Changing the automatic transmission fluid when burnt

I have heard that you shouldn’t change the automatic transmission fluid until it is burnt. If you do your wasting your money unnecessary.

No! By the time the fluid turns dark it has lost most of it’s additive package and it’s ability to lubricate. If you wait until the fluid is burnt your going to cause damage to the transmission and at the very least your going to shorten the transmissions life.

Towing troubles- A recent study on Towing

On Masterlock's web site there is a report called "Towing Troubles - Danger on America's Road". Here is a summary of the document. You probably had no idea all this was going on! The site this summary comes from is mentioned at the end of this blog.


What Are They Towing?

• Most Americans tow using a pickup (57%) or a sports utility vehicle (31%)
• Some 10 percent of respondents were towing with a vehicle that was ranked only moderately or poorly appropriate for the class of trailer they were towing while 10 percent did not have the most appropriate towing vehicle for the type of trailer they were towing
• A majority (80%) use Class III trailer hitches

Where Are They Going?

• More than one-quarter of respondents (28%) traveled between 50 and 100 miles, while nearly half (47%) traveled more than 100 miles to their destination towing a trailer

Their Negligence is Showing

• A majority (51%) of Americans who tow do not use the recommended security methods of a locking device for their coupler and hitch
• Nearly 50 percent (48%) of respondents towing boats use only a non-locking receiver pin to connect their trailer, which is susceptible to tampering
• Respondents towing campers had the best approach to safety, with 69 percent using both locks and pins to secure their vehicles, 69 percent using weight distribution systems, 71 percent using appropriately crossed security chains and 52 percent having a properly leveled trailer
• Nearly 50 percent (47%) of those towing boats didn't properly cross their safety chains under the coupler.
• A majority of respondents towing boats or ATVs/jet skis/motorcycles achieved a moderate or worse ranking on the levelness of their trailer. For ATVs/jet skis/motorcycles, 15 percent were ranked poor or extremely poor
• More than 50 percent (53%) of towing vehicles and trailers received only moderate or poor rankings on their electrical systems. Boat trailers presented the greatest danger, with 17 percent of their electrical systems in poor or extremely poor condition
• Trailer tires are one of the biggest dangers on the road, with 41 percent of tires in only moderate or worse condition. Some 10 percent of boat trailers had tires in poor or extremely poor condition.


Their Cargo is Overflowing

• Security of cargo on the trailers also is an issue, with more than 54 percent of campers, 28 percent of ATVs/jet skis/motorcycles and 49 percent of boats ranking as moderate or worse in their cargo security
• The security of additional cargo – loaded in the boats or campers – was a significant issue, with 32 percent of respondents ranking moderate and 40 percent ranking poor or extremely poor. This means coolers, lawn chairs, bicycles, and other typical cargo could easily fall into the path of an oncoming car
• The condition of bungee cords was a major issue – 46 percent were in moderate or poor condition and improperly located – meaning cords could easily snap or come unhooked and release cargo onto the roadway
• Ratchet tie-downs were a problem for 39 percent of respondents, as those towing boats or ATVs/jet skis/motorcycles received moderate or worse marks for the condition and location of the tie-downs securing their cargo



There web site for towing information including some audio/video can be found at http://www.towingtroubles.com/

Towing with an automatic transmission

Is it true that if you’re pulling a load with an automatic transmission equipped car or light truck you should start out in the ‘D’ or drive position, then shift into overdrive ‘OD’ once you reach highway speeds.

No! If your pulling a load, trailer RV, etc, start out by manual shifting into low, then second , then third, then drive. Manual shifting through the gears raises the hydraulic pressures in the transmission which helps out because it makes applications of the bands and the clutches much firmer in the transmission, increasing the life of it. You should leave it in drive unless your on flat level ground and can shift into overdrive without the transmission hunting.

Buried Car Headed To Frederick, Maryland

A vintage car (mentioned here on our blog the last few weeks)buried for 50 years in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is coming to Frederick, MD.


The new 1957 Plymouth Belvedere was buried in honor of Tulsa's 50th birthday celebration in 1957. It was unearthed during a centennial celebration last month and was awarded to the closest living relative of Ray Humbertson -- the man who, 50 years ago, most closely guessed the city's current population. Humbertson died in 1979 so the car is being given to his sister, Catherine Johnson of Bowling Green, Maryland. Her Frederick nephew Bob Carney will try to remove 50 years of rust and make the car presentable. He won't do a full restoration, which he says would remove some of the car's historic value. Tulsa will give the car to Johnson on September 14th.

'Posted from WUSA9.com on 7/18/2007 '

When the cabin air filter does not appear to be working!

If you can smell smoke when driving near a fire where someone is burning leaves, is this a good indication that your vehicles cabin air filter is not functioning properly and needs to be replaced?

No! The strong odor of smoke is not an indication that the cabin air filter needs replacing, because most cabin air filters contain only a paper filter which removes only dust or pollen. Only absorption type of filters, one’s that contain active charcoal that are found in high priced luxury cars can actually filter out noxious odors. However you may be able to buy a high end absorption cabin filter with charcoal to replace the paper one.

Determining when you need an alignment

My car shakes at “x” number of miles per hour. Do I need an alignment? Shakes , shimmy rarely has anything to do with alignment. But my car is pulling to the right as I go down the road! Does this indicate I need an alignment?


No! well then what does determine whether I need an alignment?


Tire wear that affects the edge of one or both of the tires on one end of the car. That suggests that you need an alignment. However, if you rotate your tires properly, every 6,000 to 7,500 miles your probably not going to notice this wear on any tires.

When you rotate the tires you should be using what is called a modified “x” pattern. Meaning two of the tires are going to be crossed to the opposite side of the car. For a front-wheel-drive car, it works like this: The tire on the right rear would go to the left front, and the left rear tire to the right front. The two front ones come straight back. For rear-wheel drive, just reverse the pattern.

By doing all this if the alignment is slightly off your not going to notice it and more importantly and some cars take to a certain wear pattern, which just might be natural. Remember abnormal tire wear can be caused by too little tire pressure, too much tire pressure, failure to rotate tires.

One exception to the modified “x” pattern is if your car has directional tires or directional wheels. These tires should remain on the same side of the vehicle and be rotated straight forward and straight back. The other consideration is if the tires on the front and the rear are of different size.

Do Aftermarket coolant system additives, known as surfactants really work?

First what is a surfactant? A surfactant or surface active agent, is a molecule that has a water-loving end (hydrophilic and water fearing end (hydrophobic). Localized boiling of coolant in the cylinder head can create large shock waves that can wreck havoc on your engine, particularly on aluminum components.

In general, there are three main reasons why using these additives is beneficial to your cooling system. Firstly, they reduce harmful cavitations and foaming that may occur when your water pump is kicking out fluid at a rapid pace. This reduced foaming helps to prevent damage to aluminum surfaces. Secondly, the use of these additives aid in the transmission of heat from the coolant to the radiating surfaces within the radiator. Even if your car runs very cool, these additives add a extra level of protection in case a thermostat or similar component fails. Thirdly, the additives contain corrosion inhibitors. Most cars on the road have cooling systems that do not contain the ideal 50/50 water / antifreeze ratio that the antifreeze manufacturers design for. The additives help to minimize potential corrosion by maintaining adequate pH levels. Even if your antifreeze already contains surfactant additives, the use of these additional additives is typically beneficial because most cars are shortchanged on the 50/50 coolant/water mix.

In general surfactants will reduce the temperature of the cooling system by 10 degrees.
Examples of surfactants would be,

. Redline’s “Water wetter”
. Royal Purple’s “Purple Ice”
. Lubguard’s “Kool-it”
. BG “Super Cool”