Question:I'm planning on moving about 2,500 miles. I'm renting a truck for this move, and I would like to tow a car behind it. I was told I have three options: I can drag the car on all four wheels, use a trailer that lifts the two front wheels or use a small, flatbed trailer to get all four wheels off the ground. Which method is best? Do any of these methods cause damage to the wheels, shocks or tires? — Steve
Tom: Well, the flatbed method is best, Steve. A trailer that gets all four wheels off the ground would put absolutely no wear and tear on the car.
Ray: Unless the car falls off. Then there WOULD be some wear and tear, wouldn't you agree?
Tom: Sure. The greatest sources of wear and tear during long-range tows are (1) leaving the parking brake on, (2) forgetting to put the car in neutral, and (3) the aforementioned "disconnection" issues.
Ray: Flatbedding is best, although it's also your most expensive option. But if you have an all-wheel-drive vehicle, flatbedding is probably your only option.
Tom: If you have a front-wheel-drive car, then lifting the two front wheels off the ground will work fine.
Ray: If you have a rear-wheel-drive car, you can also tow by lifting the two front wheels — assuming the car's in neutral. But in that case, you'll also be putting 2,500 miles on the rear differential, which is more expensive than most of the suspension pieces and tires put together. And many manufacturers also recommend that you remove the drive shaft before you tow a car on its driven wheels, so that's an added hassle and expense.
Tom: The all-four-wheels-on-the-ground method is an option for front- or rear-wheel-drive cars as well, but in addition to all the other concerns, you have to take the additional step of securing the front wheels so they don't steer off in their own direction. So I tend to steer people (ha-ha) away from that method if possible.
Ray: So here are our general recommendations, Steve. If you have a front-wheel-drive car — which the majority of people do — then you can use the two-front-wheels-off-the-ground method. And if you have anything else, go for the flatbed.
Question: I got what I thought was some rather heartening news yesterday. My ex-wife, who has done her best to flaunt the fact that she got the house, the dog and all my tools and albums, has been having car trouble. Not only is her daily vehicle in the shop getting a new axle, but the 1950 Chevy she bought as another way to flaunt her wealth is having some emergency work done.
She was driving our son to work in the Chevy when it started smoking. Apparently, the radiator was nearly out of fluid. So when she got our son to work, he went in and got her a gallon of water to put in the radiator. She popped the hood and poured in the water . . . right into the crankcase! Needless to say, the car needed to be towed to a garage that specializes in classic cars. After I stopped laughing and picked myself up off the floor, I started to wonder just how much damage she actually did. Will the oil just need to be drained, or does pouring a gallon of water into the crankcase ruin some parts as well? — Jim
Tom: Well, here's the story, Jim. If she just poured some water into the crankcase, realized her mistake and then called the tow truck, it's unlikely she did any permanent damage. In that case, the crankcase could simply be drained and refilled with oil. End of story.
Ray: But don't despair yet, Jim! If she poured in the water and then tried to START the car, she undoubtedly wrecked the engine.
Question:I need to do a brake job on my 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis, and I want to know the correct procedure for bleeding off the excess hydraulic fluid. Some mechanics have said that when you depress the caliper piston to make room for the brake pad, the excess fluid should be vented there at the bleeder valve near the wheel and then discarded. Others have said to just push in the piston, forget about opening the bleeder and let the extra fluid go back up the lines to the brake master cylinder. Which procedure is correct, or doesn't it make a difference? — Doug
Ray: Well, in the old days, you used to just push in the pistons, and the stuff would go back up the lines and end up in the master cylinder. Or if the master cylinder was full, all over your garage floor.
Tom: But now, with anti-lock brake systems (ABS) so common, you're no longer supposed to do that. We've found that when we force fluid — and more importantly, other debris — back up the brake lines, it can cause damage to the ABS.
Ray: So the preferred procedure is to bleed the excess fluid out right there at the caliper. Just grab a container, open the bleeder, push in the caliper piston and catch the overflow. It's no more difficult to do it that way, and it beats having to spend $2,000 on a new ABS unit, doesn't it?
The Magliozzi brothers' radio show, "Car Talk," can be heard Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Sundays at noon on KUER FM 90.1, and on KCPW 88.3/105.1 FM Saturdays at 9 a.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m. If you have a question about cars, write to Click and Clack Talk Cars c/o King Features Syndicate, 235 East 45th St., New York, NY 10017. You can e-mail them by visiting their Web site at cartalk.com.