Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - December 6, 2025 - Hour 1 - (855)560-9900 - Full Moon Auto Mechanics & The Repairs It Creates

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You're listening to Ron Ananian, the car doctor,

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trusted by mechanics, weekend renters

and vehicle owners alike.

Ron brings over 40 years of hands-on experience

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The car doctor is in the garage

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You know, I think one of the hardest things

about doing this radio show,

and I'm not sure if it even comes across

is the frustration of repairing cars certain weeks.

And I know you like to hear it.

I know you love the stories from the shop

and I try to keep them as factual as I can

and as, you know, I want you to have the pain of frustration

and the sweat and the agony.

And, you know, this story just comes to mind

because it was another full week of auto repair.

And you know, I always tell you full moons

at the shop and full weeks of auto repair

somehow combined to be some of the strangest weeks ever.

Sometimes you don't know what you're walking into.

You know, you're kind of playing ambush

and you don't even know it's around the corner.

And you just never see it coming

and it started like that on Monday.

On Monday, I walked into the shop at a quarter to eight

and there were two people already there,

three, Count and Carpenter Bob

because Carpenter Bob opens for us.

And the first one was Steven.

Now, I haven't seen Steven in two and a half years.

I haven't seen the car.

I only saw the car once.

And Steven had no appointment.

And I was, I listened to what his concern was

and I kind of knew it

because I had read the email

that he had sent me over the weekend.

And I told him, I said, Steven, I don't have time today.

I'm sorry.

I, there's nothing I can really do.

You know, there's nothing I can really do

to, you know, create this, you know,

to help you this week.

I said, it's, I understand you've got an oil leak.

You've got to get it looked at.

You know, it's an oil leak.

It's important and get it solved.

And he went on his way.

He wasn't happy, but you know, listen,

you've got people that are scheduled.

You've got people that are, you know, lined up

and they've taken their time

and your time when you come into a repair shop

is very valuable.

It should be retreated with respect

by the repair shop.

It shouldn't be taken for granted.

Part of the problem too

was Steven is driving a 10 year old Cadillac

with 150,000 miles on it.

And I, in my opinion, he's not taking proper care of it.

He's getting his oil changes done at Quick Loops.

Maybe in an attempt to save money, boggles my mind.

You can't drive a 10 year old car.

You can't drive a five year old car

and not take it to a mechanic on a regular basis.

I think there's just things that a good qualified,

you know, not a hack, not somebody dishonest,

but somebody reliable,

somebody you've built a relationship with

will do a lot to take good care of that car.

And now Steven's faced with having to deal with an oil leak

that he says, I'm guessing I'm gonna have to go back

to the dealer who I've been going to,

but I'm not happy with,

which I never understand that statement either.

If you're not happy, why do you go back?

Because of the conversation is,

well, Ron, you're the only mechanic I trust.

My first thought is, where have you been

for two and a half years?

I just, it leaves me dumbfounded.

I can never understand that thought process.

Jeff was there.

Jeff had dropped off.

He was in the process of dropping off his 2011 ES 350 Lexus

with more than a few miles on it.

And the right rear parking brake cable had failed.

It corroded into the aluminum bracket

that holds it to the backing plate.

The backing plates are rotting away

and it's becoming slowly a rear brake overhaul

and parking brake cables and backing plates

and a bunch of things that were in the process of,

we've gotten all the parts,

but now we're in the process of replacing.

Next week in the shop,

we're going to have to gut the interior

because to replace the two parking brake cables,

the center console has to come up

to get the center console up.

The seats have to come out.

The carpet has to come out.

We're going to be looking at bare floor

so it'll be exciting.

And that's on the list.

And that's the car that had an appointment

and that's one of the reasons we said

to Steven, Steven, we can't accommodate you this week.

We've got to look at Jeff.

But I think the car that sort of was the surprise

was Michael's Jeep.

Michael brought us his 2015 Jeep Compass.

Now, we haven't seen Michael's Jeep in two years.

And the last time we saw it,

it was about the 58,000 mile mark

and we said it's coming due for a 60,000 mile service

and that was the last we saw of it.

Well, it now got 74,000 miles on

and it's two years later and Michael wants it looked over.

Now, I haven't seen Michael either.

We did our conversations by phone.

So, yeah, very happy to take care of it.

He scheduled an appointment.

We had put the time aside.

We took the vehicle and did a checklist to it,

our infamous checklist where we looked the car over,

stick out your tongue and say, ah, as I like to say.

And we've found a pile of work that the vehicle

was due for.

It was due for the 60,000 mile service.

It was overdue for the 60,000 mile service

that wasn't done at 60,000 miles

because it now has 74,000 miles on it.

But it also had dry rotted tires,

tires that were so badly dry rotted into the tread

that you wonder is it gonna make it down to the corner?

And I'm probably over exaggerating

but I'm very, I'm like death on dry rotted tires.

I don't like dry rotted tires, old batteries,

wiper blades that are torn, common sense, right?

There's too many split second decisions

you have to make driving on any road

at 40 miles an hour, 60 miles an hour and so on.

So you wanna make sure the equipment's

in good working order.

It's just that important.

And Michael asked for a, you know, give me a,

give me a, what do you think it's gonna take

from the hip?

And I went, you know, from the hip?

This is gonna be three grand all day long.

Tires, alignment, it needed some front end work.

The right front control arm, the ball joint was bad

and the bushings were cracked in the back of it.

So that needed to be replaced.

It needed some, you know, drive line fluids.

It needed fuel system cleaning.

It needed an oil change.

It needed a pile of work.

And he said, okay, do whatever you gotta do, Ron.

I get it.

It's, you know, it's gotta be done.

And I said, yeah, I said, you know,

I need a couple of days and we'll go through it.

So I got approval.

I had a verbal approval and I ordered parts

and I went about my business and climbed into the pile

of the rest of the cars that were there for a Monday.

Tuesday morning, the phone rang and it was Michael.

He was a little confused and concerned

at the same time about, you know,

how did the bill get to $3,000

because it started as a checklist.

And I went, well, we had this conversation, you know,

it's, and I laid it all out for him again

and I walked him through it and yeah, you're right.

Yeah, you're right.

Yeah, I forgot about that.

Yep, you're right.

Go ahead, do what you have to do.

Okay.

So I said, you know, I'm probably shooting for,

you know, tomorrow being finished on Wednesday

because it's already in progress.

I'm waiting for a couple of more parts

to show up on this particular Tuesday

and we'll get back into it.

And, you know, between Tuesday and Wednesday

it'll be done.

So the rest of it was pretty uneventful,

pretty straightforward.

We made a couple of executive decisions.

We changed a few of the tire pressure sensors

because two had gone bad

and we had done one way back when I told Danny,

I said, let's just change the remaining three.

Let's get the tire pressure sensors.

This way we're four brand new,

or four newer sensors that equals 10 years old

because part of what we're supposed to do

is manage expectations.

Part of what we're supposed to do

is listen to what the customer wants

and try and deliver that and then more

because that's what a repair shop is there for.

And, you know, it's about building the relationship.

It's about, you know, maintaining that level of trust

and responsibility and doing the right thing.

You know, a very wise man once taught me

in my younger years,

you can't make a wrong turn down right street.

So we finished the car

and the bill that I told Michael

was gonna be between three and four grand

turned out to be $3,600.

And all was well, Michael showed up.

He paid the bill.

I was a little taken aback.

I don't know why it kind of surprised me

because the last time I hadn't seen Michael,

he was walking on his own

and this time he came in the door on a walker.

And, you know, I like Michael.

Michael's a good guy.

He's got good spirit and he's just,

he's a good guy and I felt bad for him

when we, you know, had conversational exchange

and we paid the bill at the counter

and we helped him get out the door and off he goes.

Now, it's 10 minutes to five on Wednesday.

And Michael comes back in the door five minutes later

and I'm in the midst of trying to finish one other car

and get two other people out the door.

And he says, you know, Ron,

because I had mentioned to Michael

that I noticed that there is a very faint noise

from what I believe is the right rear wheel bearing

coming up.

I said, it's very hard to detect.

It only happens over 45 miles an hour,

but it's there.

And I said, if you listen for it, you'll hear it.

And Michael came back five minutes later

and he said, I'm not sure if I'm just sensitive to noise now

or it's because you said it, but you're right.

I hear this noise and I don't think it's the wheel bearing.

It's this strange clunking sound.

And I, you know, I'm concerned

that did something, you know, go wrong during the repair?

Did, and it's not, you know, it's never since, right?

And he didn't say it, but you could tell

it was the underlying tone.

So I gotta stop what I'm doing.

We gotta go for a ride.

And the frustration grows

because you're trying to finish the day.

And that full moon is peering down at me eerily

up in the night sky in Waldo, New Jersey.

And I'm going, hmm, so we go out for a ride.

Danny, I'm going out.

I'll be back, Kathy, I'm going out, answer the phone.

And well, it's a little bit of a longer tail

to make a long story short.

We went out for our eight minute ride

and we're coming back to the shop.

We didn't hear the noise

and I'm about to turn in the driveway.

And he says, no, no, go straight.

I just want to do one more thing.

We go down to the end of the block,

we make a left turn and we heard the noise.

And he says, that's it.

That's the noise.

That's the noise I was trying to get you to hear.

He goes, I didn't hear that before I dropped it off.

Huh, I go down to the end of the next block.

I make a left turn.

There's that noise again.

And I'm thinking, you know,

is there something wrong with the new control arm?

You know, are the wheels loose?

But, you know, we're very methodical.

We torque stick and hand torque everything.

And, you know, we went over the carb

with a fine tooth comb like we usually do.

Went down to the next block.

We made a series of lefts and we come back to the shop.

On the next to last left turn,

Michael turns around when he hears the noise.

Oh, look, the Walker's hitting the door.

When he put his Walker in the car,

he didn't put it in where he normally puts it

and it's smack in the door.

There's a lot of frustration that goes into auto repair.

I think patience is part of the remedy of the process

for everybody concerned.

The funny things that go wrong in a repair shop,

especially on full moon weeks of auto repair.

I'm Ron Ananey in the car doctor.

The phone number is 855-560-9900.

I'll be back right after this.

Don't go away.

Para los grandes, para los chicos,

para los bajos y los altos, los pacifistas,

los valientes, para los optimistas y los pesimistas,

los que valoran lo de adentro, para los que están lejos,

los que no vende lejos y los que no vende cerca,

para los introvertidos y los extrovertidos,

para los que piensan y los que hacen,

para los que nos mostraron el camino.

Coca-Cola, para todos.

Comprá una Coca-Cola en una tienda cerca de usted.

So you're telling me that the AI that's meant

to make everyone's job easier to manage.

Just adds more to manage on top of the thousands of apps

the IT department already manages.

Funny how that works.

Any business can add AI.

IBM helps you scale and manage AI

to change how you do business.

Let's create smarter business.

IBM.

I've got Dan Morgan here on the pod.

Say hi, Dan.

Hey, how's it going today?

It's going good, man.

Tell us who you are and what you do.

I'm Dan Morgan.

I'm an attorney and a managing partner

at Morgan & Morgan,

which is America's largest injury law firm.

That's pretty awesome.

I think I saw Billboard of yours recently

that said 20 billion won.

20 billion is an insane number.

Yeah, 20 billion recovered.

It's actually, I think, somewhere north,

probably closer to 22, 23 after this year.

And each year we get bigger and better

and our army grows.

So the number will hopefully keep getting bigger

and bigger as time goes on.

Awesome.

So how does someone get in contact with

Morgan & Morgan?

What would I do if I got into an accident?

Probably the easiest way is dialing pound law.

That's pound 529 from your cell phone.

We are always open.

Our call center is always waiting to take your call.

247-365.

Wow, Dan Morgan.

From Morgan & Morgan,

America's largest injury law firm.

Thanks for coming by the show.

Thanks for having me.

Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.

And Doug.

Oh, what a horrible call.

Hey, Ref, open your eyes.

Ref, you're really not gonna call that?

Come on.

Hey, Ref, why didn't you customize your car insurance

with Liberty Mutual and save money?

I don't think you get what we're doing.

Sure I do.

We're all just giving him advice.

You guys on sports?

Me on saving money?

Nope, that's not it.

Only pay for what you need at LibertyMutual.com.

Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.

Hey, I'm Lindsay.

Hydrogenitis suprativa, HS,

caused bumps and abscesses that made me feel embarrassed.

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and started a treatment that works for me,

Cosentix.

I found relief.

Cosentix Secu Kenyumab is prescribed for adults

with moderate to severe hydrogenitis suprativa, HS.

Don't use if allergic to Cosentix.

Get checked for TB before starting.

Increased risk of infections

and lowered ability to fight them may occur.

Like TB or other serious bacterial, fungal,

or viral infections, some are fatal.

Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms,

like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or cough,

had a vaccine or planned to,

or if IBD symptoms develop or worsen.

Serious allergic reactions

and severe eczema-like skin reactions may occur.

Learn more at 1-844-COSENTIX or cosentix.com.

You're stronger than HS.

Ask your dermatologist about Cosentix.

Hey, let's get over and talk to Bill in Colorado,

O8 GMC Yukon.

Billy, welcome to the Cardoca once again.

How can I help you today?

Hey, Ron, good to talk to you.

Well, I'm having a full moon weekend too.

So this O8 GMC Yukon XL comes in yesterday.

It's got a misfire on cylinder four.

So I wrestled the engine cover out

from between the engine and the firewall.

And I'm about to swap coils

when I discover that the number four coil wire

has fallen off the plug.

Well, there you go.

So plug it back in, fire it up.

Something easy.

Misfire is gone and boom,

I get the communication codes.

It's got a U73, U101.

Tranny and engine aren't talking to each other.

So I go through the entire car.

I mean, grounds, I try to follow the wiring as best as I can.

I check all of the transmission connectors,

look for water intrusion.

There's no corrosion.

Everything's clean and tight.

Follow all the wiring that I might have disturbed

when I was getting that engine cover out.

And 10 minutes before I get on the call here,

I disconnect and reseat the TCM and ECM connectors.

And it fires up without codes.

So basically at this point, what I'm looking for

is if Murphy comes back right after this call

and the codes pop up,

what are the most common culprits for these guys?

You know, something between the headlights and the tail lights.

What I typically do, Billy, is the first thing I want to know

is when you had the no communication code,

were you able to communicate with your scan tool plugged in?

Could you see the TCM?

Yes.

So it was there.

So it's an intermittent.

Well, at the same time, to the TCM,

the TCM wasn't talking to the engine, to the ECM.

How do you know that?

Just from the codes.

So intermittent is fair, but that's what the codes are saying.

Well, you know, my point is do this.

If you unplug the TCM, right, if you look at a wiring diagram,

you get a wiring diagram in front of you?

I don't.

Serial data.

Look at serial data.

The serial data, if I'm not mistaken,

is pin 6 and 7 out of the TCM.

OK.

Right.

And ground is the last pin.

I don't remember the pin number for whatever reason.

But you know, you can go through.

Do you have one of those ALDL connectors

where you can sit there, plug it in at the OBD2 connector,

and look at data communication and CANBUS communication?

Not yet.

OK, I guess I know where you're going next.

You know, you're dealing with a communication fault.

Is it intermittent?

Or is it still active, right?

What's causing the fault?

Is it something you disturbed in wiring?

If the problem comes back and you disconnect TCM first

and the problem goes away, that

means it's obviously something there.

How reproducible is the intermittent, is my point.

OK.

Or if you disconnect the TCM and reconnect it.

Any time I get a communication error,

you've got telephones in the house,

or you had everybody had hard-wired telephones

at one point, right?

I'm old enough to remember them.

OK.

And what was the, you call up the phone company and go,

hey, my phones don't work.

What did they use to tell you to do?

Start on point with phones.

Yeah, I mean, I knew what to do.

Yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

Right.

And why did you do that?

Because it was the simplest thing to do.

You know, I was eight-year-old wrong, so.

Well, it was the simplest thing to do.

Well, well, I'm old dude.

You know, it's the idea that one of the modules

is pulling down the rest of the network.

And my point is, all right, for me

to understand this circuit, what I'm going to do

is I'm going to get a wiring diagram

and trace out, first of all, I

believe this is on the high-speed data network,

the TransControl module, because it

has to talk to the PCM.

And I'm going to match that up to the OBD2 connector,

because if you look at a wiring diagram,

you're going to see that the TCM ties directly

into the OBD2 connector.

That's where high-speed CAN comes in.

I think it's pins 6 and 14, if I remember right.

But we've got to look at it, right?

And we want to see, we want to understand

how a network goes down.

And that's why I'm asking, when

you have that failure, when it doesn't start,

does the check engine light come on and key on engine off

position?

Can I communicate with the PCM and at least look at data?

Can I look at the TCM and at least look at data?

Does that make sense?

Yeah.

Basically, I can talk to everything.

They don't talk to each other when it's on, so.

Right.

Then let's go with it.

If you can talk through everything.

Yeah, but I want to know, does that PCM,

is that PCM the pass-through to talk to the TCM?

I'd be paying attention to how you're unplugging,

what connectors you're unplugging, Billy,

because it sounds like it's a connection issue,

and it's just sort of a fluke that doing it made it work.

Do that, call me back.

You know where to find me next week,

and I'll be glad to talk to you about it some more.

I'm running any in the car, Doctor.

We're back right after this.

So you're telling me that the AI that's meant to make everyone's job easier to manage,

just adds more to manage on top of the thousands of apps

the IT department already manages.

Finding how that works?

Any business can add AI.

IBM helps you scale and manage AI to change how you do business.

Let's create smarter business.

IBM.

I've got Dan Morgan here on the pod.

Say hi, Dan.

Hey, how's it going today?

It's going good, man.

Tell us who you are and what you do.

I'm Dan Morgan.

I'm an attorney and a managing partner at Morgan & Morgan,

which is America's largest injury law firm.

That's pretty awesome.

I think I saw Billboard a year recently that said 20 billion one.

20 billion is an insane number.

Yeah, 20 billion recovered.

It's actually, I think, somewhere north,

probably closer to 22 or 23 after this year.

And each year we get bigger and better, and our army grows.

So the number will hopefully keep getting bigger and bigger as time goes on.

Awesome.

So how does someone get in contact with Morgan & Morgan?

What would I do if I got into an accident?

Probably the easiest way is dialing Pound Law.

That's Pound 529 from your cell phone.

We are always open.

Our call center is always waiting to take your call.

247-365.

Wow.

Dan Morgan from Morgan & Morgan, America's largest injury law firm.

Thanks for coming by the show.

Thanks for having me.

Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.

Rainbow Game, and Doug.

There's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize

and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual,

even if it means playing in a football game.

Boom, 42!

You're going down, Doug.

Oh, yeah?

You're priced on car insurance when you customize and save

is going down.

Hey!

Limu, what are you doing on their team?

Only pay for what you need at LibertyMutual.com.

Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.

Hey, I'm Lindsay.

Hydrogenitis suprativa, HS, caused bumps and abscesses

that made me feel embarrassed.

I talked to my dermatologist and started a treatment that

works for me, Cosentix.

I found relief.

Cosentix Secukinumab is prescribed for adults

with moderate to severe hydrogenitis suprativa, HS.

Don't use if allergic to Cosentix.

Get checked for TB before starting.

Increased risk of infections and lowered ability

to fight them may occur, like TB or other serious

bacterial, fungal, or viral infections.

Some are fatal.

Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms,

like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or cough,

had a vaccine or plan to, or if IBD symptoms develop or worsen.

Serious allergic reactions and severe eczema-like skin

reactions may occur.

Learn more at 1-844-COSENTIX or cosentix.com.

You're stronger than HS.

Ask your dermatologist about Cosentix.

Please.

To the open roadline.

If your right leads him wrong, we'll keep you rolling right.

There is a cold doctor.

Cold doctor.

Carried by a stout line.

Cold doctor.

We're in our remote studios out here in Pittsburgh, PA.

We're on the road this weekend and we're happy to be here for you.

I should point out too that I appreciate you guys being here.

I don't say that often enough and Tom and I are grateful

that you guys have stuck with us all these years

as we continue to try and help you fix your cars

and get the word out and put out some positive information.

I'm amazed every day as to how much good solid auto repair

information is needed.

I see all the goofy things on social media.

I read a post this morning on Facebook.

I tell you, Facebook is such a misnomer of information

and a mismanagement of truths.

I often wonder if I would have it.

We're not for a radio show where you're supposed to be present.

The argument was talking about nails and tires

and it was a picture of a tire with a nail in the center

and two other nails to the immediate right

and about 10 minutes down on a clock face on the edge,

that you're not supposed to repair.

And people are arguing, oh, that tire's fine.

You could repair that tire.

There's nothing wrong with that tire.

Stick a plug in it.

Firestone doesn't know what they're talking about.

And I'm thinking to myself, I hope none of these idiots

are next to me on the road when I'm traveling

along at 75 miles an hour.

Because when that tire comes apart

because the steel belt is compromised

and that's what people don't realize

that there are limitations to how you can plug a tire,

do a tire plug safely.

Technically a lot of shops don't even like the plug.

I don't like the plug.

It's very limited.

We want to do a plug patch from the inside.

But the more I read on social media

about how people think cars should be repaired,

the more I think auto repair should be licensed

in all the states across our country.

And just because you can pick up a wrench

doesn't mean you're allowed to.

So absolutely amazing.

Bill in Michigan, let's get over to the phones

855-560-9900.

Bill in Michigan, how can I help you today, sir?

What's going on?

Thanks to you and Tom for having me on, Ron.

1994 Chevrolet pickup.

This is a work truck standard cab eight-foot bed

with a 4.3 V6 4L60E transmission.

Got 165,000 miles on it.

I have an intermittent slow crank or dead spot

when the engine's warm.

Do you want me to take you through my diagnostic procedure?

Yeah, please.

Yeah, let me know what you did.

Okay, we started with a battery load test.

We got an 850-core cranking battery

in there, it's two years old, it checked good.

Voltage drop test on the positive and negative cables.

Both came out good and either cables were visibly corroded.

However, Ron, the ground cable for this truck

and several others in this vintage I've checked,

they ground to an aluminum intake manifold.

Yup.

I'm not really impressed with that,

but that's what it is.

Yeah, you might want to consider relocating that

or adding a secondary ground.

As part of your diagnosis.

I also just to relay it to you Bill,

and I know you've got more, but I recently had

and we're gonna put up a YouTube video.

I had a Honda in the last two weeks

that had an intermittent no crank condition

and Hondas, they're notorious that the last,

I don't know, six, eight inches of cable

going down to the lug that attaches to the transmission

in this case are exposed and it was so corroded

I'd go and I'd wiggle the cable and bang,

it would start right up.

So, you know, always, always look at that connection

and I get it, I would, you know,

when it goes into that slow crank,

if you were to stop cranking it

and bolted, drop tested at that point,

what sort of results would you see

or can you even do that?

Is it a matter of letting go of the key

and then all of a sudden it starts normal?

I did that, Ron.

We got it warm and I tried that

and in this particular instant,

it checked thoroughly correct.

It didn't have a problem.

Can you reproduce the slow crank bill

if it cranks slow,

you know, you take, you know, back off and okay,

okay, good, so at least we can test it.

Go ahead, finish your diagnosis.

We did a timing check and you have to,

this is really old school, Ron.

You have to disconnect the wire in the cab

to check the advance.

Yeah, over the right side by the glove box,

the brown wire with the brown wire,

the tan wire with the black tracer.

If I remember right, is that the color?

No, you got to write the first line, it was brown.

Brown wire, brown wire, okay.

For a zero degree at the top dead center.

Now, I did a tune-up, Ron.

This truck, the last tune-up I did was 2013.

I've only driven at 7,000 miles in there.

So I went with everything, AC Delco branded,

except the module and that was standard products.

So we did plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor

and the distributor module.

This helped an awful lot.

It improved it dramatically.

I did have a local parts store

check my brand new two-year-old AC Delco branded starter

and that checked okay.

Where I'm at, I'm looking at additionally adding a ground,

as you suggested, to the starter to see if that helps.

But I got the original ignition coil in there

and that's causing me some concern.

I'm not sure how to check that.

Well, let's get a spark tester.

I don't know why it would be an ignition coil bill,

but I get it, let's go through the whole ignition system.

Usually if this is a slow crank,

that it turns over as if the engine were binding,

let's say for conversation's sake.

You know, I would think this would be more along the lines

of I've got a flow problem to the starter voltage,

current, something along those lines

or do I have carbon deposits inside the motor

that when the engine is hot,

because this only happens hot, you say?

Correct.

You know, do I have carbon deposits

that are causing a slow crank,

creating the issue themselves?

So, I mean, listen, to check the coil,

it's gonna be the standard,

go get a spark tester rated for the capacity output

of the coil, 40 to 60,000 volts,

stick it against one spark plug wire,

so you'll start a six cylinder on five cylinders

and one'll be the test.

Does it jump that gap?

If it jumps that gap, theoretically, that coil is good.

You wanna change it because it's 94, 2004, 2014,

where are we, 30, 40 years old?

Yeah, I get it.

I get it.

All right.

You wanna, you wanna buy?

Well, maybe when it starts,

does it, do we have a puff of black smoke?

No, I have no smoke out of the tailpipe.

You know, I mean, we could put a fuel pressure gauge on it

and watch for residual drop.

Do we have any residual?

We should have residual drop, for 15 to 20,

up to 30 minutes, I would be a concern, but yeah.

How about this?

Okay, they're checking the starter when,

you know, you take it out and they bench test it,

right?

It's at room temperature.

Right.

What if we put the starter in an oven

and brought it up to heat,

brought up some heat a little bit,

or maybe to make it easier,

can we set the truck up

so it goes into this hard crank,

and then can we hit the starter with a garden hose?

I've not done that, but I think it's very possible.

Yeah, very possible.

You know, I'm just trying to think of ways,

how can I cool the starter down?

Do I have a case of the starter motor is getting hot

and it's creating a resistance problem in the starter?

Have you done a cranking amperage test, Bill?

You know, just put a clamp on and an amp clamp clamp on.

What sort of current does it draw when it starts good

and then what sort of current does it draw

when it cranks hard?

Okay, I will have to do that.

See what that does.

The last thing, you know,

because I know you're into the tune-up,

you're doing this.

Why don't we do a carbon cleaning?

It's got such low mileage.

Yeah, it's easy enough to do,

run down to your local advanced auto parts

or somebody pick up a CRC fuel system cleaning kit.

They've got a bunch of good stuff on the market.

CRC makes a great kit.

And you know, follow the instructions, do a cleaning,

decarbonize the engine.

Does that make a difference?

Okay, we'll do that.

You know, it's gonna be somewhere in this,

but just one step at a time.

All right, kiddo?

I appreciate it.

Ron, you got a Power Master starter on the 55.

Is that still a good brand if I want to change?

Still a good brand.

I still like that starter.

Knock wood, Bill, we shouldn't say this.

Knock wood, wait, I'm not gonna desk here.

You know, but yeah, it's funny.

We were talking about the 55 at lunch today.

I gotta take it out for one last ride

before the end of the year.

I didn't get enough time to drive it this year.

I just found too many other projects going on,

but I guess that's the life of a busy mechanic.

Bill, always a pleasure, sir.

You take good care and be well.

Give us a call back when you need more.

I'm Ron Ananey in the car, doctor.

We're back right after this.

Para los grandes, para los chicos,

para los bajos y los altos, los pacifistas,

los valientes, para los optimistas y los pesimistas,

los que valoran lo de adentro, para los que están lejos,

los que no vende lejos y los que no vende cerca,

para los introvertidos y los extrovertidos,

para los que piensan y los que hacen,

para los que nos mostraron el camino.

Coca-Cola, para todos.

Pumbra una Coca-Cola en una tienda cerca de usted.

So you're telling me that the AI that's meant

to make everyone's job easier to manage,

just adds more to manage on top of the thousands

of apps the IT department already manages.

Funny how that works.

Any business can add AI.

IBM helps you scale and manage AI

to change how you do business.

Let's create smarter business, IBM.

I've got Dan Morgan here on the pod.

Say hi, Dan.

Hey, how's it going today?

It's going good, man.

Tell us who you are and what you do.

I'm Dan Morgan.

I'm an attorney and a managing partner at Morgan & Morgan,

which is America's largest injury law firm.

That's pretty awesome.

Why do you guys think you win so many cases?

The insurance companies and other companies

that we go against know that we're gonna take it

to the end that we believe in the case.

So we fight for every dollar

and we're not afraid to go that extra mile for our clients.

Are insurance companies actually afraid of you guys?

We don't bluff.

We take it to trial

and we are not strangers of getting

very, very, very large verdicts.

Awesome.

So how does someone get in contact with Morgan & Morgan?

What would I do if I got into an accident?

Probably the easiest way is dialing pound law.

That's pound 529 from your cell phone.

And our call center is always waiting to take your call.

247-365.

Wow, Dan Morgan from Morgan & Morgan,

America's largest injury law firm.

Thanks for coming by the show.

Thanks for having me.

Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.

We go, we go, we go, we go.

And Doug.

Oh, what a horrible call.

Hey, ref, open your eyes.

Ref, you're really not gonna call that?

Come on.

Hey, ref, why didn't you customize your car insurance

with Liberty Mutual and save money?

I don't think you get what we're doing.

Sure I do.

We're all just giving him advice.

You guys on sports, me, on saving money.

Nope, that's not it.

Only pay for what you need at LibertyMutual.com.

Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.

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You know, I really love the new spots for the Cardoctor store.

I didn't know that Santa was so involved.

I have to talk to him to see if we can, you know,

maybe help everybody and get the livery by Christmas.

So, but yeah, the Cardoctor store is open and we are,

you know what, we're selling coffee cups again.

All of a sudden coffee cups have picked up,

so we're glad to see it.

I was just talking to the production team

the other day, we're gonna try and come up

with some Ronisms for the new year.

So along the lines of good mechanics

aren't expensive, maybe my truck runs

or that's not the way I would have done it.

Something like that, but well, of course.

It's great.

Exactly, so let's go back to the phones, Tom.

Let's go to Brian in Wisconsin.

Brian, are you there, sir?

Hey, Ron, thanks for taking our call.

My wife and I are longtime listeners.

Thank you, sir.

Maybe you can help me with a general question.

You've helped me in the past with a 75 old,

a 79 old cut list and an old five-fork focus.

And you talked me last year,

you talked to me out of replacing the frame

on a Chevy Walduck conversion van that my mom left me

and talked me into buying a Sprinter van.

Gotcha, I remember that call, sure.

Cool, I got a two-part question.

I was born when I bought the Sprinter van

because it's a diesel, not to let it idle for a long time.

And you see semi trucks all the time

idling over the night.

Is that a truism or is that something

that I've been told awfully?

Any time somebody tells me something like that,

my first question is why?

I always call them on the spot

because I can't think of a reason why.

Frankly, if we're, yeah, go ahead.

So what was something about the carbon,

the buildup of carbon or have to regenerate it

because it's a diesel?

Well, yeah, but if we're doing our diesel maintenance,

if we're doing our filters,

if we're using correct good quality fluid and filters,

if we're visiting, watch this segue, hotshotssecret.com

and looking for some of the diesel additives and products.

Listen, it's the truth though, right?

For all my diesel customers,

we use product from Hotshot Secret

and there's a laundry list there

of what are we trying to achieve

and some of the things they have,

their stickion eliminator is phenomenal for a diesel.

Everything you wanna know to take care of a diesel

is there at hotshotssecret.com.

So it's, you know, that's where you wanna be.

I think the general fallacy, don't idle a diesel is nonsense

because you're right, look at all the 18-wheelers.

How about the 18-wheelers you see on the side of the road,

right, that are pulled over, sleeping for the night

and the truck stops or in the rest areas?

What you think, you know, it's, yeah.

So I think somebody is, it's wives tales

unless they've got a specific reason

if you're not doing something right.

That's like saying, don't drive the vehicle

because you're gonna have to go through a cat regen

every once in a while.

Doesn't make any sense.

Second question.

Okay, second question.

My wife and I have never really owned a brand new vehicle.

We've always bought them two or three years old.

Right now she's got a 2010 Nissan Ultima.

I've got a 2010 Ford 150.

We both bought with 45 and 75,000 miles respectively.

They're almost at 200.

We're looking to get a,

we're looking to get a kind of a,

what is your idea of a great vehicle right now

from a mechanics point of view?

I'm talking about cost of maintenance,

ease of ownership, reliability.

We're retired and we're looking at buying

either a new or used one,

which is gonna be our last vehicle,

you know, that we're gonna have to.

How big?

Well, everybody says it's the last vehicle.

God willing, you live another 30 years.

All of a sudden you need another vehicle.

So let's not go there.

Well, we got a Honda Pilot Black Chevy Tahoe GMC Yukon,

BMW X or an Audi Q.

Now, listen, the German cars

are a completely different conversation.

They really are.

You know, it's the German car experience.

And we could talk about the German car experience,

but there's not enough time,

even if we started at the top of the hour,

because that's just a whole nother conversation.

And I'll tell you what, Brian,

stay put, let me pull over, take a pause.

When I come back, we'll finish up.

I don't wanna rush this

and we'll get all your questions answered.

I'm Ronanini in the car doctor.

I'll be back right after this.

Para los grandes, para los chicos,

para los bajos y los altos, los pacifistas,

los valientes, para los optimistas y los pesimistas,

los que valoran lo de adentro,

para los que están lejos,

los que no ven de lejos y los que no ven de cerca,

para los introvertidos y los extrovertidos,

para los que piensan y los que hacen,

para los que nos mostraron el camino.

Coca-Cola, para todos.

Combra una Coca-Cola en una tienda cerca de usted.

So you're telling me that the AI

that's meant to make everyone's job easier to manage,

just adds more to manage on top of the thousands of apps

the IT department already manages.

Funny how that works.

Any business can add AI.

IBM helps you scale and manage AI

to change how you do business.

Let's create smarter business, IBM.

I've got Dan Morgan here on the pod.

Say hi, Dan.

Hey, how's it going today?

It's going good, man.

Tell us who you are and what you do.

I'm Dan Morgan.

I'm an attorney and a managing partner

at Morgan & Morgan,

which is America's largest injury law firm.

That's pretty awesome.

I think I saw a billboard of yours recently

that said $20 billion won.

$20 billion is an insane number.

Yeah, $20 billion recovered.

It's actually, I think,

somewhere north of the US.

Probably closer to 22 or 23 after this year.

And each year we get bigger and battered

and our army grows,

so the number will hopefully keep getting bigger

and bigger as time goes on.

Awesome.

So how does someone get in contact with Morgan & Morgan?

What would I do if I got into an accident?

Probably the easiest way is dialing Pound Law.

That's Pound 529 from your cell phone.

We are always open

and our call center is always waiting to take your call.

24-7-365.

Wow.

Dan Morgan from Morgan & Morgan,

America's largest injury law firm

thanks for coming by the show.

Thanks for having me.

Visit ForThePeople.com

for an office near you.

And Doug.

Here we have the Limu Imu

in its natural habitat,

helping people customize their car insurance

and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual.

Fascinating.

It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.

Uh, Limu,

is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

Cut the camera.

They see us.

Only pay for what you need

at LibertyMutual.com.

Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.

Saving is very underwritten

by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company

and Affiliates Excludes Massachusetts.

Hey, I'm Lindsay.

Hydrogenitis suprativa, H.S.,

caused bumps and abscesses

that made me feel embarrassed.

I talked to my dermatologist

and started a treatment that works for me,

Cosentix.

I found relief.

Cosentix Secu Kenyumab

is prescribed for adults

with moderate to severe hydrogenitis

suprativa, H.S.

Don't use if allergic to Cosentix.

Get checked for TB before starting.

Increased risk of infections

and lowered ability to fight them may occur,

like TB or other serious

bacterial, fungal, or viral infections.

Some are fatal.

Tell your doctor if you have an infection

or symptoms,

like fevers,

sweats, chills,

muscle aches, or cough,

had a vaccine or planned to,

or if IBD symptoms develop or worsen.

Serious allergic reactions

and severe eczema-like skin reactions

may occur.

Learn more at

1-844-COSENTIX

or cosentix.com

You're stronger than H.S.

Ask your dermatologist about Cosentix.

And we are back.

Brian with Wisconsin.

You're still there, sir.

Yeah.

The questions are

buying a replacement vehicle.

We're just buying one vehicle

to replace two, Brian.

Yep.

That's it.

And I can't get a pickup

because my wife won't allow me to get a pickup.

So we've chosen,

we've chose two different vehicles

and she's standing right next to me

and she's smiling.

She's hoping you're going to see her,

your way,

her way,

or my way.

So what do you got?

Jesus.

I got to turn my collar around.

What are my choice of vehicles again?

Well,

we've got it narrowed down

to a Honda Pilot,

Black, Chevy Tahoe,

or GMC Yukon.

But you know,

all we're looking for

is a mechanic to tell us,

hey,

these are the ones we're having

really good luck with.

You know,

these are the ones that are bomb proof.

You want to buy a brick.

Yeah.

You know, a brick.

It never breaks.

It's reliable.

It's just,

it just goes, right?

Yep.

And we're looking for

an unopinionated answer.

Those are all good vehicles.

They're decent.

Okay.

But if you want to really go drive something

just for the heck of it,

and you're still in the window

where they're two years old

and you could get them

cheaper than what they originally were.

I really love that LX460

that my wife drives,

that Lexus I bought her.

That thing,

it's like a glorified Highlander.

All right.

It's a freight train on wheels.

I defy anybody.

Take that thing out on the interstate.

Do 75, 80 miles an hour with it,

which unfortunately you have to do

and break the speed limit

in some parts

to avoid getting run over

by the diesel trucks

that are flying down the road.

But that LX460,

V8, no turbocharger,

low on maintenance.

They just run, brother.

That truck will go a quarter million miles

with reasonable care.

Go drive one of those.

Call me back next week.

We can talk more about it.

But put your wife in it.

Let her drive it.

Let her turn on the seat heater.

Let her listen to the radio.

I think she's going to fall in love

all over again.

But I'm sure you'll still be

her number one guy.

Till the next time.

I'm Ronan 80 in the car doctor.

It's been a pleasure to be here

for all of you.

Good mechanics aren't expensive.

They're priceless.

See ya.

Yeah, he's a car doctor.

Car advice done right.

Everybody knows Shaq,

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Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - December 6, 2025 - Hour 1 - (855)560-9900 - Full Moon Auto Mechanics & The Repairs It Creates

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