The Chevrolet Bel Air is a classic car, and the podcast talks about a 1965 model. The owner says they changed the engine and transmission, which means the car isn’t exactly like it was from the factory. That can change how you maintain it and fix problems.
Term
program stuff
“Program stuff” means setting up the car’s electronics so they work together. If you install the wrong computer or it loses its settings, it may need to be reprogrammed.
If the battery is dead, the car’s computers can lose power and sometimes lose their settings. In this story, that’s blamed for the transmission computer not working afterward.
GM is the car company being referenced. They’re saying some GM cars use transmission computers that can be swapped if they look the same and connect the same way.
The transmission computer is like the transmission’s “brain.” It decides when to shift and how smoothly it should shift based on what the car is doing.
“Six liter” means the engine is about 6.0 liters in size. Bigger engines usually make more pulling power, and swaps may require matching the right electronics.
Your car has a computer that controls the engine. When a mechanic plugs in a scanner, it often talks to the engine computer first to see what’s working and what isn’t.
Every car module needs electricity and a good electrical connection back to the chassis. If it can’t communicate, mechanics check that it’s getting power and that its ground connection is solid.
“Brick” is a slang way of saying a car computer has died or locked up. When it happens, it may stop communicating with the scanner until it’s fixed or replaced.
The Cadillac Escalade is a large luxury SUV. The podcast mentions it alongside other vehicles, which usually means they’re talking about similar problems or repairs. It’s the kind of vehicle people bring up when discussing issues that can happen across many big vehicles.
A jumpstart is when you use another battery to get a dead car started. If the car’s computers don’t like what happened during the jump, they can act weird afterward.
“Communication failure” means the car’s computers aren’t able to talk to each other. If the transmission computer can’t communicate, the transmission may not shift until the problem is fixed.
A wiring harness is the set of wires that connects the car’s computers and parts. If the harness is damaged, the new computer may still not work because the signals can’t get through.
The transmission control module is the specific computer that controls the automatic transmission. If you replace it, you usually need the right one—often found by matching the part number.
Rodents can chew through car wiring. If the wires get damaged, the car’s computers may stop working correctly, so it’s worth checking the wiring for bite marks.
The transmission pan is the bottom part of the automatic transmission that contains the fluid. If a repair needs parts inside, mechanics may have to remove this pan to get access.
They’re likely talking about the parking pawl—the part that locks the transmission when you put the car in Park. If it won’t hold on a hill, that locking part may be worn or not engaging correctly.
The valve body is like the control hub inside an automatic transmission that directs fluid to the parts that make the transmission shift and hold. If something isn’t holding properly, it may require getting to this area.
An automatic transmission is the kind of gearbox where you don’t have to shift gears yourself. When you put it in Park, it uses a locking mechanism to help stop the car from rolling.
When you put an automatic car in Park, a small metal piece called the park pawl locks the drivetrain so the car can’t roll. It’s not meant to take abuse—like if the car is still moving when you shift into Park, especially on a hill.
The parking brake is the extra brake you use to keep the car from rolling when it’s parked. On a hill, it’s better to use this than to depend on the car’s “Park” lock.
The Ford Flex is a crossover-style vehicle. Some vehicles like this can be made to use different fuel types, including ethanol blends. The podcast is talking about whether the car is set up to run E85, which matters for how it performs and whether it’s safe to use.
A flex-fuel vehicle can use more than one type of fuel. In this case, it’s usually gasoline or E85, which is a blend with lots of ethanol. The car is built to adjust to whichever fuel you put in.
E85 is a fuel blend with mostly ethanol (85%) mixed with some regular gasoline. It can change how far you get per tank, because it contains less energy than pure gasoline. The car may still run fine since it’s designed for it.
BTU is a way to measure how much energy is in the fuel. If the fuel has fewer BTUs per gallon, you usually have to use more of it to go the same distance.
The BMW 3 Series is a smaller luxury car that’s designed to drive well. The podcast mentions using different types of fuel blends, like E30 or E85, which can change how the engine runs. That matters because not every car is set up to use every fuel blend safely.
An oil change interval is how often you change your engine oil. They’re saying don’t stretch it out too long—especially with E85—because it can lead to more contamination in the oil.
Unburned fuel is fuel that didn’t fully burn in the engine. If that happens, it can mix with the engine oil and make the oil less effective, so you may need more frequent oil changes.
The fuel gauge is the dashboard light/reading that tells you how much gas is left. With E85, you may burn through it faster, so the gauge can fall quicker than you’re used to.
Fuel injector cleaner is a chemical additive that helps clean the parts that spray fuel into the engine. The idea here is that E85 can also have a cleaning effect, which might make things better—or sometimes temporarily cause weird behavior if it loosens buildup.
Octane is basically how “knock-resistant” a fuel is. If the fuel can resist knocking, the engine can often be tuned to run more aggressively without damage.
“Tune the car” means changing the car’s computer settings so the engine runs correctly with the fuel you’re using. Different fuels need different settings to burn cleanly and safely.
Term
fuel mile
They’re talking about how efficiently the car uses fuel—how many miles you get for the amount you buy. With ethanol blends, that efficiency can change.
A diesel engine is a type of engine that runs by compressing air until it’s hot, then injecting fuel. Because it works differently than a gasoline engine, it can behave differently in cold weather.
Additives are extra chemicals you put into fuel to help it work better—especially when it’s cold. They can help prevent fuel from behaving badly and keep the engine running smoothly.
The Ford Explorer is a family-sized SUV. The podcast mentions a 1998 Explorer that has had an engine change, which can make it act differently than a stock one. That’s important when diagnosing problems like sudden stopping or starting issues.
This switch is a safety feature that stops the starter from working unless the car is in the right gear. If it’s wrong, the engine might not crank when you turn the key.
This is related to a valve that helps manage engine crankcase vapors. If it’s stuck or failing, it can cause weird running problems, so people replace it while diagnosing.
The anti-theft system is the car’s security system. It checks whether the key is recognized, and if not, it will warn you (often with blinking lights) and may block starting.
The theft module is the car’s security computer. If it’s not working correctly, it can cause the anti-theft warning lights to behave strangely or prevent the car from recognizing the key.
When a car part like an anti-theft module is “programmed,” it means the vehicle’s electronics are configured with the correct settings and security data. This is often required after repairs so the module can properly recognize the key and operate the immobilizer logic.
Some keys have a chip inside that the car must recognize. If that key isn’t being read correctly, the anti-theft system can act up and the car may not behave normally.
An inertia switch is a safety device that can shut off fuel after a crash. In this case, the host says it wouldn’t stop the starter from turning the engine over—it only affects fuel.
The starter relay is like a heavy-duty switch that tells the starter motor to crank the engine. If the car’s security system doesn’t allow starting, it can prevent that relay from working.
Identity theft insurance helps pay for some of the costs that come with identity theft. It can make it easier to recover if someone steals your information.
TPMS sensors are the little devices that track your tire pressure. If you change wheels, you usually want to reuse your car’s original TPMS sensors so the warning system stays accurate.
Berkeley One Classics is a company that helps insure collector and specialty cars. They’re described as offering coverage that’s based on an agreed value, so you’re less likely to get a low payout after a claim.
An agreed value policy means you and the insurance company agree on a car’s value ahead of time. If something happens to the car, the payout is based on that number, not a fight over what it was “worth” later.
Collector car coverage is insurance designed for classic cars. It usually accounts for how valuable the car is as a hobby/collector vehicle, not just as a regular used car.
Concept
pre-restoration vs restored value
They’re talking about how a car can be worth a lot more once it’s fully restored, but much less while it’s still being worked on. That difference can affect what you should insure it for.
Being “in the middle of restoration” means the vehicle is partially disassembled and not in its finished, drivable condition. That matters for valuation and insurance because the car’s worth can be very different from both the original condition and the fully restored value.
They’re talking about two different insurance situations: a car you drive daily versus a car that’s in your garage and not ready to drive. The insurance can sometimes be set up to cover the car and parts while you’re working on it.
Underwriters are the insurance company’s risk experts. They decide what they’ll cover and how much, so you have to coordinate with them to make sure your situation is covered.
The Ford Model T is a very old car from the early days of automobiles. The podcast mentions it because it’s insured, and classic cars often need special insurance. That’s especially relevant when talking about what happens if something like a fire occurs.
A "project" car is a vehicle that’s being repaired, modified, or restored over time rather than driven normally. The transcript suggests it was sold before the work was finished, which is common when a project runs out of time or money.
Overdrive is an extra “high gear” in an automatic transmission that helps the engine run slower on the highway. If it keeps turning on and off or won’t come back, something inside the transmission system may be malfunctioning.
This is a 1993 Chevrolet Silverado pickup. The “overdrive” is a higher gear used for highway driving, and the fact it keeps switching in and out points to a transmission problem that needs checking.
Term
4LC
“4LC” sounds like a code for the specific transmission setup in that truck. It matters because different transmission types use different parts and diagnostic steps.
Transmission fluid is the fluid that keeps the transmission moving parts lubricated and helps it shift gears. If the level is low, the transmission may shift wrong or not shift into overdrive, and sometimes leaks don’t leave a big puddle.
The transfer case is part of a 4-wheel-drive system that sends power to the front and rear wheels. It has its own fluid, so if transmission fluid is getting into it, something inside the drivetrain is likely leaking.
This is the back housing area of the transfer case where the drivetrain output comes out. If fluid is leaking from there, it often means a seal or internal part isn’t holding pressure correctly.
The top fill plug is the access point you use to add fluid and check the correct level in the transfer case. If fluid shoots out of it, the transfer case is likely getting too much fluid.
A vacuum modulator is an older automatic-transmission part that uses engine vacuum to help control how the transmission shifts. If someone swapped in an older transmission, it can cause fluid to get pulled into vacuum lines instead of staying where it should.
A solenoid is an electronically controlled switch/valve inside an automatic transmission. If one solenoid stops working, the transmission may lose more than one gear because it uses several of these signals together.
The Ford F-150 is a large pickup truck. The podcast mentions a 2013 model that’s driven mostly for hauling a horse, which is a practical use case. That kind of routine use can affect what maintenance items you should watch for.
The starter was turning the engine over, but the engine wouldn’t actually start. That suggests a problem with getting ignition or fuel to the engine, not just the battery.
They’re talking about how fast the engine spins (RPM). If RPM jumps when you press the gas but doesn’t come back down quickly, something in the engine’s idle/air control isn’t behaving normally.
Fuel pressure is how strongly the fuel system is pushing gas through the fuel line. If pressure drops after the car sits, turning the ignition on a few times can help bring it back so the engine starts.
The fuel line is the tube that carries gas from the pump to the engine. If gas leaks back when the car sits, the engine may not get the pressure it needs to start right away.
The Volkswagen Derby is a Volkswagen model name. In the podcast, it’s mentioned in a casual way, not as part of a detailed repair or performance topic. So the main point is just that the car is being talked about.
The Chevrolet Sonic is a small, everyday car. The podcast mentions a 2015 Sonic LT and says there’s been a problem for a few months. That usually means the conversation is about figuring out what’s wrong and how to fix it.
“Loses some power” means the car doesn’t feel as strong when you press the gas. That can happen when the engine isn’t getting the right fuel/air or when the car detects a problem and limits performance.
A “choppy idle” is when the engine doesn’t run smoothly at a stoplight or right after you start it. It can feel like it’s shaking or stumbling for a few seconds.
Power windows are the windows that go up and down with buttons instead of hand cranks. If two or more stop working together, it usually means there’s an electrical problem affecting the whole system.
“Loss of power” means the car isn’t acting like it should—like it won’t respond normally. Sometimes it’s caused by an electrical problem, not just the engine itself.
The ignition switch is what turns the car’s electrical system on. If it’s worn out or failing, parts of the car’s electronics may lose power or act strangely.
CAN bus is the car’s communication system—like a shared network that the car’s computers use to talk to each other. If it breaks, multiple features can stop working at the same time.
The body control module (BCM) is one of the main car computers for body features like locks and windows. If it’s failing, those features can act up and other computers may report communication problems.
A data interruption means the car’s computers aren’t able to exchange messages properly. When that happens, some features may stop working because the system can’t “talk” to the right computer.
The check engine light (CEL) is the dashboard warning that indicates the engine or emissions control system has stored a fault. In this segment, the hosts note that the CEL can be on for years, which may or may not be related to the body-electronics/network issue being diagnosed.
BCM means “Body Control Module.” It’s the car’s computer that runs a lot of the electrical features like lights and locks. They’re saying the problem might be connected to that module.
Inside an automatic transmission, there are parts that use friction to control the gears. A “band” is one of those friction parts, and if it’s worn it can cause shifting problems—sometimes you can replace just that band.
When a transmission is rebuilt, shops often use a kit that includes the common worn-out internal parts. That way they can replace what’s bad and put the transmission back together properly.
Automatic transmissions use fluid pressure to control shifting. “Valves” are the internal parts that direct that fluid, and if they’re still working well, the repair may be simpler.
A “serviceable truck” is basically a truck that can be fixed and maintained without huge trouble. Buyers like those because they’re easier (and usually cheaper) to keep on the road.
Cummins is a company that makes diesel engines used in many heavy-duty trucks. “Cummins diesels” just means a truck with a Cummins diesel engine, the kind people buy for work because it’s made to handle tough use.
Term
work trucks
“Work trucks” are trucks used for real jobs—like hauling or construction—not just everyday driving. People pay more for them when they’re dependable.
Fuel injectors are the parts that spray fuel into the engine. If an injector fails, the engine may run rough or start acting up because it’s not getting the right amount of fuel.
“Knock” is a rattling or pinging sound from the engine. It usually means the engine isn’t burning fuel the way it should, or something inside is under stress.
Term
specialty spool
A “spool” here sounds like a drum for winding cable/rope used for pulling. A “specialty spool” means it’s set up for a specific job, like towing or hauling.
A transmission shop is a garage that focuses on fixing transmissions. The point here is that some shops will only replace parts with rebuilt ones, while others can take your unit apart and repair it directly.
A remanufactured unit is a used part that gets taken apart and rebuilt by a shop, usually with new internal pieces, so it’s supposed to work like a replacement. It’s often used when the shop doesn’t want to (or can’t) rebuild yours from scratch.
“Self-driving” means the car can take over some driving tasks, but it usually isn’t fully autonomous. The hosts are saying you should check the latest info and settings so you understand what the system will do for you.
FSD is a software feature that helps the car drive more on its own. It can handle things like steering and lane keeping, and the host is talking about how much their daughter relies on it.
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Here is the Under the Hood Show Podcast.
This is Under the Hood.
Welcome to the Under the Hood Show.
We are glad to have you with us.
Russ Evans is here to answer your automotive questions.
Welcome. Thanks for joining us Under the Hood.
Shannon Nordstrom is here to do the same.
Welcome, Hoodies. Thanks for tuning in so we can help you tune up.
I'm Chris Carter here to answer your calls at 866-594-4150.
866-594-4150.
You can call that number 24 hours a day, actually, and leave us a message.
We might call you back.
Like, Tay and Miss...
We might call you back.
We'll call you back.
Oh, okay.
If you leave us the right...
You gotta leave your name and your number.
Unless we don't like you.
Very clearly. Right.
How do we know if we don't like them and we haven't talked to them?
Well, they may call us, give us a big long message,
and then even call us back a second time
because they ran out of the three minutes of recording space
and still not leave a number.
Are we sensing a rub here?
Oh, your name.
It does happen.
Oh, yeah.
Leave your number and your name.
So give me a call.
Poor producer, Doug.
He calls them up.
Oh, this is the Under the Hood Show.
Who?
Who is this?
Well, you did leave us a message.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, that's right.
Let's go to Mississippi and talk to Tay.
You're on the Under the Hood Show.
Tay, what can we do for you?
Hello?
Yep. Go ahead, Tay.
Yes, I have a 65 Chevrolet Bel Air
that I have changed the engine and transmission.
I've put a 4060e transmission in it
that I'm having problems with.
I've drove this car for about 12 years.
It was no problems.
And I had an operation.
And I've lived it set for two years.
Matter is dead.
And now I cannot get the transmission.
And computer, it's a Cadillac computer.
And it won't read anything.
Hmm.
So it doesn't start and you can't, you can't read it.
It doesn't run at all.
And none at all.
And I talked to one of my buddies that this is all he does
is program stuff.
And he said that the batteries were dead.
And he said, evidently, you turn the key on
and it wiped out the transmission computer.
Okay.
But we drive every year model from the 22s
with the ever GM model of everything.
Cars and trucks.
And when you go into the transmission computer,
just no connection.
You bought this as an engine package out of a truck, didn't you?
The transmission, the engine together about 14, 15 years ago.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And they dropped it in.
So that, that was out of a, like a, it's a, it's a six liter Cadillac engine, isn't it?
Yes.
All right.
So that has a, that has a separate transmission computer.
And then the main box under the hood, right?
Yes.
Okay.
I believe I understand you now.
All right.
So this, if it's got that separate computer, which a lot of these did,
you can replace that.
And it's replaceable with pretty much any GM transmission computer
that looks like that physically there.
They look the same, but they're, and they're the same inside.
They can be programmed.
So if you can communicate with the engine computer,
but not the transmission computer, the first thing I would do to, would be to pick up.
Yeah.
I'd pick one of those up and plug it in and see if it works because you've got one
or two things going either.
That computer went bad when the power was hooked up.
And when I used to put these things together, I had a few of them lock up on me
and I threw them away and plugged another one in and they communicated just fine.
And then I programmed them.
Some of them don't even have to be programmed when they're working.
But it could also be that maybe a rodent got in there and chewed on a wire
while it was sitting.
So you, they'll want to check power and ground at that module and make sure those
two communication wires are hooked up that go from the engine computer to that.
Because when your scanner inside plugs in and it goes to the engine computer first
and then it comes out of that and goes to the transmission module.
So we know that the engine, if it's working there, the engine computer,
but not the transmission, it's either got to be a broken wire.
And the power comes, the power is fed out of that, that harness from the same place
as the engine computer where it's tied in.
But the, I think maybe it's just that computer has gone bad because they will,
they call them brick.
They just lock up when they get a power fluctuation sometimes like that.
We've had that in cars and those escalades and things.
They were all together and Silverados, if the battery was dead and the customer
tried to jumpstart it, then they, it wouldn't shift afterwards.
They couldn't get it to communicate.
And we just plug in a new transmission computer and it was good.
So that, that might get you going back on the road again.
I bought this as a kit and I'm trying to find my paperwork on that.
On the engine and transmission?
It came with a, it came with the transmission computer engine,
computer wiring harness, these locks and all of that wire to the transmission.
Right.
It all comes with one kit.
That transmission control module is probably the same as any like,
I think 05, 6, 4, GM, truck, Escalade.
It'll have a part number on it too.
And yeah, there should be a part number right on the case of that module
that they can get on the internet and easily cross-reference and find the one
that you need, if that's what it is.
But I would definitely be checking for some potential rodent damage if that was the case.
A little bit of wire damage there.
Yeah.
And I'm glad that you are through the surgery and been able to think about this car again.
That's awesome.
It sounds like after driving it for 12 years and being part of your life,
it's a pretty important deal and we need to get this going.
Tay, thanks very much for the call.
Good luck.
And I love that, I love the, when it was, when I saw it was a 55, I was like,
oh, that's going to, but with the modern drivetrain in it.
I think that's so neat.
866-594-4150.
Let's talk to Jerry.
You're on the end of the hood show.
Jerry, what can we do for you?
I got a 75 Chevy pickup.
And when I put it on any kind of an inclined parking brake, don't hold.
And just clicks, you know, and a roll.
But if you're on flat ground, it's all right.
And I was wondering if you got to pull a transmission to fix the pin,
or can you get through the pan?
The park pall doesn't hold on the drum, right?
Yeah.
So you'll have to pull the transmission pan off and you'll have to pull the valve body
out to get into that.
If I remember right, almost positive you do.
And then you can replace that park pall in there.
There's some transmissions.
You don't have to take the valve body out.
You can get it.
You have to pull that shaft out, but you can get, I just have to look at it.
Boy, it's been so long.
I can't remember.
I think I've done one or two park palls in that style transmission.
But that comes from people, you know, people like, well, how does that park not hold on a vehicle?
Well, a lot of people on older cars, they were weaker.
But if you were on a steep hill, you had a trailer behind it or something,
and you didn't use the regular parking brake, that's what they were for.
They would just overcome that and you would hear them ratchet, click, click, click, click.
Or sometimes a new driver throw into park while it was still rolling.
And it seemed like if you did that in reverse, it would break that thing.
But in forward, it would just go click, click, click, but reverse held really well.
So if I was parking on a hill, I'd want to park with the, you know, with the back end down.
Yeah.
I think you can replace that parking pall without digging into it super deep.
Okay.
That's what I was wondering.
There you go.
Jerry, thanks very much for the call.
Well, what you do is you go get yourself a two by four, about six feet,
cut it into four sections, and just chuck the tires every time.
No?
All right.
Well, go ahead and fix it then with the transmission.
866-594.
Triangles behind it and black, just a little plastic went off Amazon
or out of the back of a car, like the power company.
Yeah, heavy ones with the rope.
Big cable on it.
Yeah.
866-594-4150.
That's the number to reach us here at the under the hood show.
Let's go to Chicago and talk to Al.
You're on the under the hood show.
Al, what can we do for you?
Hey, good to talk to you again.
I have a 2013 Chrysler Counting Country minivan that's a flex fuel vehicle,
but I've never ran a drop of E85 in it.
Okay.
And now.
The guy's running a little half price.
Half the price of a regular.
Is that something I dare do at this point?
We get this call 2013.
Like teen.
Every four years now.
That was a flex fuel vehicle and it worked pretty good.
That's what I was just thinking about.
That system was a much more solid system.
He's got one.
So producer Doug.
Yes.
Have you been running the E85?
Some, yeah.
At half price, your cost per mile will be less,
but you're going to lose,
you're going to lose a lot of fuel miles per gallon by putting 85 in there
because it's just not,
it's just the way it's going to run because of the,
the, the BTU coming out of that fuel percentage.
Yeah.
You saw me.
This vehicle, I think he's going to lose 35%.
Okay.
30 to 35.
I was going to say 25% just as a guest.
Right.
I think he's, yeah, you're going to save money by running the E85 right now.
Normally you'd run E30 because that's going to be the lowest price.
And it's also going to be more volatile.
So it's a more BTU.
So it's going to, it's going to keep your mileage up.
My car, when I run premium 91 octane or I run E30,
I get exactly the same miles per gallon, no matter what.
Okay.
Yeah.
And when I put E30 in and I pay $2 and 30 cents for it,
you know, when I was paying that versus $4 and 40 cents for premium.
Yeah.
That's a better deal.
So E30 is going to get you the most mileage at the lowest price,
but E85 is going to save you a lot right now.
Cause it's, it's a, it's a, it's just a lot cheaper right now,
but it won't last.
I don't think my personal opinion is I don't think it'll last forever
because the last time we had a very high fuel spike,
like an 08 when prices were incredibly high stations set that price a lot
because that product E85 is not coming from like Texaco or Chevron.
It's not coming from their big dealer.
It's more of a local product.
They could tell you exactly how that works if you talk to the right people,
but we did and they just said, well, why should it be half price?
It should be a little more than that.
If fuel is selling for $5 a gallon and we're selling at E85 for 225,
we should, it's still a bargain if we sell it for 350, right?
So we, I looked and I was like, no, with that much content of alcohol,
it should not, it was just crazy.
So watch it.
But yeah, your question, you just put it in there.
On that caravan, wait until you get down under a quarter tank,
fill it all the way up with any flex fuel car or truck.
You want to run that tank very low and then completely fill it
with whatever product you intend to use.
Now, if you want to add more of the same product, go ahead.
More E85, more premium, more whatever it is.
But do not switch.
Do not have a half a tank E85 and put a half a tank of regular fuel in there
or the other way around because the sensors are not made
to read like that.
They want a full tank.
Is there anything that's going to be different for him that he should know is okay
or normal?
Yeah, don't, don't be going with really long oil changes.
If you're somebody that changes it at 5 or 6,000, forget about that.
You should be doing it earlier anyways.
But three months, 3,000 is very important on this with a good quality oil
because you will get some of the unburned fuel in the oil system.
But I mean, like if he puts E85, he puts a full tank of E85 in it today.
Is there anything over the next two weeks that's going to be weird for him?
The gas fuel gauge is going to be dropping a lot faster than what he's used to.
Does that help you out there, Al?
Well, with 186,000 miles, do I have to worry about injectors or anything?
Well, when you're running that much alcohol in there, you are running a
massive fuel injector cleaner through there.
It will clean everything out.
So it's possible if it could never run in there that you could have some
some things going on, but also it might just clean it out real well and it might be fine.
Well, and remember when they say E85 at a common pump, that means it's between 50, whatever it is.
No, between, somewhere between 40 and 55.
Yeah.
Unless you're in Wichita and then the way they got 85%.
Unless that's changed from our last knowledge infusion, that was what we knew.
Yeah.
And it's still that way.
That's, you know, it varies.
So and it will tell you right in the pump a lot of time will contain between
blah, blah, blah.
You've got to go to a specific station that you want.
And when I said Wichita, there are a few stations there that specifically have 85%
because the racers there know they can purchase it there and they know what they're
getting to put in their car as far as octane-wise.
And then they tune the car according to the in that case.
It wouldn't run on 40%.
So they don't want to, you know, no crapshoot.
They want to know for sure.
But yeah, with yours, I think, you know, you can run it.
But I would, if you've got it available in your area, I would try E30 and see if that
gets you the price you want with the fuel mile that you want.
Does that help you out there?
Okay.
All right.
Thanks very much for the call.
866-594-4150.
When do we start talking about French fry oil?
And that's going to come up too, isn't it?
Came up in 08.
It did.
And I...
I think Spirit Airlines is looking into it.
I love that stuff for the...
They fly over.
There they go again.
It's good for...
It's great in a diesel engine in warmer climate, but boy, it just...
You know, it looks like a can of Crisco.
We used to fry the bacon and grandma left the can under the...
Yeah, yeah.
The bacon can.
Yeah.
So that...
It does that in your vehicle when it gets cold out.
So you've got to have additives and stuff in there to...
Is that two people on it?
Okay.
Call it...
Roy and Terry from Oregon are on the line.
What can we do for you guys?
Well, I have a 1998 Ford Explorer SLT with a 5.0 in it.
At first, it stopped like the fuel pump.
There was no fuel coming to the...
Up front.
So anyway, replace...
Drop the tank.
Replace the fuel pump.
Still nothing.
Got fuel.
Wouldn't start.
So everything was working.
And I replaced the PVC.
I replaced the neutral safety switch.
And now I am not getting nothing.
There's not turning over at all.
The neutral safety switch is lined up like it's supposed to be.
And I haven't the foggiest of what is going on.
Why did you put the neutral safety switch on?
Did it stop turning over?
Yes.
Okay.
So those switch that was on it might have still been good.
And the new one you put on it, it's probably good.
So it's probably something else.
On your dash, when you turn that key to the start position,
does it have a flashing picture of a lock on there?
Well, yes.
It does.
Not a lock.
It's like the anti-tap or whatever it is.
But it does flash and flashes all the time.
Okay.
Whenever the key is in the wrong position, it just sits there and it's just blink, blink, blink.
Well, no.
Even it'll flash on and off even when it's turned off and the key's off and it's locked up.
I bought it five years ago and done the same thing.
It should blink every few seconds when the key's off for theft.
But when the key is on like in the wrong position, does it blink fast?
Correct.
No, it doesn't blink fast.
It wants the same thing.
Something's wrong with that anti-theft system then if it's doing that because it should.
When you turn the key to the run position after about five seconds, that light will go out completely.
And whether the car is running or not, it'll just be out.
But if it just has that steady blink to it like it did when the key's off, something is wrong and it's not activating that system.
The module's sending power to it to blink, but it's not running.
So the next step on this is going to be to have a shop plug a scanner into it that can read it and see what the codes are in the anti-theft module and see what needs to be addressed.
It might need to be programmed.
It might need a different key.
It might need the theft module and they're replaced.
Something in there sounds like it's keeping it from.
And that's exactly what it is.
I was told that it might by possible be the inertia switch.
No, not if it's not cranking.
Okay, exactly.
So I popped it, reset it, and it still didn't do anything.
That shuts off fuel only, that inertia switch.
The cranking, that starter relay is controlled by the anti-theft module tells the engine computer that it's been allowed to start, go ahead and engage that relay if it's in park or neutral.
And just to be clear, you guys didn't steal this car five years ago.
You bought it, right?
I mean, you know.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
No, it's mine.
Okay, just checking.
Well, let me have like Roy and Terry, like Bonnie and Clyde or what we had going on there.
First party line call we've had that I know of for a while.
Ever, maybe.
Thanks very much for the call.
Good luck.
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Welcome back everybody. It's time to get back under the hood with our motor medics.
866-594-4150. That's the number to reach us here at the end of the hood show.
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They're celebrating over 50 years of collector car coverage.
We've had a lot of Berkeley One Classics on the show today.
Even some of the engines, too.
You know, that's something they do that maybe not everybody knows about.
If you have a car, let's say you bought one to restore.
And the car is worth, you're like, well, you know, restored, it's worth $100,000, let's say.
But you don't have it restored. You bought it, you've taken it apart, you're in the middle of restoration.
So you've got this car apart in your garage, everything's sitting there.
What do you think that car is worth? And should you have insurance on it?
People are thinking, no, I don't need insurance.
It's not working, it's not.
Until there's a fire or something and you lose it.
So there's two different kinds of insurance you can have.
You can cover the car, you're driving it on the street every day.
Or you can cover a car that you're working on.
They'll cover the car, they'll cover the parts.
If you replace the engine and a new engine or different engines sitting over there, you can have that in there.
Obviously you've got to work with their underwriters to figure all that out.
Exactly. They do a lot of things that you just don't hear of from a lot of companies.
And that's good for me.
Like for me, I've got a car sitting in my garage that is a car that's important to me.
It's not road worthy, but it's insured.
Now it's not insured for as much as if it was on the road, but it's still insured.
Now, if the build, I'm not so worried about somebody stealing it as much as what if the building burns down?
Or there's a tornado or something and there's some kind of event.
If I lose that building and lose that car, I'm okay with what I'll get paid.
I'll still be a little sad that I've lost a car, but I mean, it would have to be pretty bad.
That's why it's always good to make those negotiations when there's not emotions involved as much.
You know.
I've got the Model T insured too.
If I have a fire in the building or a tornado takes that building down or something,
you just got to know, are you okay?
But they'll do that.
They'll work with you with that.
But each year they're going to ask you, what's the progress?
Because I did that with that 81 transam.
We never got much done with it.
So every year you had to kind of say, all right, where are you at?
What have you done?
And then make a plan.
Did you ever?
Sold it.
Okay.
There you go.
Never did get it finished.
Sold it as a project.
866?
5?
I got you a phone number the other day.
No, I know.
I felt that way.
No, I'm okay.
I'm totally fine.
Did you call the guy?
I got you a phone number the other day.
No, I didn't.
I got it written down on the list.
You should because it sounded like it was pretty good.
I think that was an Arizona car.
866-594-4150.
Let's talk to Scott.
You're on the end of the hood show.
Scott, what can we do for you?
Yeah.
I got a 93 Chevy Silverado driving to work the other day and kicking to overdrive.
Kind of kicked back out again a few times.
So I kicked back down to drive and stopped at the next part store.
Got a couple of quarts, added to it.
It was low, but I never got my overdrive back and I'm losing like a cord every two days.
But yet I don't have anything dripping.
I have no spots under the truck or anything.
Oh, okay.
What engine you got in this thing?
The 5.7.
Okay.
I'm guessing the 4LC.
Well, has it been, nothing's been modified in it?
Nothing's been modified.
It's all stock, about 200,000 miles.
The transmission has been rebuilt about 50,000 miles ago, but I topped it off, but I've lost.
My overdrive just doesn't come back.
If you're losing fluid and you're fluid, there's nothing on the ground.
What fluid, by the way?
Transmission fluid.
So if you're losing transmission fluid and it's not on the ground, there's only one place it can go.
Is this four-wheel drive?
Cool.
Yeah.
Okay.
There's only one place this can go if this is an all-stock 93.
You're losing it from the transmission into the transfer case.
It will come out the rear tail shaft housing, and the pressure from that transmission is greater than the no pressure with no pump in the transfer case, and it'll be filling it up.
So if you go, if you've been, if you've been put, and you can only put so much in, because then it's full.
But if you take the top fill plug where you check that transfer case out and it comes blasting out of there, that's where the fluid is going.
If you take it out and you have a pan under it and you get like two quarts out of there before it's back to normal level, that's where it's been going.
The only other possibility is if somebody has replaced this transmission that's in it with something older that has a vacuum modulator on it, then it could be sucking it out through there into the vacuum line of the engine.
But this truck didn't have a vacuum modulator.
Yeah, 93 should have been the first year of the electronic leach.
It's not stocked.
That's why I was asking, has it been changed?
Because it could have been.
I believe everything.
Okay, all stocked.
I believe it's all stocked.
Got to be going into the transfer case.
Now being that low could have caused, could have caused an issue with the overdrive to burn up.
The overdrive has the most force on it when you're trying to push it.
Yeah.
And you're over driving that gear as a lot of, it's like trying to pedal a 10 speed bike up.
A lot of heat on that load.
It really causes a lot of load at lower RPM.
So it could have burned that out.
But whatever you do, even if you just want to keep this thing going, you'll definitely want to replace the seals on the back of the transmission in the front of the transfer case and get the right amount of fluid in it.
So you don't have the issue.
But if you're pulling the case anyways, you might think about pulling the transmission out and get it fixed.
If overdrive is gone, I pretty much have to pull the transmission.
Definitely.
Yeah.
You definitely, if that's the only gear that's gone and it came when it ran low, I don't think, I don't think anything's going to fix it.
Because if you lost one solenoid, you're going to lose more than one gear because they do more than one gear.
They just on and off in different combinations.
So I don't think that now you could have a valve hanging up in the transmission and the valve body, which they could work on on a voice.
You know, their, their first step, they pull the pan off and see what's in the pan.
Inspect what comes out.
Yep. And if it looks really bad, it's going to come out.
How long can he ignore it?
Well, if you fix the transfer case issue, because that'll cause a huge problem.
But if you fix the leak on the back, you could drive it with just the first three gears all over the place.
But, but logically,
It's just down drag.
Yeah, logically, you should probably check the fluid and pull the pan of the train at the same time.
So you kind of know what you're dealing with.
If you decide that the fluid looks really burnt and there's some sediment, there's some material, clutch material down there.
That'd be not there.
But the same type of thought, bad things, things you don't want to see in there.
Then you'd know that, okay, this thing's going to have to come out altogether and I can just fix everything at once if you're going to fix it.
Does that help you out there, Scott?
Yeah, it's nice.
Yeah, yeah, I think it does.
Thanks very much for the call.
Some chunks of wood, a bone.
That'd be noteworthy.
866-594-4150.
Let's go to Washington DC and talk to Nigel. You're on the end of the hood show. Nigel, what can we do for you?
Well, firstly, I love your show. I'm not a mechanic. I'm not even very handy with automobiles,
but I learned so much from you guys and I've been listening for about three years.
Thanks.
Awesome. Thank you.
Now, Wife has a 2013 F-150.
Low mileage, about 54,000, uses it only to cart her horse around mostly.
And we got it back from the service, a routine regular service for place brakes, et cetera.
And I started it up after I'd been sitting for a few days.
The starter engine cranked, but it didn't fire. The main engine did not fire.
So the head it towed. They did some things and the truck came back.
That's for a few more days and then I started it up again.
It was working fine after it came back from the mechanic and they're reputable people.
But then it wouldn't, it would crank, but not fire again.
And then suddenly it did fire and for a brief while I didn't really have good control over the revs.
The revs would go up when I was pumping the gas pedal, but wouldn't come down quickly.
I thought, well, this doesn't sound good. So I had it towed to them again.
And of course it wouldn't replicate for the problem.
And they actually took it for a test drive. They had it for several days and they said,
you know, as far as we can tell, it's working fine.
The only thing we can think is possibly wrong is that in the fuel pump, if it sits unused for a few days,
fuel drains back into the gas tank and that generates the inability to fire when you crank.
So what their workaround is, if it's been sitting for a while, get in, turn the ignition on,
but don't all turn it all the way to full ignition just until the electricity comes on.
Count to ten, turn it off, repeat two more times, counting to ten each time.
And then it should fire because the act of turning on the ignition will repressurize the fuel line
from the fuel pump to, I guess, the engine. Does that make sense to you?
Have you heard of this in an F-150 before?
I've heard of that in a lot of vehicles before and it's an indication that the fuel pump is failing.
So if you're cycling that key and it builds pressure back up and starts every time,
then that's what's going on is you've got a fuel pump issue.
If it was an injector issue, when you would cycle that key, you'd get the pressure up.
But once it started, you'd get a really rough running and black smoke out the exhaust
because it's dumping fuel out there. I've got a feeling it's probably just a failed fuel pump.
Do you just do this method for a while or do you...?
It's up to you.
Have you done this method and hasn't made a difference? This is going to be my question.
Yes, we have used this method. Well, it hasn't been sitting unused for multiple days,
but just out of abundance of caution, it's the method that I use when I get in now.
And it's working fine.
And the reason I was a little hesitant to replace the fuel pump was that they want a little over $1,800 to do it.
No, that's too much.
If this was in our shop, it would be well under $1,000.
And we're comparable to a lot of other shops in the country that I know.
If you're in DC, that sounds reasonable because I know people there and they're that high,
but you might look around a little bit, being that you can drive this truck well now,
you might tell your wife, let's put the horse in the back.
Let's go where we're going, maybe the Kentucky Derby, win some money.
But get out of town, get a price first from somebody to put a fuel pump in somewhere else.
I'll bet you'll find it out of DC, 60, 70 miles.
I bet you'll find it under the grand.
And this is pretty straightforward.
If that's doing it, it's not much question.
Yeah, it sounds like that.
Well, the problem with the Ford is sometimes a lot of people lift the box off to do a fuel pump.
You can't always get the box off a Ford.
The bolts are painted a butt.
Nigel, thanks very much for the call.
Good luck.
866-594-4150.
That's the number to reach us here at the end of the Hood Show.
Let's go to New York and talk to Mark.
You're on the end of the Hood Show, Mark.
What can we do for you?
Hi.
I have a 2015 Chevrolet Sonic LT.
And for the last number of months, it actually goes back to like into the fall.
It started around October to jerk kind of violently at times while driving.
And the door knobs would simultaneously go up and down repeatedly for a period of time.
And there's no step pattern since it started.
This is sporadic issue that may happen like a couple trips in a row.
Then it may not happen for a couple of weeks, two or three weeks.
It's a very sporadic issue.
And I also noticed when it goes through one of these spells, I'll call it, it also loses some power.
Like I can tramp the pedal down to the baseboard and it'll go maximum of like 45 hour an hour.
And in addition to that, and I didn't know if this ties into it or not, this could be a separate issue.
But within the last month, when I turn the ignition on, when I'm first getting ready to leave home, sometimes it'll...
Well, it always idols kind of choppy when I first turn it on.
It's like a choppy idol for like five seconds.
But lately in the last month, it'll also occasionally want to just shut off and I'll just start it back up and then it works fine every time.
That may be a separate issue.
And also during the course of all this, I lost the ability to draw up two of my power windows.
My one power window hasn't worked for like a couple of years.
These other two stopped working at the same exact time.
And I didn't know if that ties in with this issue or not.
I read things online that's the conflicting information and all these possible scenarios of what it may be.
But I found you guys online and thought I'd give you a call to see what your thoughts were on it.
Did any of those AI scenarios or things that you found in research say just to pick it up and shake it?
It's a Sonic. It's not that big.
I was wondering how low the power has to be to notice a drop in power.
No more Sonic jokes. They're a really good transportation.
When they're working right, my niece, I believe it's a Sonic that Scott's daughter has had for a long time.
And she's like six foot four or five.
And she has had this Sonic, which is just, she's a lot of arms, a lot of legs getting out of that car when it comes out.
Well, the AI says, and some people have found good luck calling the end of the hood show.
If only.
AI, we are an expert. If we just have to position ourselves as experts, we have the authority in this subject on Sonics.
So what you're describing, I've had that happen on other vehicles, GM vehicles.
And I can't remember exactly what we found on this one that did what you're saying, loss of power plus the door lock thing.
You could have a power issue causing this in several things, ignition switch, something causing this.
But you could also have a failure in a module bringing the can bus down so the communication network is getting interrupted.
That would that would jive with, okay, I've lost my power windows. That's down.
Something is already wrong, probably with that module or the power to it.
So I would start if I had this in our shop and I was trying to diagnose it, I would start with trying to fix the power windows.
I would look at it. I would look at that body control module because you've had door locks, you've had windows, some weird stuff going on.
Figure out what that is. And I'll bet in figuring that out, you're going to take care of the other problem by either finding one common power issue that's causing all your issues,
or you're finding that that module has failed and it's causing a data interruption on that line causing it to do this.
I think the one we had was a suburban that did that and I believe it was the body control module.
It had just failed and was causing the that it was causing interruption in the in the computers.
And what I found was that every module in the car said lost communication with BCM with body control module.
But the body control module didn't have any codes for losing communication with anything else,
which told me that when this was happening, it was dead and everything else was trying to talk to it.
So a lot of times a shop, if they're really good with reading data and not just codes, can see what's going on with it.
And I can't remember in your description, did you say whether the check engine lights were coming on or off or not?
Well, see, that's a thing there too. That check engine light's been on for like, it's been on there for years and that had to do.
I think they told me that had to do with a cell annoyed or something.
Solenoid and transmission or maybe a purged celloid and evaporation.
Evap solenoid.
Yeah, exactly. And so that that isn't something that's operational, hasn't been for a long, long before.
Then it masks other check engine lights that come up so you don't know what's new and what's old.
So that does create a bit of a challenge. But this has got to be a power or a BCM issue.
There's somewhere that I would have them trace the main, get a wiring schematic out if they don't know and trace the main powers,
the main grounds that go to each one of these circuits and check them all.
There's just too many things going on with this car that it's not, there's no way all those modules went bad at once.
Right.
Do you tell, but do you go in and say, hey, you gotta find a diagram?
You gotta find the right person.
Okay.
Hey, do you specialize in, in schematics?
I just imagined someone coming in.
Do you enjoy looking at schematics?
Someone comes in to Ross and goes, hey, get the diagram out and trace the...
I've had a few of them lately.
I believe that.
They were some deep digging and I was just like, I found them, but they can be, you know, it's nerve wracking.
You just start at one end and you go to the other until you find it, but it's just...
Until you have your aha moment.
Mark, thanks very much for the call.
Good luck.
866-594-4150.
Let's talk to Ryan.
You're on the end of the hood show.
Ryan, what can we do for you?
Yeah.
So we're kind of looking at buying a 2007 Ram 2500.
And he says the, the band on, on the transmission second plus a little bit.
Is that something that easily, easily replaced or do the, because he said it catches sometimes and sometimes it doesn't.
So can we replace just the band or does that need a whole transmission to replace?
Is this a diesel?
Yep.
Yeah.
I think you can, I think you can do some work on that.
If I remember right, we just don't, we don't repair those, but I believe that's that one.
You can...
Yeah, you get newer.
You're just talking about a lot of money.
Or the gas.
No, but I think, yeah, that one, I think you can, you can work on that, that band.
But yeah, even if you had a problem with the, with, with any of the parts in the transmission,
they could take the transmission apart, look at the parts that are worn,
replace what needs to be replaced and put it together or get an overhaul kit to do it.
As long as the valves are still good, the rest of the pump and all that is still good.
It's going to be less than if you burn the whole thing up.
Like if you're towing and you burn one up completely, that takes a lot more to rebuild than when you still have good hard parts and things like that.
The question I would have though in all seriousness, if you're looking at this vehicle and you, do you know the person or not know the person that has it for sale?
I, I don't know.
I mean, I just seen it on, on the internet and that he got it for sale.
I would be asking myself this question, if it was that easy to fix, why haven't they?
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's true.
Yeah, that happens a lot.
I would be asking myself that question, because that truck as a serviceable truck is in high demand.
Work trucks with Cummins diesels are in high demand.
If they work good and we were just talking about this with one we got in our shop, if it doesn't look horrible.
Yeah, we got a pretty good, I mean, it's got a slight knock because it had an injector failure, caused some kind of damage in there, but it starts and runs and dries.
Those are worth good money.
So I was just poking around at the market on them and a good working truck has got a pretty strong value yet because the new ones are so expensive.
If somebody wants one for a construction company that it's like the fifth truck or for a ranch to put a specialty spool on the back for pulling, pulling a wagon or whatever it might happen to be, that's high demand.
So I don't know why they said either that or they've replaced the truck with a new one and they knew it had this problem.
They just don't want to touch anymore.
That comes up.
That happens.
But I'd be asking that question.
I did it.
I did ask him why he was selling me.
He said he wants to just update it and get a new pickup.
Well, maybe it's not that bad.
Maybe he's like, yeah, occasionally it slips.
You could get this done.
I'm not going to do it because I'm just not going to spend any money on it.
I would call a transmission shop too that works on those units and doesn't mind turning one apart.
Because a lot of transmission shops per se in the last 10 years have became more inclined to install a remanufactured unit because they don't have the technical expertise in the shop anymore to open it up and go through it.
Because it's just they don't.
Not all.
Not all.
There's some that still have some wonderful people that can tear this stuff apart, but it's something you definitely got to look into and see what their availability is.
Then just ask them, okay, on this unit, what can I, what can you do?
If you open this thing up, can you do that?
That's the kind of place you want to talk to.
Ryan, thanks very much for the call.
Good luck.
All right.
This isn't the after show.
I mean, this is the after show, but this isn't the after.
We're going to go.
That's it.
We're done.
We're going to do other stuff.
We're good to go.
You know, you just, this is probably better on the after show, what I was doing on the break.
Yeah.
What were you doing over there?
I was doing an automotive function on my phone.
Can you guess what it was?
Probably not.
That's a very vague question.
And you have no idea where I'm coming from.
Your truck.
No.
Not my truck.
It was probably an on-star cut, that type of thing, right?
Nope.
That type of function.
I just canceled my daughter's self-driving subscription on her Tesla sitting in Phoenix,
Arizona, because she's got it stored at our friend's place.
Plugged in while she's going from college for five months.
You might want to look into that self-driving thing a little more, because just in the last
few days, some pretty serious stuff has come out about that and some words that came right
out of Elon Musk's mouth.
You want to look that up for yourself.
People that own those, do it yourself.
We're not going to say one way or the other.
But if you own a car and you're using the self-driving, look it up and look at the options you have.
Would we stop this?
Will you tell me what?
Yeah.
Okay.
And for the last six months, they've quit selling the self-driving as a purchase.
Right.
And so now it's a month-to-month subscription, which I think for them is a way better way
to market it.
And for our daughter in the big city down there, I've told you guys this before.
I don't know that I'd want her without it.
She's gotten so used to it.
Oh, sure.
And working just where to get the places, how to get the places and the safety.
When I was down there and checked her car, she had used the FSD 76% of the time she was driving
the car.
Wow.
Okay.
And when I got in it, I used it 100% of the time that I was driving the car.
I can see that.
Yeah.
I mean, because all of the driving aids in my car, I used them sporadically at first
and now I use them all the time.
And I depend on them.
So you always think that thing like, well, if the windshield or something I need to replace,
I'll just skip that.
Well, let me put it this way.
Right before on her last week of college, she had sent a note to us and said, hey, I
caught a curb and I got a mark on the rim and the tire.
Is this going to be a problem?
And so she was sending me pictures and we're looking at it.
And my first question is, did you have FSD on?
No.
So it was just, she just happened to be popping out of a parking lot and caught an edge and
the way it went.
But no, that's what I was doing on the break was my wife had sent me a reminder and said,
hey, we should cancel that before the beginning of the month.
Nice.
Because it re-goes for $99 at the fourth of the month.
And so I was canceling that before I forgot about it.
But it was as simple as going out of the car's app, looking at your options, saying cancel,
swipe, are you sure?
Why are you doing this?
Swipe, done.
That's crazy.
All right.
That'll do.
See you.
Thanks very much for watching.
Thank you.
About this episode
The hosts move through a string of practical repair calls, from a GM swap with a dead transmission computer to a Chevy pickup parking pawl problem and a Silverado that seems to be losing fluid into the transfer case. They also cover flex-fuel advice, a Ford Explorer no-crank tied to anti-theft, a likely failing fuel pump on an F-150, and a Chevy Sonic with broader electrical and communication trouble. The episode closes with thoughts on collector-car insurance, Ram transmission repair, and Tesla’s self-driving subscription.
Expert car repair advice! Call our show live and get help on the live show. Looking to save money on car repairs? Tune in to our latest episode of Under The Hood for practical automotive advice that can help you avoid costly repairs. 1. How to fix transmission troubles on a 55 Chevy LS engine swap car? 2. How do I fix a slipping transmission park gear on a 75 Chevy truck? 3. Can I use Flex Fuel e85 in my van? 4. Is security anti-theft causing my no start Ford Explorer? 5. Why does my 93 Silverado have no overdrive? 6. How to tell if my Ford fuel pump is failing? 7. Why does my Chevy Sonic have loss of computer data and funky door locks? 8. Adjusting bands in Ram Diesel transmission
