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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / December 2004OT--Unbelieveable solution to car problem
Well, my car did it again. The temp light and the engine light came on and I was in the middle of nowhere. So I kept going until I got somewhere. As i pulled into the country gas station lot, the car died. As it cooled the antifreeze in the overflow bottle spit and popped as it dribbled back into the hot motor. The noise was very loud and scary. I got out and stood behind the car in case the motor blew up or something. After several hours calling and waiting I finally got my son out to help me. He filled it back up with antifreeze and we got home. Then he checked it and filled it again. Told me to drive it again next day. When I got home, he checked it agian. It was low again. He looked it over as he did the last time. He couldn't find a leak. The water pump is fine. Everything is fine. So, where the heck is the antifreeze going? Then he leaned on the front of the car as he reached down somewhere and noticed the fronof the frame was damp. He felt all over the front. Dampness. But no leaks. He remembered it was often damp there when it was hot but had thought nothing of it. But now he thought, since nothing else was wrong, maybe it was the radiator cap. He took it off and looked it over real good. that is when he read the fine print and found the sob was only a 7-pounder! It is supposed to be 16 pounds pressure! Problem solved. Instead of my car being cooled by pressurized liquid, it was trying be cooled by thin steam, with the liquid in the overflow bottle and steaming out the cap. The former owners 3 years ago had rebuilt the engine and must have gotten the wrong cap then. So that is what ruined the thermostat and engine fan we replaced last week. My son got a new cap and now the car runs great with energy and pizzazz. And it no longer gets hot enough to make the engine fan come on, so far. It used to run practically all the time. I am so relieved to have this solved. It is scary being stranded, especially in the winter. -- CATherine > Well, my car did it again. The temp light and the engine light came on > and I was in the middle of nowhere. So I kept going until I got [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > -- > CATherine That is so great that it was a simple fix!! I'm very glad for you. Indeed, it IS scary being stranded in winter. So great your son found out what the problem was. Best wishes,  SignaturePolonca & Soncek <snip> > My son got a new cap and now the car runs great with energy and > pizzazz. And it no longer gets hot enough to make the engine fan come [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > -- > CATherine > Well, my car did it again. The temp light and the engine light came on > and I was in the middle of nowhere. So I kept going until I got [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > to have this solved. It is scary being stranded, especially in the > winter. Glad it turned out to be something simple, relatively inexpensive and you now feel more secure! Jill >> Well, my car did it again. The temp light and the engine light came on >> and I was in the middle of nowhere. So I kept going until I got [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >Jill With engines getting so complicated and computerized, we naturally tend to think it is the expensive things that go bonkers. We don't even think of the lowly radiator cap going bad or being the wrong one. I didn't even know there were different kinds! Living out in the country so far from help, it is vital to have my car reliable. -- CATherine >>> Well, my car did it again. The temp light and the engine light came >>> on and I was in the middle of nowhere. So I kept going until I got [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > I didn't even know there were different kinds! Living out in the > country so far from help, it is vital to have my car reliable. AND sometimes if the mechanic sees a woman they think "oh boy, I can really take her for a ride on this!" Years ago I had one try it on me at one of those quick-tune places (car kept stalling but would start back up - I thought it needed a tune-up). He quoted me a ridiculous price ($800 I think it was) for two parts and had the clipboard in hand asking for my signature. Nope. I walked over and used their phone (he nearly had a fit!). I called the dealership; not only had they "mistakenly" told me this was two parts when it was only one, it was still covered under my warranty even though I'd had the car 5 years. The dealership sent a tow truck to get me and my car :) It pays to ask questions. Jill "jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> had some very interesting things to say about Re: OT--Unbelieveable solution to car problem: >AND sometimes if the mechanic sees a woman they think "oh boy, I can really >take her for a ride on this!" Years ago I had one try it on me at one of [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >had the car 5 years. The dealership sent a tow truck to get me and my car >:) It pays to ask questions. I don't interface with mechanics without knowledgeable backup, since I don't understand enough about cars to spot a would-be scam. Usually, my DH handles mechanics. On one occasion when the car broke down with DH 50 miles away, I called DFIL [who was about 4 or 5 miles away] and asked him to help me deal with tow-truck drivers and mechanics and such [he did, too]. Signature"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding. :-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL > "jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> had some very interesting things > to say about Re: OT--Unbelieveable solution to car problem: [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > asked him to help me deal with tow-truck drivers and mechanics and > such [he did, too]. At the time I didn't have that option :) I didn't have a DH nor any male member of my family nearby who knew a darn thing about cars. I had to rely on my common sense. Even if it had turned out the mechanic was right, it was worth a phone call before signing on the dotted line :) I'm pretty sure that guy at the quick-tune place was cussing a blue streak after the dealership tow-truck driver drove me and my car off (free of charge). Jill > AND sometimes if the mechanic sees a woman they think "oh boy, I can really > take her for a ride on this!" Yup. When I was in college, I had a mechanic tell me that I needed to replace a cracked compressor (I think; it's been a while) to fix my A/C. Well, I had no spare cash, so I just drove around for a few years without. Pretty sweltering in southern VA, but I managed. A few years later, a mechanic asked me whether I wanted the fluid for the A/C filled, and I told him why I hadn't been using it. Apparently, the original mechanic's story had been a complete fabrication! That being said, I know little about cars and would rather spend my "copious" spare time learning about other things, so I just try my best to read people, and hope they're not abusing my trust too badly. Signaturemonique, who is sometimes allowed to pet Oscar, a grey^H^H^H^Hblue-cream DLH with an attitude! >> With engines getting so complicated and computerized, we naturally >> tend to think it is the expensive things that go bonkers. We don't [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >had the car 5 years. The dealership sent a tow truck to get me and >my car :) It pays to ask questions. Several years ago, I was attempting to change the antifreeze in my car, only to find that the stopcock was stuck closed too thoroughly for me to open with my fingers. Since I once pulled the stopcock completely out of another car's radiator while trying to open it with a wrench, this time I drove the car to a local garage and paid them to replace the coolant. However, since I had already bought the new antifreeze, I told them to use those bottles of antifreeze instead of charging me for additional antifreeze. After the job was completed, and I drove away, I found that my car heater no longer worked, nor did my radio. When I checked the fuse panel, I discovered that the mechanic had pulled the fuse out, presumably in hopes that I would come back to the garage and pay him to fix the new problem, making up for the money that I had saved by not having the mechanic supply new antifreeze. I never went back to that business again, and I made sure to spread the word about how they had attempted to cheat me. SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria > My son got a new cap and now the car runs great with energy and pizzazz. And > it no longer gets hot enough to make the engine fan come on, so far. It used > to run practically all the time. I am so relieved to have this solved. It is > scary being stranded, especially in the winter. Man, I wish all car troubles had such a simple solution! Being stranded is no good. Signaturemonique, who is sometimes allowed to pet Oscar, a grey DLH with an attitude! Glad you found the simple problem. It would have been so easy to spend piles of money on the car. SignatureChristopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus www.lds.org www.mormons.com Well, my car did it again. The temp light and the engine light came on and I was in the middle of nowhere. So I kept going until I got somewhere. As i pulled into the country gas station lot, the car died. As it cooled the antifreeze in the overflow bottle spit and popped as it dribbled back into the hot motor. The noise was very loud and scary. I got out and stood behind the car in case the motor blew up or something. After several hours calling and waiting I finally got my son out to help me. He filled it back up with antifreeze and we got home. Then he checked it and filled it again. Told me to drive it again next day. When I got home, he checked it agian. It was low again. He looked it over as he did the last time. He couldn't find a leak. The water pump is fine. Everything is fine. So, where the heck is the antifreeze going? Then he leaned on the front of the car as he reached down somewhere and noticed the fronof the frame was damp. He felt all over the front. Dampness. But no leaks. He remembered it was often damp there when it was hot but had thought nothing of it. But now he thought, since nothing else was wrong, maybe it was the radiator cap. He took it off and looked it over real good. that is when he read the fine print and found the sob was only a 7-pounder! It is supposed to be 16 pounds pressure! Problem solved. Instead of my car being cooled by pressurized liquid, it was trying be cooled by thin steam, with the liquid in the overflow bottle and steaming out the cap. The former owners 3 years ago had rebuilt the engine and must have gotten the wrong cap then. So that is what ruined the thermostat and engine fan we replaced last week. My son got a new cap and now the car runs great with energy and pizzazz. And it no longer gets hot enough to make the engine fan come on, so far. It used to run practically all the time. I am so relieved to have this solved. It is scary being stranded, especially in the winter. -- CATherine I've often said that if you want a car, you should first dig a giant hole in your back yard and keep throwing large wads of money into it at the times you can least afford to do so, just so you can get an idea of what its going to be like. Glad it was an easy-fix this time though! Yowie Figuring that getting stuck in a 'real' winter would be a more than just inconvenient. > Glad you found the simple problem. It would have been so easy to spend piles > of money on the car. [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > -- > CATherine > I've often said that if you want a car, you should first dig a giant hole in > your back yard and keep throwing large wads of money into it at the times > you can least afford to do so, just so you can get an idea of what its going > to be like. You know, property taxes come around once a year, car/motorcycle insurance twice, but somehow, they always come as a surprise! Yesterday, a solution finally came to me, and I took action. I created a second bank account just for infrequent recurring expenses. The idea is to figure out how much they will cost, then pay it to the account in monthly installments, so that when they come up, they won't hurt quite so bad. I may add some "padding," too, just for emergencies, but the main idea is to prepare for these expenses that I *know* will hit me. Signaturemonique, who is sometimes allowed to pet Oscar, a grey^H^H^H^Hblue-cream DLH with an attitude! > My son got a new cap and now the car runs great with energy and > pizzazz. And it no longer gets hot enough to make the engine fan > come on, so far. It used to run practically all the time. I am > so relieved to have this solved. It is scary being stranded, > especially in the winter. What a relief CATherine! SignatureCheryl <snip> > My son got a new cap and now the car runs great with energy and > pizzazz. And it no longer gets hot enough to make the engine fan come > on, so far. It used to run practically all the time. I am so relieved > to have this solved. It is scary being stranded, especially in the > winter. It's so easy to overlook the simple things ank look for a more complicted solution. I'm very glad your son found the cause. Purrs that you have trouble free motoring from now on. SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) A house is not a home, without a cat. "Adrian" <anca@bigfoot.com> had some very interesting things to say about Re: OT--Unbelieveable solution to car problem: ><snip> >> My son got a new cap and now the car runs great with energy and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >complicted solution. I'm very glad your son found the cause. Purrs that >you have trouble free motoring from now on. I know the feeling. Shortly after we moved to Sacramento this summer, the car started acting up [and we did NOT have funds for repairs. It ran, but not well]. Several months of various speculations later, a friend from church poked his head under the hood and noticed something wrong with the spark plug wires. $20 and about an hour later [a lot of that time spent getting to Pep Boys], the car's running just fine. :-) Signature"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding. :-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL >My son got a new cap and now the car runs great with energy and >pizzazz. And it no longer gets hot enough to make the engine fan come [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >-- >CATherine I'm glad the problem was finally solved. But your stress level drops. Suz Macmoosette =^..^= =^..^= =^..^= =^..^= =^..^= =^..^= "People that hate cats will come back as mice in their next life." --Faith Resnick |\__/| (=':'=) (")_(") > I'm glad the problem was finally solved. But your stress level drops. > Suz This is BAD???!!! Pam S. who knows what Suz meant, but had to jerk her chain anyway >>My son got a new cap and now the car runs great with energy and >>pizzazz. And it no longer gets hot enough to make the engine fan come [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >I'm glad the problem was finally solved. But your stress level drops. >Suz Yes, my stress level certainly did drop. A reliable car is necessary for my job as well as where I live way out in the country. -- CATherine |
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