Features

Click and Clack Talk Cars

by Tom and Ray Magliozzi
Friday February 15, 2002

Stop the insanity – Don’t use your mouth to siphon  

 

 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

 

Is there a way to siphon liquids – like gasoline and antifreeze -- from a car without putting your mouth on the siphoning tube? – Joyce 

 

RAY: Yes. When you're siphoning a fluid, you need a way to fill the siphon tube to get the flow started. And while it's tempting to put your mouth on the tube and suck the fluid into it, when you're dealing with toxic substances, that's a very, very bad idea. If you need evidence why, look no further than my brother. 

TOM: Yeah. They had me do all the siphoning at the garage until I figured out that it wasn't the pork sandwiches from Izzy's that kept causing me to excuse myself during tune-ups. 

RAY: The only realistic approach is to buy a ready-made siphoning tube that has a squeezable vacuum pump at the end. You put one end of the clear tube into the gas tank or the radiator overflow tank, and then you squeeze the pump at the other end to create suction. The pump has a check valve, so each time you squeeze, the tube fills up a little more. Once the tube is full and the liquid is flowing, it should keep flowing for as long as the receptacle remains lower than the reservoir you're drawing from and as long as the flow is uninterrupted. 

TOM: You can get these "siphons" in any auto-parts store or the auto-parts section of a jumbo mart. They cost a buck or two, and they're cheap junk, but you use them once and then throw them away. 

RAY: And if you have any brains at all, you won't need them more than once, because after having to use one once, you'll always remember to look at your gas gauge.  

 

 

 

 

Dealer’s explanation sounds fishy 

 

 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

 

About a month ago, we bought a new Ford Taurus wagon from a local dealer. It was a demonstrator model and had about 6,000 miles on it. The dealer agreed to do some minor repairs that we noticed, and he said that if we noticed anything else in the next few weeks, to bring it to his attention. After about two weeks of driving, I saw that moisture kept forming on the inside of the right front headlight. My husband talked to the salesman about it, and the salesman said that because it is a halogen bulb, the headlight can't be sealed too tightly. He said that otherwise, it would heat up so much that the inside of the headlight would melt. When my husband related this story to me, I asked "Well, does that mean the other headlight is going to melt, since it's obviously sealed tightly enough to keep out water? And shouldn't other people's headlights be melting, since I don't see moisture forming in their headlights?" Could you please explain what's going on? – Susie 

 

RAY: I guess you didn't hear the end of the dealer's sentence, Susie. He said, "If you notice anything in the next few weeks, bring it to our attention. And THEN we'll tell you to get lost." 

TOM: The salesman was either lying to you, or he's afflicted with Male Answer Syndrome: the need by many men to provide an authoritative-sounding answer despite the fact that they have no idea what they're talking about. My brother and I both have it (as you shall see below). 

RAY: This might have been exacerbated by Commissioned Salesperson Syndrome: the willingness of a salesperson to do or say anything to make a sale. And conversely, to do or say anything to get rid of anyone not actively involved in buying something. 

TOM: The salesman has got his headlight in his taillight socket, Susie. The entire headlight fixture is sealed tight at the factory. Why is it sealed? So moisture won't get in and shorten the life of the bulb! 

RAY: My guess is that you need a new headlight lens, Susie. What happens sometimes is that the headlight lens gets cracked. The cracks are usually very small and difficult to see. They usually come from pebbles and other debris that come up off the road. You often see this in older cars that have been pounded by road debris for years, but it can happen to a car of any age. 

TOM: When you drive at 60 mph in the rain, water gets forced through those invisible cracks, and it forms a film of moisture on the inside of the lens. Once it's in there, it can't escape, because there's no equivalent force pushing it out from the inside. 

RAY: So here's what you do, Susie. Drive backwards at 60 mph ... 

TOM: No. Go back to the dealer and ask him to replace the headlight lens on the right side. Insist on it. He owes it to you.  

 

Having dealer fix  

throttle vs. throttling dealer 

 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

 

Our 1999 Cadillac DeVille is subject to the accelerator sticking in the "up" position. The service technician tells me it happens because of carbon buildup in the throttle body. Supposedly, cleaning of the throttle body is a maintenance item (at $110 per). I had the 15,000-mile maintenance performed at 12,800 miles, and the accelerator began to stick again at 20,000. Am I faced with a $110 bill for cleanup every 8,000 miles? – Jacque 

 

TOM: Well, one possibility is that if the dealer says it's a $110 maintenance item every 8,000 miles, then that's what it is. And I'm sure everyone considering buying a Cadillac would be interested to know that this is a scheduled maintenance item that was accidentally left out of the owner's manual. 

RAY: On the other hand, there might just be something wrong with your particular car, Jacque. It's possible that your throttle plate is particularly tight, and that when even a small amount of carbon builds up (which it does on all cars), the plate starts to stick. So one solution would be for the dealer to replace the throttle body – under warranty. He'll be reluctant to do that, I'm sure. 

TOM: The other solution would be to take the dealer's advice and have the throttle body cleaned every time you change your oil. But I wouldn't pay the dealer $110 to do it. Cleaning the throttle body involves removing the air cleaner and spraying the inside of the throttle body with a life-threatening solvent. We charge $20 for that. 

RAY: So if your dealer can't provide a more permanent -- or at least longer-term -- solution, I'd take it to an independent shop that won't overcharge you.  

 

 

 

Shedding light on a foggy issue 

 

 

 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

 

Do fog lights work? Do they help you see through the fog, or do they just light up the fog? Are yellow fog lights better than clear fog lights? Should they be mounted low on the vehicle to search forth underneath the fog cloud? I am so confused – you might even say I am "foggy" on the fog-light issue. Therefore, I ask you to search through the fog of your collective brain cells and enlighten the world to the truth about fog lights. – Pat 

 

RAY: Great question, Pat. How I wish this were the only subject we were foggy on! 

TOM: There are many different kinds of lights that people put on the front of their cars these days. There are driving lights, fog lights, Velux motorized sky lights ... we've seen 'em all. Most of them are purely decorative. And many are used and/or aimed incorrectly, and they simply blind oncoming drivers. 

RAY: But fog lights, when used and aimed correctly, might be useful to some drivers. As you probably know, if you project light directly into the fog, it bounces off the fog droplets and reflects in all directions, making it even harder to see. That's why you use your low beams in fog rather than your high beams. 

TOM: Fog lights are low-mounted lights (bumper level or below) that project light that's cut off at the top. So the light pattern on a good-quality fog light goes straight out at bumper level and down, but not higher than that. 

RAY: The reason for this is that fog tends to hover about 12 to 18 inches off the ground. So by projecting light in that fog-free pocket, you can illuminate the road a greater distance from your car and therefore see farther ahead. Some people swear by fog lights. Others claim that they don't really make much difference. 

TOM: So the question becomes, to yellow or not to yellow? There's a lot of debate about this, but the research says that yellow lights are no better than white lights at penetrating fog. The theory bandied about was that yellow light has a longer wavelength and is therefore less likely to be reflected by the fog particles. Turns out, this is complete poppycock. 

RAY: Apparently, the fog particles themselves are so big that they reflect all colors of light. Basically, all light bounces off of them, so using yellow light instead of white light gives you no advantage. 

TOM: Plus, in order to get yellow light, what fog-light manufacturers do is put a yellow lens over a white light. That cuts your light output by 20 percent to 30 percent, which is counterproductive. 

RAY: So if you live in a coastal area where fog is a real problem and you want to give fog lights a try, we'd suggest a set of high-quality, white fog lights that are professionally mounted to be sure they're aimed correctly. And don't forget to check their aim periodically. Since they're mounted low, they can be knocked out of alignment when you run over things like snow banks and stalled Toyotas.