What are all the symptoms of a bad (car) differential?
I re post this only because in my quest to get an accurate diagnosis of a problem with my car, even the "expert mechanics" are reluctant to call it without taking my entire car apart and charging me thousands of dollars with the possibility of still, no answers. I am not surprised really with all the buzz's, roars, whirs and grinding sounds that are the symptoms of dozens of bearings, joints, tires and gears and it seems the more sophisticated cars get with computers that Control things and flash idiot symbols to tell you it is cold outside, they still can't tell you why your "ultimate driving machine" sounds like it has a kawasaki in the trunk. I am purposely not going to describe the noise in my car and when it happens, rather ask that someone offer the specific characteristics of a rear end problem in a high end sedan made in the last ten years. I will offer that the car has very low miles for it's years and is, otherwise cosmetically in beautiful condition. It also runs great - except for one irritating annoyance. Is it a rear...a gear....a bearing...a joint? I'd love to know before something happens that can be avoided.
How to deal with the possibility of cancer?
Hello, I'm 17 years old and up until recently, I thought I was healthy. A couple of days ago I went to get my annual physical/check up. During the checkup, my doctor asked me about any irregularities about my health and I told her about my irregular menstrual cycle and extreme fatigue and weakness. Before the checkup, I assumed the fatigue and etc were normal and nothing to worry about because I figured it was due to stress. My doctor thought differently and suggested that I get some blood tests, but she didn't really explain to me what the tests were for. So I googled it and all the tests she wanted run involved leukemia, blood clots, and some types of cancer. I know that its not definite that I have cancer, but I'm scared to see my results. How do I deal with the fact that I might have cancer? I know its just a possibility, but the thought of it scares me. Thanks for you help.
What are the symptoms of a bad PCM?
You need to diagnose your problem by checking all possibilities first, than if it points to the PCM you can swap it with a junk yard PCM and if the problem goes away than you can use that one or get a new one. It is not very often that the PCM is bad. Depending on what the problem is you can use jumper to simulate the pcm and if the problem doesn't go away than it is the end unit or wiring and not the PCM. Good luck.
What are common symptoms if your car has a cracked or blown head gasket?
Leaking head gaskets can allow coolant to slowly leak out onto the ground or into the combustion cycle and go out with the exhaust. Exhaust typically smells funny like burned sugar and would be very steamy even in summer months. Heads warp from excessive heat and over-heating issues where the pressures get really bad when the water boils inside the heads or block. You can try the Cadillac additive that looks like brown "horse pills". I have an '88 that has an aluminum block and cast iron heads and many folks fail to read the warning label on the car under the hood next to the radiator that tells them to add "GM part # xyz" and they let some self- proclaimed mechanic work on a hose or pump or radiator and they just fill it back up with coolant and water and no GM part #xyz and coolant starts coming out of the tailpipe a few weeks later. I've seen idiots who were in the business for 20 years or more who didn't know this and probably ruined millions of dollars worth of engines over the years. Anyway, if it's safe and good for Cadillac then it will work for you. The additive is sold under the brand name BarsLeaks and you don't necessarily need the horse pills, you can use the liquid formula. It is specifically designed to eliminate the possibility of coolant entering the combustion chamber while warming up as the two metals expand differently. It DOES make the coolant brown so you know it's in there. Some dummies see that as a sign of neglected service but they don't know any better. Good Luck!
Reason for car AC compressor failure?
A/C compressors go bad with age and serpentine belt stresses from incorrect tensioning. Many go bad from a POOR design. Put your mind at ease, they did NOT sabotage your compressor. It depends upon the TYPE of car you have, and WHO made it as to how long your compressor can last. By RIGHTS< the A/c refrigerant should be cleaned and flushed and changed with fresh compressor oil every 4-5 years to PREVENT some kiinds of degradation.I am SURE your compressor went out by coinincidence, as it is NOT the habit of most places to sabotage youe system to make money. Most of them would not know HOW to sabotage your A/C system, even if they wanted to!!! THe serpentine belt DRIVES the A/C compressor, and if yours BROKE, it might be because your A/C compressor bearings were starting to get frozen up and resisting turning. It happens to 35% or so of cars. NOT MECHANICS FAULT!!! The breaking bearings will CAUSE the belt to wear faster.
Bad wheel-bearing symptoms?
Let me give you most possibilities, (1) unbalanced tire, easy, alignment can fix it (2) wheel bearing loosing, Dillion has taught you how to check it (3) loosing tie-rod end, sorry, if lucky, just tighten it; but most likely, you need to replace it 90% vibration are from above 3 causes, Dillion provides 2, I add one more.
What are the most common causes of car hard starting?
When is the last time your vehicle had a tune up? Spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter.... Also have your battery and starter checked as well as your cable connections. It is also very important to plug in the vehicle when it is below -20c and have your block heater checked to see if it is working.
What causes a car to lose power while driving?
This question has been very well answered already. If I could ask several questions, I could give a more accurate answer. But without those answers, let's see, how would we answer that. 1. Engines wear out. A worn out engine loses power.2. Clutches and automatic transmission slip when worn and the car seems to be losing power.3. A flat tire feels like the car has lost power.4. An overheated engine from damaged radiator or hoses or lack of oil will lose power before it seizes.5. A speed limiting device makes an engine lose power when it reaches a certain speed. 6. When the check engine light clicks on, the car loses power. To fix the losing power problem, just reset by switching the ignition off and then on again. Get a computer diagnostic test at the first opportunity.7. In the old days it was always the plugs, points and condensor that needed replacing when an engine lost power and misfired. Now each spark plug has a coil. And a computer to quit.8. And before fuel injection, the carburetor needed adjusting.9. Fuel filter plugged or ice in the fuel line can still cause the engine to appear to run out of gas.I bought a 9 year old PT Cruiser with low mileage in excellent condition. About 100 km in to a 10000 km trip the check engine light snapped on. The car lost power big time! I switched the key off and on again and it ran fine. But the light was on. I stopped at the first available mechanic who told me the cam positioning sensor was failing. I continued the entire trip with the check engine light intermittently on or off and the car losing power at the most embarrassing moments. Then replaced the cam positioning sensor when the trip was over. Now the car won't start. Needs a new Powertrain Control Module. The dealer is quoting $2000 to fix it. Better than a rod through the block! Just an update. Today I found an automobile fuse in the washing machine. I took it in to the dealer where my PT Cruiser is being "repaired". I put the fuse into place and Voilà! The car started first try. I had been checking fuses to see why the horn didn't work. Must have left the crucial one in my pocket. Now we'll see how much the dealer is going to charge me for telling me it needed a new computer when it was only lacking a 50¢ fuse at $140/hr. More proof that they don't employ mechanics anymore, just computer readers and spare parts fitters!
What causes overheating in a car?
There are only so many things that will cause a car to overheat. Usually it’s the coolant level is too low, and if it’s low, you need to figure out why and correct it. There are a number of places a car can leak coolant from. It is not always easy to find. I’m not sure this is everything, but off the top of my head:HosesRadiator/Heater coreFreeze plugsHead gasket Note that a bad head gasket can cause a lot of very serious and expensive problems. If coolant leaks into your oil, it’s really bad news.Thermostat housingWater pumpbad seal on radiator capleaks from the coolant reservoir or hose connecting it to the radiator.A thermostat can get stuck closed, and that will keep coolant from circulating and the car will overheat.A broken belt will keep the water pump from circulating coolant and will cause the car to overheat pretty quickly. I am not sure if water pumps can fail like that; it seems to me when they fail, they leak a lot. I’m not sure if they just stop circulating coolant.Problems with cooling fans can cause overheating. This would normally show up in low speed or stop and go driving, or idling. When the car is moving, the airflow from the air rushing in cools the coolant and the fans aren’t needed. But when idling or low speed driving, the fans kick in to provide the air flow. Older cars have fan clutches that can wear out and when that happens, the car might overheat at stop lights and cool down when you are moving. Electric fans can have problems if the temp sensor is bad or the motors or electrical connections give up.The radiator cap. I have driven cars and seen them driven with a loose radiator cap for pretty long distances. Loosening the cap relieves the pressure in the system, and that can help reduce coolant loss from a leak, so people will try to get further down the road by loosening the cap. The cap pressurizes the system and increases the boiling point of the coolant, which is how the car is designed to operate. I have seen cars get along just fine with the loose cap, but I think if you’re in very hot area and driving the car in harsh conditions (up a grade, stop and go traffic, etc.) you could overheat. So make sure your cap is good.
Car idles rough and turns off while stopped?
If you car runs fine while driving down the road, but runs rough or stops running while at a stop the main thing I would start looking for would be a vacuum hose leak. What is happening is that the fuel/air mixture is off. At idle or lower speed there is more air than fuel being mixed because of the vacuum leak causing the engine to stall out. That is why it runs fine as it warms up because the fuel mixture is richer, as the car warms up the fuel mixture decreases. As you drive the car at normal speeds such as on the freeway, the fuel mixture increases bringing balance to the fuel/air mixture. The vacuum leak in the hose is causing too much air to be added into the fuel/air mixture causing your engine to run lean while at an idle. I have seen this symptom many times while I worked as a mechanic in shops. To locate the leak get a can of carb cleaner. Have someone help you keep the car running while you squirt the car cleaner around the different vacuum hoses. When you spray a section of hose and hear the engine smooth out or the RPMs increase, that area is your problem. Keep squirting the area until you are able to locate the hose with the leak. Remove the faulty hose, take it to the auto parts store. Spend about .50 cents on the hose and replace the new one where the old one was. Car should run much better now. Additional Note: If you take to a shop and they place it on the computer and tell you that the Oxygen sensor is faulty, tell them to check for a vacuum hose leak. The computer will of course report a faulty Oxygen sensor because the vacuum leak is causing the fuel/air mixture to be off. Hope this helps you out.