by Al Christensen | May 3, 2023 | Mechanical
MY 2007 CHEVROLET EXPRESS has gone 340,000 miles, and although the 4.8L V8 engine is still working, it has felt rather tired, especially on hills. A compression test and a leak-down test confirmed my set-of-the-pants impression. Looks like it’s time for an automotive...
by Al Christensen | Apr 17, 2023 | Mechanical, RVs, Travel Trailers, Trucks, Vans
AUTOMOTIVE JOURNALIST and rescuer of rust bucket Jeeps, David Tracey, is ambivalent about diesel engines. “I like the idea of the diesels,” he wrote, “even if I would never want to maintain one.” Other folks are absolute fans of diesels. Diesels crank out tremendous...
by Al Christensen | Mar 22, 2023 | Mechanical
MINIVANS ARE A POPULAR NOMAD VEHICLE. They’re plentiful and relatively inexpensive, and get better fuel mileage than full-sized vans. Over the years, I’ve come across various people saying not to buy some brand or another because the transmissions are total junk. A...
by Al Christensen | Mar 15, 2023 | Mechanical, Trucks, Vans
I’M NOT AN AUTOMOTIVE BRAND LOYALIST. I’m loyal to well-engineered, low-trouble vehicles that meet my purposes, whoever makes them. So I’m not writing this as a Chevy driver whose knee-jerk reaction is to bash any and all things Ford. It’s because there are problems...
by Al Christensen | Mar 8, 2023 | Mechanical
THE POPULAR CAR TALK RADIO SHOW would often get calls that went something like this: “Hi, this is Bill from Burlington. My daughter lives in Indianapolis and is about to give birth to our first grandchild. My wife and I want to be there, but we’re wondering whether we...
by Al Christensen | Mar 1, 2023 | Mechanical
MY VAN has 340,000 miles on it, so, among other things, I check fluids regularly. Yesterday I noticed the transmission fluid was a little low, and it was slightly brown instead of pink. I had never had the fluid flushed and replaced in the 225k miles I’ve owned the...
by Al Christensen | May 27, 2022 | Mechanical
ONE DAY, YEARS AGO, the exterior handle of my sliding side door snapped off. Panic! I tried super gluing it back in place. No luck. I tried epoxy putty. No luck. So I learned how to slip my finger tips behind the remaining part of the handle and tug on it just...
by Al Christensen | Mar 8, 2022 | Mechanical
We might not be able to take it all with us when we die, but some of us nomads try to take as much as we can while we still roll on the earth. Whatever your mobile abode might be, from a compact car to a travel trailer or Class A motorhome, there’s a limit to how...
