HR3 Drive Radio February 15, 2025 by John Rush
SPEAKER 11 :
It’s a mighty fancy automobile. Oh, she’s a real road king, all right. Zero to 60 in 7.5. She’ll do a quarter mile, 13.40. 390 horsepower, 500 foot-pounds of torque. Whatever that is. Performance and image, that’s what it’s all about.
SPEAKER 19 :
There’s no such thing as a stupid question. This is Drive Radio. All of your automotive questions are just one phone call away. 303-477-5600. Drive Radio is made possible by the member shops of Colorado Select Auto Care Centers. To find one near you, go to drive-radio.com. Now, Drive Radio on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, we are back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Myself, Ken Rackley, Tunetech Automotive over here in Aurora. Mark from Accountable up in Broomfield, by the way. And you can find both of their numbers. Just go to drive-radio.com. Larry Unger, of course, answering phones. Charlie Grimes, our engineer. Walton Centennial, you’re next.
SPEAKER 20 :
Good afternoon, John. How are you doing? John, I’ve got a question on my… 2006 chevy silverado with a 53 it’s a quad cab and um i was perusing some information on the bin and what i came across now i use mid-grade fuel 87 octane okay and um this was telling me if my bin code had the letter t in it i could use regular fuel so i guess that means 85 and um I wanted to get your opinion on that. I’ve used 87 as long as I’ve had the truck for going on seven years. I love the truck. And so I was kind of unsettled about whether I
SPEAKER 05 :
should switch to uh 85 my advice would be no if you’re doing well with 87 and you’ve it kind of goes back to the conversation i had as kind of we opened up walt you may or may not have heard that but was talking to somebody that bought a new vehicle and wanted to know what fuel to run and so on and i think for every vehicle and you’ve kind of proven it with what you’re driving if it works well you’re getting good fuel economy you’ve had no issues you’re running mid-grade go for it keep doing it i wouldn’t switch
SPEAKER 08 :
And if you got to a point where if they were at a mid-grade or whatever, you could put the lower in. I mean, you could put the higher in. It wouldn’t matter.
SPEAKER 05 :
But if you’re used to and you’ve got a good fuel economy and you like what you’re doing with that, just keep doing it. Yeah, I mean.
SPEAKER 20 :
Okay. You know, I noticed also I occasionally drive out to Wichita, Kansas, and about midway I’ll stop and fuel up. And I noticed that the irregular and their mid-grade is the same grade, 87. And I said, well, that’s weird. But one other thing. Different elevation is why.
SPEAKER 09 :
Right. Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
There’s only a few states like Colorado, New Mexico, anyway, that run at 85. Right. So there’s only a few states. Okay. Right. Yeah.
SPEAKER 20 :
Right. Well, I’ll continue on continuing on with what I’m using.
SPEAKER 05 :
You’ve had good luck, Walt. What’s that old saying? If it ain’t broke, keep going. Right.
SPEAKER 20 :
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The other question I had, and I just thought of this while I was talking to you, is I have used BG44K occasionally, and I have not had any issues. I’ve never had a driving issue with this truck, except I did have an O2 sensor go out. My check engine light came on steady, so I said, well, okay. I drove it, took it over to a shop. And he told me how they determined that 102 sensor was out. They said, but you got four issues. Go ahead and replace all four of them. I don’t have to worry in a month coming back that another one went out. But I’ve used BG44K, and I wanted to get your opinion on that and what you thought about using it. I know the can says use a certain amount per tankful, but I just dump the whole can in.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yeah. Well, one can treats up to 20 gallons. Right. Yeah, so you’re good with that. And how often do you use it?
SPEAKER 20 :
Oh, probably about every six months.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. Yeah.
SPEAKER 20 :
If I should use it more often, that’s fine.
SPEAKER 05 :
I would do every oil change is what I would do. Just make it easy. That’s what I do. Easy to remember.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, exactly. It’s done at that time.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah. The thing with the oil change is I’ve got 100 and pushing 175,000 on it. I got it seven years ago with 85,000, and I just don’t drive it that much anymore. I’m retired.
SPEAKER 09 :
Got it.
SPEAKER 20 :
So, you know, I’ll look at it and see. I’ll check the oil and check the mileage. You know, I’ll go about maybe 5,000, but I’ll check the oil, make sure if I need some, I’ll put it in, but I’ll stretch it. And I do the full synthetic service on it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good for you.
SPEAKER 20 :
And I do, you know, I’ll check that. And like I say, about every 5,000, I’ll take it in and have them change the oil. But I don’t push it. I don’t go off-road or anything. It’s a four-wheel drive. I just love this truck. I’ve had a couple, two, three Chevys like this, and I just love them. But I…
SPEAKER 05 :
wanted to see what you thought about the bg 44k and how often so about every oil change well or in your case if you’re not driving a ton your your your schedule now would be fine as well every six months yeah you’d be fine twice a year better than an annual oil change right exactly so yeah it probably takes me about six months to
SPEAKER 20 :
put that amount of mileage on it.
SPEAKER 08 :
I hear you. So, anyway. Went to it helps stabilize the fuel, too. You’re not hurting anything at all by using that, Walt. Right, exactly. Yeah, six months.
SPEAKER 20 :
Right, yeah. Okay. Well, very good. Thank you so very much.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, Walt, thank you, as always. I appreciate that very much. John and Cheyenne, you’re next. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hey, just to comment on what Walt said, I love putting that 44K in when I’m topping off right before a road trip. And then usually it’s, you know, three, 300, a tank of gas.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good way to do it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Run that whole thing right through. And I always feel like it works better that way. I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong. No, that’s a good way of doing it.
SPEAKER 08 :
And so it does help there. But so talking to one of the BG reps, he was telling me that in a lot of cases it works on your shorter trips better because when you shut it off, there’s just that little bit that sits on the valves as it’s sitting there. So it has a chance to get in there. Great point. Yeah. So I kind of thought that initially too, but then when he was describing how that you know how it helps um if you do the shorter trips and longer sit times after you’ve been driving it it it seems to help a little bit better so i’m like oh okay well good to know yeah the other thing john i noticed when i was up in south dakota this week is they have 287s one of them is ethanol free and the price difference is there but
SPEAKER 07 :
Right at the pumps at the Sinclair station, they had two 87s, one with ethanol, one without, and it was about a 25-cent-a-gallon difference.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, pure gas.
SPEAKER 07 :
And I just thought that was interesting that you could get, you know, usually you find ethanol free. It’s premium grade around here, you know. So I just thought that was interesting. But going back, my favorite tool, it’s my go-to whenever I’ve got to do something on the fly, is my Metrinch. My Metrinch socket wrench set because it’s the best socket that I’ve ever owned. Isn’t that a great socket set when you’re just grabbing something and you’re not sure what you’re going to need because if you need a metric, you need a standard, it’s right there. And the other thing is I always throw that in the truck if I’m going on a long trip just to have a set of tools, and that’s the perfect set. The other thing I’ve done is I have an 18-inch socket 3-8 drive breaker bar in my truck, and if I get a flat, I’ll grab that met trench and use a socket that fits those lugs and never have to worry about using that one that comes with the truck. Good point. And you can get You can go to Harbor Freight and get an 18-inch breaker bar for probably about $12. True. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER 05 :
For that little use, I would have no problem doing that. Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, exactly. And then the other thing I did with the 4Runner, after I got the first flat, it’s got that screw jack. Yes. Actually, again, I took that screw jack into Harbor Freight and found a bottle jack that was about the same size.
SPEAKER 09 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 05 :
All you need for your screw jack, John, is just throw your cordless drill in with it, and you’re set to go.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, right, and get the little adapter for it.
SPEAKER 05 :
If it’s a half-inch drill, you just shove the end into your drill chuck. I did that last week.
SPEAKER 07 :
Off you go. Exactly. That’s right. All right. Yeah, and I usually will throw my impact. in the car when we’re taking a road trip just in case i do have there you go yeah great i do too i do the same thing so yeah exactly and you find all sorts of little uses for those along these lines Yeah, but everybody thinks that because of the new cars, you don’t have to throw a set of tools if you’re going on a road trip like 30 years ago.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, I still do.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, you know.
SPEAKER 05 :
You don’t, but it’s more for what you’re talking about with changing tires or helping somebody else or, you know, you happen to stop someplace and something’s not quite right and you need something. Well, I’d rather have it than not.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. I would rather be able to get myself or somebody else off the side of the road than have to wait for a tow truck to get it.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s why I’m carrying it. It’s not much for me as it is sometimes for everybody else. You’re right.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER 07 :
And then the other two things, which I have in every vehicle, is a reflective vest and a headlamp. Absolutely. Good idea.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, 100%.
SPEAKER 07 :
But, you know, those are the things that people I know, we’ve talked about it before. Last thing, John, I want to bring this to your attention. There’s a stretch of I-80 closed between Rock Springs and Green River. They had a massive accident in a tunnel very similar to the Eisenhower Tunnel yesterday, and they’re still cleaning it up. So if anybody’s listening and heading that way, you might want to take 40 and then go north at Green River, and you can avoid it. Otherwise, they’re diverting everyone off onto – Business 80, US 30, which goes through the towns. Yeah, and it’s got to be chaos out there with all the tractor trailers. Yeah, right. I just, yeah, I just, yeah, it looks like they’re not going to have it cleaned up.
SPEAKER 05 :
Appreciate that, John. No, thank you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. All right, you guys have a good weekend.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, man, we’ll do it. You too, John. We’ll be right back. Guys, don’t go anywhere. Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
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SPEAKER 13 :
When we change oil, it’s pretty common to find newer cars running very low on oil. It’s due to the new low-tension rings and oil vapors that slowly burn, leaving carbon deposits, which lowers their mileage and even worse, leaves their engine dangerously low on oil. My customers tell me they want their mileage and their oil back.
SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 18 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
All right, we are back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Myself, Cain Rackley, Tunetech Automotive. We’ve got Mark Guernsey, of course, from Accountable up in Broomfield as well. Larry Unger, who’s been on the phone talking to somebody here for a while, so somebody’s got a big problem that Larry’s trying to solve. So we appreciate Larry being here and helping out with some of those because some of those can get quite long. And, of course, Charlie Grimes, our engineer. Okay, we’re going to do a car review here in just a few minutes. Before we do that, though, I read something this week that I was going to talk about today, and Ken and Mark reminded me of it because it didn’t have it in my notes. But bear with me. And I talk about this a lot on my daily show. But there was a time, and unfortunately it’s not this way anymore, but there was a time where people that went to work for government did so because they knew there’d be a little less paycheck but a lot more benefits. Unfortunately, and some would say, well, no, it’s fortunate. Well, keep in mind, folks, everybody that works in government, it’s my money. State, county, local, national, whatever. Government has no money. It’s my money, your money, those of you that are positive taxpayers, not net tax receivers, but positive taxpayers, it’s your money that’s providing all of these things. You know, my feeling is it should be less pay per hour. We shouldn’t have unionized government contracts because I’m the taxpayer paying for this. And I don’t get any say in that contract, which just ticks me off. But that’s another conversation for my daily program. But in the end, it should be less pay, more bennies, and if that’s how you can stay competitive, quote-unquote, as government, so be it. So I read something this week that just chapped my hide. I’m sorry, it just did. And it was the story, and it’s not because of this young man, but because of the system. So there was a young man that people online were praising locally that had won one of our local automotive contests, and he had done very well first in his class, blah, blah, blah. By the way, congratulations. All that’s great. My beef is… His career choice after graduation is one of our cities, working in a fleet department. And I’m thinking to myself, that’s a load of crap. Meaning the city is going to take what’s the better of the class graduates, and instead of going into the real world – sorry, it is the real world, working for Mark or Ken or a dealership or wherever – they’re going to work for government. And I just look at that and think, time out. This is not how this is supposed to work, because I guarantee you – that whatever program he graduated from was probably heavily funded from we as citizens and or citizen-run businesses, not government. Even if it is government, it’s still my money. So my point is, these particular individuals, frankly, should be, banned is maybe not the right word, but they should be disqualified from choosing these fleet jobs. in the government and so on, versus going into the private sector. That’s my take. I know I might be alone in that, but I have an utter disdain for government taking the best workers that should be going into the private sector, which generates economy, by the way. Government doesn’t. They’re sucking from the economy, literally, with our tax dollars. And my feeling is it shouldn’t be that way. So when I read that, It really rubbed me the wrong way because I’m thinking nothing against this young man because he’s doing whatever he thinks is best for him and his future. And it’s sad that his choice is a fleet inside of government versus going into the private sector. So just a little note, something that just ticked me off. badly this week and i thought i’d mention it today because we’re here and i can so anyways we got a car review coming up uh that we did earlier this week and uh let me look really quick and i’ll tell you what that review actually is it’s going to be the mazda cx 90 3.3 turbo so hang tight we’re going to go through that here in just one moment we’ll be back right after that myself mark and ken right here on drive radio klz 560. All right, we’ve got a couple of car reviews we’re going to squeeze in right now. Richard, we’ll start with you. 2025 CX-90 3.3 Turbo S Premium Plus.
SPEAKER 06 :
But ultimately, it’s a 2025 Mazda CX-90. This is their three-row SUV. This particular model had their six kind of six-seat passenger configuration, because this car does have a third row. Yes, is it a little bit smaller than some of those out there? Yes, but I will say this, that most of the cars in this segment, that third row, it’s for kids only. It’s not for full-size adults, and this car does it well. It’s got a lot of nice interior apportionments, a lot of nice physical buttons. For those of you who haven’t ran or touched a Mazda in a while, I encourage you to go out and do that because there’s actually some rather interesting… Well, I’ll just say, it just feels nice. It actually feels pretty well put together. The way the buttons feel, their infotainment system, while it takes a little bit of getting used to, it’s a really nice setup. The screen is nice. It’s easy to use and easy to operate. Price on this vehicle, Dad, $58,500, so under $60,000, and this is about the top of the line trim level that you can get. They have a one above it, which is the plug-in hybrid version of it, and obviously this vehicle is not that case. But it does have 340 horsepower, Dad, which is really great for the 3.3 liter. I think it’s an inline six, if I’m not mistaken, turbo engine in this vehicle. Fuel economy, Dad, 23 and 28 for an average of 25, which is really good for this segment, I will say. They’ve done a tremendous job there. Overall, I guess the only cons to me is even with that turbo engine, it’s got a little bit of lackluster acceleration, especially at our altitude. You’re buying a three-row, I’m going to call it kind of like that midsize SUV, Dad, where you’re going to be able to haul kids around everywhere. You’re not really looking for a really big race. You’re not really going to run off the line as fast as you possibly can. But as far as the other interior apportionments… Heat and ventilated seats. Like I said, really nice, soft, you know, touch material. An easy-to-use CarPlay Android Auto display to where you can actually plug your phone in if you want to use it that way. I think they’ve got wireless as well, which a lot of these cars do these days, too. Worked really well. Was really impressed with it. And, again, this car, Dad… They redesigned in 2024, and it’s one of our personal favorites. And you and I were talking about this earlier. We know folks that run their Mazdas for over 300,000 miles. And so this is definitely a vehicle, Dad, that you can get that can grow with you. And if you’ve got a family of… Three right now, but maybe you’re thinking about adding some. I would highly encourage you. This is a super, super competitive segment, but one, and in this vehicle, I would say one that I would rank really, really high.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, really quick. Mazda does a really great job of their apportionments for their price level and always have, and you get a lot of, let’s just say it this way, you get a lot of bang for the buck when it comes to Mazda.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, you do, and again, depending on how you want to set these cars up, right, they kind of do it based on trim level. That’s right. I’m looking at the window sticker right now. There’s not a whole lot of additions that you can put on these, but it makes it nice, right? You just kind of pick the trim level you want, which kind of comes with the stuff that you want on it, and they do a very nice job. Again, you get into this car, folks, and I’ll say this. It feels like a car that’s closer, about $10,000 more, right? Closer to $70,000 than it is $60,000. Just of how it feels, a lot of nice soft touch materials throughout. So I encourage folks, get out, test drive these, dad. Head to your local Mazda dealer. And when you do that, let them know that John and Richard Rush from Drive Radio and Rush to Reason sent you.
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SPEAKER 05 :
All right, we are back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Myself, Ken Rackley, Tune Tech. Also have Mark from Accountable with us as well, Mark Ernst. And I had several comments, by the way, text messages on my last little rant about government and… workers and pay scales and so on and no one by the way disagreeing with what i said in fact several of you have found yourself in the same situation of what i was just talking about a moment ago to where you have businesses or you work for someone and your biggest competition is the local government whatever and frankly folks i’m sorry to get political here for just a minute but that is not the way this is supposed to work It is not at all. And I think what happens in a lot of cases is, number one, government forgets it’s not their money. These cities, counties and so on, they forget it’s not their money. It’s our money. It’s the money that we’re providing them through our tax dollars, whether that be in property taxes, sales tax, income tax, whatever the case may be. And it’s not the proper role of government at all. In fact, I go down the list of things that. Cities and counties do that they shouldn’t do in the first place that I won’t use this time for on this program, but maybe I’ll do that during the week. But reality is when it comes to some of the things vehicle-related, I’m a big one on cities shouldn’t pick up trash. We had Paul call in earlier and talk about how the city of Denver is going to convert their trash trucks over to electric. They should own a trash truck, not the proper role of government. The city of Denver should not be in charge of their own trash disposal. Contract that out with somebody that you want to go do it or let let it be done on a one and one by one basis that, by the way, a lot of other cities do to where if you want to contract your waste disposal with one of 10 different companies. I mean, I guarantee you, Mark, you don’t use the same company that can you use or that I use. We all have different providers because we don’t have cities that provide our trash removal, nor should we.
SPEAKER 15 :
Competition sets a price.
SPEAKER 05 :
That makes more sense. I’ll pick on them for a moment. City of Thornton, they do their own trash removal. Why? They shouldn’t. Get out of that business. It’s not the proper role of government to do trash removal. And I can go down the list. Don’t even get me started because there’s so many of these areas that should be cut that they should not be involved in that would save all of us money on the other side tax-wise. They should not be doing those things. Those things should be contracted out, and especially trash removal. You should have free choice as a citizen to have your trash removed by anyone. We had a caller not long ago up in the Fort Collins area that because she handles her own trash some other way, she is getting penalized for opting out of their city trash removal. That is a load of BS. One hundred percent. Anytime you have government getting involved in those things, it is not their proper role and it screws things up and it shouldn’t be the way it is. And I could go down the list even when it comes to the car end of things and so on. Now, I did talk about this last week and I did a little more studying on this. And that was that there are individuals, and I still saw some of these pop up in social media because that’s the way the algorithm works. If you watch one of these videos, you’re going to get more of them that come into your feed. And that is some of these knuckleheads that are out there claiming that because of Doge and Trump and the relaxation of certain things, EPA in this case, that you’re going to be able to go out and delete your truck, take your DPF off, take your EGR off, reprogram it, so on and so forth, and you’re not going to have any issues. I’ll tell you right now, folks, from all the reading I did this week, even with everything that Doge is cutting, even the things that are coming down the pike in EPA, that is not one of them.
SPEAKER 08 :
No. No.
SPEAKER 05 :
It ain’t happening. And if you do that, you still run a risk of being penalized. In fact, there was a trucking company this past week, just this past week. This is with this current administration. Now, I get it. There’s some leftovers from the past administration. But there is a current trucking company, an operator of… that just he’s going to go to jail because he deleted and took off all the emissions devices on his big tractor trailers that was running his particular transportation company. And so if anybody out there thinks that you’re going to be immune from these things, don’t rely on these videos and these knuckleheads that are out there propagating these things because, frankly, I don’t know how they’re backing it up because it’s completely false. It’s not true.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, they don’t have to. They don’t have to back it up.
SPEAKER 05 :
Great point. Great point, Ken.
SPEAKER 08 :
They can just say what they want to say, and people believe it. That’s their deal.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and they are dead wrong. There’s nothing out there that says you can delete emissions devices, and I will tell you that in certain states, Colorado being one of those, There was an article out this past week talking about how our Air Care Colorado and what’s happening here in Colorado, they are going to look for those things. This is outside of what’s happening EPA-wise. They are going to start looking for those sorts of things and coming down on those particular even individuals. So if you’re out there and you’re one of the knuckleheads that – quote unquote, rolls coal, which I absolutely can’t stand. And yes, I’m a car enthusiast. You guys all know that. I’m a truck, car, performance, whatever enthusiast. I am that guy through and through. Am I a fan of rolling coal? No, because it gives us all a black eye. Just like you knuckleheads that run around with your Dodge mirrors out and your stupid wide tires that don’t look right. You guys are the same way. You’re giving us all a bad name and making the rest of us look stupid, and you’re the guys that are stupid, not us. So in this particular case, rolling coal is going to do nothing but get you in trouble, and if you get caught doing it and somebody records your license number or videos you or whatever, watch out. What I’m saying is driver beware, and I realize that a lot of those folks that do that are probably not listening to me, but those of you that know some of them, should probably put the word out that here in Colorado, whether you’re out of state, in state, whatever, they are going to be looking for those things. There’s already been some, how should I say this, advice to pedestrians, bicyclists, and so on, that if you’re caught having somebody roll coal on you, video that, send it in. And don’t be surprised if there’s not a hotline here in the near future that you can send that into. And if you’re one of those people doing that, you’re liable to be in trouble when it’s all said and done.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, and just from as much emission repairs and things like that that we do, they’re not getting lighter on this stuff.
SPEAKER 05 :
They’re not, Ken.
SPEAKER 08 :
You are correct. There’s too much money involved to be lighter. Correct. So they’re just getting stricter every year on gas, diesel, whatever. It’s not changing. I mean, it’s not getting lighter. It’s getting lighter. Getting more strict.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 08 :
So, yeah, we see that every year. Something January 1st is different.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, well, I talked about this last week. I did a little bit more studying on this. And one of the proposals for 2026, in fact, I think it’s already passed and you’re going to see them coming, you’re going to see self-serve emission kiosks for those of you driving regular gasoline engine vehicles. Huh. How they’re going to work exactly, I do not know. I didn’t get any details on. They’re not going to sniff your tailpipe, I can tell you that right now. Are you going to have to plug the machine into your OBD2 port and so on? Probably will. I don’t know exactly how that’s going to work, but they’re going to take select years of vehicles, probably that seven to eight year span that they have right now, and you’re going to have a self-serve kiosk to be able to go do your own emissions on. And here’s why. Because they realize there’s not that many violators in that spectrum, in that class of drivers, if you would. But what I just got done talking about, they know there is. So what they’re going to do or what they are now doing is they’re going to set it up to where you can go get your own emissions test through a kiosk so they can concentrate on the things I just talked about a moment ago. Those that are violating the Clean Air Act and so on, they’re going to spend their time going there while you go get your own e-tests.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, plus people are sitting two hours in line to get through and having issues there. And the initial contract says no more than 30 minutes, I think, wait time, stuff like that. So if they get the OBD tests out of the lanes and they just run the standard, you know, test on those, it’ll free up a lot of time.
SPEAKER 05 :
And folks, believe me when I say that, that’s what they’re going to do. And Ken’s exactly right. They are going to free things up. They’re going to free up resources is what they’re going to do. Because again, they’re looking at the data knowing, okay, wait a minute. We’ve got all these emissions test centers across the front range. We’ve got data on how many actually fail or pass tests, and if they fail even, what are they failing for? And by the way, if it’s just a gas cap failure, it’s pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, and they know that as well. So they’re looking at this overall saying, okay, wait a minute, we’ve got that, yet we’ve got gross polluters that are rolling coal, that are doing deletes, that are taking off emissions equipment and so on. We’d rather go there than worry about the guy with the bad gas cap.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right, exactly. Well, and so the gas cap would be tested in the lanes. On your OBD test, I don’t know if they run a gas cap test on an OBD.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don’t think they do.
SPEAKER 08 :
I don’t think they do either. But they are looking for every monitor completed and every monitor passed. If that check engine light’s on, it automatically fails. And they are so accurate with their OBD testing now that they are seeing, they’re able to detect system modifications, things like that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 08 :
So if there’s any software modifications, it’s not happening. And you will be flagged and stuff like that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Again. More strict. Yeah. My point with all of this is while it looks like it’s going to get easier with these kiosks, no. What that really means is they’re shifting resources. from one area of the program to another, and they’re going to not now worry about that person that maybe is what they consider to be a small or a very minor emitter when it’s all said and done, and they’re going to try to go after now those that they consider to be quote-unquote gross emitters, and that’s the direction that they’re going to head. Like it or not, this is what’s coming, and you might as well understand that. And those of you, frankly, by the way, that are now currently rolling coal, you’ve modified your truck to do so and so on, I would say, number one, stop. Number two, you should probably look highly at what do you do to put things back the way they were or at least detune it to where you don’t roll coal as much, even if you’re not going to put the DPF and those things back on. How are you going to get it to where it doesn’t roll coal like it, which, by the way, it’s overfueling when it does that.
SPEAKER 08 :
And diesel testing isn’t going to be – it’s still going to stay the same. They’re still going to be looking for the opacity coming out of it.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s right. And there’s been talks now where they want to run that statewide, not just here in the emissions area. So keep that in mind also. If that changes, that’s another big deal. All right, we’ll come back. We’ve got one more segment left. Myself, Mark, and Ken, this is Drive Radio KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 14 :
Hey, I’ve talked to you about this thing before. I picked up this 07 Mercedes E550. Okay. 4Matic. And what a car. I mean, 25 miles a gallon, 380 horse. Yeah. Runs on mid-grade, even though they want premium. 55,000 miles on it now. I put about 5,000, 6,000 on it. Nice. But it’s got an unusual tranny deal that, you know, I’ve been doing this stuff all my life, but this one I haven’t quite got figured out yet. I changed the transmission fluid, wasted my time draining the torque converter, got almost nothing out of that. Just the drain and fill. Those are low miles. Okay. And a few thousand miles later now, when I’m sitting at a stoplight, once it’s warmed up, I get a groaning running sound out of the transmission, kind of, and you can kind of feel it in the car. Click it into neutral, it goes away. And then later on, I can do that once or twice, and then it seems to stop. Now, I used the only readily available fluid that’s supposed to be rated for it is the Valvoline Max Life European formula.
SPEAKER 09 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 14 :
That’s what I used in it, and I’m pretty sure the level is right. That has a fill tube, but no factory dipstick. I bought a dipstick for it, and near as I can tell, down to about a half an ounce, I put in exactly what I got out of it. But could there be something different in the friction modifiers in that fluid causing that groan, or could it be something else? It shifts fine. Dollar shift’s fine. Operates fine. It’s just that groaning noise bothers me.
SPEAKER 05 :
I would think that you’re on the right track, that there’s something different about that fluid than what was. And I’m guessing it didn’t make this before or did it make that before?
SPEAKER 14 :
I didn’t notice it before. And I’m pretty attuned to every little squeak, rattle, noise, vibration, whatever else.
SPEAKER 05 :
And you used which fluid again?
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s a Valvoline Max Life that’s specced out for that transmission. And that transmission, I looked it up the other day. That thing was used in Jeeps, in Chryslers, in Dodges. It’s even in the McLaren supercar because it’s a super robust five-speed, take up to 720 horsepower. Okay. And the fluid, when it came out, was not that bad. I mean, it was 17 years old, but it wasn’t burned or nasty or anything. But I only changed half of it, and I only found one shop. in town that would attempt to flush tried to tell me they need a special tool, which is a pretty common special tool to refill it, but they wanted $600 to do it, so I just did my usual drain and fill. I do that about every $20,000, and that seems to keep them fresh. Okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
When I’m looking up, and I’d have to do a little more research to verify this, but this is showing that it needs a spec 236.14. Does that sound correct?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, that sounds about right. The 236, 229, all other Mercedes had was a 229 spec, but they were, well, same vintage.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I’m assuming that Max Life has that spec?
SPEAKER 14 :
It does, and it shows up even when I looked on the Ben’s website this morning before I called. It went down, okay, yeah, they always recommend the Mercedes fluid, and I don’t do this on Hondas and other stuff. I always use their fluid. Right. But the German’s hard to find. Transfer case also takes a Mercedes spec fluid with nothing else compatible. And I don’t think it’s in the T case because it’s sitting still at an idle.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I wouldn’t say it’s in the T case either. My guess is it’s something with the converter, which would mean then, you know, converter pump, which would, to your point, as far as the friction modifiers and that in it. Now, here’s a question for you that you might try, just for grins, to see if it does anything. Put the BG automatic transmission fluid in. You know, their conditioner is what they call it, their transmission conditioner. Put that in it and see if it changes anything. You’re not going to hurt anything by doing it. Okay, that’s worth a shot. It might overfill it a little bit. It’s a pint, so it’s not going to be enough to bother anything.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, but could it be a pump cavitation if it’s overfilled or underfilled?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, you’d usually see.
SPEAKER 05 :
I doubt it.
SPEAKER 08 :
I guess you can’t really see the fluid if it’s aerated or anything after you’ve been running it.
SPEAKER 05 :
But if you had aeration issues, you’re going to have shifting issues, going into gear issues, things like that, which you don’t have any of.
SPEAKER 09 :
Right.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, and I’ve had that issue with, you know, especially with the old 40 series, 43, 46 bags before. Right. Sensitive to fluid, hard to get an accurate reading. And you’d know right away if they were under or overfilled and hit the gas. Correct. Delay in a bag and that kind of business.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, I think you’re on the right track. And I guess the question would be, again, can you put the BG additive in it? If it changes anything, even if it doesn’t fix it, but it changes it, at least you know you’re on the right track.
SPEAKER 1 :
Right.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, then either I pay for a flush, which is hard to find any place except the dealer that’s got the right fluid and isn’t using a generic, or I just do a few drain and fills. Fortunately, it does have a pan drain, and it’s got a fill tube, so it’s not too difficult rather than pumping in from the bottom like an old outboard.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Is there any way to drain the converter also or no?
SPEAKER 14 :
Probably not on that. There is, but when I drain, I’ve got to pull a crossmember out and support the transmission to get at the converter drain, but I only got maybe a pint, pint and a half out of that. It’s a very small converter compared to an American car.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. And Josh from Legacy up in Boulder just said that if you overfill that transmission, it spits it out, so you’re not overfull.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay, now it hasn’t spit anything out. The thing’s remarkably tight for a 17-year-old car. Not even the silicone valve covers are leaking yet. Okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
I would run some BG in it, see if it changes anything at all. Paul, if it does, then I think you know you’re on the right track, and then I would be looking at other fluid types besides what you’ve used to determine what can we do to make this not do that, make that go away. It sounds like it’s basically, in my opinion, if this is the right track that we’re on, the fluid itself doesn’t have enough friction modifiers in it. In other words, it’s too sticky of a fluid.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, it could be, but primarily only when it warms up.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, but that’s normal because as the fluid warms up and gets thinner, that’s when that typically starts to occur, and that’s what you’re finding.
SPEAKER 08 :
Clutches get hotter.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s where I’m thinking it really is a friction. It’s a fluid issue. Let’s simplify it. It’s a fluid issue.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay, good. Well, that’s a relief. And I don’t want to, you know, if it’s truly binding, slipping, whatever, I don’t want to burn out that transmission.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, if anything, it’s not slipping enough. The converter’s not, in my opinion, the converter’s not slipping enough. The clutches in the converter are binding up because of the wrong fluid.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, and same deal there. I don’t want to go to replace one of those because I ignore this.
SPEAKER 05 :
Just turn the radio on. Agree.
SPEAKER 14 :
Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Agree.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, thank you much, gentlemen. You have a good weekend.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, really quick, too, before I let you go, just one last thought, because I was going to look at this, and I think I’ve got enough time. I’ve got a minute or so left here. Check also BG’s transmission fluid itself. Now, this is something you probably won’t find at the stores, and you may have to have a Napa store get with their rep and actually bring some in, but they actually have – transmission fluid that probably works for that vehicle, and it’s going to be different than the Valvoline. Because I’m looking at it right now, they have got about four different ATFs, actually five different ATF fluids you can buy.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that can even be an upgrade from the Mercedes and lower viscosity, keeping it cooler, but certainly working correctly.
SPEAKER 05 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 15 :
It’s good stuff.
SPEAKER 05 :
So I would look at that as well, Paul, while you’re at it.
SPEAKER 14 :
Do you think that’s a better fluid or more compatible?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, in your case, what you’re looking for is the right fluid that will allow the right slippage with, in this case, the converter. And that may not be the case without Valvoline, quote-unquote, universal oil. That could be.
SPEAKER 14 :
I usually avoid that in my customers’ cars, but friends’ cars. But I wonder if they, you know, I’m an AMSOIL dealer because there’s some places, like for my motorcycles and stuff, they’re not a place you can get certain things.
SPEAKER 05 :
They may have something as well. They might have a European transmission fluid that’s more of what you need as well. I didn’t look at AMSOIL’s site. I just went ahead and went to BG real quick.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah. Any tricks for trying to get more of it out of it without going through a flush? Can I start it and run it and then drain it again?
SPEAKER 05 :
No, because then you’re going to run it dry. No, that’s where the flush machines come in because it’s constantly flowing transmission fluid to it where you don’t run dry.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, makes sense. Even if I pull the pan to change the filter, I won’t get any more out of it that way. Right, exactly. But with the cost of a tranny, I can fill it, run it, take it for a drive, come back, suck it out.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. Way cheaper. Absolutely. Exactly.
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s only like a nine-quart capacity. It’s not as much as an engine oil holds that much. Yeah, I’d go for it. You know, I’ve thrown that curveball at you before. I’ve always wondered since I was a kid, why does transmission fluid expand so much when it’s hot? You only check it hot in most cases, but engine oil and power steering.
SPEAKER 10 :
Because of what we’re talking about. Yeah, exactly. Yep. Yep.
SPEAKER 05 :
Paul, I got to run. I appreciate you very much. We’re going to call it a day. Charlie, thanks for being our engineer. Larry Unger answering phones. Mark Guernsey from Accountable coming down and helping out. Ken Rackley from Toontech as well. All of you, by the way, it’s starting to snow a little heavier now, so stay safe out there on the roads. We’re not going to get a whole lot of snow, but be safe in the meantime. Again, Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 19 :
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.
