Great Talk About Cars and Everything Automotive
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Term
OBD data
OBD data is information that cars collect about how they're running. It helps mechanics find out if there are any problems with the engine or other parts of the car.
Term
live data
Live data is the information that a car's sensors give you while the car is actually running. It helps you see how different parts of the car are working at that moment.
Term
engine coolant temp
Engine coolant temperature is how hot the liquid that cools the engine is. It's important to keep the engine from getting too hot and to make sure it runs well.
Term
OBD-II
OBD-II is a system in cars that helps you check if something is wrong with the engine or other parts. It gives codes that tell you what the problem might be, making it easier to fix.
Part
O2 sensors
O2 sensors are parts in a car that check how much oxygen is in the exhaust. They help the engine run better and cleaner by making sure the right amount of fuel is used.
Term
ZDDP
ZDDP is a chemical added to engine oil to help protect the engine from wear and tear. It's especially important for older cars that need extra care.
Car
Chevy Equinox
The Chevy Equinox is a small SUV that is easy to drive and has a lot of room for passengers and cargo. The 2018 version has many modern features that make it safe and comfortable.
Term
catalytic converters
Catalytic converters are parts of a car's exhaust system that help clean up the gases that come out of the engine, making them less harmful to the environment.
Term
zinc
Zinc is a chemical added to some engine oils to help protect the engine parts from wearing out. It's especially important for older engines that need extra care.
Term
burning oil
Burning oil means that the engine is using up the oil as fuel, which can create smoke and is usually a sign that something is wrong with the engine. It's not good for the car's health.
Part
thermostat
The thermostat helps keep your car's engine from overheating by controlling the temperature. If it gets too hot, the thermostat opens up to let coolant flow and cool things down.
Term
OBD-2
OBD-2 is a system in cars that helps check if everything is working properly. It can tell you if something is wrong, like if the engine is too hot or if a part needs fixing.
Term
check engine light
The check engine light is a warning light on your car's dashboard. It means that something is wrong with the engine or another important part of the car, and it needs to be checked.
Car
GMC Acadia
The GMC Acadia is a type of SUV that can carry a lot of people and cargo. It's designed to be comfortable and practical for families.
Car
GMC C15
The GMC C1500 is a type of truck made by GMC. It's known for being strong and useful for carrying things, whether for work or everyday use.
Part
suspension
The suspension is the system that connects a car to its wheels and helps absorb bumps in the road. Modifying it can change how the car drives.
Concept
lowrider
A lowrider is a car that sits lower to the ground than normal. People often modify them to make them look cool.
Part
cold air induction
Cold air induction is a way to get cooler air into the engine, which can help it run better and make more power.
Company
K&N filter
K&N makes special air filters that help cars breathe better, which can make them run more efficiently.
Part
oxygen sensor
An oxygen sensor is a part of your car that checks how much oxygen is in the exhaust. It helps the engine run better and use fuel more efficiently. If it's broken, it can cause problems with your car's performance.
Part
EGR valve
An EGR valve is a part of your car that helps reduce pollution by sending some exhaust gases back into the engine. If it doesn't work right, it can cause your car to pollute more and run poorly.
Concept
Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act is a law in the U.S. that helps keep the air clean by controlling pollution. It sets rules that companies and people must follow to reduce harmful emissions into the air.
Car
Chevrolet Corvettes
The Chevrolet Corvette is a fast and stylish sports car that many people love. It's famous for being powerful and fun to drive, making it a popular choice for car enthusiasts.
Term
headers
Headers are special pipes that help the engine get rid of exhaust gases more easily. They can make the car go faster and perform better.
Term
starter
The starter is a small motor that helps start the car's engine when you turn the key. If it gets too hot, it can have trouble working properly.
Car
Chevrolet Impala
The Chevrolet Impala is a large car made by Chevrolet. The 2004 version is known for being roomy and comfortable, making it a popular choice for families.
Car
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a sporty car that looks cool and goes really fast. It's popular for its strong engine and fun driving experience, making it a favorite among people who like muscle cars.
Car
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a stylish two-door car that was made for many years, known for being comfortable and a bit sporty. It was popular in the past and is often remembered for its racing connections.
Brand
Tesla
Tesla is a car company that makes electric cars, which run on batteries instead of gasoline. They are known for being very advanced and environmentally friendly.
Brand
Hyundai
Hyundai is a car company from South Korea that makes many different types of cars, including sedans and SUVs. They are known for making reliable vehicles at good prices.
LIVE
Thanks for joining us. This is the best of the Under the Hood show.
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Now, here is the Under the Hood show podcast.
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 take your calls at 866-594-4150.
And actually, Doug is here to take your calls.
I'm here to put them on the air to get them to you guys so you can answer the questions.
Every once in a while, it's a question I can at least tell where it's going.
I don't necessarily have the answer, but I'll go, oh, that sounds familiar.
Don't sell yourself short. You've jumped in a number of times and said, hey, I got this one.
How many times though have I been correct on even that I understood it?
I'd say it's about 50-50. I'll go, I know what it is.
Is it the torque converter? No.
I think you're 60-40.
Okay. I will take that for sure.
I think you've listened well enough over the years and you're a good enough communicator
that you understand the fine points of listening and responding when you're paying attention.
That is true because sometimes I am doing stuff over here.
If you're not paying attention, all bets are off.
And then I look at you guys like, come on, man, get it done.
That's what I do to Russ all the time.
866-594-4150. Let's go to Utah and talk to Dave.
Dave, you're on the end of the hood show. What can we do for you?
Well, I have a question about scandals.
I have just a cheap one that'll tell me the code number,
but I hear you guys talking about reading the data.
I don't know. I mean, I'm not a mechanic, but not a car mechanic,
so I wonder if I even had one that I could read the data if I'd either been under a scandals.
What kind of mechanic are you?
Well, I was a small engineer mechanic for 20 years.
I was a rock crushing mechanic for a few years,
and I was a service manager, and now I'm a machine.
Okay. So you're very well-rounded.
So I guess, Russ, explain to him what it means when you talk about reading the data.
Well, most scanners, if they read codes, read data.
Even the basic Bluetooth ones that you're going to pick up that are 40-50 bucks
will read some basic OBD data.
What he's thinking of, I think, is live data.
Yeah, live data. You can read it.
So engine coolant temp, oxygen sensor voltages,
any sensor voltage reading and temperature pressures,
they should all come up on most scanners.
Even the cheaper ones are just designed that way.
You may not get everything, but you should get at least some basics.
I know I have, I think, five of these handheld Bluetooth scanners,
and one of them is just, it's all but garbage.
It's the cheapest thing you can get.
It'll only read generic OBD two codes.
It won't even go in and identify Christ or Ford, Chevy Toyota.
It's just OBD, and it reads live data.
And it was like, it's like a $20 tool.
It was really cheap, so it's in there,
but it might be under data-pids or live data or streaming or something like that
to the effect of it does something live other than codes.
It's pretty on a different screen.
I had some of them, they're really hard to,
one of the best ones I have that's a Bluetooth plug-in scanner
is very hard to find the screen that gives you live data.
You have to go into settings and turn it on,
and every time you plug it in, it's a pain.
And then there's other ones that are really good,
but some of them are a hundred bucks are really good.
So, I mean, it's basically, it's the cheapest Matco one
that plugs into the port.
It's not Bluetooth or anything.
So if I can be able to find the voltage values for like on the O2 sensors
and all that stuff, I mean, yeah, okay.
The Matco one, I believe that all the Snap-on and Matco ones,
Cornwall, all those, the basic ones will scan some basic live data.
The OBD live data won't give you live data for body stuff,
but it will for the engine.
It should.
You could always look up that model number on YouTube
and give you all the details,
like I said, they're kind of hidden and you have to go in there
and find out where it's at.
YouTube is a great resource and it is also very frustrating.
It can be.
And when you go to YouTube and start searching for something,
if you have a problem and you start searching for it
and you can't find anything on it
and you've spent five minutes looking,
it's probably not your problem.
What you think is wrong is probably not the problem.
Oh, yeah.
If nobody else has had it, because it would show up if it was...
Does anybody else look for the shortest video?
That's what I do.
Typically.
Yeah.
How can I do this?
Oh, here's a 14-minute video.
Every time.
Pass.
Or I'll search it when I go to that video.
I'll just search the...
As long as they have titles,
I'll go across and search and see what's there
if they've got a good picture.
Because if you start off and it's got a horrible picture,
no, but some of those videos,
I was just watching last night, guys,
and there was...
those automated ones at YouTube
has done a pretty good job lately of taking down.
There's a few more automated ones slipping back in where it says,
this product is really good and, you know,
it's 4-in-1 and it's an automated voice they throw in there.
This teenager upended the mechanic field.
Does that help you out there, Dave?
Does that get you pointed in the right direction?
Yeah, I'll just have to dig deeper, I guess.
I did have a question about oil.
I listened to you guys,
you know, probably for about a year now,
and you talked about the ZDDC and stuff like that.
And I have an 82 GMC that I always add some zinc into the oil,
but, you know, I have a 2018 Chevy Equinox.
And I thought they took...
Part of the reason they took the zinc out
is so the catalytic converters.
And I mean, listen to you guys talk about lifters
and all this stuff, I'm almost afraid not to put zinc in my car,
but then I wonder if I put a zinc in my car,
plug up the cat, and maybe that's just bad info, I don't know.
I put it in mine and I don't have any problem with it.
My thought was pretty simple for me,
was that in order for it to get into the converter
and cause a problem, the engine has to be burning oil.
And since my engine doesn't burn any oil,
how's it going to get in there?
But if it is burning any oil at all,
oh yeah, it's going to get into the converter.
So is the oil, and the oil's going to plug it up.
Oil will plug up a converter fairly quickly as well.
But it's not like just the ZDP itself
is like a total kryptonite to the catalytic converter.
No, they removed it for emissions.
Yeah, that's right.
If it was for emissions or whatever.
And for going in the ground when they're burning the oil out of the engine,
what's going to happen with it?
People run it in oil burners and it gets into the atmosphere.
They dump it on the ground.
The people still are stupid enough to do that.
And then a lot of it doesn't get properly recycled like it should,
which is so dumb because you can take it
so many places take used oil as long as it's clean.
And if they do the right thing and return clean oil,
that's just engine oil and not mixed with water
and antifreeze and all sorts of other stuff
where it gives these recycling centers,
they get a bad taste for it.
I've had to stop taking,
we used to take oil all the time from customers.
And after like three in a row brought me oil
that was contaminated with stuff I had no idea was,
so we had to pay to dispose of it.
I said, no, we're just not going to take it anymore.
And one guy's really mad because he just drops those containers
off in front of my door.
He expects me to empty all these containers.
He's like, well, did you get them emptied yet?
And I said, no, we're not taking it anymore.
Well, why didn't you tell me?
Because you come in every two years.
I'm not going to find your number and call you,
but just return that oil clean for the,
oh, that's our environmental thing of the day.
Dave, thanks very much for the call.
Good luck.
It is crazy that that's not even just,
that's how we used to dispose of the oil.
That was the way you were supposed to dig a hole
and pour the oil in there.
In Michigan, in the automotive area,
it's the car capital area across the street.
Some of the people I learned a lot about engines period from,
they used to dump all their oil behind their garage
to keep the weeds down.
And there was a lot of it back there.
It was super sticky all the time.
And I bet in the period of time that I lived in that area,
there must have been a couple hundred gallons of oil going there.
I bet you could go there today and dig up the soil
and it would have some kind of contamination.
It's probably, I don't know,
but maybe that area has turned really bad.
I'm not sure, but if it hadn't,
you know, maybe some grasses planted,
but you're never growing a garden or anything in that.
The popular mechanics for somebody at one point had,
they had a diagram of the proper way to dispose of the oil.
When you were saying that,
that was tickling in my head when you said that.
And then there was gravel and sand.
And people used to see.
Real similar to camping, what you have to do.
Well, it came out of the ground.
Why can't you return it, right?
No, no.
Doesn't quite.
You gotta get a little deeper than that
and have a few fossil events.
866-594-4150.
That's the number to reach us here at the end of the hood show.
866-594-4150.
By the way, you can call that number 24 hours a day.
And if we're not here, you can leave a message
and we'll call you back during the show.
Got a question on the chat here.
Thermostat, we talk a lot about the thermostat.
Tell me what that does.
What is the function and the importance
of a thermostat in the vehicle?
It does seem that when I was a kid,
that was a much more common thing to talk about.
I don't know that it's ever actually been an issue.
I mean, I've had thermostats replaced, I've done,
but I don't think it comes up as much now as it used to.
Oh, it does.
More than you think.
It used to be that your car was overheating.
I gotta get a thermostat in it.
It was a device that was replaced every couple of years
or less sometimes because they were cheap.
They didn't really know how to make them.
They were a coil of wire for the thermal motor in there
and they just worked sort of.
You heat the wire up, it would bend one way.
It would warp one way and close it, cool it down.
It would warp the other way and move the other way.
It would just open and close.
Didn't do a very good job of it.
The temperature regulation was iffy
and then they slowly got better
and our partner over at Motorrad makes thermostats
and they, wow, we talked to them to hear more
of the technology that goes into these
because for instance, in our shop,
we see electric thermostats a lot.
They don't always get replaced when the engine gets replaced.
We'll do it if it's a regular thermostat,
your standard one.
And we use the motor ads for that,
but the electronic ones, when we look
and the price is $300 to $900,
we're not replacing that because it's more of a thermal valve.
This valve is controlled by the computer.
It's 100% closed when you fire it up.
When the computer sees the temperature increase
as it gets closer to that number,
it'll slowly open it so it doesn't peak too fast
and then it maintains that temperature.
Let's say some of them are getting up into the 220 now,
which is hotter than they used to be,
but they can maintain it so well.
It's like your home thermostat.
It's set so at 221, it's opening.
219, it's closing.
It's keeping it very steady all the time,
which keeps your heat inside the cabin
a lot more even as well.
And then even the standard thermostats motor ads
become so good at building these after all these years.
They can take the standard coil-wound type thermostat
that most people are familiar with
and they can get that temperature range very tight.
It stays closed longer until it gets up to operating temperature
and then it opens very quickly when it approaches that.
There's just a couple degrees difference
where if we took a thermostat from 1985,
it's supposed to stay closed.
Let's say it's a 165 thermostat.
This was very common back then.
A lot of 140 degrees, it's already three-quarters of the way open.
It's just not really doing what it should.
So your car was either cold or the engine would run hot.
Then when they broke, they would break closed
and overheat the car.
So that would be replaced
or some people would take them out on the side of the road
and fill it up with water just to get home.
Those days are gone.
We've got a lot of cars now
that will give you almost all of them.
OBD-2 tells you the thermostat's not working properly.
It's not reaching operating temperatures.
The light comes on.
Check engine light comes on.
Then your fans come on high.
A lot of times your air conditioner
won't work when that happens.
And you've got to get a new thermostat.
And some of these, like an Acadia,
traverse 8,900 bucks to put a thermostat in it.
That's insane.
Used to be a couple bucks.
Yeah.
And they're not available right now.
They're out backward.
866-594-4150.
That's a number to reach.
You can call that number 24 hours a day.
If you call it when we're not in the studio,
you will reach the after hours hoodie hotline.
I'm calling from Tahleclaw, Oklahoma.
I have a 97 GMC, a half ton, you know, C15, 4th side.
And somebody has redone most everything.
I mean, it's got, like, whatever,
high-performance stuff done to it
that I don't know why it would cause this.
But while the suspension has been modified,
somebody's made a lowrider out of it.
Catalytic converters removed.
Aftermarket cold air induction.
With the K&N filter,
I see that it should maybe be replaced
because it has a crease in it
that I don't know somebody told me it wouldn't.
It shouldn't be kind of like bent like that.
And I don't think that would be my problem.
Performance space are under the throttle body.
I do not know what that means.
But also, I don't think that would be my problem.
My problem is once it runs,
and I mean it runs,
and I'm the specialist told me
if I wasn't a serious hot rodder,
he would get rid of it if you were me.
And I told him, no, I'm a little old lady.
I just drive on Sunday with my left turn signal.
The truck will not turn over right
and start right hot once it's driven.
Once I go, you know,
I've either got to leave it running
or make sure that when I do shut it off,
I've got to wait, you know,
I've got to be shopping.
I've got to spend quite a bit of time
to let that cool down.
I have a couple questions here.
Let me start with this.
Is it legal for her to drive that vehicle?
It's illegal for me to take catalytic converters off my car.
Or a shop to do it for you.
Is it legal for her to drive that vehicle?
If she did not take them off herself,
she should be able to drive it.
But by driving a vehicle that has no converters on it,
it's the same.
If you're driving your car with a check engine light on,
it's on and it's usually because of emissions.
If it's a bad oxygen sensor,
if it's a EGR valve, whatever it is,
it's on and it's telling you that there's a problem.
And yes, you're violating the Clean Air Act
by driving something that's polluting.
If you're supposed to take it in,
that's why the manual says you should.
Do people do it?
Everybody that's got a check engine light
on the United States right now has got it done.
I'll guarantee you, there are over a million cars
on the road right now with a check engine light on.
With a check engine light on or coming on and off?
Easy.
Got to be.
We've got 10 people a week coming into our shop.
Don't worry about the check engine light.
I just want the oil changed.
Times that, times hundreds of millions of shops
across the country, you know.
So technically it's illegal or it's illegal?
If you're in a state that,
if you're in a state that has emissions inspection
and they inspect it,
they should flag it.
As far as I know, I think Oklahoma does have
a vehicle inspection.
I remember they had stickers in their windows
so Texas does.
You're not supposed, they don't see a converter.
You're going to be no driver.
No license tabs for you.
So okay, so now let's move on on her problem.
And it sounds like probably somebody has modified
the computer to run without those things.
And the sad thing is you don't have to take
the converters off to make it run faster.
I can make that truck run just as fast
with a good clean converter,
with a high flow converter as without.
There's no reason to look at Corvettes.
And look at the new Ferraris.
You think a 750 horsepower Ferrari
for the United States is going to be built
without catalytic converters?
I don't think, again, they all have converters.
I'm going to have four.
They're made for that.
They see right through them, you know.
But her is not starting when it's hot.
This is a famous problem
for any kind of performance vehicle.
You build up a lot of heat.
If you've got headers on it,
which I would assume with all that other stuff,
it's got to have headers.
They're close to the starter.
They build up heat in the starter.
The bushings in there swell up.
Thing doesn't want to turn.
You got to provide a heat shield
between the starter and your source of heat.
Whether that's a header or an exhaust pipe,
whatever you got needs to be shielded,
or you need to get a high-performance starter
that's made to work with, you know,
hundreds of degrees of heat,
which you can get those from, you know,
JEGS and Summit and stuff,
all those places that have those
high-torque starters available.
You can get those,
and they're made for dragsters
and circle track cars,
and you put it on and it'll work
when you get an excessive amount of heat
build up and crank the vehicle.
Thanks very much for the call.
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you'd be like welcome back
Cotter you know you
you go to school
and then you turn around
you come back
and you're the teacher.
I could teach a class
in a warm climate.
You're on to something.
On automotive media
and you know
I can
the students might say
Chris how do you
put a studio together
and I would be like
I don't know
Russ did it.
Let's see if
Russ can come down
next week.
I'll see.
Well YouTube
how do you
facilitate like you
facilitate with the callers
you could facilitate
yes exactly
people that
you guys have a YouTube channel
how did
Russ
Russ looked into it
and he found all the
the ways to do it
and that's when you go into
hey and you can subscribe
to our YouTube channel
under the hood show
look at it
now let's
let's take a break.
Yeah kids
866-594-4150
that's the number
to reach us here
let's talk to Dale
you're on the under the hood
show Dale what can we do
for you.
Yeah I've got a
2004 Impala
that was
my mother's car
so it's basically
the little old lady
car
you know there's only
90,000 miles on it
the
I've got a couple
problems
one thing is
the lights on the
radio
and the dash
when you just have
the key turned on you know
everything is fine
but as soon as you start it
all those lights
go real dim
you ever hear of that?
No
we all kind of
kind of a
sensor like
it's reading that the
it's daylight
or nighttime
all the time
couldn't that be
but are you talking
only the radio?
Didn't fill us in
are there more lights
that go in?
Which lights would be
important yes
well
the clock and radio
and then the illumination
and the dash
that's
you know when it does
daytime or nighttime
if you just turn
the key on
and don't actually
start it
the lights
you can read them
or you know you can
read the radio
and time
just perfectly
as soon as you start it
those
lights
dim way down
have you turned the dimmer switch
all the way up?
Try that once
just a bit
Chris
Chris could have just
moved to 65-35
Yeah
for one
that is a good point
because when
the automatic lights
you don't think of that
anymore
because it's not obvious
not like the old days
when you pulled out
you weren't touching
the knob
does it have automatic
lights
Dale?
They do
all of them do
My Camaro
it's constant
I'm driving down the road
and I get to a
it's because of that hood scoop
but the
the shadow
mm-hmm
so it's an
adjustable
it grades on a curve
Is it
does it do this
light sensor?
100% of the time Dale?
Okay
Yeah that light
sensor and bright sunlight
outside
you go under a bridge
it might kick your
lights on
but in really cloudy
weather
then it may not
come on
when you get that
but there's a
light sensor
and it kicks that on
but if you look
at other impalas
about your year
as you go down the road
you'll see that
sometimes
the center lights
are on
for daytime running lights
and sometimes the
regular headlights on the
outside are on
you know it's
which is the high beam
for your daytime
and you can kind of
judge and say
it's overcast
so look for that
dimmer switch
over there
it's right next
to the pull out
dash switch
on the dash
and it's
it doesn't say
dimmer
it's got a weird
on the
cars where the
lights are automatic
obviously
and you have it in
auto or whatever
you might
they have dimmer switches
and it might not even
be connected to
the headlight switch
at all
we're going down
this road a long ways
but Dale's got
something else he's
trying to say
are we totally
running over
the head
the headlights
it doesn't affect
the headlights at all
it's just these
dash lights
right there
because they're
gonna come on
running lights
whether it's day or night
automatically
and the lights
may not change
the dash lights
do not go
they don't come on
the DRLs don't
run until the engine
has started
in the on position
it won't do it
but when you crank
the car up as soon as
it fires
and it sees battery
voltage change
it kicks on
those daytime
running lights
over the
automatic lights
that's why
it could do that
in the way it does
so
what if there was
a carpet on the dash
that could
that could be
have you put anything
over that lights
it'll do it
I was just
imagining a carpet
on the dash
but yeah
I think
I think it's gonna be
it could be dimmer
switch or
if it's not
if it is the sensor
it could also be
like the body control
module
if right
see
yeah
7030 today
well the old
the old old
foreign pala had
a lot of body
modules
that's just
that's just
not
let's not gloss over
the fact that I
nailed this
all three things
this could be
and now I can't
solve it
let's be very clear
there too
but I've
you did a great job
talking about this
three possibilities on this
Dale
part of the club
yeah I'm really in on this
one thanks
let's go back to Dale
Dale had another question
it's also got
a problem
on the
transmission
sometimes
when you
you know
take off
and drive
and
stop at a stop sign
stop light whatever
and you go to take off
the transmission
hesitates
or slips
or whatever you want to
call it
and
I asked my regular
mechanic guy
I said
well do the bands
need adjusting
and he says
well I don't
do transmissions
he says but
there is no such thing
as bands anymore
I know
is that right
that transmission
is on its way out
it's a
it's a very common problem
of the
the O4
Impala
Monte Carlo
the
the Regals
Grand Prix
all of them
there's a range in there
the W bodies were really bad
about it
and
it
part of it can come
if the car is sat
for a long time
sticky valves
and the transmission
can do it
and he said this was
an old lady car
with 90,000 miles
there's some hope maybe
if it's been sitting a
lot
I would say
it has been sitting
a lot
and it's only been driven
a couple miles
here and there
you know every month
you might try a
transmission flush
to see if that cures it
but if this
thing was driven
like
you know
100 miles a week
and it just
didn't get driven
a lot
but still
like 100 miles a week
which is still
would put it
about that
mileage range
then it's
it's probably failing
now
how long will it last
it could last
a very long time
yeah would you
would you do anything
if this were here
no not until it got worse
and there's a code
in there probably
that they can check
if it says maximum
adapt
long shift
it's done
it's just a computer
can't adjust anymore
for the wear inside
the unit
it's going down
so we need to get it
inspected and maybe
let's keep the optimistic
side that they can do
a flush
or maybe
maybe there's
something sticking
a little bit
with the old car
866-594-4150
that's the number
to reach us here
at the end of the hood show
let's talk to
Ken in Washington
Ken you're on the end
of the hood show
what can we do for you
oh yeah
Russ and Shannon
you might want to put in
your chemistry
and physics
for this question
but you're talking about
mileage
and an alternative
feel would be
propane
when I lived back
there in Sioux Falls
one of my friends
always wanted to
convert his
old big block
forward into propane
because it was
a bronchial
now allegedly
cork and all that
they could
run at any angle
and I know that
and claim even
upside down
so why is propane
never caught on
because it's reduced
as a high pressure
vapor
and what kind of
mileage is propane
get
the mileage is
less
just like using
very high concentrations
of ethanol
it's got less
BTU
so you're going to
get less than
gasoline
it does burn
very clean
before we had
all electric forklifts
and
at Nordstrom's
here in our building
we use propane
because it was
considered a non
health hazard
in a large
warehouse type
environment
where gasoline
would not have worked
or diesel
even though
I've seen that
in some places
people are crazy
in our business
we see
a lot of
facilities that
do some weird stuff
we had a
we've had a
situation with that
with an older
machine back in the
90s
and it was
like
swans
which is now
aren't they something
else now Chris
like
E or something
I don't know
but they
I just saw that on the news
the other day
why would you change
your name
I got a look at
Tammy and my wife
I said
why did they
change their name
why would they do that
it was great
and unlike
some of that
politically correct
stuff
I thought
swan was
okay
if they continue to use
propane
in their trucks
but I just saw
as recently as
two days ago
one in our parking lot
is like
one of our guys gets
delivery
it says right on it
you know
powered by clean
propane
well that's
that's what they're using
in it it takes more
and the tanks
are big
and you know
that it burns more
because when you
see a propane tank
in a car
it's usually twice the size
of the
you know
of the fuel tank
as far as gallons
propane go
it needs to be maintained
when you have a
fuel leak in a car
you usually smell it
it's usually
a few drops
or it rains on the ground
when a
line breaks
and the car doesn't start
not usually a big deal
I don't know that I've
ever seen a gasoline
fire in a car
unless it's
under the hood
like a carburetor
and even that is kind of
some cars at the fuel
pressure
lines to the injectors
cracked
and then they would spray
fuel onto the exhaust
I mean you've seen stuff
like that
it happens but it's not
it's pretty rare
but in the case of propane
if they're not maintained
there are federal
regulations on it
about inspection times
and they need to be
inspected
at a regular interval
most do not get inspected
ever
if they're not
in a commercial
environment where
as a business you're
concerned about it
those Schwann's trucks
I know for a fact
they've been inspected
regularly by their mechanics
and if you ever smell
propane you need to
investigate it
and a lot of people would
say well I smell it
by the regulator
and they say that's normal
so I don't know the
difference
when a propane leak
occurs in a vehicle
like that
they explode violently
and that's
another thing
a lot of people
are scared of it
so just the
phobia of it
people don't want it
and that cage is locked
they go to get
there
that's another thing
they go get a clerk
to do the swap out
the availability of
that's it yeah
I know of like
four for sure
places in our town
where I could pull up
with my car
and put a credit card in
and fill it up
or my truck
and get propane
but
those are
that's pretty limited
they're scattered out
it's not like
if every gas station
had a propane filling station
for a car
it would make it easier
consider it the same way
with like a lot of electric vehicles
they're wanting
electric vehicles
you know the government is
and they're working hard
and the electric car companies
on putting these places out there
if a person like
Elon musket Tesla said
let's do propane cars
and he built a fleet
of strictly powered
let's say every one of his
Teslas were propane powered
and he put
propane stations all over
instead of those electric
supercharging stations
and when you went up
to your local Walmart
there was a row of six of them
that said Tesla
and it had a propane hose
that would probably
people would be
with a few people would
be using it
but that's
hits most of the high points
that was our first conversion
for our school district
on clean buses
was we
got a federal government grant
to
or not it was help
I mean the help in a form of a grant
to replace diesel buses
with propane buses
so now in our fleet
at our small school district
that I'm the president of
we've got
two propane powered buses
I wondered why you had
a propane station
and we've got two
now we've got three
electric buses
but we also still have
when we're all
when it all shakes out
we have two diesel buses
that we still have to use
to run our long
activity runs
and those sort of things
because it just the convenience
not the convenience
the necessity of knowing
where your fill points
are going to be at
right for the propane
is a
is a challenge
but we've got it figured out
is that cage locked
and
as far as the electric goes
those buses will not see
anything more than route use
because of
the situations
right
does that help you out there Ken
that kind of
kind of
drilled down on that for you
well my friend had a
older 429
with a 750
double pump
or sitting on top
but
he came to the conclusion
I was going to take too much
work
to get that whole thing
pressurized going to the
top of that
750 so he never did do it
but
I'm just wondering
they make it
they actually use
the swan's trucks
used
had big block engines
we in fact
we took several of them
out here
and converted them
back to gas
to put in gas
powered vehicles
as certified
used engines
they were propane powered
so it's
it can be done
they still sell the regulation kits
online
you can buy them
buy a regulator
and tanks and everything
and do it
you can even make a side burner
for your burgers
that's right
you could have a little
picnic shelter there
looks like your grill's got
a side burner
you can have a little
CRV comes to the picnic table
and you could
for those propane
you could have a grill
and everything
and I think that's the
I mean that is
kind of the answer
to a lot of these questions
Ken's friend who wanted to do it
didn't end up doing it
because it's
not
super convenient
yep
you know just
why don't they do that
well go ahead
you can do it
well I'm
I don't want to do it
I want it to be
perfected
before I get in
and that's a big part of it
exactly
eight six six
five nine four
four one
five oh
we've got some
notes that came in
on chat
this is a Hyundai
2008
I hooked up
an OBD2
scan tool
up two modules
showed
under the OBD2 test
first had three codes
but when I tried to
read those codes
they went away
as I went in to
read them
they went away
and that's possible
so if you have a system
that is not setting
a hard code
and the fault
goes away
the code will disappear
we
we have this often
it's common for us
to plug a scanner
and we're looking at the data
we're looking at the codes
and a code will come
it'll go away
come back
go away
but it's a system that
doesn't set
the emissions codes
they're supposed to
set and stay there
and then go to history
so you can see it
but if you're looking
at the active code screen
it could go away
the history code screen
it's always
let's say it's an oxygen
sensor
and it says
there's an oxygen
sensor short
and it's in history
it's gonna stay there
until you clear it
unless it's gone
for like
50 cycles
but then
when you look
in current codes
it's not there
and then you wait
oh it came back
now it's gone
and it might be a short
you've got going on
okay
shorted sensor even
right
so they can
yeah they can go away
while you're
watching the code
which tells you
that it's an intermittent fault
which can be
a component
computer
sensor
or even the wiring
short in the wiring
or something
here's a
question there
a comment that just came in
on chat from Louise
he's in Great Falls
Montana
says he's not ready for it
four inches of snow
on the ground already
where we are
we're looking at getting
some snow this weekend
what
if
with winter
weather coming
winter driving
what
yeah winter driving
is gonna be here
whether you're ready
or not
soon
no matter where you are
we had our first snow
clear the ditch
as people are coming in
what
tell us
what
what should we be
if I'm just
I know winter's coming
I got a month maybe
what should I be
looking at on my car
to make sure
I'm ready for
is that
because all new cars
have it now
look at your climate
control
the little thing
that says outside temperature
pay attention to it
and don't be dumb about it
because
people
in this area
it was warm
two weeks ago
we were in the
high 90s
and then
it dropped down
and it's dropped down
a little further
now we've been getting
rain
like every Wednesday
and Thursday
for the last
this is the fourth
week in a row
so now here we are
and you're like
cars are gradually falling
but now
in another day or two
it's going to break that
that ice mark
at 32
and people aren't watching
that screen
and by the time it hits 35
on that screen
you better be watching
no more driving
75
and a 55
thinking that
everything's great
because
with the cruise on
all of a sudden
boom
you're going to be like
whoa what happened
and we see it
with the first
ice or snow event
every single year
off the road
in the ditch
people crashed
because they're not
watching
it's like Shannon says
you want better mileage
drive for better mileage
if you don't want to
crash in bad weather
drive like you're driving
in bad weather
and then
very important things
super important
driving three customer cars
over the last day
every one of them
had horrible
wipers
and I'd be leaving you out
if I didn't talk about
our partner at peak
yeah
with their wipers
get yourself some new
wiper blades
and the peak ones
are great
they work really well
they clean the windshield
some installation tips
don't just go down
I'm driving on the road
right and oh
wipes
this is horrible
I better get some new wipers
so you pull into the store
you grab yourself
a set of peak wiper blades
and you just
put them on
and you drive off
right
wait wait wait
clean your windshield
first
but when you need this
so just a tip
either clean it there
but if you don't
you can't do it on spot
there's probably a gas station
within a block of everywhere
pull into the gas station
get your gas
whatever
clean the windshield
and then go in
and pick up your wiper blades
put them on
they're gonna take you
probably two minutes
to snap on with no tools
in most cases
and then the last longer
and to keep them working longer
whatever you do
do not ever
clean your frost
or ice off your windshield
by using your wipers
they're not
people turn their washers on
I've done it in the past too
but I know
I'm probably gonna need wiper blades
because you turn it on
and as they go back and forth
you're
when
we have all
been trying to scrape
the ice off our window
with our bare hand
at some point
we go
oh is that hard ice
or is that soft ice
and you rake your hand on it
and your hands cut
like oh
that was sharp
I hit a sharp piece
or you're smacking it
when those blades
go back and forth
that rubber on there
you know whatever
polymer they're made out of
they're getting cut up
so
quickly
they wear out
most people are putting
if you want blades to lat
like you're
think of that brand new windshield
crisp
brand new wipers
on that newer car
and you're like
oh these are great
and now it's like
why do they
you get the wiper farts
going on as they
go back and forth
because they're not
they're hard as a brick
and they make
winter wipers
and summer wipers
and people have asked
is what's the difference
the difference is
what happens
when you pick up
a crappy garden hose
in the winter
and you can't bend it
it's like
it's stiff
that's a summer blade
you pick up that
Flexzilla hose
that
that's like
a wet noodle
in the middle of
20 Below Zero
that's a winter blade
same way with winter tires
if they're softer
they grip in the winter
where as the
the summer tires
do not
they're
they're hard
so
I shouldn't be trying
to chip away at the ice
with a scraper
while they
trying to time it
with the intermittent wipers
probably not the best idea
no
shoot the thing
oh okay
you've done that a lot
but yeah for sure
yeah
but hey our partner peak
would love it
because then they could
sell you more blades
some of you
don't look at me like that
once
it tackled me
we've all done it
but if you want it to
last longer
it's going up in prices
it's all about saving
more money now
get yourself a good
set of blades
and take care of them
and see clearly
that'll do it for this hour
of the under the hood show
until next time
you can find us at
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for Russ Evans
Shannon Nordstrom
I'm Chris Carter
thanks for joining us
on the under the hood show
with Russ Evans
this is Shannon Nordstrom
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
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Automotive Inc.
About this episode
A lively discussion on automotive topics unfolds as the hosts tackle listener questions ranging from scanner data interpretation to oil additives and winter driving tips. They delve into the nuances of OBD-II scanners, the importance of zinc in engine oil, and the challenges of maintaining older vehicles. The episode also emphasizes the significance of proper winter preparation, including wiper maintenance and tire selection, while sharing personal anecdotes and insights from their automotive experiences. Listeners gain valuable advice on troubleshooting common issues and understanding vehicle systems.
Original notes
The guys talk cars and car repair and everything that goes along with it.,
Under The Hood show
Nordstroms Automotive Inc.
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