Car Talk

June 1989

DEAR TOM AND RAY:
MY DAUGHTER'S 1985 S10 BLAZER HAS A STANDARD TRANSMISSION. IT STARTED LOSING CLUTCH FLUID REGULARLY ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO. NO ONE HAS FOUND ANY EVIDENCE OF A LEAK. SHE THINKS I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT CARS. IF YOU COULD GIVE ME THE ANSWER, I COULD BE A HERO.
BUDDY

Beat up old car

TOM: WELL, BUDDY, I HOPE SHE HASN'T PICKED UP THE PAPER TODAY BEFORE YOU HAVE, OR SHE'LL KNOW YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT CARS.

RAY: ANYWAY, CLUTCH FLUID CAN ONLY LEAK FROM THREE PLACES; THE MASTER CYLINDER, THE SLAVE CYLINDER, OR THE TUBING CONNECTING THE TWO. IF YOU DON'T SEE ANY OBVIOUS LEAKS, THE PLACE TO LOOK WOULD BE ON THE DRIVER'S FLOOR RIGHT ABOVE THE CLUTCH PEDAL.

TOM: IF THE MASTER CYLINDER IS LEAKING, THIS IS WHERE THE FLUID WILL WIND UP. THE MASTER CYLINDER IS MOUNTED IN FRONT OF THE DRIVER, JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FIREWALL. FLUID MAY BE LEAKING DOWN INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT AND COLLECTING ON THE DRIVER'S FLOOR. IT COULD ALSO RUN DOWN UNDERNEATH THE CARPET, WHERE IT WOULD BE ABSORBED BY THE PADDING.

RAY: NEXT TIME YOUR DAUGHTER'S GLUED TO THE SIMPSONS, GO OUT TO THE BLAZER AND PULL UP THE CARPET. IF YOU SEE EVIDENCE OF FLUID UNDER THERE, TELL HER THE MASTER CYLINDER NEEDS REPLACING. IF IT'S DRY AS A BONE, TRACE THE LINE FROM THE MASTER CYLINDER TO THE SLAVE CYLINDER NEAR THE TRANSMISSION. IF THERE'S NO FLUID ON THE LINE, THE SLAVE CYLINDER MUST BE THE CULPRIT.

TOM: TELL HER TO REPLACE IT, AND YOU'LL BE A HERO, BUDDY. BUT IF YOU WANT THIS SCHEME TO WORK, DON'T FORGET TO DESTROY THE EVIDENCE. MAKE SURE YOU HIDE THE ARTICLE IN A PLACE SHE'LL NEVER LOOK FOR IT--LIKE INSIDE HER SCHOOL BOOKS!

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Auto repairs can be costly! Save money by ordering Tom and Ray's pamphlet: "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!" To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.