I'm sure this has come up on here before, but I can't remember what the best recommended product was. I think something died in my van, and I need to de-stink it. I pulled the removable seats loose and did an eyeball inspection, but found no little corpses. Not yet desperate enough to pull the...

Hi Folks. I could use some suggestions. All are welcome. I purchased a 99 Camry 4 cylinder from a "little old lady". It has 62,000 on it. Yes 62,000 miles. I had 4 new mich tires installed at Costco and took the car for an alignment at a local shop which has been in business for about 15...

Usually I get 24 miles to the gallon for stop-and-go city driving with the '06 Camry LE, but this last tankful I got 28 city. I really babied the accelerator pedal this time and, of course, have plenty of air in the tires. I had Shell V-Power premium in the tank this time (for its exceptional...

My '89 Mazda 626: The recommended tires were 185/70-14. I replaced them with the same size. Acceleration was OK at best, and poor going up hills. Also, the amount of sidewall flex made for poor cornering. I replaced the original tires with the cheapest ones I could find, a $29 "loss leader" from...

That must be Toyota's way of taking the 5th! Before she died, the 5-foot-2, 125-pound woman told relatives she was practically standing with both feet on the brake pedal but could not stop the car from slamming into a building. Records confirm that emergency personnel found Grossman with both feet...

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2668/why-does-gasoline-go-stale-so-quickly Basically answered all my questions -- I don't necessarily agree with it all, but it's a good discussion. For example, it's very difficult to oxidize a hydrocarbon without enzymes, catalysts, and the like. And I...

The continuing saga of a dear friend's 89 Escort LX 1.9L with Central Fuel Injection (it has a throttle body with a single injector)... I have ruled out spark as the problem. Spark is good. I caught the fuel injector in the act of not injecting fuel when it should, and all the while the coil is...

Well, it's Saturday, so the place where I had my last oil change is closed. But, having some free time, I thought I'd look under the hood - actually, I wanted to put water in my DieHard. While I was in there, I decided to check my oil - it's an 86 GT, with the V6 - and I'm a couple of quarts low....

What I have always wondered about for a while is about the mechanical design of automobile transmissions. I am only about 6'1" but with legs of a 6'3" and it annoys me to be boxed in the cars, especially the so called sports luxury cars, where the freaking transmission sits between the driver and...

On the way to school this morning, I got into an understeer situation in the snow. Fortunately I was only doing about 20mph, but nonetheless it resulted in a pretty righteous curb shot. I'm pretty sure my alignment is hosed, but I know that's (probably) going to be an easy/inexpensive fix. Of...

Two or 3 weeks ago, I drained my transmission pan's T-IV ATF and refilled it with Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF, making the ATF fluid in my Camry a 50/50 mix of Toyota T-IV and Mobil 1 ATF. My goodness, you're not going to believe this. Toyota recommends T-IV fluid *AND* ATF WS fluid for the exact...

Hmmm...For those of you who don't know Csaba Csere (somehow pronounced something like "Chubby Cheddar") said on the Today show 'there is no reason to use high octane gasoline." I dunno, but in my small, 4 cylinder engines I tend to get 4-6 MPG more than using even mid-grade. I won't put anything...

On the web, whichever search engine you like,,, Will nuclear batteries power our cars? Maybe, some day. cuhulin

Hi, Recently I went for a car service and the mechanic replaced CV Shaft and Front Engine Mount for my 95 Camry. He charged $200 and $300 for parts respectively. And the CV shaft is a remanufactured part. When I verified the prices on NAPA website they are charging far less. For example $85 for...

Been lurking here for some time, hoping to absorb the rays of knowledge emitted by (some) posters (Comboverfish...? This is a Honda problem...). Now I have a problem that is sufficiently obscure as to flummox those I depend on most. The problem is also sufficiently annoying to cause me to crawl...

Hi all, Wisconsin is probably going to pass legislation requiring all gas sold to be at least 10% ethanol. I have heard Minnesota has gone to 20%. The oil companies opposed the legislation. Good news for the couple of ethanol plants in the state and corn growers I suppose. I have a 1989 Buick...

ATHENS, Greece -- Former Vice President Al Gore reportedly has had a change of heart on ethanol, telling a conference on green energy in Europe that he supported tax breaks for the alternative fuel to pander to farmers in his home state of Tennessee and the first-in-the-nation caucuses state of...

I would like to have your opinions on this subject. The following criteria should be taken into consideration regarding your answer: o Only engines within the last 50 years o Give preference to engines that get good MPG (v8's do sometimes!) o Try to use some facts! And give examples to justify. o...

A friend asked me how to buy tires for her daughter - and I wrote this up to email to her. How does it look (do you have better ideas for a basic college kid's car)? Here's what I just wrote up for her: 0. Write down the current tires on the vehicle & compare with what the vehicle came with as...

In this news article today, it says: "Law enforcement officials told ABC News that authorities tracked Barnes' car because he had GPS installed in it." http://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-philadelphia-abduction-found-alive-police/story?id=26706205 I thought gps was one way. How do they 'reverse...