size will it fit with the brake caliper
in that area will it rub in the wheel well so there's a lot of math that goes
into it a lot of consideration so it is possible but then the speedometer might
be off so that I would I would probably advise against it quite honestly if you
have the tooling and equipment you can reprogram the computer you can make all
those proper adjustments by all means go ahead but it's not as easy as just
putting different tires on I remember talking to you about maybe Dan two
years ago I had a vehicle briefly and I didn't realize it there were two to the
front and back of the tires were different this was that is that also
happening as some of the imports the European imports they might have a
different width of the rear tire versus the front tire it's part of the design
and it's fine it works fine but then when you're replacing those tires there's
two different sizes when you rotate them you can only really rotate them left
to right so it's a little more complicated but you know it's not a
reason to shy away from the vehicle by any means so if your car is equipped with
different size front to rear tires you just have to be aware of that so you
don't put the wrong ones on the wrong end absolutely all right let's do this
let's take a quick break and invite our listeners to join in on our quickly
moving show as usual yeah if you have any kind of a car care question call it in
text it in before Nick takes his leave which is about 745 as we said 6 5 1 4 6
1 9 2 2 6 52 degrees now we're gonna hit about 62 or so here on this Saturday
from Newstalk a 3 0 W CCO and welcome at CC's car care show Denny along here
along with Nick Stoffel who happens to be among other things an ASC certified
technician at Lloyd's Automotive etc and for folks that that don't know where
Lloyd's is located they need some help you have not only Lloyd's to deal with
but you've got a couple of other locations which we really don't mention
that often we do and as you know Lloyd's is in St. Paul right on Grand Avenue 9
8 2 Grand Avenue if you have a question you need some advice we will always help
you can reach us at 651 228 1316 and as you mentioned we have a couple other
spots one is a Parkway Auto Care right in Highland Village here at the top of
the hill in the corner Ford Parkway and Snelling and our most recent business is
at 4522 East Lake Street so it's at Lake Street in the river it's called Long
Fellow Automotive and we're learning a lot you know having three
businesses in three locations three sets of people it's just it's a lot of work
but it's really exciting and we've and we're attracting the right people which
is really nice we just added another gentleman at Long Fellow here about a
month ago and and I couldn't be happier so we're we're doing really well
surround yourself with good people that's that is the secret for sure
all right yeah and again we'll get you that information from Nick before he
takes his leave which is about 745 or so car care questions yes welcome
651 4619 226 phone it in or you can text it in let's grab a phone call Clem calling in from
Red Wing this morning I love Red Wing Clem good morning what is your question for Nick
good morning and enjoy the show a very informative I'm glad you put it on say I
I have a chance to acquire a couple older Lincoln town cars the problem is they do not have keys
the owner can't locate the keys I contacted the local fellow in town that does keys he
doesn't do autos he said and the toll company does not want to deal with the cars if they
can't unlock the ignition is there any trick to getting the ignition unlocked or what can I do I
wanted to save the cars from the crusher all right thank you yeah that's uh well it's good
that you're trying to keep them on the road my first piece of advice is depending on the vintage
you can check with the manufacturer up to a certain age and I don't know that the year you can
actually have a key made based on the VIN number you're gonna have to show proof of ownership and
some other tricks from other boxes there but that's 11 avenue the other avenue is you
can check with the dealership themselves to see if you brought the vehicle in or have it towed in
you know and I understand that the one outfit doesn't want to do it but somebody will somebody
will be willing to maybe just wheel lift it versus a flatbed so they can get the drive wheels up the
ground and get it in there but you can you'll have to remove the cylinder have it recoded
and the difficulty is you can do the ignition switch but they want about the door lock so
this might be a little more time consuming a little more costly than you're anticipating
but I think the easiest thing to do is check with the dealership themselves see if that vehicle
based on VIN number if they can make a new key for that that'd be the first step all right good
luck with that wow uh the texter says this Nick the check engine light came on after filling with
gas when we were 110 miles from home pulling a camper 2015 three-quarter ton transit van the gas
portal is seated should I have this checked or give it time to go out if it was just the gas
well that's a good question if the vehicle's running fine I would say you can give it a few
more days you know I if it's running poorly obviously get it in as soon as possible but it
is it was it related to putting the gas in the tank in the vehicle it's possible but we don't know
so I would say give it a few more days if the light does not reset get on somebody's schedule
because as we noted the schedules are filling up so make that appointment and if it goes out in
between obviously call let them know but if it doesn't go out and the minimum get the codes read
do the basic diagnostic this to determine what what path you had it down again 6514619226
there's another text for you Nick uh texter says I just bought a 2021 ram truck out of the blue
one tire lost 10 pounds of pressure I filled it up it's been good since you think I should
need to have the tire looked at it comes from Don that's that's strange for sure and um if it's
holding here you know like the last uh texter there if it's a problem is a one-off and it does
happen cars are they're they're machines they're computers things can happen they need to be reset
they'll be fine the fact that lost air is kind of strange to be honest but if it's not continue to
lose any air I would you know chalk it up as it was a one-time deal odd as it is um but if you
continue to lose air fast or slow get that look that makes you not a puncture somewhere or something
with the bead that might be allowed to lose a little bit of air you get a lot of that we
talk about that from time to time if if especially in the winter time when there's that contraction
and if the the wheels the rims are um calcified or something uh you guys do that work a lot don't
you to clean the actual wheel if there's a leak around the bead correct that that mating surface
between the rubber of the tire and the aluminum or that you know whatever material the wheel is
made of a lot of times there's some corrosion there moisture gets trapped in there and with
time in oxygen it'll start to corrode and when that corrosion happens it makes it kind of porous
to be honest it allows a little air to leak out not a big leak but it'll be nice and slow and
you know you might lose a pound here and there but then you're down 567 pounds and
the you know that's easily filled up and you can repair that but the thing people don't
realize when you drive that tire low on air a decent amount not like one or two psi but if it's
you know 510 psi pounds of pressure low on air it'll start to damage the sidewall
because the weight of the vehicle is really pushing on the side of that tire and what we'll
see is it doesn't fold over necessarily but puts a crease in it and as you're going down the road
it'll start to deteriorate that rubber wall of the tire on the inside you might not see anything
on the outside but then we take the tire off to repair it and it's full of all this rubber material
in which causes you to have to replace the tire so don't just keep adding air to the tire if it's
losing it have it repaired you don't want to run the risk of creating a bigger problem you
end up spending more money on a new tire and then being of course it never
happens at a convenient time it's always inconvenient so yeah get it checked out I know
we're gonna have to break in a moment here's something we get from time to time a listener
if I a text wants to buy these washable filters not only a cabin filter but the air filter element
and he's been contemplating he or she buying a washable filter what's your opinion of those
I was thinking about that myself but you know first of all they're expensive and I'm wondering
do they work as well I think they're a good product it really comes down to us if you're kind
of like a car junkie and your car is part of your your hobby and you're sick you know by all means
yes you're gonna be on top of it you're gonna follow the interval you're gonna clean it properly
you do all those things you need to do but if you're like most of us and you just put it in
there and forget about it I'll get to it later I'll get it to later later never comes so if it's
something you're doing because it's one it's part of your passion yes if you're doing it because
you think it's gonna save you a buck or do something for you I would probably stick with
what's standard and what came with the vehicle so it's just kind of based on your your style but
the product itself I'm sure they're fine and there's a lot of marketing involved with them
take that for what it's worth do your research but yeah I would it's more about the person than
about the product I would say yeah good point all right now hang on Nick we're gonna take a
break for the weather forecast and be right back with more any kind of a car care question we
welcome you as either by phone or by text call us text us 651 461 9226 keep in mind Nick will be
taking his leave just ahead of Ted Ferrell's wine chat which is about 745 this morning so love to
hear from you here on Newstalk 830W CCO and welcome back to CCO's car care show thanks to Nick
Salfa from Lloyd's Automotive in St. Paul helping our listeners out each week call call in any kind
of a car care question you may have while our time is you know we still have some time for
yours 651 461 9226 here is another text yet I'm looking at a few I'm having a used motor
installed texture says in a 2007 Nissan Maxima 3.5 liter what should I have done to that motor
before it is installed is there is something that needs to be done Nick maybe you know it
depends on where you purchase the engine from a lot of these love these outfits do a really good
job of going through them they'll even offer you a really a really aggressive warranty which I would
probably do because you just don't know the history they don't know the history so it's a real big
unknown but you know spark plugs obviously a new oil filter maybe a thermostat but it's really
based on I guess I would talk to the folks you're buying it from to see what they go through a lot
of times they have the capability of running it a lot of times they'll they'll do some of those
for you even before you purchase it so just have some communication there and then if they offer
that warranty even if it's a few dollars it's probably worth it because you just don't know
what you're buying and the last thing you want to do is replace an engine at a huge expense
to have a problem with it does that happen a lot these days do people get new engines installed
well with the price of vehicles and the cost of used vehicles really depending on what it is but
we do it yeah I mean we it's not not that uncommon to be honest with you it's gonna be a tough job I
would think of course you've got all sorts of equipment that make it a little bit easier we have
quite the group and we have a space upstairs at Lloyd's it's kind of like a tool area a specialty
tool area and that seems to be growing by the by the day some days looking at a text on wanting
your opinion or thoughts on Ford's 1.53 cylinder engine you know anything about that I don't know
too much about it you know there's been 33 cylinder engines in the past with different
main some models you know if the engineering's done the technology's there my always where I
always pause you know just how I operate I want to see it out there for a little while make sure
her things work the way they're supposed so I don't want to be the guinea pig so I'm I'm usually
that not the first one to in line on most things so you know if you're the type of
person where it's the latest and greatest and you're excited by it please they need people to buy that
stuff you know they need people to you know utilize it you know see what the maintenance or the
quality that longevity of it is so I'm usually not mind my path but we need people out there
doing it so if that's something that you're in do please do all right 651461
9226 for your phone call or text speaking of phones Warren calling in from Florida
this morning now Warren good morning thanks for calling what what can we help you with
I got a 2017 Chevy Malibu with a two liter but I took it into the dealer the Ford dealer a Chevy
dealer this week and they said I had a small oil leak but they say came up they said it was
like 10000 dollars to do the job I have an extended warranty to cover it all but I
just thought of they said your labor rates two had $250 an hour I just thought that was pretty high
I wanted to get your opinion opinion of it well well labor rates kind of depend on the market
that you're in you know I think in our particular market you're probably getting close to $200
maybe just under it depending on the you know if it's a dealership independent shop a mom and
pop on the on the corner of a small town it's going to be all over the board you know and I would
say on the leak itself you mentioned they said the small leak you have an extended warranty
personally you know that that extended warranty is a form of payment that's great if they're
going to you cover it but I'd be more curious about what this leak is and how significant it is
I don't always just want to do stuff to do it they can demonstrate or show me you know show
your pictures take it back to the shop and point at it you can see exactly what it is and what's
entailed you know because if it's something we're just doing to do it isn't necessary I'd probably
wait I don't want more problems with the vehicle but if it's losing oil to a significant amount if
it's making a mess somewhere well then obviously we need to go down that path but make sure they
get approval through that warranty company for the repair before you proceed and number two see
what your cost is you know there's might be a deductible there might be some incidentals so
just try to get as much information as you can before you go forward with that all right
texter wants to know about this procedure they have a two-year-old gas that's in the tank it
will not start doesn't say what it is it's in 1986 Ford eight cylinder will not start it may
need new fuel pump also it's about 14 gallons in the tank what would you do about that situation
nick well you have to get the fuel out of the tank you have to siphon it you can recycle it and don't
hold me to this but I think the fire departments will take fuel but get online look see where
you can take old fuel there's places you can recycle it don't put it down the drain don't don't
don't just figure out where it goes if you don't have the capability of draining the tank or siphoning
the tank you're gonna probably have to have a totem somewhere but make sure you call ahead make sure
they have the capabilities and the ability to do that and I wouldn't be too excited about the
fuel pump yet you know let's get the fuel out of there try to get it cleaned up put some new
good quality fuel in there maybe an additive in there to try to help kind of clean things up
if we can get it running try to run it through for a bit and hopefully it'll clear itself up
still not starting something how to do some diagnosing to make sure that the pump isn't
either powering up or not producing any pressure so one step at a time first step is how do I get
the fuel out of the tank you and I once in a while talk about the theft of catalytic converters
which we haven't talked about in a for a while you're not supposed to talk about it last time
I told you you mentioned it and all sudden it happens you know it's like fetal juice fetal
juice fetal juice right nick I have something else to talk to you about I was mentioning to my son
I said you know one of these days with the cost of gasoline we're going to be hearing about thievery
of some sort and the next day in the news there we have a same poll stories I guess
people are drilling holes in gas tanks you've heard of yes yes yeah we've seen it it uh you have
yeah it's uh unfortunate and it's expensive because you need a new tank independent how it's
put in there and no you cannot patch it or plug it we don't do that for sure a lot of liability
and concerns there obviously but you're not we've said you know I've done this long enough now
but yeah it depends on you know the ups and flows of the price of fuel that we'll see those
unfortunate situations and like I said unfortunate it's expensive you have a new fuel tank sometimes
are very labor intensive and I just wish people wouldn't do that but you know people are who they are
yeah wow here we go we had a question I think it was last week about refrigerant in ac systems
and vehicles and a tester wants to know is there a new in this quote new freon did you mention
something about that well there's um refrigerant it seems to evolve every decade or so maybe a
little bit longer um and our 134a is the most common and most of our vehicles there is a
1234 yz and I don't know why it's in number they do so there's somebody smarter
out there that would know but yeah there's a newer refrigerant out there it's been out there for a
handful of years we're starting to see it we have the equipment to do the recharging and such
this the thing it's much more expensive but it's a smaller quantity and the testing and the
procedures are much more refined you know the the machine that we use is much more expensive
which is part of it but they found out how they can use less of these gases to create the cold air
and give us a good air conditioning so it used to be maybe two pounds of refrigerant now it's
done under the ounces it's 10 or 12 ounces so it's a much more much more refined system
the procedure is much longer because you really have to make sure it's not a leak in the system
you put it on the vacuum you put a little charge in it you you know recover it again so it's a very
much more time consuming process but with that if it has a leak it won't let us fill it which is
good that means that we have to fix our car so we're not having those gases go out into the
atmosphere so it's a it's a good thing for the long run just at the moment it's expensive and
the time that'll come down though well Nick we have run out of time plum run out of time as they
say and for those folks that maybe need some help from Lloyd's Automotive and I urge them to get in
touch how do we do that yes by phone is an easy way uh 6512281316
we're there to even answer your question you can live on the other side of town take it to your
dealership your shop in your neighborhood and you should do that but if you have a question before
you go let us help you uh if you're in St. Paul we're at 982 Grand Avenue on the corner of Grand
and Chatsworth uh for that information or more check out our website which is Lloyd's Automotive.net
I will see your great crews there uh next week uh for an oil change and Nick lets you and I talk
one week from today that sounds like a date thanks Danny thanks so much Nick Stoffel from Lloyd's
Automotive
About this episode
Road-trip prep kicks things off with a mechanic from Lloyd’s Automotive, then the show dives into practical maintenance questions. A listener asks whether “valve adjustment” is real, and the hosts explain how valve clearance is checked and why it often lines up with timing-belt service. Tire topics follow—air loss from bead/seal issues, underinflation damaging sidewalls, and how tire size changes can affect fitment and speedometer accuracy. The segment also covers dealer labor rates, plus troubleshooting items like check-engine codes and no-start fuel problems.
What else gets looked at when getting your vehicle in for an oil change? What does it mean when a vehicle needs a valve adjustment? When should spark plugs be replaced? Getting a new key for an old car. Losing air in tires. What to know before installing a used engine in a vehicle. Why labor rates could be higher than expected. What to do with old fuel. Freon fixes. Ask our car care expert Nick Stoffel of Lloyds Automotive. Visit lloydsautomotive.net 651-228-1316.
