THE Car Show with Dane Donovan - 11/8/2025
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Term
tires
Tires are the round rubber parts that help your car move and grip the road. They are important for safety and performance, especially when it's wet or snowy outside.
Car
Tesla Semi
The Tesla Semi is a big electric truck made by Tesla, which is known for its electric cars. It's important because it could change how goods are transported, making it cheaper and better for the environment compared to regular trucks that run on diesel fuel.
Term
alternator
An alternator helps keep the car's battery charged and powers things like the lights and radio. If it stops working, the car can lose power and won't run.
Term
wiper blades
Wiper blades are the rubber strips that wipe rain and snow off your car's windshield so you can see clearly. It's important to check and replace them when they wear out.
Term
tire pressure
Tire pressure is how much air is in your car's tires. If the pressure is too low, it can make driving unsafe and cause tires to wear out faster.
Term
tire light
The tire light is a warning light on your dashboard that tells you if one or more of your tires might be low on air. If it comes on, you should check your tires.
Term
ambient temperature
Ambient temperature is just the temperature of the air around you. When it gets colder, the air in your tires can shrink, making them lose pressure.
Term
gas mileage
Gas mileage is how far your car can go on a certain amount of gas. Keeping your tires properly inflated helps your car use less gas.
Term
all-wheel drive
All-wheel drive means that all four wheels of a car get power from the engine at the same time. This helps the car grip the road better, especially when it's slippery.
Term
fluids
Fluids in a car are the liquids it needs to run properly, like oil and coolant. It's important to check these fluids regularly to keep the car in good shape.
Company
3M
3M is a company that makes many different products, including some that help keep cars in good shape. They make a silicone paste that can be used to protect rubber parts in cars.
Company
WD-40
WD-40 is a spray that helps to lubricate and protect metal parts. People often use it to fix squeaky doors or to stop things from rusting.
Part
rubber seals
Rubber seals are the strips of rubber around car doors and windows that keep water and air from getting inside. If they break or wear out, your car can leak or get drafty.
Car
Buick Regal
The Buick Regal is a car made by the Buick brand. The 2011 version is known for being stylish and comfortable, making it a popular choice for many drivers.
Term
oil pressure
Oil pressure is how hard the oil is pushing through the engine. It's important because it helps keep the engine parts moving smoothly. If the pressure is too high or too low, it can cause problems, including leaks.
Term
radiator fans
Radiator fans help keep the engine cool by blowing air through the radiator. When the engine gets hot, these fans turn on to help cool it down and keep it from overheating.
Term
turbo
A turbo is a part of some car engines that helps them produce more power. It does this by pushing more air into the engine, which helps it burn more fuel and go faster.
Part
oil filter
The oil filter cleans the oil that keeps the engine running smoothly. If it gets clogged, the engine can have problems.
Part
oil feed lines
Oil feed lines are pipes that bring oil from the engine to the turbocharger. This oil helps keep the turbo working properly and prevents it from overheating.
Part
exhaust manifold
The exhaust manifold is a part of the engine that collects the gases produced when fuel is burned. It helps direct these gases out of the engine.
Part
coolant line
A coolant line is a pipe that moves a special liquid called coolant to keep the turbocharger from getting too hot. It helps the turbo work better and last longer.
Term
leak
A leak happens when fluids like oil or coolant escape from where they are supposed to be in a car. This can cause problems and means something might be broken.
Term
brake lines
Brake lines are tubes that carry the fluid needed to make your car's brakes work. If they are leaking, your brakes might not work properly, which is very dangerous.
Car
Chevrolet Sonoma
The Chevrolet Sonoma is a small truck made by Chevy. It's useful for carrying things and was popular in the 90s.
Term
idling rough
Idling rough means the engine shakes or makes noise when the car is not moving, like at a stoplight. It can happen for different reasons, like problems with the fuel or spark plugs.
Part
spark plugs
Spark plugs are small parts in a car's engine that help start it by creating a spark. They need to be changed regularly to keep the engine running well.
Part
wires
Wires in a car connect different parts of the engine and help send electricity where it's needed, like to start the engine. They also need to be replaced sometimes to keep everything working properly.
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Here's golf legend John Daly.
Good afternoon and welcome to The Car Show 55KRC. I'm Dane Donovan from Donovan's Auto Entire Center taking your car questions.
The number to call 513-749-5500. That number again, 513-749-5500. As I predicted, unfortunately my producer kind of, you know, he didn't yell at me, but he'd say, shh, be quiet.
But I said weather was going to be changing, you know, in Cincinnati, if you don't like the weather, just wait 15 minutes. And if you look at the forecast in the next two days, we might have some flurries.
You know, some people like it. You know, I don't have a problem with it. But some people do. And but see, I like, you know, I don't like the, you know, the nuisance like, you know, half inch dusting, you know, that's just a nuisance, right?
I want the big, you know, foot of snow, you know, shut down the city and you're just stuck at home. You got a fire going on and hopefully the kids are stuck at school or something.
Because if the kids are stuck at home to, if the kids are stuck at home with me, then I'd rather just, they were fighting like cats and dogs this morning.
So but but again, it leads me up to, hey, it's time we have to think about this. We need to talk about it. We need to start getting these cars ready for winter.
We don't know what kind of winter we're going to have. However, you should still be prepared. And again, two weeks ago, I had mentioned, you know, we had some pretty good snow or rain.
I mean, I'm sorry, pretty good rains the other day. And I could hear it. So where my, you know, where my office is, is that Ridge, the Ridge Road location.
And there's a set of train tracks with which we've talked about. But I'm telling you, I either hear people skidding before they hit the train, the train tracks or after they hit the train tracks and they're trying to get up the hill.
And I just hear these tires just spinning and spinning and spinning. That is an indication that you probably might need tires.
And my wife and I, we were, we bought some furniture from some family, family friends, and they were up in Columbus, they live in Columbus.
And so my wife and I made a trek up there yesterday morning. And I said, let me drive. And she says, no, when you drive, my palms are sweaty, you drive too fast and reckless and, and I would say not reckless, but I'm an aggressive driver, you know, you have to.
And so I let her drive, which was halfway up where I'm like, go around that truck, go around that truck. And she's like, no, I need tires. My tires, I need tires. I said, you don't need tires, just go around the truck. It's fine.
And I'm sure there's a lot of guys that can, you know, contest to that, that I don't drive. And my wife's like, I'm a safe driver. I said, I am too. She's like, no, you're not.
Like, yeah, I'm just a bit more aggressive. If you need to get around this semi, you need to speed up and get around it.
Well, it's it's raining. It's, it's, you know, I don't have, you know, I need tires. I said, you don't need tires. You're fine. Just speed up. And so it was a debacle all the way up there and all the way back.
So, but again, it's something that we have to talk about. Because again, we don't know in two months, we could have a tremendous amount of snow or flurries or nothing, you know, we just don't know.
But you have to be ready and prepared because listen, it's going to get cold. We will have traction issues. So it's it's time to get the car in, start thinking about it, especially for those of you who are listening in the kids are coming back from school,
coming back from college or going to be in town from the holidays. I get a lot of phone calls from fans like, hey, my kid's going to be in town for for the week or two.
We want to get the car in and get it looked at and get it inspected. Last week, I got, excuse me, I got a phone call from a good customer of mine.
And she said, hey, my my my son is I think he's going to school in Kansas. Don't I could be wrong, but far away far.
And she goes, hey, his light came on. What do I do? Can he make it back? I'm like, no, he's not going to make it back.
The that needed an alternator. So unfortunately, the car died and they had to get it fixed there.
Now, again, I can test it all day long and it could go back the very next day. That happens. But if we can get ahead of it, making sure that our wiper blades are taken care of.
That's something that's very simple that we can do, making sure that our air pressure is checked and where our tires are properly inflated.
I'm sure you've noticed since the temperatures drop that your tire light may be on and it's on for a reason because one or multiple tires are low.
Now, again, if the tire light ever on your and we talked about this last Saturday, if your tire light is ever flashing, that is an indication that one or multiple sensors are not working.
OK, but if it's just on when you start the car and it's on, it's an indication that one of your tires or multiple tires low.
In fact, about three weeks ago, I was on my way. I was on the highway and my tire light came on.
Now, again, usually the reason that this happens is because the last time I had my oil changed, it was in the 80s, right?
So check my air pressure. Good to go. It wasn't that all my tires were relatively low because the ambient temperature had dropped.
So for every 10 degrees that you're the ambient air temperature drops, you lose one pound of air.
So a lot of times you will go, hey, your tire lights on like, oh, yeah, it just comes on in the morning and that goes off in the afternoon.
Reason for that, two reasons. One, at night, the temperature dropped so it'll kick on in the morning.
Then in the afternoon, it might be, you know, 60 degrees and then you're on the highway that tire heats up.
It's warmer out. The tire light goes out.
But that means you're on the fence. You're teetering and you need to make sure that you're checking your air pressure.
Again, you get better gas mileage, which we all want, and you get longer longevity out of your tires because they're wearing properly because they're properly inflated, right?
And you want to make sure that your battery, your fluids are ready to go for the winter.
You know, again, sometimes it's hit or miss in here in Cincinnati, but I actually got an email, which I still need to respond to,
but I got an email from a gentleman, one of our family friends, and he goes, hey, I want to get some snow tires from my wife's car.
Now, when I got into this business 25 years, 26 years ago, we did quite a bit of snow.
We put quite a bit of snow tires on now when, you know, my father and my grandfather started and were in the business.
That was a huge part of our business was getting the car ready for winter.
Now, we have had mild winters and these cars are now all wheel drive and there are things that have changed.
But you still want to make sure that you're prepared and ready to go into winter and whatever, you know, mother nature brings us, right?
So it's time to start thinking about it. It's time to talk about it.
It's time to make sure that our fluids are topped off, checked tire pressures, batteries, wipers, making sure that, again, something as simple as, you know,
a lot of times we get in our cars during the winter and, you know, it's snowing or there's rain and you get frost on those seals, the doors or the windows.
We get a lot of seals that break and a lot of windows that break because they're frozen, OK?
So you want to make sure that you properly lubricate the channels for the windows, right?
And then, again, the all the seals.
Now, there's a product that I use that's made by 3M.
It's a silicone paste, but you can use WD-40.
You can use that 3M against silicone paste.
If you don't have that, you can even get your most households have some PAM.
Get some PAM, spray it onto, you know, paper towel and wipe down your rubber seals around the doors.
It'll help the doors from sticking and potentially ripping that door seal or freezing.
I mean, there's been times where I've been locked out of my car because not because it's locked because the doors frozen.
So, you know, those are simple things that you can do to make sure that you're prepared and ready for what Mother Nature brings us in this tri-state area.
So, all right, again, the number to call 513-749-5500.
Phone lines are wide open. Love to hear from you.
Please, taking your car questions.
Coming up, we have Ricky.
You're listening to The Car Show on 55KRC, the talk station.
This is 55KRC, an iHeart radio station.
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Your opinions are welcome to your 55KRC, the talk station.
Taking your car questions is the number to call 513-749-5500.
Again, I talked about it.
We got to start thinking about getting ready for the winter season.
Now, I was just walking across the street to look at the mall, the Kenwood Mall there, and it's absolutely packed.
If you watch just regular news or listen to the radio on 55KRC or it doesn't matter.
It's like this economy is just doing horrible.
According to the mall across the street, it doesn't look like that.
My wife and I are going to go to dinner tonight.
She's like, well, we can go to dinner in a movie or we can go to dinner and go shopping.
Do I have any other options?
Shopping is not really anything I want to do.
Taking your phone calls, we'll call 513-749-5500.
Let's go to the phones.
We've got Ricky.
Hey, Ricky, welcome to the car show.
How can I help?
Yes, I got a 2011 Buick Regal that it's leaking oil up in the engine bay somewhere.
My friend has a lift.
I've been able to get it up on a lift to look it over.
When I drive to his house, I lift it up or just oil all over the front of the engine, even in the back.
Just oil everywhere.
In troubleshooting it, I've wiped it down.
Got to clean as I could get it.
No oil dripping or running.
I get up and start the car.
I've let it run for 20 minutes, even through all of them.
There's a little bit here and there.
Upon enough, the car is already hot.
In doing that, not a drop of oil falls off the engine.
As soon as I put that thing back out on the road and drive it five miles and back, and I come back and lift it up,
there's just oil everywhere again.
I've just not been able to find out where it's coming from,
but I just wondered what's driving it down the road got to do with making the oil least worse.
Well, a lot of times, again, that engine is working a little bit harder when you're giving it gas.
It's pumping harder and it's working harder and it's applying more oil pressure.
Let me ask you something.
Would you say that it's towards the front of the engine?
Well, it seems like there's more towards the front, but there's plenty in the back, too.
I mean, it even gets up on the radiator fans.
I'd even think I'd have to wipe it off the housing off that.
It's not coming up from the valve.
There's no oil up on the valve covers at all.
It's down below then.
I'm sure they're not leaking.
All right.
And then because I don't know what size engine you have in that particular,
it says here 11 Buick Regal.
Yeah, it's a 2.0 with the turbo.
Turbo.
Okay.
That's what I thought.
The oil filter is located in the front of the engine, correct?
I believe I tried, yeah.
Okay.
So we've had quite a bit of those vehicles because they put that engine in a lot of things and a lot of GMs.
There are turbo feed lines that leak oil, their rubber, and they get soft.
And then they will cause that along with the oil filter housing.
There's a cooler and a housing that bolts up to the block.
And they're both those turbo feed lines and the oil filter housing,
which the cooler is built into it as well.
Those leak a lot.
And again, you know, when you're driving it, you know, obviously that turbo is building boost,
so it's going to send more oil to lubricate that turbo,
which again, it's probably coming, excuse me, from one of those turbo feed lines.
It's very, very common.
Again, if that turbo is building boost, right, because you're driving it,
it's going to build boost and it's going to send more oil to that turbo to lubricate it.
So with it idling, you know, that turbo is not building boost.
So I'm willing to bet that that's probably what you have going on.
Now, what I would tell you is to fix it properly.
Now, again, I would need to see it and I'd be more than happy to look at it for you.
I wouldn't charge you any cost if it says here you're in Falmouth, Kentucky.
It's underneath both the turbo feed lines and the oil filter housing and cooler are below the exhaust manifold.
And the exhaust manifold has come off.
It's not a fun job.
It's a very time consuming and expensive job.
But in my opinion, whether you bring it to me or take it to your mechanic or you try to do it,
my, what I would tell you is you replace all of the coolant feed lines, all of the oil feed lines,
all the gaskets, they're going to be O-rings, and then you replace the oil filter housing,
which again houses the cooler and replace it all.
Do it once you're right there.
But most likely that's probably what you're up against and what you're dealing with.
And again, most likely why you're driving is because that turbo is, you know, a building boost and it's something that it's not, it's inevitable.
I mean, it's going to happen.
It's not a matter of if it's just a matter of when the engines aren't horrible.
But, you know, we see this a lot.
This is every single one of them that comes into my shop that has a leak is coming from one or both of those two components.
And they're towards the front of the engine, below the exhaust manifold.
Well, what's the, the only line that I see going, that my experience going back to the turbo with a vacuum line,
but where's the oil feed lines come?
What's the routing of them from the turbo to the water?
So they come out of the block.
So again, below the, below the exhaust manifold, there's two lines, there's four lines total.
So you've got two, you've got a coolant line, you know, again, to send coolant in and then out to cool the turbo.
And then you've got two oil feed lines there.
They come right off the block, probably about midway.
And again, you can't see them.
It's virtually impossible to see them unless you remove the exhaust manifold.
But those two come off the block and they go to the turbo.
And again, that's to lubricate and, and, and, you know, so they're coming off the front, the front side of the engine.
Yes, sir.
And they're rubber lines, the rubber lines.
And again, over time, they, you know, they get brittle from getting hot, cold, hot, cold.
They, they spring a leak and that oil will seep through there.
And then they're eventually, they're just pouring, they're just pouring oil.
And again, while you're there, the coolant lines are there, replace those, replace all the O-rings and then just do it once.
Because again, it's kind of like, I know there's added costs there, but let me tell you it, they're all, all of those components right there are going to leak.
They're going to leak coolant.
They're going to leak oil and it'll be a nightmare.
Kind of like open heart surgery.
Like if you're going to go in there, get it.
If your doctor was like, Hey, we got to go in there and you'd be like, Hey, whatever's in there needs to be fixed.
Do it now.
Cause I don't want to have to go through it again.
I'd recommend that because again, all of those components, components leak.
So it's, and again, the easiest way to do it and the only way to do it is to replace the exhaust manifold and while you're there, all those components, you're going to have your hands on.
And I wouldn't recommend aftermarket.
I just, I'd recommend getting dealer parts.
Okay.
And what was you saying about the oil filter housing?
Yeah.
So the oil filter housing, it's up towards the front kind of kind of on the driver's side.
That's where your oil filter is, but the oil cooler.
So oil is fed into that and it cools the oil.
It's attached to the oil filter housing.
And again, that component is right next to all of those turbo feed lines.
So they leak, it leaks as well.
One or one or both of those components are leaking.
One of them is your culprit.
I'm willing to bet it's probably the turbo feed lines.
But again, that right next, right next to them is that oil filter housing and cooler.
And I would replace those and all of the gaskets as well while you're in there when you do it.
Like I said, it's about a four or five hour job.
It's a nightmare.
It's not fun to do.
It's expensive, but that's what you're up against.
That's what you're dealing with.
And again, you can't see them.
You cannot see these lines unless you remove it.
The manifold.
So all righty, we probably need to know.
Yeah.
We do one, probably one a week, I bet at my rage location.
Oh, really?
Oh, at least one a week, if not more.
I mean, they're, you know, they are, you know, they are again.
This is the only this is my gripe about turbos.
Can we make smaller engines build more?
But you just it's just more components are going to break.
They cause leaks.
They cause, you know, so it's the only downfall to a turbos.
It just there's a lot more components that can fail.
And on those, that particular engine, they fail all the time.
And again, it's not a matter of if it's a matter of when.
So let me ask you this in the process of troubling shooting this,
I damaged connector to my vacuum turbo back there and it's not functioning anyway.
And so I've been driving it without it.
Can, can you plug up those lines and just do away with the turbo?
No, I mean, no, no, you can't.
I mean, that thing would be a dog.
It wouldn't get out of its own way if you if you got rid of it.
They're expensive.
So those turbos are, you know, fifteen hundred two grand, probably.
But you wouldn't want to do that.
I, you know, I get if there's a will, there's a way.
I mean, I'm sure somebody can, but I wouldn't recommend that.
That thing would be an absolute dog.
If you got rid of that turbo, it wouldn't move.
OK, so.
All right.
Thank you.
All right, you're welcome.
Thank you very much.
You're very welcome. Have a good day.
Yeah, you know, I see a ton of those, an absolute ton of those vehicles in that engine.
And man, they are those things are hard to work on.
They're they're just they're not horrible engines, but they do burn oil.
Like I've talked about multiple times on the show and they do spring oil leaks
and they're very common and they're up towards the front.
And again, they're very expensive to fix.
So keep that in mind.
But that's what he was dealing with.
So all right.
Again, the number to call 513-749-5500 taking your phone calls coming up.
We have Mike, you're listening to the car show 55 KRC, the talk station around Cincinnati.
Honesty still matters.
It's the way we do business.
The way we raise our families and the way we treat our neighbors.
At Donovan's Auto & Tire, we built our reputation the same way.
One honest car repair at a time.
No gimmicks, no run around, just straight answers, quality work and fair prices.
From oil changes to check engine lights, tires to brake repairs, honesty.
It means something here at Donovan's Auto & Tire.
The honest choice for auto repair since 1958.
Free local locations.
Find yours at DonovanTire.com.
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We may not always agree, but we can agree on one thing.
55KRC is the talk station.
Taking your car questions, the number to call 513-749-5500.
That number again, 513-749-5500.
Again, I'm Dane Donovan from Donovan's Auto and Tire Center.
You can find your nearest location in the tri-state area.
Excuse me.
By going to DonovanTire.com.
We have multiple locations.
And love to help you out and get your car taken care of.
And again, making sure that it's prepared and ready for winter.
Tires, batteries, wipers, fluids.
And you know, just again, making sure that you're ready for what mother nature is bringing us.
Now again, tomorrow and Monday, we're going to be dealing with some type of either flurries or sleet or snow.
We don't know yet.
It's, you know, subject to change, you know, again, if you don't like the weather around here, just wait 15 minutes.
It'll change.
But you want to make sure that you're able to get to your next destination, whether it involves you getting to work or your children or getting them to a sporting event.
Again, I have three children.
We're always at a sporting event and you want to make sure you get there safely.
And by doing so, you get it in and get it looked at.
And again, I always, you know, most of your, you know, most dentists say, hey, listen, come in every six months, right?
And if you have a newer car, you know, if it's brand new, you know, you don't need to bring it in.
But if you've got a car that's, you know, five, six, seven, eight years, you know, you want to get it in at least once or twice a year.
Get it in, get it inspected and stay on top of the repairs.
Again, so often what happens is I don't see a car for sometimes two or three years.
And then they bring it to me and I find, you know, not that I'm, you know, necessarily looking for it, but I'm just saying like they bring the car in because it has one problem.
And guess what?
It has several other issues.
Not because I'm trying to find them, but they're right there staring at me.
And again, if you don't go to your dentist or your doctor for two, three, four, five years, you can imagine that there's going to be other things that pop up.
Same way for your vehicle.
You got to make sure you stay on top of it.
Make sure, you know, every night we go to bed, we brush our teeth, right?
And it's something every six months, you go to the dentist, make sure everything's fine.
You go to your debt, your doctor annually, yearly, monthly, however, you know, you should be doing the same thing for your vehicle.
Making sure you're staying on top of it, not just kicking the tires going, ah, it's fine.
Oh, that noise.
I'll just turn the radio up louder.
No, I mean, this is, you know, cars are not getting cheaper.
They're more expensive than ever.
And they're absolutely, you can absolutely get two or 300,000 miles out of a vehicle if you stay on top of it and maintain it correctly.
Now, I believe that there's a ton of mass confusion as to when we should be doing things and maintenance and oil changes.
And I've talked about that multiple times on the show.
And I'm here to tell you that the, the cheapest and easiest thing that you can do to get the most life out of your vehicle is making sure that you get it in regularly and just change.
It's the number one easiest and cheapest thing to do.
If your doctor said, Hey, just come in here every six months and I guarantee you can live till you're 120, you'd probably do it, wouldn't you?
If you knew that there wasn't going to be any major catastrophic issues, right?
But what we do is we don't, we don't get our cars in unless they're broken.
And then once they're broken, I find all these other issues, whether it's me or, or your mechanic or any other mechanic.
And then you're like, Oh my goodness, my car needs $5,000 worth of work.
Well, I'll just go out and buy a new one.
Well, now you've just dug yourself a, even a bigger hole, right?
Because if you'd had stayed on top of it, most likely you would have been able to fix it and keep it going for many, many more years.
And that's what this shows about is making sure that we get the most life out of your vehicle, getting you back out on the road and making sure that you and your family are safe and can get to your next destination.
Right? So it's important.
So, and sometimes it's a safety concern, right?
If there's a vehicle that has a break line that's ready to burst and your mechanic says, Hey, your break lines are leaking.
You need to get that done.
Everybody needs breaks.
And so it's something that again, get it in and get it inspected and making sure you're ready for what comes your way is important.
Okay. And that's again, what this shows all about.
So, all right, again, taking your phone calls, the number to call 513-749-5500.
All right, let's go to the phones.
We have Mike.
Hey, Mike, welcome to the car show.
How can I help?
Oh, yeah.
I got a 94 Sonoma Chevy Sonoma pickup truck.
What's happening is when I'm, when I stop at a stop sign, a red light or whatever, it's idle, real rough.
You know, like has a miss on it, but no one, when I'm driving it, you know, it's all fine.
And it sounds kind of silly, but my exhaust got a leak in it.
And it seems like to think run better.
Not, not a lot better, but somewhat better.
But I just don't know what's wrong with it.
So again, you said the engine, it just runs rough or it idles?
Like it's idling rough or?
Yeah, it idles real rough.
When, when, you know, when I'm moving and driving, it don't have a miss on it or anything.
But like when I stop for a red light or whatnot or, or if I'm in park, you know,
I was sitting on the drive and that I was, it's real rough.
So if you, if you kind of, so if you had your, your left foot on the brake and your right foot on the gas and you're stopped, right?
But you're giving it gas and you're not moving.
But if you, if your idol is up, you're not having any issues.
No, no.
Is that the, I can't 94.
Is that the, is it the Vortec engine?
I think it is.
It's the big, I think it's what they considered the big six cylinder.
The 4.3 liter.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right.
But it just got me baffled.
I know the mechanic that I've been taking it to because I move now, but he's replaced the distributor cap like two different times within, I don't know, maybe once a year, you know,
and both times, you know, I've looked at it and it's, you know, how them the points are all corroded.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So what about the distributor itself?
Has he ever replaced that?
No, no.
Okay.
Somebody mentioned something about an oxygen sensor.
Well, I could.
I mean, are the check, is there, is there a check engine light on at all?
No, no.
There's no lights come on or anything.
Okay.
Got me baffled.
I'm just trying to baby it along till I can find me something else there.
Yeah.
Pretty soon.
Well, so let me ask you something.
When he replaced the, when he replaced the distributor cap, did it seem to change or run any differently or it was the same?
It did for a while.
And then I come, I come right back, you know, doing the same thing.
Okay.
What about the, what about the, the, so did he replace the wires and the plugs at all?
No, he was supposedly the check to see if I needed them or not.
And I don't know.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, yeah, the, the, the, you know, the distributors would go bad on those things.
So it could be a distributor issue, but, or again, does it seem to, is it consistent where it does it all the time, whether it's hot, cold, rainy?
Yeah.
It's all the time.
Yeah.
Okay.
Um, I mean, the, the, um, well, it's, it's, that's, you know, we could have a distributor issue.
Distributors will go bad all the time.
The coil in the distributor can go bad, but that usually causes a running issue.
But, um, I mean, when was the last time it was tuned up?
How many miles were on it?
Right now, 161,000.
Okay.
And how, when was the last time it was tuned up?
You think spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor years.
Cause I've had it for 15 years and I don't think they've ever been replaced.
Really?
Okay.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, what I would recommend and, um, what I would recommend is new spark plugs, new wires, cap and rotor button.
Let's, let's, you know, let's stick to the basics before we go replacing distributors and doing anything else.
Let's do a tune up.
Now, what I would recommend is getting AC Delco GM Delco parts.
Uh, I really don't like after my, I mean, with it being a 94, they might not be available.
I would try to do a GM equivalent, like a Delphi or a Delco or something like that.
But I would recommend let's do a plugs, let's do wires.
Let's do a new cap and a rotor button.
Did when he replaced the cap, did he replace the rotor button?
I assume.
Yeah.
Okay.
Let's, let's, yeah, let's do that first.
That's what I'd recommend before we get into pulling our hair out and replacing other components.
I mean, that's going to be, if it's been 15 years and you haven't done it, you certainly could benefit from it.
Whether that fixes it or not, but I would, let's start there.
And then, um, if you can get AC Delco parts, I'd recommend it.
They're not available.
I understand, but get a quality part because it does believe me, it does make a difference.
So, and then if it doesn't fix it, let me know.
Again, we could be dealing with, um, you know, could be an idle air issue.
Could be, uh, you know, could be a distributor issue, but, uh, let's, let's just, I always, let's stick to the basics.
Let's do a tune up cap, rotor wires and spark plugs.
And then you, uh, call me back and let me know, give me full update.
Okay.
I'll do that.
Okay.
All right.
I don't want to put a whole bunch of more money in the day.
Yep.
Cap, rotor, wires and plugs aren't going to, aren't going to break the bank.
They, they, uh, I, that's where I would start.
Okay.
All right.
Let's go do that.
All right.
Well, thank you very much for your call.
You have a great day.
You know, that's, that's the thing.
Sometimes, um, you know, you can try to look past the basics, right?
Cause like it's got to be something else, right?
But sometimes you start at the very basic repair and you work your way up.
Sometimes, I mean, even, I mean, even I'm guilty of it where sometimes you're like,
Oh, this is a bigger problem.
There's no way, you know, there's been times where this is the God's honest truth.
There's been times where we've got to miss fire on a vehicle.
Let's say it's cylinder six, right?
We go ahead and we do a complete tune up plugs, wire or plugs and coils.
Most cars don't have wires anymore.
That gentleman did.
But anyways, and you go and you put them in and then my guys are like, Hey man,
now we got to miss fire on number two.
And lo and behold, you, you're like, we just put in brand new plugs.
So it can't be the parts that we just put in.
Well, lo and behold, yeah.
If somebody drops a spark plug, let's say whether you buy him from online or you buy him from your local dealership.
But if somebody drops one of those spark plugs and breaks the porcelain and it has a crack in it, it's a hairline crack.
You'll never see it.
Once you put it in and it starts misfiring, then you'll, you'll get that black carbon buildup.
But initially out of the box, you're not going to see it.
So it happens.
So it's something that, you know, you always, it's always important to make sure that you use a quality product and make sure that what you're putting in is, is, is good and never just stick to the basics and build from there.
So all right, again, the number to call 513-749-5500.
You're listening to the car show on 55KRC, the talk station.
You're listening to the car show on 55KRC.
I'm Dane Donovan from Donovan's Auto Entire Center.
Winding down the show here.
I do appreciate all the callers.
And listen, I will be back next Saturday to answer all of your car questions again here every Saturday from one to two.
I'm always, you know, I always promote it.
I always talk about it.
And sometimes everybody's like, I'm like, oh, I got to go the other day.
I think it was last Saturday.
My wife forgot her phone.
I had to run it up to them and run it up to her.
And it was like, oh, you always got to go.
I'm like, well, I got to do a radio show.
I got to be on the air here shortly.
My, my producer's going to be calling me and wanting to know where I'm at.
And they're like, you do a radio show?
I'm like, I don't, I guess I got to start.
I don't know.
Yeah, exactly.
So, but yeah, always, always here, always taking your car questions and everybody enjoy their week.
Um, you know, it's, uh, it's going to be, it's going to be, we'll see how this week starts.
We'll see how it starts.
So, uh, again, everybody, thank you so much.
Appreciate everybody calling.
I'll be back next Saturday to answer all of your car questions.
You're listening to the car show on 55 KRC, the talk station.
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About this episode
Dane Donovan discusses the importance of preparing vehicles for winter, emphasizing tire maintenance, fluid checks, and battery readiness. He shares personal anecdotes about driving experiences and the necessity of regular vehicle inspections. The episode features listener calls, including troubleshooting advice for a Buick Regal's oil leak and a Chevy Sonoma's rough idle. Donovan stresses the value of routine maintenance and using quality parts to extend vehicle life, while also addressing common winter driving concerns in Cincinnati.
Original notes
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Car Show with Dale and Dane Donovan
55KRC (WKRC-AM)
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39:27