ETCG Answers Questions Live #80 (AMA) 1/18/2017

[EricTheCarGuy]

The show will begin at 7pm EST 1/18/2017. This will be another AMA style show so you can ask automotive questions as well as whatever you like (within reason). I’ll do my best to answer as many questions as possible in the hour I’ll be doing the show. Here’s a hint. The sooner you post your question, the more likely it is to get answered!

After the show concludes, I’ll post the video to this thread and lock it down until the next show scheduled for 1/18/2017.

See you tonight!

Topic

[Fritz]

Hi Eric, Picked a nice easy username for you 🙂 long time reader/watcher, all the way from summery New Zealand! The Fairmont is looking awesome – love the sound of the motor on the dyno! I’ve got an E60 BMW 550i with the 4.8 V8 that seems to be pinging. No codes, no CEL. Long term fuel trim is something like -4% on one bank and +1% on the other; short term fuel trim is similar. MAF reckons it’s getting just over 6g/s of air at idle. Brand new OEM coil packs and spark plugs (old plugs were a very light tan colour). Have run many bottles of fuel system and combustion chamber cleaner through with no improvement. When it’s cold it runs absolutely perfectly, only pings when it is completely warmed up. I run 98 RON in it, and when it pings it seems to be slightly down on power, and the auto trans doesn’t shift as smooth. Any ideas? Cheers!

[Nidish]

Hi Eric, what’s your take on car detailing? i.e compounding to remove scratches and swirls, polishing and waxing the car to protect it from contaminants, rust, UV…..etc? Do you think it’s really worth it in the long run for protection against paint fade, clearcoat failure and the vehicle rusting?Thanks and keep the awesome videos coming!

[Jason Guiry]

Hi Eric,

Are there any tools you bought that made you enjoy being a mechanic again (disregarding the lift)? I know as a hobby mechanic there are times when repairs took half a day but after buying the right tool for the job you’re done in 20 minutes. It’s a magical experience I’m sure many hobbyist and professionals alike have experienced.

[Jagjivan Singh]

Hi Eric,

My 1993 Nissan U13 Bluebird SSS (Altima), Steering does not return to centre after doing U-turn either doing a Left or Right full lock turns. Steering does not move to the left or right when doing highway speeds, It only happens when a U-turn or sudden change of direction. I cannot do proper alignment due to this problem. I have change the entire rack, new rack bushes, new inner tie rod and tie rod ends. The ball joints is not bad and wheel bearings is all ok.

Compare the steering starting of the video and at the end you see the difference between steering wheel being almost center to not being center.

Thanks

[Rick]

Hi Eric! I have a 2011 ford ranger, when I rolls down the windows (power) they like skip or hop all the way down. When they go up, their smooth. Both sides. Tried silicone paste on the top part hoping it would go down, but it didn’t. Asked a friend he said maybe squirt some windex down he said may have dirt or crap in the track. Haven’t tried that yet, wanted to see what you think.

[Anthony]

Hi Eric,
Watching the machine shop videos of your engine build, I was interested in how the choice of head gasket is made. We got some of Master Yoda (Kevin Frische’s) thought process behind it, as well as the features of that particular gasket, in your engine painting video. Were you involved in choosing the head gasket or did you just let Master Yoda choose? Since you can’t exactly look up a head gasket for a custom engine by Make and Model, how did you narrow down to the choice of coating, number of layers, thickness, and sizing? I imagine much of this just came down to Kevin’s experience but I would be interested to hear any insights on the process.

[Carmine]

Hey Eric, I have a 2004 Volvo XC90. It has the 2.9L 6 cylinder, twin turbo. The Car has a coolant issue. It goes through about 1/4 gallon of coolant every 200 miles. I have been monitoring it for the last few months and the coolant loss is definitely related to mileage, not time, so I know that the coolant isn’t just leaking out of the car. I have found no trace of coolant in the cabin, no spots on the ground, no signs of coolant anywhere in the engine compartment either. So the two things left that I can think of is either a turbo or the head gasket. I have not checked for combustion gases in the coolant yet, but I don’t see any signs of coolant in my oil so I’m not really sure its the head gasket. Also, I noticed the other day that if I leave the car idling for a long time and then go to move it, a large amount of smoke will come out the tail pipe, even if the car was already warmed up before it was idling. Do you think coolant is leaking into the turbo? Thanks for all your help.

[Daniel Chamblin]

Hi Eric, I have a 1986 toyota pickup and am a ohio resident aswell but i constantly have issues with finding a reliable mechanic specifically have repeat problems with repairs that for me cost a lot of money specifically a previous mechanic replaced my muffler with a non oem model that had none of the brackets and fell of after 2 years and had charged me 225 dollars and my cuurent mechanic has replaced an oil pan gasket in late 2015 and it is leaking and that was an over 400 dollar “repair” and he previous had to replace a starter and he gave me a broken one and told me it was my battery i took it back and he goes oh yeah the starter was bad and he had to service my brakes after 2000 miles cause the speaked constantly aftrer he replaced pads rotars and calipers. And now that i seem to have a major issue ( the truck pulls dramatically to the left when i brake at 35mph and higher. Cant feel it pull at any lower speeds but that could be i just cant feel it because of low speed) but my current mechanic says i need control arms and idler arm and that it will be 600 dollars in repairs. So i got a second opinion because i dont trust my mechanic and they said no everything up front seems perfectly fine and asked told me to have my brakes checked as they may be not be performing properly . I just dont know what to do i dont have the money to have something fixed that isnt the real problem . Any suggestion how to find someone to give me a real answer.also dealer nearest me once sent me away after a 300 dollars service telling me rear drums needed replaced well they were also soaked in brake fluid when my mechanic got to them and that dealer never told me. Sorry for long question trying to make sure you have everything you need to answer. Thanks again.

[Jason Burd]

Hey Eric,

I’m getting into film making and I love quality of your videos. What kind of cameras do you use? Also, what kind of computer do you use for editing and what film editing software do you use?

[Wes]

Hey Eric hope you’re doing well. I have another question about my 2005 Hyundai Accent. When driving the car hard or for a long period of time especially with frequent stops the brake pedal slowly becomes more more soft until I have to put the pedal all the way to the floor for the brakes to feel like they’re working. Parking the car and letting it sit for a few hours will make the pedal go back to normal. The fluid is full and the pedal does not sink to the floor while sitting at a stop. I don’t think it’s problem with the booster since I’ve been told that would make the pedal harder not softer and don’t think there’s air in the lines since i would think that also would make the pedal harder as the air became more and more compressed. But I could be completely wrong since I’m terrible with brakes I just know I like it when they work properly. I also have three codes that I doubt are related but I’ll list them for good measure p0650 p0128 and another p0442. Thanks and stay dirty.

[Daniel Rivera]

Hey Eric hows the snow did ya get enough powder to make a snowman. My questions is my yh2 05 has 155k on it now its just started making a squeaking sound when i was rocking it side to side to check its suspension out wasnt sure if it was the bushings that are dry rotten or just need to be lubricated or could it be the stablizer links need a change and another thing is that when i take off from a light it feels like a little wobble f rom driver tire only other then that drive great tons of new parts took it to Honda dealer had a alignment and 4 new tires. Any recommendations would gladly help and yh2 buddie stay dirty… B)

[Michael Lebert]

(From Michael Lebert(Lee like Bruce Lee and Bert like Burt Reynolds) I could be wrong or there could be more ways to pronounce my last name but it’s French and I don’t know French [emoji laughing face]): ** Hey Eric! Was wondering if you have ever heard of “New England Institute of Technology” They’re in Rhode Island and have an Advanced Automotive with High Performance class. Thoughts on that other than it must be expensive? How to assume if your tech school debt would be worth the job you could land or the money you make? + Tips on how to get a automotive job asap out of tech school ? Thanks in advanced for any feedback, your info is very helpful and you really do care to help teach and educate your fans! **

[Erik Hagen]

Hey Eric

In my manual Audi, I’ve always experienced that the shifter is binding a bit as I’m changing gears. I sometimes fail to put it completely in gear and the grinding noise happens. I’ve checked the gear linkage/mechanism from the shifter to the transmission and it looks fine (nice and stiff).
So if the shifter is being stubborn, could there be a problem with the selector mechanism inside the transmission or could it just be a bad clutch? (If the gear linkage mechanism is fine that is). I guess this stuff happens to pretty much all old manual vehicles.
This makes quick acceleration much more difficult. Your thoughts?

Many thanks!

[Ian Newhall]

Hey Eric! Big fan here, love your videos. Here’s an interesting one… I have a 1997 Chevrolet K1500 pickup, it’s black and looks like the one your dad gives you! So some time ago, I was working on the fuel pressure regulator and forgot to disconnect the battery and to make a long story short, the top engine caught on fire. The top intake was off so that did not get damaged. The only things I lost were some wiring and the fuel injectors. Do you think that this truck would be worth rewiring and rebuilding? It has 150k miles and no rust besides the bed rails. Here is a picture of the fire damage, hopefully this helps for advice. Thanks!!

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[Mohammad Mohsen]

Hello Eric. I have a 1997 BMW 535i V8 engine. I’m having a hesitation on take off from a dead stop on full throttle, kinda like what you had in your Subaru, but i think the problem is electrical and not mechanical. I have changed spark plugs, oil and filters. I discovered that If I unplug the MAF, the hesitation goes away. I changed the MAF with a used unit, but that didn’t help. Do you think this is a good way to diagnose a bad MAF (Problem goes away when unplugged), and Is there a better way to check its operation when there are no codes showing?

Other than that the car pulls strong.

Thank you.

[Author]

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