Dear Tom and Ray:
I own a 1983 Ford Ranger with a five-speed manual transmission. My question is whether it hurts the transmission in any way to start off in second gear instead of first. I was always taught to run the transmission through the full range of gears. But when I start in second, I experience quicker acceleration, and don't have to hold up traffic with the extra shifting. - RonRAY: It won't hurt the transmission, Ron. But it will ruin the clutch. When you start in second, the clutch slips more because you're giving it more gas just to keep it from bucking and stalling. If you want more evidence of this, try starting in third gear. You'll probably smell the clutch burning!
TOM: The least harmful way to get up to speed is to use the full range of gears (except reverse, of course). So change your ways, Ron! Or pretty soon, you're going to start getting junk mail from the Clutch of the Month Club.
Dear Tom and Ray:
I have a '79 Honda Prelude that started making a loud noise over 35 mph. My mechanic told me I needed a new exhaust manifold. Since I don't know much about cars, I let them fix it and it cost me a bundle. Now I still have the same exact noise and it's getting worse. I brought it back, and this time they told me for sure that the noise is a wheel bearing. Do you think the mechanic is right this time? Please help! - Nikki
RAY: Your mechanic obviously didn't go to the Sherlock Holmes school of auto repair, Nikki. Both the exhaust manifold and a wheel bearing can make the kind of noise you describe, but a little investigation could have told him which one it was.
TOM: A bad exhaust manifold will make noise whether or not the car is moving - the higher the speed of the engine, the louder the noise. So if the exhaust manifold was the problem, your mechanic should have been able to rev the car and make the noise for you right there in the garage.RAY: A bad wheel bearing, on the other hand, will only make noise when the car is moving. So if it was the wheel bearing, he'd be hard pressed to make the noise for you by revving the engine. One more test, like putting the car on the lift and spinning each wheel with the engine off, could have confirmed the diagnosis.
TOM: My guess is that when you go and ask for your money back, he's going to try to convince you that you needed that new manifold anyway. But since the noise hasn't changed at all, I doubt that's true. If he's a decent guy, he'll either give you your money back for the manifold, or at the very least, replace the wheel bearing for free.
RAY: If he refuses, go to another mechanic and have the wheel bearing taken care of. It could be dangerous. Wheel bearings hold the wheels on, and it would take Jackie Mason to explain how you park one of these Preludes with one wheel tucked underneath the car.
The Magliozzi brothers' radio show "Car Talk" can be heard each Saturday at 10 a.m. on KUER FM 90.1 If you have a question about cars, write to Click and Clack Talk Cars c/o King Features Syndicate, 235 East 45th Street, New York, N.Y. 10017.