The Best of Car Talk - #2554: Livin' the Dream!

Episode Date: July 8, 2025

Becca's '75 Dodge Dart doesn't seem to want to shut off sometimes. Will a potato in the tailpipe cure this one, or will Click and Clack find a better way? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk. Get access to hundreds of episodes in the Car Talk archive when you sign up for Car Talk+ at plus.npr.org/cartalkLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The House of Representatives has approved a White House request to claw back two years of previously approved funding for public media. The rescissions package now moves on to the Senate. This move poses a serious threat to local stations and public media as we know it. Please take a stand for public media today at GoACPR.org. Thank you. Hey, before we get to this week's show, we're working on something new for NPR.org. Thank you. Our extremely lazy producers will eventually listen to the messages pick a few callers for me We'll set up a time to talk I'll screw up the answers just like the old days

NPR plus supporters will find these occasional and I do mean occasional episodes in their NPR plus car talk feed So if you have a car question, here's the number. It's 888-522-5478 That's 888-522-5478. Now here's the show. Hello and welcome to Car Talk from National Public Radio with us, Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers, and we're broadcasting this week from the gold standard of customer service department here at Car Talk Plaza. It's more than that, man. Oh, this is a winner.

It's more than that. It's enhanced customer relations. The other day, my wife gets this thing in the mail, looks like a wedding invitation, and she opens it up and it's one of those cute little note cards. Here it is, see? Yeah, I see it, yeah. And hold it up again. I think some of our audience may have missed it.

See, it's just a little note card, handwritten. And I don't want, I don't think I should devalue the name of the store. But it's from a store, a store that she's been to. A clothing store. A clothing store. She went to this clothing store. Well-known clothing store, perhaps's been to. A clothing store. A clothing store. She went to this clothing store. Well known clothing store perhaps. Well known, national clothing store and she couldn't remember when the last time was that she went there, but she's bought maybe one or two things in the last years. I mean, who knows? She gets this note.

Well, that you know of anyway. That I know of, yeah. Dear Joanne, handwritten, dear Joanne, first name basis. how are you? How are you? It's been quite a while since I've seen you in the store. I just wanted to let you know how much great new product we have gotten in. Don't hesitate to give me a call if you have any questions. Maybe you'd like to set up an appointment. I'll be here for you. Thanks. Laurie. So my wife says I'm gonna answer it. So she writes this note. Dear

Laurie, I can't tell you how important your note was to me. I've been in the throes of such a terrible depression that all my friends have abandoned me. But my behavior has been so unpredictable, who could blame them? That's right. For months now, I've talked to no one but my therapist. And then your note came. What a ray of sunshine in my otherwise bleak, pitiful, depressed existence. When can we get together? Can you do lunch on Thursday? Love, Joanne. Now, when Laurie gets this, she's going to say, who the hell is Joanne?

Just like Joanne said, who the hell is Laurie? I love it. It deserved an answer. It did, and maybe there'll be a return from Laurie. Maybe they will. Maybe they will. I'll be a return from Laurie maybe they will maybe they will I'll be here for you wouldn't you be surprised if they did do lunch on Thursday if you want to do lunch with us our number is 888 car talk that's 888 227 8255 hello you're on car talk hi my name is Colleen from Minnesota

Colleen yes hi Colleen minnesota yes whereabouts in minnesota minneapolis and meaning and i and and and and and i does colin have to l's and two e's it certainly does so what's up? shoot colin well i have a ninety one dot spirit and it's trying to kill me on the roadways i'm convinced of this uh... when i'm driving along i'm generally going about sixty to sixty five miles an hour when it happens

it just starts to decelerate regardless of how heavily i've got my foot on the gas pedal it it starts going slower to the point where i'm putting on my hazards and eventually just stop and start driving again and if had it to my mechanic and been told that he really there's too many things that could be so he really can't diagnose it and got from his boat is's gonna be tough to type well he drives it for five minutes and it doesn't happen for him because it's

pretty intermittent yeah so it loses power loses power loses power it's like there it's not getting fuel or something and and you are trying to get over from the far left lane to the far right lane all over by without truck and this has recovered on its own every time? Every time. It generally lasts for about one very tenuous minute while I'm trying to dodge getting run over. How many miles on this car?

A lot. There's 135. Yeah. So I got desperate and took it to a Dodge dealer. There you go. Yeah, thinking they would know. And what they want to do is put a co-pilot test on it, which is some machine they hook into the electrical system and I push the button every time it happens.

Right. But it's like a $150 test. So I'm wondering if that's money well spent or if I should just drive this until it feels like it. Well, you said you were putting your life in danger. Is your life not worth $150? Well, it depends. So you don't have any sage advice as to what might be going on with the car?

Well here's what I think it is, and these guys, both the Chrysler dealer and this other fellow to whom you took it, should have done the most obvious thing and that is to test your fuel pump pressure. Because with 135,000 miles on it, I'll tell you, I've never seen one of these fuel pumps in a Chrysler car last that long. So I'd be willing to bet that that's what your problem is. I mean, it could even be something as simple and they deserve to have their hands slapped.

If they didn't check the fuel filter. Right. And I'm sure they didn't because he wasn't willing to pursue anything. Say look at Bozo, take the fuel filter out and see if it's plugged. Okay. And then while you've got the fuel filter out,

hook up the fuel pressure tester and let's see if the fuel pressure is up to spec. In fact, run my car for an hour with the tester on it and let's see if the fuel pressure stays at spec. If it doesn't, if it's supposed to be 37 and it goes down to 24, you need a fuel pump. And I think that's what you need. Okay. So if I'm spending money against that test, that's probably a little bit... Yeah, I wouldn't do that other test because you're not going to learn anything. Okay.

Yeah, because it's not going to tell you whether or not your fuel pump pressure is high enough. Okay. Good luck, Colleen. Thank you. Bye-bye. 1-888-CAR-TALK, that's 888-227-8255. Hello, you're on Car Talk. Hello, my name is Klaus.

I'm calling from Raleigh, North Carolina. Klaus! Yeah, I drive a Volkswagen, a Volkswagen 89. Yeah. car talk. Hello, my name is Klaus. I'm calling from Raleigh, North Carolina. Klaus! Yeah, I drive a Volkswagen, a Volkswagen Fox 89. Yeah. And I think I have two questions basically. The one thing is I made this trip to New York and to Washington, D.C. and stuff and I put

some money into the car before then and when I came back, I pulled into the driveway. It was aay night at that midnight and i want to start you know half an hour later to go to the grocery store and get some some groceries and i couldn't put in any gear when the engine was running i'm a physicist you know so my own investigation result in the following

thought hypothesis you have a hypothesis exactly okay let's hear it okay the one thing is i can't just the kids when the action is not running i cannot just give them the answer is running i mean no period all right therefore i just a little syllogism therefore therefore therefore exactly yes i must learn to drive without the internet

uh... uh...'s what i did actually yeah because i wanted to go through store then and um... i stopped the engine put in the first year and and cranked it up until it was running you know the car yeah was hopping a little bit forward but then it was going and what was it was no traffic yeah and you know so i adjusted revolutions so that I could get into second and this brought me home again.

Yes! Yeah. I think that the clutch isn't opening anymore for some reason. Very good Klaus. You have come to the correct conclusion. The clutch is no longer disengaging and that's why, in fact, you've probably figured out that once you're moving, you can actually shift it to second third and fourth pretty easily but that first gear and and reverse are killers and they require that you shut the thing off yeah yeah

yeah that's true yeah um if it seriously that you know the clutch just totally died on me or is there any other reason that could have gone wrong? There's another reason and if you're lucky this is what it is. It's possible that the clutch cable has stretched. There's a cable that runs from the pedal down to the arm that holds the clutch release bearing. And if you have led a good clean life, you can replace that for $30. Oh wow. So actually the part probably, if you go to a Volkswagen dealer,

it probably costs $20 or something. I'm assuming he's gonna do it himself. You are gonna do it yourself. It's actually pretty easy to do. Okay. And you get under the dashboard and disconnect the cable from the pedal. There's a very simple hook there that hooks it onto the pedal. Even a physicist can do this. And then the other end has a bunch of little clips and a little rubber grommet, but it's all obvious. I would take a Polaroid picture of it, however. Yeah, actually, you know, how do I know that it is stretched because... Well, you don't. The way you know is you put a new one in.

Oh, okay. And then you'll adjust it so that the pedal feels normal. You know, when you're sitting in the driver's seat, you should be able to push that pedal about an inch with very little resistance. And then the remaining distance requires considerable effort. Oh, I see. So you want to adjust that, there's an adjustment

on the cable and you'll figure out how to do that. There's a nut you have to turn. And when you've done this and adjusted it and the pedal feels like a normal pedal should feel... Then you start it up and you step on the clutch and it'll slide right into first gear. It'll slide right in. And if it doesn't then you need to replace the clutch. Oh okay. Let me ask you another question. Sure. Okay, you know I bought the car for 1300 bucks. I put in 300 and if I have to replace the clutch, you know It would be another four or five hundred

More but that's okay. Yeah roundabout I guess so I was thinking, you know If it worthwhile because you know, it has a hundred and whatever sixteen thousand miles on it and so forth to do that Or if it's just you know, you know it's getting close to to becoming a 1800 $2,000 car yeah so what that's cheap that's cheap oh it's I mean what's the alternative the alternative is that you take it to the junkyard they give you 25 bucks for it because no one in his right mind is gonna drive a car that he can't shift so even if you were going to sell it, you'd have to replace the clutch. And we are bound by our affiliation with ARTA, the Automobile Repair Technicians of America,

to encourage people to fix their cars whenever possible. That's right. And if we ever recommended anything other than that, we would be summarily... Drummed out. Drummed out of the organization. And no longer able to attend the annual seat cover convention in Dayton. And the boat show. Seat cover and boat show. See you, Klaus.

Good luck. All right. Thank you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Hey, we've got more calls coming up right after this, so don't go anywhere. This is Eric Glass. On This American Life, sometimes we just show up somewhere, turn on our tape recorders,

and see what happens. If you can't get seven cars in twelve days, you gotta look yourself in the mirror and say, holy, what are you kidding me? This car dealership, trying to sell its monthly quota of cars, and it is not going well. I just don't want one balloon to a car. Balloon the whole freaking place so it looks like I'm circus. Real life stories every week. This summer on Planet Money Summer School, we're learning about political economy. We're getting into the nitty gritty of what government

does with things like trade, taxes, immigration, and healthcare. So politics and economics, which are taught separately, they shouldn't be separated at all. I think you have to understand one to really appreciate the other. So what is the right amount of government in our lives? Tune in to Planet Money Summer School from NPR, wherever you get your podcasts. You're listening to NPR because you're curious. You want to know what the world is like beyond the surface. NPR feeds that curiosity with stories from real people with real experiences and all the perspectives that come with them.

It's our right to be curious and our prerogative to listen. So keep your curiosity alive. Hear the bigger picture every day on NPR. Hi, we're back. You're listening to Car Talk with us, Click and Clack the Tapper Brothers, and we're here to discuss, of course, what? Cars.

Car repair and the art of the reused puzzler. How long can this go on? It shouldn't be reused. I hate that word repurposed is much better. Just a quick reminder that there's no puzzler answer this week because our beloved puzzler is still on what summer vacation.

So if you've got a real bad case of puzzler itis, just go to the car talk session of cars.com and we'll infuse you right there. In the meantime, we'll take your calls at 1-888-CAR-TALK that's 888-227-8255. Hello, you're on Car Talk. This is Kathy. Hi Kathy, where are you calling from? I'm calling from Richmond, line 5. And my girls have never heard of y'all. Richmond, line five. Richmond, Virginia.

Yeah, got it. Got it? Got it, got it. What? So you're obviously at work. Obviously. You're trying to direct traffic and talk to us at the same time. And I'm the boss.

Oh. Well, if you're the boss, then they'll figure out what to do. So what's up, Kathy? You have the delegate responsibility. You can't be a good boss unless you can disappear for a couple of weeks at a time. There you go. So what's up, Kathy? You have to delegate responsibility. You can't be a good boss unless you can disappear for a couple of weeks at a time. There you go. So what's going on? All right.

I have an 86 Saab. Yes. 150,000 miles. A 900 or a 9,000? It's a Kmart special. It's the 900. 900. Yeah.

Okay. I have an oil leak in the front engine. And I've had it for six years and i really can you just get out the call it back is the line that is the only time and yeah i'm on the other line

and i don't know patty who is about to add a good internet i have to go to find out all these calls I'm on. I'm sorry. That's quite alright. Alright, so... So for six years you've had an oil leak in the front engine. How about the rear engine? No, I just have a front engine in this one. Well, the front of the engine is towards the back of the car. Do you know that? This engine's in backwards. Number one cylinder is closest to the firewall.

Well, the oil leak is toward the front of the car though. That's what they say. That's what they say. So that's the rear seal. It's actually the rear of the engine. Oh. But that's alright. And so now they're suggesting that you fix it?

Well, they always suggest I fix it. It's $800 to pull the engine. Right. And they don't even know if they can fix it. No, and if they do pull the engine, they're going to find $800 of additional leaks and problems. Right. I'd leave it alone. You've done the right thing by disregarding everything they tell you.

Well, my point is if the car runs, it's 10 years, what, 12 years old now. Yeah. You've been putting oil in to replace the leaking oil? I have. I'm very good at every 3,000 miles, 2,000 to replace the leaking oil? I have. I'm very good at every 3,000 miles, 2 to 3,000 miles I have the oil change and it's less than a quart low. Oh, then ignore it. So. Ignore it. Absolutely ignore it. I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure that you don't forget to change the oil and you ought to check it once in a while. Okay. Between oil changes because

the oil leak could get worse and then it could be down two quarts when you change it and that wouldn't be good. The engine doesn't like to be two quarts down. Okay. So that's it. That was the whole thing? That's it. But I called to tell you that my husband and I listen to you every week.

Yeah? Well, you can buy some tapes and listen to them all the time. We have tapes for sale, tapes, CDs. Yeah, we get everything. Can some tapes and listen to them all the time. We have tapes for sale tapes CDs Yeah, we get everything can we interest you in the? The October special the car talk entertainment complete entertainment package I never know when you guys are telling oh how about the the tape a month club. That's it Why don't we start a tape of the month club? He already belongs to that book of a month club the tape is very passive stick it in, you listen. You don't even care if you listen,

as long as you buy it. We just haven't used modern marketing techniques. That's why we're a couple of bozos here driving 50 year old cars. We need on our staff an expert in marketing. Do we know anybody that knows anything about marketing? Not a soul. I didn't think so. See you, Kathy. Thanks for calling, Kathy. Bye bye. Keep checking that oil. Okay. Bye bye. 1888 Car Talk. That's 1888 227 8255. Hello, you're on Car Talk. Hey! Do you know what it's time for? Back to school time! Time to buy our intro to radio textbooks.

No, no. It's too late for that. It's time to play Stump the Chumps! Now once every few weeks, as part of our plea bargain arrangement with the FCC, we were forced to do this. We invite a past car talk caller onto the show to play what we have called Stump the Chumps and prove to those skeptics at the FCC that not everyone we give advice to meets with a horrible fiery death. That's right. Our horrible fiery death ratio is down to about what? 65%? Well, 85%. Anyway, who's this week's chump stumper?

Well, according to my notes, it's Leonard from Olive Branch, Mississippi. Leonard wanted our advice on fixing a fuel problem with his 87 old cup-us. Oh, I see. Horrible, fiery death premiums going way up again. Hold on, hold on. When Leonard's car conked out on him, he was astute enough to determine that it wasn't getting fuel and that the fuel line and fuel filter weren't all clogged up either. Oh, very good, Lenny. So, what'd he do next?

He replaced the carburetor and it ran fine. Perfect! For two weeks. Oh. Did he call us? No, he kept going. He was on a roll. Again, being the less than qualified shade-tree mechanic that I am, I replaced the fuel pump thinking it must not be getting enough fuel pressure.

Car starts up, runs just fine for two weeks and it shuts off again. I have a couple of ideas. Okay. Here's one. You could bypass that pesky little carburetor. Just take the fuel line and dump it right into the intake. Don't forget this is how carburation worked in 1900. You told him to rip off the fuel line and shunt it right into the engine you knucklehead?

Carburation has been vastly overrated in my opinion. Did we give him any real advice? My notes say you told him that you were sure that his problem was that the fuel system Was not venting properly and that he should check it out. I said I was sure I'm sure yes you did alright Let's find out what happened Leonard. Are you there? Hey guys? I'm here Wait before you tell us anything before you tell us anything we have to assure everyone listening that Stump the Chumps is really on the level. So play along with us here, will you? Well, you know, I'm afraid so because I tried to weasel Ken Rogers out of a coffee cup,

a t-shirt, even a piece of letterhead from Dewey Cheaterman Howe. He wouldn't do any of that. No dice, absolutely not. As a matter of fact, he hit me up, he said it was pledge week and I had to pay you guys. What a guy. All right, he hit me up, he said it was pledge week and I had to pay you guys. What a guy. All right, tell us what happened, man. Well, I went ahead and much to the chagrins of all of the astute auto mechanics in the olive branch area, who looked at me like I had two heads when I told them that you guys

said it was in the venting system that i should check but charcoal canister so sure enough just to the humor them i took the charcoal canister off and sure enough underneath the charcoal canister there's a filter yeah and that filter was so called up it would have i don't know how air ever went through it

they were correct in their accident it used my canister to show people that they can actually go back at some point in time but none of them knew there was a filter under there to replace i replace the uh... just a filter underneath cost about twenty nine cents i've been driving the car like crazy ever since with no problem elitist operator right since Ever since speeding the last two weeks? I did take the carburetor off, but when I put the fuel into the carburetor from the

fuel line with my lit cigar, it caused third degree burn to my face. Yeah, no, you shouldn't smoke when you do this. But think of the bright side, Leonard. You have a new carburetor, new fuel pump. Look at all the new stuff you got that you wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Hey, this saved me an easy $600 a month because that's what the new car payment would have been. Well, that's why Ken hit you up for the pledge.

Yeah, he did say something about that, that I should pay back what I saved. There you go. Well, we want to thank you for playing Stump the Chumps and for being such a compliant contestant because most of them are pretty, you know What's the word feisty and uncooperative? Difficult, but it was great and I'm happy either if I didn't look to see so hey, thanks for playing. Hey, thank you We'll see you Another right answer that bring what does that bring our average up to now, let's say the last week? 100%?

Have we crossed the Mendoza line, as they say? All right, it's time to take another temporary cancellation. All right, this is one of those 60 second cancellations that help us practice for the real thing. You got it. At Planet Money, we know that economic jargon can sometimes feel like speaking another language. Yeah, like arbitrage, alpha, autarky. That's just what's in the news these days.

There's also absolute advantage, aggregate demand. Aggregate supply. And this is just the ace. Oh, animal spirits. That's a pretty good one. Planet Money from NPR. We help you translate the economy so you can understand the world wherever you get your podcasts.

Grab a snack, make the bed, check your mail, or catch up on the latest news with the NPR News Now podcast. Listen in the time it takes you to do any of those other activities or while doing them. We bring you the stories you need to know in just five minutes every hour of every day. Listen now to the NPR News Now podcast. Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR's easy breezy laid back pop culture podcast has brought you the best in culture for the past 15 years. That means we spent the last 15 years talking about what exactly?

Bad reality TV, actually good Marvel movies. Actually awful Marvel movies. Reboots, pop music. Prestige dramas. Netflix slop. That's 15 years of buzzy pop culture chit chat and here's to many more with you along for the ride. Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on the NPR app

or wherever you get your podcasts. You know those things you shout at the radio or maybe even at this very NPR podcast? On NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, we actually say those things on the radio and on the podcast. We're rude across all media. We think the news can take it. Listen to NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me wherever you get your podcasts. Don't tell me wherever you get your podcasts. We're back. You're listening to Car Talk with us, Click and Clack the Tappet brothers. And we're here to discuss cars, car repair and the use the puzzler. Now, as both of our listeners know, second hand, second hand, second,

repurposed, pre-owned puzzler. As both of our listeners know, every summer, the puzzler goes on vacation. Sure. Leave us here to sweat over a hot microphone, why don't you? But if you're one of those people for whom a week just isn't complete without a Car Talk puzzler, here's what you gotta do. First seek professional help. Seek professional help! Or go to the Car Talk section of Cars.com where you'll find this week's classic puzzler

from the Car Talk archives. And we always welcome your puzzler suggestions for the next puzzler season coming to you this fall. Yeah. The puzzler comes back when all the real shows come back on TV. Like Seinfeld. Yeah. And you can write to us at Puzzler Tower, Car Talk Plaza, Box 3500, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Our Fair

City, MA 02238, or of course you can email them to us from the Car Talk section of Cars.com. If you'd like to call us, the number is 1-888-CAR-TALK, that's 8888-822-777-8255. Hello, you're on Car Talk. Hi, this is Rebecca from Vancouver, Washington. Hi, Rebecca. Do they call you anything for short? They call me Becca. Becca? Yeah.

Becca, from Vancouver, Washington. That's right. Okay, Becca. I have a 75 Dodge Dart. That, let's see, it's a slant six, I think 225. That's right you gotta kid okay you got it well i don't know if it's really a little bit

i love this car i've been i've i've been through it and back with it out there the last couple months and about six months ago i kind of forgot to put oil in it for a while they don't just ruin the dream they don't need oil the dream turned into a nightmare uh... well i spun a bearing so i had to replace the crankshaft

and i did that myself and it it went okay uh... for the most part you know i had a little help because i'm not strong enough to lift the crankshaft myself and i have a little i anymore nobody is okay well put it all back together and there's no need to it's fine except when i turn the car off

it wants to keep running it got but but but but but like that okay and i have to replace the brake booster and I don't know if that has anything to do with it but I've taken it, after I replaced the crankshaft and everything I took it in to have it timed and they adjusted the carburetor but it still keeps doing it and I don't know what that is. When you did the bearings, you did the crankshaft you replaced the bearings

Yeah, do anything else did you take the cylinder head off? Cylinder head you did all this from the bottom of the stuff very well, but I took I you know I put new pistons in piston rings. Okay, so you took all you did everything yeah Yeah, you don't even know the names of these things and you did all that well That's why I needed help because I don't know the names of things. I have my own names so I go to the auto parts store and I'm like, okay, it looks like this. Give me some of these round things. Give me 18 of these round things.

I need some of the thingies. I have these things that I call couplets and I still don't know what they're called but they're just like things that I'm like, yeah, that looks like a couplet to me. Sure. Chicken or veal? Oh, that looks like a couplet to me. Sure. Chicken or veal? Or couplet? A couplet. I am, I'm mechanically inclined if I know what's wrong and if I know what the parts

are called, I can fix it. Wow. So now you want to know why? So you did everything? Yeah. Wow. Well, there are various causes for your condition, which is called dieseling. Okay.

One of them is excessive engine idle speed. Okay. Which I trust you don't have because you took it in to be adjusted. Right. And if the guys that adjusted it were over 45, they would have known how to adjust it. Okay, yeah, they were. So they adjusted the carburetor, you said? Yes.

And you say you need a booster. Why do you need a booster? Because the brakes dontor you said? Yes. And you say you need a booster, why do you need a booster? Because the brakes don't work correctly? Yeah, when I go to stop, it kind of mushes to the floor and I really have to push it in there and the guy said that it was the brake booster. Now if it mushes to the floor, that means the booster's working well.

It's the master cylinder. The master cylinder. Was this the same guy that adjusted the carburetor? Yeah. Okay, then that explains everything. Change everything. Okay. All right, it's not the booster. It's not the booster you need. But they're not related. Okay, then the medic explains everything. I'll change everything. Okay. All right.

It's not the booster. It's not the booster. But they're not related. Okay, okay. Here's the test for the booster if you want to do it. Okay. Okay, first start the engine and get it warmed up. Okay.

Shut the engine off. Okay. Get inside the car and pump the brake pedal six or seven times. And each time you do it, the pedal will get harder and harder to depress and will also get higher. Okay. So that you'll be able to move the pedal only a fraction of an inch before it feels like a rock. With your foot held firmly on the brake pedal, start the engine.

If the booster is working, you will feel the pedal sink down toward the floor. If the booster weren't okay, it might be giving you a vacuum leak. That being the case, it could make the engine run too lean, it could also cause it to diesel. Okay. But it would run very rough. Does it run rough? Yeah. So the engine at idle will shake? Yeah, exactly. Okay, if you know what the booster is? Yeah, I do. There's a big fat rubber hose that runs from the booster. There's only one hose. Okay. Get a pair of pliers and while the engine is running, squeeze that hose as hard as you can. Okay. Get a pair of pliers and while the engine is running, squeeze that hose as hard as you can.

Okay. And if the engine runs more smoothly, you need a booster. Okay. And that could be causing you dieseling. Oh, okay. But if this guy misdiagnosed the booster, then he probably adjusted the carburetor incorrectly. Okay. There are other possibilities.

In fact, excessive engine operating temperature could cause dieseling. Wrong timing. And that could be caused by having bearings that weren't fitted correctly, or the crankshaft that wasn't installed correctly. But we don't want to get into that because that would be very depressing. And it would ruin the rest of your summer.

That's right, because I'm certain that I put it in right. Of course you did. We know you did. Okay. Okay? Great. See ya, Becca. Bye.

You may have to fly us out there. Oh yeah. Bye. Bye-bye. Good luck. That was pretty courageous out there. Oh yeah. Bye. Bye-bye. Good luck. That was pretty courageous of her. It was. I think I'll just replace the crankshaft.

Wow. Don't you remember when we had the do-it-yourself shop? Do I remember? Long long ago, on a galaxy, long forgotten, we had people that used to come into our shop. We had a shop that was split down the middle with an imaginary line, and on one half of the shop, we had a regular repair shop, and the other half, we used to rent out tools and space with a jack and a drop light and a shoulder to cry on, and I was

always amazed at the courage that people had to do things that they had never done before, and more importantly, jobs that we had never done before and more importantly, jobs that we had never done before. Well, you've wasted another perfectly good hour listening to car talk. Our esteemed producer is Doug Nott, a slave to fashion, Berman. Our associate producer and dean of the College of Automusicology is Ken Ed Grimley Rogers. Our assistant producer is Catherine Imelda Ray Marcos.

And our engineer is Dennis Foley, assisted today by Jonathan, yes master, Marston. Our technical, spiritual, and menu advisor is Mr. John S. Lawler. Our public opinion pollster is Paul Murky of Murky Research, assisted by statistician Marge and Overe. Our public opinion pollster is Paul Murky of Murky Research, assisted by statistician Marge Inovera. Our customer care representative is Haywood Jabuzoff, assisted by Kurt Reply. Our director of catering is Russell Upsomgrub. And our telephone solicitation response specialist is Teresa... Nobody home.

Our staff gossip columnist is Bud Inskey. Peek-a-Boo Street directs our intensive care unit, which is known as the Peek-A-Boo ICU. Our director of moral support is You The Man, assisted by You Go Girl. Our sexual harassment counselor is Pat McCann. And our Leo Tolstoy biographer is Warren Peace, author of Leo Tolstoy by... ...Warren Peace.

Our chief counselor from the law firm of Dewey, Cheatham & Howard, is Louis Dewey. Known to the napping cops in Harvard Square, you'll be guaranteed to get a ticket tomorrow, as you and Louisie do it. Thanks so much for listening. We're Click and Clack the Tappert Brothers, and don't drive like my brother.

Don't drive like my brother. We'll be back next week. We hope. Bye bye. And now here is Card Talk Plaza's entertainment critic, Mr. Vinnie Gumbatz. All right, now today I'm recommending a copy of this week's Card Talk Show, which happens to be number 35, a thrill-a-minute ride through the magical world of automotive adventure. Magical world of automotive adventure.

Where did you, where do you get stuff like that? Hey, I studied English and MIT details by breath. Now, if you want this week's fine show or any other Card Talk's collections on like CDs or anything like that, you know Just call our shameless commerce division at 1-888-CAR-JUNK. That's 888-CAR-JUNK. Thank you Vinnie. Hey, you gonna finish that donor or what?

Car Talk is a production of Dewey, Cheetahman, Howe and WBUR in Boston. And even though Geraldo's glad he works in commercial broadcasting every time he hears us say it, this is NPR National Public Radio. Hey everybody, it's Ian from How to Do Everything. On our show, we attempt to answer your how-to questions. We don't know how to do anything, so we call experts. Last season, both Tom Hanks and Martha Stewart stopped by to help. Our next season is launching in just a few months, so get us your questions now by emailing howto at npr.org or calling 1-800-424-2935. What would you think if you saw a robot dog out for a walk in your neighborhood. Double takes and how they can change your point of view.

That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. Squid Game is Netflix's most popular show of all time, and it just wrapped up its final season. And we're here to help you unpack that bloody finale. Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.