Show Rundown

Dan Tumms Portland, Oregon - 1992 Honda Civic

A cooling question. Every week and a half, he checks his overflow reservoir, and, it's empty. The car isn't running hot, the radiator is full, and he doesn't see any signs of where it might be leaking. Is it just an anomaly? No, he's got a problem, and it could be serious. If he's very lucky, could be just a pinhole leak in the reservoir, causing a very slow leak. If he's less lucky, could be a loose hose clamp. If he's really unlucky, a leaky head gasket or cracked block.

Therese West Westchester, Pennsylvania - 1997 Plymouth Grand Voyager

A question about the exhaust. Her kids stuffed big pieces of sidewalk chalk into her exhaust. Most of it seemed to blow out when she started the car, but she's worried some might have gotten into muffler and do damage. It's very unlikely it got to the muffler, but if it did, the water and heat would probalby melt the chalk--not a big deal. Nothing to worry about.

Jennifer Keenan , Washington - 1996 Mazda Miata MX-5

A marital question. Jennifer's husband got a Miata, and now drags her to club meetings--she's gone to a few, but finds them really boring and a waste of her weekend. How can she not go without hurting her husband's feelings? Tom and Ray say she can try making up excuses, but it's better to be direct--tell her husband she doesn't want to go, but he's welcome to, on his own. Don't worry about his feelings.

Colleen Stinson Beach, California - 1981 Toyota Pickup

Her truck is melting air filters--she's gone through several over the last six months. The truck isn't overheating, mechanics confused. The problem is in the air filter injection system--a bad valve is allowing hot air from exhaust to shoot into the air filter. The best fix is to go to a junkyard, and find an entire air filter assembly.

John Garder , Michigan - 1993 Ford Escort

A question about clutch noise. He replaced his clutch a few hundred miles ago--now he hears a metallic grinding sound that seems to be coming from right front wheel well. The noise starts after a few minutes of driving, and is intermittent. Ray thinks it's the dust shield behind the brakes--it likely got bent during the clutch job. Should be easy to detect.

Allison Reno, Nevada - 1996 Jeep Cherokee

A question about a fuse. The red #10 fuse for her radio, power windows and door locks keeps blowing. What's causing it? Likely a short someplace, or could just be a pinched wire.

Kevin Tallahassee, Florida - 1991 Isuzu Pickup

A sensor question. His O2 sensor light came on, so he replaced it, but the light stayed on. He checked the manual, can't figure out what's wrong, or how to turn it off. T&R say nothing is wrong--the light is triggered by the odometer, not the condition of the sensor. In fact, his original may have been fine. Difficult to find info on how to turn light off--he may have to take it to the dealer, andpay them 50 bucks to do it.

Eva Tallahassee, Florida - 1996 Toyota Camry

She just got the car, and loves it, but it's her first manual shift. She found herself going very slowly uphill. Her Dad asked if she downshifted, and she didn't know what he was talking about. Tom and Ray explain the principles of shifting, when and how to do it.