Hate mail from an 11-year old.
Scott Palmer , Oregon - 1986 Nissan Pickup
starting... won't turn over, no sound, but lights all come on. His neighbor 'Fat Tony' came over with his 'big bucket o' tools', and determined the battery is okay. Likely a bad starter motor, could also be a bad connection from battery, or ground connection. Easy to test all, but he may want to keep it away from Fat Tony.
Heather Halstad , - 1993 Dodge Caravan
Accelerator... suddenly will get hard to push down, then it finally does and she shoots forward. Doesn't happen in reverse. Used to just happen when car was cold, not it's happening when she's driving, but it's random. Shop checked throttle body, replaced a transmission spring, problem got worse. Guys fumble for an answer--Ray settles on bad kickdown cable, not allowing tranny to downshift, but he's not sure if this car has a kickdown cable.
Chuck McKay Newport, Maine - 2001 Honda CR-V
driving/brake/marital... wants guys to settle disagreement with his wife. She wife presses button in while pulling the hand brake on. He thinks this will cause it to set improperly and harm brakes. Is he right? No, he's got his head up his keister. Hearing the clicks is helpful, but pushing the button does no damage whatsoever.
Rochelle Gross , Wyoming - 1987 Isuzu Trooper
transmission--when she shifts from 1st to 2nd, gets a whining sound, 'like a wind-up toy'. Goes away as she slows down, then front end shakes. Happens in 4WD and 2WD. Guys think her self-locking hubs are not unlocking. Husband wants her to dump this, but she's had no other problems with it. Husband is probably right--could be a gazillion things ready to go. If she wants to keep it, get everything checked thoroughly.
Greg McMahon , -
clown car....he;s a circus clown, looking for a car they use in act, t0 hold 12 clowns for maximum comedic affect. They can go with the traditional VW Bug, but guys think a Mini might be funnier. Try both.
Melisa Wogan , California - 1995 Chevrolet Suburban
ignition...steering wheel gets stuck in locked position, she can't move it, or start car. Dealer said they couldn't replicate, so they did nothing. Seems like her ignition lock is bad--need to replace it and the key. Should be easy to diagnose.
Howard Karten Boston, Massachusetts -
physics/ Chumps. Wanted to know how to keep a mattress from flying up from the top of his car while driving at high speeds. Needed to transport one to Hunga-Dunga. Guys suggested fashioning a spoiler to put in front of the mattress to help deflect wind. He did this, and the mattress made it to Hunga-Dunga with no incident. Right answer!