The Car Show with Dale and Dane Donovan Oct 11, 2025

THE Car Show with Dane Donovan - 10/11/2025

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Car

Chevrolet Silverado

The Chevrolet Silverado is a large truck that's great for carrying heavy loads. The 2000 version is known for being tough and reliable, making it a popular choice for work and everyday use.

Part

knock sensors

Knock sensors are parts of the engine that listen for unusual sounds that can mean the engine is running poorly. They help fix problems by telling the engine to adjust how it runs.

Term

5.3 liter

5.3 liter means the size of the engine in the truck. Bigger engines usually have more power, which helps with towing and carrying heavy loads.

Part

GEM replacement

GEM replacement parts are original parts made by the same company that built your car. They are often considered more reliable than generic parts.

Term

AC signal

An AC signal is a type of electrical signal that can change direction. Knock sensors use this signal to show they are working when they detect vibrations from the engine.

Part

fuel filter

The fuel filter cleans the fuel that goes into your engine, making sure it's free of dirt and debris. Changing it regularly helps your car run better.

Part

fuel pump

The fuel pump sends gas from the tank to the engine. If it doesn't work properly, your car might not start or could run poorly.

Term

service engine light

The service engine light is a warning light on your car's dashboard. It means there might be a problem with the engine or emissions system that needs to be checked.

Term

spark plugs

Spark plugs are small parts that create a spark to help start the engine. If they are old or damaged, the engine might not run smoothly.

Term

wires

Wires in this context are the connections that send electricity from the coils to the spark plugs. If they are broken or worn out, the engine may not start or run well.

Part

coils

Coils are parts of the car's ignition system that help start the engine by creating a spark. If they're not working well, the engine can misfire and lose power.

Term

PO 300

PO 300 is a code that tells you there's a problem with the engine not firing correctly. It means that one or more cylinders are misfiring, which can make your car run poorly.

Part

injector

An injector is a part of the engine that sprays fuel into it so that it can mix with air and burn to create power. If it's not working well, the engine might not run properly.

Part

mass airflow sensor

The mass airflow sensor helps your car's engine know how much air is coming in so it can mix the right amount of fuel. If it's not working right, your car might not run well.

Car

Saturn Ion

The Saturn Ion is a small car made by the Saturn brand, which was known for being affordable and practical. It was sold from 2003 to 2007.

Term

misfire

A misfire happens when an engine's cylinder doesn't work correctly, which can make the car run poorly. This can be due to problems like bad spark plugs or fuel issues.

Part

coilovers

Coilovers are special parts of a car's suspension that help it handle better on the road. They can be adjusted to change how high or low the car sits, which can make it drive smoother or more sporty.

Part

platinum plug

A platinum plug is a special kind of spark plug that lasts longer than regular ones. It uses platinum, which helps it work better and last more miles before needing to be changed.

Part

valve cover gasket

A valve cover gasket is a rubber or silicone seal that keeps oil from leaking out of the engine. If it breaks, oil can drip out and cause problems.

Part

spark plug tube seals

Spark plug tube seals are small rubber rings that keep oil from getting into the parts where the spark plugs are. If they wear out, oil can leak in and cause the engine to run poorly.

Part

ignition coil

An ignition coil helps start the engine by sending electricity to the spark plug, which creates a spark to ignite the fuel. It's an important part of how the engine works.

Car

Dodge Dakota

The Dodge Dakota is a type of pickup truck made by Dodge. The 2006 version is known for being useful for carrying things and driving on different types of roads.

Part

V6 engine

A V6 engine is a type of engine that has six cylinders arranged in a V shape. It's known for providing a good mix of power and fuel efficiency.

Term

tune up

A tune-up is when you do maintenance on your car to make sure it runs well. This usually includes changing parts like spark plugs and checking other important parts of the engine.

Part

throttle body

The throttle body helps control how much air goes into the engine, which affects how much power the engine can produce. It's important for the engine's performance.

Term

drive by wire

Drive by wire means that instead of using a cable to connect the gas pedal to the engine, it uses electronic signals. This can make the car respond better and save fuel.

Term

throttle plate cleaner

Throttle plate cleaner is a spray that helps clean a part of the engine that controls how much air goes in. Cleaning it helps the engine work better and respond faster.

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Burn up that corner, boy!

On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again.

Life is a highway, I won't ride it all night long.

You'll have fun, fun, fun till you get it, take some tea, girl.

Fun, fun, fun till you get it, take some tea, girl.

Good afternoon and welcome to Car Show.

I'm Dane Donovan, taking all of your car questions,

the number to call, 513-749-5500.

That number again, 513-749-5500.

The phone lines are wide open, so I'd love to hear from you.

It is a... it's a almost perfect...

I mean, I shouldn't say almost.

It is an actually perfect day.

I mean, it's going to be sunny in 75.

You can't go wrong with it. No humidity.

I mean, we don't get many days like this.

And it's nice to enjoy it.

My son had a soccer game this morning at 11.

My middle son has a football game at 12.30,

which I'm kind of missing right now.

But then we've got the football game tomorrow.

So busy weekend in sports, as usual, in my household.

But do enjoy it.

And so...

But again, the number to call, 513-749-5500.

Listen, it was... it was another busy week.

Had... but things are a little soft.

And I think...

And, you know, I've been doing this a long time.

But, you know, every time...

Right up to an election, you start to see people kind of...

I shouldn't say no, but they don't say yes to everything, right?

So you call them up, tell them what they need.

And, you know, let's just do what I have to do right now.

And, you know, I mean, I get it.

A lot of people don't understand, you know,

they're concerned about making any type of big purchases

or financial decisions until the election happens.

But unfortunately, even whoever gets in doesn't matter.

You're still going to need your car to get to work, right?

So it was... but, you know, it's just weird.

It happens every time.

And, you know, some of the guys are like,

well, what's going on?

It's just like, man, people just...

They just get a little bit finicky when it comes to

making major purchases or spending any type of money

until the election comes up.

And I know that's coming up really quickly.

So I should pick back up,

especially if we start getting some colder temperatures.

But so...

All right, let's go back.

Let's go to the phones.

We've got Russ.

Hey, Russ. Welcome to the car show.

How can I help?

Hey, I got a 2000 Silverado 5.3 engine in it.

And I replaced the knock sensors.

OK.

And question.

And I had the message for the knock sensor.

So I went ahead and did that, pulled the manifold,

replaced them.

And I don't get the message anymore.

I cleared the message.

However, it doesn't seem...

Now, I've been on other websites

looking...

It looks like you have to...

Two ways to test it with the...

You get your ohms reading, which mind check, fine.

However, when you knock on the manifold,

it does not change anything.

And what I've read is it should do that.

So that's my question is,

do I need to replace them again?

OK, so what it says here is, what year?

It says Chevy Silverado, what year is it?

2000, 5.3 V8.

OK, and you were getting it.

Was it a check engine light that was coming on

and saying that the knock sensor was coding?

Yes.

OK.

And was there one or two underneath there?

There's two.

OK.

And you replaced both?

What about the harness?

Yes, I replaced that also.

OK, all right, good, good, good, good.

Man, I can't remember ever...

I can't remember off the top of my head

ever having to replace a knock sensor on a Chevy Silverado.

Is it a 5.3 liter?

Correct, yes.

All right.

So, OK, so you owned it out.

Everything's good, test good there,

but you're saying that did you put the intake back on?

Like put everything back together?

Yes, yes, it runs and it runs pretty good,

but it doesn't have the power.

It doesn't act like the knock sensors are doing anything.

So, I've read where if you knock on the engine,

to mimic an engine knock, it should retard the timing,

which mine doesn't have any effect.

I can knock on them all I want with a screwdriver or a hammer

or anything on the manifold next,

you know, as close I can get to the knock sensor

to change on anything.

I have...

To be honest with you, I've never had...

I've never heard that.

Where did you see that?

Did you see that online about knocking on the intake?

Yes, so, huh?

I've never heard that method.

I don't...

Man, that's a great question.

I've never heard of anybody actually physically knocking

on the intake to cause that thing.

But anyways, you're still after replacement.

The message is gone, but you still have a lack of power?

Yes.

OK, I mean, is it like when you're getting on the highway?

When you experience it, is it going up inclines?

When are you experiencing the lack of power?

Or is it just all the time?

On the interstate, I won't get any messages,

except when I get on the interstate,

probably about 30 miles into it.

And if I pull a long constant grade,

it seems like it downshifts a lot more, you know,

when it shouldn't be.

And that's when you'll get this service engine right now.

So I read it on YouTube,

and they said there's two things to test the knock sensors.

And one was the resistance, which mine are fine.

And I bought the GEM replacement, you know, the genuine parts.

And the other way to test it is to...

And they say you don't even need it in the car.

Of course, I didn't take it out of the car and check it.

But they say they should emit a AC signal,

electrical signal when you knock on it

because there's a diode or some type of crystal in there.

Yeah.

And it doesn't do that.

I can't get a signal doing that.

Okay. How many miles are on this thing?

250.

Wow. Okay.

All right.

What about a tune-up?

How recently have you done a tune-up?

Well, I've replaced everything, plugs, wires, coils,

and through the whole scenario,

put cleaner through the injectors.

Okay. What about the fuel filter?

Have you replaced that?

Yep. I've replaced that a couple times,

and I just did it recently.

All right. And then did you test the fuel pump pressure

to make sure that you have plenty of fuel pump pressure?

Yep. I read that online, too, to check it.

And, yeah, it's right where it should be, constant.

55, I believe, is what I read.

And then, I mean, how long have you owned this?

You got 250,000 miles on it.

Did you buy it brand new or...?

Yeah, I bought it new.

Okay. So, you know the vehicle very well.

I don't know. I don't think...

What about...

Well, so you don't have any more lights coming on, right?

Or did you say the service light was coming on?

The service engine light will come on.

I can drive it around town all day for a week and nothing.

But as soon as I get on the interstate and take off,

like I said, about 30 miles or 30 minutes into it,

the service engine soon light will come on.

Okay. And have those codes...

And then it says...

Go ahead.

It has the random 300 misfire.

Okay. All right.

Well, that will certainly cause a lack of power.

So, the random...

So, you said you replaced the plugs and you replaced the wires.

And the coils.

And all the coils.

Yep.

Okay.

Man, you've been all over this thing.

Well, I mean, the thing about the...

So, the PO 300 is a random cylinder misfire.

And again, that can be caused by an injector

or multiple injectors not doing what they're supposed to do.

Or how old are the coils?

Did you put AC delco coils in or aftermarket or...?

They're aftermarket, but, you know, they didn't change anything.

So, I don't associate those with not fixing the problem.

Right. Right.

Oh, man.

Now, I don't think you're knock sensors are your problem.

We need to address that PO 300,

but we need to find out exactly what's causing it.

What about the mass airflow sensor?

Have you cleaned it or checked it or replaced it?

I've ran cleaner through it. I've never replaced it.

Okay.

But you're not getting a mass airflow sensor code anyways.

But I'm just trying to cover your base.

I'm just trying to cover all the bases here

to try to figure out how we can get this thing resolved for you.

I'm kind of at a...

Kind of wrapping my brain around this,

just trying to figure out... Man.

I think you've done everything you possibly can.

But obviously something...

What about... Let me ask you something.

Did you have the random misfire

or the before the knock sensor codes?

Yes.

Okay.

That was the original.

So you had the 300 and then you also had the knock sensor codes.

So you went ahead and did the knock sensors.

Yeah. Like I said, I got on YouTube

and it sounded like that's pretty popular with this engine.

At least when I worried about knock sensors

because, you know, like I said, I got the code.

So of course that's what I looked at

and got on there to see what people said.

Yeah.

All right. Well, well, I mean, if you'd like,

I mean, I could take a look at it for you,

try to help you out here.

So save you some time.

It says here, Union, Kentucky,

you're not too far away from me. I'm...

Okay.

I'm just about 15 minutes north of downtown Cincinnati.

So I'll be more than happy to at least look at it for you

and we'll rack our brain together.

I'll have my tech look at it

and just we'll try to figure out exactly what we can do.

And I mean, I think at this point,

we're going to need to hook it up to a scan tool

and just try to figure out exactly while we're driving

or while we're running it,

figuring out which cylinders cause in the misfire.

Now, again, 300 is a random.

So something either, I don't know, the intake ask,

it's taken in too much air.

Something's add, something's just not adding up on this thing.

But Russ, I'll be more than happy to take a look at it for you.

Sounds good to me.

And I think if you've got time,

if you can call me this week,

I can give you the number if you'd like.

Yeah, I will do that.

Yeah, when you're ready.

I'm ready.

It's five, one, three, seven, three, seven, three, one.

Eight, nine, eight, nine, seven, three, one, eight, nine, eight, nine.

When you call and ask for me, my guys are going to answer

and just say, hey, I spoke with Dane on the radio on on Saturday.

He asked me to give him a call.

So. OK, we'll do.

All right. Thanks, Russ.

All right, you take you take care of a good weekend.

All right.

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Bye.

All right, taking your phone calls

in order to call 513-749-5500.

Phone lines are wide open, love to hear from you

so give me a call.

Coming up, we've got Dick,

you're listening to the car show on 55KRC,

the talk station.

This is 55KRC, an iHeart radio station.

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Some may not want to hear what you have to say,

but we do 55KRC, the talk station.

Taking your car questions,

the number to call 513-749-5500.

That number again, 513-749-5500.

Sorry, I was yawning and I couldn't.

So, all right, let's go back to the phones.

We've got Dick.

Hey, Dick, welcome to the car show.

How can I help?

Thanks.

I got a 2007 Saturn Ion.

I went to a local parts place

and they gave me a misfire,

cylinder one.

Okay.

I took it home and I checked in,

I'm getting spark, cylinder one.

So I've taken all of the plugs out.

I've taken all of the coil over out.

Now, I know the plugs are bad.

By the way, go quick.

When you look at where you would set the gap,

that's a spark plug.

Is that more like a blunt end or is it a needle?

Maybe I'm indicating to you that I've got one plug,

but instead of it being what I recall being a blunt surface.

Yeah, it's more like a needle point, like you said.

Right.

So if it's a needle point like that,

that is a platinum plug.

So it's what you've had,

the flat point that you had,

that you talked about gap or whatnot.

And is that gap still to be set at 40?

So says the book.

So if you have a platinum plug,

they do not need to be set.

They're already preset.

They're already ready to go.

All you need to do is drop them in there.

Okay.

How do I test the coil to see if the coil's bad?

Mark that.

I had the coil in my hand,

and there's four pins as you rotate the connector

so that you can see the four pins inside.

How do I test the first or secondary winding?

So what I would suggest you do

is if you had them marked,

typically if you've got a misfire,

what you want to do to confirm

whether it's a spark plug or a coil,

what you do is you mark the coils

with some type of marker, right?

Or lipstick or chapstick or whatever.

And you take cylinder number one coil

and you swap it with two

or you swap it with four.

You take four coil and one coil

and you swap them and you start it up.

If that misfire moves,

then we know we got a coil problem.

If the misfire stays where it's at,

then we got a spark plug issue.

That would be the easiest way to do it.

Okay.

In the first place, can they test the coil?

No, not that I'm aware of.

I didn't think so.

The guy didn't know.

No, I don't know of anybody that can test the coil.

I mean, some of these guys

could probably hook it up and do it,

but most people, especially parts places,

aren't going to have the ability to do that.

But like I said, the easiest thing for you to do

is just swap the coils and then, again,

if the misfire moves, then it's a coil issue.

If it stays at that same cylinder,

then it's a spark plug issue.

And again, with your spark plug,

you don't have a standard plug.

Well, the car probably did come with a standard plug,

but probably what they gave you was a platinum plug.

Okay.

That's why it's a little bit different.

But again, a platinum plug does not need to be set

or gapped.

It's already pre-gapped and ready to go.

Okay, these are old plugs.

These are old.

These are not new.

It's the same.

The plugs I took out were the plugs that were in.

So I'm thinking, how do I set that gap?

Anyway, in cylinder number two,

it was full of engine oil.

Well, that's a problem too.

So you need a valve cover gasket.

The valve cover is leaking oil.

So you got those spark plug tube seals.

So you got a valve cover.

It's got the valve cover gasket.

And then there's four spark plug tube seals.

And those seals are no longer doing their job.

So that oil is getting in and filling in that spark plug tube.

So you need a valve cover gasket as well.

Okay.

Well, I've got more interest in that bargain for it,

but I appreciate that.

All right.

Have a great day, Dave.

You too.

Bye-bye.

There's a lot of buzzing in there.

I apologize for that.

But yeah, if you've ever, you know, want to work on.

Now, again, some of your, I mean,

you can do this with a six cylinder car or a V8 or whatnot,

but excuse me, you know,

if you've ever got a misfire and you want to identify

whether or not it's a spark plug issue or coil issue,

like I was just telling Dick there,

take the spark plug, the coils,

and just swap them with two different cylinders, right?

And again, if it moves,

then you know you got a coil issue because the coil,

the ignition coil is what sends spark to the spark plug.

Okay.

You know, years ago, you would have a distributor and one coil

and, you know,

or you'd have a distributor that would send the spark

and then they came with like a coil pack.

Now, each individual cylinder has an ignition coil.

Okay.

And those coils will break down eventually.

You just don't, you don't know when,

but commonly, most of the time,

I'd say it's 50-50, half the time it's spark plugs,

half the time it's coil,

but in order if you're trying to do it yourself,

which is perfectly fine in most tune-ups,

you can do by yourself,

but if you want to figure out if it's a spark plug issue

or coil issue, again, swap the coils.

And if the, if a misfire moves, it's coil issue.

If it stays at that cylinder, it's a spark plug issue.

Okay.

Before it's, it's very smart though,

if you're going to do this type of work yourself,

again, like I told Dick, mark those coils.

Just get a paint marker.

You can buy one at any local auto parts store.

Buy a paint marker and mark them one, two, three, four, five,

six, seven, eight, however, how many, however,

how many cylinders you have.

That way when you take them off,

you want to put them back on at the same where they came from.

If you can, you don't have to,

but that way if there's another,

again, if one coil starts to fail,

you never know when the next one's going to fail

and having them properly marked will help you.

Okay.

So it's important.

So, all right.

Taking your phone calls and I'm going to call 513-749-5500.

Coming up, we've got Troy and John.

You're listening to the car show on 55KRC, the talk station.

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We like to hear your thoughts and opinions.

We love to hear your thoughts

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55KRC.

The Talk Station.

Taking your car questions down

the number to call 513-749-5500.

I'm Dane Donovan

taking all of your car questions here

every Saturday from one to two.

And that's what I'm here for.

If you have anything wrong with that vehicle

of yours or you may be looking

to purchase a vehicle or maybe want to have

a question about maintenance or

you know, a topic that I talk about all the time

is cars burning oil.

That's what I'm here for.

So, if you have a question

again, I'm here every Saturday.

If you don't want to call the radio show,

you can always call me

at my place of business as well.

We do have several, we have three locations

in the Cincinnati area.

Find the nearest one

to you at DonovanTire.com

and be more than happy

to help you out.

Alright, let's go back to the phones.

Troy.

Hey, Troy, welcome to the car show. How can I help?

Well, I got a

06 Dodge Dakota 3.7 liter

little V6.

I'm just over 200,000 on it.

And I've had it for

several years now, but it's always

had a little ongoing issue.

Like maybe

I'm standing at the pump and I'm getting gas

and I've got it running because it's cold outside

or whatever, but you can hear it

almost like it's going to die out

almost just like there's no fuel

or something or just, you know,

it's choking out and just car rolls

way, way down, but then it

revs right back up and it's fine.

I don't have any codes. I have replaced

about a year ago. I replaced

the fuel pump because it did go out.

So I got a new fuel pump,

new filter, all that.

So that didn't change

anything as far as that goes.

I still have that problem,

but you know, other than

I don't really notice it every now and then

I don't really notice it when I'm driving it.

So I don't know how often it really happens,

but it just bothers me that it could be

something else. I don't know if it's just,

you know, with that mileage on it

because I bought it used. Maybe I just

need to do a tune up and, you know,

kind of like what the other gentleman was

talking about do that, you know,

change out my plugs and my coils

and see if it goes away then,

but I've got nothing to go on.

I've got no codes or anything.

That fuel is fine.

Okay.

What about the mass airflow sensor?

Have you tried to maybe clean that up?

You know what? I don't remember.

I know I got the cleaner,

but I don't remember actually

cleaning it.

I want to see you clean that.

Get that all cleaned up.

Second thing, have you cleaned

the throttle body?

No, I haven't actually physically taken it off.

So same thing, maybe just take it

with a good dousing.

Yeah. So do you know

if your throttle body

is cable driven

because I don't know off the top of my head.

Is it cable driven or is it drive by wire

where it's electronic?

It's cable.

That was something they should have never,

ever, ever changed, but they did.

All the manufacturers went to electronic

and man, those things cause all kinds

of issues. So what I would tell you to do

is yes, since we're going

to get throttle plate cleaner

and mass airflow sensor cleaner.

Take that, you know, you're going to

take that intake tube off

so there's where your mass airflow sensor will be,

clean that off, and then

you should be able

since it's cable driven, you can just

manually open that up, get yourself

a scrub brush, a towel,

throttle plate cleaner, I want you to spray

that out. I want you to get all the carbon.

Sometimes what will happen is carbon

builds up inside that throttle plate

and it'll stick. And sometimes

again, when it's hot or what not

it can cause that plate to stick

a little and not open up like it's supposed to

and just not operate. I want to

eliminate those two things.

Not saying that it's going to fix it, but let's

eliminate those two things from the factor.

I mean, if a throttle body

is cable driven, I've

never ever seen a bad throttle body

cable driven.

But with 200,000 miles,

those are two things that you can do

on a Saturday. Do this afternoon.

You can clean those things. I just want

to rule those out of, I mean

it very well could be that the throttle plate's just so

gummed up and has so much carbon build up

in it. It's just that plate sticking.

Because obviously once you start

once that throttle plate's wide open,

you're not really having an issue. You know what I mean?

So yeah, and again

I'm not saying that that's just good maintenance

anyway, I guess. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, and before you do, I mean

a tune up typically

yes, would a tune up allow the car

to run better whatnot? Sure. But I don't think

with it

idling low and almost kind of feels like it's choking

out, not getting enough fuel or not getting

enough air or whatnot.

We want to make sure, and again

that throttle plate, I don't care

how, you know, it doesn't matter how

dirty that thing is, it'll never set a code

ever. So, and

with you, you don't have any codes and again

I'd get a nice scrub brush.

I mean even an old toothbrush if you want

to, it doesn't matter, throttle plate cleaner,

mass airflow sensor cleaner, let's get

those cleaned up and let's

eliminate that from the process.

I want you to do that first and let me know

if anything changes. If not

we could have some type of, you know,

air getting in that's after the mass airflow

sensor like an intake gasket

that's kind of sucking in a little bit. Does it

seem to do it even

does it seem to do it all the time or only

when it's cold, only when it's hot, when

do you notice it the most? Typically it seems

like when I notice it is when I leave

from work and I've got to get gas right away,

you know, and I'll maybe go

not even a mile down the road

and I'm out of pump

and if I have that engine running, that's

when I notice it. I don't usually notice

it any other time other than

when I've just started it up

for a short period of time

and it's just idling. Okay, so

when you

so when you go to the gas station

you leave the vehicle running

right okay and that's

when you notice it the most that it kind of

getting choked out and not running right yeah

okay right

let me ask you this

do you ever pump the truck

with it off?

okay

I want you to try that once for me try that

once next time you get gas shut the

truck off

and I want you to see let me know

if it's hard to start

so we could be

what we could be dealing with is maybe an EVAP

line

a cancer charcoal canister or vent valve

or purge valve that's bad it's stuck

open and when you're pumping it

those fumes that are going you know

if you've got a now again yes it should

set a code if you got a bad purge valve

or vent valve

it should set a code it should

but that doesn't mean it always will

you know what I mean so with it being a 06

or 200,000 miles

you could be when you're pumping it those fumes

are kind of going into the engine it's flooding

and out it's you know the car

has to equate for the right amount of fuel and the right

amount of air well if you're

pumping it with gas and those

those fumes that are in the tank are also

going into the engine it could be choking it out as well

okay so we

could be dealing with purges the reason I want you to

shut it off is if you pump

the truck up full of gas and then you go to

start it and it takes a couple of times to crank or it

cranks it has an extended crank

then we could be dealing with an evap

issue where you know you're

where what we could do is just do

what's called a smoke test and smoke it

try to figure out if the purge valve is bad

or the vent valve or something like that but again

in theory they should set code

so let's just go keep it simple

clean the mass air flow

clean the throttle body and then you report back

to me and let me know if

anything changed

not good enough I appreciate it

not a problem you have a great weekend

all right taking your phone calls the number to call

513-749-5500

that number again 513-749-5500

coming up we've got John

uh Dick

and Gary you're listening to the car show on

55KRC the talk station

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we've been Salem's crown jewel for

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creating lifelong memories now

it's your turn to be part of the story

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shows at Elsinore theater.com

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laughter

oh okay

alright you're listening to the car show

55k RC the talk station

laughter oh man

we can still have some fun around here so

taking your car

questions running short on time

and if you don't get through today

I do apologize I know

the show is a little too short but

I'll be back next Saturday to answer all

of your car questions so

alright let's go back to the phones we've got John

he's been patiently waiting John

welcome to the car show how can I help

oh well I hope this

is not as bad as it looks

all my

warning lights are on

it's not just the check engine lights

all of them are on

there's no change in performance

that I've noticed

and I've checked all the other electronics

on the car

and the only things that

seem not to be working

are the

the engine

these lights seem not to be working

are

the air conditioner

and the two courtesy lights

on the back passenger

doors

are the back doors on both sides

drivers on the passenger side

wow Jesus

alright did all of this all happen at once

well the

low pressure on the tire

came up first but

it happens periodically I didn't think

anything about it

I filled it up and it went off and everything

it was fine and then just one day

I turned the car on and

all the lights are on

but there's no performance you don't see

you have any performance

issues or nothing

no the car seems to run

fine

alright

have you had anybody look at it yet

no because I hate going to the dealer

well you don't have to go to the dealer

you know you can go to a

local repair shop

or by dealer

do you mean you just don't like going to the automotive repair shop

no I don't like going to the accurate dealer

so that brought up the next question

is do independent

shops are they able to

be electronic

absolutely

yes we could do

absolutely we could do that for you

or any other local repair shop

says you're up here in mason so you're not too far from me

but absolutely we could do that for you

I mean the thing is

is John I mean they're

I mean just going off of what you're telling me

I mean it could be anything it could be a bad

it could be a bad computer because it sounds like

you've got a kind of a series of things

but could be a bad

car could be a bad ground issue

there's some type of ground issue

could be a bad some type of

that car has several modules

which are basically computers

one of those computers that

operates all of those systems could be down

I mean there's a

it could be something that's very

you know right there in your face

or it could be something that we're going to

it's going to be a needle in a haystack and we're going to try to track down

what the issue is

I think the I think the first step

is we need to hook it up to a computer

a scan tool a scanner

not just you know

I'm not do dogging on autoson

but not taking it to autoson and them telling you

what you know what they think is wrong with it

autoson is

their job is to sell parts not fix cars

my job is to fix cars

so you know

yes absolutely a reputable shop

could hook it up to a

good scan tool

and be able to do all the proper

testing to try to figure out exactly

why those lights are on and why you're having

those issues that you are having

those things can

again and it could be something that's so

you know we hook it up and within

you know within an hour we've got it all figured out

and you know we've got

we have a solution for it or it could be something

that hey we're going to have to do more

testing and of course we would be

honest with you as far as like hey John

we spent an hour and we're still

exactly you know where we

you know where we need be at to figure out exactly

what's going to fix this thing but

yes a reputable shop

can

take care of that for you

and fix that and you don't need to go to the dealer

to fix this thing

so but I think our first step is we've got

to get it to a scan tool we've got to hook

it up because you know these cars nowadays

they're you know I've said it a million times on the show

but you know we're dealing with computers

on wheels nowadays I mean there's not a lot of

I mean yes there are mechanical parts but

there's a far more electronic parts in

a vehicle than there are there than mechanical

you know what I mean so but yeah

we could take a look at that for you if you'd like

or if you want to find a local repair

shop you know

the thing is is you want to make sure

that you know you find one that's

reputable that has good

you know good reviews and

you know in all honesty has been around

for a while not Joe Schmo that's been in

business for five years I kind of stay clear

from I'm not saying that people that have been in business

five years aren't being honest but

you know somebody like

us you know I'm third generation

you know been a business for

66 years I mean we we take pride

on what we do so you know

you want to find a good local

repair shop but don't you don't need to go to

the dealer in order to get that thing fixed for you

okay for

instance for your shop is that

something that I could

wait while you do the diagnostics

or would I have to leave

no you don't need to leave it

I mean I prefer to

I prefer to leave it

just because

a lot of times people don't know

exactly you know it might take

us an hour to fix it it might take us

two days to fix it right

but what we could do is at least gain

an hour let's get a

grasp of what we're maybe dealing with

and you wait for it then and if we're like hey

John it's probably going to need

you know

more time then maybe we

you know we have a driver I can

I can get I can get you a ride home

we can get you a loaner car we

you know we'll accommodate in any way we can in order

to get your car fixed properly and you

back out on the road

and like I said it does

say you're up here in Mason

you're up in Mason you know I've got a good buddy

of mine

foreign exchange Westchester

it's it's not too far from you

it's right by

by 75

but that wouldn't be too far from you

his name is awesome buddy of mine

he's a great great guy great

shop as well you know

you can use him or you can bring it to me whatever you prefer

but foreign exchange West

yeah foreign exchange Westchester

it's near 75 close

to you up there in Mason or you know you give

me buzz and I'll take a look at it for you as well

great thank you very much

very much appreciate it you're very welcome

John you have a great day

the thing about

all his issues man I mean they all could be

related to just one

body control module or a main

computer or something like that

but unless you hook it up

to a scan tool and again when I say scan tool

I'm not talking about going to some

fly by night shop and just go hooking it

up to the scanner that's not a diagnostic

it really isn't

all they're doing is it's it's a guess

oh well it's got this code so

I guess it needs this

I mean I had a gentleman in the shop on Friday

he goes hey I need you to put a

thermostat in my truck ASAP today

and I'm like well I'm like I got a full schedule

you know he's like I really need

it done today so I called around to a couple

of shops I know and I'm like no they can't

get you in so I said what's going on

why do you need a thermostat he goes well

I took it to AutoZone and they looked at this

and I said I need a thermostat and I go well let me see the code

there's a PL128 coolant

which is coolant temp not getting up to normal

operating temp I said you're I said look

you don't need this thermostat you need a thermostat

but you don't need to do it

today he goes well I'm

taking it back to where I bought it on Wednesday

I'm like well then you're fine I said

the code that you have in there and it doesn't

say you know again

not picking on AutoZone I'm just saying AutoZone's like

you need a thermostat well yes

did you need one yes but

frantic because he's like I just bought this

truck I don't want to keep driving it because

I'm concerned that

I'm going to damage the vehicle and I'm

like look that that code that's

in there is because the thermostat is stuck

open and it's not getting up to the

regular that normal operating temperature

so you know he's concerned

that the car is going to overheat and I'm

like no it's the opposite it's stuck open

and the car is not getting up to the normal

temperature that's why it's flagging it so

I said you're okay to drive it keep your

eye on the temperature gauge which I showed

him where it's at I said keep your eye on it

in case things go south and it sticks closed

which I've never seen happen

but it could happen

and I said you know just make sure

I said you're not going to hurt anything it's just

not getting up to operating temperature right so

this guy's frantic trying to get into any shop

he possibly can to get a thermostat

putting this thing and and I was like

you know but he's like I got to get back to

where I bought it but I was like you're fine until Wednesday

you're not going to hurt anything

you're perfectly fine

and sometimes some people just get so wrapped up

and well that's what I got to do

and that's why

a proper diagnosis yes

is it going to cost you money yes

but

if you were having stomach pain

or headache pain or knee pain

would you just go to the

you know to your

I don't know your local

I don't know

you know Walgreens or CVS

and go hey my knee hurts what do I need

no what would you do

you would go to a professional you would go to a doctor

who specializes in something like that

and yes is it going to cost you money yes

but you will

be far better ahead by doing that

spending the money and having a proper

properly diagnosed

okay so again

I'm not dogging on them or anything like that but listen

these cars are very expensive they're very

nowadays very sophisticated

and it's something that you want to not take lightly

there are things out there that you can do

there are things and I always encourage it

but when it gets into these electronics

you really need to make sure

that you know what you're doing I had a gentleman

that's trying to do his own brakes on his wife's car

and these new cars have emergency

brake pedals

and he caused himself

$3,000 because he tried to do it himself

and it ended up going very badly so

it's important to make sure you get it

you know

looked at and diagnosed properly so

alright listen I appreciate all the phone calls

if I didn't I get you I do apologize

please call me back next Saturday

I'll be back next Saturday to answer all of your car questions

everybody have a great and safe weekend

and I will see you next week

on the car show

on 55KRC

the talk station

you

0:00

40:58

THE Car Show with Dane Donovan - 10/11/2025

Chevrolet Silverado

knock sensors

5.3 liter

GEM replacement

AC signal

fuel filter

fuel pump

service engine light

spark plugs

wires

coils

PO 300

injector

mass airflow sensor

Saturn Ion

misfire

coilovers

platinum plug

valve cover gasket

spark plug tube seals

ignition coil

Dodge Dakota

V6 engine

tune up

throttle body

drive by wire

throttle plate cleaner

About this episode

Original notes