Answers to your car questions

READERS COMMENT

Can you suggest what I might be doing wrong with the replacement of the outer wheel bearing on my trailer? I twice replaced the same right side bearing myself last year and after this last trip up North, it needs to be replaced again. I use lots of grease from my grease gun to make sure that the axle and bearing are well lubricated. I tighten the wheel bearing with my wrench and then back it off about quarter-turn and always make sure that the wheel turns before I take it off the jack. I would appreciate any suggestions that you may have or what you may think that I am doing wrong. Thank you.

Tom from St. Catherine’s

ANSWER

I would first suggest that you make sure that you are not over-tightening the bearing and I also hope that you are properly replacing the bearing race at the same time. The wheel bearing basically has to be slightly tighter than what you can do with your hand. Secondly, you said that you used lots of grease from your grease gun on the bearing. If the grease that you are using is not axle grease then the bearing will lose its lubrication when the axle gets hot. Axle grease is much thicker and retains its lubrication qualities when the axle gets hot whereas grease, that you would use to lubricate the front-end components of your car, would fail to lubricate when the axle started to heat up and the bearing would not last long. Also make sure that you put lots of the axle grease into the wheel hub and do not damage the axle seal when replacing it. If you follow this method, you will most likely never have to replace that wheel bearing again.

QUESTION

My car was in an accident about two months ago and at that time, the insurance company had me take the car to one of their body shops. A tree branch had fallen on the roof of the car and broke the sunroof. The car was repaired and I was very happy with the repair. What I am not happy with now is the fact that the car had been left outside for the weekend after the accident and as faith would have it, it rained over the weekend and filled the car with water. The body shop told me that they had vacuumed out all the water but when the heater is on, I get a very musty smell. The body shop asked me to bring the car back and they lifted up the carpets for the day and used heaters to try to dry them out but I still get that musty smell when the heater is on. The carpets seem to be very dry but I still get that awful smell when the heater is on. My insurance company told me that it is up to the body shop to do the repair properly and the body shop told me that the insurance would not pay to completely remove the carpets and have them cleaned. What do I do now? Isabel from Guelph

ANSWER

I spoke to your insurance adjuster and she told me that she could not discuss the file with me so I suggested to her that I would ask the body shop to fully remove and clean all the carpets and that you would need a car for that duration of time. I also told her that she could discuss the payment for the repair with the body shop. She told me to talk to the body shop so I did. The body shop wants you to take your car to them at your convenience and they will have a car ready for you to use. Your carpets and front seats are going to be removed and completely dried out. It is the under padding that has not properly dried out and when they are completely dried out, the smell will not longer be there. The body shop has assured me that you will not again be disappointed and they wish that they had done this complete carpet removal the first time.

A READER’S SUGGESTION

Barry, from last week’s column, had a stalling problem with his Ford Focus ZTS and Clare Snyder from Waterloo has some suggestions for him. I would have hoped however, that his mechanic would have checked these things out for him.

Hi Dennis,

In regards to Barry’s Focus problem, there are a few things that need to be investigated. He didn’t say what year he has but in the 2002 era, Ford started using a return less fuel system that uses a pulse-width modulated pump controller under the driver’s seat that could be malfunctioning. I’m not sure on that model but on some, there is also an oil pressure switch connection that shuts off the fuel pump if oil pressure is not sensed. This is a safety feature but if the oil pressure does not come up right away at idle (or the switch is bad), the fuel pump will shut off when the starter is disengaged, allowing the engine to idle for a second or so before shutting down.

However, the more likely problem would be a sticking or faulty idle speed control valve (which controls the air flow at idle, compensating for alternator load, engine temperature, etc). If it sticks in the closed position, it will not idle. It could be as simple as a bad connection or it might require replacement.

Clare Snyder , retired auto mechanic, teacher, and rally driver, Waterloo, Ontario

MY COMMENT

Thanks Clare for taking the time to let us know about your suggestions for Barry from Hamilton.