Category: Dave’s Garage

When I pulled the Subaru in to take the winter tires off and wash the undercarriage I heard the unmistakable sound of a muffler leak. I was a bit surprised, as the car is only 5 years old.  I looked at the muffler, and it looked like it was in good shape, until I saw…

When the cars go in to the garage for the winter, I have always believed they should be drivable and ready to be driven out quickly if there is a fire. I leave battery tenders on lead acid batteries (but not gel cell batteries, they have no static discharge) and always disconnect the batteries to…

Dave,  I want to share, with you, my story on ethanol gas. As I recall you have done pieces on this topic in the past, however, I thought I would share with you my totally unscientific finding.  I religiously try to use the non-ethanol in my old cars, lawn mowers, weed whacker, chainsaw, etc.  Last…

Many new car dealers offer “free state inspections” for life when you purchase a vehicle from them.  Why would car dealerships offer this? The answer is to get you into the service department after the sale of the vehicle. If you were to have the dealership perform scheduled maintenance and repairs, they would make money…

Recently I have seen a lot of frozen caliper slides while replacing brakes. Some of these calipers were relatively new.  Usually I can free up rusty frozen calipers with an ATF/acetone mixture, wire brush the pins, clean and lubricate the slides and reassemble the caliper. Sometimes, the slides are so rusty I can’t free them…

Broken windshields are not fun. Left unrepaired, chips easily, turn in to cracks, which requires windshield replacement. Windshields for older cars are becoming harder to find. Modern windshields are glued in place, requiring professional installation. Windshield chips can often be easily repaired at glass shops. Some insurance companies will cover 100% of the repair. Insurance…

Do you remember the TV series Mash?  Did you know those helicopters that flew in wounded soldiers were Bell 47s units….and the engines they used were Franklin engines?  The Franklin O-335 air-cooled aircraft engines were six-cylinder, horizontally-opposed displacing 335 cu in with a power output of around 225HP.  When the Franklin auto company went bankrupt…

Absent any questions this month, I will share a story about how costly it can be to ignore warning signs and delay needed maintenance.  A friend of mine has a towing and recovery business. He recently picked up a Subaru from out of state after it broke down on the interstate. The owner told him…

Absent any questions this month, I will briefly discuss some cars in my shop this month. Both of my sons now have cars. I wanted their first cars to be something durable, safe and inexpensive. Somehow, each of them ended up with a Saab 900 four door.  When I learned how to drive, people maintained…

Gary Olney and Vin Cassidy have “the old car syndrome” that most of us have. Our level might be called a “melody”, theirs might be called a “fever level”….just an opinion, mind you.  Here is an attempt to track their travels that took place in about a period of one month. Please excuse us if…