Some cars have “anti-theft” lug nuts. They need a special key to take them off, so if you don’t know where the key is, you may not be able to change a flat tire.
Lug nuts are the bolts that hold your wheel onto the car. If you know how many your car has, it helps you make sure you’re dealing with the right wheel setup.
The Ford F-100 is a pickup truck made by Ford. It’s meant for hauling and everyday driving, and some versions can be set up to drive on rough roads using four-wheel drive. People talk about it a lot because keeping the engine in good shape is important for these older trucks.
A naturally aspirated engine doesn’t use a turbo to cram extra air in. It can be simpler and sometimes more predictable to own, even if it may not feel as punchy as a turbo.
A turbo is a device that uses the engine’s exhaust to push extra air into the engine. More air usually means more power, but it can also mean more parts that can wear out over time.
Fuel economy is how far you can drive on a gallon of gas (or how much gas you use). Higher fuel economy usually means better efficiency, but it may come with tradeoffs.
Active Fuel Management is a feature that can turn off some cylinders when you’re not using much power. That helps save gas, but it adds extra complexity compared with a straightforward engine setup.
They’re talking about the Chevrolet Camaro, a popular American performance car. The point here is that they think you should get the more powerful version and take care of it.
An extended warranty is extra coverage you buy after the original warranty ends. If something breaks, it can help pay for the repair—depending on the fine print.
Ether is a quick-start chemical. People spray it to see if the engine will catch fire—if it still won’t start, that points more toward an ignition or electrical problem than just a lack of fuel.
The throttle body controls how much air gets into the engine. If you spray starting fluid into the throttle body, you’re giving the engine something it can ignite to test whether it can fire.
This is the part that helps your engine decide exactly when to make the spark. If it fails, the engine may crank but won’t start because there’s no spark at the right time.
Instead of being built right into the distributor, this module is mounted somewhere else and connected by wires. That changes where you check for problems like bad connectors or damaged wiring.
A wiring diagram is like a map of the car’s electrical connections. It helps you follow which wires go where so you can test the right parts instead of guessing.
Cars need a solid electrical “return path” back to the battery. If the metal body isn’t making a good electrical connection (often due to rust), computers and sensors can malfunction.
This sensor tells the engine computer how much air is coming in. If it reads wrong, the computer may add too much or too little fuel, and the engine will run badly.
The ignition module is part of the system that helps create the spark at the right time. If it’s not working, the engine may not start or may run rough.
Contaminated fuel is fuel that’s been mixed with something it shouldn’t have, like water or dirt. That can mess up how the engine burns fuel, so the car runs rough or feels weak.
A pressure relief port is a built-in access point where a mechanic can safely release or sample fuel pressure. It helps them check what’s actually in the fuel system instead of guessing.
The distributor cap is a component that helps send the ignition spark to the right spark plug. If it’s damaged or dirty, the engine can misfire and run poorly.
In older cars, the distributor is like a switchbox for the spark plugs. The “distributor body” is the outer housing that holds the internal parts that decide which cylinder gets spark.
A Hall effect sensor is a small electronic sensor that helps the ignition system know when to fire the spark. If it’s failing, the car may crank but not start, or it may start only sometimes.
A relay is like an electrical “switch” that turns power on and off to a component. If the relay is bad, the car can click and refuse to start reliably even though the starter may still crank.
Nissan is the car brand. Here, the speaker is talking about how Nissan’s parts department should be able to find the correct relay for the specific car.
Term
engineering number
An engineering number (often an internal or supersession identifier) is a manufacturer’s technical reference used to track a component across revisions and applications. The speaker is saying that even with this identifier, the dealer should be able to cross-reference the correct relay.
The fuse box is where the car keeps its electrical protection devices. Relays are often located there too, so knowing the exact spot helps you get the correct part.
Brand
Quinn trim Or Trimmer Motorsports Racing
This is the name of the racing group they’re talking about before the next interview.
Before a race, officials check the car to make sure it follows the rules. If something is set up too far out of spec, like ride height, the team can be penalized or forced to start at the back.
Term
ridehead
This sounds like they mean the car’s ride height—how high or low it sits relative to the ground. If they lower it too much, the car can break the race rules and they may have to start from the back.
Term
RECs
“RECs” sounds like a shorthand for race interruptions—like when there’s an incident and the race rules change temporarily. The speaker is saying they avoided those situations while moving up through the field.
“Tires” in racing usually refers to managing tire wear and grip over a stint, not just having tires on the car. The team’s strategy (“saving our tires”) implies they balanced pace with durability to maintain performance until the end.
Ride height is how high the car sits off the ground. If it’s too low, the bottom of the car can hit the road or track, and the suspension can run out of travel.
Term
belly pen
This sounds like “belly pan,” which is a panel underneath the car. If the car sits too low, that panel can drag or scrape on the track.
Term
big three fifty Chevy
“Big three fifty Chevy” means a Chevrolet engine that’s 350 cubic inches. Bigger displacement often helps make more power for racing.
“Loose is fast” is a racing saying meaning that a car that rotates more readily (often via controlled oversteer) can carry speed through corners. The idea is that the car’s balance lets it turn and stay planted without being overly tight or understeery.
Oversteer is when the back of the car wants to swing out more than the front. A little can help you turn, but too much makes the car harder to control.
Term
top side
On a banked track, the "top side" means driving the higher line near the outside. That line can feel faster, but it can also stress the tires more and make them lose grip.
“Rubbered up” means the track has built up a layer of tire rubber from earlier cars. That usually makes the surface stickier and gives better grip, but if it gets too hot, it can actually get slippery.
The “checkered flag” is the official finish signal at the end of a race. If someone says they’re aiming for the checkered flag, they mean they want to win.
A “setup” is how a race car is tuned for a specific track and day. It can include adjustments that affect how the car grips the road and handles through turns.
Topic
To Rebuild or Not To Rebuild? The PowerStroke Question
This part talks about why race teams keep changing the car’s setup during a season. It connects to the episode’s bigger question about whether you should rebuild something or keep tuning and fixing as you go.
Race tracks don’t stay the same. As tires run on the surface (and sometimes rain hits), the grip level changes, and the car may need adjustments so it drives the way it should.
A repavement is when the track gets a new layer of asphalt. Because the surface is different, the tires grip differently, and teams often have to adjust the car to match.
Term
pavement cracks
Cracks in the asphalt can hold onto rubber from tires. If rain washes that rubber out, the track can become grippier or less grippy, and the car may need adjustments.
“Geometry” here means how the wheels are aimed and how the suspension is set. If you hit something and it bends parts a little, the wheel angles change, and the car won’t handle the same—so you adjust it back.
Term
bends a rod
“Bends a rod” means a metal suspension/steering link gets slightly bent after a hit. That small change can throw off wheel alignment and handling, even if you don’t notice it right away.
Drive line fluids are the oils that lubricate the drivetrain parts that transfer power to the wheels. Changing them helps keep those components from wearing out too fast.
An engine reseal is when the shop replaces the worn rubber/plastic sealing parts that keep oil from leaking. It’s usually done when leaks are coming from multiple places or the seals are old.
The rear main seal is a gasket/seal near the back of the engine crankshaft. When it wears out, oil can leak from the bottom of the engine, and the fix often involves resealing more than just that one spot.
A water pump moves coolant through the engine so it doesn’t overheat. The host is pointing out that replacing a water pump used to be cheaper, and it’s much more expensive on today’s vehicles.
The thermostat helps control engine temperature by deciding when coolant should start flowing. The host groups it with other cooling-system parts that are often replaced together during a repair.
Radiator hoses are the tubes that move coolant around the engine and radiator. The point here is that hoses are often replaced during cooling-system work, and today’s hoses can be more expensive and complicated.
A coolant exchange is the process of draining old coolant and replacing it with fresh coolant. It’s part of cooling-system service because old coolant can lose corrosion protection and heat-transfer performance over time.
Resealing the engine means fixing leaks by replacing the gasket and seal parts that keep oil from escaping. The host is saying it can cost thousands on older cars, so owners may question whether to keep repairing.
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You're listening to Ron and Nanian The Car Doctor, nationally recognized auto expert trusted by Mechanics, Weekend wrenchers and vehicle owners Alife. Ron brings over forty years of hands on
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Join The Conversation Live every Saturday from two to four pm Eastern by calling eight five to five five six zero nine nine zero zero. That's a five to five
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start your injuries. The Car Doctor is into garage and
ready to take your call.
I just want to say thank you everybody for joining us this week. It's great to be here with all
of you. Busy week in the shop, busy week in
the shop, as all of you are preparing to get away for fourth of July. I kept wanting to do
a reel this week up on Instagram, and I failed to do it. We were just so busy we couldn't
get to it. And by now, well I guess it's
too late. You're already where you were supposed to be.
You're already where you're going, So you got there. I
want to point out though, that do you know where your wheelock key is? And this one's for Andy. At
the gym, Andy was telling me the story about his buddy who had a BMW that got a flat after the car was in a pretty severe accent. Was a
stolen recovery. Actually, I'm sorry. And you know, he got
a flat a couple of weeks later last weekend and when they went looking for the wheelock key to change the spare tire over, he didn't have the wheelock key.
It wasn't in the vehicle. And then he had to
stay where he was down in Maryland, and it just became a real Michig as his mom would say. So,
you know, just make sure look at your lugnuts, right if you've got four lug nuts a five lug wheel.
If you've got four lug nuts and one of them looks kind of funny like it's got a little etch top, that's a wheel lock, make sure you know where the wheelock key is in your car before you travel out on the road much further and know where it is and keep it in the same spot. And when you're
getting your car back from the repair shop, always check to make sure they put it in that spot. We
avoid that problem at the shop. We've got our own system.
We will tell somebody, Hey, Tom, here's your wheel lock key.
I'll hand it to you. I'll say, hey, this is
where we found it. Put it back there. We put
a note in the file. But just to know where
that wheel lock key is. I felt Andy's frustration. I
can imagine his friend's frustration not knowing where that wheel lock key is. He had to stay overnight in a
hotel because the dealership wasn't open till Monday morning. So
we lost a day's pay and had aggravation, nothing worse.
So just be aware where is your wheel lock key.
It's so simple and so important. Hey, let's kick the
garage doors open this hour. Let's go over to Gil
in Tucson, Arizona. Gil. I have to ask, because I
think New Jersey had to be hotter than Arizona this week.
It was one hundred and three here in New Jersey.
Part of the day yesterday or the day before. How
hot was it in Arizona?
Well, Ron, we we were cooler than you were. We
actually had a cooling trend. I don't think I got
over one hundred this week.
Well now I think you are correct. Jeez, I feel
so much better. Maybe I'm not sure, you know. And
you know, I've got to tell you I thought Arizona because I have friends that live in Arizona and New Mexico, and they always say, well, you know, it's a drier heat.
I don't care. One hundred degrees is still one hundred degrees.
It's hot, brother, So.
I agree, it's hot. Yep, anyway you look at it.
He also a real mischigasas. What the world is that?
That's the new term. I've never heard it before.
Michig as. That was my mom. You know, I don't
know where. Listen, my mother was the only Armenian woman
I ever met that could speak Yiddish. I think it
was Yiddish. I'm not sure where she got it from.
But you didn't argue with mom, you know it was.
Mom was four foot ten, and you know it just I don't know who I wanted to face more, all right, if I got in trouble around town and all the cops knew me because I was the kid out there with hot rods, they you know, they refer me to the police lieutenant. The police lieutenant would call me up
and say, well, you know you can come here. I'll
talk to you at headquarters. Do you want to go
home and see your mother? I said, I'll come. I'll
see at headquarters. What time are you going to be there?
Tell you didn't want to face mom. You just you
just didn't brother because she was fiery.
So I love it.
How can I help you today, sir?
Well, anyway, enjoy your showing his pleasure talking to Tom, and also thank you for the T shirt. I will
wear it prouably here in Tucson.
Oh, in good health.
Sir.
We're happy to give it to you. We're giving away
T shirts this hour. By the way, for everybody listening in,
all you got to do is call in. What's on
your mind?
My question is this ron. I'm in the market for
a new truck, and basically it's come down to which the car company has got the least us problems in their engines. It's basically come down to Ford f one
point fifty half ton four by four. I want a
toe probably no more than four to five thousand pounds.
So I was considering both the two seven Ego Boost turbo Ego Boost and the five O Coyote. And I'll
tell you what I've what I've done. I've actually read
too much on the internet about about the ego boosts, and sometimes all you hear is the horror stories. But
I wanted to have your opinion on, uh, which which engine would you choose to naturally aspirted five to zero or the two point seven? And there is the two
point seven? Do you think a reliable motor?
I think they're probably both more reliable than they used to be. And I'll tell you why, because they've they've
they've both had so many problems. They've both been extensively
looked at by Ford Engineering and had so many corrections to them. Me myself, and I'm not I'm not trying
to be old school or old fashioned. I will take
naturally aspirated over turbo charges and I'll tell you why if I'm keeping the truck short three years. Turbos are great.
There are a lot of fun that boost. It kicks in,
it takes off it's got horsepower, et cetera. If I'm
keeping that truck ten years in year seven, when the turbo fails at one hundred and fifty thousand miles, am I really ready to put four or five grand into it to repair it? And that naturally aspirated engine doesn't
have that? Now, now, the turbo motor does give me
more bang for the buck in terms of fuel economy.
I don't worry about fuel economy. I don't travel far.
It's not part of my agenda. But I would probably
choose the five zero. Now, before I close this out,
the other comment I want to throw at you is if you can find one, I think in the world of GM, a six point six leader, no active fuel management, no turbo, almost four hundred cubic inches, big truck, twenty five hundred. Yeah right, you know, if you can find
a two or three year old six six with the with the six speed trans yeah, great truck, great truck, not a lot of problems.
All right.
Well, yeah, the inner child in me wants the turbo, but the senior citizen and me does get the five zero.
Well, listen, that's a different question. Let me here, wait me,
let me change my Okay, I got my other shirt on. Yes,
my son, how can I help you? What is it
that I can do for you, my child? You know, listen,
you know there's an old expression, right, life's too short.
By the camaro. Life's too short. Get the turbo, you know,
get the turbo, put the extended warranty on it. Do
your oil changes. Live a little all right.
I have to agree with you, though, I just wanted to hear it from a pro. You know, I've got
a five O up. I'm actually looking at the hurricane
engine until I started reading about Bellows and then the five to seven. Hemi's got that torque e tork now.
So anyway, well, I think you answered my question for me. Ron,
I'm going to go to five ozho and it'll give me.
I'm just interested in reliability and get me from point A to point B. Yeah, through space and and without headaches.
And listen, we could always do we could always do what we did, you know, Listen, I lived through the end of the muscle car era, and I remember when the seventy threes and the seventy fours came out and they had all smog pumps and they had no horse power and a vacuum cleaner had more horsepower than a Chevrolet Big Block at the time. We said, hey, if
it don't go chrome it, you can put wheels and tires on it. So you know, if you don't think
it's fast enough, just put just put a lot of chrome and bling on it and you'll be through. So
Gil t shirts coming. You're away, my friend, and remember.
Yeah, I appreciate it.
Everything is so much rot. You're very welcome. Everything is
Mischa Guss. Let's let's pull over and take the pause.
Eight five five five six oh nine nine zero zero run on ending of the car. Doctor coming back right
after this. Hey, let's go to Joe and Iowa, Joe,
how can I help you today? You in your ninety
four miles? But what's going on?
Yep? I had two vehicles I want to ask you
about right sure in ninety four miles. It's my kids truck.
And he was driving it here three weeks ago and he drove to the gas station, got fueled and didn't get it restarted. So I told him, I said, well
it would crank and everything. He wouldn't fire, and I said, well,
go get it right home. We could take him home
and get some ether and stuff and told him to put it in a throttle body of a squirt of it, a couple of squirts and see if it fires. Well,
it didn't spark or anything. He said, it didn't.
Pop her anything.
Okay, I figured.
I figured it's a electrical issue. And I haven't looked
at it. I mean I did glance at it and
look it over one day, and I haven't done anything with it because we had some other things going on.
But you know, I'm just kind of wondering. I started
looking at the manual today and I'm wondering about the ignition control module and how how often do those? Do
those go bad?
Well, we're you know, keep keep in mind now before you before you go further ninety four, two thousand and four, twenty fourteen, what are we forty? No, we're thirty years old, right,
we're thirty two years old? Oh yeah, so, so how
often do things fail? Kind of goes out the window. Right.
The other question will become parts of availability, just to keep just to keep this real. Are we going to
be able to find a good quality after market replacement ignition module? Heck, we couldn't find good quality after market
replacing ignition modules twenty years ago. So you know, you know,
what does MAZ that have of it? And for that matter,
you know, and I'm trying to remember, this is what it is, a B twenty three hundred truck, Joe three thousand, okay, same thing. You know, where is the module? Is the
module inside the distributor?
It's a remote mounted module.
Okay, So can we get a wiring diagram? Do we
have power? Do we have ground? How much rust is
on this truck? And I know that's a weird question.
Yeah, you know, it's got some rust and things on it.
But I mean when I looked at like where the modules at it look it looked pretty decent up there.
You know, right, But keep in mind, you know, are we missing a body ground somewhere? And you know, is
there something that's preventing a control module from functioning correctly?
And do we have spark? You know you're going on
the assumption or you know for a fact it does not have spark.
Well, well, a little later, a few days later, I went over and I thought I'd crank at myself and see what it's going to do. Well, it fired up
and it started running and stuff. But it's running pretty sour.
It's like it's running like there's I mean, like the mass airflow sensors or something is not working, you know, correctly. Uh,
it was island high and didn't I think if I remember, I was idle hiding when I idle back down and stuff like that. And I told him too when he
that day it wouldn't start, I said, take some you know, mass airflow censor off and clean the sensor. And he
said he cleaned it there where it was broke down, and that didn't seem to help either.
You know, let's do let's do this, Joe. This is
this is a three leader correct, this is a three leader Ford motor. Yeah, all right, So the ignition module
is mounted on the fender. Well, and it's it's a
Ford engine, right, it's got a Ford distributor in it.
Well, I imagine it. I imagine it is.
Yeah.
I mean, if you first thing I want you to do, first thing I want you to do is pull a fuel sample, because it's it's just too weird that you put fuel in it and it wouldn't start. I don't
think it's a I don't think it's a fuel issue.
You know. My my question would be how low was
the tank when he when he went in to get gas.
Was it was it on e Was it at a half a tank?
You know?
How fast did the fuel get to the front of the engine If it is contaminating? You know, all those
thoughts go through my head. But I want to eliminate.
You know, what's good. Tell me what's good. I'll tell
you what's bad. I just want to know, does it
does it have contaminated fuel in it? All? Right?
Uh huh? Probably that was That was my first thought,
that it was running kind of He said it was kind of running kind of sour. At some point before then.
I said, well, you know, I said fill it up with premium, you know, it's what I told him that, And that's what he did. He went, and I don't
think it was empty at the time he filled it.
He actually broke down at the gas station, right down.
So I don't I don't. I don't think so, Joe.
But it's it's simple enough because there should be a pressure relief port to tap into and pull a fuel sample out of it and and just see what that is.
So that's number one. Number two. Did we pull a
spark plug wire off and using a spark tester check to see if we have spark.
You know, at the time, I didn't. But when I
when I started it later, I figured, you know, it's got to have a spark because it was running at that time, but running pretty bad.
Right well, when when it when it didn't run, did we check it for spark?
No?
No, I you know, no, didn't check it at that time.
So right now it's running, but it runs poorly.
Yeah, I didn't cut. He hasn't drove it or anything.
It's all right.
Let's let's let's let's do a fuel sample, all right, because maybe there's more than one problem. Let's do a
fuel sample. Let's pull the distributor cap off. Is there
any oil inside the distributor body?
Yeah?
See, I didn't pull the distributor okay.
And then let's look at the base of the inside the distributor. There's going to be a hale effect or
stater switch it was called. It's encased in black or
white rubber, all right? Is that gummy and soft? Is
the is the state or falling apart? Just something to
look for would not be completely uncommon, all right. And
then if we can get this to go into a failure mode. Does this have spark when it dies? There
may be multiple problems. It's thirty two years old. All right, yeah,
I got two minutes left. What's your second question?
Well, the second one is the twenty fourteen niece on Titan, and it's got an issue where it once it'll start, sometimes it won't. It cranks all the time, but it'll click,
and you like to relay clicking. But we thought we'd
go ahead and I said, well, let's pull the relay out and check, maybe change to relay. We pulled the
relay out kind of cracked it, which wasn't good. And
I've tried and tried. I've looked and looked and looked
trying to find a relay and hit what a pain in the neck this has been. But I finally I
can type in Google the numbers off the relay. But
I Panasonic. It's a Panasonic relay in AIS and they
have a three digit prefix on the end. I haven't
been able to find out what those mean. I think
it's a Nissan exclusive. It's an H seven eight.
And I will well, Joe, can I ask you why are you not just going to Nissan and buying a relay.
We tried that too, and I've talked to several parts guys from Nissan coming up with different relays, and the one, yeah, the one we first when we got don't believe it's the right one. But I've talked to some different ones
and they have it like a recall relay, and it's like, you can't figure out what the heck.
Okay, so here, let's let's let's back up before the clock gets me. If you give the Nissan dealer the
last date, last day digits of the VIN and then give him the part number of the relay in your hand, they can't look up the relay.
Yeah, apparently apparently not when we went to the one dealer.
Okay, find another, find find another dealer, Joe, all right.
I've never seen a case where if I give them a part number, if I give them an engineering number, they can't cross reference it and come up with the same. Now,
maybe you don't have a starter relay in your hand, although you know, I'm assuming you do because it clicked and you pulled it out and now it doesn't click anymore.
So it sounds like you're headed in the right direction.
But positive identification. Listen, if they've got that big a
problem finding it. You're not gonna find it. You've got
to find a dealer that a parts department that knows what they're doing, that's got a better understanding of it.
If you have to text them a picture of where it's located in the fuse box. But let's identify the
relay before we possibly buy the wrong thing. I'm ronnin
Ady and the car Doctor Quentin trim Or Trimmer Motorsports Racing is coming up next. We'll be back right after.
This from the city streets to the open roads.
And now.
If you're ready's help will keep you only away. Yay's
a car doctor jar advice. Do you know a couple
of weeks ago we talked too, well, it was probably more like two months ago. We talked to Quinn trim
Or Trimmer Motorsports, and we thought it would be a fun time to get back to them. You know, fourth
of July weekend.
Uh.
You know, racing is a big part of America, and you know here we are celebrating our two hundred and fiftieth anniversary and we always sit down and talk to Quinn and see what's new is they've been racing down their wall Stadium, mister Trimmor, Welcome back, sir.
How you doing to talk to you guys?
Look at this right, you're you're you're like now, you're a professional race car driver and you're a professional radio star.
You have, you have two careers going on at the same time.
So really great, great to be here. Thanks for having
me again.
Well, you know, it's always a pleasure listening. We love
what you guys do and we're excited to have you with us. Since the last time we talked, you've been
down to Wall Stadium a couple of times.
You know.
I think the last time we talked were you You were back in the pack, right, you were seventh or eighth or something in the standings.
Yeah, we were somewhere in the middle of the field.
We weren't too high up in points. We didn't have
a bad finish, don't get me wrong, but we certainly were fighting some some gremlins in the car that were preventing from the turning. Something struggled with all of twenty
twenty five.
So where are you now? I mean, I understand the
weather hasn't been great and you know, you you continue to have some issues, but you know, you've raced a couple of times. Now what were the races, Like, what's
going on with the car?
Yeah, so you know after the finish that we had an opening night with the car not wanting to turn really good in the middle of the corner. We really
had to get after in the shop. And we had
one hundred lap race almost you know, a week after we had our interview the first time, and we were coming out pretty strong. We still had a bit of
an issue with the car turning, but we started to fix it. So we qualified second in that race, which
was a great starting spot, but we went for a extra adjustment because I thought the car could use a little bit more. We failed pre race inspection because we
had lowered our ridehead just a little too much, so we started for the back of the pack. But coming
from the back of the pack, avoiding some RECs, saving our tires, and just keeping a consistent pace, we ended up working our way up to fifth place and that's where we ended up. So that's a pretty good finish.
That's that's that's gotta be tough, right, You work all week and you know, you get the car all set up and just one little quarter turn of an adjustment too far, and all of a sudden you're at the back of the pack and they say, hey, that's too much.
You can't do that. I can imagine.
Yeah, it has to be because you know that adjustment is going to be good. You know, you know it's
helping the car out. It's just too little, too late, right.
I wonder why you know too low? Is you know
everybody could go that low if they wanted to, right?
Is it just a matter if they're trying to keep you guys you know in similar cars? Do you think
or is it a safety thing? Is there a reason
why that, you know, too low of a ride height is a problem? Did they did they mention it?
I mean, I'm sure there's a few reasons for it. Primarily,
I'm almost certain it's for performance reasons. You know, the
lower the car gets you can kind of do a little a couple of things with the justins that are going to pick up some speed. The other thing is,
you know, these cars are traveling pretty far going in the corriers to the point where you see some of these modified cars they're smacking the track with their belly pen going through the corner. Right, So, whether it be
for pavement preservation or for performance. I'm figuring it's more
the latter.
Quinn for everybody, refresh everybody's memory. You're driving what kind
of a car?
Yeah, so I'm driving a Sportsman Modify, which is like a it's a stock car with open wheels and a big three fifty Chevy.
Motor and it'll I believe it does one hundred one hundred and ten down the straight.
That's right, we're getting upretty quick down those tradeaways, going about ninety through.
The And how big of a track? How big is
the oval?
So only have a third of a mile and it's shaped like a paper cliff.
So so is the car sideways half the time?
I mean, for what it's worth, Uh, you want it to be a little sideways. Right. The saying is loose
is fast. And when I say loose, I'm talking about oversteers.
So we're not back in kicking out just a little bit to the point where it's handling. Then that's pretty
quick because you don't want to be too too much in the wheel for lack of a better word. So
it's pretty sideways pretty much a good portion of the corner if you're going fast enough.
So the first race you finished fifth that you had after or was that the opener? No, the opener you
finished fifth?
Uh yeah, so I think the opener we finished we finished sixth actually, okay, so right from a sixth place and then the fifth and a fifth and then.
You've had you had, you had another one after that.
The second race was a twenty five lapper, and you qualified second again, right yep, so very much.
Similar to the one hundred laper. We came out qualified second,
really strong. We had finally kind of figured out what
that issue was and we wanted to give it just a little bit of an extra turn, and we went a little too far. So we started second. Started battling
on the top side because we started on the outside of the track, so cars on my inside, my left for if you're looking at the track straight, but we were on the outside. And what that does is it
tears up the tires a little bit too much. Heaps
up that right rear when you lose grip and that tire because they get too hot. You end up trailing
back a little bit. So we were fighting pretty good,
had to fall back into fifth, but another top five.
Not a bad finish, so.
No, not at all out of curiosity. Go back to
the one hundred lap race. Do you change tires in
that race or you get through the whole race on one set of tires.
Nope, We'll get through the whole race on one set of tires. We started using a different compound, a different
manufacturer of tire this season, specifically at Wall Stadium, and that manufacturer these tires seem to last a whole lot longer and keep some good speed throughout the race. So
fortunately that tire change allowed us to make that long of a stretch. In the past, we've only done fifties,
maybe seventy.
Five on occasions, and then you've had to come in and change tires.
No, No, not at all. So at that point, those
races unfortunately come down to savings because those tires fall off in about twenty five laps. The old compound, I mean,
you would have to really take it easy and kind of slow yourself down and make sure that you weren't tearing the rubber off of them.
Gotcha, gotcha? So you had the twenty five lapper, you
finished in the top five. What do you guys learn
out of this? Maybe just you know, is there a
point where you're going to leave the car alone, is it?
You know, enough is good and leave it be so not technically right, So we want to get into a sort of a baseline right where we can unload the car every week and we're generally on pace, the handlings working in our favorite to the point where all we need to do is make minor tweaks every week to chase after the track, whether it's rubbered up, whether you know, it rains during the week and there's no rubber on the track, hot out, if it's cold out, all these things.
You know, even if the sun's on turns one to two and they're shade on three and four. You got
to make minor adjustments to chase after those sorts of things.
But if we can get to a good baseline where we feel confident, and that's where're kind of at right now, that's ideal.
Rubbered up. Explain that term to us Quinn.
Yeah, sure. So when the modifies and the sports and
modifieds go out on track, even you know, ledged cars factory stocks for cylinders, they all have different tires that have a bunch of you know, obviously they're mide of rubbers, some slicker than others. But as those tires get hot
on the track, that rubber melts off and kind of sticks into the pavement and makes it kind of a rubber surface, if you will. So when you're racing on
that it gets you know, really hot out and the tracks getting hot, that rubber surface gets pretty sticky and you get a lot of traction there. You can get
too hot and that rubber actually becomes like a liquid, it gets kind of slick, and you've got times where the track's cold, maybe during the months like October, where that rubber gets really grippy because that medium heat. So
you've got to think about what rubber does when it gets hot versus when it gets cold, because we're basically driving on the rubber more than we're driving on the papers.
Wow, I never would have thought the tire peeling apart.
It's got to be an issue. So you're going into
the July eleventh race, Now you've got to you've got two top fives. You think you've got the car handling right.
Where do you think you're going to finish? What are
your hopes?
Well, look, I'm hoping to finish, you know, somewhere in that top five. Again, obviously I'm aiming for that checkered
flag if we can figure out you know, I think we're at that baseline now. We kind of kind of
have a good set of information on setups, so we're just waiting to get out there and try how you know, the weather is not that too kind to us, but I'm really hoping that we can get into that top three, maybe push those finishes up. Then maybe with a little
bit of a little bit of luck in a good qualifying run, we can get that thing up front for the Shecker Quinn.
Does the track change season to season race to race?
Do you have to constantly tune and adjust the car?
Are you doing it because the track has got tied, you know, rubbered up as you say, Or is it is it that the track changes, the car settles. What
makes the car where you're always adjusting things every race every season?
Well, yeah, you know it's it's definitely a race to race more so than season the season. But there's a
whole bunch of factors. I don't want to talk too
long about it, but you know, even if the pavement gets torn up, just so many cars hitting it. That's
why you see some tracks do repavements, and uh yeah, if the track had some rain hit it, then all that rubber, a lot of it that's stuck in those pavement cracks can get washed out and uh and that surface will behave completely differently. And also you know, if
you get any contact during that during the season and you know, maybe bumps, you you bump a tire with somebody that bends a rod just ever so slightly, you don't catch it. You got to adjust the geometry to
make up for that difference. And you know, everything's made
of metal, and as we know, metal gives if you hit it hard enough. There's any ways that you gotta
gotta account for those things to make sure the car's handling.
You guys have a lot to deal with. Quinn, we're
gonna go. Is there a place that listeners can keep
up with you? Facebook or social media or something? What
do you got?
Yeah, absolutely so. On Facebook we're at Quinn Schrimmer Racing,
and on TikTok and Instagram it's Trimmer Motorsports.
One word cool being thank you, You're welcome. Say hi
did that? I'm Ron and Andy and the car Doctor.
We're back right after this. Look back. You know, I
think of Quinn Schimmer and battling around that third mile track down there at roll Stadium at one hundred plus miles an hour, you know, wheel to wheel just inches away from each other. And one of the things we
haven't talked about yet, and maybe I'll try to bring it up next time. What does it feel like? You know,
because it's got to be on your mind. If the
guy next to you screws up, he's gonna take you out.
You know, you're in the accident as well, So it's got to be a little hair raising. And I guess
that's racing, right, Rubbing is racing, is the saying goes, Let's do some mail. Here's the shortest email question I
think I've ever gotten. I'm gonna do my best to
answer it. I don't know where this is.
Going to go.
Hey, Ron, I think you have talked about Subaru head gaskint problems, but how about the engine oil leakage? Another
four thousand dollars repair? Rich, Rich, I need more than that.
You know what year, make model, how many miles are on it. Subaru is in general, in this mechanics opinion,
get to be expensive as they get older, and they do.
They're just one of the higher maintenance required vehicles, especially if you do it by the book, and if you do it real world, it gets even worse. You know,
it's sixty thousand miles on a typical Subaru, You're you're doing spark plugs on most of them, you're doing all the drive line fluids, You're you're doing fuel system cleaning, you're spending a grand, you're spending your twelve thirteen hundred dollars depending on what you know. And then at that
mile it's too It always seems like it hits Whord's and it's tires and high mileage vehicle, high maintenance vehicle.
Rather and I'm not saying it's a bad vehicle, just know what you're getting. Now you're talking about engine oil leaks. Well,
are we talking about two one thousand miles Subaru engine oil leaks? Heck at two hu one thousand miles, you
owe it an engine reseal. And you know, part of
the way I look at it is be fortunate. It's
fairly easy to pull the engine out, and I wouldn't do it any other way than to reseal the entire engine.
You take one hundred to one hundred and fifty thousand mile and up engine of anything any brand, any manufacturer, and you go to reseal it, change your rearmain seal.
If that remain seal is rock hard, then every seal in that engine is rock hard. And when do they
start leaking? Not a common practice. Subaru is one of
the car companies though, that doesn't. And I got to
tell you, I think it's right. I don't know if
we can look at well, gee, it's four thousand dollars something I said right here on this radio show twenty years ago. Was it really twenty years ago? God, I've
been doing this a long time, but I said it twenty years ago. You know, it's not what it's going
to cost you, it's what it's going to cost you to replace. We have seen repair bills and estimates and
the cost of repairing a vehicle climb dramatically in the last seven or eight years. And I guess we could
blame it on COVID, and I guess we could blame it on economic times, but it really traces back to the price of the replacement vehicle. The price of the
replacement vehicle goes up, the price of repairing that vehicle goes up. In nineteen seventy two, when dirt was invented,
and I was a young kid. I was doing water
pumps in the bay for Billy at the Texaco. One
of my first jobs, I was doing small block Chevy water pumps. A small block Chevy water pump in nineteen
seventy two was about two hundred I remember two fifty nine and two eighty nine. If it had a thermostat
was it was a little bit more. It was under
three hundred bucks the water pump, thermostat, and I probably threw in an oil change. Now you fast forward that,
where are we fifty years later and fifty something years later?
And look at how much a water pump costs on anything?
And small block chevyes may be long gone, but the engines of today that have replaced it are even more expensive.
But aren't they relative to the replacement cost or value of that vehicle. Put a water pump on a I
don't know an LSGM anything right, and service it and do hoses like we did on that small block water pump replacement so many years ago. It was radiator hoses,
water pump, thermostat and a coolant exchange. Do the same
job on a regular Silverado Chevy pickup. It'll be fifteen
hundred and two grand by the time you're done, special coolant, fancy hoses, hoses that enter tea and go into other hoses.
So it's four thousand dollars to reseal the engine on a Subaru that bad. I don't know. You know, is
it an eight to nine year old Subi, which is typically around the timeframe that this happens. Is it a
higher mileage Subaru. I've seen some suber Us. Yeah, they'll
go one hundred and fifty maybe two hundred thousand miles, and then they start to leak oil. They're allowed to
leak oil. Rich unless you've got a specific case and
a specific example of Oh it's this particular model and we see it all the time. I think we have
to look at You can't take it out of perspective.
You can't take it and say, well, why does it leak oil? I don't know how old is it? How
many miles do I have on it? How has it
been used? What sort of maintenance has been done to it?
Because that all comes back to it. Do I think
it's worth four grand? I think it's cheaper than replacing
the car. And that's the bottom line. A five five
five six nine nine zero zero. I'm running eney in
the car doctor. I'll be back right after this to
wrap it up. Don't go anywhere, okay, listen, I'm running late.
We got to get out of here. So I just
want to wish everybody healthy and happy fourth of July.
I want you guys to go dive into that as cheeseburgers and hot dogs and watermelon because it's that time, all right, It's barbecue time, so let's get out there and do it. Let's get the job done. I want
to say thank you for being with me as always.
I appreciate getting to talk to each and every one of you each and every week, and I want you to know that we appreciate also what you're doing for us on the podcast and the store. You guys really
seem to be liking the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary t shirts and we're happy to have given some away today, and I want you to know that in the future we'll be doing it again. But in the meantime, get
out the card doctorshow dot com and you can go shopping on your own. I'm ron An eighty in the
car Doctor. Till the next time. Good mechanics aren't expensive,
they're priceless. See Yay Doctor cur advice to all ride
About this episode
Ron and Nanian tackle two big themes: avoiding preventable travel headaches and making smart long-term engine choices. They start with a Fourth of July PSA about wheel-lock keys—one missing key can strand you for days. Next, Gil in Tucson asks whether to buy a Ford F-150 4x4 with the 2.7L EcoBoost or the 5.0L Coyote for reliability and towing. Ron leans naturally aspirated for fewer expensive turbo failures over a decade, while acknowledging the turbo’s appeal. The show then pivots to a 1994/2004-era truck no-start/rough-running diagnostic involving ignition modules, spark checks, grounds, and sensor behavior.
