In this episode, we answer listener questions about selling modified cars and preparing vehicles for long-term storage. Get clear guidance on the consignment process and expert advice on maintaining vehicle components like fuel, batteries, and oil during extended periods of downtime. Plus, hear about the advantages of choosing transparent and client-oriented automotive service centers.
SPEAKER 17 :
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 of a mile, 13.40. 390 horsepower, 500 foot-pounds of torque. Whatever that is. Performance and image, that’s what it’s all about.
SPEAKER 04 :
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 07 :
And we’re back. It’s Josh from Legacy Automotive, and I’m here with Justin from Ridgeline Auto Brokers and Mark Guernsey from Accountable Automotive. And do you want to start on your favorite subject, Mark, of extended warranties?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, we did have some fun experiences with extended warranties this week. We almost need an extra phone line or two so we can call them and just leave them on speakerphone for half an hour to an hour in hopes that they’ll answer. And then try to go through the process of let them ask all the questions, give them all the details of the car, the warranty, the policy, what the mileage is, what’s changed. And they don’t tell you anything. They just collect information. And I feel like they’re looking for a technicality of how do we not pay this claim. And if they can find one, it’s so ridiculous. I’ve run across, for instance, a truck had a window switch that failed. And they’re like, well, we can’t find enough oil change receipts to verify that the oil has been changed every 5,000 miles for the last 30 years. So we’re going to deny the claim on the window switch. That’s totally not related. But it was a product of what they required to have their extended warranty. You paid? You still paid them $3,000, and you get nothing for it. There’s just a lot of shady companies out there. They’re totally unregulated, like car insurance is. So they can write their policies in their favor and find a way to get out of paying when you need money. work done. So most extended warranties, I just don’t recommend. You take that money, put it in a bank account, and you spend it the way you want to when you want to so that you don’t pay that money and not get return. Right, exactly. But they’re pretty frustrating sometimes.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, that’s a big profit house for dealerships, new and used. It is. A lot of times they’re making more money on jacking up your interest rate, selling you an extended warranty, selling you… Key protection, glass protection, paint protection, that is a bigger profit house than even selling the car itself. And, you know, 99% of the time I’m going to tell everyone to steer clear of those products. Right. There are some… what they call wrap warranties. You know, when you’re buying a new car that you can extend it from 60 to 100. But, you know, see if you like the car for the first 60 before you go spend three, four or $5,000 on a warranty and losing out on that money at the end of the day.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. I mean, it’s easier to spend that money because they roll it into the loan, so it’s just adding a little bit onto a payment, but you’re still paying that extra $2,000 to $4,000 or $5,000 for that warranty that may or may not help you, may or may not be needed. But the biggest thing is it’s not comparable to car insurance or something similar. They have to pay. They are held responsible if there’s a problem. Extended warranty is not so much.
SPEAKER 05 :
There’s a lot of fine print in there so that they can get out of them. And there are some out there that pay, but they do not make it easy. They make us jump through a lot of hoops. The way we talk about used car warranties at Ridgeline is… If you can put an extra $100 or $200 away a month, just make yourself a slush fund for repairs. That’s a better way of using that money than paying for a so-called insurance that a lot of times they’re going to work their way out of having to pay and having to fix your car.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. We see it too often. So because of that, we just don’t recommend them. If they’re not verifiable and useful. Yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
We can trust.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right? There’s a reason there’s such a long timeline when you’re in a dealership. There’s a reason that you have to spend so much time with the salesperson and then with the sales manager. And then we go to the old school hot box. And by the time you get there, you’re two, three, four hours into the process. They’ve worn you down so much that you end up saying yes to things that you don’t need.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, that’s true. I believe that’s part of the process.
SPEAKER 05 :
So there’s a game that’s played there. And, folks, if you ever have a question about any of those products or any of those coverages, please call us first, and we’ll steer you in the right direction. Maybe there’s a product that does make sense, but for the most part they don’t.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
Cool.
SPEAKER 07 :
And we do have, you know, our own extended warranties.
SPEAKER 05 :
We do. So all of our cars come with a pretty extensive free warranty. We feel like we do a good job. And if something’s going to come up, it’s going to happen within that first three months or 3,000 miles. And we’re going to take care of it for our customers. We do offer a one-year, two-year, three-year warranty. But we are partnered with the warranty company. We’ve written the warranty. And the car always comes back to us, and we do whatever we need to to get the claim filed.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. Now, that’s a whole different game there.
SPEAKER 05 :
And a whole different price range, too. You buy a one, two, three-year warranty from us, which is mostly a powertrain warranty. I mean, it does cover some power windows, power door locks, little things like that. But our price range on that stuff ranges from $800 to $1,500. So for younger folks, maybe people just getting out of college, getting into their careers, don’t have a large savings account, again, we say you can do one or the other. We can build this warranty into your payment for $1,200. If you have a problem, call me. We’ll come pick up the car. We’ll even tow it back. or put that money into a savings account, and hopefully you don’t need it, and then you can use it for something else because the car ended up being reliable.
SPEAKER 08 :
Nice, nice. But, yeah, no matter what your car is, it’s going to need more than just gas and oil changes, and it gets expensive.
SPEAKER 05 :
A lot of people don’t look at that when they’re buying the car and they’re looking at their payment. You’re looking at a $300 payment or a $400 payment or a $500 payment.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s not your total expense.
SPEAKER 05 :
Especially with our customers. A lot of our customers are in there. you know, 20s, 30s, you know, they’re not thinking about what’s full coverage insurance going to be on this thing. What maintenance is it going to be? We try to be transparent about things that we think may be coming up per that make or model. We’ve got enough experience with, you know, every single car brand that we can say, hey, look, you’re buying an 80,000-mile vehicle with a CVT. It’s going to go out. We don’t know when, but it’s going to go out. So, yes, you can buy those vehicles cheaper, but there’s a reason why. It’s good to know what you’re getting into. It’s good to work with places that will be transparent with you, too, about what you’re buying and what’s going to be coming up on that car maintenance-wise.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. Yeah. It’s good to know all that information so that you make the right choice. But yeah, if you live in paycheck to paycheck, then maybe that is the right thing to do.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, you spread that over time, you’re probably 20 bucks a month, 25 bucks a month. Um, And if you don’t need it, unfortunately, you lost some money. But if you do need it, you may have just bought yourself an engine or transmission for $1,200 or $1,300 from us. That used is going to be $5,000, $6,000, $7,000, $8,000, $8,000. Right. And we do sell higher mileage vehicles, so we know there’s a little bit more risk there. But we take on that risk with our customers if something happens.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s the way to do it.
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SPEAKER 07 :
And we’re back. We’ve got Ray in Littleton with a question about consignment. Morning, Ray.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s a great show, man. You guys are doing a good job today. Thanks, Ray.
SPEAKER 07 :
Thanks, Ray.
SPEAKER 03 :
You really are. You’re answering a lot of great technical questions that I’m marveled at sometimes. Hey, so I have a 2014 Ford Focus ST. And it has about not quite 64,000 miles on it. And I’m looking to sell it, and I don’t want to go through the brain damage of dealing with people, I guess is the best way to say it. Facebook or Craigslist. Yeah. No, thank you. Anyway, so here’s the situation. Car runs great. I’ve kept up on all the maintenance, but I’ve also modified the car. So it has a bigger turbo, and it has a limited slip, a Quaife limited slip differential. So I’ve dumped, obviously, a ton of money into it. And I know I’m not going to really get that back. My question is, well, I guess, number one, do you do consignments?
SPEAKER 05 :
So we do. I’ve got a couple different options for you. And, Ray, this is kind of how I’d like you to go about it. I’d like you to go to the Ford dealer first. I’d like you to get a number from them. And then I’d like to give you just a number that I would buy it for. And you’d be surprised how much higher I’m going to be on that number. Is the vehicle emissions compliant?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, it is.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, cool. As long as it passes emissions, I’d be interested in either purchasing the vehicle outright from you, which I’m going to give you fair money for, or the other option is we’re fair about consignment fees. We charge a $2,000 fee to consign a vehicle. We can list it at what number we think. We can list it at what number you think we could get out of it. If you think we can get some of that extra aftermarket stuff out of it, I’d be happy to try, and if it doesn’t work, we can talk about lowering the price down the road. The only thing that we require is we’re going to do an oil change on the vehicle, make sure there’s no safety concerns, which we charge you $100 for. And then we would like the vehicle professionally detailed inside, outside, and the engine bay. You could either pay someone to do that, or we will do it for $250. But, yeah, I’d love to get more information from you. Justin at RidgelineAutoBrokers.com. If you want to send anything over there, I’d be happy to help.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, would this be, if we did work something out, would this be at the Boulder location?
SPEAKER 05 :
It would be at the Boulder location. I do the majority of the buying, and most of the time I am in Boulder.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. Now, I’m down near Chatfield Reservoir, so I’m a little bit of a drive away from you. Not too bad, I imagine. You know, I don’t think this car’s ever been in Boulder. Okay. I don’t know if it’ll show there.
SPEAKER 05 :
There’s a lot of people that don’t like to come to Boulder, and we understand. It’s a little different.
SPEAKER 07 :
Just like today, it’s the first time for us hosting, so there’s a first time for everything.
SPEAKER 05 :
If you do come see us, for me to work up those numbers for you, I’m not going to waste your time. It’s going to take 10, 15 minutes max. Bring a copy of your title with you just so that I can see how it’s titled, and we’ll make it easy. If I’m ever down in the Littleton area… I’d be happy to just stop by your house, and we could look at it there, too, to save you the trip. But you should come say hi to us. We’d love to chit-chat with you if you can make your way to Boulder.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. And one of my questions I did have, you know, when you mentioned have it professionally detailed. So we’ve got a 10-year-old car or 11-year-old car, and it’s clean. It’s never been in an accident. But it does have, what do you call, 15, 20 little – Little rock chips on the front.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, not so much worried about that. More worried about the vehicle photoing well. We want it to appear well in our ads. We have a very large advertising budget with Cars.com and CarGurus and Carfax. We just want the vehicle to be presentable. We understand per the age there’s going to be a little bit of wear maybe on the outer edge of the driver’s seat or rock chips. So, no, I don’t need you to handle that kind of stuff. And if I see anything on there that I think is going to make it so that the car doesn’t sell fast enough, We can get a lot of those little scratches and rock chips and stuff like that touched up for $100, $200 if I feel that’s necessary. But, yeah, don’t worry about doing that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, there’s nothing major on it like that, no. All right, so, I mean, really the only thing I’d have to do then is get it detailed because I looked the car over and the back seats are clean because I don’t have any kids. All right, but the front seats, yeah, they show some wear and they’re a little dirty. So… take care of that and then basically, uh, I guess set up an appointment to bring the car to you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, bring it down with us. Understand the vehicle will need to stay with us because if someone just shows up randomly and the car’s not there for me to show, they’re going to be upset. So if we come up with something, we’ll have to figure out with you leaving it. And we’ve got plenty of insurance, so we’ll cover your vehicle. And consignment vehicles like yours, especially race cars like that, that vehicle will come in every night too. So we’ll protect your money as well.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, now would you prefer if I just go ahead and get it e-tested and bring an e-test with me?
SPEAKER 05 :
I would love that if you can. Otherwise, we’ll do it, and I’ll just charge you the e-test fee, which is the $25. And again, you don’t need to do the detailing of it either unless you think you can get it done for less than $250. I will literally handle all of that and make it the easiest experience you’ve ever had.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. All right. All right, now I understand. So you’re willing to go ahead and detail the car?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, we will take care of all of that. You just need to bring me the car.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. Well, it’s due for an oil change, so I’ve got to do an EPR on it and change the oil.
SPEAKER 05 :
Perfect.
SPEAKER 03 :
Because it’s about reaching the 4,000 mile mark. And then I’ll get all that taken care of and then just bring the car to you and you’ll take care of the detail part of it.
SPEAKER 05 :
We’ll take care of that. Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I’ll tell you what, that’s something to chew on. I like, you know, I hear nothing but great things about other customers who have worked with you and Trust me, in the car world, I don’t trust anybody, but I feel pretty comfortable from what I’ve heard about you guys. All I want is a smooth transaction. I’ll make it plenty smooth for you. I’ve had no problems with it, and I’ve kept up with all the maintenance. My daughter, she’s been working on the car. She just moved up to South Dakota. So now I’m kind of like, okay, what do I do? But I will – your name is Josh?
SPEAKER 05 :
So Josh is next to me. I’m Justin. Either one of us can help you out when you come down with it. Yeah, just spend 10, 15 minutes with me, and we’ll get it advertised.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, I’ll tell you what. I’ll go ahead and proceed and get it e-tested and everything and passed, and then I’ll call you and make an appointment.
SPEAKER 05 :
Sounds good, Ray. Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, thank you so much, guys. Thank you.
SPEAKER 07 :
And we also have a phone call from Jim. Can you hear us?
SPEAKER 14 :
Hello?
SPEAKER 07 :
Hi.
SPEAKER 14 :
Hello? Hi. I got an unusual question, I guess. I got a young friend and he’s thinking about going into service. And he has a 2003 Chevy Suburban, about 40,000 miles on it. And he’s thinking about storing that in his grandparents’ garage. And he had some questions about, you know, the consumables and such, like gas, how long can have gas stay in the car. He needed to put in additives, oil, radiator, battery, put a maintainer on it. But another one just came up when I was listening to your show is what we smoke is about emissions.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. As for storing the car, I would remove the battery from the car and put it on a maintainer on that side. Okay. I would do a fresh oil change on it just to get whatever’s in that oil out of it. And then as for the fuel tank, I would either put the BG product in it or Stavill in there, which will stabilize that gas. But I would try and run that thing almost out of gas before you store it.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay. I thought if you put gas in it, you have to have a full tank, but don’t store it with gas.
SPEAKER 07 :
I would try not to store it with gas because it’s still going to go bad. Any oxygen getting in there, especially with our E10 gas that we have, it’s going to pick up water pretty much no matter what. So I would try and store it pretty much empty, but with a fuel stabilizer in there too.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay. And I guess he doesn’t know what kind of furlough he’d get and such as could come back, but he’s going to also have to worry about the emissions. I’m not sure how it would work.
SPEAKER 07 :
handle that that part i don’t know but i know the state has a you know special exemptions for people serving in the military so that he may not have to plate it for that time or he may get the fee waived for not you know having his license plates up to date you know when he’s back and driving it he’ll have to have them up to date but sometimes when you’re stationed other places in here they have exemptions for that so okay well thanks very much i appreciate the information well thank you
SPEAKER 14 :
You guys are doing a good job.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, thank you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thanks, Jim.
SPEAKER 07 :
And looks like we have Wally.
SPEAKER 12 :
How are you?
SPEAKER 07 :
Good. How are you doing today?
SPEAKER 12 :
Good. I’ve got a question. I’m looking at buying an older Ford pickup truck, F-250, in the 92 to 97 model year. Motors that were available in those were a 5.8 liter or a 7.5 liter. Any opinions which… on which you don’t find too many of the five eights but are you towing with it are you going to tow with it or just no not anything significant so
SPEAKER 07 :
I still like the bigger motor because there’s always that day you’re going to tow with it, and it’s a bigger truck, so it helps move that truck along a little bit better. The 5.8 is a good motor. It’s just a lot of truck for that motor. That motor is going to work a lot harder in that truck.
SPEAKER 12 :
The opinions on the threads that I had read was you’re going to get about the same gas mileage because the 5.8 is working harder to do the same amount of work.
SPEAKER 07 :
It is, and a lot of guys who do tow, they want the bigger motor because you actually get better gas mileage towing because it’s not working all the time. So that’s where I would go. If you can get the bigger motor, then that’s the way I would go in that truck, being an F-250. If it was like an F-150, the 5.8 was perfect in that truck. But in that truck, in the F-250s or the 350s, the 5.8 is just going to work all the time in that truck, no matter what.
SPEAKER 12 :
And then any— Any opinion of five-speed versus automatic?
SPEAKER 07 :
Depends on your driving style. I mean, if you’re going to work the truck, I would go with a five-speed because a clutch is easier than a transmission. But, you know, do you like to shift that much? And, you know, that’s kind of a personal opinion on that one.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay. Okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
But maintenance-wise, it’s a lot less expensive components and a lot less maintenance to have a manual transmission than an automatic, especially in those older trucks like that.
SPEAKER 12 :
That’s for sure. If you know how to drive a clutch, they will last for a very, very long time.
SPEAKER 07 :
They will. And, you know, downshift and stuff like that, those older transmissions didn’t really understand downshift. And even when you told them to, you know, with a manual transmission, you know, you can, I don’t know. I like to work with a manual transmission a lot more than an automatic, especially an older truck.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay. Okay. Well, thank you very much, sir.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, thank you. And we’re going to go on break. Have a great weekend. You too. Thank you.
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SPEAKER 07 :
And we’re back. I’m here with Mark Guernsey from Accountable Automotive and Justin from Ridgeline Auto Brokers. And we’re going to go right to the phones with Bill from Centennial. Good morning, Bill.
SPEAKER 16 :
Hey, good show, guys. I want to comment on the last guy I think you called about. He’s got, I don’t know, a son or somebody going into service and wants to store the car.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 16 :
Is that correct?
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s correct.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, and he was wondering about emissions. Well, I ran into that situation a little bit with my son’s car. My son’s car is out in California. He’s a student out there. Well, it needs an emissions. Well, I’m not driving my car all the way from California back here for an emissions for $25. So he can go and… If you’re in the military, there’s a form. I don’t know what the form number is. You can go on the Colorado Motor Vehicle website and get this form. And it gives you an exemption on getting your car emission controlled every two years. And one of the requirements that the car is disabled… Or if you’re in the military or if you’re a student out of state and it’s physically not possible to get the car emissioned, there’s this waiver you fill out and you send it in to the state. And when you renew your license so you don’t get penalized.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, thank you. Yeah, I hope he’s listening because that’s very helpful, especially.
SPEAKER 16 :
I told that to John a couple months ago on that. How do you handle a car out of state or incompatible or in the military that’s not going to get the emissions? Because normally they want to sock you a fee or go in that way.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, they always want to do that.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah. Unfortunately, I don’t know what the form number is, but he can go on, just fill in the information and send it in, and that will give him a waiver until he gets out of the service or until he gets the car ready to bring it, get it on the road again. Nice.
SPEAKER 07 :
And it says that it works for full-time students and people.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, yeah, because like I said, my kids, I’m Californian. I’m not driving a car all the way back here. No way.
SPEAKER 07 :
No. Just for an emissions test. $25 emission.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, $1,000 in gas and $25 emission.
SPEAKER 07 :
So basically what the deal is,
SPEAKER 16 :
It was last May. They said, get an emissions out in California because they have an emissions. He got emissions there. And then when he sent that emissions in and I sent it in with the form, it counted like a Colorado emissions.
SPEAKER 08 :
They did the same thing for my daughter in Louisiana just as a full-time student. But because the area she lived in also requires emissions tests, they just had her get an emissions test out there, send it in, no special forms. Mm-hmm. Now, they also have a car, what do you call this thing, a safety inspection out there. Right. But it doesn’t apply to her because she’s a Colorado resident. So she only had to do the emissions test. And she did get the inspection last time for safety inspection. And they’re like, why did you do this? Well, because they told me I had to. But you don’t. You only have to apply to the rules of where you live. your permanent residence.
SPEAKER 16 :
And also in California, you know, we have certain places to get the air inspected. You have to go there.
SPEAKER 21 :
Right.
SPEAKER 16 :
Out there in California, any mechanic can do it. And so you don’t have to go to certain air emission stations. And if a mechanic doesn’t, they have the equipment to do it. And it’s $40. You can send it in and it works.
SPEAKER 08 :
Nice. No, that makes sense.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah. So anyway, that’s just a follow-up. But you guys are doing a good show.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, thank you. Great, thank you. And thanks for the information. It’s very helpful. And then we’ll go to John. You have a question about your engine swap?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. I was wondering, number one, if you’re familiar with Subarus, have you ever done that swap before?
SPEAKER 07 :
I’ve not done. You had a 2.4 and you went to a 2.0 liter. I’ve only done. It’s a 2.5, yeah. The 2.5, yeah. I’ve only just put the 2.0 liter in the cars that originally had the 2.0 liter and the 2.5 in the cars that originally had the 2.5 in it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. Well, here’s another thing that I saw on YouTube. They were saying, I’m not sure what, well, I noticed this engine’s not as powerful as the other one, number one. And number two, they said on there about changing the timing on the exhaust cams by one notch, and it would give it more torque. Have you ever tried that or heard of that before?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, it could affect emissions because it changes the way the engine’s operating. Yeah. It could change those levels, so we’d have to test that.
SPEAKER 15 :
I see. Yeah, they didn’t say anything about emissions on there at all.
SPEAKER 08 :
I mean, when an engine’s performing at its top possible peak, it’s not going to pass emissions, and they have to be tuned down a little bit to control those emissions. So it may be a factor, may not.
SPEAKER 07 :
And the issue I’ve had when I’ve done it with other cars, they were more hot rods or race cars, so they weren’t. emissions compliant to begin with. So they ended up usually having a check engine light on it, and we either tuned it out or, you know, they just dealt with the check engine light being on.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, okay. Yeah, I’ve never heard anything like that before, and I would think if you don’t lighten the timing marks up, it’s not even going to start, not even going to run. But what’s the principle behind that, getting more torque by it?
SPEAKER 07 :
retarding the timing a little on the exhaust valves well because you’re you’re able to get let’s see how’s the easiest his performance versus economy right exactly and so it is a variable it is adjustable and also you’re probably going to lose idle quality too when you do that usually get a little bit of a rougher idle so that’s why you know the manufacturers people want a smooth idling car but for performance you’ll put up with a car that doesn’t idle so well absolutely it’s certainly a compromise no matter what
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. All right. Another thing this engine has is it has an AVCS, an active valve control system on the engine, but my wiring harness that I had to swap over did not have plugs for that. How awesome. Well, I went through and found a guy that had a wiring harness that does have those plugs in. Of course, it’s a huge job to put it on there. Right. But I’m thinking I will do it. They’re all saying that you don’t get the power out of it if you don’t have that hooked up.
SPEAKER 08 :
And sometimes you’ve got to swap the computer with it that’s designed to run that particular size of engine. So it can become a huge job.
SPEAKER 07 :
And are you still running the 2.5 computer with it, or did you put a 2-liter computer in it?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, the same old computer I had is in there for the 2.5, and it started and ran. Right. And ran okay until the… Until the cattle converter thing. Yeah, I bought another wiring.
SPEAKER 07 :
Go ahead. Yeah, the 2.5 computer might not even have that function in the computer.
SPEAKER 06 :
Ah.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, we used to, you know, back in the day when, you know, VTEC, Honda VTEC, which is basically the same thing. You’re changing cam lobes on it. When that came out, you know, the guys would always want a VTEC motor. Well, then you had to have a computer that could actually drive the whole VTEC side on it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Would that be something I could just buy another computer and plug it in there?
SPEAKER 07 :
You can probably go to eBay and find one for that motor. You’re going to need the same year, the same specs, like if it was an automatic versus a manual car, things of that nature. And you can try and plug and play. The problem is that… usually with Subarus, you have to relearn the key. So you’re going to have to have somebody with, you know, a factory scan tool or the ability to relearn the key into that system on it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right. Yeah. Well, yeah, I got this wiring hours. I don’t necessarily have to put it in there, but, uh, well, that’s good to know. Yeah. Like had another question. No, no, I can’t remember what it is, but, uh, anyway, uh, So, you know, they said you’re not really taking advantage of the AVCS system.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right, and that will, you know, give you usually a little more torque or a little more horsepower because you probably just run on the torque cam right now because that’s usually the one that we idle with, I think, on that one.
SPEAKER 08 :
And it will probably help manage the emissions coming out of it.
SPEAKER 07 :
It will.
SPEAKER 08 :
So if you’re having that engine in there, it would be ideal to have that computer with it.
SPEAKER 15 :
I see.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. Okay, thanks a lot, guys. Well, thank you, guys. You’re welcome. And we’re going to go, it looks like, Mikey, you’re next. Mickey.
SPEAKER 09 :
Hello. Hi. Hi. Yeah, I got a 2007 Honda Odyssey. And I was just trying to get the longevity out of it. But one thing that I have a concern of is the transmission issue.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 09 :
And just wondering what your take on the transmission. I’ve changed the fluid probably three times now. Okay. But I cannot find how you change a filter on the transmission.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because the filter’s built into the transmission on that.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it’s more of a screen and not necessarily replaceable or recommended to be replaced.
SPEAKER 07 :
And then some of them, what you can do is you can get an inline filter that comes out and goes over to the radiator. But usually that’s an aftermarket thing. And you can put that in if you want to on it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, is it okay just the way it is with the screen? It’s just that I’m from the old school of changing filters and…
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. And that’s always, yeah, what throws everybody off on the Honda since there’s not really a way to change a filter out like on other automatics. What I recommend on Hondas, and I’ve been working on Hondas for, well, way too long now, we won’t say. But I always recommend a transmission service every 30,000 miles on it. And the ones I’ve done that from day one on, they’re still on the road, the majority of them. So that’s because it’s only a drain and fill on that. I don’t really recommend flushing the Hondas. I don’t like to on it. I have seen some issues when you flush them. So I just drain and fill them every 30 and they usually just keep going.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay. Well, I mean, that’s good to know. I was just, I’ve seen they, I guess the Oh five or something before they changed to this transmission had a, had a paper filter and it just deteriorated. And, That was my concern. But if it’s a screen, then I’m good.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yep. And the other thing, the one before that, they had some issues with the second gear bearing not being lubricated, so they went a lot quicker too. You’ll notice when you get one of those, you’ll pop the hood and you’ll look at the fill plug, and there’s actually a hose going into the fill plug to lubricate that bearing, and that was a TSB that they did on all those to fix that issue. Oh.
SPEAKER 09 :
I’m glad I don’t have that one. Yeah. Okay. Well, yeah, I’ve just been… draining and filling it myself. And so I guess I’ll just continue to do that and see how long she lasts.
SPEAKER 07 :
Exactly. That’s what I’ve seen to be the best way to maintain those Honda transmissions.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, it gives me a peace of mind now. So thank you very much.
SPEAKER 07 :
Thank you. And we’re going to go to break right now.
SPEAKER 25 :
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SPEAKER 07 :
And we’re back with Drive Radio on KLZ 560. We’re going to go right to the phones with Kevin and Fountain. Hello, Kevin.
SPEAKER 10 :
Hi, how are you guys doing today?
SPEAKER 07 :
Good.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right, I got you on my headset thing here. Can you hear me okay?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, we can hear you.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, all right. I called last week and talked to John about a used car I was looking at, and he gave me the advice of running away from it, which I did. And I ended up with a 2012 Tahoe. And I want to go to a local shop here in the Springs and get the transmission flushed.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 10 :
What are your thoughts about the flushing of the transmissions?
SPEAKER 07 :
I’m all for it on anything but Hondas. That’s what we were just discussing during the break, especially that Tahoe.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I got you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because you’re going to get all the fluid out of it, even the fluid in the torque converter. And I would go to one that does the BG service because there’s a quick clean that we put in first, which kind of breaks up all the varnishing, all the things in there. Then we start the flushing process and flush all the transmission fluid out of it. And then we put an ATC like a conditioner in at the end of it so that, you know, you have the best of all worlds on that one.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. Do you have any recommendations for a shop in the Springs?
SPEAKER 07 :
Unfortunately, I don’t know anybody down there right now. But you can call around. Actually, you can go to BG’s page. Yeah, BG’s website. Their website. And they’ll have their shops that are doing that. So that’s where I would start.
SPEAKER 08 :
BJ also has a low viscosity full synthetic fluid that’s better than most, and keeping the transmission cooler decides how long it lasts.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s it, yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
And if you can get that fluid, that’s your best option.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, heat kills automatic transmissions. Nice.
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, yeah, yeah. On this Tahoe, on the information center, I was flipping through that yesterday, and transmission oil temperature came up. And at a drive just in the Tahoe itself at 70 mile an hour, it was like 132 degrees. which I thought was a little on the cool side, but… Yeah, that’s not hot. No. I’ll definitely… And that’s where you want it.
SPEAKER 07 :
I’ll take that. Yeah, the cooler. And it does, you know, most of them have a thermostat in the transmission fluid itself so that when it gets hot, it’ll open up and actually go through the transmission coolers. But they also want to get the transmission up to temp quick and then keep it there all day. So, yeah, that sounds like a good run in transmission at that temperature.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think transmission fluid starts to burn at 220, 230.
SPEAKER 07 :
It does. I don’t like them, you know, once they get about 175, 180, you know, you’re starting to get it warm. Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I wouldn’t be afraid to do an EPR oil change on that. And go ahead and test that coolant, too. Make sure that coolant’s not getting acidic. Get a fresh start on that coolant, too. Some of those fluids could save you.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right. I want to do that with the cooling system. Generally, when I buy something used, I go through the cooling system. I flush it as best I can. I put a thermostat, heater hoses, and upper and lower radiator hose. That’s great. You’re doing it right.
SPEAKER 07 :
And how many miles are on this top?
SPEAKER 10 :
It just hit 128. Okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
Do you know if the transfer case and the diffs have been done, too, on it?
SPEAKER 10 :
No idea. Okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
I would just have that shop look into it. Now, since it’s new to you, it might be a good time to go through all the fluids and just get them all ready to go.
SPEAKER 08 :
A lot of shops have access to Carfax as well, and they can see a lot of services to see if they’ve been done or not. But if it doesn’t show, if there’s not records, then you definitely want to get that changed out to start over. But a lot of records can be found and save you some time and money.
SPEAKER 10 :
I did not know Carfax did that. That’s a good, useful tip there.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep, and most shops have access to the maintenance side of Carfax and can do that search for you.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right, and one more question and I’ll let you go. With the flushing of the transmission, how does that affect the filter system? and anything that has accumulated sludge or metal particles in the bottom of the pan.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, that won’t get that out. The filter is still the same filter. But, you know, we’re hoping if you, I mean, have you looked at the transmission fluid on it? That one’s probably new enough that it doesn’t have a dipstick on it. Oh, it has a dipstick, yeah. And how does the transmission fluid look?
SPEAKER 10 :
It looks red. It does not smell burnt. It’s not exactly clean, but it’s not exactly dirty. Right about in the middle.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s a perfect car for a flush. If it looks like it’s burnt and dark as can be, then I would also recommend doing a filter at that time because it could have made so much clutch discs and other materials that that filter is starting to plug up. The best service is to do them both. Right, to do them both. At least once in a while. But if that fluid still looks good, I think a flush is just where you need to go with that one.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right. That sounds like a plan. All right. Well, thank you, guys.
SPEAKER 07 :
Thanks for calling in, Kevin. Have a good weekend. And we’ll go to JR.
SPEAKER 11 :
Hello. Hi. Hi. I’m back again. I have a 2016 Odyssey. It has about 91,000 miles on it. So 100,000 miles, I understand I should get that water pump done and the timing belt and all that? The timing belt, yeah. What do you use on that? What type of parts on that? What brand?
SPEAKER 07 :
I use Denso is usually who I use. So that was usually the original manufacturer on those parts.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay. How about the spark plugs and that?
SPEAKER 07 :
On that one, I think they’re NGK were the original manufacturer of those spark plugs.
SPEAKER 11 :
NGK? Yep. Okay, so… So that’s a timing belt kit you’d be putting on, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, the timing belt. You always want to replace the water pump, the timing belt, and all the pulleys. And it also has a hydraulic tensioner.
SPEAKER 08 :
Is that an async kit?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, the async kit works great on Hondas as well. Yeah, because that’s usually who originally made those things on those.
SPEAKER 11 :
So what other recommendation on the engine at $100,000?
SPEAKER 07 :
I would listen to it and see if it needs a valve adjust. Usually it’s about 130 when they need a valve adjust on it because the Hondas still have mechanical valves. They don’t have hydraulic valves like most everybody else does. Usually if you hear noise, you hear a little valve tick, that would be the best time to do a valve adjust because you’re already removing the front of the motor to do the timing belt. You’re already pulling the coil packs and all that to do the spark plugs. So you’re almost there to where you pull the valve covers off and just do a valve adjust.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, because you mentioned that you’ve done Hondas a long time now.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay. Well, I’ll look you guys up when I get $100,000.
SPEAKER 07 :
Bring it on down. We can take care of it.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay. Thanks a lot, then.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, thank you. Have a good weekend.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, it looks like we’re at the end today, so thank you guys for coming in. Thank you, Mark.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, thank you. Good time here today.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Ready to enjoy the afternoon and the nice weather.
SPEAKER 07 :
Get out in the sun.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s nice to have some sunshine. Yeah, it is.
SPEAKER 07 :
It’s kind of been a cloudy, windy week this week.
SPEAKER 05 :
And John will be back next week? He’ll be back next week. Got a show next week? Yeah. All right.
SPEAKER 07 :
We’ll see what he brings back from the auction.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. Thanks, Justin.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, of course. Coming down. Love coming down.
SPEAKER 07 :
And I think that’s it. All right. It’s been KLZ 560. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Have a good day. Have a good weekend.
SPEAKER 04 :
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.
