"Winter Suspension Survival: 2 Motormouth Tech Tips to Save Your Ride (and Your Wallet)

Well good morning friends. You're tuned to car connection and our car

connection workshop where the coffee's strong, the stories are real, and the

wrenches never stop turning. I'm your host Nile Motormouth Jenkins coming to

you from the car connection workshop. Personally, where the smell of fresh oil

and a little elbow grease is all part of a balanced breakfast. Around here we

don't just talk cars, we live them. Whether it's a 25 year old Jeep Wrangler

getting a second chance at life or a Nissan road getting its brakes back in

order or perhaps a mystery leak that's got every one of us scratching our heads.

This is where we roll up our sleeves and get it done with a little wit, a little

wisdom, and a whole lot of fun. Car connection workshop isn't just about

nuts bolts and diagnostics, it's about connection. Connection to our vehicles,

to the people who drive them, to the community that keeps Diagon rolling

because when you fix a car you're not just turning a wrench, you're restoring

someone's confidence, freedom, and maybe even their sanity. We're here every week

and also Saturday mornings helping you keep your ride safe, reliable, and ready

for whatever road lies ahead. So whether you're a weekend wrencher, a daily

commuter, or someone who just wants to understand what that strange rattle

really means. Welcome aboard. Stick around for shop talk, expert advice, a few good

laughs, and maybe a story or two and we'll prevent you from not spending too

much money on your car. So we're here to help you save money and keep your car

rolling. You know one of these days after 31 years on radio been licensed as a

service technician and light truck and passenger vehicles and heavy trucks and

equipment and coaches and diesels since 1988 was when I wrote my licenses and

they are up to date and I am current. So I'm always open to asking questions or

making a comment on one of our YouTube videos. We have well over we're heading

for 200 YouTube videos at Nile Motor Mount Jenkins and we always have all our

contacting information in the description box of our YouTube videos and also the

podcast here on iHeart, Spotify, Amazon, music, and also Apple and all the other

major platforms or whatever platform it is that you're tuning in on. Look for

Car Connection Workshop. That's where you'll find us. 31 years on radio with

our Car Connection Radio broadcast and retired out from that and wanting to

move into another direction and that's what we're doing. I want to reach a lot

more people and reach out and teach you more about your automobile so that you

can save money, less chaos and stress, and enjoy more rolling. Yeah, than

unhappiness because cars, it's a love-hate relationship. That's what I've

discovered in all the years. We had our own automotive repair shop on the Hamilton

Mountain for 11 years and it was ill health that kicked me out of that. You

know I was wrenching for rent and my body just couldn't take you know the 18

hour days and I blew a couple of discs out and life changed in a hurry and I

needed to get myself healthy and being on the shop floor and working hard was

not going to get me there. It was gonna get me in a wheelchair so life changed.

I'm back in health and have been for a number of years now. We got to look after

ourselves and we got to look after our automobiles because how many of you out

there, if I said I'm pulling your keys from you, you can't have the car for 90

days. Yeah, silence right? That would be the laser stare of death. You'd go what?

You're doing what? Yeah, you don't get to have your car for 90 days. You'd freak

out. Yeah, there'd be silence and then there would be an absolute yeah horrific

barn burner. Yeah, a meltdown. Not good. How many could do without our vehicles

out there for 60 days or 30 days? And I recently talked into someone whose

vehicle was down for three weeks and still not fixed and let me tell you they

were wound up tighter in a coil spring. But he's lucky that he's still alive I

think. Yeah. Yeah, not many of us can do without our ride. It's a tool to get

everything done and we've got some of the toughest months of the year coming up

against our automobiles. So we got to be ready because we never know just how

rough the months ahead are going to be. We know we're into the cold, crispy and

maybe up to our foreheads in winter event material. So we need to be ready and

it's better to be prepared than not prepared. So you can find me on our

website and all our links to everything that we're connected with. We have blooper

videos and outtakes at Stevensvilleontheweb.ca. We have YouTube, Facebook,

Instagram, iHeart and our merch store all located in one place for you so you can

connect with me and that's at carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com and I

always put that information in the description of anything I'm recording be

at a YouTube video or be it here on podcasting which is new to us. We're not

new to broadcasting, we're new to podcasting and I'm starting to get in

the groove in the studio instead of having to wake up at 4.30 in the morning

and do a Saturday morning and afternoon live broadcast. This is kind of

nice and I'm kind of settling in now so if you see some mistakes in my

podcast or some boogity things, it's okay. If you hear a little silent spot like

this, it's alright. I didn't black out, bang my head and I'm laying underneath the

talk table, passed out and nobody comes to check on you know. The cheese stands

alone. You ever notice that? The cheese stands alone. So always connect with me

through carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com. We have amazing program partners that

have been with us for decades from finances to construction and landscaping

materials to automotive also to outreach programs in the Niagara region where

you can get involved, send some gift cards, donate five bucks a month but be

part of that community that reaches out to men, women and children, single moms,

the kids have school programs for them and they get fed. There's so much going

on at Crystal Ridge Dream Center. Check them out on our website. All the logos

for all the companies that I put my seal of approval on are there for you to

connect with. You'll be treated very very well and you can trust those that are on

their rainbow motors. Rita and Ramiz, Shenouda, the brothers up in Scarborough.

They have a small car lot so it's sales and service to all makes and models. This

just in. My muffins are done. Well, that's good to know. Hey, thanks. I appreciate

that. Yeah, I really do. That's good. Take them out before they burn. Much

appreciate it. So always read the descriptions. That's where you'll find

links and if I'm using certain products or I have something that would be of

help to you, you'll find it in the description of our YouTube videos and

also in the description of our podcast and you can email me through our website

carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com. There's a website form there. If there's a

specific topic you would like for me to cover, let me know. If you have a

question, let me know. Leave a comment in our YouTube videos and every single

YouTube video will teach you, ladies and gentlemen, I don't care what age you are,

what size you are or nationality, you're going to learn five things from every

video. We're not building monster trucks or hot rods or anything. We're doing

good old fashioned automotive service repairs and maintenance and we've been

working on a 97 Jeep TJ Wrangler that was given to us back last June, June of

2024 and we've gone over the whole thing and we're getting to the tail end of

things now and on that specific vehicle it has all the components your car has

but not as high tech. So it's a great way for you to see things. We work on

different vehicles all the time and different maintenance and repairs that

you can learn. What it is, where it is, how it breaks, why it matters and what

could you have learned or done to prevent a very expensive part and component

from breaking and costing you a lot of money. So I'm here to save you money, not

lose money. So whether you know a little bit about cars or not a whole lot, our

YouTube videos will teach you those five things and also remind you when you're

taking your vehicle in for service and repairs, whether you're a guy or a gal,

make sure four things are covered on the repair order and you make sure that the

service advisor covers it to the nut because this is where problems begin

right away and you walk out of the service department going, I think I just

got taken. No, I think I got hosed. No, I definitely got screwed for sure and by

the time you get home, you've come up with 150 different ways of saying I got

ripped off. I think probably most likely maybe perhaps not. Here you go. Four

things on the work order every single time. The cause, why you're taking the

vehicle in, make sure all the concerns are noted and written down on the work

order so that the communication is there of all the items that you want to have

repaired or maintained and know about. Number two, cause, that's diagnostic time

ladies and gents. You don't want to get a phone call and say, oh, the repair was

200, but the diagnostic is 850, 850 smackers. No, what you want noted on

there is give them one hour. I'm giving you a huge service technician tidbit

here. You tell them on each item that is your concern. If there's diagnostic

that needs to take place, you say I'm giving you permission for one hour of

diagnostic time and then I want to be brought up to date. That will prevent

you from having a service department meltdown or a Chernobyl meltdown in the

service department. I'm authorizing and make sure they write it down. If it's

not written down, it's he said, she said, it doesn't matter, right? Make sure

they write it down. One hour of diagnostic time and I want to be called and

discuss further. So concern for every component that you're everything that's

going wrong with it. Individuals. So if there's five items, four items, three

items, two items or one item should all be on that work order. Number two,

you're authorizing one hour of dyag time for them to come up with what is the

causal component for that specific concern for each one. So if there's a

number of items that are going to need to be dyagged, you choose one hour and

then you want a phone call or two hours and you want a phone call covering off

what is the cause of all those items of concern. Number four, correction. What

are the parts exactly that are going to be required to put my car back into

good standing and good working order? All parts and have them put that right on

the work order. Customer wants a cost analysis for all labor, all parts in

detail. And then finally, confirmation. The vehicle needs to be wrote tested to

verify that concern, cause, correction has all been completed. Everything's

good by the road test, which is confirmation. So I'm giving you those

tips because I'm hearing and seeing all kinds of ripoffs going on and it is

stinking serious. Ladies, you are getting taken out there and it's disgusting and

there's some fellas as well, you know, with it don't know a whole lot about

cars. So that's what this podcast is all about. I've done 31 years on radio as

of November 6th, 2025. And now I'm moving on to podcast. Why? Because I can

reach more people. I can help more people with the knowledge that I have. I can

answer your questions. I can give you guidance. I can teach you stuff that

will make you a secret weapon, ladies. When you walk into that service

department, that service advisor hasn't got a clue that your holster has two

guns and lots of bullets. You're armed with information, knowledge and

understanding of your car. So let's, I promised in the last podcast and we ran

out of time and I don't like to make these too long. I'm trying to stay around

30 minutes. But if that's not enough for you and you need more, I'm used to

doing a two hour live call in program for 31 years, then we backed it down to

an hour. I can give you more time if you need more time. I just want to be

respectful of your time and give you as much as I can, but not like sucking on

a fire hose or a fire hydrant. But I just want to give you a trickle and a flow

of information to not overwhelm you. Because if you're like me, you know what?

I get overwhelmed with new stuff. I have to take a bite out of it a little bit at

a time and I find I can get through it and learn it just like podcasting. Learning

the tools and the equipment that I require to run myself because I'm a

one-man show. I'm the engineer, I'm the host, I'm the writer, I'm the host, I'm the

talent, I'm the guy, I'm not the man, I'm just a man. I'm not a big shot, I'm just

a little shot that just keeps shooting. That's me. So I promised to stay around

30 minutes, but if you'd like more, send me an email. Put me a comment down in one

of our YouTube videos. I answer all the comments and I look at all the comments

because I want to help you. And we're working together in this. You know, I'm

going to write a book one day and here's the title of it. Fix it, but don't spend

any money. Would you buy that book when I write it? Would you? Would you buy that?

And how to shop for a pre-owned vehicle? Yeah, we're working on that. I wrote it

a number of years ago, but I didn't do anything with it. Now I think it's time to

refresh that. And if you're interested, you'll be able to get that

from our merch store and have a copy for yourself and or a download. So I did promise

two more winter tech tips in the last podcast. So it's Wednesday today. So here they are.

Um, winter motorbikes winter tech tip number. Where are we at here? 13 and 14 out of 35.

Yeah, we've gotten through a few already. So if you're just catching the car connection

workshop with host Nile motor about Jenkins, you can go back and relisten and on our website

at carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com. Mike, Mike, our webmaster, he's amazing.

And he has set up archives on our pro on our website where you can go and relisten

to the podcast and they're they're up there by topic and date. So you easily find what you're

looking for. So feel free to listen, relisten, share. Here we go. Motor Mouse winter tech tip

number 13. Yep, check your serpentine belt for cracks. The cold makes the rubber very,

very brittle and the belts can snap. So from a statistic from Gates Canada, which is one of

my favorite suppliers of belts and hoses for a long time, decades, decades and decades.

Their statistic is four years at the very most for all belts and hoses. And sometimes

that's really pushing it. In some cases, in many cases that serpentine belt's done in about two

years, because it's one belt drives everything air conditioning, water pump, power steering,

engine, it's all tied to one belt. And when that thing breaks, it's like 16 feet long. And boy,

does it ever tear things apart under the hood, because it's whipping around in there.

And it's 16 feet long. And before that thing kind of clears all the pulleys and spits out

underneath the car, if it can, I've seen it rip radiators, washer, winter washer bottles, hoses,

wire harnesses. It can cost thousands. And the one particular vehicle that comes to mind,

the bill was like $4,000. It did so much destruction and even bulged the hood. So crazy as? Yes. So

we want to make sure as we head into the colder weather, be certain that your service tech double

checks your serpentine drive belt for cracks, because the cold will cause that belt to snap.

So I always recommend two years, four years pushing it, really pushing it. You might get two

and a half, three, but you don't want to be on the outtake of that where the belt breaks and

causes thousands of dollars of damage in parts and labor. So that brittle rubber when it snaps

is going to cost you. And without it, you're going nowhere fast. So when that belt comes off,

whether it's July and it's 90 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity and you're on the side of the

road, it'll super overheated because the serpentine belt broke, your vehicle will overheat just as

fast in the winter at minus temperatures as it would on the side of the road in the middle of July.

Just so you know, the engines are running at 195 degrees Fahrenheit. So the coolant is running at

195 and the cooling fans do not come on till 212 Fahrenheit to 225 water boils in that window,

212 to 225, just so you know. But because it's mixed antifreeze, glycol, and filtered water,

we know what the boiling point is. It's still in that window. So if the belt breaks and the coolant

is at 212 Fahrenheit, it's going to meet 225 in a hurry and the electric fans are not going to keep

that engine cool. You're going to super overheat and blow out all the antifreeze and perhaps cause

some catastrophic engine damage and or transmission as well. Because if it's an automatic transmission,

the transmission oil is being cooled by the cooling system. So if the cooling system overheats,

your transmission oil overheats, and you're talking bucabucks. So I don't want you to go there. So

that's tech tip number 13, motor melts, winter tech tip number 14, keep your floor mats dry.

Wet mats freeze, they slide, and they can wedge under the gas pedal or under the brake pedal.

And I've seen that happen. It creates a crash, could be through a store, into a parked car,

you never know. And that's not how you want to practice ice racing. The other issue is this,

very hard to keep the windshield and the inside of the windows from frosting up if you've got a

lot of water in your floor mats. Did you know that? And if you're not using like a water catching

type floor mat, then your carpets soaking wet, and it'll be wet until the end of July next year.

So that moisture, after you've had the heater on in the car and warming things up, that moisture

comes out of the carpet and the under padding, which is about two inches thick. And it will hold

the moisture against the metal floor of your car. And I've seen it rot the car floors out,

the floor pans in less than six months. You got a Fred Flintstone car, I kid you not, because once

the water gets the paint, and also the primer off the floor under the carpet, guess what happens?

Guess what happens? It's bare metal. Now your floor is going to rot out completely. Yep,

very, very quickly. It happens very, very quickly. So here's what you need to do. Get yourself some

really good floor mats. And you know what, what I do in the winter is I go to, you know, like the

Salvation Army or, you know, the thrift shops, Goodwill, I get some old towels, and I put them,

I double them, and put them under my Pants Saver car mats, that's what I call them,

catches all the water, so I can keep the carpet dry and salt free. But I also make sure if there's

a fair amount of moisture in my mat, I take it out, dry it out, and I'll even take it in the

house and dry it out and bring it back out because that moisture will drive you nuts on the inside

of the glass because you'll have frost on there that will not go away all winter long. You'll

be dealing with it all the time. So another winter tech tip. Let's jump into our topic for today,

suspension. Not the one you got in school several times, but that's just between you and me. I

move on. Yep. Next question, suspension. What does that mean? Well, we have shocks, and we have

McPherson struts. We have coil over shocks, and then we have just regular attached at both end

shocks, depending on type of vehicle you're driving. But it doesn't matter. So I don't want to confuse

you with that. I just want you to understand how shocks work. So I'm just going to call them shocks.

Shock absorber is the high tech terminology that what they do is they are you ready?

Some high tech stuff here, ladies. Write this down because the fellows probably don't even know this.

So it's just between you and me crayons and a brown paper bag being your memo pad.

Shock absorbers, what do they do? They absorb spring oscillations. How about that one for terminology?

And even though they may be attached at both ends in the front and in the rear of your vehicle,

doesn't necessarily mean that they're working. In this time of year as we head into the winter

months ahead, we need to know just how in tune those shock absorbers are. Again, on most vehicles in

the front, they're still shocks, but they're called McPherson struts. It's the design. In the rear,

they could be coil springs like on my Honda, my Honda CRV, the rocket we call it. I'm going to

be changing those in the spring. They're coil over. So there's a shock absorber with a coil spring

over top of it. Then if we take a look at my 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser, I have shocks with coil springs

over them on the front and on the rear just plain old shock absorbers. They're attached at the top

and the bottom, and it's just a shock absorber. That's something I did talk about on one of my

YouTube videos back in the very early days. When we started working on the 1997 Jeep TJ Wrangler

Sport Rescue, I replaced shock absorbers front and rear. So if you go way back in my YouTube videos,

you'll actually be able to see the shock absorbers that I put on that 97 Jeep TJ Wrangler Rescue.

They're just plain Jane shock absorbers. But the purpose is to create, they're filled with gas

and oil and they have valving inside so that when you hit bumps, whether it be a giant pothole big

enough to swallow a Volkswagen Beetle, or you go into a dip, or it's like, is there any road

in front of me or did I leave and I'm in the field somewhere? You know, those types of roads,

there's one not too far from the car connection studio here, and I know now and have learned

stay in the left lane, don't get in the curved lane. Yeah, especially if you have a beverage.

You are probably going to need to have a change of wardrobe. You're going to wear most of it.

Shock absorbers are designed to create a downforce. And what does that mean?

Not only do they absorb spring oscillations that so that you have a nice comfortable ride

like you're sitting on a fluffy couch behind the wheel, or a passenger or a backseat driver.

Yeah, we let them out at the next stop usually. Hey, can you just run in and grab me something

from the store there? Oh, we left you behind. Really? Yeah, really look concerned about that.

The other purpose is to create downforce to push the tire against the road surface.

So heading into the winter months ahead. If your shock absorbers are not creating that downforce

because the gas has come out of the cylinders, or oil has leaked out, or they're just not working,

the gas has leaked out slowly. And that's what happens. The seal shrink in the gas charge

dissipates out of the shock. So now it's not really working. It's there, but it's not working.

It's not doing its job. And so how do we know that? That's where a suspension check comes in.

That's where your your honest service tech. And just recently, I heard this from a lady.

They told her she needed shocks and struts. And the car had like 100,000 k on it. And it was,

you know, a Japanese car. And they last a lot longer than domestic. So I can tell you that I'm

just going to be changing shocks on the 2007 FJ Cruiser. I'm about halfway to 400,000 kilometers.

And I'll be changing them out for the very first time. So there you go. On a domestic,

you might see five years, you might make it to six maybe. Because it's not by mileage or time.

It's the gas leaking out from the seals when they shrink. And then you lose your absorption.

Yeah, absorption. Yeah, that's good. We'll go with that. So it can they can no longer really give you

a smooth ride anymore. But most of all, there's no downforce to keep your wheels against your rubber

against the road. Yeah, you know, like I think that's where the term came came up. It's time

to put the rubber to the road. Or was that a smoky burnout? I'm not sure. I guess you

could use that that phrase either way. Yeah, time for a smoky burnout. A really good one.

So if there's no downforce, and we're heading into winter months, we've got some kind of

slushy roads, icy roads, snow event stuff on the ground, how much we don't know.

But if there's no downforce, that means those winter tires, it doesn't matter if they're the best

on the planet built by NASA and designed by, you know, flight engineers, it won't matter.

Because you're not getting the traction that those winter tires need if your shocks are worn out.

So how do we determine if they're worn out? I knew you'd ask. And I have the answer. I have a very

simple tool kit in my toolbox that measures vehicle road height. And I know I'm going over a little

bit long here, but I want to share this with you. And then I'll, I'll cut out. I'll cut out of here

because it's time for a cup of coffee. It's getting close to that time. Break time.

I have a, what's called a suspension test kit. So we pull the vehicle in to the shop on a flat

surface. So I know an area in the shop where I can pull that vehicle in. And I know the cement floor

is perfectly flat. So then we go around, we check and make sure all the tires are set to the same

tire pressure. Now I go into my manual that came with it and I look up the vehicle year make and

model. And then it shows me a diagram where I'm going to, with the tape measure they even provided

in that kit, measure from the floor, so from the, the shop floor surface to specific points

on your vehicle and then write down the measurements. And then go back to the chart when I'm done

all the measurements and check the actual measurement to the specified measurement.

And if your vehicle is sitting low at any of those points, then that tells me the car is sagging.

So the vehicle road height is not correct. And why would that be? All the tires I set them all to

the same pressure. So the vehicle sitting level. And I've got measurements that are lower than the

actual measurements in the manual that shows your vehicle and the height. It's called measuring road

height. So then I can have that discussion with you and say the front end of the vehicle is sitting

an inch and a half to almost two inches lower than it should be. That tells me that the, the shocks

are not working and that your vehicle is not performing and absorbing road shock and spring

oscillations. So you're really suffering from ride. The ride is not good, like from the factory.

So that's when I can say we need to replace the shocks either on the front

or on the rear or all four. I generally recommend if we're doing the front, let's do the back as

well. Why? They're the same mileage, the same timeframe in age and mileage. Why not have the

suspension working all the way around the vehicle, vehicle equally. And that is really what you need

heading into the winter months is we need all four brakes are breaking equally. All four

shocks are working equally hard to keep the rubber on the road. And that is the name of

that tune. It keeps it really, really, really simple. Checking and verifying vehicle road heights

will help me as a service technician to help you not only better understand your automobile,

but make sure that you and your occupants and everyone around you on the roadway are going

to be safe this winter season. And they're just as important in the summer except the roadways

are clear. But it's when when heavy downpours, which we seem to be having more and more of,

you want to know that your vehicle is not going to hydroplane on that water, that you have the

downforce from the shocks to keep the rubber tightly against the road. Otherwise, you're

drifting. You're just basically riding on whatever's on the road surface. You're not getting downforce.

So until next time, like, share and follow us on Facebook and YouTube. Leave a comment,

send me an email, click on our YouTube icon, Facebook, Instagram, iHeart and our merch store.

We've got winter knitted hats coming in and hoodies available. All that stuff's coming in

alongside all the other merchandise we have online in our store. You go into the store,

pick your size, your color, put it in your shopping cart, safely pay for it and get shipped,

made and created and shipped directly to you becomes a personal item. And be part of the

car connection crew. Show it off. So we thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. And

thank you for being a part of our car connection and our car connection workshop community.

Check in with us at carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com anytime. All the links to reach me are on the

home top right hand corner of our homepage and look forward to seeing you next time. So keep it

under 100 and put that coffee on because we're on our way to your house.

"Winter Suspension Survival: 2 Motormouth Tech Tips to Save Your Ride (and Your Wallet)

About this episode

Jeep Wrangler

Nissan Rogue

barn find

serpentine belt

Gates Canada

serpentine drive belt

coolant

antifreeze

automatic transmission

moisture

floor pans

floor mats

suspension

McPherson struts

coil over shocks

shock absorber

coil springs

Honda Crv

Toyota Fj

Volkswagen Beetle

shocks and struts

downforce

winter tires

tire pressure

road height

brakes

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