Answers to your car questions
QUESTION
My daughter attends school in Kitchener. I think that her car is around a 2004. The car brakes were acting up so her boyfriend told her that the brake fluid was very low. She was home the other day and told me that her boyfriend had put penetrating oil in the brake fluid. He told her that that was the same as brake fluid. Is this true and if not, what steps should she now take and is the car dangerous to drive?
Mother from Simcoe
ANSWER
Penetrating oil is definitely not the same as brake fluid and I suggest that she not drive the car until the brake fluid is changed. I am also worried at this time that the penetration oil has affected the rubber seals in the brake system which can lead to the swelling of the caliper seals causing sudden brake failure. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if in fact the penetrating oil has reached the rubber seals on the brake calipers then your daughter is in for a costly brake repair. I have no doubt that your daughter’s boyfriend was trying to help but it is never a good idea to have an unqualified person under the hood of your vehicle. When your daughter shows her boyfriend the repair bill then she will see if he is a true boyfriend that helps with the cost.
QUESTION
Hi Dennis, I’ve been reading your column for many years. Can you recommend a body man for my ‘66 mustang? I’ve owned it for 25 years and it is now needing a new body job. The problem is that the original guys that did the body work have passed on. I have not had any luck finding a new body shop. Can you suggest anyone in the HamiltonNiagara area? Would asking the tech instructor at Mohawk college be an idea? Thank you.
Dave from Hamilton
ANSWER
The tech instructor at Mohawk would be a great start but just in case he cannot come up with a body shop, I will ask my readers if they have or can recommend a shop that can do work on your older vehicle.
QUESTION
Are wheel bearings part of the mechanical safety? I purchased a Dodge truck about eight weeks ago and while I was up north, I noticed a grinding noise when turning right. I took the truck into the garage in Barrie and they told me that my left front wheel bearing was in need of replacing. I told them that I had just purchased the truck about eight weeks ago and asked them if the wheel bearing could have gone in eight weeks or was it gone when I purchased the truck? The garage told me that it most likely was gone when I purchased the truck and that I should take the bill for the bearing replacement back to the car lot where I purchased the truck. They also told me that I could not drive the truck with the bad wheel bearing.
When I got back to Hamilton, I asked my own mechanic if the wheel bearing would be part of the safety and he told me that it would, if it was detected at the time of the safety. He also told me that since I only noticed it being noisy after eight weeks, then the technician doing the safety would not have detected the coming failure of the wheel bearing during his inspection. Two different technicians with two different answers! I know that you always back the technicians in your columns but when two of your technicians have two different answers, what is your reason for that and should I expect help from the used car dealer?
Don from Hamilton
ANSWER
The very simple answer is that your technician up north was not correct, if he told you, as you stated, that the wheel bearing would have been noticeably defective when you purchased the truck and that the technician doing the safety should have noticed it. I thought that a simple call to him would solve my curiosity and what I found out was that you misheard what he told you. What he told you was, “the wheel bearing was most likely on its way out but it would have been impossible for the technician to detect it, if it was in its early stages of failing but to ask the used car dealer anyway to see if they will help with the cost.” You can ask the used car dealer to see what they have to say but do not be disappointed if they say no.