By Larry Rubenstein
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March 18, 2008 07:15 am Q: Larry, I recently sent a '92 Camaro to the junkyard. It was so badly rusted it wouldn't pass inspection. It was always garaged. It only had 58,000 miles. What happened? Dave, via e-mail A: What happened is what happens to most 16-year-old cars that aren't driven on a regular basis. Water condenses under the car and rots out the metal. If the car was driven regularly, the wind flowing by the car and under the car would have dried the metal and given you a bit longer life. This brings about another reason why you should see your mechanic at least once every 3,000 miles or three times a year. If the rusting problem was discovered during its infancy, the repairs would have been a lot less expensive, and your car may not be in the junkyard now. This problem is also a reminder to take your car through a car wash a few times during the year and purchase the undercar wash. After the wash, take the car for a good drive so all metal on the car dries. Then again, some cars were made with poor quality metal and no matter what you did short of repairs, it was going to rust out anyway.
Q: I have a 1998 Chevy S10 Pick-up. The heat control switch does not work. The blower switch is fine, but there's no heat when I turn the heat control button on. I get a little bit of heat from the defrosters, but cold air everywhere else. Everything was working fine when I bought it a year ago. I've inquired around and they tell me it's expensive to fix, about $1,500. I put a new thermostat in, but that didn't help. Could you give me some idea of what is really wrong and if it is that expensive? P.S. I had the air conditioning unit charged. That did nothing and still doesn't work. Would this somehow be connected with my other problem? Thank you, Tony, via e-mail A: Tony I would love to give you all kinds of good answers, however the information you supply does not tell me what the diagnosis was of work needed. The fact is the most common problem I have seen with the Chevy S10 Pick-up has been with a broken heater control knob, which runs around $12. The next most common issue I have seen is the cable that runs from the controller to the blend door. This cable does bind up and either breaks or causes the heat control knob to strip out.
Q: You had an article about frozen car door locks. My question is a little different. I have a 2000 Mercury Sable that is also not garaged. My lock opens with a remote button and the door handle opens the door. However, when I go to close the door, it shuts and does not latch. So I have to drive and hold the door closed. After the car interior heats up and I drive for about 20 minutes, the door latch will engage and keep the door closed. I tried spraying WD-40 into the latch that holds the pin in the door frame. I can move a metal clasp with a screwdriver but that does not engage the latch. What is causing this and how can I fix it? Tim from Salem A: There are four different possibilities for this problem. The striker plate is out of adjustment, the hinges are worn, the latch needs to be repaired, or the latch needs to be replaced. While you continue driving like this, holding your door closed, you are putting yourself in grave danger. Please have a professional fix this problem as soon as you can for your own safety. Would you let your parents or your wife drive around holding a door closed by hand? Probably not, right! Treat yourself nicely and have it fixed.
Car Care Tip: Remove items you will not need from the trunk of your car. The less your car weighs the better fuel mileage you will get from your car.
Larry Rubenstein is a master technician who owns a North Shore service station. His column appears Sunday in WheelsNorth. Write to Larry c/o Sunday North, 100 Turnpike St., North Andover, MA 01845, or send e-mail to scanauto@aol.com.
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