Posted on 11/29/2004 1:59:05 PM PST by Clive
My fella and I were going out of town. He was driving his "super reliable" car into which he pours nothing less than premium gas and synthetic oil and which, incidentally, is so much better and safer than my car that the two can never even be compared.
To boot, his car just got a tune-up and that became the launching point for a lecture about car maintenance habits and how I do not have any.
He should know. He's been working on my car all weekend. So blah, blah, I never check my oil (I forget), my tire pressure (um, my tire pressure measuring stick is broken), my radiator fluid (as if I even know where my radiator fluid is ...) and so on and so forth.
In fact, my car is in such shoddy shape, I should not even drive it anymore. Instead, I should just drive his car (which I'll simply refer to as super reliable from now on) but I have to remember not to start it in second gear because that WRECKS HIS CLUTCH.
In passing, my car-savvy fella mentioned that during his tune-up, the mechanic told him to consider replacing an ignition module or something of that sort. The mechanic, my fella concludes, is probably wrong and there is no problem with the car.
You should listen to the mechanic, I said, using up all the car advice I felt authorized to give. With your luck (he has the worst luck of anyone I know) the car will break down in the middle of a road trip and you'll be stuck there forever.
About 45 minutes later we were sitting on the side of the highway with the hazard lights on waiting for a tow truck.
That's right, Mr. Awesome-car-care-premium-gas-guy was digging around under the hood swearing and, to make matters worse, we gave the tow truck the wrong directions and were stranded for almost two hours at sub-zero temperatures in a car that would not start.
Two hundred bucks later, super reliable was in the shop and is there still, waiting for several hundred bucks worth of parts and labour.
In the meantime, the car's owner is driving my car (the one that does not have enough radiator fluid, the back doors do not open and is, overall, totally unreliable) to work.
Before I point out why this episode confirmed my attitude towards vehicles, consider this.
A couple of years ago I was driving my super junky K-Car along Highway 2.
I was just past Leduc when my tire seemingly exploded.
I pulled over, stupidly, on the left side of the highway and immediately realized I was stuck in the middle of six lanes of whizzing highway traffic.
I got out of the car, examined the tire (yep, it was flat) and pondered what to do next. I decided to walk to Nisku and call someone.
But before the traffic subsided for long enough to cross to the other side of the highway, some guy had already pulled over, put on my spare and asked me out for coffee.
Now I know I should learn how to change a flat and check my air tire pressure, but where's my incentive?
Obviously obsessive car maintenance, synthetic oil and all, does not eliminate breaking down on the side of the road.
Furthermore, if all of a sudden I learned to care about my spark plugs or my air filter, then so many guys would be deprived of the car-related lectures and rescues in which they secretly delight.
Besides, not knowing anything about cars means I generally listen to my mechanic when he says something needs to be fixed.
And let's face it, if it had been me driving ol' super reliable when it broke down, I could have got a ride back to town, and probably coffee, instead of trying not to die from the frost while waiting for the tow truck.
You're going to have to find the source of the leak.
Given the age of the vehicle, I'd start by checking that the hoses and clamps between the steering rack, the power steering fluid cooler, and the power steering pump are tight.
They seem to loosen up as the vehicle ages. If the hoses need to be replaced, the ones that are held on with hose clamps are on the low-pressure side and can be replaced with 3/8 inch inside diameter transmission cooler hose (sold by the foot at any decent auto parts store).
The hose that's screwed in and goes directly from the pump to the rack is a high pressure hose, and you'll have to buy the specific hose for your vehicle if that one is leaking.
If that isn't the source of the leak, it might be the pump itself. If you can't find the source of the leak due to everything being a mess, clean it up with Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleaner (in the spray can)--it works GREAT for cleaning grease/oil/dirt. Hose it off when you're done, and the grease/oil/dirt will rinse away.
Add power steering fluid, go for a short drive, and see if you see any leakage. If you still can't find it, go on Ebay and get a portable flourescent UV light for about $15 (they're also used for spotting counterfeit bills, for rock collectors to identify rocks, and other things) and then go to the auto parts store and get some UV dye for engine oil/transmission fluid.
Add the UV dye to your power steering fluid (which is just transmission fluid, so UV dye for transmission fluid will work fine), and then go for a short drive, and then use the UV light to spot any leakage--the dye will glow bright yellow under the UV light.
Great tips! I guess I could get some black light posters for the jedis and use the lamp in their room after that? LOL Do they still even MAKE black light posters?
Can you use that scubbing bubble stuff everywhere under the hood? Any place you should use caution?
I think they still make black light posters.
You can use scrubbing bubbles almost everywhere under the hood, just don't use it on the battery or the spark plug wires or anything the spark plug wires connect to.
It leaves the engine compartment smelling so clean, too!
Thank you again! I'll keep you posted.
The car was a chrysler newport 2door hardtop with bucket seats. It was a big bad monster(emphasis on big)...would do 50+ MPH in first and could bury the speedometer with the gas pedal only 1/2 way to 3/4 the way to the floor.
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