Don’t dismiss old workhorse before getting it checked out
Hi, Ray: I bought a ‘95 Chrysler Town and Country from my brother last year for $1,500. He had recently bought new tires and struts and some other part, so I basically reimbursed him for the recent work he had done and got the car for free. Since I have owned it, I have spent about $1,300 for new rear brakes, a new battery, a new belt and something else. Now I am faced with spending a bundle to replace the failing transmission, and I cannot decide if it is worth it. The car has only 120,000 miles, and I drive it about 4,000 miles a year. I kind of hate to part with it, because the back is plastered with my Bernie bumper stickers, because it is great for hauling my frequently dirty dog and 50-pound bags of horse feed, and because it is the hippie van I never had in the ‘70s. My other car is a 2012 Beetle, and I am trying to keep it nice, so my dog is not welcome in it, and its hauling capacity is rather limited. My question: Is this oldtimer worth repairing for the above reasons? Thanks. — Barb
It might be. Start by having your mechanic do an oilpressure test on the engine. That’ll tell you a lot. If the engine’s oil pressure is marginal, then you can just go ahead and put a “Do Not Resuscitate” order on the Town and Country’s healthcare proxy.
For instance, if the oil pressure is supposed to be between 35-55 psi at idle, and the test shows it’s at 36, I’d say drive it until it drops, then remove the plates and the dog and leave the van by the side of the road.
If it passes the oil-pressure test, then ask the mechanic to look over the rest of the car to determine what other key parts are about to — in terms your horse would understand — buy the farm. He can check the water pump, the tie rods, the front brakes, the rack and pinion, etc. Because on a car with 120,000 miles, any or a ll of that st uff could be ready to go.
If the car checks out reasonably well, then I’d say keep it, and put a rebuilt transmission in it. It’ll probably cost you about $2,500. But what other car are you going to get that meets your needs for $2,500? With a rebuilt transmission, no less!
And at 4,000 miles a year, you might get another five years out of it. And then, if you want to preserve your Bernie stickers, you can hacksaw off the rear bumper and weld it onto your next vehicle. Dear Car Talk: I have a 2003 Kia Sedona. The front brakes hang up on both sides. They don’t lock up, but they stay engaged, as if my foot is still on the brake. If the car sits for five or 10 minutes, they go back to normal. I had the calipers and hoses replaced. What think ye? — Claude
I think ye didn’t need the calipers or the hoses, Claude. I think you probably need a power-brake booster, or a brake master cylinder.
The way we diagnose these is we take the car on a drive and use the brakes a lot to get them to hang up. Then, once they misbehave for us, we hop out of the car and unbolt the master cylinder from the power-brake booster.
It’s just two bolts, and you don’t even have to remove them completely. You just want to create some separation between the master cylinder and the booster. A halfinch will do it. That removes the booster from the braking equation.
So if removing the booster causes the brakes to free up, we know that the booster is bad. And if the brakes don’t release, then we know it’s the master cylinder. Nine times out of 10, it’s the booster.
It sounds like you like to gamble on auto parts, Claude, so if you want to take a chance on wasting a few hundred more dollars, just throw a new booster in there.
But if you’d rather approach it scientifically, take a wrench with you and do that test first.