Ron Ananian The Car Doctor Sep 6, 2025

Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - September 6, 2025 - Hour 2 - OverHeating, Clutches & Carbon Cleaning: Quick Diagnoses, Smart Maintenance - (855)560-9900 24/ 7 Hotline

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The worst part about loving cars

might just be buying them and all the parts,

but on eBay, behind every car and part

is a story waiting to be shared.

I read about this guy who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman

that was well-loved.

I mean, there are plenty of Caymans

in great condition on eBay,

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all with parts he found on eBay,

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You're listening to Ron Ananian,

the car doctor,

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and vehicle owners alike.

Ron brings over 40 years of hands on experience

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Now start your engines.

The car doctor is in the garage

and ready to take your call.

All right, let's get right into it.

Let's go to Mark on the Bronx, O6 on the court.

Yeah, Mark, what's going on?

Tell me the whole story.

Well, the car was running, you know,

like a top all along and then all of a sudden,

it just abruptly got a overheating condition.

It became very rough, idling,

and when I come off a highway to come to a stop,

it would stall on me and hard to start it up as well.

But it just happened all of a sudden.

I mean, the car was fine and I don't know.

And the needle went on the temperature gate

all the way to high.

After like a few minutes now when I try to drive it.

And there's enough cooling in the system.

I checked the radiator, all that stuff.

I'm wondering what might be the cause of this.

Four cylinder?

Four cylinder, yeah.

Okay.

Four cylinder, yeah.

I mean, automatic of course, but the lowest of four cylinder.

Anybody try to, anybody done any work to this?

Any sort of diagnosis performed at this point?

No, no, the only thing I did on my own

was I changed the PCV valve.

Just thinking maybe that would help matters,

but not at all, not in this case, but yeah.

So, and how many miles are on this mark?

Well, this is a lot of mileage, it's 216,000.

All right, so I mean, from my seat here,

if it's really overheating

and we're gonna believe the gauge,

and I'm not saying not to,

but a vehicle that all of a sudden is good one minute

and the next minute it's boiling over

and the temp gauge is reading high,

I'm gonna start to look for why is it overheating?

Is it a stuck thermostat?

Is it low on coolant for some reason?

Do I have a water pump impeller that's not spinning?

And then if it's physically affecting the way the engine runs,

that the engine is running rough and rough idle

or loss of power, is there a loss of power

associated with this?

No, not power, but just like I said,

it sluggishes and it just dies after a while,

you know, just when you come to a stop.

There, I believe there's enough coolant in the radiator,

check the overfill with it at the low stage

with it when it's cold, of course.

And yeah.

Well, what I don't, back up a second,

if it's overheating, okay,

if the temperature gauge is pinned at hot,

is it pinned at hot?

How are you driving this?

Well, here's the thing,

you know, only after three or four minutes,

I have to stop because it goes up to the pin at hot,

but there's no, now, and there's,

as you stop, you smell or you see the steam coming out,

like, you know, of the engine itself,

but you don't actually see any coolant leak.

Like, there's no coolant leak at all.

So, that's what I don't understand,

but it's kind of strange, actually.

Well, why can't this have a head gasket that's failing?

Causing it to run hot, causing it to run erratic.

How's the idle quality?

Is the idle quality changed?

Yeah, that's the thing.

The idle quality is okay when you're revving it,

of course, but then when you...

Well, revving it is not idle.

I'm talking about in-drive at idle,

how is the idle quality?

It goes low, it does go low.

And it looks almost like ready to stall at that point.

Right, so it struggles.

Right.

All right, and if you put it in park,

is it still struggling,

but the idle RPM comes up a little bit?

Yeah, it still struggles at park, actually.

So, it needs a diagnosis, check engine light on?

Yeah, it only comes on, it's interesting.

The check engine light will only come on

after the needle pins to hot.

Well, it's so, yes, so the check engine light is on.

It's a yes or no question.

All right, it's yes or no.

So, we've got to check engine light.

Has anybody retrieved fault codes?

I did bring it to kind of a mechanic sort of,

and he checked it, and he noticed that there was the...

There were three things that actually came on.

And he said it wasn't even worth trying to fix it

because there might be engine problems down the road.

But one of those three things is the coolant system sensor.

Another one was the, something with the valve.

And I don't know, and I forgot what he said

when the third one was,

but that's why when he said the valve,

I got scared that maybe it's not even worth going crazy.

Was one of the fault codes related to a cylinder misfire?

No, definitely not.

Okay.

It really needs a diagnosis, Mark.

You've got a lot of great information,

but you can't take anything I or the other mechanic

or anybody says until somebody physically A

puts a scan tool on it, spends some time looking at basics.

How's manifold vacuum?

What does the map sensor look like?

What's throttle angle?

I mean, there's a half a dozen vital signs.

It would be like calling up the hospital saying,

you know, I don't feel good.

What's wrong with me?

And they're going to say, well, you know, heart rate.

What do they do?

Heart rate, blood pressure, vital signs.

Yeah, could I give you a couple other pieces

of information?

Number one, I haven't heard the electric fans

on this thing go off in ages.

I don't know if that has something to do with it.

Well, it means it's running hot.

Yeah, well, that's the thing.

I'm wondering if maybe there's something wrong

with the fan, you know, sensor or whatever.

I don't know.

If the engine is physically running hot,

if you're seeing steam and the temperature gauges up,

it sounds to me like the engine's running hot

and the fan's being on would make sense

because they're trying to cool off an overheated engine.

So, you know, there's going to come to a point here

and I'm going to say this with Love Brother.

Don't go into analysis paralysis.

The car's broken.

You shouldn't be driving the car, right?

You should, you know, tow it to somebody

or get it to somebody within three minutes

of the house that you trust that's competent

that can, you know, sit down and go through the basics.

I'd be looking at, you know,

something from simple to involved.

I wouldn't make a decision on,

do you get rid of the car?

Do you keep the car?

What do you do with the car?

Do you mount it on the wall

and talk about it for the next 20 years?

Until it gets diagnosed, period.

All right, but you physically got an overheating condition.

Everything you're telling me

points towards a real overheat.

Now the question is why.

All right.

Right, okay.

Okay.

Yeah, no, I appreciate that.

That's lucky.

Thank you very much, Ron.

You're very welcome, Mark.

You be well.

Take good care.

Okay, thank you.

Bye-bye.

You can't go into analysis paralysis.

You can't go into what it could or should it.

You can't go into, maybe I'll do this, maybe it's that,

maybe it's this thing over here on the side.

There's a lot.

The question becomes, if it was a human being,

what would you do?

You would look at that and say,

what are the vital signs?

What are the statistics?

It's giving me all the information.

All the information is there,

but you can't drive it and you can't panic, Mark.

If you're still listening, brother,

it sounds like you're in a little bit of a panic mode.

It's only a car.

Take a breath.

We'll figure it out.

Let's go to Al in Maryland.

Let's see what's going on here.

Al, welcome, sir.

How can I help you today with your 99th century?

Hi, Ron.

Yes, sir.

Long time listener.

You've always been helpful

and thankful once again, taking my call.

You're very welcome.

It's a 99 Nissan Sentra basic vehicle,

278,000 miles.

Just broken in?

Just broken in.

As you might imagine, the clutch is slipping,

so I'm getting ready to put a clutch in it.

And nowadays, you always worry

about the quality of parts.

I've been pleasantly surprised.

There seem to be a lot of quality clutch kits out there,

and that's why I'm calling.

I'm kind of looking for your advice.

One clutch kit that looks kind of decent to me,

the company name is something called Clutch America.

They apparently have a line of various clutches.

The highest quality one includes, of course,

the pressure plate, the disc,

the throw-out bearing, the alignment tool,

and also the flywheel.

And I wanna buy the flywheel

because I'm sure the flywheel is scored by now.

Well, and I'll tell you why you wanna buy a flywheel.

Maybe you don't wanna buy a flywheel.

The flywheel issue is,

when we do a clutch in the shop,

we don't do many anymore

because there's not many clutches left on the road.

It becomes a case of we've got no more machine shop

to grind our flywheels.

That's right, that's right.

They're all gone.

The last clutch job I did,

I took the flywheel off,

I brought it to a machine shop.

I wouldn't even know where to hell to bring it now.

I don't know if there is a machine shop anywhere.

Right, it's there gone.

So then my next comment becomes,

before we start looking at clutch America,

which could be clutch overseas, you know,

what's in the name?

They say it's US made.

That's what they claim.

Okay.

You know, have you called Nissan?

Have you asked?

No, I have not called Nissan.

I would start with the manufacturer.

Okay.

I really would, I just,

if it's not them, I would go look,

there's a company, I'm gonna say the name wrong.

I believe it's Luke, L-U-K.

Okay.

We think of it as luck.

Good luck with the clutch.

Yeah, yeah.

But they make a great component.

We used to use them over time repeatedly

with great success.

Whether that company still exists at the level

where they'll come up with a kit

of flywheel pressure plate disc, et cetera.

Haven't bought a clutch for a 99 Nissan Centra in a while.

Yeah, right.

But you know, it's worth looking at.

Yeah.

And I've got to say that doing a clutch in this day and age,

I'm also going to, what does the rear main seal look like?

Yeah, yeah.

If I'm looking at the rear main seal

and it's seepy, I'm changing it.

Right.

I'm also gonna take a look

at the higher mileage, older vehicle,

what sort of shape is the crankcase ventilation system in?

Does it have a PCV valve?

Can I put a factory PCV in it?

Is there anything else that needs to be cleaned?

Yeah.

Because you want to go another quarter million miles

with that clutch.

I'm sure you do.

Yeah, yeah.

You know?

Any thoughts about this clutch set that I was looking at?

And as far as prices go,

I checked, you know, O'Reilly's in advance

and they all seem to be around the same price

and they seem to be sane.

Like I said, this one claims it's US made.

The flywheel is supposedly cast iron.

The pressure plate is what they call

ductile modular cast iron.

Right.

The springs are reinforced.

Which is nothing, which is nothing really unusual now

because that's the way all that stuff came out of the factory.

Okay.

And even the disc,

this copper ceramic disc pad's got six pads

around the circumference.

That's all rational.

You know, is there, let me say it like this,

if there's a forum, you know,

I love living in this modern age,

as mom would call it, right?

If there's a forum online for clutch installs on Centris,

what's everybody else using?

What are they using?

Right.

It's always the same example.

I always go to that.

I always think of that

and kind of take it from there.

All right, sir.

Yeah.

Thanks an awful lot Ron.

You're very welcome.

I do appreciate it.

Good luck to you, be well.

560-9900, Ron Anani and the car doctor.

We're back right after this.

Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience,

but on eBay, behind every car and part is a story

waiting to be shared.

Like this guy I read about

who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 on eBay.

It was well loved.

I mean, there are plenty of Caymans

in great condition on eBay,

but this one needed some work.

That's just the start of the story.

So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car,

he rebuilds the whole thing

with all these parts he found on eBay.

Performance brakes, suspension, body panels,

the works, guaranteed to fit.

Next thing you know,

this nearly scrapped Cayman

was out there on the track as a full blown race car.

You're ready to go daily driver,

your next resto mod.

Hello Lotus Elon and the parts to finish it.

eBay has thousands of cars

and is the largest online selection

of vehicle parts and accessories.

eBay, things, people, love.

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The NFL playoffs are here

and wildcard weekend powered by Verizon is almost through.

Man, it all comes down to this.

The stakes are high, hopes are higher

and everything is on the line.

My goodness!

It's win or go home

and every moment counts on the road to Super Bowl 60.

It's a touchdown!

Wildcard weekend powered by Verizon.

Today at 8 p.m. Eastern, visit watch.nfl.com

for the full schedule.

Hey, quick kudos to the folks over at Mitchell One.

They have just won the prestigious

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Congratulations.

Let's get back to the phones.

Let's go over and talk to Frank and Delaware.

16 Chevy Silverado, what's going on here?

Frank, welcome to the car doctor, sir.

How can I help?

Good afternoon, Ron.

Thank you for taking all.

Appreciate it.

You're welcome.

I've got two questions on it.

How much play in the steering wheel should there be?

It seems like I've got 61,000 miles on it.

And I noticed something in the last,

within the last year,

and I didn't pay too much attention to it.

I took it to the dealer twice

where I normally get my service done.

And they couldn't, they told me it's fine,

but it seems like I got like an inch

and a quarter of play.

And it's just more noticeable now that I know about it.

Are you always correcting the wheel,

driving down the road, Frank?

I'm going back and forth.

I mean, the unit, it steers straight.

Right, but I get it, there's a leg,

but I guess the question I've got is,

are you, first of all, does the wheel sit horizontal?

Does the wheel sit level?

Yeah, it might be a tad off now.

It's hard to tell with.

It's within a, if it was a clock face, is it within an hour?

Yeah.

Okay.

All right.

And then how far off of that hour does it go

before you get it to change direction?

Well, it's funny, it's that back and forth,

left, right, that it has a play, it's about,

like I said, an inch different, either direction

and it feels like I'm compensating.

Ever have a wheel alignment done?

Yeah, they had it done there and they said it's okay.

I brought it to there.

Do you have another shop you can take it to?

It's time for a second opinion

is where I'm going with this.

Yes, I'm thinking about that locally here

in the Millsboro area.

There isn't, and I'm going to contact them

next this coming week.

Right, and we wanna find somebody

that's gonna do a real wheel alignment,

nice piece of hunter equipment,

something that's not blow-toe and let it go,

somebody that's gonna look at all the angles.

And if there's any wiggle in that front suspension

steering something, lose something off.

You know, I always tell everybody

when I put it on the rack and wiggle it and shake it

and then do my calibration, I'm gonna find it.

So, you know, that's step one.

Where is the alignment?

If it's been a while or was it ever done?

Now the alignment was done.

Okay.

That was done at the dealer.

They give you a printout?

Did they give me a printout?

They probably did, and I need to dig that out.

I'll do that after I put the phone with you.

Right, right.

I'll dig it deep on my paper.

And then where are those numbers?

You know, and one of the things I hear so much,

and I'm just skeptical,

I'm skeptical about you've got a complaint, right,

that sounds valid, and I'm letting the guy

that's guarding the cookie jar tell me it's okay,

all the cookies are accounted for.

You know, I'd like to get Kebler out of there

and Mr. Nabisco come in and check the Oreos.

You know what I'm saying?

I just like a second opinion.

So, let's get an alignment done

and then we can talk further.

Second question.

I know there's a second question here.

Second question.

What preventative maintenance,

I got 61,000 miles on it.

I've been watching these YouTube shows,

car shows of carbon buildup on the top,

you know, with the direct injection.

Motors, mines, this is a 4.3.

The dealer doesn't have anything really.

Right.

And that's funny.

I'll tell you the story this way, Frank.

I just attended another class

with automotive training group,

and this came up because it was a class

about misfires and power contribution.

And one of the things they pointed out was that BG,

and you hear me talk about BG fuel system services

or BG automotive services all the time, right?

BG is now the rated recommended fuel system above all,

I mean, they do all their fluids,

but General Motors has come out and said

that BG fuel system services,

one of their recommended services as regular maintenance.

And it's because of the quality of the service

and what it does.

And the easiest way for you to get that service done,

if the dealer doesn't have it,

that's why I'm surprised the dealer doesn't have it,

because it's a recommended service by General Motors now,

is go out to bgfindashop.com, bgfindashop.com,

and you'll find a local shop who knows

maybe the shop does BG fuel system

as well as other fluid services,

and they'll do a wheel alignment

and you can get two for one.

Give me a call back and let me know what you happen,

Frank, and let me know where you end up with this.

I'm curious.

I'm Ron Anini and the car doctor.

We'll return right after this.

Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience,

but on eBay, behind every car and part,

is a story waiting to be shared.

Like this guy I read about

who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 on eBay.

It was well-loved.

I mean, there are plenty of Caymans

in great condition on eBay,

but this one needed some work.

That's just the start of the story.

So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car,

he rebuilds the whole thing

with all these parts he found on eBay.

Performance brakes, suspension, body panels,

the works, guaranteed to fit.

Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman

was out there on the track as a full-blown race car.

You're ready to go daily driver, your next Resto mod,

Hello Lotus Elon, and the parts to finish it.

eBay has thousands of cars

and is the largest online selection

of vehicle parts and accessories.

eBay, things, people, love.

Hi, it's Eva, and I think it's about time

you discovered the world's first luxury hospitality brand

at Sea, the Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection.

Imagine setting sail on an all-inclusive voyage

where every moment is entirely yours.

Explore the Amalfi Coast, the islands of Thailand,

or Alaska's glacial fjords and the lagoons of French Polynesia.

Or maybe just stay aboard an indulgent asfade,

dining from Michelin-starred chefs

and kayaking directly from the exclusive Marina platform.

There are so many possibilities

and so much time to relax.

Every journey, unlike the rest,

the Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection.

Learn more at RitzCarltonYachtCollection.com.

The NFL playoffs are here

and Wild Card Weekend powered by Verizon

is almost through.

Man, it all comes down to this.

The stakes are high, hopes are higher,

and everything is on the line.

My goodness!

It's win or go home,

and every moment counts on the road to Super Bowl 60.

It's a touchdown!

Wild Card Weekend powered by Verizon.

Today at 8 p.m. Eastern, visit watch.nfl.com

for the full schedule.

Geez, a little bit of a long opening there, Tom.

That music kind of went, phew!

But that's okay, I'm here.

I'll take over.

And you notice how good I've been today, Tom?

I haven't once mentioned that tomorrow is the day.

Yes, the day.

The day.

Not just any day, but the day.

The day.

We don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow.

I know it's gonna happen.

I won't be watching TV, I know that.

Why?

Your shoe's still stuck in it from last season?

No, just that I'll be waiting to hear from you,

because what time is the game tomorrow?

One o'clock?

One o'clock.

Yeah, one o'clock.

So I figured by 105,

Tom should be jumping off the roof of his house.

Tom Ray is the only individual, folks, just for the record,

that his wife made him move to a ranch, okay?

A one-story house because he became a Giants fan,

and in the last 10 years,

he keeps trying to go up to the roof to jump off

because he's just so upset.

So this way he lives on a ranch

while he ends up with his broken leg.

Yeah, that and she goes through bags of earplugs

because I'm constantly yelling at the TV.

How many TVs have you had in the last 10 years?

Oh, just a couple.

Just a couple, so tomorrow's the day.

Anyway, today's the day for me,

so let's go over to Kent and me

and talk to him about his 08 Jeep.

Kent, do you have a favorite football team?

Is tomorrow your day?

My favorite team is not playing tomorrow.

I'm sort of a Patrick Mahomes fan,

and I like the Chiefs even though I'm from New England

since we lost Brady, our team,

and not that much to cheer for.

Can I ask you a football question then

since you're the Patriots and all?

And for the record, I'm not a super serious football fan.

I kind of dabble in it.

I've got enough just to keep cars on my plate straight, right?

Do you think Brady was the reason they went

to all those Super Bowls

or was it the combination of him and Belichick

because Belichick went to coach in college

and it's a disaster?

What do you think of that?

Is that an unfair question to ask?

No, that's not an unfair question.

And even though maybe Belichick isn't doing that,

it's great right now at the moment with the college team.

I have to think it was somewhat a team effort.

Right, right.

And things are changing.

Belichick's getting older.

He's playing with different guys

and a different setup with the college team.

So maybe there's just...

He's probably distracted a little bit, right?

He's 73, he's got a 20-something-year-old girlfriend

so he's probably got a lot going on.

And he's dying to see what that 12-foot statue of him

is gonna come out to look like.

Right, so...

Anyway, core questions.

Let's go back to being a car show.

What do you got?

Well, I got a 2008 Jeep Wrangler, 145,000 on it.

It's a stick shift.

I've had it about two years.

By the way, thanks for your advice

on what radiator to use.

That went really well.

Good.

Because I called you about that.

Good.

But I've noticed, and maybe this has been going on,

still at a once in a while for almost a year

and I don't drive it all that much,

but especially after I warm up,

especially if I'm on a little bit of an incline

and maybe even if I've got a couple of hundred pounds

in the back while I'm accelerating

as I'm approaching 2,000 RPMs,

I start to hear a little bit of a faint ticking noise

that almost isn't even a tick.

It almost sounds like it might be pinging.

It's hard to describe what the noise is.

One thought I had was if you had a handful

of tiny little ball bearings

and you were dropping them into the bottom of a bucket

really fast, something like that.

And if it seems to be more noticeable

but also after it's warmed up

because I'm kind of noticing it doesn't do it all the time

and it doesn't do it when it's first,

when it started and not really warmed up.

All right, which engine is this, Kat?

That's a 3.8 V6.

All right, and when was the last time it had fluid services

or carbon cleaning or throttle body service

or any of that, never?

Well, as far as I know,

I don't know nothing about the history of it.

All I've done since I had it

was I've been kind of fanatical

about my oil changes as usual.

Good, oil changes are the start

but that's not where maintenance ends, correct?

Yeah, oh yeah, I know there's a lot more than that

and there's so many different things that it could be

and at that age it could need so many different things

that an amateur like myself could just dive in

and say, okay, well, I'm gonna check this,

I'm gonna buy one of these, I'm gonna do that

and I could go through a lot

and not really be going in the right direction.

It does have-

Well, what are your long-term plans with the car, Kent?

Because I bought it at a used car lot

and I still owe about 10 grand on it

and I got two years left to go.

You gotta waste a go.

Right, okay.

I want to get two years out of it

or at least if I could get,

you know, even when those are junk and having problems

they can still bring four or five thousand.

So listen to me, all right, listen to me, brother.

All right, these are known,

these have valve train issues,

these have carbon deposit issues,

these have lower end problems.

But let's eliminate the obvious.

Maintenance is always a great place to start

when you're dealing with something

and if it's never had a carbon cleaning,

if it's never had some of the other maintenance

that it should have had by now,

you might be experiencing old age

based on lack of maintenance.

So I want you to go to bgfindeshop.com, all right?

I want you to find a BG shop

and get a BG fuel system service.

They're gonna offer a bunch of other things

as far as fluids, transmission

and some of the other critical fluids of the vehicle.

That's great, but in your case,

I want to talk about that noise.

If this is a carbon deposit thing,

a carbon cleaning is gonna be a wonderful thing to do.

It's gonna add life to the car.

It's gonna probably eliminate your problem.

And it's just a good, you know,

it's a good place to start.

You can't go wrong down Wright Street

getting maintenance done if the maintenance is needed.

I was also wondering about plugs too, because I did that.

Well, yes.

And here we are, maintenance, right?

145,000 miles.

When did you buy it?

How many miles did it have on it?

I bought it two years ago.

It had 135.

I've only put 10.

I've only put 10 on it.

If those are original plugs, you know.

Or even, yeah.

Do you have a regular mechanic, Kent?

Do you have a mechanic you trust?

I don't.

And at this point here,

I almost feel like I should go to the dealership

because I had trust issues

with the guy that I had most recently been going to.

Right.

So understand what's gonna happen, okay?

You're gonna go to the dealer.

This is like, you're gonna walk into a doctor's office

and ask for open heart surgery at the age of 75.

They're gonna point out everything that's wrong with it

and probably scare the bejesus out of you.

This is the classic example of why I encourage everybody,

you've gotta have a relationship with a mechanic.

I don't care who it is, dealer, independent or otherwise,

but you've gotta have that relationship all along

because you can't wait till you're having the heart attack

to decide to go to the doctor and say,

what do you think's wrong?

There's a lot here, all right?

So I want you to make an appointment at the dealership.

Here's what I want you to do.

I want you to make an appointment at the dealership.

That's where you wanna go.

I want you to ask for a diagnosis.

You'll spend somewhere between an hour and two hours.

My guess is you'll spend between $150 and $300.

You'll have some answers.

They're probably gonna come back with a laundry list

of things that the vehicle needs.

And that's okay because you're into it.

You owe 10 grand on it, it's a good running vehicle.

Maybe you'll keep it another five years

and maybe this is the way to get there

because a new Jeep or anything in that category

of what that is, is between 40 and 60 grand.

So if you had to put a couple of bucks in it,

not that I wanna spend your money.

If you had to put $6,000, $7,000, $8,000 in it

and it was done properly

and it helps establish a relationship

with that repair shop, you know what?

You're coming out ahead in the long run.

So make an appointment for a diagnosis,

start the war there, get out to bgfindeshop.com,

get a carbon cleaning done if the dealership can't do it

and give me a call back if you need more.

Always good to hear from you.

855-560-9900, I think that's the phone number.

I've been doing that for a couple of years.

855-560-9900, I'll be back right after this.

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Let's go out to Iowa and talk to Alex.

Alex, welcome to the car doctor, sir.

How can I help?

It's a question, thank you, Ron.

It's a question that I wanted to ask you

because you'd know.

Back when we were kids, my dad taught us

to take the oil pan off at that time

as a 53 Plymouth and take the oil pan off

and clean the gunk out of it

and then clean it with gasoline after

we scraped the stuff out of there.

Well, wouldn't the same situation be true nowadays?

Have you ever looked at a modern day oil pan, Alex?

I love the question.

Don't misunderstand.

I think it's a great question

because it shows a contrast

of how far technology has taken us, all right?

Some of these cars today to get the oil pan off,

you're gonna pull the engine out

or you're gonna drop exhaust

or you're gonna, the accessibility factor,

they're not 53 Plymouths anymore.

They're not 53 anything anymore, all right?

And I'd have to look it up, but you got a question.

You did that 53 Plymouth even have an oil filter.

Was that the reason we had to clean the pan

because of sludge formation?

Because not all cars in the 50s

had oil filters, believe it or not.

55 Chevy's, I know this for a fact, 55 Chevy's,

the V8s didn't have oil filters

with this dealer installed option.

Isn't that the craziest thing you ever heard, right?

Yeah.

So, technology can correct for this.

All right, if we think we've got sludge in the engine

because two, you pull the pan down, pick a car today,

I don't care, whatever it is, a 2021 Honda something,

pull the pan down, clean the pan.

If there's sludge in the pan,

isn't there sludge everywhere else?

And then it's, it's, it'll settle,

but it's even more critical in a modern engine

because of variable valve timing

and things we do to make the engine perform

at the level that it performs at, right?

We worry about oil.

They say that lubricating is, if on a list of five things,

lubricating is like fourth or fifth in order of importance

in terms of what an oil does today in a modern day engine.

So dropping a, dropping a pan to clean the pan.

Yeah, I think it's a wasted effort,

even if you could get the pan down,

which in a lot of cases you can't easily.

I'm gonna use technology.

If I've got an engine that's sludged up

or I've got a sticky lifter

or some varnish deposit issues,

I'm going to use something like,

like Stixion Eliminator from Hot Shot Secret.

All right, great product.

I had a, I had a valve tick in my little shop ranger forever.

Everything I tried, nothing got rid of it.

Two rounds of Stixion Eliminator.

The tick has gone and it runs,

this is a 227,000 mile 97 Ranger, right?

V6 three liter.

So, you know, Hot Shot Secret,

Stixion Eliminator just works great.

The other thing I'm gonna stay on top of is,

I'm doing my oil changes.

I don't care what manufacturers say.

I don't care what, you know,

how long can I go between oil change mentality is,

I'm doing my oil changes every 5,000.

Good quality oil, good filter.

And I'm not gonna have a sludger varnish issue.

I'm not gonna have deposits in the oil pan

or anywhere else in the engine

because the engine's always gonna be clean.

Maintenance always gets you there, brother.

All right, it really does.

It's a piece of machinery, okay?

And if we apply common sense

that marketing departments are trying to overrule,

I think we'll find that we would get longer out of vehicles

with less repairs by doing and going back

to regular maintenance on a much higher,

more qualified, more quality controlled level,

if that makes sense.

Yeah, I'm always in the trap of use cars

and then bringing them up to standard good usage, you know?

And it's great.

That's my journey, most of my life.

But I'll say this, I love the fact that you bonded

with your father over pulling oil pans.

I think that's cool, right?

You know, Tom was telling me the story

before we started the show.

I'll tell you real quick about the other day

I was driving around his neighborhood

and he saw a couple of kids working on a car

on the side of the house.

And he said, I stopped and he took a picture

because he couldn't get over the fact

that kids actually worked on a car in this day and age,

which I said, sure, I mean, that's, listen,

many a Saturday afternoon got me to this point

working on the car outside my mom's house

because that's how you learned

and that was the curiosity

and that's where the bug began, so.

Yeah, he taught me how to put a clutch plate,

pressure plate, how to make sure I got torqued at right.

Right, oh yeah, and those are the moments

that you bonded with dad that you'll never forget.

And you know what, sometimes I think

that's what society needs today.

Those moments with dad or mom bonding

and just talking about common sense,

rational everyday things.

I appreciate it to call Alex, you be well.

I'm Ron Anani and the car doctor.

We're back right after this.

Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience.

But on eBay, behind every car in part

is a story waiting to be shared.

Like this guy I read about

who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 on eBay.

It was well loved.

I mean, there are plenty of Caymans

in great condition on eBay,

but this one needed some work.

That's just the start of the story.

So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car,

he rebuilds the whole thing

with all these parts he found on eBay.

Performance brakes, suspension, body panels,

the works, guaranteed to fit.

Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman

was out there on the track as a full blown race car.

You're ready to go daily driver,

your next resto mod, hello Lotus Elon

and the parts to finish it.

eBay has thousands of cars

and is the largest online selection

of vehicle parts and accessories.

eBay, things, people, love.

The NFL playoffs are here

and wildcard weekend powered by Verizon is almost through.

Man, it all comes down to this.

The stakes are high, hopes are higher

and everything is on the line.

My goodness!

It's win or go home

and every moment counts on the road to Super Bowl 60.

It's a touchdown!

Wildcard weekend powered by Verizon.

Today at 8 p.m. Eastern, visit watch.nfl.com

for the full schedule.

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so why make it harder

with a dozen different apps

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All right, the last one today is gonna be an email.

Dave from Kentucky is checking in.

Hey, Ron, I need drive shafts for my 2007 Honda Accord.

200,000 miles.

I can't remember what brand of drive shafts I should install

for value and durability as someone recently recommended.

I've seen some of the prices from the dealer.

The dealer wants over $1100 each

and the local parts house has them for $200.

Do you know if any of the aftermarket parts

are over-manufactured or rebuilt

and there's one brand that is equal to the OEM

or at least 90%.

Thanks for all you do.

Love your radio show, Dave.

Dave, I'll tell you what.

Get down to your local advanced auto parts.

And you know what?

I could talk for hours about the quality or lack of

an aftermarket replacement axles.

And yes, I agree.

A lot of times the OEM manufacturer,

here's a classic example, right?

Here's a 17-year-old vehicle with 200,000 miles on it.

Do you need $2,000 worth of axles

from the manufacturer?

I don't think so.

Advance makes a great line

or carries a great line of axles

that'll be marketed under advanced car quests.

Remember car quest auto parts?

Advance and car quest merged some years back.

Advanced car quest line of axles.

It will likely be a new axle.

It will be a little bit more

than you'll find some of the cheaper stuff

in the aftermarket, but that's okay

because we've had very, very, very good success with them.

They kind of fit that price point and budget

and a very low comeback rate,

probably in the 2% range.

So advanced car quest line of axles available

at your local advanced auto parts store

and I think you'll be very happy with them.

They come complete as sets for each side.

So I appreciate the question, Dave.

I'm Ronanini in the car doctor.

Till the next time, good mechanics aren't expensive.

They're priceless, baby.

See ya.

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and wildcard weekend powered by Verizon is almost through.

Man, it all comes down to this.

The stakes are high,

hopes are higher and everything is on the line.

My goodness!

It's win or go home

and every moment counts on the road to Super Bowl 60.

It's a touchdown!

Wildcard weekend powered by Verizon.

Today at 8 p.m. Eastern, visit watch.nfl.com

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About this episode

Ron Ananian tackles a variety of automotive issues in this episode, focusing on quick diagnoses and smart maintenance strategies. Listeners call in with problems ranging from overheating engines to clutch replacements and steering play in vehicles. Ron emphasizes the importance of thorough diagnostics and regular maintenance, offering practical advice on parts and services. He also discusses the significance of building a relationship with a trusted mechanic and shares insights on the latest automotive technologies and services.

Ford Bronco Ford Ranger Honda Accord Jeep Wrangler Nissan Sentra Porsche Cayman

Original notes

Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor

Fast phones this hour: real overheat triage, clutch/flywheel choices, steering play sanity check, BG carbon service for DI, modern sludge cures, and value axles.

Chapter Markers

00:00 – Open / Tease
00:58 – Mark (Bronx) – Sudden Overheat, 4-cyl Honda
Steam + gauge pinned = real overheat. Don’t drive; tow. Check thermostat/coolant/pump; rule out head gasket. Pull codes & vitals.
07:29 – Alan (MD) – ’99 Sentra Clutch
Start OE or LUK. Machine shops scarce—consider kit with flywheel. Inspect rear main & PCV while in there.
11:48 – Quick Note
Mitchell1 award mention.
12:21 – Frank (DE) – ’16 Silverado Steering Play
Get true alignment (proper gear, printout); inspect for looseness.
16:07 – PM: DI Carbon – GM recommends BG fuel service; use bgfindashop.com.
19:12 – Kent (ME) – ’08 Wrangler 3.8 Tick/Ping ~2k
Likely carbon/valvetrain age. Start with BG clean, plugs, full baseline; pay for diagnosis.
27:03 – Alex (IA) – Drop the Pan?
Modern engines: use chemistry, not pan pulls. Stiction Eliminator example; 5k oil/quality filter.
32:16 – Mailbag – ’07 Accord Axles (200k)
Skip pricey OE; Advance/Carquest new axles = solid value/fit.

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