From the mouths of women under stress...
Faith Anchorage, Alaska - 1990 Subaru Loyale
Faith just drove her car from Maine to re-locate in Alaska. It’s begun making a noise--a clicking sound she hears when making a right turn, usually at a higher speed. Tom and Ray think it’s a bad axle -- she should be able find one in a junkyard, if not in Alaska, maybe someone in Maine can send her a new one.
Sam Peshada Pueblo, Colorado - 1985 Nissan Stanza
Sam and a friend keep trading this car back and forth for their kids to drive. Every 5- to 6,000 miles, the car will begin running rough, then die. Every time this happens, they replace the rotor and cap, and it runs fine for 5,000 miles until it happens again. They're buying the caps from an aftermarket dealer. Tom and Ray suggest getting caps from the Nissan dealer -- they’ll likely be cheaper and last longer.
Lydia Wiggins , Alabama - 1993 Dodge Dynasty
Lydia is a 16-year-old, and inherited this car from her Dad. The key falls out of the ignition and the car continues to run. Should she be concerned? Tom and Ray say the problem is likely just that it’s an old key -- fix it by getting a new key cut. Not a big deal, though, if the key falls out. She keeps calling the guys, “Sir."
Susan Conway, Arkansas - 1997 Saturn SL
Susan and her boyfriend are having a disagreement. At the end of a recent two-hour drive, moving the shifter started to to feel like it was moving “through a bowl of Cream of Wheat.” There was more resistance, through all the gears. The problem seemed to go away, Susan’s boyfriend thinks it never happened. Tom and Ray think there may be some heat-related issues with the shift linkage, but can’t give a definite answer -- say she needs to make another long drive and see if it happens again.
Michael Hubbard , North Carolina - Volvo
Michael’s Volvo is making a loud, screeching, metal on metal noise, coming from the center of the dashboard -- turning the heat on and off seems to affect it. He also had trouble with the car overheating this Summer. Tom and Ray think he has a bad water pump, and a dying heater motor.
Shelly Lesher Richmond, Virginia - 2006 Ford Focus
Shelly and her husband are re-locating to California. They’d like to drive cross-country with their three dogs and two cats. Are they crazy to try this in their Focus? Tom and Ray say it’s a bad idea to drive the Focus, and suggest renting a Winnebago and towing, or selling the Focus and buying a minivan when they get to California.
John Carroll , South Carolina - Ford F150
John bought this truck for his business, and within a month it needed a new clutch. John thinks one of his employees might have killed it. Is it possible to destroy a clutch in one day? Yes, it is, and from Johns’ description, it sounds like his employee Steve did indeed kill it. Tom and Ray talk to Steve and try to get him to change his ways.