Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - February 7, 2026 - Hour 1 - Snowballs In Auto Repair
Ron Ananian The Car Doctor
Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - February 7, 2026 - Hour 1 - Snowballs In Auto Repair
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Car
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a car that was made in the 1970s, known for looking sporty and being fun to drive. The 1972 version is one of the early models that many people liked.
Part
vacuum hose
A vacuum hose is a tube that helps move air or pressure in a car. In older cars, it was used to control things like the heating and air conditioning systems.
Term
gauge conversion
Gauge conversion means changing simple warning lights in a car to more detailed dials that show important information like how fast you're going or how hot the engine is.
Part
heater core
The heater core is like a mini radiator that helps warm up the inside of your car. If it breaks, you might not get any heat in the winter, and it could leak coolant too.
Part
radiator
The radiator helps keep your engine cool by letting heat escape from the coolant. If it gets damaged or stops working, your engine could overheat, which is a serious problem.
Part
gauge cluster
The gauge cluster is the part of the dashboard that shows you things like how fast you're going and how much fuel you have left. It's important for driving safely.
Term
brittle
Brittle means that something is likely to break easily instead of bending. If a car part is brittle, it can fall apart quickly, especially if it's old.
Term
restoration
Restoration is when you fix up an old car to make it look and work like it did when it was new. This can mean cleaning it, repairing parts, and sometimes replacing things that are broken.
Car
Ford Maverick
The Ford Maverick is a small truck that you can use for carrying things. It's popular because it saves gas and is useful for many different tasks.
Term
warranty
A warranty is like a guarantee that the car will be fixed for free if something goes wrong within a certain time or distance. For example, if you buy a car with a 6-year warranty, it means you can get repairs done for free for six years.
Part
dipstick
A dipstick is a long, thin tool you pull out of your car's engine to check how much oil is inside. It's important to make sure your car has enough oil to run smoothly.
Term
EcoBoost engine
EcoBoost is a type of engine made by Ford that uses turbocharging to give you more power while using less fuel. It's designed to be efficient and perform well.
Term
full synthetic oil
Full synthetic oil is a special kind of oil made in a lab that helps engines run better and last longer. It protects the engine from wear and works well in hot temperatures.
Term
V6 twin turbos
A V6 twin-turbo engine is a powerful engine with six cylinders that helps cars go faster and use less gas by forcing more air into the engine. It has two turbochargers to boost its power.
Part
catalytic converter
The catalytic converter is a part of the car that helps clean up the exhaust gases before they leave the car. It makes the car more environmentally friendly by reducing pollution.
Company
Mala
Mala makes tools and machines that help mechanics fix car parts, especially the parts that help with changing gears in cars.
Term
ATX 280
The ATX 280 is a machine that helps mechanics change the fluid in automatic transmissions, making the job easier and more efficient.
Car
Toyota Corolla
The Toyota Corolla is a small car that is very popular because it is dependable and saves on gas. The 2004 version is from a series that was made for a few years.
Term
automatic transmission fluid
Automatic transmission fluid is a liquid that helps cars with automatic gears work properly. It keeps the parts moving smoothly and cools them down.
Term
synthetic transmission fluid
Synthetic transmission fluid is a special type of oil used in cars to help the transmission work smoothly. It lasts longer and works better in extreme temperatures than regular oil.
Term
transmission fluids
Transmission fluids are liquids that help your car's transmission work properly. They keep everything running smoothly and prevent damage.
Company
Service Pro Global
Service Pro Global is a company that makes different kinds of fluids for cars, including special oil for automatic transmissions. They have products that work with many car brands.
Brand
Porsche
Porsche is a famous car brand from Germany that makes high-performance sports cars. They are known for their speed and stylish designs.
Brand
Mercedes
Mercedes is a well-known car brand that makes luxury vehicles. They are famous for their stylish designs and high-tech features.
Brand
BMW
BMW is a car brand from Germany that makes fancy and fast cars. They are known for their quality and how fun they are to drive.
Term
transmission fluid exchange
A transmission fluid exchange is when you replace the old fluid in your car's transmission with new fluid. This helps keep the transmission working well and prevents problems.
Car
Toyota Sienna
The Toyota Sienna is a family minivan that has a lot of room inside for passengers and cargo. It's popular for its comfort and practicality, especially for families.
Car
Chevrolet Chevelle
The Chevrolet Chevelle is a classic car that was made by Chevrolet between 1964 and 1977. It's known for being a strong and stylish car, especially popular in the 1970s when people loved fast cars. People talk about the Chevelle because it's a favorite among collectors and fans of vintage cars.
Term
toe
Toe is how much your car's wheels point in or out compared to the center of the car. If they point in, that's toe-in; if they point out, that's toe-out. It helps with how the car drives straight.
Term
camber
Camber is the angle of your car's wheels. If the top of the wheel leans out, that's positive camber; if it leans in, that's negative camber. It affects how your car handles and how the tires wear out.
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On June 11th, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department went missing.
Hey, don't kill a cop in Barriam.
What are you going to do to me?
What really happened to the missing deputy?
Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries
about crime and corruption in California's high desert.
Listen to Valley of Shadows on the I Heart Radio app,
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on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs.
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Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green
from the Black Effect Podcast Network
on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast,
or whatever you get your podcast.
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Now, start your engines.
The Car Doctor is in the garage and ready to take your call.
Now, yesterday and today, our theater's been jammed
with news paper and hundreds of dogs from all over the nation.
And these veterans agree with me that the city never
has witnessed the excitement stirred
by these junctures from Liverpool who call themselves the Beatles.
Now, tonight, you're going to twice be entertained by them
right now and again in the second half of our show.
Ladies and gentlemen, Ron and Anion.
Help, I need somebody help, not just anybody help.
You know, I need someone help.
There's a lot going on in the auto industry right now
behind the scenes.
And you won't see it as a vehicle owner until your vehicle's
on the lift and then you get the bad news
on either cost or lack of parts.
The Car Doctor.
I see a lot of people talking about going from the 020 weight
to a 530 or something like that.
Matt, what does GM call for?
020?
020.
I'm staying with 020.
Welcome to the radio home of Ron and Anion, the Car Doctor.
Since 1991, this is where car owners the world overturned
to for their definitive opinion on automotive repair.
If your mechanic's giving you a busy signal,
pick up the phone and call in.
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And now, here's an amazing act.
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Here's Ronny.
Did you ever wonder where the universe began?
You ever think about that?
Like, you know, somewhere it had a start.
And I thought of that this week when I started to work
on the Monte Carlo.
You know, my 72 Monte Carlo, you guys hear me talk about
from time to time?
Quiet in the shop right now.
This time of year's kind of quiet.
I mean, pretty historically, for a historic low,
for RA automotive, we had three cars in the shop this week,
which is kind of crazy.
Like, it just doesn't happen.
But everybody around us, everything is slowing down.
And is it the economy, the weather, because it's so cold?
You know, the Northeast is going, God, we've seen cold,
but it just doesn't warm up.
So I don't know.
So I looked at Danny on Monday and I said,
let's get going on the Monte.
Let's see what's going on here.
We actually started this the week before.
There's a little piece of vacuum hose that hangs out of the
firewall on a 72 Monte Carlo.
And that's the main vacuum hose that feeds all the vacuum
supply and controls for the heat to frost AC to move the doors
because everything was done by vacuum back then.
And I think if I was going to describe this repair,
you know, it's one of two ways.
It's either here's where it all began because I think that
vacuum hose, much like the universe,
this was the first thing they put in the car when they built
it, right?
And then they put everything else in because they get to this
vacuum hose, which the mouse nicely,
very thankfully, I'm just so glad that this mouse came along,
chewed it off right where it came out of the firewall.
I mean, there was, you couldn't cheat and get a little bit out
to go, oh, we'll just put a, you know, a piece in.
We'll make an adapt.
No, it was like, he just flush right with the firewall.
I thought of snowballs when I started this car.
And I'm not going to let Tom Ray talk right now because he
came up with some really bad thoughts.
But, you know, it was just like the whole thing when the road,
the road downhill was paved with ice because brother,
we just slid.
All right.
To get to this vacuum line, we had to take out the dashboard.
Okay.
Well, if we're doing the dashboard, we might as well do the gauge
conversion because we're converting the car from idiot
lights to gauges.
All right.
I get that.
We might as well do the radio because now we've got easier
access to the radio.
Okay.
I get that.
We might as well get the seatbelt warning buzzer that lights
up that little light on the dashboard that's really annoying
and goes all the time while you're driving.
If the seatbelts aren't plugged in and just, just, oh, hey,
listen, we're looking at the back of the heater core box.
Well, I'll tell you what, I'm kind of spoiled.
I forgot how much easier it was to get the heater cores or how
much easier it is to get to some of the heater cores today
because it was no fun back then.
You risk everything and might as well do the heater core that's,
you know, original and since the block needed to be de-rusted
and the radiator need to be replaced because it was so badly
rotted that we might as well do a heater core, which that proved
to be an event unto itself.
I had to buy two heater cores.
All right.
I'll buy a third, not two from the same, but two from two
different vendors because I said to myself, this is going to be
like the 55 Chevy experience.
You just know one of them is going to work and one of them
is going to be just close enough.
So I was right.
The one that we got out of the place out of Tennessee,
which was actually copper and a very nice core, it just,
it just didn't fit right.
It had some overlap to it.
It was just a hair too short.
It didn't fit the brackets to hold it down.
We would have had to start to bend to modify reshape.
Now to their credit, four seasons, which is actually a division
of standard motor products or was it at some point,
I believe they still are, the four seasons heater core made
out of aluminum fit like a glove.
Absolutely, you know, went right on, sealed it up.
It worked great, but you got to buy two of everything.
Got that done.
Got the heater box back in.
Now the problem, the other problem that came about on this assembly
as we're snowballing along here was the instrument cluster.
There's a, it was plastic.
It was this plastic cluster that bolted to the back of the
metal plastic dashboard that housed the gauges or the idiot
lights now houses the gauges.
You know, it's not a good feeling when you're trying to
disconnect things and all you hear is crack, crack, crack.
Danny, are you doing something with your knuckles?
No.
Crack.
And when we got the dashboard out, we could see that the flexing
and moving of the dashboard, the gauge cluster as they call it,
which is plastic was so brittle, so brittle.
It just, it just, it just started to fall apart.
And it was kind of interesting because we went on all the
manufacturers websites were all the resuppliers, I should say.
And, you know, it was described like this.
Here's the, here's the instrument cluster you need because they're
so brittle that on this assembly, they fall apart.
Well, great.
I'm glad everybody knows this, but me, I should have checked this
beforehand.
And of course, to show the popularity and the commonality of
this, nobody had the part, which is the other issue, right?
Hey, we're sold out.
We're expecting to get one like three months from never.
I couldn't build a car today without the internet.
I couldn't because I did some searching and there is a place in
Illinois, the parts place, not a paid commercial guys, but just
the God's honest truth, the parts place.
And I spoke to Danny and Danny, you know, you can tell Danny's
been doing this a while because he's tired.
You know, he's just, you can tell he's just fed up and frustrated
to a degree, but super nice guy.
You know, and I want him over with my charming personality.
Specifically, I think because I called him up and I had a list
of parts and I need one of these and one of these and one of
these and one of these and one of these.
And he's like, God, do you want a job here?
No, no, I don't believe me.
I've got enough trouble dealing with the one I've got.
I don't want to deal with everybody else's.
And they were able to, you know, two day air me the parts and I
got them in two days and everything's right.
And snowballing, you know, snowballs and auto repair.
You just, you just sit there and say, how did I get into this?
Now as a witness to all this, my executive producer,
Tom stopped in on Thursday for an oil change.
And he said, why is the Monte Carlo spread out in all four
corners of the shop?
And I said, well, I'm kind of running out of horizontal
surfaces, you know, you're running out of places to put parts
and you've got piles created and you've got notes at each pile.
This, this goes here.
This goes there. This goes there.
Put this here.
Remember this?
Correct that.
Snowballs.
I spent Friday.
Yesterday was first Friday.
We always take first Friday off.
And, you know, I spent part of the day first Friday
yesterday at the shop and just kind of tinkered a little bit and got
a little mental health back and, you know, the heater box is
back in the heater core is done.
Everything's sealed up.
That works really well or it will work well.
We were able to start the car.
We made sure all the vacuum doors now work.
It was kind of a historic moment.
We wiped out all the dust.
You know, the things that you do in the course of a restoration,
this was a Texas car.
This car came out of Menard, Texas.
And the dust that got into the crevices and the crannies.
It was, it was kind of a hilarious moment because the,
the recirc door, the recirculation door sits on the right side,
a pillar and the motor sits right there, the vacuum control.
And I pulled it open by vacuum and Danny was looking, you know,
that three Stooges episode where Curly's trying to clean the
stove and Moe's looking down the vent pipe.
I think it is.
And, and Curly takes the vacuum and puts it on backwards and Moe
gets all the carbon, all the soot all over his face.
Well, that was kind of a, all I heard was Danny coughing and gagging.
I said, did it come out?
Oh boy.
Yeah.
Snowballing.
How, how water repair goes bad sometimes.
It's just, uh...
Yeah.
Well, when I brought the car in for the oil change, Danny goes,
yeah, it opens the door.
He says, come on in.
I'm like, where?
I'm going to run something over.
Yeah.
It was right.
Jeez.
Am I lying, Tom?
We had every horizontal bench top toolbox top, every spot in the shop.
There was nothing left in the car except the seats.
Right.
Yeah.
It's crazy.
I'm telling you, that vacuum line was the first part put in.
Kathy came in on Wednesday to work at her desk and we were using her desk.
She has Kathy, our, our, our office girl and full-time, part-time assistant secretary,
executive producer, research Kathy to this radio show as well.
You know, she sat hunched by her chair and she's like,
because now I've got the gauge cluster over there and all the delicate stuff and don't
touch this and don't touch that.
And don't mess this pile of bolts cause they're all organized and numbered and lettered into
series and shape and size.
So it's snowballs.
If you find something missing, let me know.
I'll look in my car.
You may have ended up in there.
God knows.
Well, I'll tell you what, it's, it's, so anyway, I'm looking forward to next week.
Maybe it'll stay as quiet as it has been.
I can hopefully get the thing back together.
Well, I still have it in my head about this one here and that went there.
But just interesting, right?
February is always a funny month in auto repair.
But anyway, I'm Ron and Annie and the car doctor Abily assisted as always by the great
executive producer, chief engineer, cooking bottle washer, Tom Ray.
We'll both return right after this.
Don't go anywhere.
Can you get someone to join your cult?
NLP was used on me to access my subconscious.
NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming, is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics, and psychology.
Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain.
It's about engineering consciousness.
Mind games is the story of NLP.
It's crazy cast of disciples and the fake doctor who invented it at a New Age commune
and sold it to guys in suits.
He stood trial for murder and got acquitted.
The biggest mind game of all, NLP might actually work.
This is wild.
Listen to mind games on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes, rumors,
not so accurate stats, and plenty more.
What's up, man?
This is your boy Nell Green from the Broken Play podcast.
Look, it's the end of the season.
The playoffs are here.
But guess what?
It ain't the end of your season.
You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcasts with Nell Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Another team won't go into the playoffs.
They're cheese.
It's a wrap.
It's time to rebuild.
Who your MVP right now then?
Drake May up there.
Josh Allen up there still.
Oh, my boy Matthew Stafford.
Where did he go?
Knicksack.
He ain't too far behind.
You did all this talking.
What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro, is crazy.
Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan, but Matthew Stafford got a better weapon.
Caleb Williams.
Hey, he should be in that conversation.
In what conversation?
He should be in it.
Listen to Broken Play with Nell Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app.
Apple Podcasts or whatever you get your podcasts.
On June 11th, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went missing.
It's an all out manhunt for John Auje.
Every search and rescue team in LA County has been called in to help.
Within days, tips started flooding into the Sheriff's Department.
The ruler around the drug scene was that a deputy was taken care of.
Is this the story of a man who just got lost in the desert?
Or of a cover up inside the nation's largest Sheriff's Department?
A homicide captain saying, detective, do not find out if this guy's guilty or innocent.
Who does that?
Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries about crime and corruption in California's high desert.
Do you have any advice for us while looking into this disappearance?
I wouldn't do it alone.
Listen to Valley of Shadows on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, let's get over to Bill in New York State. Some problems with a 25 Ford Maverick.
Bill, welcome to the car doctor, sir. How can I help you?
Thank you, yeah.
All right, let's go.
I have like 17,000 miles on it. I've been getting the oil changed about every 3,000 miles.
But last time I went, I went a little longer. It was 4,500 and it was down almost the core.
It was like right to the ad mark and I figured it shouldn't be using that oil.
But I talked to the Ford dealer and they said unless it's low, they don't want it.
They basically don't want to know about it.
And then I wanted them to put something on my service sheet to say that it was low in case they had a problem another time.
But they want to do that. But I was wondering what you thought about.
For 3,000 I can get a 6 year 125,000 mile warranty from them.
What did you think about that and what's burning their oil going to do to everything else in the car?
All solid questions, Bill.
And my concern would be that, listen, I'm going to call it like I see it.
I don't think they're giving you great service right now.
So why would I spend $3,000 to have them look at it and solve the problem that may or may not happen again in the future?
I'm not saying not to do the extended plan, but I'd find a better dealer.
I'd find somebody that wants to help solve my problem or at least has an interest in me beyond,
hey, you bought the car, the check cleared. See ya.
You know, at the very least, in my opinion, they owe you an oil consumption test.
Bill came in on such and such a day. We changed the oil.
We checked. The oil level was at this mark on the dipstick.
Bill came back 1,000 miles later. The oil was okay.
Bill came back 2,000 miles later. The oil was okay.
Bill came back at the 3,000 mile mark. Hey, it's down half a quart.
What we're seeing, and it's going on nationwide at this point,
is that the Maverick, this is the 2-liter EcoBoost engine?
Yes.
Yeah, the 2-liter EcoBoost, somewhere in that 3,000 to 5,000 mile range, if it goes a little long,
they're starting to consume oil.
And I'm going to tell you from a mechanical perspective, it's as the oil starts to break down and wear out.
I'm not saying it's worn out at 3,000, but it's as the oil starts to accumulate miles,
you change the oil and the problem is gone for the first couple thousand miles and then it starts over again.
You know, is it that the oil change interval is too long?
I don't necessarily think so. I think, you know, a modern-day engine, 5 months, 5,000 miles,
a good full synthetic oil that meets manufacturer's spec, it should be fine.
Does Ford have the right spec oil? Are they missing an additive in that oil?
And that's possible, right?
I would at least talk to Ford corporate and say, hey, here's what happened.
I'm not thrilled with my new 25 Maverick. I should have bought a Toyota.
You know, although the Toyota engines blow up, that's a whole other.
Although I heard, I read the other day that they're starting that recall for the V6 twin turbos
and we're going to cover that in the future.
So, you know, I think it's time to go back to that Ford dealer and talk to the service manager
and say, hey, do you think this is an acceptable answer? Right?
Yeah, I would switch dealers.
Yeah, I think they owe you an explanation, right?
Yeah.
You know, is this the dealer you bought the vehicle from?
Yes.
Is this the first vehicle you bought from this dealership?
No, it's probably about the sixth vehicle I bought.
Okay, perfect. Do you always go to the same salesperson?
I did before, but he lost, so it's somebody different.
I went to the salesperson and he said there was nothing he could do.
They have to do it in the back.
Another guy that doesn't care about customer satisfaction, right?
Yeah.
You know, it's like mom always said, you let people go long enough,
they'll show you who they really are.
So, have you talked to the service manager yet?
No, because he was busy and basically I couldn't get to him.
I'm just done with the dealer.
So, here, do this, Bill. Just do this one last time.
Let's see how dumb they really are, all right?
Get the name of the owner of the dealership, the principal, right?
Get his email.
Probably find it on the website on Contact Us.
Put the sales manager, the service manager, the owner of the dealership on the email.
Hey, this is Bill, blah, blah, blah. This has been my experience.
This is what happened.
Why aren't we running an oil consumption test?
I have concerns because you're right.
As that engine starts to use oil, guess where all the burnt oil is going?
Out the exhaust.
Yeah.
And guess what it's going to coat, right?
The catalytic converter, right?
So, not at 10,000 miles, not at 40,000 miles,
but at 80,000 miles, when you have the,
what I'll tell you right now is it early premature catalytic converter failure
and it's at a warranty at 85,000 miles,
guess who's on the hook for it?
Yeah, I know.
You know?
This is like going to a restaurant and having a bad cheeseburger
and spending three grand to ensure that you get a better cheeseburger
so you don't get indigestion.
Why would you give them more money to prove how badly they can do their job?
They can't do it right in the first place.
Right?
Yeah, that's true.
Yeah, I just thought that if there was a problem,
because obviously I'm going like 20,000 miles a year.
Right.
Right.
I think it's three years warranty.
You're thinking right.
I mean, listen, I'm not saying don't do an extended warranty.
I'm looking for an answer that's going to make me happy
on how Ford's treating me with this vehicle,
because maybe I'm not keeping this vehicle as painful
and financially expensive that might be.
Maybe they're showing you who they are.
Yeah.
And to me, it's so easy to do.
Let's do an oil change.
Let's do an oil consumption test.
It's done on so many other vehicles
and it's not an unreasonable request.
All right?
Yeah.
And I know some of them, they already recall them,
but now I've been 25.
Yup.
There's some problems with the cylinder heads on that engine.
There are some known engine issues there.
Proceed down that path.
Let's give them one more chance.
And if that doesn't work, another dealer.
And if that doesn't work, oh, Toyota, what a feeling.
I'm running 80 in the car, doctor.
855560.
Well, it's the truth, isn't it?
8555609900.
I'll be back right after this.
Don't go away.
What if mind control is real?
If you could control the behavior of anybody around you,
what kind of life would you have?
Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?
When you look at your car,
you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings.
Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?
I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.
Can you get someone to join your cult?
NLP was used on me to access my subconscious.
NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming,
is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics, and psychology.
Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain.
It's about engineering consciousness.
Mind games is the story of NLP.
It's crazy cast of disciples and the fake doctor
who invented it at a New Age commune
and sold it to guys in suits.
He stood trial for murder and got acquitted.
The biggest mind game of all?
NLP might actually work.
This is wild.
Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This show contains information subject to,
but not limited to personal takes,
rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more.
What's up, man?
This is your boy Nell Green from the Broken Play podcast.
Look, it's the end of the season to play off of here.
But guess what?
It ain't the end of your season.
You can always tune in with Broken Play podcast
with Nell Green on the Black Effect podcast network.
Another team who ain't going to the playoffs.
They're cheese.
Oh, it's a wrap.
It's time to rebuild.
Who your MVP right now then?
Drake May up there.
Josh Allen up there still.
Oh, my boy, Matthew Stafford.
Where the hell Nick's at?
He ain't too far behind.
You did all this talking.
What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro, is crazy.
Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan,
but Matthew Stafford got a better weapon.
Caleb Williams.
Hey, he should be in that conversation.
In what conversation?
He should be in it.
Listen to Broken Play with Nell Green
from the Black Effect podcast network
on the I Heart Radio app.
Apple podcast or whatever you get your podcast.
On June 11th, 1998,
the deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
went missing.
It's an all out manhunt for John Auje.
Every search and rescue team in LA County
has been called in to help.
Within days,
tips started flooding into the Sheriff's Department.
The ruler around the drug scene
was that a deputy was taken care of.
Is this the story of a man
who just got lost in the desert
or of a cover up inside the nation's
largest Sheriff's Department?
A homicide captain saying,
detective, do not find out if this guy's guilty or innocent.
Who does that?
Valley of Shadows,
a new series from Pushkin Industries
about crime and corruption in California's high desert.
Do you have any advice for us
while looking into this disappearance?
I wouldn't do it alone.
Listen to Valley of Shadows
on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
And the winner of the I Heart podcast award is
You can decide who takes home
the 2026 I Heart podcast awards podcast of the year
by voting at I Heart podcast awards dot com
now through February 22nd.
See all the nominees and place your vote
at I Heart podcast awards dot com.
Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award.
Explore the best selection of audio books, podcasts
and originals all in one easy app.
Audible, there's more to imagine when you listen.
Sign up for a free trial at Audible dot com.
If your ride needs him wrong,
we'll keep you rolling right.
Yeah, he's the car doctor,
car advice done right.
Thank you boys in the band.
Hey, listen, I've got a little bit of radio business
that I'm going to ask you guys to help me with.
If you could help us,
it would really be appreciated.
Tell your friends, tell your neighbors,
you know, if you're not in an area where you take this show,
if you're a podcaster,
if you could drive them to the podcast, we'd appreciate it.
You know, we are looking to try and, you know,
get over the hump and get over the hurdle.
And we can always use a few more likes on Facebook.
We could always use a few more views on YouTube.
Some really great content coming up on the YouTube channel
in the next two weeks.
We did a trans service using the latest machine
from Mala, the ATX 280.
And we kind of walk you through the process of how you do the service
and some of the features and options you can do to do a trans service.
I know a lot of you have questions about that
and that will probably get published.
If it's not this Sunday, if it's not tomorrow Sunday at 3 o'clock,
it'll be the following Sunday.
So somewhere within the next two weeks,
check out the Rodinani and the Car Doctor YouTube channel.
You'll see it there.
Please take a look.
If you like it, give us a thumbs up.
If you don't, give us a thumbs down.
Either way, leave a comment.
Tell us what you like or don't like about it.
But we're looking for your comments.
We're looking for your content and feedback approval.
It's important to us.
Social media drives business today, unfortunately.
Fortunately and unfortunately.
But we're looking for that.
We're looking for podcast numbers and, of course, Facebook likes.
So anything you can do to help us, tell your friends, tell your family,
tell your loved ones, tell the people you don't even like.
Maybe we'll straighten them out too.
What's going on?
So we appreciate it.
Thank you.
Let's go over to Mike in Maine.
O4 Toyota Corolla.
Mike, what's going on here?
Yeah, as you say, I have a 2004 Toyota Corolla.
It's got 130,000 miles.
And I had a automatic transmission fluid drain in fill done and a synthetic was used.
Okay.
And the Toyota recommends a T4.
Right.
Type 4.
Type 4 fluid.
Yep.
Yep.
Conventional fluid.
Yep.
And like I say, they put a, and that's not a non, that's not a non,
that is a non synthetic fluid.
Correct.
And so I'm wondering, should I or can you mix it too, I guess?
And I'm wondering what your opinion is about that.
And what would you do at this point?
If it were your car, I realized they didn't change all of the transmission fluid.
I guess probably it was pretty near a half or a little less than half.
Yeah, you probably got about 30, 35% of it out of it.
You know, a lot of guys use synthetic trans fluid.
And I see this debate raging all over the place.
I'm a conventional trans oil type of guy.
All right.
Yeah.
Only because, and you know, it's, well, first of all, let's preface the question, right?
You know, transmission fluids.
I don't think, I think if you get 150 to 180,000 miles out of the original trans,
you did really well.
For whatever reason, transmissions don't hold up or don't seem to have the ability to hold up as an engine would.
I've seen engines with 300,000 miles on them.
And yes, somebody will, you know, prove me wrong and we'll get an internet troll to write me a nasty email saying,
Ron, I've got 400,000 miles on my transmission.
Congratulations.
You're the one.
You know, it's most of the time, even with reasonable care, somewhere in that 150 to 200,000 mile mark,
we're doing some kind of transmission repair replacement, et cetera.
Transmission fluid, in my opinion, needs to be changed on a consistent regular basis.
All right.
As it gets older, you know, everything in life is about cause and effect.
If I spend an extra $50 on synthetic fluid and the interval, the normal service interval is every 50,000 miles.
Am I going to let it go till 70?
Am I going to let it go till 80?
Where if I did that service every 50, and I did three of those and I was watching fluid, watching leaks,
watching performance, looking for particulate, looking for the trans to start to break down,
looking at fluid discoloration, aren't I better off doing that as the little old man gets older
rather than taking him in for his physical and check up when he turns 90 and saying,
how are his lungs?
He's been smoking all this time.
Yeah.
If I could make a comment here, one thing that threw me off,
because I'm saying that I had the transmission fluid replaced at 130,000 miles.
One thing that's thrown me off all along is on the transmission dipstick,
and I would check it occasionally.
It says on there not to change the transmission fluid under normal conditions.
So it kind of threw me off.
At a high school, this is back in 1970, I had worked, I took automotive mechanics for the engine,
but not the full car, back in high school, they used to offer that.
And anyway, back then, once I graduated, I worked for the brother-in-law who had an automotive shop,
and I picked up quite a few things.
But I remember back in those days, Ford had their own, Chevy had their own.
It seems like every make had their own transmission fluid.
And they still do.
And you'd go in there and you'd want a transmission change, a transmission fluid change,
and they would get what they recommended, what that manufacturer recommended.
The stuff here, I don't know if I should mention the name of it.
Go ahead.
The fluid.
It's called a Service Pro Global Full Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid.
They have quite a list.
I went on the site, they have quite a list for a lot of manufacturers.
And I was surprised, even BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Jaguar, et cetera.
And it seems like a one-size-fits-all, and I'm thinking, is that possible?
That's why I called up.
It's kind of scary to me that they're going to say one fluid fits every manufacturer.
Oh my, they have a list under each manufacturer.
You know, Mike, let me preface it this way.
Would I use it?
I would if they gave me a written guarantee that if the trans failed, they're going to cover it.
Only because we're living in a day and an age where I can get any fluid I want within hours.
It's not a matter of availability.
Is it a question of, will it last longer?
Boy, I'm telling you.
You know, you look at some of the additive packages they're putting in transmissions,
and you look at some of the fluids and some of the changes and some of the ways that they've designed the fluid to operate.
I don't know that we need to do that.
You know, if I was in the middle of, and no offense to, Oklahoma, right?
But Oklahoma, in my mind, being from New Jersey, where you stick your elbow out the window, you hit your neighbor,
Oklahoma to me is, you know, lots of elbow room and lots of space, Texas, Colorado, et cetera.
If I'm in a part of the country where it's difficult getting fluid, maybe that's the application I want to use,
or maybe I'm just going to order things three days ahead of time.
But I can't see, you'd really have to convince me and explain to me why a universal fluid in the day and modern age of fluid availability,
why I would want to do that.
Now, to get on to the other part of your question before I run out of time, what would I do in your scenario?
I'd put about 4 or 5,000 miles on that transmission, and I would take it to my local shop and have a fluid exchange done.
I would get the rest of the fluid out.
I would do an exchange either by trans-cooler line.
Now, they don't necessarily need a transmission fluid exchange machine.
It makes life easier, right?
But they can do it through the cooler lines, disconnecting the hoses and doing a fill into a bucket and a fill up the hose.
It can be done.
That transmission has a dipstick, so adding fluid becomes a lot easier.
And be honest with you, I see no reason not to use type 4 Toyota fluid, right?
And even though that stick says never needs to be serviced, that's kind of a different conversation.
Because the truth is, there are additive packages added to trans-fluid that helps promote their life and endurance and friction and stickability and all sorts of other things.
And the fluid does wear out, all right?
And I've talked about this, where I've had Toyotas that run on WS fluid, where they get to that 70,000 mile mark and the trans does start to chatter.
And they have rough shifts, and they're not smooth.
And you're like, oh my god, I need a transmission.
You change the fluid, the problem goes away.
That is one of the reasons I'm calling, because I have a van also about the same mileage.
And I've never changed the transmission fluid in that.
What kind of van?
And it's a Toyota Sienna.
I'm a gambler.
There are some disadvantages and some possible problems on changing trans-fluid that long-term hasn't been serviced.
But I like to know when my stuff is going to fail.
So I would change the fluid.
I would first do a drain and fill, get out a little bit, let it again, 4,000 or 5,000 miles like you did with this other one.
And then I would do a fluid exchange and get the rest of it out.
But you've got to really convince me why I would want to stray and go from manufacturer-specific fluid.
And I'm not saying it has to come from Toyota.
There's a lot of sources for a Type 4 trans-fluid from other places.
But to start putting universal fits all, brother, transmissions are too expensive to take the gamble with.
I just can't see it and I don't understand why anybody would do it.
You'd have to really convince me.
And that's about where I'm going to leave it.
Mike, I appreciate the call. You be well.
855-560-9900, the car doctor's coming back right after this.
NLP was used on me to access my subconscious.
NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming, is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics, and psychology.
Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain.
It's about engineering consciousness.
Mind games is the story of NLP.
It's crazy cast of disciples and the fake doctor who invented it at a New Age commune and sold it to guys in suits.
He stood trial for murder and got acquitted.
The biggest mind game of all, NLP might actually work.
This is wild.
Listen to mind games on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
On June 11th, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went missing.
It's an all-out manhunt for John Auje.
Every search and rescue team in LA County has been called in to help.
Within days, tips started flooding into the Sheriff's Department.
The ruler around the drug scene was that a deputy was taken care of.
Is this the story of a man who just got lost in the desert or of a cover-up inside the nation's largest Sheriff's Department?
A homicide captain saying, detective, do not find out if this guy's guilty or innocent.
Who does that?
Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries about crime and corruption in California's high desert.
Do you have any advice for us while looking into this disappearance?
I wouldn't do it alone.
Listen to Valley of Shadows on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not-so-accurate stats, and plenty more.
What's up, man? This is your boy, Nav Green from the Broken Play Podcast.
Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. But guess what?
It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcasts with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs. They're cheese.
Oh, it's a wrap.
It's time to rebuild.
Who your MVP right now then?
Drake May up there. Josh Allen up there still.
Oh, my boy, Matthew Stafford.
Where did he go next at?
He ain't too far behind.
He did all this talking.
What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro, is crazy.
Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan.
What Matthew Stafford got?
Better weapon.
Caleb Williams.
Hey, he should be in that conversation.
In what conversation?
He should be in it. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the I Heart Radio Apple Podcast or whatever you get your podcast.
Explore the best selection of audio books, podcasts and originals all in one easy app, Audible.
There's more to imagine when you listen.
Sign up for a free trial at Audible.com.
Let's, uh, let's, well, we're back. Let's go to Kevin in Florida. Kevin, what's going on?
Hey, Ron, how's it going?
All right, sir. How can I help?
I've been seeing advertisements for these new tools that you clip your iPhone 2 or your cell phone to when you download an app and you can do a four wheel or a front wheel alignment on your car.
I was wondering what, if you saw them and what you think of them.
I've seen them. What year make model car are we talking about?
I'm all just any car. You can put it on. You can use it on any car, I guess.
I think, I think if I was trying to line up the wheels on a 72 Chevelle, maybe cause there's three basic adjustments.
Um, but, but, you know, for a modern day automobile, camber, cast or tow, centerline, steering axis inclination and all the rest.
And then, and, and then the involvement of ADOS, automated driver assist and, you know, having to be steering angle sensor sensitive and your sensor position sensitive and everything else.
You know, you don't think a cell phone could do all that?
Well, let me answer it this way. Right. Let me, let me answer it this way. You've heard of MIT.
Yep.
Right. Up in MIT, the great institution up in Boston, they just got a Terahertz microscope. All right.
And this Terahertz microscope can actually look at superconducting electrons, which is something that is obviously they've never seen before.
They can look through quantum physics and they can actually see movement at a subatomic level that they've never seen.
If I were to put one of those apps under that microscope to look at it, I still couldn't find a reason on why they would exist.
Because to me, it just, it just doesn't make any sense. You can go down to an alignment shop that's competent, that's got the right equipment, the right training and, you know, if there's an issue.
Now, that having been said, have you tried getting alignment stunts? There's always a reason somebody asked me that question and it can't just be about cost.
All right. Is it that you've tried getting alignment stunts and, you know, you haven't gotten them done right or is there more to it than that?
No, I just saw the tool and it caught my attention and I was wondering.
I think those tools are there for the guys with the tuner cars that are, you know, going to the track and they're trying to change adjustments and alignments and angles.
But I can't believe that a $200 app can take the place of a $70,000 alignment machine on a consistent, repeatable basis and cover all the angles.
Because we're not just aligning the front wheels, we're aligning four wheels, you know, we're aligning those wheels to the center of the vehicle.
There's so many more angles and so much more geometry to consider that, again, if I put it under the Terahertz microscope at MIT, I still wouldn't be able to find a reason why those exist.
All right, Kevin, I got to go, babe. You be well. Thank you for the call. I appreciate it. Take good care. You're welcome. Bye-bye.
I'm Ron Anani in the car doctor. We are back right after this.
What if mind control is real?
If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have?
Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?
When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings.
Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?
I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.
Can you get someone to join your cult?
NLP was used on me to access my subconscious.
NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming, is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics, and psychology.
Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain.
It's about engineering consciousness.
Mind games is the story of NLP.
It's crazy cast of disciples and the fake doctor who invented it at a New Age commune and sold it to guys in suits.
He stood trial for murder and got acquitted.
The biggest mind game of all?
NLP might actually work.
This is wild.
Listen to mind games on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more.
What's up, man? This is your boy Nan Green from the Broken Play podcast.
Look, it's the end of the season, the play-offs are here, but guess what?
It ain't the end of your season.
You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcasts with Nan Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Another team won't go into the play-off.
They're cheese.
What's around?
It's time to rebuild.
Who your MVP right now then?
Drake May up there.
Josh Allen up there still.
Oh, my play.
Matthew Stafford.
Where are you from, Nixxac?
He ain't too far behind.
You did all this talking.
What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro, is crazy.
Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan, but Matthew Stafford got a better weapon.
Caleb Williams.
Hey, he should be in that conversation.
In what conversation?
He should be in it.
Listen to Broken Play with Nan Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeart Radio app.
Apple Podcasts or whatever you get your podcasts.
On June 11th, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went missing.
It's an all-out manhunt for John Auje.
Every search and rescue team in LA County has been called in to help.
Within days, tips started flooding into the Sheriff's Department.
The ruler around the drug scene was that a deputy was taken care of.
Is this the story of a man who just got lost in the desert?
Or of a cover-up inside the nation's largest Sheriff's Department?
A homicide captain saying, detective, do not find out if this guy's guilty or innocent.
Who does that?
Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries about crime and corruption in California's high desert.
Do you have any advice for us while looking into this disappearance?
I wouldn't do it alone.
Listen to Valley of Shadows on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com.
If you're using true fuel in a snowblower and have finished with it for the winter, do you still drain the fuel and run the engine dry?
Yes, I do, because I can, because it's fairly easy to do.
And I will leave the fuel in there over the course of the winter.
I'll get the blower out early November, fill it up, let it run, yada yada yada.
Winter here in New Jersey can last five months, so until the end of March, don't have an issue.
But then he goes on to say, I ask because I have a generator that has quite an involved storage process,
but the manual keeps referring to E15 with no mention of true fuel or pure gas.
I don't think you should have an issue with true fuel.
I've run it in every small engine I've ever had for the last, I don't know how long has it been available, 10, 15 years,
probably longer actually when I think about it.
We used to have a generator at the house, which was a traditional, you know, roll it around on a cart, plug in,
you could plug in a main extension cord and power up the refrigerator, the furnace.
I actually had the house wired, so I had like a sub-panel for the panel,
but I could turn that panel on, power it through the generator, run the fridge, the furnace.
One room, we picked one room in the house where we could run the lights, the TV, the internet.
It was the room with the fireplace, et cetera, in the event of a snowstorm, you could stay warm.
That generator, I still started every three months.
I had it set at the beginning of each quarter, first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, and so on.
That first Saturday, I would always go out and spend a half hour just running the generator to make sure that it ran.
I kept true fuel in that, never changed from it, never drained it out.
It was always active, it was always in there.
Did I forget once in a while to go out and do the generator?
Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't.
There were periods of time, six months.
One time I probably forgot about it for longer than that, and I came back to it and it still worked.
I will take true fuel, ethanol-free gas, and true fuel happens to be the brand name,
but I will take true fuel, Home Depot, right?
I've got a collection, I've got an assortment.
It could be a year, a year and a half old.
I'll use it in the blower, and away we go, it works fine.
So I don't have a problem with it.
If it's a process to shut down the generator dodge, leave it in, keep running it.
You should be checking in on a regular basis anyway, but I've had very, very good success with it.
I hope that answers it for you.
Till the next time, I'm Ron Anani and The Car Doctor.
Absolutely loving every minute with you guys.
Remember, good mechanics aren't expensive, they're priceless.
See ya.
Black History lives in our stories, our culture, and the conversations we still having today.
This Black History Month, the podcast I didn't know.
Maybe you didn't either?
Digs into the moments, perspectives, and experiences that don't always make the textbook.
Let me tell you about Garrett Morgan.
Bruh had to pretend he didn't even exist just to sell his own invention.
Listen to I Didn't Know.
Maybe you didn't either?
From the Black Effect Podcast Network, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast,
or simply wherever you get your podcast.
On June 11th, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went missing.
Hey, don't kill a cop and bury him.
What are you going to do to me?
What really happened to the missing deputy?
Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries about crime and corruption in California's high desert.
Listen to Valley of Shadows on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
And guess what?
It ain't the end of your season.
You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs.
They're cheap.
It's time to rebuild.
Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcast, or whatever you get your podcast.
People who didn't do what John of God wanted them to do, they usually disappeared.
John of God was once Brazil's most famous spiritual healer.
But in this limited series podcast, we uncover the darker truth behind his global empire of faith and fear.
From exactly right and adonde media, this is Too Faced, John of God.
Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is an iHeart Podcast.
Guaranteed human.
About this episode
Ron Ananian shares his hands-on experience with a restoration project on his 1972 Monte Carlo, detailing the challenges faced during repairs. From replacing a crucial vacuum hose to upgrading the dashboard and heater core, Ron illustrates how small issues can snowball into larger problems in auto repair. He discusses the difficulties of sourcing parts and the unexpected complications that arise, all while maintaining a humorous tone. Listeners will appreciate his insights into the realities of working on classic cars and the importance of thorough preparation.
Original notes
Ron opens the hour talking about the snowball effect in auto repair and how the crew deals with a slow week at the shop.
- Grab your Car Doctor gear – T-shirts & more at CarDoctorShow.com
-
Follow the wrench – Instagram @ronananian for shop life & behind-the-scenes
-
Watch & learn – Auto repair tips & videos on our YouTube Channel
-
Got a car question? Call the Car Doctor Hotline 24/7 – (855) 560-9900
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