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| photo source: YouTube I love these old cartoons. A lot of the situations they deal with were based on the tough reality of the 1930s. |
Besides that grey Mustang I have my '07 F150. It was bought new six months before the Mustang, and it now is also not a "new" vehicle.
I had been having a lot of tire trouble with several of my cars. My '97 XJ6 suffered from a slow leak which was finally traced back to a leaking valve stem. The '07 Mustang started a slow leak also. Initially the technician told me that I needed a new tire because he couldn't determine where it was leaking from. I know that these tires are approaching the end of their useful life, but they weren't even worn down to the wear bars. I was depending on these to last into the beginning of next year. Tires are expensive. Typical of many techs and mechanics, they will always recommend replacement even if they couldn't identify the problem.
So I asked him to put it in the water tub and show me where it was leaking from. There wasn't any indication of leakage. I asked him where the air was escaping from, it had to be coming out from SOMEWHERE. Luckily the manager was standing by and he took a look. He told him to change out the valve stem, which I had mentioned I had seen leaking. (Though it wasn't leaking now). The valve stem was replaced and that solved the problem.
A week ago I noticed that the right rear tire of my truck had a slow leak. I topped it up and figured that I would just keep and eye on it, A couple of days later I was leaving for work in the morning and found that the tire was completely flat. After work I put the spare on and decided to take the tire back to the dealer in Santa Clara that had sold me the tires. I was informed that the puncture was not repairable since it was in the outside row of tread. I protested that it was not in the sidewall. The tech showed me a poster that explained that on truck tires the outside lines of tread are considered sidewalls due to the heavier loads that are carried. These are the first set of replacement tires. They are the OEM Hankooks which are fantastic performing tires. Of course I didn't want to buy an entire set of new tires, even buying one new replacement wouldn't be cheap. Buying a new set of tires is a big deal. A quality set is expensive, and it's not the kind of decision you want to make on the spur of the moment There's a lot of thought and cross shopping involved.
I decided to give my local WheelWorks a try. They didn't have a Hankook tire in stock, and offered up a set of Firestones. No, I can't get any enthusiasm up for Firestones! They quoted the same price as the Santa Clara shop had quoted for the Hankooks, 175.00 per tire plus all the usual add ons that bring them up to almost 200 bucks a piece.
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| Used tire stores can be a lifesaver for the working man. |
I realized that the best alternative would be to buy a used tire to get me through, and out of town. I was supposed to be on my way to Solvang for a birthday getaway. It was already well past noon, and I needed to get on the road! I visited a used tire outlet on Monterey Road, There are many such establishments in San Jose. Calderon's tires sells both new and used, but the chain has made their name on used tires. They have several stores and they are well arranged and neat. I informed them of the needed size, it would be fifty bucks installed, not bad. At first they showed me a Michelin with plenty of tread. I would always prefer a matching tire but beggars can't be choosers. When I went back to double check that it was a light truck tire, I saw them installing an identical Hankook. The installer told me I had asked for a 16 inch tire and I needed a 17 incher. Either way I was very happy to be getting the Hankook which also had plenty of life left on it. Put away the spare, which was in worse shape than I had remembered, (!) and I was good to go.
Mention buying a used tire and you might get some strange looks from your middle class friends. They kind of give you a look like you were buying used toilet paper or something. Have you ever bought a used car? That car comes with "used tires." Middle class customers just replace all tires as a set, or they replace them when they buy new custom wheels, or sometimes just because they want something sportier. And think of all those wrecked cars that are sent to the scrapyard, what do you think happens to all those tires? The good ones are culled and sold to used tire dealers, and they are a Godsend for the working man. Prices range from 30.00 to 50.00 installed and balanced. There's no excise tax, or tire disposal fee tacked on. Road Hazard? Time for another trip to the used tire dealer. A good set of take off tires will run more of course, but are still a bargain.
Sometimes you just need to replace a single tire after it was damaged by some road hazard and is not repairable. Can't always spare 600 bucks on up for a new set. While I prefer to buy new tires as a set, as a quality tire can last a very long time. The current tires on my truck have around 50,000 miles on them and a bit left to go. Hopefully I will make it through to the next year.
This experience made me consider finding some used, modern 16 inch tires for my Mark VII. Perhaps a 205 /16 might fit. It's really only a consideration in back, with those big skirts. The modern tire would have a wider tread and the shorter sidewall would lower the car at least a couple of inches. That couldn't hurt. I might have to run some inner tubes. I don't know how air tight those wheels are. A set of good tires for a couple of hundred bucks? I could live with that.
I did put some used modern radials on my '56 Cadillac's original rims. I had those buffed out to wide whitewalls. That was a messy and smelly procedure! I think that I would do the white primer treatment. If I go that route it will be worth an entire blogpost.
Working on the old car. At least one of them.
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| image source: graemecooper.com.gu
Where is that coolant going?
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My '97 Mustang has been pretty good to me, mostly since I made it a priority to keep up on the maintenance and spend a few bucks when necessary, It has gotten displaced somewhat from it's position of favor since all those Jaguars arrived.
I had planned to drive the Mustang down the coast to Solvang for a little weekend get away. I had noticed last month during the heat wave that the temp gauge was indicating a little over halfway going over the Mission grade on I 580. I checked and found that the coolant was a little low. I topped it up with plain water and promptly forgot about it. My Wife was using the car and told me that then low coolant light had come on. I topped it up with coolant this time, and figured I was good to go.
We were packed and gassed up and ready to go. We were running a couple of final errands and I noticed that the low coolant light had come on again. Hmmm. I had checked it before we left and it was full. I let it cool in the parking lot and again checked the level. It looked okay. Maybe it was just the sensor?
I decide to return home and investigate. On the trip home I ran the heater full on to eliminate the chance that there was air in the system. When I arrived home the light was on and the reservoir was definitely low. I had been keeping an eagle eye on the temp gauge and it hadn't gone more than a hair over halfway. Normal.
I checked and couldn't find any sign of leaking hoses and there weren't any drips under the car. The motor didn't smell hot, but I could detect the faint odor of coolant. Where was the coolant going? Was there a leak in the heater core? (I sure hope not!) I thought that the radiator cap might be losing pressure and allowing the coolant to drain into the reservoir and then into the overflow. But the temp didn't indicate that it was hot. Then the worst alternative presented itself. Could the head gasket be leaking? (Even worse!) There wasn't any indication of excessive steam from the exhaust.
We were burning daylight and I had to find an alternative. I thought about taking the Explorer, but my Daughter needed it for a sales event on Saturday. (It also was having it's own issues) I could always take the truck, right?
See above.
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