Join us on this episode of Drive Radio as we unravel some intriguing nuances in automotive history, including the trick question surrounding the 1955 Bel Air Chevrolet. We dive into the debate over windshield protection systems and weigh their practical benefits against the costs. Our discussion also sheds light on the complexities of car insurance claims, exploring the discrepancies between collision and comprehensive damage claims and how they impact your rates.
SPEAKER 09 :
Being an expert on general automotive knowledge, what would the correct ignition timing be on a 1955 Bel Air Chevrolet with a 327 cubic inch engine and a four-barrel carburetor?
SPEAKER 18 :
It is a trick question. Watch this. A Chevy didn’t make a 327 in 55. The 327 didn’t come out till 62. And it wasn’t offered in the Bel Air with a four-barrel carb till 64. However, in 1964, the correct ignition timing would be four degrees before top dead center.
SPEAKER 20 :
Get ready for another hour of Drive Radio, brought to you by Colorado’s select auto care centers. Got a question for the experts? Then give them a call, 303-477-5600. Now it’s time to pop the hood and get our hands dirty. Drive Radio on KLZ 560 The Source.
SPEAKER 23 :
All right, Hour 2, Drive Radio. I say the other one too much during the week. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Thanks for joining me. Paul Leuenberger with us today in studio, as well as Kent Hilferty from Novus Autoglass up in Fort Collins. If you’re just joining us now, of course, Larry Unger answering phones, and Charlie Grimes, of course, is our engineer. Lines are open, 303-477-5600. Real quick, I have a question for Paul from Rick, but I also got a question that came in on, have I ever heard of the triple-layer windshield system? protectors, and yes, in fact, even Roy from ProTech Autoshield, who is supposed to be with us today, he’s dabbling in some of that and doing some testing and so on, but even he will tell you that none of them are foolproof. And in some cases, you really have to weigh out what they cost versus what’s the cost of a windshield, depending upon what you’re actually putting that product on. uh most of them are still having issues when it comes to their hardness with windshield wipers scuffing and so on so while they’re out there and some of you listening may have had good luck with them do i recommend that for everybody driving to protect your windshield not yet because there’s still a lot of development on that that they need to go through because they’re not 100 foolproof and can’t you know that because they’re a vinyl product or plastic and it is a lot softer than glass so anytime your wipers run over it you’re going to scratch it so
SPEAKER 14 :
I mean, it does maybe slow the rock chip down a little bit. You won’t get quite as many, but it scratches a lot easier.
SPEAKER 23 :
Right. And what I’ve learned from Roy is what happens is if you end up taking a big hit to that particular product, you’re now going to replace it. It may protect the windshield, but now that film needs to be taken off and replaced. So, again, you need to look at, okay, how many films, quote-unquote, am I going to put on the windshield through the course of the windshield versus the actual cost of the windshield? And about the only way I see this, That end of things being cost-effective, and this is just me talking, is if you’ve got an exotic where maybe that windshield is $5,000 and you want to protect it, you hardly ever drive it. You may not even drive it in the rain where the windshield wipers ever come on. Okay, that’s a different scenario. Would that be something worth looking at as far as protecting that windshield goes? Sure, that one might be worth looking at. But on daily drivers, I still don’t see that technology being to the point where it’s cost-justifiable yet. And I think Roy would agree with me on that one. Yeah, it’s not. cheap enough. Just not there yet. Nope, it’s not. But for some of the exotics, some of you listening that have an exotic that you don’t drive that often, sure, that may very well work for you in that particular case. Rick in Windsor, you’re next.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good morning, guys.
SPEAKER 23 :
How are you? We’re great. How are you?
SPEAKER 08 :
I’m great. This is always a learning experience, especially when it comes to insurance. I always think I know something and then I don’t.
SPEAKER 23 :
That’s me too.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, very short question or short story and then the question that follows. So going down I-25 north up around Fort Collins, this is when they were working on the HOV lane, trying to put that third lane in. Doing 70 miles an hour, car behind us, car to the left of us. We’re on the right-hand lane. Doing 70. All of a sudden, there’s a box truck, not tire, but a box truck wheel in the middle of the lane. Nowhere to go to the left. To the right, there is no shoulder because they’ve got concrete barriers along there. So driving Jeep Cherokee. Hoping that we can clear the thing. Regular wheel, we could. Box tire, box truck tire, you know, it clipped the bottom. So we had about $6,000 worth of damage. Filed insurance on it. You know, there was nowhere to go. It was explained to the insurance company, nowhere to go, nothing else to do other than hit it, other than, you know, hit the concrete or hit another vehicle. So we just did damage to our car. um insurance company jacked up the rate the next premium about another 50 on top of it so we switched insurance companies and went right back to where it was is is that normal if you have a not at fault not avoidable uh i’ll call it comprehensive or collision claim that they Increase the insurance that much for the next premium?
SPEAKER 17 :
It kind of just depends on how that claims adjuster filed it in your file because it ends up being collision, but it shouldn’t be. You’re not at fault for it, but they may have put you or at fault internally with them, and that’s what raised it. You’d have to kind of go back in and look at that clue report and to see, you know, how that claim was filed with your adjuster, your disk adjuster.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I don’t know. That was with great old Progressive. We switched to Geico right after that, and the premium went right back to where it was for full coverage again. So now we’re with Geico, and Progressive keeps trying to get us back, but after that, you know, 50% increase in the premium, it’s like, okay, why would we bother doing that? So… That’s where we are. It’s just I didn’t understand. I didn’t think we still had to pay whatever it was, $2,000 deductible. And I, you know, fully understood that. but I didn’t understand the jump in the premium increase, and I guess that’s what happened. It just depended on what the adjuster did. Makes sense.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 23 :
All right. Rick, I appreciate it. And every time I’m on with Paul, I learn something as well, so don’t feel bad on that. There’s so much to know that I don’t know how you could know it all from a layman’s standpoint. Tom and Lakewood, you’re next.
SPEAKER 06 :
yes uh i was wondering about cbt transmissions i know they’ve had a bad reputation over the years yes i bought a 2019 and it’s been a pretty good car okay and uh i know a lot of foreign cars have them now and i was just wondering uh have they evolved to the point where they’re pretty dependable they’ve gotten better what 2019 are you driving tom what kind of car A Malibu.
SPEAKER 23 :
A Chevy, okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
And it’s got about 150,000 on it, and God never had anything wrong with it.
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, and they have gotten better. And, you know, early on, Jatco, which is a company Nissan was partnered up with, that’s really where the CVT was initially developed for cars. Keep in mind the design of a CVT dates all the way back to, you know, minibikes and motorcycles and snowmobiles because essentially the way those old… belts and pulley systems worked on a snowmobile for example is really essentially the same design as to what a modern CVT transmission in a car has other than they’re using a metal belt and different pulleys and so on but the design and the thought behind it is basically the same. So it’s not new, Tom. It’s just new to the automotive end of things. And yes, early on, they had lots of issues. The belts would wear out. The transmissions themselves would have issues. They’re still at a point, Tom, where they’re basically, there’s some guys out there that might be able to service one, but it’s a one-off thing. Nine times out of 10, you’re buying a transmission. and putting one in rarely does anybody take a cvt apart and actually fix it they’re just not serviceable the key to cvt transmissions and making them last is keeping the fluid clean because remember that metal belt is riding up and down on metal pulleys all of the time it’s a constant variable transmission meaning there are no gears it is constantly evolving if you would inside depending upon the speed and the power that you’re putting into the accelerator itself so there’s constant wear on a cvt more so than you would get in a regular clutch type you know automatic transmission so the key to it and the dealers won’t tell you this by the way they’ll tell you just you know let that thing run until a hundred thousand miles and then if you want to service it go ahead but our our rule of thumb here on drive radio and it’s been fairly uh accurate tom is those things need serviced about 30 to 40 000 miles religiously
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, so pretty good. You just got to make sure they’re serviced.
SPEAKER 23 :
If you service them, you’ll get a lot more life out of them if you don’t. They’re still not going to last as long as a regular automatic transmission will, but you literally, and I’m not exaggerating, you could double the life of that transmission by servicing it the way I’m talking.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, certainly take that into consideration, and I have been doing that 2019 about every 40 years. So maybe that’s one reason why it’s been.
SPEAKER 23 :
Yep. If you’re doing that, good for you, because, again, the dealers and even some independents will tell you not to do that. And on a CVT transmission, it’s really just a fluid replacement. There’s no flushing or anything like that. It’s draining fluid, putting new fluid in. The biggest thing on CVT transmissions that makes that cost go way up is the fluid itself is very expensive.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
I was just blaming it on the general inflation.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, the fluid, you know, on average, and again, different CVTs require different fluid depending upon the make. But I can look it up really quick. Most, in some cases, and I’ll look this up for you really quick, but those fluid costs are, they could be as much as, I’m looking, Valvoline’s $40 a quart.
SPEAKER 12 :
Oh, my God.
SPEAKER 23 :
That’s why it’s expensive to do service on those transmissions. So it’s not as much. I mean, they’re a little bit labor-intensive, but the fluid itself is extremely expensive.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, thank you. You know, to tell you the truth, I figured they got their bad reputations from the old Dynaflow. But, God, that was back in the 50s.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, that was clear back in the 50s. No, again, these transmissions are based off of what really, and still around, still used today in snowmobiles. And RTVs, you know, ATVs, RTVs, and so on. A lot of them will still use that same type of it. They’re a rubber belt, nylon belt system that they use on those versus the chain that’s in yours. But the principle is still the same.
SPEAKER 06 :
Alrighty. Well, I’m thinking about buying a new car next year, and I just thought, well, I was looking for a six-speed, and then I saw the car I was looking at was tending to go to CVTs now.
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, and really quick, if I had my choice, Tom, this is me personally, and you do what you need to do in the car that fits and works for you. I’m not a CVT fan. I mean, if the only option and everything else on the car worked, would I buy it? Sure, but that would not be my first choice.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, thank you for the opinion. You’re very welcome, Tom.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, I appreciate that. And some of you own them and nothing against you. I realize that in some vehicles, that’s all you can end up with. So I get that. But yeah, if I had my choice to do CVT or not, I would choose to go the not route. So, all right, we’ll take a break. We’ll come right back. That was a great question, by the way, that Tom just had. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. We’ll be right back. Attention Fort Collins drivers.
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SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, and don’t forget to tune in, Drive Radio, The Extra Mile, 3 to 4. We talk to Burke Payne in depth as to how he can make you whole again from an insurance claim, whether it’s a complete loss and the insurance company’s not offering you enough money for what your car’s actually worth, or there’s diminished value. We get into all of that on today’s Drive Radio, The Extra Mile.
SPEAKER 05 :
Mark, go ahead. Hey, good morning again. I heard you guys talking about the last caller on a… 2019 cvt i can’t remember the uh make model but um we have our uh 2019 subaru ascent which my wife bought new and um she really she really likes the utility of the vehicle and and and it’s got like 17 cup holders or something crazy she likes that um but uh We’ve maintained the thing over the years, and we’ve just crossed over 101,000 miles on the engine transmission and drivetrain. So what could we possibly expect for it to last as far as the transmission goes? Would it be able to make it to 150,000 miles?
SPEAKER 23 :
There’s hardly any, Mark, with proper maintenance that won’t. I mean, even some of the cheesiest CVTs taken care of will do that. It’s a question of what happens beyond that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Because, I mean, we’ve kept up on transmission. The CVT transmission fluid changes every 30,000 because of this show. And, oh, the other thing that I was curious about was, You know, in the past, I’ve heard you guys talk about doing BG EPR, every oil change, along with BG MOA, every oil change. So I thought, you know, John talks about ChatGPT often. I thought I would ask ChatGPT and Grok the same questions of the information for this vehicle on my vehicle. And it said something similar. It did say or it did recommend both of them. that the BG MOA was good for every oil change or every other oil change, but it was much different what you were recommending as far as the BG EPR. It was not recommending it every change. It said both of them. Grok and Chad GPT said, you know, once a year or every 30,000 miles. That’s incorrect. Unless you just bought the vehicle.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, they’re incorrect.
SPEAKER 05 :
And so I thought, you know what, I’ll just go ahead and call in and see what you guys’ thoughts are.
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, and again, it’s gathering information from a lot of different, you know, keep in mind, AI is pulling information in from all over, including dealership websites and other platforms. and so on. And on direct injection engines, and this is where the EPR is so important, the potential for carbon buildup on a direct injection engine is so big. And some engines are worse than others. And I get that you might find one that you could go every other oil change instead of every oil change. But if you really want to be safe on a direct injection engine, just do every oil change.
SPEAKER 05 :
Got it. Yeah, so I have been. And so I think I was doing an oil sample about once every six months. I’m going to do it once a year because Blackstone has upped their prices. So I’ve got a pretty good baseline. And then I’ve switched both of them over to 5W-30. just because I’ve heard you talk in the past about European engines getting swapped over to 5W-30 for better protection. But yeah, I was just curious what you guys were thoughts.
SPEAKER 23 :
And by the way, you know me, I use AI a ton. And what I’ve learned with AI, like a lot of other people, is you still got to watch it. It’s not 100% accurate. You still got to make sure that what it’s telling you is up to speed. And because, like I just said, it’s pulling, it’s that old garbage in, garbage out. Depending upon what else is out there on the Internet in this particular topic that we’re talking about, it’s going to collectively take all of that and then apply it to your answer. not necessarily giving you the exact answer you should be getting. right right and that’s why because you know because of this case market subjective so that hopefully hopefully other people call in not to bombard you guys to have called but no it’s fine it creates a flow of information that otherwise wouldn’t happen no you’re right and and again part of even what we’re talking about will because this gets recorded and it’s out there on the internet and chat will go and look at some of this even and some of what we’re even talking about right now it gets fed back into ai and that’s what it’s actually doing the problem is mark in our industry in in general and this is the issue with this particular topic and i’ll just tell you straight up even the dealerships are not gonna tell you to do what i’m telling you to do because in my opinion their knowledge level isn’t what it should be and in some cases they’re just not up to speed on some of this and i’ll be another i’ll be straight up honest as well in a lot of cases some of the repair facilities even and or dealerships mark they don’t care that you end up with a bunch of carbon buildup? Because if you do, they just get a bigger repair bill at the end of the day. Why would they want you using it in the first place?
SPEAKER 05 :
Good point. Yeah, they’ll sell me their almond-powered blasting intake cleaning kit.
SPEAKER 23 :
Again, all of this you really have to kind of look at and say, okay, what’s the motive here in telling you the things that it’s telling you? We’re telling you what to do to save you the most money over time.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right, and that’s what I love about this show. But anyway, yeah. No, good question, Mark.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, I appreciate that. Really good question. All right, we’ve got a car review coming up next. Hang tight. We’ll do that. We’ll be back right after that. This is Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Okay, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. That time of the week where we squeeze in our car reviews. We replay these for Drive Radio on Saturdays as well. Richard, what have you driven lately?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, it drove an interesting car, and interesting in a good way, because folks may not know what it is. And that is a 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz XR Key. And this, folks, is kind of a… I mean, it’s a… truck car car truck however you want to say it the biggest definition of the word dad right it has a you know kind of car suv sort of front and then it’s got a little bit of truck space in the back and for some folks it may be perfect for others you may look at this and say that i’m not sure about that thing all i can say is i would just give this vehicle a chance because it may surprise you right dad so again we drove the xrt trim level um it comes with a two and a half liter four cylinder 281 horsepower engine It now has an eight-speed automatic dad that replaces the dual-clutch transmission that was in it before. What else is new for 26? The turbocharged engine is new. It has a new terrain mode. Styling is pretty much unchanged. It did see a little bit of a price increase, which we’ll get to in just a second. And outside of that, it’s pretty much, again, kind of very similar from 2025 to 2026. As far as that pricing, Dad, and I mentioned it, the SE starts about $31,000 and then goes all the way up to the Limited, which goes to about $45,000. And this vehicle that we drove with the XRT was right there, about $40,000 to $43,000. Interior, it’s everything that you would expect with the Hyundai, right, Dad? It’s everything that you would want on the inside. A lot of nice trim pieces, a lot of great pieces. Sorry for the background noise. But a lot of nice… features on the inside that are really going to help, I guess, Really improved the vehicle on the interior, Dad, and what I mean by that is it feels like a sedan, and it feels like a car, so you’re not so overwhelmed with some of the truck features that you may get with some other vehicles. And then at the flip side, Dad, is it does have that full truck bed that you’re able to use and utilize. Oh, sorry, and let me rephrase. It’s not a full-size truck bed, right?
SPEAKER 23 :
It’s shorter than that. That’s right.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s kind of a mini truck bed, so it’s not going to fit a full 4×8 sheet of plywood with you being able to put the bed up, whatever it is. However, will it let you store some gear and store some things in the back of it that you may not want in the interior of the car? And that’s absolutely something that it’ll do. The only downside to me, Dad, and I don’t even know if it’s a downside, is the interior space is not that great, right? It’s a little tight.
SPEAKER 23 :
You have to realize that the car itself is, because I’m not calling it a truck, because it really does drive and act more like a car that has the ability to still put some stuff in the back. It’s sort of like having an SUV only without that overhead area that would limit you on what you could actually carry in an SUV. So think of it as an SUV with a little bit of a truck bed where it’s got like a four-foot. I have to look it up. It’s around a four-foot bedder. So I’ve driven this car in the past. Again, the car I actually really enjoy. But to your point, yeah, it’s not – I mean, this is not a – I’m not trying to beat it up, Richard. It’s not a four full size adult car. It’s, you know, two adults with maybe some kids in the back or something, or you’re going to do something different with your cargo or whatever. But it’s really not designed to run around with, you know, four full adults in it.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, I would totally agree with you, and that is exactly what I would tell you. And it’s not a bad thing. And real quick, yes, 4.3 feet with the tailgate closed. That’s what I thought, yeah. 74.8 inches, so about 6.2 feet with the tailgate open. So you almost get a full-size kind of truck bed if you want to leave that tailgate down. But you said it best, Dad. I don’t know if it’s a family of four or whatever it might be. If you’ve got some small kids, this may work for you. But really, this is kind of a it’s got the back seat. Put some stuff in it, but you’re really not going to have a whole lot of usable space. Back to the interior features, again, it’s got a lot of the car features in it. It’s got heated seats on this vehicle, which is nice. Dual zone climate control. It’s got the easy-to-use navigation or infotainment system that Hyundai is known for and that we’ve really become to like over the past number of years. It works really well in that regard. But like you say, the size, and for some people, Dad, I’ll say this. the size may fit you, right? It may fit what you’re looking to do, especially if you’re in a more urban environment and you don’t want even a midsize truck, right? I know you were kind of talking in the segment before about putting your cars in the garage, right? If you’ve got a smaller garage, this gives you the ability of doing that without having to clean out all the stuff that you were mentioning before, right?
SPEAKER 23 :
The other plus side to this car, Richard, is this has got a really, I mean, again, the XRT is a little bit higher priced car, but you can buy this car starting for under $30,000.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, well, I think 2026, you’re right above 30. I think it’s right about 31 is where you’re at. But to your point, Dad, it’s really hard to get the functionality and the utility of this vehicle for this price range, right? I think that that’s something that can’t be overstated. One other thing, and I do want to mention it, Dad, fuel economy, it does have a little bit smaller of a fuel tank. 18 and 25 so for an average of about 20 miles per gallon but again it does have a turbocharged engine dad which at our altitude does work well but i will say this you’re driving around for a full week i will say that i have gone through quite a bit of fuel um it doesn’t feel like i have i can just tell you that you know driven the car for that amount of time not even a full week yet and i’m almost out of fuel right and so for if you’ve got longer commutes whatever it might be just something to consider would it prevent me from buying this car absolutely not so encourage folks to check them out dad like we said 2026 hyundai santa cruz they’ve got lots of different trim options lots of different features that you can look at get out test drive this vehicle and we really highly recommend it on this vehicle dad because the size piece of it could be great for you could be not so great but you need to feel it and see it for yourself to do that and when you do do that let them know that john and richard rush from drive radio and rush to reason sent you
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 23 :
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SPEAKER 23 :
All right, we’re back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Thanks for tuning in today. We appreciate it very much. Brian in Erie. Go ahead, Brian.
SPEAKER 10 :
I have a 2012 Chevy truck, three-quarter ton, with a six-liter engine. It’s got almost 150,000 miles. I’ve owned it about five years. It’s kind of a road-hardened, put-away-wet truck. I have been getting codes, check engine lights, and I’ve got a whole list of codes, and I wonder if you can tell me my issue.
SPEAKER 23 :
Sure.
SPEAKER 10 :
PO-138, which is O2 sensor, high voltage, bank one, sensor two. Okay. PO-13A, O sensor, slow response, rich, to lean, bank one, sensor two. PO-158, O2 sensor, high voltage, bank two, sensor two. P-2271, O2 sensor, stuck, rich, bank two, sensor two. P two, or P 2273. Same thing, only it’s bank two sensor two, right? That keeps going on. And they’re all on both banks. And it’s sensor two every time.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay. I mean, to start with, and we don’t want to just throw parts at at it. But at 150,000 on that six liter, I personally would do all two sensors, I wouldn’t just do the one I would do, I think there’s three on that I would do all three.
SPEAKER 10 :
I’ve replaced all the sensors a couple times, and the codes come back right after I put new sensors on.
SPEAKER 23 :
And what sensors are we using? What brand?
SPEAKER 10 :
Bosch.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay, those should be fine. If that’s the case and they’re coming on right after that, then we’ve got some sort of an additional either wiring or something that’s not right going on as to why that’s happening. Or, you know, I can go one step further even, too. We might have something else. Because you say they’re stuck rich. The one code says stuck rich. I guess the other question would be, and how does it run? I guess I should have asked that to begin with.
SPEAKER 10 :
How does it run in general? Drivability is flawless. The only issue I have, and I don’t really know what the mileage should be, but I think the truck uses more fuel than I believe it should.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, that was my next question. You kind of took the words out of my mouth. I’m wondering if we don’t have an injector that’s sticking and leaking.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. I ran some 44K through it before a trip last week, and that did seem to help.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 10 :
But they still… Came back on, you know.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay. I’m guessing it’s just plain rich. And this is where instead of a code reader, an actual scan tool on it that tells us what the mixture is actually doing. In other words, how much are we trying to trim the fuel back versus adding fuel? An actual scan tool will tell us in real time what’s going on, Brian, and then give us an indicator as to whether that’s the case or not. That’s the next thing I would have done.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 23 :
And if you’re over in Erie, run that down to Legacy Automotive, the guys in Boulder, Josh and the guys, they could scan that and tell you exactly what’s going on pretty easily.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. I was under the impression that probably my catalytic converters were bad. You don’t think that’s the case then?
SPEAKER 23 :
If the fuel economy has dropped, I would say no.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 23 :
Because the cats aren’t going to do anything fuel economy-wise.
SPEAKER 10 :
They’re not, okay. Is 11 miles to the gallon excessive fuel consumption for that vehicle?
SPEAKER 23 :
Oh, that one, I mean, you’re probably down some because you’ve driven it enough to know. I mean, I’ve owned some of those in the past. They’ll do 14, 15, 11 is a little low unless you’re pulling something.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, well, I made a trip to Minnesota, Michigan last month. I went out to Michigan empty, and I came back with a couple thousand pound lathe, and it was in the 11s both ways.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay. Now, really quick, the other thing, too, that a scan tool would check is, you know, do we have any kind of a signal wire shortage? I mean, is it reading everything correctly like it should be? But my gut feeling is that we’ve got a rich running condition. Now, again, I’m guessing. I’m not there in front of it. I’m not scanning it. You could even look at the efficiency of the cat and so on with the right scan tool, which, again, a good tech can do all that at the same time.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. Give me another location other than Boulder.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, he’s got a location in Boulder or Longmont, or you can go over to Accountable in Broomfield.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, Accountable in Broomfield. Okay.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thank you much.
SPEAKER 23 :
Any of those guys can do that? They’ve all got the right tools to look at that, Brian, and determine what’s up.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 23 :
All right.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right.
SPEAKER 23 :
Appreciate you very much. Thank you. Great question, by the way, and those are always hard over the phone to take care of too many variables going on. Chris in Colorado Springs, go ahead.
SPEAKER 11 :
Long-time listener. Like your show. Thank you, Chris. Unfortunately, my mom died last week.
SPEAKER 23 :
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Yeah, you and me both. Yeah, I’ve been there, done that recently, so I’m very sorry. Yeah, it’s a tough deal. Yes, it is.
SPEAKER 11 :
She left me her car.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 11 :
Before she died, she signed the title.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay, good.
SPEAKER 11 :
What do I need to do next?
SPEAKER 23 :
Just go put your name on it. Tell them there was a death. Mom signed the title before she died. There’s no sales tax owed. You’re just putting it in your name.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay. They’re not going to charge me for, you know.
SPEAKER 23 :
You’ll have a title fee and some minor things, but you shouldn’t have much. I mean, that should be a very minimal charge. What kind of vehicle, I should ask, also?
SPEAKER 11 :
It’s a 2003 Lexus ES 300.
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, you won’t have any issues. Just let them know it’s an older vehicle. It was mom’s. Mom passed. She did sign it before she died. They may ask for a death certificate. You might want to have it with you just for grins, but since she signed it, you shouldn’t have any issues. It’s staying in the family. It’s not a sale. It’s just a transfer of ownership.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah. I’m glad she left it to me because the car has…
SPEAKER 23 :
37 000 miles on it and it’s always been in the garage nice thing is like brand new those are great cars as you know that’s that’s one of the best cars ever built you got any idea on how much that thing’s worth not a lot because of its age chris i mean the mileage is low uh on the retail side of things that car probably would still bring six seven grand wow
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, it’s like brand new on the inside.
SPEAKER 23 :
It may be more depending on somebody looking for that type of car with that low of miles, but keep it and drive it.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah. Oh, I really like it. I love driving the thing. Like I say, it’s like a new car.
SPEAKER 23 :
They’re great cars. I mean, I loved those cars back then. Fabulous car. Nothing wrong with that at all.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay. Well, John, thank you very much. You’re very welcome.
SPEAKER 23 :
I’m sorry for your loss, Chris. I mean that. I apologize.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, I appreciate that. You’re very welcome, man.
SPEAKER 23 :
I appreciate it. No, I know exactly what you’re going through. So, been there, done that here recently. So, Francis in Denver, you’re next.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes, I got the 2005 Ford Focus ZX5, and it’s automatic transmission. And what it says, you know what, that owner’s book that you get with the car is talking about when you check the transmission fluid, the correct fluid level is When you check it, you know you have to have it at operating temperature about 20 miles you drive it. It’s, you know, where minimum max shows on the transmission dipstick, it shows that it should only be halfway between minimum max. And it says also high fluid level is if it’s at the max mark, and that’s a high fluid level range. And that condition may cause shift in our engagement concerns or possible damage. But I’m wondering, you know, because what it’s got on there is an 85, you know, for the heat, the thermostat, I meant to say. Yeah, for the thermostat, it’s only got an 85-degree thermostat in there. That’s the only one they made it there for that one. If you know anything about thermostats, you’ve got to go up to 90 to get it real hot. It’ll get hot finally, but 85 keeps it pretty well down lower than what hot is on the heater or whatever. But… I was just thinking, you know, I’ve changed it. I’m keeping it there, and I don’t know what to say on that. I was thinking maybe call up some transmission guy to check it, and they’re probably going to say, even the Haines repair manual I have, they’re saying, you know, put it all the way to max. But in my owner’s, you know, book that came with it, it just says the right level. The transmission should be in this range at normal operating temperature. You know, they go 150.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, if that’s what the manual says, make sure it’s level and do that, and that’s the proper way to do it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, okay, Dan. And, you know, for that thermostat to be 85 degrees that year, the other ones are all like 190, 192. I’ve always noticed it’s been like it takes more time to heat up and all that. I don’t know why they threw that in there because you can’t get another one in there.
SPEAKER 23 :
That I have no answer for. No idea.
SPEAKER 07 :
just that year that’s a zx5 ses and i only got about 136 000 miles on it but it’s great running car everything’s clean all kept up all my fluids and it’s doing real good good for you well thanks you’re very welcome nope francis thank you for the call i appreciate it uh mark hang tight we’ll come right back and talk to you don’t go anywhere drive radio klz 560.
SPEAKER 22 :
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SPEAKER 23 :
All right, we are back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Mark, go ahead, sir.
SPEAKER 09 :
Good morning. Hey, Mark. I’ve got a question for you. Sure. So I put a Canada 44K into the tank on the Volvo Convertible, and it improved drivability quite a bit.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 09 :
My question is about usage level of that product. Would it be beneficial to do it back-to-back, or what is the frequency you put that product in?
SPEAKER 23 :
On that old car like that, I mean, I wouldn’t tell this to everybody else driving, and especially some of the newer vehicles and so on, but given the age, and I know that vehicle, and we’ve got some history of knowing where it came from and so on, yeah, you could go back-to-back and be no problem at all.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I just want to – it’s not a matter of the money situation. I just don’t want to, you know, overdo it.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, no, no, you’d be fine. That car, you know, when it’s history and so on and, you know, coming out of Florida and all the things we’ve been through and so on, you’d be fine, Mark, not a problem.
SPEAKER 09 :
And thanks to you and the gentleman sitting in your room, Paul, I am now a customer.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, great. Appreciate it. Thank you.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, no, I’m real happy with your agency. It’s quite amusing going into Paul’s office and looking at the menagerie there.
SPEAKER 17 :
There’s some things.
SPEAKER 09 :
I’m just wondering what it’s going to be like when you have an estate sale someday. I’ve been down that path. Yeah. I mean, talk about giving stuff up. You’ll be talking to the gentleman next to you, John.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay. Well, Mark, I appreciate it very much. Thank you for all that, by the way. I know Paul does, too.
SPEAKER 09 :
Have a good day, John. You’re awesome, man. Have a great day.
SPEAKER 23 :
I appreciate you very much, Mark Knope. Thank you very much. Scott, go ahead, Scott. You’re up.
SPEAKER 12 :
Hey, John. Thanks so much. I love all of your shows.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, thank you.
SPEAKER 12 :
Appreciate it. Quick question. I remember you talking a few months ago about these Rams. I’ve got a Ram 2019 2500. It’s got the 6.7 Cummins diesel. And I remember you talking about some issues with them covering warranties and the problems down the road. I can’t remember exactly.
SPEAKER 23 :
They’ve had injector issues, injector pump issues. They’ve had DPF exhaust issues and so on. And what I’m learning on those is if you get a good one and everything works and it’s solid and you’re not having any issues, then you know what? Knock your socks off. On the same token, there’s a lot of guys listening to where they’ve had nothing but problems with those.
SPEAKER 12 :
I’ve only got 26,000 miles on the truck, though, so it’s still brand new. It’s still new.
SPEAKER 23 :
I just got rid of that exact same truck because of issues.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay. Well, and that’s why I was wondering. I’m in a position where… about a year to retirement, so I’d like to get a truck that I’m going to be able to drive and drive and drive in my retirement years.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, the new 6.7s, I will tell you, and I own a couple of those. Actually, I don’t think we own three of those now. They work extremely well. They’re different than the old 6.7s. They’ve got glow plugs now instead of the grid heater. The injector pump’s different. Longevity-wise, how’s that going to turn out? We haven’t owned them long enough to give you any indication yet, Scott, but from what I’m hearing from a lot of other users is they’re working very well.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, so then as far as year, what year did they make a change?
SPEAKER 23 :
25 was the new 6.7.
SPEAKER 12 :
25, okay, I did not know that. Good to know. And if you were starting over, Ram versus Ford versus Duramax, Powerstroke, is there a favorite or are they all pretty much the same?
SPEAKER 23 :
I have a new Mega Cab if that tells you anything.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, there you go.
SPEAKER 23 :
And it’s nothing against Ford or Chevy because we’ve got a bunch of Chevrolet units as well. Kent’s got a Chevy that he drives a 6.6. It’s nothing against him. I like the Mega Cab. I love the new 6.7. It’s got great power. The new HP transmission works extremely well. I like the layout of the dash and everything in the Rams. In fact, they’ve been really ahead of their time as far as the interior comfort goes. Again, nothing against the Chevrolet or Ford end of things, but the new 6.7 in that Ram, just go drive one. I don’t know how else to tell you. Just go drive one.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, okay. And last question, BG Products.
SPEAKER 23 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 12 :
Is there any place I can just buy them retail, or do you have to get them through a shop?
SPEAKER 23 :
Our local Napa stores here in the Denver metro area sell them. Outside of our area, no, you’ll have to buy from a shop.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, okay, because I do intend on doing a lot of traveling to the kids, grandkids, et cetera. Okay. Okay. Yep. All right, and then for this truck, for the diesel BG products, what would you recommend?
SPEAKER 23 :
They make a fuel conditioner. That’s about all you need to really run it. There’s an MOA product that you could use as well, although, honestly, nothing against BG. I don’t think you really need it. Scott, I think if you run their fuel system cleaner in it periodically, you’re good to go. And, of course, when it’s really cold in the winter, make sure you run an anti-gel in it.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 23 :
Other than that, you’re good to go. You don’t really need to do anything else.
SPEAKER 12 :
Wonderful.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, thank you, sir. I really appreciate it. You betcha, Scott.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, great questions. I appreciate it very much. And yeah, guys, that’s not an advertisement. I’m not paid by Ram or Chevy or Ford, and I have no dog in the fight. That’s the truck I own, and it works great. And if you haven’t driven one of the new ones yet, especially Ram guys, if you haven’t driven a new 2025 or 2026, just go drive one. They work very, very well. Now, we also own… some of the duramaxes we also own some other brands but no fords i think you guys all know me on that i haven’t bought a ford in a long long time and that’s not anything against ford it’s the dealer network that we as a fleet have to use we just don’t have very good luck with the dealer network on that end of things and when you don’t have good luck on that end you don’t tend to buy their product because if you can’t service it well under warranty then no offense why own it I will say this, that some of you guys that own the Duramax and the GM units, yes, they are still having some transmission issues. I would have thought by now they’d have all of that dealt with, but there’s still some of those 10-speed Allison-branded, I’ve got to make sure I say that correctly, Allison-branded transmissions that have issues. And some of you have had zero issues. Others do. In our fleet, it’s about 50-50 as to what we’ve had issues with versus what we haven’t had issues with. Maybe not quite 50, probably about 30%. of what we own has had some issues along those lines. So again, that’s one of the things where on the GM side, they still seem to be struggling a little bit with their 10-speed transmission, their valve body issues that they have. And some of you have texted me and even reminded me that you got rid of some of those trucks because of those valve body issues and GM not being able to get you back on the road regularly. uh quickly enough now i will also say that there are other examples and other manufacturers where similar things can happen as well so i don’t want to be picking on general motors by any means but yes that is a known problem with that particular truck and one of my boys asked me this week okay can we buy a truck that will run forever with no problems and i said no and here’s why this is for all of you listening as well here’s the reason why they all source parts from the same people Now, I know the cab’s different, and I know the interior layout’s different, and yes, the engines themselves from a Ford to a Ram to a GM are different. Okay, that I get. But outside of that, the rest of what they’re buying from alternators to injector pumps to injectors to on down the line we go, they’re not making. They buy all of those components from someone else, and even the transmissions like the valve body I just mentioned, they’re not building that valve body. Somebody’s making that valve body for them. So the reality is, can you buy a bulletproof truck that’s never going to have a problem? No. Because humans are making it, and people are involved, and the reality is, in most cases, you can go through and look at the recall sheet that comes out every Monday from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and everybody has recalls, everybody has problems. There’s no such thing as a perfect car or a perfect brand or a perfect anything. Certain brands get picked on more than others, and I think that’s because they build a lot more vehicles than some of the others do. So, of course, they’re more well-known when there’s an actual problem. But is there a perfect truck? No. Is there a perfect anything? No. Anything you buy, you potentially could have problems with, and it’s just the nature of the beast. I always say it comes down to what have you had good familiarity with? What do you like? Who do you have a good relationship with dealer-wise? That, to me, has more of a factor in it than the actual manufacturer itself. And ultimately, do you like the truck or the vehicle that you’re buying? That’s really what it comes down to. All right, hour number three is next. Again, we’ve got insurance broker Paul with us, Paul Leuenberger. If you’ve got a question on insurance, please let us know. We’ll go over some more auto glass as well in this last hour with Kent from Novus in Sterling. Otherwise, we’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere, guys. This is Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 13 :
Still haven’t had enough? Go to drive-radio.com. Email your questions and comments. Download previous programs and find lots of useful information, including your nearest Colorado Select Auto Care Center. That’s drive-radio.com. Thanks for listening to Drive Radio, sponsored by the member shops of Colorado Select Auto Care Centers. On KLZ 560.
