Nuts and Bolts with Buffalo Jim

Buffalo Jim,

I had the engine replaced on my '95 Honda Civic with a manual transmission about 2,500 miles ago. A couple of days ago three problems started: 1. When idling, the idle will sometimes bump up and down. It does not do this all the time--usually right after start-up. 2. A loss of power. When the RPMs get a little high in each gear there is an abrupt loss of power and a bogging-down sensation. 3. Rough sound in exhaust. There is an after-market exhaust system on the car, but the sound is noticeably different now.

Could all of these symptoms be caused by a clogged catalytic converter? What about an exhaust leak? What else could be causing this?

--Adam Brown

This week, bro, I'm going to tell you something that'll make you look at your car in a whole new way. When most people look at a car, they see a big, complicated ball of hoses and wires and bolts and sheet metal. But a car is really nothing more than a collection of individual systems that work together to create motion and, sometimes, comfort. When one of these isolated systems breaks down, the performance of the entire vehicle suffers. So the key to diagnosing an automotive problem is to narrow down the potential problems until you hit paydirt. Then it's just a matter of spinning some wrenches, banging your knuckles and letting fly with a few choice curse words.

Your instincts told you that there might be a problem with the exhaust, so start there. You can test for a blockage in the exhaust system by separating the exhaust manifold from the exhaust pipe at the flange in front of the steering wheel. It's an easy job; all you have to do is jack up the car, set it on stands and loosen two bolts. Tie off the pipe to the side with a clothes hanger and drive around the block. It will be loud, but if it runs well, you just found your problem. If it's not that, you might consider your fuel delivery system, because it sounds like you're not getting enough gas into the engine. Hook up a pressure gauge to your fuel pressure valve and make sure it meets the specifications for your vehicle. Finally, if that doesn't do the trick, I would guess that you've got a computer problem. In that case, you'll probably have to haul it into the shop, but let's hope it doesn't get that far.

Tip of the week

Back in February 1988, a guy from Oklahoma came into the shop with a 1980 Cadillac Eldorado. The car needed a valve job and some axles, and he told me he was looking to sell it. He wanted $1,800, I offered $1,000 and we finally settled on $1,300. I'll tell you, I did a number on that car. The hubcaps, the moldings, the emblems, the shifter, the ashtrays, the cigarette lighter--anything that I could get off of the car I had gold-plated. I swapped out the stock grille for a Rolls Royce grille and had that dipped in 24-karat gold. The whole project ran me about $10,000, but it looked good.

The only problem with the car was that it already had 130,000 miles on the engine, which was a lot for an eight-year-old car. I gave it a valve job, but 5,000 miles later, the engine started burning oil. It was going through about a quart a day, so I put in five quarts of 50-weight Valvoline racing oil and two pints of STP oil stabilizer. This isn't the kind of thing you would want to do to a new car, but it will save you the trouble of an engine rebuild when you know you have worn-out rings and bearings.

Then, when the car hit 200,000 miles, it started burning oil again. I switched to five quarts of 60-weight and two pints of STP. When the car finally quit, it read 227,000 miles on the odometer. I got almost 100,000 extra miles out of a car that should have had the bottom-end rebuilt years before. That ain't too shabby at all.

Buffalo Jim is the owner of Allstate Auto Marine. When he opened his first shop in Las Vegas in 1970, he couldn't afford a phone, so he had a pay phone installed in the garage. He even made a commission off of outgoing calls. E-mail him your car and/or telecommunications questions at buffalojim@lasvegasmercury.com.