Deciding Which Truck Is Better and More Car Repair Questions Answered on Under The Hood
Under The Hood show
Deciding Which Truck Is Better and More Car Repair Questions Answered on Under The Hood
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Car
Ram 1500
The Ram 1500 is a large truck that can carry heavy loads and is often used for work or towing. It's known for being comfortable and having good technology inside.
Car
Toyota Tundra
The Toyota Tundra is another large truck that is known for being very dependable and good for towing. People often choose it for its strong build and features.
Part
brake rotors
Brake rotors are round metal discs that help stop the car when you press the brake pedal. Bigger rotors can help the brakes work better and stay cooler.
Part
axle shafts
Axle shafts are parts that help turn the wheels of a car. Stronger axle shafts can carry more weight and are important for trucks that do heavy work.
Car
Ram
Ram is a brand that makes trucks, and they are known for being comfortable and powerful. They are popular for both work and personal use.
Term
corporate average fuel economy
Corporate Average Fuel Economy is a rule that requires car companies to make their vehicles more fuel-efficient. It helps reduce fuel consumption and pollution by setting a standard for how many miles per gallon their cars should get.
Car
Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius is a car that uses both a gasoline engine and an electric motor to save fuel. It's very popular for being environmentally friendly and getting great gas mileage.
Term
miles per gallon
Miles per gallon is a way to measure how far a car can go using just one gallon of gas. The higher the number, the better the car is at saving fuel.
Brand
GM
GM stands for General Motors, a big company that makes cars and trucks. They own brands like Chevrolet and Cadillac.
Car
Chevrolet Suburban
The Chevrolet Suburban is a large SUV that can carry many people and their stuff. It's great for families or for towing things like trailers.
Car
Cadillac Escalade
The Cadillac Escalade is a fancy, large SUV that has a lot of luxury features. People often buy it to show off their wealth.
Car
GMC Yukon
The GMC Yukon is a large SUV that is similar to the Tahoe. It has a lot of room for people and things, making it great for families.
Car
GMC Sierra
The GMC Sierra is a big truck that can carry heavy loads and is good for work or fun activities. It has a comfortable inside for driving.
Car
Chevrolet Silverado
The Chevrolet Silverado is a large truck that can handle tough jobs and is also good for everyday use. It's popular among people who need a reliable vehicle.
Car
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is a big car that looks sporty and has powerful engines. It's popular for its speed and style.
Car
300
The Chrysler 300 is a large, comfortable car that looks stylish and has a lot of space inside. It's designed for a smooth ride.
Car
Dodge Challenger
The Dodge Challenger is a muscle car that has a retro design and is known for being fast and powerful. It's a favorite among car enthusiasts.
Term
towing capacity
Towing capacity is how much weight a truck can pull behind it safely. It's important for people who need to haul things like trailers or boats.
Car
Chevrolet Tahoe
The Chevy Tahoe is a big SUV that can carry a lot of people and stuff. It's great for families or anyone who needs a strong vehicle for trips or towing things.
Term
lifter
A lifter is a part in the engine that helps open and close the valves. If it’s not working properly, it can cause problems with how the engine runs.
Term
solenoids
Solenoids are small devices that help control how the transmission works by opening and closing valves. If they don't work properly, it can cause problems with shifting gears.
Term
transmission codes
Transmission codes are special messages that tell you if there's something wrong with the car's transmission. Mechanics use these codes to figure out what needs to be fixed.
Term
detergent
A detergent in cars is a special cleaning product that helps keep the engine clean by removing dirt and buildup.
Term
sixth gear
Sixth gear is the highest gear in a car's transmission. It helps the car go faster on the highway while using less fuel.
Term
manually shift
Manually shifting means the driver can choose which gear the car is in, instead of letting the car decide automatically. This gives more control over how the car drives.
Car
Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a small car that many people like because it's reliable and gets good gas mileage. It's been around for a long time and comes in different versions.
Car
Chevrolet Vega
The Chevrolet Vega is a small car that was made in the 1970s. It had some cool features but also had a reputation for breaking down more often than other cars.
Term
carburetors
Carburetors are parts in some older cars that help mix gas and air so the engine can run. Newer cars usually use a different system called fuel injection that works better.
Car
Holden Caprice
The Holden Caprice is a large, fancy car from Australia that's known for being really comfortable and powerful. It's a good choice for people who want a smooth ride with extra features.
Car
BMW Z3
The BMW Z3 is a small, sporty car that people enjoy driving because it's fun and looks good. It was made in the late '90s and early 2000s and is now considered a classic.
Car
BMW 5 Series
The BMW 5 Series is a luxury car that has been around for a long time. The 1996 version is known for being comfortable and having good performance.
Part
battery
The battery is what powers electric cars like the Tesla Model S. It stores electricity so the car can run without using gas.
Car
Tesla Model S
The Tesla Model S is a fancy electric car that can go really fast and doesn't need gas. It's known for its long battery life and cool tech features that help with driving.
Car
Tesla Model
The Tesla Model Y is a modern electric SUV that runs on batteries instead of gas. It's popular because it has a lot of space and high-tech features, making it a good choice for families.
Term
drivetrain
The drivetrain is the system in a car that helps move it forward. It includes parts that take power from the engine or motor and send it to the wheels.
Term
electric cars
Electric cars run on electricity instead of gas. They use batteries to power the motor, which makes them cleaner for the environment.
Term
gas cars
Gas cars are the regular cars that run on gasoline. They have engines that burn fuel to make the car go.
Part
4.3 V6
The 4.3 V6 is a type of engine that has six cylinders arranged in a V shape. It's known for providing a good mix of power and fuel efficiency.
Car
GMC Cyclone
The GMC Cyclone is a special pickup truck from the '90s that was super fast and fun to drive. It's unique because it combines the usefulness of a truck with the speed of a sports car.
Car
Ford Falcon
The Ford Falcon is an older car that many people loved because it was affordable and easy to drive. It has a special place in the hearts of car fans, especially those who remember the classic models.
Car
Dodge Grand
The Dodge Grand Caravan is a big family van that has lots of room for kids and stuff. It's great for road trips and everyday use because it's comfortable and easy to drive.
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This is Under the Hood.
Welcome to the Under the Hood Show. We are glad to have you with us.
Russ Evans is here to answer your automotive questions.
Thanks for joining us under the hood.
Shannon Nordstrom is here to do the same.
Welcome, Hoodies. Thanks for tuning in so we can help you tune up.
I'm Chris Carter here to answer your calls at 866-594-4150.
Remember, you can call that number 24 hours a day too. You won't get an answer 24 hours a day.
But if you leave your phone number, you'll get an answer because we'll call you back.
We'll have you on the show like Tony in Georgia. Tony, you're on the Under the Hood Show. What can we do for you?
How you guys doing? I wonder if you could settle a question that's in my mind that I've been thinking about for years.
You know, I have an 09 Ram 1500 and, you know, the value of these trucks, the brand I have, you know, dropped the fastest of any of them.
And so when you're buying a used truck, I was able to get a very low mileage when I bought it 10 years ago.
You guys have helped me fix a million things on the truck.
But the question I want you guys to help me with is everyone online says that, you know, the Toyota Tundra is the best half-truck that there is.
And, you know, same mileage used, they cost about double maybe what mine is.
And so I was wondering, are they really that much better? What makes them really better?
Are they more reliable? Like, you know, I just, I have this question in my mind.
Are they, are they worth double, you know, what some of the other brands are?
Before we answer that question, Tony, I just want to say, he said he wanted to know if we could answer a question in his mind.
Shannon, if Russ could just answer the question in his mind without Tony speaking it, would you be surprised?
No.
No, you'd be like, oh yeah, that's just the next evolution for Russ.
But then he, wouldn't it be boring, though, because then the listeners wouldn't hear his question?
But then he did, he did tell us the question.
Right, right.
And I really didn't expect it to be a brand loyalty question.
The Under the Hood show just answers no questions. Only we know.
We'll give you the answer, you decide what the question is.
You like Johnny Carson?
Right.
The Great Carson.
Car neck.
Yeah.
This would be truck neck.
We could do another segment.
Question.
There were on to something.
And there's a big chunk of our audience knew exactly what we were talking about.
And another chunk said, what are they talking about?
Another chunk said, who is Johnny Carson?
That's what I mean.
What are they talking about?
You know, I always get not stumped, but just challenged when people ask these questions.
But I will say historically for us in our business, in our region, we have had more longevity out of Toyota Tundras than we have Ram Pickups.
And when you looked at in that era, they came out with the Tundra, the big new heavy duty, we're building it in Texas.
Get out of the way.
This is the next big thing.
Tundra in 07.
And I think I got that right, don't I?
07 was that first year of that big bad Tundra.
And they advertised how much bigger their brake rotors were and they advertised how much heavier duty their axle shafts were.
And they made a marketing campaign out of being the truck that beats the trucks that are there now.
And they were moving to Texas.
And so, I mean, they took a big swing at the market and they did pretty well.
And so, I have tons and tons of friends with the Rams, not as many with the Tundras because they just didn't sell quite as many.
But the Ram has been sold and sold and sold and we see a lot of them in the market.
And they overall in our market, if they don't rust out, people will end up putting a transmission in every once in a while.
They end up, when they get into the newer hemi stuff, there'll be some upper valve train problems, valve problems that'll pop up.
There's things like that.
Some electrical gremlins you'll get in some Chrysler's that you don't get in the Tundras as often.
But I know the one for the radio station has fought an EVAP problem that has been a pain in the butt.
I got one at the shop right now.
Well, that one's fixed.
But I got the one at the shop right now for the same problem.
It's a Tundra we're talking about.
It's going to be like $1,800.
But that's a problem that we don't see in the Rams.
No, because they don't have it.
That's true.
That's a great point.
I'll have the air pump under there.
Yeah, that's one less sophistication they don't have.
But the Tundras doing that because they're making their whatever effort towards a cleaner burn on what comes up, tailpipe.
So I'm not going to answer that question with a strong answer.
But I would say that historically from that era, if you took 07 to now, the Tundras been more reliable.
But they sold a bunch more Rams and they've got their warts.
But boy, there's a lot of them on the road yet and they just keep on going.
So does the Toyota not have the four cylinder shut off thing or do they do a different strategy towards that?
You know what I mean?
I've never seen it.
Maybe they do, but I've never seen it.
We don't have a problem with it if there is one.
But if the other brands were mandated to figure that out.
No, they weren't mandated.
Yeah, they weren't mandated.
They were required to lower emissions and lower corporate average fuel economy.
Yeah, lower those, get those fuel economy numbers up.
And they sold all kinds of trucks.
And so they had to work on the truck fleet.
See if they can save a half mile per gallon on trucks and they sell a million trucks.
That was that was easier to lower the corporate average fuel economy that way than changing the horsepower on the Viper.
And Toyota has a Prius.
Was Ram part of Dodge under that?
Oh, that's all the same company.
Yeah, but Toyota has way more cars and way more hybrid cars.
Cars getting 40, 50 miles per gallon.
Then you get into it.
Let's just look at GM.
We got Suburbans.
We got Escalades.
We got Taho's.
We got Yukon's.
We got Sierra pickups.
We got Silverado pickups.
We've got full size vans.
I mean, you put all those in there and you're like, your economy's not doing so good.
They're trending.
Their trend line's a little bit different than Toyota's.
Yeah.
And Stamps.
Stalantis had the the charger.
Yeah.
The Challenger and the 300.
Yeah.
Not super good on them.
Yeah, they're running commercials of people whipping, drifting in the parking lots.
Doesn't Stalantis sounds more like a fine wine than a car company?
Like, would you like the Stalantis or the JLore?
I'll have the Stalantis, please.
No, by JLore.
What are you talking about?
Does that help you out there, Tony?
Not really.
It does.
It does a lot.
And I mean, kind of sort of.
Perfect.
I guess I'm just trying to figure out, just trying to settle that in my mind, like, hey,
are they really that much better?
And I'm not talking about the new twin turbo ones.
I know they've had some issues with the new Toyota twin turbo ones.
Which I think they're getting that figured out.
But yeah, I guess that's just a question in my mind, because people say they're twice
as good.
Are they just 10% better?
Or like, are they actually?
I'll go back and repeat.
I'll repeat a little bit what I said.
In that era, Toyota came out swinging their new truck.
They were going to beat what was out there then and they went heavy duty on it.
They started raising the bar on towing capacities.
And that whole truck race got a new competitor when Toyota entered the market.
And when Toyota gets into a market, they typically change the game.
And Rams, the 1500, for the last few years, at least three, four, they've been the truck
of the year.
That's always on the reviews where they go head to head to head.
That one's won as the best.
If you look at the current.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So there you go.
Tony, thanks very much for the call.
866-594-4150.
That's the number to reach us here.
Let's talk to Kadeen in Florida.
You're on the Under the Hood show.
What can we do for you?
Hey, how you doing?
Fantastic.
My name's Kadeen.
I'm from Florida.
I'm a longtime listener, first time caller.
Cool.
Thank you.
I was calling about my 09 Chevy Tahoe.
I've had this truck for, let's say, eight months now, and I've been having this.
Well, at first it was intermediate where my transmission only works in manual.
Well, now the problem is whether the fluid is correct.
The fluid isn't burned.
It doesn't have a burn.
My transmission doesn't overheat, but now it only works.
And like if I put it in drive, if I go over five miles per hour, it goes back into neutral.
But if I put it in manual and want it to drive, and if I shift it manually with the, I guess
it's like a toggle switch, the plus and the minus switch on the gear shift stick.
Oh, I know.
Yeah.
Not the paddle, like when you use the stick to put the car in drive.
Little thumb switch.
Yeah, it's a plus and a minus.
Yeah, it's exactly like a toggle switch on there.
And if I switch the gears, let my foot off the gas and switch it into it to drive.
And I put it all the way to six, it to drive all the way through the gear.
But as soon as I get back to a light and it's still in six, if I go over five miles an hour,
it goes back into neutral until I go back into one.
It's basically like a stick shift.
I can tell you.
It's broken.
Yeah, it's broken.
Thanks very much for the call.
That's what he called for, Chris, right there.
He's a longtime listener.
He's impressed with what we do.
And he wants to call in for us to tell him, yep, it's broken.
Well, for one, if you've manually toggled up into six gear and you leave it there and you get to a stoplight,
that transmission is not going to allow you to go in six gear.
Yeah, it'll move down.
Because that's going to break things.
If everything were working perfect and he was just choosing manual and left it in six gear, it would...
It goes back to first.
Right, it would go on its own.
It's not doing that.
Otherwise, you're going to ruin that transmission if you try to.
If it would stay in six gear, there's just not enough strength in that gear to take off from a stoplight.
It lets you move up to the highest gear possible for the speed you're traveling and to the lowest gear possible for the speed you're traveling.
So if it's doing weird stuff like that, either it's getting...
Either something in the transmission is stuck and it can't go where you manually move it to.
So it defaults back to automatic shifting, which is possible when the automatic shifting part could be broken.
Because you've got stuck valve, so it's not shifting up and down like it's supposed to, so that it does all sorts of weird stuff.
Or you've got a programming issue where the computer...
Either the computer's failed, there's a wiring issue, or it's just in the software and it's not allowing it to do what it's supposed to.
I got a feeling you've got something going on in the transmission where a valve or something's hanging up.
So when you drive it, it's not shifting automatically.
It can't.
Let's say it commands second gear and says, no, it's not there.
So let's go back.
Let's try a different gear and we don't have enough speed to go into third, so we got to go back.
But if you try it manually, you can override that for a minute because of the speed you're going.
But then it won't let you shift anymore because it's, like I said, it needs to see a certain road speed to be able to select those.
And you said the fluid's not burnt and it's at the right level and you have probably not flushed it, correct?
It's the same fluid as when you bought it?
Same fluid as when I bought it.
Yes, sir.
Okay. And did you buy this privately or did you buy it from a dealer or what did you acquire it?
I bought it privately.
I actually bought this truck for my brother.
Okay. And your brother?
He had it maybe four years and it had a bad lifter.
So he got the engine, the top end rebuilt and the truck sat for a while.
Older or younger brother?
My older brother.
I'm the baby.
Yeah, you're still okay.
He can't do, I mean, he can't do, like, he can't go beat him up.
You know what I mean?
No, no, no.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I've been driving this truck for eight months and it's been having this problem.
And I'll tell you no lie, I mean, I don't have the funds to fix it right now.
I just want to know what the problem is because I've been driving this truck eight months.
No problem, the fluid looks perfect.
It doesn't burn and it just doesn't shift gears.
I have to shift it manually.
Okay. Here's a theory.
And I don't know what Russ is thinking.
This is what I'm thinking.
This truck, transmission worked good when your older brother had it.
You like your older brother, right?
You're all good with each other?
Oh yeah, for sure.
Okay. All right.
So he's not trying to stick it to his little brother.
We got that established.
No, I ain't trying to stick it to him.
I mean, I got a great deal for it.
Okay.
I'm not complaining.
Okay. So the fluid is not burned up and somebody didn't do a emergency flush on it before they
sold it.
So it's the same fluid and it's not burned.
We don't know if we have any codes.
Yeah.
If it's got a throttle position code, that'll do it too.
I would have gave you guys a code because I had the paper in my glove compartment, but
I moved, I cleaned my truck out and I removed all those papers when I went to AutoZone and
got it plugged in.
So there is a code?
Yes, there is like, there's all type of transmission codes, but it's saying that everything is
stuck open or stuck closed.
Okay. If you've got, if you've got...
You should have mentioned that before now.
We should ask too, but the story is too good.
But there's hope here that this transmission is still good.
Yeah, it sounds like it may have a wiring problem if you got open solenoids.
We're good.
Yeah.
I remember, I don't exactly remember what the codes were, but there were transmission
codes and they were saying that a valve open, flash closed, stuff open, flash closed or
something.
I can't remember.
Did you take, did he take the engine out of the vehicle when you guys fixed the lifter?
Did you do it in chassis?
I don't know.
I have to accent that.
If the engine had been out of the vehicle, I would go back and double check all the ground
wires on the backside of the bell housing.
You know, just make sure everything is wired back the way it's supposed to be factory if
that engine happened to be out of the vehicle.
And even if they took the heads off, they would have unplugged harnesses and stuff.
Make sure nothing got pinched.
Make sure there's nothing that got...
Go to the areas that were affected by a human and make sure there's no human problems.
Then the fact that this thing sat for a while, it sounds like you said it sat for a while,
then...
It sat for maybe two years.
Yeah, there's a good possibility too that things could just be stuck.
He's in Florida.
A gator could have got under there and nibbled on the wires.
Yeah, a little gator gecko or something.
A gecko.
115,000 miles, but it's 09.
That's good miles.
That's really good miles.
It's probably in good shape coming from down there.
But you're going to have to enlist somebody that can diagnose those codes.
You're going to have to have to check the wiring and get that all looked over.
And then it might be such a thing that if it's not electrical, but it sounds like it is,
but it could be something stuck that's triggering electrical because it sat.
And then you might want to run a detergent through there or a cleaner or that sort of thing.
But I wouldn't do that until I've had it inspected electrically and let somebody interpret those codes
and how that works.
I think you're going to be okay.
Because when you put it in like six gear down the highway, it holds that gear,
doesn't slip, tack doesn't keep rising, nothing.
No, it's just, it stays like, because with this engine, okay, once it gets out of first
and I can manually take it all the way to six, it is still being second gear,
but it will shift by itself into second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth.
You know what I'm saying?
Then when I come to the stop sign, I have to bring it back down to one.
And then when I take it out of one again, I can take it back up to six manually
by itself and it'll go shift through every gear one or two to six perfectly.
It just doesn't shift out of one into two.
Yeah, this is...
Something's just hanging up there, right?
No, no, this is electronic.
I want to see the codes.
Go buy advanced auto parts and have them read it.
Then get back...
Find that piece of paper you had.
He'll get a new piece of paper though, yeah.
Get a new piece of paper because we want to know what the codes are today.
But I'll read it.
Don't be afraid to call back if you don't figure something out before then.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I'm kind of curious what those codes are.
And the local advance might have a person that they work with that is a small shop
or if you're on social media, we see so many people nowadays,
it's dangerous because you don't always get the right expert,
but hey, who can help me?
I'm low on cash and I need to get my transmission fixed.
There's always somebody that'll raise their hand and sometimes it's just fine.
Yeah.
Thanks very much for the call.
Good luck.
I am getting overwhelmed with the number of people in a month now.
I get five or six, which is a lot for us that come in and say,
oh, can you fix my car?
Sure.
Well, here's what I found.
I Googled it and it said it could be these things.
What did you Google?
My car makes a noise.
What is it?
And they're like, they're literally telling me, well, it's probably this, this or this.
Like, no, I've listened to it.
It's this is what it is.
And they're almost arguing saying, well, that's not what Google says.
Like, do you realize that we have over like 2000 episodes of our show giving answers posted
on that internet?
Where do you think a lot of them come from?
Right from that content.
Seriously, because we're directly posting our questions and answers out there.
Plus, you got all the people on YouTube, which there's a million.
I mean, we just passed 10,000 subscribers on YouTube in your face, Mr. Beast.
Jamie thinks he's got a show.
No, but seriously, don't trust.
Don't just Google something.
You would never walk into your doctor.
You might do the same.
You shouldn't.
You shouldn't.
But if you did walk into your doctor and say, hey, I Googled it and I think this was wrong.
Can you fix me?
They're going to say the same thing.
They're going to want to diagnose you.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and I am 100% confident that 20 times as many people
say that to their doctor as say it to Ross.
Well, but guess what?
I backed down a lot quicker from my doctor than I would from the mechanic.
That's true.
But I think everybody goes in and tells their doctor what's wrong because they Google.
Could it be a blah, blah, blah underneath my left pinky?
Could it be something that isn't related to my weight?
Anything?
Why is that always your go-to?
We're going to take a break when we come back.
We want to hear from you.
Let's all take a break.
I'm fine.
Eat another cookie.
Me and you.
I need a snack.
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Welcome back everybody.
It's time to get back under the hood with a motor medics.
866-594-4150.
That's the number to reach us here at the Under the Hood Show.
Don't forget, if you miss an episode, you can listen to a past episode all the way back now on our podcast.
We go way back.
We're opening up the catalog there, Russ.
We go way back to yesterday.
Yeah, we're like 900-some episodes.
I mean, you just go to any podcast site, really.
Anything that's good.
Yeah, or our website, underthehoodshow.com.
And it doesn't go back to my prepubescent days of 1990.
No, that was...
No, but if you go back to...
It goes back as far as the internet.
Sorry.
But I tell you what, listening to the show myself, I went through probably 30 hours worth of stuff,
and that wasn't near all of them.
But I was just going to specific places in these, listen.
But we sound different.
10 years ago.
Sure.
The way the show is, the show's become more refined.
The listeners are...
I think the listeners are better.
The calls are better.
Just all sorts of things are...
Oh, don't say that.
That is what it was.
Yeah, I think you have to, because you can't...
That's like an entertainer come out and say,
You guys are an average audience tonight.
Yeah.
I've had better.
Yeah.
The listeners are better now than ever.
Today specifically.
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Charlie Hill, I bet there's a bunch of people listening right now going,
Oh yeah, old Charlie Hill, he used to work on our Chevy's,
but he wouldn't touch an import.
There's no...
That's what you think when you hear Charlie Hill?
Yeah, I think of a guy who I used to know.
And just in general.
Where does he live?
Over just down by the Johnson's.
So the early days.
Let's say the early days.
Back in the 70s, when we heard that a lot.
Oh, we don't do imports.
We just do Chevy's.
Today, compared to that, I mean, everything's just wires and nuts and bolts, right?
But if you go to the 70s and you look at,
let's look at a Honda Civic compared to a...
Oh, a little CBCC.
Compared to...
Compared to a Vega or something.
I mean, you know, and even a Triumph.
Other than the carburetors.
The car, yeah, things broke a lot more on the foreign cars,
but maybe they didn't want the comebacks.
But the carburetors were always way different.
But the cars, still, nuts, bolts, brakes, tires, they just...
It'd be much better today to say,
oh, foreign cars, compared to back then.
But yet we have more available things for them.
Maybe you just couldn't get the parts as easily.
Maybe every auto parts store didn't carry all the Honda parts.
I need some brake shoes for my Honda.
Oh, we don't carry foreign parts.
That's an interesting perspective.
There were just less parts on the car back then.
So there was less things to be different than now.
It's not like a BMW today compared...
BMW Z3 compared to a Chevy Caprice.
You compare it like the same year.
1990 Caprice versus, you know, that era.
96 Caprice.
96 5 Series.
96 Z3, 97 Z3.
Yeah, that's a whole different car.
Way different.
Interesting.
But the older ones, a whole lot less, way different.
We just dismantled the Tesla Model S and dropped the battery out of it.
When they got to dismantle on it, once you get past the battery...
It was normal.
It's got a bunch of control arms and it's got subframes.
Didn't catch on fire when you took it apart.
No, no, everything was good.
We did it properly.
But there again, the drivetrain is still all pretty much the same.
It's the same type of car.
Down in Texas, every other day, they're posting something about,
oh, look, another car on fire in a parking lot.
They're not electric cars.
They're all gas cars.
They're all saying, well, let's see what happens when you stop inspections.
Yeah, I don't think stopping inspections January this year really affected it.
But isn't that weird?
In your mind, you think which car, if you had an electric car and you had a gas car
and they're both sitting there saying which one's more likely to catch on fire.
Because of the news and the media, we think, oh, it's the electric one, right?
Uh-oh.
If you're driving on the road and you see a car on fire, it's probably not an electric.
It's probably a truck.
866-594-4150.
Let's go to Ohio and talk to Ryan.
You're on the end of the hood show.
Ryan, what can we do for you?
How's it going, guys?
I love this show.
Thanks.
I got a question for you.
I got a nice...
Yeah, great show.
I've learned a lot.
I have a 1991 GMC Sonoma Chevy S10, same thing.
It's got the 4.3 V6 in it.
It's got the stock 4.3.
I mean, it's got a new pistons and cam.
I don't know about the hot rod stuff, too.
Anyways, and I bought a new throttle body for it with like the prong trips, like the
little chips they have back in the 80s.
And a company did it.
They did a great job with it.
Had a last summer, ran awesome.
Well, I didn't...
I stored it in October.
Filled the gas tank up.
No less stable or nothing in it.
Put a battery tender on it.
And a couple of days ago in Toledo, it was like 65 degrees.
It was awesome.
So I just took it for a ride.
And it started to kind of like sputter.
Like lose some power a little bit.
I mean, every time I get a gas, I feel like it was going to die.
So I was kind of driving it slowly.
And then all of a sudden, I kind of got on it a little bit more.
And then it opened up and it ran perfect.
And the reason why I'm calling, would that be because the gas is getting old or there's
something else going on?
Any idea?
It could be that the gas was getting old, but it could also be that there's just some,
you know, gum and varnish buildup in those injectors.
So they're sticking a little bit.
When you give it a little more throttle, it has to, it pulls them open.
I mean, literally it'll pull them wide open and basically hold them all the way open.
If you're really standing on the throttle, because it's just pouring fuel in and then
you're letting more air in through that butterfly valve.
So they could be sticking.
You might want to run some cleaner through it.
Get yourself a CRC emission system cleaner kit.
That's one of our partners and something we use now and then to clean these for this issue.
You put it in and just drive it, you know, and see if that'll clean it up.
And when you have a car, if you get an older one that's starting to get some wear in the
injectors compared to a brand new one, like maybe not brand new, within five years old,
that's starting to get slight wear, things like gum and varnish will affect the older
one more than the new one.
Whereas they both might run fine with clean gas and run it every day.
But once they start to get a little old and little wear and that older one's going to
stick and standing on a little bit might clear it up.
And I think that we're ignoring something on this phone call, I think.
What's that?
What drives you and why did you decide to take the 91 Sonoma and hot rod the V6?
It's cool.
I know, but I need to know a little more about this.
I got it when I was in high school.
I got it for real cheap and my dad got pretty much in the car.
I don't know, just kind of got into it, I guess.
I just never kind of stopped.
So you've owned this for 20 plus years?
Oh, yeah, absolutely, yep.
This is a Berkeley one classic.
This 91 Sonoma is a Berkeley one classic.
He took it out just for the good weather.
So you're little V6 in there, how many horsepower are you getting out of that thing?
I mean, the guy that built the motor around my pound said I would be lucky to get maybe
200 at the rear wheels.
That's pretty good.
It doesn't weigh much in it.
Yeah, that's pretty good for that.
You know, I mean, you're going to feel it when you drive it.
You're going to say this has got more power than the original, which is good.
Still not a cyclone.
No.
No, but it'll last longer.
Yes, it will.
So has this thing ever been painted?
We got a guess, I think.
Oh yeah, absolutely.
Okay, don't tell us.
Is it a long box?
No, it's a short box.
Okay.
And it's been, has it been just repainted the same color or has it been different colors?
It's the same stock color, yeah.
Okay.
Oh, okay.
I mean, we haven't guessed a Sonoma or a S10 color.
I think this one is the first one.
I'm going to say that I think it's white.
What do you think, Chris?
I'm going to go red just on the odds.
It seems to me that I'm going with red.
We had one back in our town that had the guy put a V8 in it.
It was just a couple years old when he did it.
I wonder what happened to that thing?
It was blue.
It was a shine.
Well, we kind of just hit the three big ones there.
But it was a long box.
That's what in my head.
Okay.
When was the last time you saw a long box S10?
Every once in a while.
Ryan, what color is it?
Yeah.
Bright red.
All right.
Chris.
Yes.
Look at me.
The winner.
Check out Berkeley One Classics.
It could be a good chance to keep that thing insured really nice with an agreed value
because you've got some investment in it.
And save some money.
Did we help you out there?
Are you going the right direction now?
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, for sure.
I just wanted to know, yeah.
One more quick question.
When does gas start to harness?
I know that's kind of a big question.
Any idea at all?
And it's changed over the years.
If it's fresh gas when you buy it, it's usually good for a year.
But a lot of times if you're not driving a car a lot and you putting new gas on top
of old gas doesn't fix it.
You know, that's happened around here a few times where it's like, oh, I got this car
and it's been sitting 10 years.
It smells bad.
Well, we put five gallons of good gas in it.
It doesn't make any difference.
I've got a couple of money to get the gas out of.
Yeah.
So if you've got five gallons in it and you drive it and you say, oh, I'm getting down
pretty low.
Let's put another five gallons in there.
Oh, I'm getting a little low.
Let's put five more.
And you keep diluting the old stuff, but it's never really completely gone.
On a car that I have that I drive on the boats, it's like, okay, I'm going to go drive it.
I'm going to get it really, really low.
And then I'm going to fill it all the way up and I'm going to put stabilizer in it.
Or I'm going to fill it up enough where if I'm not going to burn a couple of tanks this
season, I'm going to fill it up to where I know that next year I could run this out.
And I'm going to put stabilizer in it.
Ryan, thanks very much for the call.
Good luck.
866-594-4150.
Let's go to Ohio again and talk to Walt.
You're on the end of the hood show.
Walt, what can we do for you?
Yes, my dad's got a 1965 Ford Feralane.
We picked up about 10, 12 years ago.
And the brake, the master cylinder brakes got around screw one cap.
I like a mason jar and I've been trying to get that off and I can't get it to break loose
to check the fluid.
I just wonder if you guys had anything to try to get it on without have to replace the
whole cylinder.
Sure.
So, you can get it off there.
We've had this happen and what I usually use on it, don't use giant channel lock grips
because they'll bend it in certain spots but then they can leak.
We find an oil filter wrench that'll fit it, that'll grab the whole thing evenly and crank
on it and see if that'll take it off.
More than likely that's going to take it off.
If it does not, you can apply a little bit of heat to it because brake fluid will get,
it's made to get very hot before it burns and oxidizes like hundreds of degrees.
So if you get like one of those little micro hand torches, don't set the car on fire but
if you just warm it up really good or even a hairdryer enough to heat a heat gun even
for a while.
As hot as you can get it with that is not going to hurt it and then use the wrench, the oil
filter wrench.
That's a good suggestion.
Take it off.
That's a really good suggestion.
Yeah, but we've had those.
Yeah, I didn't think about strapping it.
I didn't think about that.
I got one of them rubber belt kind of things but I didn't try that either.
That might do it too.
I got a heat gun.
You could do like my wife does and it always drives me thinking she's going to have a big
event.
Take the master cylinder off, bring it into the kitchen and bang it against the edge of
the counter when the jar doesn't open.
I was picturing your wife walking in with the master cylinder.
What are your countertops made of?
Because when I try to do that before I get to the counter, I'm putting it my wife on
the other side of the hallway.
How about that?
She's like, no.
I'm like, oh, okay.
Yeah, no.
You're going to chip that.
Just a nice little tink, tink, tink.
I'm like, just give it to me.
Walt, before we let ego, this one clearly we asked.
Is this the original color?
Yes, it's faded but it's still original.
Oh, yeah.
Because I think if you paint a fair lane, you probably go something.
I'm thinking light blue.
I'm thinking faded blue.
I'm thinking if he knows it's faded, it was a dark primary color originally, so it's
red.
Okay.
White.
You going with white?
No.
Faded white.
Yeah.
Right.
I'm trying to think of fair lane odd colors.
I'm going to throw in that brownish color they had.
Okay.
What color is it, Walt?
It's something like a robin egg green light blue.
I guess you'd call it.
I'd call it more of a.
I think Chris is close to winning the second one in a row here.
Well, I would definitely call it light blue.
For the Berkeley One Classic Kitsch guest to color contest.
So is the fair lane, is it a hot rod one or was it a basic one?
Let's let's hear a little bit more about the fair lane.
Just something.
Well, my dad had a 1964 Falcon he bought brand new years ago and he used it on a mail route
and he said that was a perfect car for what he wanted and he wore it out.
And then about eight, nine years ago, he was reminiscing about that car and well, it couldn't
find one any place, but I found this fair lane set along the road and it was about the same
color and same box design and stuff.
But this one has a 289 instead of the six cylinder, but it's just a basic four door
everyday driving car.
That's all it is.
Nice.
Thanks very much for the call, Walt.
Good luck.
866-594-4150.
Let's go to Texas and talk to Daniel.
You're on the end of the hood show.
Daniel, what can we do for you?
Hey, I love listening to your show.
I always learn a thing or two.
Thank you.
I have a 95 on a cord that is my grandmother's car and the cruise control stopped working
on her and she's wanting me to fix it for her.
So I've been, I've got the original electrical wiring diagram in the shop manual and I've
been going through this trying to figure out what the issue is and from what I've been
able to find.
It seems like everything's working.
The one thing I haven't tested is the cable reel in the steering wheel.
The clock spring with some call it?
Yeah.
Is that something that is likely to be the problem?
Because I have to pull off the airbag to test it.
Yeah.
It is, but you don't have to do that.
So here's what you could do.
You could disconnect it down under the dash.
There's two parts.
You've got the airbag part and you've got the buttons for your clock spring, your steering
wheel button separate.
You can test those just with an oh meter.
Check for resistance through them as you push each button.
You go on the common wire and then you go to each one and you say, okay, you're set,
resume, on, off and see what they're doing.
And if you don't get something on one of them, that tells us one of two things, either
the switch is bad or the clock spring is bad.
The switches themselves failing are more common than the clock springs in those cars.
The clock springs were about indestructible in those, but those buttons, they fail a lot.
And if the buttons have failed and the clock spring is failed and you just want it to work,
but you are saying, I don't want to spend all that money for, to get this cruise going.
It's not worth that much.
You can get an aftermarket cruise control switch.
They used to put them on the dashboard of cars and you can, we'd get them on a JC Whitney
years ago, but now you can get them from places like the coded digital or, you know, just look
for an aftermarket cruise control button setup.
You just mount it anywhere you want on the console, the dash and then you hook the wires
up to the same place underneath that the old one hooked to from the wheel and you just
pitch the on button, you know, while you're on buttons in your dash on that one, isn't
it?
On off.
Yeah, on buttons in the dash.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So all you got to worry about is set resumes.
So you just have those on the buttons.
Heck, you could just get a couple doorbell buttons, you know, set resume, coast set.
Can I get like a laser button or any kind of button I want?
Just a button.
You wanted to be a cool button or an old garage door, the big garage door, doorbell button.
That's what I meant, the big, big, big, big tall, lit, orange at night.
Backlit.
With an ornate trim around it.
The address.
I've got one more question.
Okay.
So this one's quick.
I've got a 07 standard view that I drive all the time and it's, I'm about to do another
oil change.
You know, I was hearing you talking about an oil additive for cars with a high mileage.
I've got like almost 200,000 miles on it.
And so I was wondering, is that something I should be putting in and what was that?
In a, in a Saturn view, there's a, there's a couple things you can put in there to, to
make that work.
Now, one of them, our partnered hotshot secret has a lifter ticks fix product and it does
a couple things.
It's going to clean out sticky lifters and it is going to help lubricate them with, with
a, with an additive to make sure that they don't have that problem again.
But it's also, it's, so it's, it's good when you get an older engine like this and you're
worried about those things that can stick in there and that'd be something that, that's
one of the, one of the products you could use to, to do that.
There is another product that we use in our shop for cars just to protect them from wear.
And that's from Justice Brothers, their heavy duty vehicle.
It's a metal conditioner that is made to make things more slippery.
We pour it into, to just give less friction to all the metal parts to keep things running
smoother so they don't, they don't wear out as fast.
And that'll also help with some of the noise.
That one he would get at the shop.
At a professional shop.
Okay.
Daniel, there you go.
A couple of ideas for you.
Thanks very much for the call.
Good luck.
866-594-4150.
Let's talk to Rich here on the Under the Hood Show.
Rich, what can we do for you?
Yeah guys, I got a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan and I got a code that flashed on it and it's
the ESIM and mission system integrity monitor.
How hard does that change?
That is what they call a leak detection pump and it is not, it's not too bad.
Yeah.
So this, this thing here that it, your evap from your engine, it goes from the purge valve
of the engine down to this thing, which is used to measure the pressure in the tank,
whether it can hold a vacuum or not, and it measures pressure, but it's got a sensor
in it.
It monitors the integrity of that evap system and it's a, it's a bolt on part.
You just unplug it, take a couple of bolts off, take it off the car, you're, you're good
to go.
And it's, it's, because he got that code, we know that's the problem, not that it's
actually,
It's a high probability of that's the problem.
Usually when that comes up, so if that part's working, you'll get like a 440 or so.
You get an evap code saying fuel caps loose or a large leak or a small leak detected,
but when you get an integrity monitor code, that usually means that that sensor in that
monitor is dead and it can't, it just can't read anymore.
It's not doing its job.
Does that help you out there, Rich?
Yeah, I can say that causes a gas smell in the car then.
Well, a gas smell in the car can usually, it's not caused by that thing failing unless
it's got a hole in it.
But what can be causing it is if you have a hole in one of those lines going back to
the tank, so you'd smell it and you'd get that code.
So I would do a visual inspection first and see if you see any, any leakage in that system
by way of rubber lines.
It might be so simple as you go, oh, the end of his chewed off by a rat, maybe another
alligator and then you just snip the end off and plug it back in and you're fixed.
We've had, we've had cars over the years, a lot of them that were that simple and they
think it's going to be a big fix and it's not that gas smell in the car.
You don't want to, you don't want to mess with that on it.
I mean, you want to get that handled, right?
Right.
I mean, you don't want to be smelling it if it's just vapor.
Yeah.
Because you've got a, like an evap system leak, that's not going to be super harmful.
If it's raw fuel though, you don't know the difference.
Raw fuel makes vapor.
So if it's raw fuel, that's the safety issue.
You've got to get that fixed.
That'll do it for another edition of the Under the Hood Show.
Until next time, you can find us online at underthewoodshow.com.
And don't forget, facebook.com slash under the hood show.
With Russ Evans, this is Shannon Orts from thanking you for tuning into the
Nordstroms Under the Hood Show.
Have a great day and remember, PTLA.
The opinions heard on this program, based on the many years of experience of
Russ and Shannon, are offered for entertainment value only and as a guide
to your repair needs.
No claim to repair or cause is given or implied.
Always consult with your own certified technician and follow all safety
procedures before attempting any repair.
To be a part of the show, call 866-594-4150.
Find out more by visiting underthewoodshow.com.
Under the Hood is produced by Prairie House Productions.
All content is the property of Nordstroms Automotive Incorporated and may not
be used without our permission.
Copyright Nordstroms Automotive Inc.
About this episode
Listeners dive into the debate over which truck reigns supreme: the Ram 1500 or the Toyota Tundra. A caller shares his experience with his 2009 Ram, questioning its value compared to the Tundra, which he hears is more reliable. The hosts discuss historical performance, reliability, and market presence of both trucks, providing insights into their longevity and common issues. Additionally, another caller seeks advice on a transmission problem with a Chevy Tahoe, leading to a technical discussion about potential causes and solutions.
4.3 V6
axle shafts
battery
brake rotors
carburetor
corporate average fuel economy
detergent
drivetrain
EV
gas cars
BMW 5 Series
BMW Z3
Cadillac Escalade
Chevrolet Silverado
Chevrolet Suburban
Chevrolet Tahoe
Chevrolet Vega
Chrysler 300
Dodge Challenger
Dodge Charger
Dodge Grand Caravan
Ford Falcon
GMC Cyclone
GMC Sierra
GMC Yukon
Holden Caprice
Honda Civic
Ram 1500
Ram Ramcharger
Tesla Model S
Tesla Model Y
Toyota Prius
Toyota Tundra
Original notes
This is the live Automotive show Under The Hood. A great Car Advice Show with Auto Repair Help giving live tips to each caller. We take calls during the show, have fun, and help you sort out what may be wrong with your car so you can save money on needed repairs. Maybe you can save a trip to the repair shop by calling Under The Hood. Here are today's callers 1. Which Truck is better a 09 Ram or a Tundra? 2. Why does my 09 Tahoe not shift right? 3. Why does my hot rod GMC Sonoma run bad? 4. How do you remove a stuck brake fluid cap on a Berkley One Classic 65 Ford Fairlane? 5. How do you fix Cruise Control? 95 Honda Accord 6. What oil additive should I use? 07 Saturn Veu 7. What is a Leak Detection Pump? 12 Caravan
Under The Hood show
Nordstroms Automotive Inc.
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