The compressor is the part of the A/C system that makes the air-conditioning work. It’s also one of the biggest electrical loads, especially on older cars.
The host emphasizes “gut instinct” as an early warning system when choosing a service professional. In practice, it maps to noticing red flags—unclear explanations, pushy behavior, or reluctance to document work—before authorizing repairs.
“Brakes” refers to the vehicle’s braking system, which is a safety-critical component. The speaker is arguing that the inspection shop claimed the brakes needed work, but he believed they were not actually a problem.
A stabilizer bar helps keep the car from leaning too much when you turn. The story is about a shop saying it was loose, but the speaker didn’t agree that it was actually a real issue.
The Honda CRX is a small sporty Honda from the late 1980s. In this call, it’s the exact used car Tony is thinking about buying, and the discussion is about what could go wrong soon after purchase.
“Stick” refers to a manual transmission, while “automatic” is an automatic transmission. The choice matters because manual cars add a clutch wear item and require driver skill, while automatics shift without a clutch pedal.
The timing belt is a belt inside the engine that keeps everything moving in sync. If it’s old or hasn’t been replaced when it should, it can cause major engine problems.
The undercarriage is the bottom of the car—where rust and damage often show up first. A quick inspection can tell you whether the car has been cared for or has hidden problems.
Changing a tire means swapping a flat tire for the spare using the car’s tools. The host is basically saying kids should learn this before they’re stuck far from help.
Documentation is the paperwork from the shop visit. The speaker wants proof in writing about what the shop did and what they said about parts or repairs.
Hot rods are cars that have been modified, usually older cars, to make them look cooler and drive better. They’re a big part of classic car culture and shows.
They’re pointing listeners to a company website (Cardone) for brake products. Here it’s mainly about brake calipers and making the brake area look nicer.
Brake calipers are the parts that clamp the brake pads to stop the car. People also care about how they look, since you can often see them through the wheels.
Powder coating is a special paint process that bakes on a hard, long-lasting finish. On brake calipers, it helps them resist rust and can make them look cleaner behind the wheels.
Lucas is a brand that makes oil additives. The caller is using it to help with oil usage and is wondering if it’s still necessary once they switch to synthetic oil.
They’re asking about switching to synthetic oil. The key question is whether synthetic oil alone is enough, or if they still need an additive to deal with oil usage.
They’re saying this isn’t just one truck—there’s a bigger debate in the industry about engines that use more oil than expected. That’s why people argue about what oil type or additives to use.
The oil ring is a small ring on the piston that helps keep oil from getting into the engine’s combustion area. If it gets gummed up with dirty deposits, it can start letting oil slip past. That can make the engine burn more oil.
Synthetic oil is a type of engine oil made to last and protect better than conventional oil. Here, the point is that some synthetics are better at cleaning deposits. The speaker suggests using a cleaner oil for a short period to help free up stuck areas.
Carbon buildup is gunk that collects inside engine passages. If it blocks or restricts the EGR path, the engine can get confused about how much exhaust gas to use and start acting up.
The EGR valve is a part that recycles some exhaust back into the engine. That helps the engine burn cleaner. If it’s not working right, the car may run poorly and throw an EGR-related code.
A scan tool reads diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) and live data from engine sensors. In this context, it’s used to monitor fuel trims and sensor behavior before and after disabling the EGR to confirm the cause.
Switching to synthetic oil means changing to a different type of engine oil. People do this to help the engine run smoother and protect better, and sometimes it can affect oil usage.
This is how long you’re supposed to wait between oil changes—either by time or by miles. If you wait too long, the oil can wear out and stop protecting the engine.
Denso is a company that makes car parts. Here they’re talking specifically about Denso air-conditioning compressors and how widely they’re used.
LIVE
Ron Ananian. If you're not familiar with the vehicle, you're
stuck on the side of the road. The simplest things,
whereas the owner's manual where the four waves, not having the phone number for the roadside service, Triple A or whoever you're using programmed into the phone. That's just downright
sueing the Car Doctor. When you're turning on the blower
and the compressor that is a very high current draw, typically as high as twenty two to twenty five amps on a car of that age.
Welcome to the radio home of ron Anian, the Car Doctor.
Since nineteen ninety one, this is where car owners the world overturned to for their definitive opinion on automotive repair.
If your mechanics giving you a busy signal, pick up the phone and call in.
The garage doors are open, but I am here to take your call at eight five five five six ninety nine hundred and.
Now hes Ronnie.
The Quiet times in a repair shop. The best Hello
and welcome ronin any and the card Doctor here at eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero, here to take your calls, answer your questions, solve your problems.
That this this radio show is about and has been for the past twenty four plus years. There's more information
about this radio show at Cardoctorshow dot com, as well as links to various websites, among them tune In, tune in dot com, iHeartRadio, iHeart dot Com, iTunes, iTunes dot Com, the latter two of which you can both find podcasts of this radio show there and subscribe. And if you
need me during the week ron at Cardoctorshow dot com.
I like that quiet time in a repair shop, and it pops up at the oddest hours when you least expect it right, and sometimes it's not at the end of the day. Sometimes it's dang right in the middle
of the afternoon. Yesterday, Friday afternoon, I had to send
Danny out, I had to send Harry out. The shop
was empty and my friend Dave Dave owns he is the local BMW guru in the next town over in Wycoff, and Dave had to come down. We had to do
an inspection and it was just two shop owners on a quiet busy if you know what I'm saying. Friday afternoon,
the conversation inevitably gets to be about business and customers and the usual things that two shop owners would talk about.
Because I'm not a technician at that point, I'm the guy that signs the check. And I said, what do
you think is wrong with the industry? Dave? I said,
you know, if you had one thing that you could point out and say, yeah, this is really what's the problem, what would that be? And he thought about it for
a minute. He said, you know, Ron, the problem is
the industry, not all of it, but just enough of it beats up customers and they're tough on customers. And
he said, one of the things I tell people walking into my shop, this is Dave talking now, he said, is you should walk in here with an expectation that it could be the worst, and if it's not, be surprised.
And You've got every reason in the world to think that I might cheat you, and I have to show you why I'm not going to and why I'm going to do the job right. And you know, I thought
about that, and I said, so, Dave, you're telling me that everybody walking into a repair shop should have a expect the worst scenario in their head. And he goes, yeah,
he goes, because think about it, he goes, you and I know it and he's right. I know it. Dave
knows that a lot of shop owners out there, we see it all the time. We see a lot of
cars come in that are coming in from other repair shops, dealerships, chain stores, whatever, that have just been beat up and repaired incorrectly, which is why they're in the shop in those respective other shops in the first place. I guess
the way I want to kick this hour or the car doctor off is maybe the way we need to look at auto repair. It's kind of like a block.
And you've got to think about those blind dates and you know, you sort of knew. For those of you
that haven't dated in a while, Present company included that you know, gee whiz, you sort of knew ten minutes in whether or not it was going to be, you know, whether there was going to be a second date or a third date. And I think the most important thing
we possess as human beings is our gut instinct. And
I think we have to rely on that more when we're dealing with any kind of service professional, because I think that's the first indicator. You know, what would your
gut tell you? And if your gut tells you, yeah,
I don't think I want to get married and have kids with this person, And chances are you probably don't want to. I'm working on your car either, And I
just want to put that thought in your head as we kick off this hour of the Car Doctor, because maybe, as Dave said, you know what, expect the worst. That way,
you'll really be surprised. Hello and welcome rodnin Andy and
the Card Doctor here. Eight five five five six zero
nine to nine zero zero. I think my chief engineer,
Tom Ray is going to jump in here for a quick second.
I can see I was just gonna ask, does that mean I can't have you work on my car anymore?
Well, I don't know. Is that possible? No, so it's
but you know you think about it the way Tom come back a minute, so you know, just think about this real quick. If you didn't have me and you
when you used to walk into a repair shop, what did you expect? How did that go for you? Because
you you didn't seem happy. You didn't come to me
just because it's me. You came to me because you
were looking for a mechanic. But what did the other
guy do that just annoyed you? There had to be something, Oh.
There are a lot of a lot of other guys that annoy me. I mean, as you know, I'm not
the normal customer. I'm not normal period. Well I'm not
the normal customer because I tend to know a little more about I'm not an auto mechanic. I know a
bit about cars, and I kind of know when you're trying to pull the wool over my eyes. And ron
Nanian doesn't do.
That to me. Other people do.
They try to all your things they don't need. They
try to to talk into things you don't want. You know,
my favorite is taking the car in for a New York State inspections. I'm in New York, you're in New Jersey.
You can't do a New York State inspection right, And you know they'll come out and look at me and go, you gotta have brakes. This is dangerous's got to be done.
Now.
I look at them.
I got to go fail me because you've obviously looked at them and they're nowhere near being a problem. And
you know it's like, so go ahead, failed me.
I I don't care. You know that annoys me, and
that actually happened two years ago.
I think to you, well, that happened two years ago, and then this past year they decided it needed a stabilizer bar that you and Danny were hanging on in the shop and couldn't move and they said it was loose.
Right, Yeah, I remember that too, so bad first date.
Yeah, unfortunately they yeah, unfortunately, this is a dealer and they should know the car.
You know what I'm saying, Well, you would think I always come back to this, And I think one of the things that's wrong in the order repair industry is I think it's the method of compensation. And I think
in far too many cases that word commission comes into it and it's ugly. And if somebody needs to buy
lawn furniture that weekend, well guess what that's what happens. Hey,
this is Ronanini and the Car Doctor. The phone numbers
eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero.
Let's take a quick call before we take our first break of the segment. Let's go over and talk to
Let's go talk to Tony in Shenandoah, Iowa line too. Tony.
Welcome to the Car Doctor, Sir. How can I help hi?
Ron? Yes, as as many people I need to buy
a car or want to buy a car for my son, who's way in college, about three hours away. Right, And
there's a Honda that I'd had my eye on for about ten years. Really I find appealing. It's nineteen eighty
nine Honda CRX with one hundred two thousand miles, right, and it's just one off. That's something I should stay
away from at that age or whether whether you know, Tony, it's.
Just that it's twenty five years old.
And I know that's that's why I'm calling you, right.
You know, I'm kind of a car guy. I like
working on cars myself, but my son's not really into it.
All right, how much do they want for the car?
They want? Five thousands?
Okay? Automatic or stick? Okay? So let's say you pay
five grand for this car and six months from now the clutch fails. Has your son ever driven a stick?
No?
He hasn't, Okay, so he's the first time driver. Right,
So so the likelihood of this needing a clutch in six months might be more realistic than we realize. So
in six in six months, when it needs a clutch, is it an all wheel drive CRX?
No, it's it's wheel drive.
Okay, So if the clutch does fail, and it's two grand to put a clutch in it. Would you put
a clutch in it?
I probably would? Yeah.
Okay, So now you're into it for seven grand? All right?
How are the tires on the car?
You know?
I I don't know. I haven't taken a good look
at it. I've just been admiring it from a distance.
Okay, So let's say it needs tires. Maybe it does,
maybe it doesn't. It probably needs five hundred to one
thousand dollars worth of widgets. Can we agree on that.
I'd say there's a decent chance that.
Okay. So now we're up to eight grand. And my
point is that five grand for a twenty five year old car that is going to be three hours away.
Here's the barometer by which I want you to measure this.
I want you to I want you to take your fingertip, touch your shoulder, and then I want you to extend your arm all the way out. How far is your
arm reach? Can it reach three hours away? And that
becomes a problem. And I say that in jest, but
that becomes an issue. First time driver, young driver, you
know it's probably going to be in college. I'm assuming
that you know We've got to make sure that they're they're having a good experience. They're trying to get an education,
not repair an automobile. And for the money we try
to save initially five grand for a twenty five year old car that could have any wrong with it. And
you got to remember, you've only seen the car from the outside, from the rocker panels up, all right, you want to take a look under the car and you want to see, you know, what does the bottom of the car look like? Rust corrosion, leaks. Hopefully there's a
big enough leak somewhere that have prevented any rusting corrosion.
But you know, bottom line becomes that to me, it's too old of a car to consider three hours away.
If it was, you know, a twenty five year old car five grand, if it's really worth five grand, I can't even have that conversation in my head. You know,
if it was local community college twenty minutes away, completely different conversation. The deal breaker for me is that it's
three hours away. The deal breaker for me is that
between a clutch and some other things, you could put eight grand out over the next six months. And if
that was the case, I'd take that eight grand out of your pocket. Now he had two to it, spend
ten and just go buy a better car that's half the age, and I think you'd be miles ahead in the long run.
Yeah, and I kind of taking you could probably say something to that pair. And the thing is, and this
is probably a question you can't answer, but being a car guy, I like to drive, and I would like my children to drive things that are a little off the wall of things that you don't see all the time. Okay,
that's what I caught my attention on that. Well, for
ten thousand dollars, I don't know what I could buy that right?
Well, what is he like? What does he like? Tony?
Does he like the Honda?
He likes the Honda and he likes when he drove in high school, which was in nineteen eighty or seven. Okay, listen,
that's that's a horrible car.
Well, but you know the other the other way to look at this too is if if and listen, there's nothing wrong with being a car guy. I'm a car guy,
as everybody can tell. And you know, you look at
I hav an eclectic fleet myself, and if driving that Honda is going to make him feel good, and you can deal with the repairs, and you can deal with the fact that your arm doesn't reach three hours away by it, just be prepared to spend the money on it.
In that case, when I looked at the car as a mechanic, the first things I'm going to look at is I want to know is the timing belt ever done?
What kind of shape is the undercarriage in? What kind
of condition are the breaking the fuel lines in? What
sort of rust is there around the fuel tank and the filler neck? Those were all common things to be
a problem on that model year Honda. And then just
be prepared that you're going to spend a bit of money over the course of over the course of time.
Hangout on second, Harry's got a comment, Harry, jump in here real quick.
Yeah, And I would also mention being able to find parts.
Remember that gentleman who two months ago when he couldn't find the simplest part for that that eighty six Civic or whatever.
Right, And that's yeah, And that's that's the other issue, Tony, is that you know what's part's availability and it's it's twenty five years old. But you know, we had a
we had a customer real quick in the shop this week with a ninety six GEO that needed a seat belt, and you can't get a seat belt from anybody for a ninety six g O g O. So that ended
that conversation. Tony, I gotta go. I'm up against the clock.
Let us know what you decide. Send me an email
ron at cardoctorshow dot com or give us another call.
We'll be back right after this. Welcome back Ronnie and
the card doctor. By the way, we're just sitting here
chatting on the side and my chief engineered, Tom Ray, and I are talking about when his daughter comes back from college this Christmas. How was She's gonna come down
and I'm gonna have to give her the how to change a tire lesson? And I said to Tom, yeah, just.
Have her wear shorts and sandals, and you know, we can watch her bleed and drop things on her foot and all that good stuff and learn why you don't travel.
I still think we need to get that as a national campaign, teach a kid to change a flat tire, because I just think it's so gosh darn important. I
remember the one kid, uh, the one young man I we taught last one I taught the change a flat tire and he was wearing those those shorts and the sandals, and I just and he's going to college and somewhere in the middle of New York State up or in New York State, and I just thirty knees and cuts. And
he was like, boy, he goes, this is tough.
And it was funny because the conversation heat off the last phone call with with your thing about the kid being three years three hours away with his car my daughter six and a half hours away, and we gave her my old car, which with one hundred and eighty five thousand miles. But you know the condition of it.
It's in good shape, right.
Yeah it is. But anyway, so I think we got
to get that going again. Teach a kid to change
a flat. Let's get over and see what we can
do for Chris online, one Long Island, New York, O Sixanda Cord, Chris, Welcome to the car doctor, sir. How
can I help?
How to help? I had some dealership problems, went to
the top raided when I did my research first and had to have an air bag inflavors done and a transmission reprogram. These are all uh, when I went to
and looked up. Okay, I also think you know what
I have? This car has forty five thousand miles. I
gotta come and answers and in really nice shape. I'm like,
you know, let me get some service done. I want
to get oil change, new dream plugs, so I know that's.
I want to have anti freeze flush, new heater hoses, new starmy stacks. And I also want to have a
spark plug done, even though it's a low mile parts ten years old. I know, I hear you.
Say things fees up in that steel plus.
Transmission service Yep, yep. So I'm at a Honda dealer.
I know they have all the right parts and the right fluids. Right.
So what happened?
Okay? I get a phone call in the afternoon. Yes,
you know you need a big rear break job. You
have a frozen caliper. Not that I noticed that. Well okay, Well,
one of the things I did comments want to drop for up. I wanted to roll my old parts in
New York State. They have to do that, and with
the phone authorization, they you don't even have to ask them to save the part. They have to have the
parts available unless it's a warranty pot or a core charge.
They have to have your own parts to you.
Well, let's pick my car up.
They said everything is good and uh, the only parts when I go to leave, the only parts on the car of the spark plugs, nothing else, No hoses, no nothing. Well,
my problem is after trying to explain that I would like my parts back, Okay, the service tech apologizing, I'm sorry it is written down, but it's not my faults.
They didn't save them. Well, according to New York Stay, well,
they have to save these parts. Let me ask my
question whether I go ahead, excuse me, I was gonna say, I questioned whether I truly needed this weird break job.
I know they did it, but I don't think I needed a break job, and I have no evidence. There's
no written down. The pads are worn. Uh, you couldn't
came the wheel note spent on break life or a break pad life or even a dirty wheel?
Have you who.
Technician to Uh, I'll pay for everything except the break job.
I don't think I needed it. Oh, I can't do that.
Who have you talked to at the dealership, Chris? Besides
the service writer? If you talk to the sir.
Manager, I have, and you wouldn't come back out. I
complained to him about starting overcharging me by seventy dollars.
If I called up and got the part from Honda at his office right there, it would have been seventy dollars less than he wanted to charge me. So when
I picked up the car right away complained about I'm like, you know, it's not right. I paid. I didn't even
ask for a break job or anything. I'm not up
for inspection, and I didn't know they were going to do some kind of free break check. They didn't tell
me what my front breaks looked like. Right, No, I
really questioned his I couldn't get in touch with him all week. He wouldn't come back out. He wouldn't come
out back when I had no parts, and he I could not get in touch with him all week long.
Chris, what do you have?
What?
I say him one last try to say, I'll pay for everything except the break job. At this time, it
was yet, why you threatening me? I don't know. I'm
not threatening you, but now I'm going.
To d MP.
Yeah, that's well, that's where I was going to go with I filled out right. I would I would register,
I would register a complain up in all but he Let me ask you this, Chris, what do you have as far as documentation. I'll tell you what before you
answer that question.
I have.
I have, I have their stuff. I have the notes
that I brought the car in with where it says save parts. On the thing it does say to save parts.
And I had no thoughts return to me. So let
me ask you that I don't need the break job.
Was this? Was this a good or a bad first date?
Oh? This is a horrible I think if I spend
a time with six hundred bucks, I'd have been pretty clear and I wouldn't.
Have you.
In the car right Yeah, listen, the best dancer I've got. Yeah,
bad first date. Like I was talking at the top
of the hour. The best thing I can tell you
is just follow through with your paperwork up in Albany.
It is the obligation of the repair shop if you request parts, they do have to hang on to them.
I believe you are correct. That is their mistake. Let
us know how it turns out, Chris. I'm running any
of the car doctor.
We're back right after this.
Welcome back.
We're on the NY and the Car Doctor. Real quick
reminder next weekend Labor Day weekend Saturday, September fifth, we're gonna be up at the dead Man's Curve Wild hot Rod Party in Mahwa, New Jersey at the Sheridan Crossroads, broadcasting this radio show live two to four pm Eastern Time.
The whole crew is gonna be there Fast Harry, Tom, Big Tony, and a couple other extras along with Black Two.
We're gonna drag the hot rod out weather permitting. I
don't think we're gonna bring it if it snows or rains, and I doubt it's gonna snow, so that only is one of the reason why it won't be there. But
we're gonna drag the hot rod up and have a good time. It's a great weekend about hot rods and
vendors and funny cars and all sorts of things. Bands.
They've got all kinds of entertainment going on up there.
So if you're in the area of Mahwan, New Jersey next weekend September I think that's the fourth, fifth, and sixth, you want to get out to the Wild hot Rod Party over there with folks over at dead Man's Curve.
Real quick piece of email. Hey, Ron, I've got a
twenty fourteen Ford Explore with the heavy duty break package.
It's real nice, good trim, good wheels, and I need to get the brakes done. My only complaint with the
V vehicle is that the brakes are blaw What is blah? Oh?
He says, boring, boring, blah boring. Okay, got it, Joe
from Morristown, New Jersey. Is there anything In addition, he says,
is there anything I can do to dress up the brakes?
He said, beyond getting a normal break repair done? He said,
I understand about the quality of brake pads, but I heard you recently talking about Okay, you heard me recently talking about things to do to make brakes look better and more attractive through factory wheels. What was that all about, Joe?
You're referencing the conversation we had about card Don and card done ultra brake calipers, and you can find out more at cardone dot com. And if you recall, the
conversation with Cardon was about they've done some pretty extensive research into powder coating and making brake calipers more appealing.
So if you're driving something as many cars today, the wheels are more open even with factory wheels that you see more of the break assembly. The idea behind it
is the card Dome brake calipers give you a nicer finish, a cleaner finish, and is more of a polished look to the break assembly. So you're looking for information from
Cardoon dot com. You want to inquire about their ultra
premium break calipers and what they can do for that Ford Explorer as well as all the other vehicles out there on the road. Let's get back to the phones.
Let's go over to Kirby from Maryville with a two thousand and five Chevy Maryville, Missouri that looks like I'm sorry, two thousand and five Chevy and some questions about oil. Kirby,
Welcome to the car doctor, sir. How can I help?
Hey? Hey, thanks for taking my call.
You're welcome, Thanks for waiting. What can I do for you?
I have an five Chevy twenty five hundred HD and it has the eight point one Leader big block engine in it, YEP, and those usually around fifteen hundred miles or so, it'll lose a little bit of oil and I've always just been told that's a nature. So I
started using Lucas Hey Diny heavy duty engine stabilizer, engine oil stabilizer, right. And my question is we've been talking
about going to all synthetical. Would you still need to
use like the Lucas with the synthetic oil or not.
There is an argument going on in the industry right now because so many manufacturers are having issues with oil consumption.
And it's not that Chevrolet is among that list, or general motors in general, this particular line of vehicle. But
I first want to address the conversation about thinner or thicker oil. And a lot of the conventional thinking is
if the engine's burning oil, put thicker oil in it, right, Kirby, I mean, I'm sure that's what you've heard. You know,
you want to you want to thicken up the viscosity. Right.
The issue is on some vehicles, and more than some, it's it's becoming quite a few. They're running very low
tension rings, especially the oil ring, and the problem is extended oil drain intervals they're finding are creating issues with varnish and sludge build up inside the engine. That's one
of the reasons why the better oil manufacturers among them pens oil and that's sort of the basis for the pens Oil Platinum plus line of synthetic oils, where they're actually creating cleaner oil from a purer based stock. They're
working to reduce sludge in the engine. That's the idea
where that came from. So part of this problem may
not be that you can run a thicker oil to cut down on your oil consumption. It may be that
you're masking what could be a sludged up or varnished up oil ring. Does that make sense? So the next
step is it may not be should you run lucas with whatever synthetic you go to, but it may be that you want to run a very high cleansing synthetic for a couple of oil changes to see if that frees up the varnish that may exist around the oil rings itself. The problem becomes that making the oil thicker
when you don't need to, you can create wear issues on a cold engine, high load towing, trailering, you know that kind of thing, snowplowing, depending on what you're doing with the vehicle. So you know it's it's I would
tell you like I tell everybody, if you're looking for something in the way of a good quality synthetic first call.
Take a look at the penz oil you can get at the motor oil Reimagine dot com. I was never
so impressed as I was two years ago when I went to the press release here in New York City and saw the story of how they came to be with that and created the idea of the Platinum pure plus.
And I still remember standing here talking to the chemists about the whole idea. They create the bay stock from
natural gas, and it really is fascinating. And that's why
if you're going to go with a synthetic and you've got this particular issue, you're looking for something that'll clean the engine, pennz oil is the first stop that I would take a look at.
All right, sir, all right, thank you for your help with us.
You're welcome, Kirby. Let us know how it works out
for you. Eight five five five six zero nine nine
zero zero. I'm modinating in the Car Doctor back right
after this. Welcome back running the Indy and the Car
Doctor here at eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero now live in New York on wrc R Rockland. So if you're a podcaster in New York,
and you want to talk to us live, you pick up the phone eighty five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. Saturday's two to four pm Eastern time.
That's when this radio show is live. And you can
give us a call and talk to us. If you
are in another part of the country on an affiliate that is not live, and that's okay too, or you're podcasting, or you're via tune in or iHeart or iTunes. However
you're taking this radio show and you want to talk to us, if you call eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero and leave a message, best Harry will call you back. There was a message service
attached to that, and we can call you back and get you in Q for the next live broadcast and talk to you up here on air. Let's get over
to the phones and talk to James with a two thousand and six for f one fifty and some running issues. James,
Welcome to the car doctor, sir. How can I help?
Yes, sir, working on two thousand and six for one fifty. Right,
it's got a little hesitation and pretty much everybody in town's touch didn't They can't figure it out yet.
Okay, is this this is the four point two V six James, Yes, sir, check engine light on, Yes, sir, trouble codes.
I don't have them with me. They're on the toolbox
at the shop.
Do you think maybe missfire fault was a misfire fault among them, yes.
Or we don't put a call on it. Yeah, six
six new flows.
Yeah, it's not going to be that. It's not going
to be that. Anybody do any work to the e
g R. Consider that.
I did. I got on the line the other day
and I was looking at that deal there, and I ran a few tests on it, you know, and I couldn't really tell a difference on it.
Right, What did you do? Disconnect the e g R,
disconnect the vacuum line to the e GR valve and see if the problem went away? Right? Yeah, the issue
here and you're you're aware of it. Let me just
make the listeners. The the way they distribute e g
R on this particular engine is there are pintal holes in the intake runners and they feed EGR through a passage and what happens is the passages get carbond up, so it will dump all of the e g R or excess e g R into whatever pintals are open.
What typically happens is it could down to the last two or one and now you're force feeding six cylinders worth of exhaust gas and trying to recirculate it through one or two cylinders. Doesn't make for a great deal
in the way that the vehicle is going to operate.
So what the end up, the ramification or what the cure is is pulling the upper intake, playing them off and cleaning out the passages and reassembling. They've probably got
you chasing fuel trim James, Yes, sir, Yeah, do you remember what fuel trim was? Long term, short term high
low no difference.
Yeah, I can't, I can't remember, but yeah, that's what That's what I told the customer. You know that, you know,
we really need to pull that intake off.
There it out, and I'm I'm in agreement. You know
you're gonna do this one of a couple of ways.
You either gonna pull the intake off and clean it out and be sure because I'm sure this is a higher mileage vehicle, it's ten years old, you know, or at the very least you're gonna clear all the codes.
I don't know, maybe you've done this clear all the code codes. Disconnect the e GR valve and see how
the vehicle runs. If the vehicle runs good, but an
EGR fault comes back, you'll know why the valve's not connected.
Then it's a Then it's a real good indicator. That
all right. So with no EGR flow, the engine is
physically capable of operating. And this isn't something external from EGR.
Have you tried that yet? Try that that that'll sometimes,
I mean, you know, listen, I'm like you, Yeah, it's EGR.
Let's pull the intake. You know what, Sometimes you got
to go that extra step into a little diagnosis. And
you know, one thing you may try is just make a pass engine warmed up EGR operating, Take a look at fuel trim, try and record it. What sort of
scan tool are you using, James, Yeah, so you can record in that. Take a look at your fuel trims,
take a look at two sensors, see where they're going, and then disconnect the eg and see if it makes any change. And then after you find out that yes
it's an EGR code, no more misfire, truck runs good, et cetera, et cetera. Then when you pull the intake,
go off, clean everything up, then go for another drive and maybe you'll see a difference in fuel trims. And
you know, I say this no other way, but you know, maybe you'll learn something. You'll see something different and you'll go, Aha,
that's the tip, that's the clue. That's how I'll know
what it is the next time, you know. But as
much as I like to record and graph things, see that the pants diagnosis, if I take this out of the system, does the problem go away? Yeah, well then
that's the problem and I would chase it like that for EGR. All right, so let's let's let's leave it there.
There's a bunch of other things we could talk about, but let's leave it there and see what that gets you.
And if you're still working on this next week, you uh box it. You can't talk to me next week,
I'm sorry. We're gonna be on a remote. But you
call me the week after, well, we'll get it fixed for you, all right, kiddo.
Yes, sir, I'll give you.
Let me know what you find, all right, You take good care. Yep. So let's let's real quick go over
to Roger out and I think that's Iowa wants to talk about. I'm not sure. Y. Yeah, Roger, how can
I help you, sir?
Good more Man. Yes, sir, my name's Roger.
I'm from christ And Iowa, and I just wanted.
To say that I love your show.
Okay, oh a fan.
I appreciate it because I listened to it all the time.
I I appreciate that, Roger, I really do. You know.
It's sometimes it's long days behind the microphone, and it's nice to hear it from one or from many, but it's always nice to hear that people appreciate what we're trying to do and just help people understand their cars and you know, get them serviced properly and keep them safe.
I really mean that. I yes, sir, I think we
lost Roger. Oh okay, hey, Roger, listen, I'm sorry some
sort of technical.
You know how many times have I told you not to have Ron's relatives call the show?
There you go? So I knew you guys were paying
somebody to say that, because you know, it didn't sound like my mom, so I didn't think. I didn't think
it could be anybody else. But hey eight five five
five six zero nine nine zero zero ronin any in the car doctor blushing a little bit, and I'll be back right after this. Welcome back ronin any in the
card doctor A five five five six zero nine nine zero zero. If you want to give us a call,
leave a message fast, Terry. We'll call you back. We're
coming up to the top of the hour, Harry. I
know you're listening for everybody else out there. Not next week.
Next week we're gonna be at the dead Man's Curve Wild hot Rod Party at the Sheridan Crossroads in Mahwa, New Jersey. We'll actually be there broadcasting the show. We're
doing a live remote another Car Doctor road Trip. Tom
will be there, Big Tony Fast, Harry myself, I guess I have to come. What else would it be without me?
And we're gonna drag the hot rod out. Black will
be there, Danny'll be there guarding the hot rod, and a few others. We're gonna put security on. But the
following week, I want to say it publicly here, Harry.
I want you to reach out to our friend Sonny from the Tire Warehouse in Spring Valley, New York, and I want him to come on and talk a little bit about that last caller from New York with the Honda, and do you have to give parts back? He'll know
New York state law. He's a New York State order
repair shop and they're very confident and very honest over there.
He will, he'll have the inside scoop on that. I
think that would be a good call to find out what is exact procedure in New York. So, Harry, you're
not in your head, yes, that you'll take care of that.
You'll call Sonny. Okay, cool, So we'll do that in
two weeks. A couple of closing thoughts and comments. We
had a call this hour from Kirby in Missouri, I believe it was, and we were talking about oil consumption, and you know, I'm not sure if he liked my answer, understood my answer, or agreed with my answer. But the
rest of that conversation about after you make the switch to pens oil synthetic, if he wants to do something else and put the Lucas in afterwards, that's fine. I'm
okay with that, but you always follow some sort of industry protocol. First. I had gone to dinner a couple
of weeks ago with a friend who's a service writer, service manager, I'm sorry. In a local Toyota dealer and
we were having a conversation about oil issues, and his words to me were, too many people are changing oil by the manufacturer's light. This is from the service manager
of a Toyota dealer. The longer oil change intervals. I
wrote it down verbatim. The longer oil change intervals are
proving to create consumption issues in some vehicles because of baked and varnished oil in the rings, poor oil control, which leads to consumption. He said it would be cheaper
to change the oil by time or mileage in the long run, and the car companies would get better service image as far as how good their product really. I
wrote that down. It's sitting right here in front of me.
Tom nod your head right, that's there it is, you know.
So that's that's a direct quote from a guy who's in the field every day dealing with them, right, dealing with the longer oil change intervals that the new car companies, that the car companies are creating for the cars. So
you know, it's staggering. Real quick tidbit. We talk about
dentso here on the show and denso Tt spark plugs and all that Dentso brings to the table. Well, you know,
they're more than spark plugs. Recent press release, DNSO has
you know, improved their line of AC compressors that have increased the numbers of parts and the press releases. DNSO
is the leader of the development of innovative compressor technology.
As the largest supplier of AC compressors in the world, their OE experience and know how ensures DNSO aftermarket products provide unmatched performance reliability in these of installation you expect from Denso. This year, we've added fourteen new part numbers
to their program DNSO AC Compressors. They now cover six
million vehicles and over two hundred applications. That increases your
total offerings to five hundred and seventy six part numbers.
Think about that, and that's one of the reasons that the car Doctor likes Denso as a part brand, because they're OE on so many levels and they're working harder to keep it up. And the car Doctor gives you
a tip of the wrench and says, thanks for doing your job. You make my job easier till the next
time I'm ronning Andy and the car Doctor reminding you see a dead man's curve. Good mechanics aren't expensive, they're priceless.
See you
About this episode
Ron Ananian’s “Car Doctor” hour blends shop-owner perspective with practical buyer and repair advice. He and BMW guru Dave Ray argue that many customers get “beaten up” by the repair industry, so trust your gut and expect the worst—then demand proof. Calls cover buying a 1989 Honda CRX for a college student (three hours away, likely clutch/tires/parts issues), a dealership dispute over brake work and returning customer parts, oil-consumption strategy on a big-block Chevy (cleaning-focused synthetic vs masking problems), and diagnosing hesitation on a Ford F-150 via EGR passage buildup.
Ron opens the show with a reflection on the quiet moments in repair shops—and the meaningful conversations that happen between shop owners when the noise fades and experience takes over.
The calls cover a wide range of real-world situations. A listener considers buying a classic Honda CRX, sparking a discussion about what to look for in older vehicles. Another caller with a Honda Accord shares frustration with a dealership experience, leading Ron into a broader take on trust and communication in the repair world.
An email comes in about a Ford Explorer—but instead of fixing a problem, the goal is to dress up “boring” brakes, raising the question of appearance versus performance.
There’s also a maintenance discussion on a Chevrolet Silverado 2500, debating whether oil additives belong in a synthetic oil engine, and a diagnostic call on a Ford F-150 with a running issue that needs a careful, methodical approach.
A look back at the cars, questions, and concerns of 2015—and how much, and how little, has really changed.
