You Wouldn't Judge Mac & Cheese Without Tasting It - So Why Guess With Your Car?
Car Connection Workshop
You Wouldn't Judge Mac & Cheese Without Tasting It - So Why Guess With Your Car?
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Company
Earl Louise Grant
This is the person the host is thanking as part of the dealership team. They’re described as helping customers track down the right used car.
Company
City Auto Sales and Leasing
They’re giving a shout-out to a local dealership that sells used cars and leases. The message is that they try to offer good-condition vehicles at reasonable prices.
Concept
pre-owned auto store
They’re talking about used cars, not brand-new ones. The dealership is positioning itself as a place to shop for those used vehicles.
Concept
in-house financing
Some car dealers can help you get a loan directly through them. That can be convenient, but you should still check whether the interest rate and total price are actually a good deal.
Concept
30-day fuel savings challenge
This is a 30-day plan to try to spend less money on gas. Instead of guessing, you track what happens over a set time to see if your changes actually help.
Term
fuel pump
The fuel pump is the part that sends gas from the tank to the engine. If it cuts out randomly, the car may start sometimes and then refuse to start other times.
Term
power and ground
Cars use electricity that needs two things: power and a path back to ground. If either one is weak or missing, the part may not work reliably.
Term
winter tires
Winter tires are tires made for cold weather. They grip the road better when it’s snowing or icy, and they work better than regular tires once temperatures drop.
Concept
Crystal Ridge Dream Center
They name the charity they’re talking about: Crystal Ridge Dream Center. The speaker is explaining what the group does and where it is.
Car
Honda Civic DX two door hatchback
They’re talking about a Honda Civic DX from the late 1990s. It’s a hatchback version, which means the rear opens like a small cargo door.
Term
HVAC
HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. In this context, the speaker is emphasizing their background in climate-control systems, which includes both heating and A/C.
Concept
cars and coffee
“Cars and coffee” is a meet-up where car people get together, usually in the morning. People bring their cars, chat, and show what they’re working on.
Term
headliner
The headliner is the material on the inside of the car’s roof. If it starts to peel or fall down, it usually needs to be replaced.
Term
sun visors
Sun visors are the flaps you pull down to block sunlight. The material can wear out and start to come apart over time.
Part
bumper cover
A bumper cover is the outer plastic (or composite) skin on the front or rear bumper. Removing it is often necessary to access the grille and to paint or repair the bumper area without damaging surrounding trim.
Term
rattles
If the muffler rattles, something inside may be broken or loose. That’s often a sign the exhaust needs attention.
Part
muffler
The muffler is part of your car’s exhaust system that helps make the engine sound quieter. If it starts breaking apart inside, it can block the exhaust path and cause the car to run poorly or even stall.
Term
tailpipe
The tailpipe is the pipe you see at the back where exhaust comes out. If you hear rattling when you tap it, it can be a sign the muffler is failing inside.
Term
summer tires
Summer tires are made for warm weather. They grip best when it’s not cold, so people usually switch them on after winter.
Concept
seasonal maintenance
Seasonal maintenance is the practice of preparing a car for changing weather—like winterizing, then swapping tires and doing checks in spring. This segment references winter storage, an oil change before storage, and switching to summer tires.
Part
alternator
The alternator is what keeps your car’s battery charged while you drive. If it’s dying, the car can start acting weird—lights, electronics, or even starting problems—sometimes with little warning.
Car
Toyota FJ Cruiser
The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a rugged Toyota SUV. Here they’re working on its rear parking brake parts, which can be a pain job.
Term
wheel alignment
Wheel alignment means adjusting how your tires sit on the car. It helps the tires wear evenly and keeps the car tracking straight. If it’s not aligned, the tires can wear out faster and the car may pull to one side.
Term
oil change
An oil change refreshes the oil that lubricates the engine. Fresh oil helps the engine run cooler and cleaner. It’s one of the most important routine maintenance items.
Term
exhaust system whacking
Sometimes the exhaust can move or hit something because a hanger or mount is loose. When that happens, you may hear rattling or clunking. It’s a common reason for weird noises from the back of the car.
Term
pull the wheel
“Pull the wheel” means removing the wheel to inspect components behind it, such as suspension arms, brake hardware, and sometimes wheel bearings. It’s a common diagnostic step when a noise seems localized to one corner. The speaker plans to inspect and then decide the repair direction.
Term
emergency brake
The emergency brake is the brake you use to keep the car from rolling when it’s parked. If it’s not working, you may need to adjust or repair the parts that connect the handle to the rear brakes.
Concept
service bays
A “service bay” is the garage stall where mechanics work on cars. It’s where they check problems and do repairs, so it’s real experience from day-to-day car maintenance.
LIVE
Good morning folks! You're tuned to Car Connection where the coffee's strong, the
stories are real, and the wrenches never stop turning. I'm your host, Nile Motor
Mouth Jenkins, coming to you from the Car Connection workshop where the smell of
fresh oil, a little elbow grease, is all part of our 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 Rogue getting its brakes
back in order. Could be a mystery leak that's got everyone's scratching their
heads this morning. This is where we roll up our sleeves, get it done with a
little wit, a little wisdom, and a whole lot of fun. The Car Connection isn't just
about nuts bolts and diagnostics, it's about connection. Connection to our
vehicles, to the people who drive them, and to the community that keeps Niagara
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
Monday through Saturday 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. You've come to the right place. If you're looking to keep your
vehicle longer, keep that engine reliability and longevity and the
transmission going for 300, 400, or 500,000 K miles. Yep, this is the place. We do it
all the time. So listen up babies. If you're just tuning in for the very first
time, you've landed on Fun Friday. What does that mean here in the Car Connection
workshop? Anything goes. Yeah, anything goes whatsoever. You know, you get do-overs,
a mulligan, whatever. Whatever happens on Friday, we chalk it up to Good Friday.
Absolutely. Well, welcome to Friday. Good Friday, April the 10th. Season two,
episode 134. Happy to have you along with us. A couple of housekeeping tips. You
need a pack of 16 crayola crayons, a folded up leaf bag that looks like a
pressed out iron laptop, so that if you do have a passenger this morning, their
job is to facilitate the note-taking. Get them, get them on that right away. It's
simplistic. Crayons, leaf bag, take notes. Right on. So if you're just going through
the drive-through, double-check your order. It is Fun Friday, and I'll tell you, I
have had my share in this last year so far in the first quarter of interesting
orders that I didn't make. Yeah, and I know I speak English because I check it
once in a while. So if you're joining us this morning in the drive-through,
double-check your order, lock it down. We're gonna have a swiggy in just a few
moments here. How we do that is we grab your cup, whatever it is, whatever your
favorite morning beverage is, and we count down three, two, one, and we get to
have a swiggy together. So it's kind of like being together in the workshop, but
not quite, but almost. Make it an absolutely 100%. No additives, no
preservatives. Fun Friday. What are we gonna be talking about this morning? IDK. I
don't know. We'll just see Fridays. We just see where it goes. That's what
it's all about is, you know, we've made it to the weekend. Tomorrow is Q&A
Saturday, so today's cutoff for your questions. So if you have questions, you
best be getting them off your compute hair, your compute hair, and send them
over to me today. MotorMouth.jankins.gmail.com. That's the easiest one
for you. The other one is CCnile at nile.com. What does that stand for?
Business Network. We are revamping our car connection business network, and I've
been really busy working on that part of car connection 2.0, is restoring our
car connection business network where you can connect with local businesses and
they're all vetted by yours truly. Nile MotorMouth Jenkins. And I'm hoping that
we can gather back a lot of the businesses that we lost during the
stupid campaign. You know, that cost people a ton. Let's not go down that
rabbit hole this morning. Self included. We lost 75% of our business that, you
know, our drivers worked my tail off for, and because of stupidity, and money, and
power, a lot of people lost a lot of stuff. So you know, my heart goes out to
you guys too. We all have that sad story, don't we? Absolutely. And so I'm working
my buns off. I don't have a bum, so my friends say, yeah. I'm like, well, it's
gotta have something to do with my disciplining when I was younger. That's
what I'm thinking. That's why it's gone. Anyhow, before I digress, but it is fun
Friday, so we can just rattle some stuff around. You know, don't hesitate to, if
you're do it yourself or to take on some things on your own, practice on somebody
else's car. Did I say that? I said the quiet part out loud, didn't I? Yeah, I did.
Practice on somebody else's car. I remember this couple. Well, here we go.
Look, we better get through this already this morning. Here we go. I'm having a
flashback on that I remember when thing and it just came into my head and I'm
still laughing about it because it was, it was really good. It was one of my
clients, but it was really good. It was priceless. It was delivered very, very
well. Well, let's get into our morning coffee, our swiggy together. I've got my
herbals ready. It's semi-hot, which is pretty good for me for sure. So let's say
thank you to Earl Louise Grant, husband and wife team at City Auto Sales and
Leasing, low mileage quality vehicles at fair prices. They sell no junk. They are
Greater Toronto Areas Premier, pre-owned Auto Store. They do carry a very decent
sized inventory of vehicles under roof and on the lot. If you're looking for
something specific, get in touch with Earl Louise. They have over 25 years
experience and the resources to find that specific vehicle you're looking for.
Let them do the footwork. That's what they're there for. They're there to help
you and make sure that you get a really good top quality vehicle. You can buy
there with confidence and be treated with nothing less than honesty and
integrity. City Auto Sales and Leasing. They have in-house financing as well as
leasing as well and I've already mentioned they don't sell any junk there.
Their vehicles are hand-picked and Earl's a super-duper fussy car guy like
myself. He doesn't bring home lipstick on a pig if you know what I'm saying or a
skunk in a mink coat. So thank you to Earl Louise Grant. Let's count it down.
You ready? It's Friday and it's Fun Friday here in the Car Connection
Workshop where anything goes. Three, two, one. I might just sit back and just finish
this and maybe I'll hum a song or two for you. I don't know. Maybe I'll pull down
the recorder and we'll give that a shot. Oh, the microphone's getting in the way
here in my cup. Really? Really guy? Come on. Well it has been quite a week here.
Lots of stuff going on and lots of stuff breaking down. You ever had that a week
where it's this thing, that thing, and the other thing and one more on standby
just in case you didn't feel the pain enough? Yeah. That's the kind of week
it's been going through the personal fleet. Getting ready for shooting
videos next week on Monday. Skippy will be back here and we'll be shooting some
vids. Let's take a look at the weather today. I've already kind of had a sneak
peek. Not impressed. Like I'm ready for the heat to come on. I don't, I can't
speak for you guys but it's kind of like this up and down and sideways and then
it's threatening to snow and it's like, come on. Yes, we need the 60 degrees so
that it and it to, you know, kind of level off so that we can run the 30-day fuel
saving savings. Don't get it out. 30-day fuel savings challenge for you because
there's $100 a month in fuel savings that would certainly be pretty good right
now, wouldn't it? Yeah, exactly. I'm trying to teach you folks what I know that
works for 44 years in the automotive repair and service business. Yeah, I'm
not as old as dirt. My friends say you might be as old as a worm,
motor moth. I'm like, where do you guys come up with this stuff? Are you on
medication? You might want to consider that. Yeah, medication time. Really? So
yeah, I've been around for a while. I got it. I wrote my licenses in 1988. Yeah,
you know the year of, you know, mullets, hair bands, big hair bands and zip
leather ties and leather pants. Yeah, I made it through that. I sure did. And
thank goodness there's no, there were no phones back then with cameras on. Not
good. Okay, here's what we're looking at today. We thank our certified financial
planning professionals, Tony Miele, Larry Tietro over 50 years as fiduciaries
working with IG wealth management. They manage investment portfolios, debt
retirement and estate planning, mortgages, life insurance, critical illness
insurance and a whole lot more services that we just don't have time for. So the
best thing you can do if you're struggling in any of those areas, grab
that discovery meeting, leave your wallet, leave your purse at home. Tony and
Larry, they are not either work with either or I get I'm fortunate I get to
work with both of them and have for 20 years. They are my own personal
financial planners. And let me tell you, please don't struggle one more minute.
Lose one more night of sleep. Or you know, you know, how much Maylocks and
Tums can you eat to get your stomach to perform well enough to eat that spicy
taco tonight? Yeah, you don't have to go through that. Book your hour in a coffee
discovery meeting today. Do it today folks and watch what happens. The stress
is going to come off when you get the answers from those who have the fruit
on the tree. If you want to cross a minefield, how do you want to do it
listening? Oh, do you trust your coworker, your name or one of your friends
to tell you how to do it? No, you want to you want to take the instructions from
someone's on the other side of the minefield that's crossed it. So book
that hour in a coffee. There's no cost, no obligation, no sales. That's why I
say, leave your wallet, leave your handbag at home. Just book that meeting
by zoom, by phone, in person at the boardroom in a coffee shop, in a box
with a fox, whatever it takes to get that done folks. I really want to press
on you. Just get it done. I cannot for one minute imagine all the tough
rows I've had to hold over the years and not having Tony and Larry in my
corner. So that's Tony Miele and Larry Tito. They're on our website,
carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com. That is the biggest drawer in our toolbox.
Everything is on the homepage of our website. Our YouTube channel, Facebook,
Instagram, Stevensvilleontheweb.ca. We have a beautiful business profile
there. My pops lives there and a number of my friends and Skippy our videographers
there and she created that website to bring local businesses together and the
community. So it's a communal Stevensville website and we're the professionals
over there on that website. So click on the businesses tab and check us out.
Skippy's always putting up reels and videos and bloopers on Facebook and
Instagram. You will not see anywhere else in our online store. That is there to
give you some car connection, motormouth merch. And when you buy some proceeds go
to our battle against those for those and against addiction so we can help
those that are ready to deal with that addiction get to a total freedom addiction
campus Canada and US because there's a new life waiting for them there and they
know what they're doing. It's not a program. It is a 100% complete life
change. So when you purchase something in our online store, you get to pick your
size, your color, whatever it is item you want, pay for it securely online and
that complete store and all the merchandise is all provided to us by
freedom expressions. They put the whole thing together for us. You order
something. They put it together personal order and ship that right out to your
door and that is so so cool. We're blessed to be able to have them do that
for us. So buy up the merch, grab some gear and know that you're helping Skippy
and I in our fight to end addiction. Yeah, for those who make that decision,
they're ready. They'll they get the total freedom. They'll come out the other
side. Absolutely a changed person. So here's what we got for today. Well,
yesterday we had 0.05 of rain in the last 24 hours and today it looks like a
0.3 of an inch possibility. 46 degrees right now, mostly cloudy. It feels warmer
about 47. Well, I didn't feel that that one degree. But anyways, partly cloudy
conditions at 1pm today and today's temperature range will be from 42 to 59
and it feels like 39 degrees to 51 degrees. That's what we got for today,
folks. Yeah, there ain't no sunshine when she's gone. I heard that somewhere
before. Yeah, and tomorrow for Saturday, it's Q&A Saturday. We're getting
sunshine. Yeah, that's all I can tell you at this point. It's a mystery that
always changes after 9pm in the evening. It kind of yeah, things things go awry
or improve with weather. Well, owning and operating an automobile can be a very
stressful over the top
circumstances and it happens. But you can't let it don't let it get to you.
Just don't you know, as my boss, my military boss would say it's just an
automobile. It can't win. He used to drill that into us all the time. It can't
win. And I'll tell you, if he heard you say the word can't, that would get you
sent home for the day.
So you couldn't even use like I am I am unable. That was a can't.
So we had that drilled into us pretty good was don't don't try and twist it.
All I want to know is it's a do the do does and the did is done. We don't run
on cans or maybe sort of kind of maybe not type thing. We had to conquer it. The
car, the vehicle could not win.
And I still work with that today is this week's been so busy. Part of our fleet
coming in and getting checked over and there's stuff wrong. There's stuff
going on. I'm like, how do you know what's going on here? You know, yesterday
the toaster works today. Thing won't turn on. What happens? Let me give you the
short formula for it. It works for everything in life. Stuff just happens.
That's it. Got another car situation. It's one of the fleet. The fuel pump keeps
stopping. It's been very erratic over the last couple of years. Once in a while,
you wouldn't hear the fuel pump buzz. And I tear out the back seat, get right
down to the fuel pump plug and do a couple of checks there. And I got power
and ground. I'm going like, wake up a little rosebud. It's time for you to
pump some fuel. And then all of a sudden it just goes and it's been fine for
like three years. Then enter. This is one of those intermittent things that can
from a technician side, you need therapy after a while. Yeah, you need to go
and defrag. You know, somewhere nice where you know, the breeze is got a nice
ocean breeze. It's not too steamy hot. And the fruit drinks with little
umbrellas in are really nice. And you can just put your feet in the water and
let the water lap over your feet. That kind of therapy. Yeah, not the therapy
where it all started when my parents wouldn't take me to the zoo. Really? No,
not really. So here's what's going on. I'll give you a lowdown what's going on
in the car connection workshop with the fleet. It's spring. It's time to get
the winter tires off and the summies on the rule of thumb with the insurance
company is by the 15th. You can have them off. Yeah. So that's what we're
talking about is that it's that time. It just seems like yesterday or the day
before that we put the winter tires on. But you know, others say, wow, it's been
a long winter. I go. It's the same amount every year from what I when I'm
understanding. But sometimes time just feels like it flies. And other times
it's like, come on five o'clock. Yeah, I used to have this sign up in my shop
that you say if you don't believe in life after death, be here at five o'clock.
Yeah, that was a good sign. It was a good sign for the fellas. Yeah, very, very
good. The other sign I had was we shoot every fifth salesman. The fourth one
just left. That was a good one. That was really good. That one was really,
really good. You'd see the salesman come in. And I just point at the sign. I
go, do you have an appointment? No, then not today. We only take sales calls
by appointment and read the sign. And they leave. It was perfect. It was
priceless. We shoot every fifth salesman. The fourth one just left. Thank
you to Crystal Ridge Dream Center, serving men, women and children, meals,
love, hope, changing lives one at a time in the Niagara region. What a
phenomenal, phenomenal nonprofit, faith based organization. They have
something on the go all the time. Kids programs after school. They had
mac and cheese this week. Apparently I heard they just mowed it down like a
weed wacker and a lawn mower and a bush hog. And they do that. They feed
them, help them with their homework. They can take music lessons. And they
play games with them. Games that are mentally stimulating, like chocolate
bingo. I really want to shot at that. How about you? Would you sign up for
that chocolate bingo? As long as chocolate's involved. I'm there. Yeah,
which reminds me, you know, like we're Siri this morning. Where is she? Hey,
Siri. Yeah, can you wrestle me up a hot cup of coffee and one of those
chocolate donuts with the little sprinkles on?
Well,
there you go. I got a big end slash on that. Yeah. Okay. All right, I'll
take don't worry, I'll take care of it. It's all good. So check them out on
our website. They're a faith based nonprofit organization will be
spreading the word about them this summer. We've always as car
connection, aligned ourselves with a nonprofit faith based organization in
our own backyard that are helping men, women, orphans, children, single moms
and single moms, they have a fabulous program built just for you. And all
that stuff I talk about Tuesday, they feed out the door, hot meals and on
Fridays and guess what? It's Friday. And I think the kids got for what I
heard they got corn, beef and cabbage and they mowed that down. I
surprised me 100%. Yeah, 100% the mac and cheese. Yeah, you probably
wouldn't even survive to try and get the spoon away from not going to
happen. So all the programs they run there is at no cost to those in the
Niagara region. So in times when community sport is absolutely
crucial, Crystal Ridge Dream Center shines as a beacon of compassion and
transformation. They're located at 385 Derby Road. If many of you remember
where the Crystal Beach. What was it called? Crystal Beach Park theme park
was there. Yeah, they're down in that area. But I mean, it's all houses now.
It totally looks different there. I wish that the Crystal Beach amusement
park was still there. I think it would have attracted a lot of people and a
lot of people with memories. I do have some bits and pieces of memorabilia
from that the Crystal Beach amusement park. So they're down in that area.
It's a bit of a low income families down in that area that need some help.
But in the Niagara region as a whole and the times that we're in, if you can
do anything to help them, you know, donate once a week, once a month, once a
year, send some grocery cards. I'll tell you, they don't they don't want to
take a nickel and hammer it into a dollar or anything over 25 bucks.
Boxes gets you a official tax receipt as well. So yeah, getting back to how's
the week been here in the car connection workshop? Well, I just brought one of
four vehicles that are on the docket that need to have a go over. And that's why
I talk about the spring vehicle maintenance check over how important it
is. So what do we got going so far? Okay, the rocket, the 99 Honda Civic DX
two door hatchback five speed air conditioning lady owned from Brands
Bank and new good morning to Jillian if you're listening, my friend out in
out in the Burlington, Ophel area been listening to car connection for all of
32 years. And I'll tell you, I bought the car offer. She offered it to me.
We were first, we got first dibs and I had no idea was not going to be an
opportunity. And that little car has been absolutely outstanding, outstanding.
The air conditioning gets serviced every two years. I don't even know how long
I've owned it now, to be honest, I can't remember. But it gets a evac and recharge
every two years. If you want your vehicles, air conditioning system to be
friendly to you and not chew out the bottoms of your purse or your wallet.
Get an evac and recharge of the system every 24 months. I am an HVAC
automotive guy worked on Mac trucks and Peter built stew and refrigeration and
heating venting and air heating ventilation and air conditioning. That's
air conditioning system to be blowing penguins out the dash or you want to be
able to hang beef in there. Do what I'm telling you. Even if the tech goes,
well, you know, it seems to be working fine. Do an evac and a recharge. It
cleans out the system of impurities and I'll get into air conditioning very
shortly. Once we hit 60 degrees, I'll give you some tips on how to keep your
air conditioning system running just like in the rocket. It's 1999 and you can
hang beef in there. That's how you can make it that cold in there. If you
like. Yeah, your teeth are chattering. You got, you know, you got icicles on
your whiskers. Well, maybe not for you ladies, but as fellas. Yeah, we don't
want that. But you do want to be comfortable. You don't want to be
arriving at the other end for a board meeting or something. And you look like
you've been dragged through a hedge backwards. Not a good look. Yeah. So
the 99 something that was really cheesing me off. Yeah, I got cheesed off
like mac and cheese with no flavor of cheese in it whatsoever. That's not
mac and cheese. That's noodle Ronis. That's it. It's got to be a three
cheeser. Let me know what you think. How do you like? Do you like mac and
cheese? How do you like it? Is it got to be a three cheeser really gooey? Or do
you just stay away from it completely because you like canoes and oak trees?
I don't know. Let me know in the in the email motormouth.jankins at gmail.com.
Yeah, how do you how do you prefer your mac and cheese? Yeah, what's your
favorite go to for that? I personally I'm up for the three cheeser thing. Yeah,
I think I've at the top of the list. I could do a single cheese if it's a
really good cheese. Yeah, like it's got good super duper flavor. But I like the
multi multi cheese thing. Yeah, how do you like your mac and cheese? Let us
know. Yeah, let's talk about it. It's important. So the 99 Honda Civic, what's
been cheesing me off is the front bumper in the grill. Okay, that's it. You might
say, well, what's up with that? Does it have one? I go, yeah. Does it have a grill?
Yeah, you can't barbecue on it, but the sun has barbecued it. You know, this black
plastic stuff, that is so for the manure pile. That's all I got to say. Whoever
invented that, yeah, you know, should be dangling from a cherry tree and hit with
sticks and children with little masks on and candies fall out. Yeah, you should
be they should make that person a human pinata. Only good candy though. Yeah, it's
such a gimmick. I've got two vehicles with that black plastic and I'm fed up
and cheesed off with it because I've tried just about every old our product
makes it black. It stays black for six months. Yeah, I got two letters to say
BS. I've got another product I ordered like three little jars of it. It was like
24 bucks. They're giving you buy one get two free. And I'll tell you, you can
spread that on with a spatula all day long and buff it and do whatever you
want. It doesn't work. It just does not work. So anyways, I finally just said cars
got to come in for its checkup ready for the summer. We're going to get that car
out to cars and coffee and St. Catharines. We'll let you know where we're
going to be there. What the dates are, we're going to bring the little rocket
out and it's getting another facelift. I did all the interior last year, put
another headliner in sun visors and the car took the car all apart inside. It's
spotless. Absolutely. It wasn't bad. But the headliner, the fabric was starting
to come off around up around the windshield and the sun visors. Well, the
sun pretty much took a bite out of both of them. Wasn't much left. And I came
across an exact match, a duplicate of the rocket. Same model year, same color,
gray. People wouldn't believe me. So I snapped some pictures of it and I
actually sat through a tornado in that car taking the interior apart in part of
the South Towns Buffalo. The car was swinging and it had no wheels on. That
tells you and I was quite a ways from the gate. The guys thought I was done. It
was a you pull it yard. And so anyways, I came across this little red two door
hatchback Honda Civic DX, same interior, same exterior color and I stripped all
kinds of goodies off of it and the headliner was one sun visors were in
mint. You know what? In fact, I felt bad taking stuff off it because I'm going, I
could get this car back to the shop and put it back on the road in probably two
months. There was nothing wrong with it. It only had 67,000 miles on it. I even
took a picture of the odometer. So anyways, I got the sun visors, got the
headliner and I was going to reupholster the headliner until I saw that I'm
going, No, this is mint. I mean, there wasn't a stain on it and a tear or
nothing. Mine. So I put that in last summer. The seatbelts were getting lazy, you
know, the retracting part. It's halfway hanging out the door and you're like,
you got to kind of stuff the seatbelt back in there. Got the seatbelts out of
the car. Got the sun visor. So I put took the whole interior part last summer and
put that all in. So now it's the exterior. So this grill, it's supposed to be
black. It's so grayed out. It's almost white. And the bumper, the top of the
bumper, the sun's kind of baked it. It has baked it just the top, the first three
inch, three inch lip along top. So I finally just said, you know what, I can't
take that anymore. I'm going to need serious, serious therapy. So I pulled the
bumper cover off to get the grill out. And I thought, you know what, I'm going to
fix the bumper while it's out, paint arrived yesterday. I'm going to paint the
bumper. I painted the grill. I'm just going to scuff it down one more time. It's
going to look smart when it goes back in. And I'll be okay. Yeah, I'll be out of
treatment after that. So that's being taken care of. Got a replacement muffler
coming for it. I think I talked about that earlier in the week. The muffler looks
fantastic on the outside. There's nothing left of it on the inside. So it rattles
and it sounds like smarties in a very large box, like a, yeah, a huge box of
smarties and you're shaking it and picking out all the red ones. Which
smarties do you like? The red ones or the blue ones? Let me know in an email. If
you eat smarties, what is your favorite color of smartie? And you know what, the
two things over there, coffee, crisp and smarties, they go nuts. I mean, they
would, they would sell me their country for coffee, crisp, candy bars and
smarties. I take them over for a couple of clients. You coming over? Oh, yeah. One
other client wanted Miss Vicki's salt and vinegar chips. Okay. So those, that was
the end of the message. I'm coming over for a visit. See how you guys are doing.
Smarties, coffee, crisp. Miss Vicki's vinegar, salt and vinegar chips, please.
And I'd be crossing where they go. What do you got? Smarties, coffee, crisp. You got
coffee, crisp? Yeah. One of my clients like coffee, crisp. Oh, I love that. And
then they talked all about coffee, crisp. You're like, really got to get going. Got
like three meetings to get to. He goes, what else you got? Miss Vicki's salt and
vinegar chips. Is that for yourself? No, that's for one of my clients. They've
ordered that. So I'm bringing a couple of bags over. Oh, yeah, those are so good. I
like those too. So there you go. Anyways, so the muffler is done. It's on its way.
So that's got to be changed out. And the reason it's got to be changed out, folks,
if it's rattling inside and you can hoof the thing, kick the tailpipe, and it
sounds like you got Smarties in there, you got to get it off because it could
plug up the baffle inside and it can shut the car off. The car can't breathe.
The engine can't breathe. It's going to shut off as simple as that. So before
that happens to you in a most inopportune time, like in rush hour traffic
tonight, like five o'clock on a Friday, you tie up an intersection, you're
going to be extremely popular in a bad way. So that's got to get changed on
there. I service the brakes. Summer tires are on. We're good there. That's all
done. It doesn't need a lot of change. Didn't use the car all winter. Had an
oil change back in the fall just before it went bye bye for the winner. I
decided to take it off. Take it off this year after putting all that
effort into the inside. You open the door, folks, it looks like brand new. And
you can have the same thing, but you got to be willing to put the effort in.
Okay, vehicle number two into the shop. The 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser, the third
alternator is dying. It just started out of the blue and that's usually how it
happens. Went on a road trip, run some errands, get some marketing stuff put
together for the car connection business network. So if you're a small to
medium business owner, let us know who you are. Send me an email. And we'd love
to have you as part of our car connection recommended business lineup and help
us to rebuild back better, faster and lightning speeds, our car connection
business network.com portion of our website and put as many businesses in
there from every profession we can possibly think of. Yeah, we need donut
makers, pastry makers, snack makers, the important stuff. Yeah, painters,
contractors, and the like professionals in health care, nutrition, all that
stuff. automotive, of course, but I got pretty much that covered. But we do have
room in the Toronto area for a couple of shops would be very beneficial,
especially as we're heading towards 200 podcasts. And we now have 310 YouTube
videos and podcasts all loaded up. It's all loaded up for you now, folks. So all
the podcasts episode season one from episode one, all the way up to date.
You can pull that was off our YouTube channel.
Motor mouth Jenkins. Anyways, the link is on our homepage. So the the FJ. Thank
goodness. I was smart. SMRT. And I got a fully covered lifetime warranty alternator
from Napper. Yeah, so they got to give me a new one free. But I got to take it
off first. Otherwise, you got to pay for the whole darn thing now upfront. This
is new to me 44 years dealing with Napper. And all of a sudden now I can't. I
can't just send the old one back. I got you know, if it's not ready, or it's not
off the vehicle, now you got to buy the whole thing, including the core charge,
which is the price for not sending back the old one. It's like 72 bucks. So you
got pay for it all upfront. Then they hand you the alternator. So anyways, I
said, Now, that's too much paperwork, man. I said, I'll just wait till it's back
in the shop. I'll pull it off. Well, I'm doing all the other services and changing
the tires over from winters to summies. And it's getting a full service oil
change, check a complete check over. And I do have a axle seal that's showing
signs of leakage. So that's where you don't go. Well, we'll just keep an eye on
it. No, because if the seal let's go completely, it barfs differential fluid
all over the brand new brakes back there, including the emergency brake package.
And now you got to throw that in the garbage because you can't get the oil out
of the brake pads and the brake shoes. So you either wait, it's like I said to
you before, so many times I've seen a $200 repair turn into a $5,000 repair.
Because you thought it was going to either self heal, go away, or if I don't
recognize it, you know, if you don't acknowledge the problem, then it goes
away, right? No, it festers like a pressure treated sliver in your foot off
your deck. Don't tell me how I know that. I won't tell you how I know that. Don't
ever do that again. Sorry, but pressure treated lumber for a deck is not a great
idea, in my opinion. Yeah, the slivers fester. So you don't want to let a small
item fester. So if I just said, well, you know, let's see if I can make it to the
fall and not spend the money. And then now you're going to have to replace
brakes, both sides, emergency shoes, and they're a whole lot of fun in a bag of
chips and a diet soda on that FJ. Let me tell you, not my idea of a good time.
Talk about therapy. After you do a set of those rear emergency brake shoes on a
on an FJ, Toyota FJ Cruiser, you'll lose your mind. It's insane. But anyways, I
don't want to go there. So I'll get a seal, pull it all apart and just get it
out of there and put a fresh seal in there and be done with it. So that's
that's for that one. What do we got next? Oh, we got the J bean in the shop first
time ever. Are you usually working on that outside? It seems to be like it has
issues in the hottest days of the year outside. So that one, I talked about it
a little bit, I think today, fuel pump decides to just quit. It doesn't no buzz,
no cis, no boom, no big, no warning, just and then you might you might be
somewhere and you got to wait like 15, 20 minutes, recently a half hour. And then
it decides the pump's going to turn. So it's at that point where, okay, you're
now more consistently quitting and cheesing me off. So then I have to eat
more three cheese mac mac and cheese to get cheese back on. And yeah, so that's
got to be done. That's coming on Monday. That's 386 bucks just so you know,
that's my cost. Just so you know, you can own older automobiles. That's an
oh nine Hyundai accent, you know, it's a little teeny weeny two door and no power
anything to air conditioning. So it is a base base model has a clubbox lid and
seatbelts and a steering wheel. But it's been a good runner. It's got 76 K on it.
It was bought brand new, you know, entry level car in five speed. Yeah, so you
have a little fun with it. Take it tight into the corners. I wouldn't. It'll
probably roll shaped like a jelly bean. So that has a fuel pump. Definite
issue. I tested the fuel pump really yesterday and even swapped it out. The
pump wasn't running yesterday decided pumps not running today. So that's the
end of that. So 386 bucks. It'll be here Monday morning. Get no summer tires on.
We got some kind of clunk going on in the front end. That's just started
happening there. And I've done the whole front end the year before last. And it
doesn't see a ton of mileage. It's just a puddle jumper. Toodle around. It's a
toodling kind of vehicle run some errands toodle in the JB. What else is on
that one? It needs a wheel alignment. That's right. Needs a wheel alignment.
And we're down the road with that one. So fuel pump, oil change, tire swap over
and alignment. Good to go. It's had its annual bloop in the marmalade, Jillian,
in the marmalade. Yeah. So it's had the anti corrosion stuff put on there. And
now we're getting close to that time where it's bloop time. And we'll talk
about that as we get closer. So what else we got coming in? Oh, we got the 2010
Dodge Caravans. Vanna White's got to come back in. The front end is all done.
It's got to go for alignment. But we have a noise in the right rear. And it's not
I've done it in a pre inspection. It's not what I thought it might be a loose
shock or exhaust system whacking something back there. Because all that
stuff was worked on new shocks were put on year and a half ago. New muffets were
put on there as well. But it's none of that. So it's a little deeper. We got to
pull the wheel on that side, right rear passenger side rear and see what's going
up with that. Then that one, we can decide which direction it's going. But then
that one can go. That one has to go for alignment. Then we're going to start a
brand new series for YouTube channel. We're pulling out real. That's a car that
we've I've had tucked away for many years. It was going to be a gift for
someone that I knew very well for 24 and a half years. But I wasn't unable to do
that because that person checked out without notice. Not going to go down
that road. I'm not signing up for that class. So anyways, this was a dream car
that that person always had in mind. And I found one from California. I tucked it
away. It was going to be a gift. So a special gift. But that didn't happen. So
we're pulling her out. Rio's coming out. And we have a whole list of upgrades to do
on that car. It's a 1992 Volkswagen Gulf Cabriolet Carmen. It's a German
the German manufactured series. And it's from California. The car is spotless.
Under underside looks like it just left the factory. And it's not rotted out or
anything. But there's a ton of upgrades that it needs. So we're going to walk you
through that in a series on our YouTube channel. So stick around for that. So lots
lots of things going on when you think everything's all together for me. No,
there's stuff that's got to be done. And in another month, we'll be bringing the
vehicles that we're going to use for the summer for fundraising events, car shows
and getting out there in the public, letting the kids have their pictures
taken in the vehicles. And those all have to be checked because they've been
parked since last fall. So they sit for six months. So when those come out, they
all got to come in the shop. They got to have a look over a check over and make
sure everything is as should be. Because you certainly don't want to break down
going to an event, which could be an hour, two hours drive away. And you don't
want to break down when you're there and have to have it hold back. So there's
all that stuff that has to be done. So what's the common denominator here? What
have I been talking about on Fun Friday? The inspection. Yeah, it's a great time
to be in the know, not in the unknown. I would much rather know that the
alternators got a chirp in it on the 2007 FJ cruiser. And I know what that
means. Because the last alternator, I was at the butcher shop, which isn't
far from home, picking up a meat order. And I come out and the alternator was
seized. When I pulled in, I thought I heard a chirp at that time. And but I
wasn't sure. So I turned the vehicle back on after I shut it off and I didn't
hear anything. And then when I came back out from the butcher shop, climb in
the truck, the alternator is seized, the belt is squealing like a pig and
smoking. So thank goodness I had some tools in the back. I got out my favorite
hammer and I gave it a what for and how to. And I managed to get it unstuck
enough to get home. So again, I would much rather I heard the squeal, the
chirp start last week, because I was driving that I was using that I had to
get to the accountants and a bunch of other short trip stuff all in the same
location. And that's a great way to save money to fuel fuel money is don't
just go to one place and back home. Group your road trip together. That's
what I do. I don't go out on the road just to go here and back. I group some
errands together. So okay, I'm going there here to their to their last one
there and I'm back to the office. That's what I do saves a ton of gas money.
So the whole discussion this morning of Fun Friday and again reminder
tomorrow's Q&A Saturday. I only picked three questions and we've had some
amazing questions come in. You guys and gals are really crushing it and you
can send your question car question or do you want me to cover a specific
topic? Put that in your email. Remember what's your favorite mac and cheese? Is
it a single cheese, white cheese or a multi-cheaser mac and cheese? Like a
three cheese? Let me know what you like. What you how you like your mac and cheese.
I think it'd be great. Wouldn't it be great to have a bit of a barbecue in a
mac and cheese day at the car connection workshop? Wouldn't that be cool? I think
that would be really really cool. So hamburgs hot dogs and mac and cheese for
all the mac and cheese lovers. You just dig right in. Anyhow, inspecting your
vehicles and getting them evaluated is exactly what I was sharing with you
today. I have to do exactly the same thing and I don't stress out about it.
Sometimes I do because if everything needs something then it messes up my
schedule and we kind of have that going right now is everything needs something.
Oh and the the 97 Jeep TJ Wrangler now has a new emergency brake. Well a
pre-owned, I salvaged it, I harvested it, the whole handbrake because the handbrake
mechanism in the in the 97 Jeep was just all held with hockey tape and you had to
see this thing. I saved it because I thought wow somebody really like they
went to town on this thing to try and save that handle with black hockey tape
and yet I'm gonna share that picture because you gotta see it. It looks, it
looks bohemian or perhaps even archaic. It looks like it lived in a pineapple
under the sea. I've heard that somewhere before. Yeah so I put the handle in there
because all the emergency brakes rear brakes and everything are 100% on that
Jeep. That was all done last year and that series is wrapped up. I may show a
couple more things when I get to welding in a floor pan and a torque box
underneath underneath it a couple of tips and tricks on that just to show you
how you kind of do it but not spending you know like a war and peace edition on
that. So I got that handle in yesterday and it's got and adjusted up the
emergency brakes and now yes it has emergency brakes which is fabulous. So
evaluation don't ignore that get on it so that you can there's two ways to own
a car my friends living in the unknown and living in the know. One creates a
ton of stress for you and the other will give you lots of freedom so your fun
Fridays will feel a whole lot more therapeutic. Not quite like retail
therapy but a close runner up. So when you know what's going on it relieves a
lot of pressure. It relieves a lot of pressure. So let's get on that get your
vehicles booked in and we talked about the RO so if you missed that that is one
of the that is the concrete foundation and thank you to the Grimo family and
that was a segue for that commercial is Niagara block 5000 Montrose Road Niagara
Falls the Grimo family building Canada since 1931 building supplies whether
it's metal whether it's blocks whether it's gravel whether it's pavers they
have all the hardscape landscaping materials and a list of contractors if
you need a referral just check with Kathy Grimo should be more than happy to
point your compass needle in the direction of someone who can estimate it
by all the products at Niagara block 5000 Montrose Road Niagara Falls and get
that project done for you so you have an amazing outstanding backyard to hang
out in so getting your vehicle completely evaluated will give you that
freedom that freedom of knowing what needs to be done now in a distant future
and in so now because it's it's needs fixing it's a safety item needs to be
done immediately so there's the now the later and down the road so then you can
categorize your repairs and budget for that stuff that needs to be done a little
later but it's not later you want to get that on the map just like my alternator
just like the fuel pump issue it's now more it's not intermittent now it's
getting a little more continuity to it it's it's showing its ugly head time to
kill that and knock that out before the vehicles of no start somewhere miles and
miles and miles from home you got to go and drag it back so you don't want to go
there that just increases stress so get your questions in today is the last day
for that because I'll be pulling questions today for tomorrow I picked
three so send your questions to motormouth.jankins at gmail.com that's
j-e-n-k-i-n-s nile at ccbusnet.com and I always put that information when my
brain remembers in the description boxes over YouTube videos and also all the
podcasts and I put a lot of nuggets in those descriptions folks for everyone so
that you can learn a lot more material on how you can keep your vehicle running
long term and remember older is better more reliable that's what we're
discovering every day in the service bays the older vehicles are far better
made and more reliable so till Saturday morning Q&A Saturday morning same time
motormouth's 8 a.m. morning drive make it a fabulous Friday have an extra minute
for your lunch today tell the boss I said so it's okay send me the bill yeah the
address is unknown we'll see you Saturday morning bright and early at 8 a.m. enjoy
your weekend if you're off for weekends enjoy your weekend and we'll see you
then back back here for another motormouth morning drive 8 a.m. Monday
morning but come and join us for Q&A the questions are outstanding and we'll see
you there so happy healthy motoring be safe out there keep it under 100
peace patience and kindness always make it a great day and we'll see you tomorrow
bye for now
About this episode
A chaotic “Fun Friday” shop update turns into a practical sermon on inspection and not guessing. Nile MotorMouth Jenkins recounts intermittent failures (a fuel pump that stops, an alternator that seizes) and argues that early diagnosis beats surprise breakdowns and expensive cascades. The workshop rundown covers spring tire swaps, brake and muffler fixes, A/C evac-and-recharge timing, and a 1999 Civic’s sun-baked trim and rattling exhaust. Between weather, community shoutouts, and Q&A reminders, the episode pushes “living in the know” for stress-free driving.
Original notes
What does mac & cheese have to do with your car? More than you think.
On this Fun Friday episode, Motormouth breaks it down in a way everyone understands - just like you can't judge your favourite mac & cheese without tasting it first, you can't make smart decisions about your vehicle without a proper evaluation.
Single cheese, triple cheese, white cheddar...everyone's got a preference. But until you dig in, you don't really know what you've got. The same goes for your car. Whether it's maintenance, repairs, or planning ahead, a proper vehicle evaluation tells you what needs attention now, what can wait, and how to build a smart game plan.
We also tie it back to life-because sometimes the same approach applies. Evaluate where you're at, make a plan, and move forward with confidence.
Reminder: Today is the FINAL DAY to submit your questions for Saturday's Q&A with Motormouth! We'll be selecting the top 3 and breaking them down in tomorrow's episode.
Don't wait get your questions in! E-Mail [email protected] or [email protected]
#VehicleEvaluation #PreventativeMaintenance #CarCareTips
Merch Available at ccbusnet.com our online store, grab some Motormouth/ Car Connection gear join Skippy and I in the battle to help those struggling with addiction break free at a Total Freedom Addiction Campus Canada & USA where a New Life awaits them there! Thank You so much friends You Rock!
More episodes and...project Details & Links are available at Car Connection Business Network.com (ccbusnet.com) you'll find everything on our home page if you'd like to follow the build & repair work & connect with our program partners click their logo and meet them. We appreciate your support by giving them your business. Thank You, Nile Motormouth Jenkins.
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Happy Healthy Motoring Friends, Peace Patience Kindness Always, NMJ
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