The Best of Car Talk - #2650: Non Impediti Ratione Cogitationis

Episode Date: June 23, 2026

When Mary Jo told Click and Clack that her windshield was pitted and hard to see thru, Tommy entered a trance-like state and rattled off an amazing string of successful predictions about Amy, her car and her driving habits. Did Tommy’s moment of near-divinity include any actually useful information? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Hello and welcome to Car Talk from National Public Radio with us Click and Clack the Tappert Brothers, and we're broadcasting this week from the Women's Studies Department here at Car Talk Plaza. And I know my brother's going to get herself in trouble, so I want to distance myself in advance from anything he's going to say. Is that a wise move? Well, I mean, all I can say is that I'm just a messenger here. I don't want to be blamed for things that other people send to us. in the mail. But I don't read them on the air. Consider me distanced. You coward. Come on. Go ahead.

This is the Center for Women's Studies, and this is... I'm going for coffee. How do you like yours? This is a list of expressions that you may hear from women with high stress. And here they are. Allow me to introduce myself. That's the kickoff. Here's one. And your crybaby, whiny opinion would be, Yeah, have you run across this woman? I haven't. I like that. And your crybaby whiny opinion would be. How about this?

Well, this day was a total waste of makeup. I'm not crazy. I've just been in a bad mood for 30 years. I just want revenge. Is that so wrong? You say I'm a witch like it's a bad thing. Is it time for your medication or mine? And this one is Louis' favorite.

I'm not tense. I'm just terribly, terribly alert. Yeah. Well, I, yeah, I've bumped into women like that. Not in my house, of course. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, never. But I know I understand that there are women who are in distress who would say things like this, but not in my house. Okay, continue.

You're trying to get me into trouble. No. I have nothing more to say. I think a little elaboration is necessary. I think I have heard, and your crybaby whiny opinion would be. I think I've heard that somewhere before. Any other the others? Well, I think I've heard, oh, here's one I missed.

Errors have been made and others will be blamed. I remember that one. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Any others? You're trying to get me in trouble. No, why would I do that? I know.

I know you are. That's it. I'm not going to say another word. But why do women get away with stuff like this? I mean, if guys said things like this, said what, like stupid stuff like this? Or even felt things like this. First of all, we would be ashamed to say them.

And secondly, we just wouldn't say them. I mean, have I ever said to you, and your crybaby whiny opinion would be? No, I've just said, that sounds like a crock to me. Oh, I see. So can we draw? I don't think so. You started it.

You figure out how to get out of it. I know how to get out of it. 1-888-227-8-255. Hello, you're on car talk. And the opinions previously expressed belonged entirely to my brother. Thomas Mariotti. Hello, you're on car talk.

Hi, guys. This is Sam Pichata from Pueblo, Colorado. Pueblo! The government printing office. The storefront. That's the only place people know us about it. That's right. What's up, Sam? I have a 1986 Nissan stands a wagon four by four.

Jeez, that's a rare vehicle. Wow. This car has went back and forth between a good friend of mine and myself. Each time we have a kid that turns 16, we give it to the other one. Okay. Oh. I thought you were just selling it back and forth. each other because you have such bad memories.

And the place keeps going down. All right. 75 cents, that's my best offer. I mean, and did you say, Jesus kind of looks for midgets? Sam, but I'll buy it anyway. Well, this is the second time I've had this car back. Yeah. It, about every five to six thousand miles, it starts running real rough, just all of a sudden it'll run real rough.

Yeah. And then quit. No fire, no nothing. Replacing the rotor and the cap, it'll run. it'll run like a clock. For five or six thousand miles. Then it'll do it again. Oh.

You can use the same plugs, same wires. As long as you replace the cap and the rotor, it'll run like a clock. You've done this experiment. You've changed nothing except the cap and the rotor. Right. Now, this has happened to both my friend and myself. He had a mechanic do it. I did to work myself.

Yeah, that's a pain on the neck to change that cap, isn't it? It's also an expense because that cap. runs around $80. Yeah, well, they're no fools. They know it's keeping the car running. I charge you $180 if they want. This car has two ignition coils. Yes.

And it has along the top of the cap where one of the coil wires connects, there's a long conduit that takes electricity from that coil wire to that contact point inside the cap. And I bet that's breaking down. Okay. Are you buying the caps from these? son? No, just, you know, regular park stores. I think I'd have to recommend you buy your next one from the dealer. Okay. I think you're going to find out, number one, that it's cheaper, and number two, it'll last longer. But I think that's what's happening. That conduit for the second coil, the one that has to

travel the father's, or father, is breaking down, and that's why the thing starts to run raggy. Okay. Don't forget that pretty soon, there's going to be a price turnaround on these distributor caps. Right. You realize that. Well, it's almost worth more than the car. now. Well, no, as soon as the manufacturer of the cap realizes that they've made too many, you're going to be able to get these things for a half a buck apiece. Yeah, you'll buy them by the case. Give them your phone number, Sam.

They'll call you when the price starts to get down. Good luck, man. Thanks, guys. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. 1-88-car talk that's 8-8-227-825. How did you remember that?

You remember what? At 86. You remember what at the cap for an 86 stanza looks like? Huh? How'd you do that? You talking to me? Who are you? I got it, okay.

Selective memory. Guesswork. 1-88-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-2-7-8-25-5. A lawyer on car talk. Yes, my name is Mary Jo, and I'm calling from Charleston, South Carolina. Hi, Mary Jo. Hey, how are you? Oh, we're great.

Pretty good. Well, I need some help. I'm in a little bit of a disqualification. with my husband. I have a problem with the glass on my car, the windshield. Yeah. For the last six months, it's been very difficult to see out of it when the sun is shining on it. Yeah.

It looks like there's glitter. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I'm going to tell you how old your car is. Your car is a 93 Japanese car. Yes. How'd you know? Is it 93?

Yeah, it is. Oh, man. And is it Japanese, too? Yeah. Yes, it is. I wish I knew what was wrong with the glass now. Yeah, seriously. What is it? A 93 what?

It's a 93 Accura. Is that Japanese? Yes. At least they tell me it is. And I'm going to give you more information. Okay, I'm listening. You do a lot of highway driving. Yes.

Oh, man, are we smoking here or what? What are we smoking? You're smoking something, man. Okay, I'm going to even guess now. I'm so hot. I'm going to guess the color of the car. Oh, okay. It's red.

No, black. It's red. Oh, my God. All right. Wait a minute. I'm going to tell you if it's two-door-old. Okay, good, I'm going to tell you what station the radio is said. All right.

I'm quitting. I'm doing too good. Yeah. I'm quitting. That's it. I'm impressed, though. You're impressed. Yeah, I mean, the law of averages is definitely ready to bite you in the butt.

Well, then there's hope. That means that you can maybe help me with this problem. Well, why are you having a conflict with your husband on this? He's denying that it's true? Well, because he rarely drives a car, and the few times he has, he doesn't see the problem. So he just tells me, would you clean the stupid glass? Well, I'm going to tell you how long you've been married. Oh, okay, yeah, go ahead.

I would say you've been married fewer than five years. Wrong. Sure, did I get anything when I was right a hundred times? Well, I mean, you should have learned then by now that there are lots of things that men don't see. In fact, there are only a few things that men do see. Yeah, that could be true. You're right. You need a new windshield.

Well, that, all right, now how am I going to explain the insurance company? You don't have to. I don't. No. No, I think, well, I don't know. I had an incident some years ago where sand got on beach sand got on my windshield because of a, I was in the vicinity of the ocean and there was a storm. And it blew around a lot of sand.

And without knowing it, I turned on the windshield wipers. And in doing so, roughed up the windshield just enough so that at night and if it were raining and if headlights were shining in the windshield, I couldn't see very well. and I called the local glass company asking how much it was to replace the windshield. This is in my home state of Massachusetts, and I don't know what you South Carolinians have for insurance coverage, but the fellow told me the window need not be broken to qualify for a replacement. Oh, really? I mean, think of it.

Would the insurance company want you to drive around the car where you couldn't see? Well, in South Carolina, they have something similar, but I thought it had to have damage. Well, that can be arranged. That's what they said at work. They said, we'll go and hit it with the rock for you. Well, the thing is that what you have there is damage. The outside surface is pitted. Oh, okay.

From stuff hitting it as you drive along. Because all the windshields they make now are cheap junk. Yeah, they are. They are. I mean, years ago, you could drive a car for 20 years. Right. And still see out the glass. And now you buy a brand new car, and six months later, it's all pitted.

Right. And when it gets that bad, and the truth is, even if you have to pay for it, buy a new one. Okay. And whether you, I don't care what your husband says. Yeah, me neither. If he doesn't like this answer, tell him to call me personally. My number is 888.

I'll have him call you. Okay, good luck, Mary Jo. Well, thank you very much. Say it. Bye-bye. Bye, thank you. Or say to him, in your cry, baby, be whining opinion. Might be what?

Okay, Tommy, think hard. Do you remember last week's puzzler? I'm seeing dirt everywhere. I'm seeing cross-generational disputes. I'm seeing piles of horse manure. That's your house, man. Think puzzler. Hi, we're back.

You're listening to Car Talk with us. Click and Clack the Tapper Brothers. And we're here to talk about cars, car repair, and the answer to last week's puzzler. This was part of the mathematical series. Can't remember it yet. I don't remember it myself. Anyway, here it is.

A landscape returns from work and is sitting at the kitchen table with his kids. the kids asked, did you work hard today, Daddy? And he answers, I did, I planted a lot of trees. In fact, he goes on to say, I planted five rows of four

trees each. His little third grader wanted to show off her mastery of the multiplication tables, newfound mastery of my name. Says, oh, that means you planted 20 trees, Daddy. He says, no, your little twirp, you're wrong.

And who the hell asked you if you are if you did anyway? I planted 10 trees. She says that's impossible. He says, well, no, it isn't. I planted 10 trees in five rows of four, and I'll give you a hint. If you look at one of the test papers, your teacher has returned to you recently, you're going to find the answer on one of those papers. Wow. The little girl thinks for a minute and says, uh-huh, I've got it. I think I've got it. The rain in Spain falls mainly. Reminds me a great scene from Cinema Paradiso where the little kids are in third grade

and the teacher asks them how much is five times five, which is Cinque per Cinque. And the kid can't get the answer and the kid in the next row draws a Christmas tree which December 25th, 75, right? And the little kid yells out five times five, Christmas! Well, how did the landscape of plant ten trees in five rows of four each.

What the little girl finds on her paper is something that you often find on graded papers from your third grade teacher. At the top of the page is a star. I never got one. Oh, dude, that's why you didn't get the answer to this either, you know, Dumbo.

And if you draw a five-pointed star, just like your third-grade teacher put on your papers, and you put a tree at every intersection point and a tree at every vertex. You end up with four. You end up with ten trees, right? Four, four, four.

Five rows of four trees each. Pretty good, huh? That is good. Do we have a winner? Yes, we do. We always have a winner. It looks like Catherine Laferrier from Highland, Maryland, and for having her answers selected at random,

from the hundreds of correct answers that we got, Catherine is going to win a $25 gift certificate to the store at the cart talk section of cars.com. And with that $25 gift certificate, she can pick up both a best of car talk tape and a second best of car talk tape. And we're not saying the stuff on the tape is any good.

It's just the best. I just want to make that perfectly clear. It's the best we can do. It's the best we can do. I hope the guys of the Federal Trade Commission is satisfied with that. And by the way, if you need Christmas presents, for people you don't really like that much anyway,

the store at the car talk section of cars may have just what you're looking for. Yeah, they will. Anyway, we'll have a new puzzler coming up in the third half of today's show, so don't touch that dial. In the meantime, you can call us and ask us a question about your car.

The number is 1-888-88-8-8-2-2-7-8-25-5. Hello, you're on car talk. Hello. Hello, who's this? This is Alfredo. Alfredo. How are you from New York? Yeah.

Yes, how you doing? I enjoy your show. I have a mini-caravan, 88. the steering wheel jerks when the Kyle isn't drive, like they say rhythmically. So as you're driving down the road, you feel the wheel getting jerked to the left and then to the right, left, right? Yes, left, right, right. They're very fast jerking. And do you notice it at very, very low speeds if you're creeping along at five, ten miles an hour when you feel it then also? It decreases if it is moving slowly.

I have changed for obvious bumps on the tires. I don't see any. And it's still happening. I've been driving it like this for the last two or three weeks. Do you remember the day that you ran over the curbstone? I don't know. I shared the car with my wife, so I wouldn't know. Oh, she did.

She probably did. Oh, no, don't do that. Don't blame her. Absolutely not. You'll get on your list to her. Let's see which one of those is appropriate. Well, it's possible there's a defect in the tire that you can't notice. There's a condition called tread separation,

where the actual tread will become separated from the plies below it. Inside the tire where you can't see it. It's not easy to detect it in other words. Well, if you had the car up in the air and you spun the front tires and looked at them, as an aunt would look at the tire. from the vantage point of the road, you might see the tread squirm to one side or the other as the tire spun around and you looking at the treads coming at you.

And the easy way to find this out is to take the two front tires and put them in the back. Okay. Or better still, to do one at a time. Rotate them somehow. So jack up one side of the vehicle and exchange the left front on the left rear. And then let it down and drive the car.

And if it goes away, that was the bad tire. the one that's now on the wheel. Right. If it doesn't, you try it on the other side. But I'm just worried you might have something else wrong, because whenever you have a vibration of any kind in the steering wheel, you should always suspect the suspension. Yes, right, right, right, right.

You really should have someone take a look at the ball joints, the tie rod ends, and all that stuff that's holding the wheels together. Because that's dangerous. Okay, definitely, definitely. But if you do this test and the condition goes away, then you can be sure that it was the tire, and then you need to just replace that one tire. Okay.

All right. Very well. Very well. Thanks for calling, Alfredo. Good luck. Thanks a lot. And stay out of trouble. Yeah, okay.

All right. See you. Bye, bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. One 888-8-8-2-7-8-25. Hello, you're on Car Talk.

Hi, this is Susan from Conway, Arkansas. Hi, Susan from Conway Arkansas. It's just north of Little Rock. Yeah, you sound very chipper today. Well, I have a problem with my car that my boyfriend thinks I'm imagining, and I'd like you to tell him that he's wrong, and then I'd like you to tell me if I should worry about this or not. Do we have your check yet? Go ahead. Well, I have 1997 Saturn SL1, and I was driving up to see some friends this past weekend, and I drove all the way there.

It's about a two-hour drive, and when I got there, I pulled off the highway, and I made it through the first stop sign fine. and I got to the next one, and I shifted it into first, and when I went to shift it into second, the stick shift felt like I was shifting it through cream of wheat. It was a lot. I got more resistance. Okay. This may still be happening, or my arm may have gotten used to it,

but it definitely did this for a couple days up until yesterday afternoon. Only going from first to second or going through all the gears. Through all the gears and even in neutral. Well, so what's the boyfriend's position here? He says that there's nothing wrong, but I'm just imagining the whole thing, and that it's always been this hard to shift. So let me get this right. Something may have happened, and it may not be happening now, but you're not sure.

And you don't know what it is anyway. Yeah, sure, we're going to be on your side with this one. And you're hoping that we can tell you what it is or it is. I just want to know whether or not I should worry about this. You said now even in neutral, which means like when you're moving to shift lever left to right instead of up and down to go into the gears, it feels like there's resistance that wasn't there before. Yeah, it's not as smooth. How long a trip was this trip that you took? Two hours.

I'm just testing the witness. I want to see if she's changing her story. It was two hours. It's two hours. But since that time, you haven't driven another trip of two hours. Well, aside from driving back, no. I would say that it's mandatory. Yeah.

That you take another two-hour trip. Okay. What this means is that we have no idea what you're talking about. Well, no, I know exactly what's going on. You do? Not really, no. I think what's happened here. Yes.

My brother has that look, that this is going to be complete bull feathers. I think that when she drives a thing, it's sustained high speed. One of several things is happening. Either the transmission is overheating because it's low on fluid and hence making it difficult to shift. We checked the transmission fluid. Yeah. He did? Yeah, we did.

And it's fine. All right. So there goes theory with number one. Oh, shucks. I know you have a backup. Of course. I think the shift linkage is getting overheated. due to the absence of the catalytic converter heat shield,

which fell off at about 35,000 miles. It was removed because it was rattling. And then when you drive the thing at high speed, the thing gets hard to push because the thing is getting so heated up and everything expands. But I think it disappeared. I don't think it was there after it cooled off. The next day, if you search your soul, Susan,

I think you'll admit that the next morning when you drove it. It really was still harder to shift. There goes theory number B. Okay. Theory D. I hadn't worked on him more than two. I figured one of the two would get her. Well, they were both pretty good.

The second one was quite bogus. That's why it was the second one. I considered the theory of the low fluid, but I dismissed it. All right. I have a fallback position. And even if the... I'm siding with the boyfriend. Well, I was there a long time ago.

Yeah, I'm afraid, Susan, that I don't understand. I can't come up with any reasonable theory, and clearly my brother can't either. Yeah. But on the other hand, you don't sound like you're crazy. I'm definitely not crazy. And I have to, I have to admit that I many, many times have fallen into the trap of not believing my wife when she tells me that the car is doing something. And my friend, my friend felt the shifter, and he, he, you know. Both of them, actually two friends, he and a she, and they both noticed it.

They both noticed it. Yes. Well, then I'm sticking with my theory number two, and the way you're going to verify this is take the car for another extended trip. Okay. You have to do this. You have to do this, and call us back. Okay. And then I'm going to stick with my sticky shifter.

Okay, well, I mean, I don't agree, but fine. Well, I'll let you know what I find out. Yeah, I mean, it can't hoit to take another. the two-hour ride. Indeed, there may even be nothing wrong or there may not be a heat shield missing. It's just heat that gets generated as a result of a long trip, and it's causing the shifter cable to bind up. That's the only other thing. Okay. Okay. I will definitely do this. Okay. I'll like to know what I find. I'd love to know. Okay. See you, Susan. Thanks. Bye. We'll be right back with more calls and the new puzzle right after these important messages.

Ha! We're back. You're listening to Car Talk with us. Click and Clack the Tappert Brothers, and we're here to discuss cars, car repair, and the new... Automotive? Non-automotive? No. Folkloric? No. I give up.

Historic? No. I don't know what it is, but it's from the Krusty Files. Everyone remembers our trust... From the Krusty. Our trusty mechanic, Krusty, who's been a loyal employee for many years. Trusty, Krusty, we saw on. We decided some years ago that he deserved a vacation, and indeed we were going to give him four

days off. And we decided to send... And at our expense, him and Mrs. Krusty on a little vacation. So we booked a flight for them to Kohl-Slavania. And so we take them to the airport and we see them off. They get on their plane and off they go to their first stop, the first leg of their journey, lands them in Moose Jaws, Saskatchewan, where they have to change planes for Kohl-Slavania. I need you to pay attention because there are a lot of hints.

I've got as well as obfuscations, don't you? Yeah, kick back, put your feet up, relax. Moose Jaw, yeah, Coles, LaVania. This is rife with hints and obfuscations. Yeah, okay. And mostly useless information. I know that. So they landed Moose Jaw where they have to change planes for the flight over the pole to

Coast Laughania. And Colesla Air wields out its latest, what do you call that? Plain. Plain. Plain. There you go. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. This is a DC3.

And Krusty recognizes it from that first Indiana Jones movie. And he says to his wife, oh, my God. He said, this is unbelievable. So this plane must be 25 years old. And his wife says, no, like 60. Yeah. So they enter the plane, and he's very nervous, as is his wife. And they both look into the cockpit to make sure there's, in fact, a pilot and a co-pilot in there.

And they are. look at each other and they exchange smiles and nods and they're still nervous about the age of the plane. Yeah. And they finally take their seats. The plane takes off without incident. And they're on their way to Kohl-Slovenia, over the pole, over the pole. Of course, they speak no Kohl-Slavian.

In fact, I don't think anyone speaks Kohl-Slavian anymore. And while they're in flight, they realize that none of the other passengers speaks English. And they walk up and down the aisles using the bathroom, you know, as a... pretends and try to, in fact, engage people in conversation. They say, hi, how are you? And nobody responds. And they're resigned to just sitting there and waiting for the flight to end. And when it finally touches down in Kohl-Slovenia, they're relieved that they made it.

And they're waiting for their welcoming party to take them on their little tour, you know, but it's late at night. Which we arranged, I presume. We arranged. Yeah. Their guide, or. Mm-hmm. Or. Mm-hmm.

Or. Mm-hmm. Or. Yeah. Okay. They get there and they go through a lengthy custom search. And when they finally emerge into the parking lot, they realize that it's late at night and there's nobody waiting to meet them. And the one cab driver pretends that he can't communicate with them.

They don't speak any close Slovenian. He speaks no English. He throws up his hands, won't let them get in the cab, and they don't know where to go. They look around. There's practically no one in the airport. And finally, they're resigned to sleeping that night in the airport. and Mrs. Krusty sees a woman walking toward them that she recognizes from the plane. And she says, oh, thank God we'll be able to get to our hotel tonight.

And of course, she's right. How does she know that this woman speaks English? Now, if you think you know the answer, or you can remember anything about, how long is this? Is this a show over yet? I just couldn't shorten it. No, I under. How can you shorten it if you're trying to obfuscate? Right.

You can't. Now, if you think you know the answer, write it on a postcard or glue it to the base of a mission style Oak Entertainment Center with sliding European hinged pocket doors and cedar storage shelves and send it before Christmas to a puzzler tower, Car Talk Plaza, Box 3,500, Harvard Square, Cambridge. Our Fair City. Matt 02238.

Or you can email your answer from the Car Talk section of Cars.com. 1888 car talk. That's the number to call. That's 888-227-8255. Hello, you're on car talk. Hi, this is Becca. I'm calling from across the river in Brighton Mass. Becca? Yep. Hi, Becca. Hi, Becca. As in re-beca, maybe. So, my car is making a noise like a didgeridoo. A didgeridoo? Yes.

I have a didgeridoo. Do you? I'm a master on the didgeridoo. Make the noise for us, Becca. It sort of sounds a little bit like this. It's a... Okay. What kind of a car is it? It's a VW. Jetta, 1992. 92.

And this noise is coming from the glove compartment. From the glove compartment? Well, the... While you're driving? While I'm driving. Does it happen when you start the engine and you haven't moved the car yet? No. It only happens when the engine is engaged.

So if I'm moving and I have the clutch fully in, doesn't do it. Braking doesn't do it. Only when I have my foot on the gas, and I think it's more pronounced as I'm just about to disengage the motor a bit. So I'm starting to put in the clutch, pulling off on the gas. That's when it happens the most. Becca, you start the car in the morning. No noise. No noise. You start to drive. No noise. happens? What is it associated with? Well, I would say it's probably when the car gets up

to running speed. I think it's happening mostly when I'm about 35 miles an hour or above. And you can hear this over the road noise that this thing makes? Hey! Come on! Not when I'm on the highway. I don't know if it happens on the highway

because it's too loud. Right. If you ever tried this, revving the engine up, but not making the car move. In other words, sitting there in neutral and revving the engine up to try to duplicate the noise at a given engine RPM. Because I have a theory and a fallback position

and another fallback. The thing is that it won't do anything if I have the clutch in, ever. Huh? Oh. In other words, if the clutch is pressed. If the clutch is pressed in, it doesn't do it. So if it's making the noise

and you put your foot on the clutch, noise goes away. Yes. Ah. And yet the noise sounds like it's coming from the glove box? Yes. It's the right-hand front. Glove box?

Becca. Sit still. We'll be sending someone over. Someone's coming over right now to pick up the car. Very nice men. They will be there to help you. My boyfriend hears it too, though. It's not just me.

See, I was convinced that it was your timing belt tensioner. Because when these tensioners go bad, this is exactly the noise that they make. Yeah. But you're not allowing us to use that answer. I mean, the classic diagnosis for a noise going away when you step on the clutch is the bearing on the front shaft of the transmission.

But if you're sitting, if you're sitting stopped at a light and it's making the noise. It's not. It will not exist. until I'm already moving. All right, then I think the clutch thing is bogus. And I'm sticking. I'm sticking with my timing belt tensioner.

I just had my timing belt replaced, though. All the more reason. Well, I'll tell you why. Just the other day at the shop, we replaced a timing belt that had a questionable tensioner. And when the old belt is in there and it's really loose, which is what happens to old belts, The tensioner doesn't make noise because there's not much of a load on it because the belt is loose and floppy and it's not doing very much tensioning. When, however, the new belt is put in and the tensioner is set for the new belt,

it will often, if it's old and worn out, which yours is because it's 105 years old, it will begin to make noise. So that is absolutely what it is. If you go back, and this didn't happen, probably. Watch out. you're going to ask a very dangerous question. Until after the timing belt was put in. Is that true, Becca?

I'm holding my breath. I'm pretty sure you're right because we moved to Massachusetts three months ago, and it's been doing it since we moved to Massachusetts, and I think right before we left Buffalo, I had the timing belt replaced. And we've been trying to think of what the time letter is. What the cause and effect is here. Yes. I think that's it.

I think you're right. And, I mean, this can be verified, because if you can get it to be making the noise, when someone can have the hood up and listening, then he'll be able to... Actually, just take it to your mechanic, have him take the cover off, and when it makes the noise,

have him just loosen the tension on the timing belt of hair. The noise will go right away. Oh. And you had two backup positions on that one? I did, but you don't want to know. You don't want to know what they were. Cream of wheat. Hey, Becca, welcome to...

Boston. Thank you. Do you realize that Buffalo just got two feet of snow recently, like a week or so ago? I'm driving there tomorrow. Good luck. Good for you. We may never see you again. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well, it's happened again. You've squanded another perfectly good hour listening to Car Talk. Our esteemed producer is Doug Bongo Boy Bourbon. Our associate producers are Louis Cronin the Barbarian and David, what, me, Worry, Green. Our engineer is Tad Massimon-Curie. Our senior wear blackie is Doug the old gray mayor, aka sheep boy, and our technical, spiritual, and manual advisors just back from the Texarkana, sloppy Joe invitational, is John Bugsy Lawler.

Our public opinion poster is Paul Murky of Merkey Research, assisted by statistician Margin Overa. Our customer care representative is Haywood Jabuzoff. Our new truck reviewer is a big new rig. Our overseer of Florida voting practices is a manual recount, assisted by ballot inspector Chad Dimpler. Our divorce attorney is Carmine Not Yours. Our director of genealogical research is Manny Cousins. The Car Talk

Lottery Ticket Coordinator is Jason Rainbow's. Cartar Plaza's chief referees are Your Call and Mike Hall. Your Call. Oh, Your Call. Our director of holiday visits to the in-laws is Don Juan Gold. Our Russian chauffeur is drop off. The banker at Carthock Plaza

Poker Games is Nikolai Put-in and our seat cushion tester is Mike Easter. Our chief counsel from the law firm of Dewey Cheatham and Howe is U. Louis Dewey, known to the born 20 years too late, wannabe punk rockers in Harvard Square as Uie Louie Dewey. Thanks so much for listening. We're clicking clack to Tappertan Brothers. Don't drive like my brother. Don't drive like my brother. We'll be back next week. Bye-bye. Car Talk is a production of Dewey Cheaterman Howe and WBUR in Boston. And even though the MIT Alumni Office re-expunges our records, whatever they hear us say it,

this is NPR, National Public Radio. Thank you.