Answers to your car questions

QI purchased a 2009 Malibu privately and at first, the car appeared to be in excellent condition. It has never been in an accident and the paint is very good. I road tested the car and it ran well. The car has just over 230,000 kilometres, which is actually low for a 2009 vehicle. The seller showed me a record of all the oil changes that he had done over the years and it looked like he really looked after the car. I told him that I would buy the car but that I wanted the car to have a safety, which he agreed to. He did tell me that the car was due for an oil change, which I agreed to get done because I wanted to put in synthetic oil. He even went with me to the ministry to change over the ownership. When I took the car into my mechanic for the oil change, he told me that both front tires were not passable for a safety and that the front brakes were worn to the point that they were almost metal on metal. I immediately went back to the person, from whom I purchased the car and he told me that I had purchased the car As Is and that he does not have any obligation to do anything for me. I know that in the past, you have warned people to be very careful when purchasing a used car privately but this person seemed to be so honest that I did not think that it was necessary. My dad told me to contact you since you have helped some of his friends in the past. THANK YOU, DANIELE FROM ST CATHERINE’S

AUnfortunately, you have been hoodwinked into believing that the person, from whom you purchased the car, was honest. I have not seen the repair bills for the oil changes but I suspect that they are from the previous owner because the seller has had the car for only ten days and the car was not even in his name. So much for being honest! We will now talk about the technician, who had done the safety, which I put most of the blame on for jeopardising his mechanical certificate to do mechanical safeties. The person, from whom you purchased the car, knows the mechanic who had done the safety and he came to him to get a mechanical safety done so that he could put the car in his name. The mechanic knew that the work needed to be done to the front brakes and he also knew that it needed front tires but he was assured by the person, from whom you purchased the car, that the work was going to be done. This was a big mistake on the mechanic’s part. The person from whom you purchased the car, never told the mechanic that he was going to sell the car and the mechanic is now very upset for doing a favour for a friend who lied to him. Things however, are beginning to look better for you. Take the car back to the technician who had done the safety and he is going to replace the front brakes and purchase two used front tires for you, free of charge. The only thing, that I would suggest that you do, is to pay a little extra yourself to have two new tires installed, instead of having two used tires installed. Not that I care about the technician being paid for the work needed on your car because he put you in this situation but he has assured me that the person, from whom you purchased the car, will pay him for the work. PS: Technicians have a great responsibility and duty to make sure that any mechanical safety ticket that they put their signature on, is done correctly and by the book. A mechanical technician should never jeopardize that responsibility for anyone.

QI am not a full-fledged mechanic but I have in the past worked on my family’s cars and trucks over the years. My dad has a 1956 GMC six cylinder. The oil pressure quit one day while he was driving the truck. I suspected that it might be a broken oil pump shaft that goes to the distributor. I pulled out the distributor and sure enough, it was a broken shaft. The problem that I have now is that two inches of the broken shaft fell into the oil pan when I was trying to remove it. My question to you is this: Is it going to do any harm if I leave the broken part of the shaft in the oil pan and if I should not do that, do you have any idea as to how to get it out, without having to remove the oil pan? I would appreciate any advice that you may have. BOB FROM SIMCOE

AI suspect that your dad is using a thicker grade of oil in the truck so there is a chance that the splash from the rods might pick up the broken piece from the oil pan. I would do my best to try and remove the broken rod. Technicians in the past have had great success in removing a piece of the broken oil pump rod, without removing the oil pan. You first want to purchase a strong magnet and go down through the distributor hole and see if you can retrieve the broken shaft. Another alternative is to remove the oil plug which has a bigger drain hole than most cars today and see if you can use the magnet to locate and remove the broken rod. Technicians have used these techniques very successfully over the years and I suspect that with a little patience and a lot of luck, you will be successful. PS: Before you install the new oil pump shaft, make sure that the oil pump itself is turning freely. A defective or plugged oil pump will break this shaft and it would be unfortunate if you installed the new oil pump shaft and it breaks again. If you find that the oil pump is defective then you will have to remove the oil pan anyway, at which time you can remove the broken shaft. I have also seen this scenario played out as well.

To my readers: Please indicate the town, city or village that you live in. Be advised that not all emails can be answered. Send your questions (including address) by email to: dennis.osullivan@cogeco.ca