0:15

Hello,

0:16

and welcome to Kaira Talk on National Public

0:18

Radio with us looking like the Tapper brothers. We're

0:20

broadcasting this week from the Puxatani

0:22

Dodge sent to hear your current talk plaza. Now

0:24

this is the time of year when we try to predict

0:27

how much longer winter will go on, you

0:29

know, roadhog day. Right.

0:31

So we dutifully pushed my brother sixty

0:33

three died out in the parking lot you

0:35

know, it was pushed to see if it would cast a

0:37

shadow. And

0:39

and well,

0:40

even though it's wrong, even though it was day,

0:42

like, with all that rust that refused to cast a

0:44

shadow. I'm pretty sad, isn't it? It is

0:46

sad. Yeah.

0:47

But what can you do? What a heap? I'm

0:50

amazed. I actually quickly. You can turn

0:52

almost any car in the jungle.

0:55

All I do is drive it Yeah.

0:57

I don't know what happens. I drive it.

1:00

Turns to junk. Yeah. But it's nice

1:02

how you'll have that compost heap just going

1:04

right in the back seat all the time. It's great.

1:06

I mean, the leads, the worms

1:08

to get in the air. Yeah. I'm growing tomatoes.

1:13

It was really impressive that the the the

1:15

seedlings that fall off the Maple trees in

1:17

your driveway. Yeah. And then actually,

1:22

you may think that's a joke, but that is the absolute

1:24

truth. The seedlings actually take root

1:26

in the back seat. Yeah. And they grow

1:29

your own trees in your car. It's kind of

1:31

holy cow. I'd rather like it.

1:34

Do you have any great meal to try? I

1:36

have one great pizza mailing.

1:38

It's also You're gonna just launch right into it. You

1:40

know, it's also brief. You don't wanna you don't wanna

1:42

start. It don't warm us up with a few crummy ones like

1:44

you usually don't know. Okay. Remember

1:46

we were talking about combination

1:51

businesses like funeral power and

1:53

furniture store and all that stuff? Yeah. Oh, yes. Yes.

1:55

Yes. Rich Rosenthal from where are

1:57

you from Charlotte, North Carolina. Dear click

1:59

and collect, I listened to Charlotte, which should describe

2:01

businesses that have combined. I used

2:03

to live in a small town northwest of Charlotte,

2:05

North Carolina. There was story about

2:07

a veterinarian who got together with

2:10

a taxi dermis and opened a combined

2:12

frac this in a small storefront. They

2:14

hung out a big sign that said, either

2:17

you'll get your dog back. Is

2:23

That's terrific. You know?

2:26

Are you ready for call? Like, I can tell. There's

2:28

there's a message in there somewhere. I Yeah. It's

2:30

pretty clear. I I have a feeling that we will

2:32

have need for that for that little phrase.

2:35

Either way, you'll get your dog back. Well, I

2:37

always thought of opening up a combination auto repair

2:39

shop in junkyard. Well,

2:40

you can't fix them. You're just joking. That's

2:42

right. You're in the right place. No matter what. Either

2:44

way, you're in the right place. One eight hundred

2:47

3329287 Hello.

2:49

You're on car talk. Yeah.

2:50

My name is Dick, and I'm from

2:53

Wapacaneta, Ohio. Wapacaneta,

2:56

Ohio. Right. Wow.

3:00

good enough, Dick. We don't have to narrow it down that

3:02

much. What's up, man? Well,

3:05

my nineteen eighty eight Chevrolet

3:07

pickup truck bounces up and down

3:09

like a rubber ball when you

3:11

step on the brakes. Oh,

3:13

yeah. it bounces

3:15

up and down. Right. Like the shocks

3:17

are bad.

3:18

Right. They probably are. No.

3:20

They're they're new.

3:22

They're new. Right. When

3:25

you say it bounces up and down,

3:29

I'm trying to understand that.

3:31

I don't understand bounces up and down.

3:33

Does it sort of shutter

3:36

or jutter or does it literally

3:38

bounce straight up and down? I mean,

3:40

like a basketball, no, it pitches.

3:42

Right? Well,

3:43

it starts when

3:45

you start to decrease your speed,

3:47

when it hits about forty miles

3:49

per hour, it starts to bounce

3:51

up and down and it doesn't quit until

3:54

about twenty five miles an hour.

3:57

But do you feel any pulsation

3:59

in the

3:59

pedal? Yeah. Just a little. Just

4:02

a little. Yeah. Does

4:04

your coffee spill on your lap? Oh,

4:07

definitely. Anyway,

4:10

I suspect you have warped break

4:12

discs. Now, while it's

4:14

causing nothing to pitch up and down, I

4:16

can only imagine is the

4:18

very uneven braking action. It would be

4:20

just like you were

4:22

tapping the brake, and then

4:23

releasing it, tapping it, releasing it, tapping it, releasing

4:25

it, because every time you tap the brake, what

4:27

happens is the front bumper noses. In

4:29

other words, it goes closer to the ground. You

4:31

got that? Yeah. Still with a stick?

4:33

Yeah. He's there. Yeah. Okay.

4:35

So I know it's off there for a minute. Yeah.

4:37

I know. Is

4:42

this the excitement? I know. Do

4:44

you want the guys on national public

4:46

radio yet? Hey.

4:48

Those are all hey. Well, we're boring. I

4:50

bored the guy. No. I want to give him the

4:52

answer. So here it is. Let's assume

4:54

there was nothing wrong with your brakes, but you had a peculiar

4:57

method of stopping car. You punched the

4:59

brake pedal, released it, punched it, released

5:01

it, punched it, punched it, you would get exactly

5:03

the same thing. It would bounce up

5:05

at In fact, take borrow a French

5:07

truck. Everyone in Ohio owns

5:09

pickup trucks. Right? And and do what I

5:11

just described to you.

5:12

Okay? A little short pouches. Boom boom boom

5:15

boom boom boom.

5:15

and it'll do the same thing and the coffee

5:17

will spill in your lap. And what

5:19

what's happening is your brake discs are warped and

5:21

with your steady application of pressure to the

5:23

pedal, it's actually doing the same thing.

5:26

Okay. I had a dealer turn the drums

5:28

twice. It isn't in the drums. It's in the front.

5:30

It's in the discs. Okay. I meet

5:32

the rotors. I had them on. the rotors twice.

5:34

Not in the front. It's in the back of drums.

5:39

Could be the drums. Alright. Well, actually, as

5:41

you described it, I got

5:43

the sense that it was on the back. Has

5:45

anyone looked at the back, like, the way you recover?

5:48

No. No. I mean, I'm sure. Speak the truth.

5:50

I speak the truth. I I immediately,

5:52

when he described this, my mind went

5:54

to the back wheels right away. Well,

5:56

I have not had the back looked at that. Then

5:58

I would look at him. Yeah.

5:59

Either one will do it. Yeah.

6:02

Alright. What's this gonna cost me? It's

6:04

twenty bucks. Oh,

6:06

do you go to the dealer? Right.

6:08

Four hundred and eighty. You're

6:11

gonna need shoes sold as emergency brake

6:13

cables hardware, kick drums true.

6:15

I would say between two eighty and four forty.

6:18

Have someone pull off the drums Take

6:20

a look at everything inside, make sure it's sitting where

6:22

it's supposed to sit, turn the drums,

6:24

put them back on, and the whole problem

6:26

will go away, Gary. And don't ever

6:28

fill the coffee cup more than two thirds.

6:30

It won't spill. See a deck deck.

6:33

A snap bottom. Hey,

6:35

thanks a lot. Thank you. Get some rest. What

6:37

do you need? Alright.

6:40

By the way, my bike. Bye. Hey, guys.

6:42

Dosing on. know,

6:43

I have to say, I'm insulted. Although,

6:45

I'm hurt. I'm crushed. Although,

6:47

I have castigated. I know

6:50

that I have spoken pejuratively of

6:53

people who drive pickup trucks, but I have

6:55

been wrong. They're as

6:57

you are with many things. So I've

6:59

had I've had AAA

7:01

revelation that there are indeed

7:03

several categories of pick up. Yes.

7:05

There are there are we there are us

7:07

sensitive caring individuals that

7:09

drive pickup truck. Alright. You're a talented dick.

7:11

Our team is illiterate. Well,

7:14

and this dick and this dick, Dick

7:16

the dozer. No.

7:19

Dick is a kind of guy. You would just love

7:21

to sit around and drink coffee. If you can keep

7:23

them safe. drink coffee.

7:25

Keep them up every once in a while,

7:27

he would just come in with a zinger out of

7:30

out of his stopper. He would give me a

7:32

little zinger. I

7:34

liked it. So So even though he

7:36

drives a pickup truck And then there's all the people

7:38

who live in New Hampshire live free and die young and

7:40

they're driving around. Who knows what the heck

7:42

did one eight hundred 3329287

7:46

Hello, you're on cat talk.

7:47

Hi. My name is Deanie, and

7:49

I'm calling from Richland, Washington. Deanie?

7:51

Yes. DINI No.

7:54

DENEE No. DINEEDEANEY

7:59

No.

7:59

Wait

8:02

a minute. Hold it now.

8:06

Deeni, DEIGNY

8:12

You want me to help you? Yeah. We NIEDEANIE

8:15

to

8:18

EANEEI got

8:20

it. I got it. It's like Dino, but with

8:22

an IE instead.

8:24

Dino. I I wouldn't Oh,

8:26

Dino is DIN0 Yeah. No. d

8:29

e. Yeah. d e. That your first

8:31

name or last name? That's my

8:32

first name.

8:33

unusual first name you've got to admit. You

8:35

are the first dini in

8:37

fifteen years to call us.

8:39

Alright. Is it is it just a

8:41

a made up name or is this your given name?

8:43

Well, my

8:44

middle name is Just Dean,

8:46

DEAN

8:46

and this is a nickname

8:49

Also, your name is Deanie Dean. So

8:52

how bad is your first name that you that

8:55

you you end up with Deanie?

8:57

Sure. What what could it possibly be?

8:58

My first name is Alyssa. Oh, what

9:00

a sweet name? Yeah. That

9:03

happens to be my dear mother's

9:05

name. You know, it's a coincidence. It's my

9:07

mother's name. Oh, god. That's some fun that's

9:09

three releases all at once here.

9:11

Geez. Imagine that.

9:13

Anyway, Deanie, what's on your mind? Where are you from anyway?

9:16

Richland, Washington. Richland,

9:18

Washington. I paid attention. I wasn't. I

9:20

was trying to spell her name. Alright.

9:22

What's up. Well, thanks for calling you.

9:24

What's on your mind? Well,

9:26

my father and my

9:29

husband are having kind of a disagreement

9:31

about when

9:32

is the most accurate time

9:34

to check the oil? Yeah.

9:36

And whether whether the engine is

9:38

cold or whether should be warm.

9:40

I have to say that these are among

9:42

the most difficult solutions

9:44

here. Yeah. I mean, when you have a controversy

9:47

between father and a husband boy, are you put in the

9:49

middle of what? Yes. Well,

9:51

it's kinda tough. Yes. We will try

9:53

to give the politically correct answer.

9:55

Okay. Go ahead. No. We only have the correct answer.

9:58

Feelings aside. Oh, man. Your

10:00

heart was brooked. Alright.

10:03

What does your father's

10:05

sake.

10:05

My father, who is a amateur

10:08

mechanic -- Yeah. --

10:10

says that the most accurate

10:12

way to check-in when the engine is

10:14

cold. Cold. He

10:16

started it off. Yeah. k. Then And

10:18

then And what about your Dinwidd husband? What

10:20

does he say? He's not anemic. No.

10:23

He's an engineer, but he's not a manager.

10:24

The worst kind. I know. Engineers

10:27

are people who think they know how

10:29

things work. Right. Yeah. But they

10:31

don't. Right.

10:32

He thinks that you should

10:34

check it when the engine

10:36

is warm that if you do it when

10:38

it's cold, it won't be accurate because

10:41

you'll get a higher reading

10:43

than you

10:44

should because more of the oil would have

10:47

drained out the engine. I mean,

10:48

my dad Yeah. But yeah. We're in a

10:50

higher reading than you should. If you

10:53

It'll

10:53

show that there's more oil. Sure.

10:55

Not in the engine. And he says if you check it

10:57

when the when it's warm, then

10:59

that oil is up in the engine and

11:01

it's even more accurate. I see.

11:04

And see, the time where it comes in the

11:06

problem is when we're down in

11:08

Oregon visiting them --

11:09

Yeah. --

11:09

a couple months ago, and we were leaving. And

11:12

I said, for getting there. Okay. Let's check the

11:14

oil. The oil because I was

11:16

raised by my father.

11:17

Right. Yeah. And your husband said that not

11:19

yet, hon. Right.

11:20

Let's drive ten miles down the freeway. And

11:23

check it in the breakdown

11:24

lane. And your father

11:26

said, no. You do it. and

11:28

then a big controversy in the world. I

11:30

can see it family feud. I can see

11:32

your husband and father on speaking to

11:34

each other. Well, it's not quite that bad

11:36

news. Yeah. Anyway,

11:39

your father is right. You should check it

11:41

cold. Yeah. And in fact, if you looked in the

11:43

owner's manual, it says exactly

11:45

that. I'm surprised that your engineer husband

11:47

didn't even think of doing that before he

11:49

started this big family feud. No. because

11:51

if you check at any other time or IE

11:53

when the engine hot and or has been

11:55

running, a certain amount of oil is

11:57

up in in the valve train

11:59

assembly. And and of course, it isn't down in the pan. And

12:01

what you're really checking is how much oil is in

12:03

the oil pan. And the most accurate

12:05

time to check that is one of the things been sitting

12:07

for a while. As a matter of fact, it's even

12:09

easier, and I'll tell you why, you don't have

12:11

to wipe off the stick if you check it cold. If

12:13

you go out there in the morning and the

12:15

car has been parked on a level surface,

12:17

you just pull the dipstick

12:20

out and you read it and you stick

12:22

it back in. And you're all done. And you're all

12:24

done. So more important issue though. That

12:26

isn't it isn't a compelling Reason

12:29

reason for doing it that way. I can't think of anything

12:31

better. But the more important issue I

12:33

think, Deanie, is how are you gonna break this to

12:35

your husband? He's not home now, I hope. Is he? No.

12:37

He's on a trip. on his trip. No. He's on

12:39

the trip. He drove away with that

12:41

extra two watts of oil on the engine.

12:43

I don't I don't know if he He still can leave

12:45

you because he listens to you every week.

12:47

So he feel kind of a bond with

12:49

you and He'll believe you. Well,

12:51

believe us. Yeah. But will he be will

12:54

will he feel crust fallen, I

12:56

guess, is the word, and and is he a man?

12:57

my theory is he'll probably still do it his

13:00

way.

13:00

I'm sure he will, but stick with dear old

13:02

dad. Yeah. Thanks for your call,

13:04

Deanie. Thank you. This is Michael.

13:06

Later. Hey, got more calls in the puzzle

13:08

oriented coming up right after this.

13:16

Each morning, it's a new opportunity.

13:18

A chance to start fresh. A

13:20

fresh from NPR makes each morning an opportunity

13:23

to learn and to understand. Choose

13:25

to join the world every morning with UpFirst,

13:27

a podcast that hands you everything

13:29

going on across the globe in, down

13:31

the street all in fifteen minutes or less.

13:33

Start your day informed and a new

13:35

with up first by subscribing wherever

13:37

you get your podcasts.

13:39

So what do you

13:40

wanna do now? What? How

13:43

about we answer last week's puzzle? You don't

13:45

have any bambarino no matter what they asked him,

13:47

he said, You're ready for

13:49

me. He said, what? What? You're ready for the

13:51

Tesla? Yes. I am. Okay. And I remember

13:53

last week's Tesla. Really? Might ever.

13:55

crusty. No. It wasn't about crusty. It

13:57

wasn't about was it about

13:59

balloons? No.

14:02

I know that Tesla was about two

14:04

stroke engines. just for background

14:06

purposes. Yeah. I I

14:08

started talking about the Saab and I mentioned

14:10

the two stroke engines to be

14:12

somewhat common. I mean, old Saabs use the

14:14

two stroke engines. ninety two's, ninety four's,

14:16

ninety five's, and ninety six's. Old

14:18

lawnmowers, snowblowers. There there are a whole

14:20

bunch of applications for two stroke engines.

14:22

And in recent years, the old style two strokes

14:24

have fallen out of favor. You know, they're

14:27

noisy, they're inefficient, they're smokey, they're a

14:29

pain in the neck, you gotta mix the gas in the

14:31

oil, and all that. Anyway,

14:33

just about everything uses

14:35

a four stroke engine now. Well,

14:37

except your electric razor, you know.

14:39

Yeah. but lawnmowers have converted,

14:41

snowblowers have converted, even Saabs have

14:43

converted. But the one machine on

14:45

which I've never seen a four stroke engine

14:47

Yes. This is a chainsaw. And

14:50

the question I asked is, why has

14:52

no one put a four stroke engine on a

14:54

chainsaw? And the hint that we

14:56

gave was that it has nothing to do with weight.

14:58

That's right. Because as we know, lumberjacks

15:00

could lift anything. They lift tree.

15:02

Well, they would well, they gonna worry about her lousy

15:05

little chainsaw. take the trees out of the

15:07

ground. Pull them right out of the ground. Exactly. They

15:09

don't even need this thinking chainsaw.

15:11

That's right. Right. Well, the reason

15:14

things like chain saws have two stroke

15:16

engines is because you can operate the engine

15:18

upside down, sideways, any

15:20

way you want Right? The one that you

15:22

you don't have to do that with, like, snowblowers

15:24

and lawnmowers because mostly,

15:26

although I do mow the side of

15:28

my house where the moss grows.

15:30

And and it

15:32

does stall. Well, I discovered this recently

15:34

when I tried to use my my

15:36

lawnmowers, a hedge trimmer. So

15:39

it was great on the tops. Yeah. But on the

15:41

sides, I I welded two handles to

15:43

that baby. I was I was held a

15:45

thing up sideways. I figured I could, you know, do

15:47

the whole thing in one maybe two

15:49

passes. Did Tim Allen help you?

15:51

Yes. Do we have a

15:53

winner? But but but that's

15:55

why chain saws have two stroke engines. That was a good

15:57

puzzle. You don't have a crank case that's full

15:59

of oil to worry

15:59

about. Exactly right. Because if you tip it

16:02

upside down, who knows where the oil goes? Of course.

16:04

Of course, you people ask then ask, but what

16:06

about planes

16:07

that have four park engines? That's another

16:09

puzzle. That next week. That'll be for later.

16:11

That's why I don't put oil in

16:13

my car. because when we only go up those

16:15

steep hills, I don't want that all spilling everywhere.

16:17

So I keep it down to like a half a quart. Do

16:19

we have a winner? Yeah. The winner.

16:21

Is Jack Broomett from Jackson, Tennessee,

16:24

the volunteer state, you know,

16:26

Tennessee? Yes. I I knew that. And he

16:28

volunteered what? the correct answer,

16:30

and for being selected. Among

16:32

the thousands of people or billions

16:35

of people who gave the right answer, Jack

16:37

will get either a contact

16:39

t shirt size h for humongous

16:41

or an autograph copy of our

16:43

meteoric book. Mhmm. I

16:45

mean, I mediocre. I like the new word,

16:47

METEORIC. I mean, DI0E0RATIC

16:52

Carton. Anyway, we have a new puzzle

16:54

coming up an interesting new puzzler

16:56

coming up in the second half. Is it the one we

16:58

discussed earlier in the green room? Yes.

17:00

So don't go ice fishing just yet. In

17:02

the meantime, we'll take a call. The number

17:04

is one-eight hundred-three thirty two-nine thousand two hundred and eighty

17:06

seven. Hello. You're on Caratalk.

17:08

Hi there. Hi there. Hi there. Miss Debra,

17:10

and I'm all the way here in Mont

17:12

TANA and Immigrant Montana. NO

17:15

kidding. Do you know

17:16

Montana only

17:17

has five hundred thousand people living in it

17:19

or at least residing there? I don't know if they're all

17:21

alive or not.

17:22

I say that with surprise. I

17:24

moved from the suburb of Chicago.

17:27

Yeah. It seemed like, you know, this little suburb

17:29

has been straight about over the entire state

17:31

of Montana. The

17:32

city of Chicago has ten times as many people as

17:34

the entire state of Montana. Isn't that

17:37

awesome? Isn't that something? Isn't that something. So how is how

17:39

is it in immigrant Montana?

17:41

It's cold man. It is When

17:44

possessed you to move to such a godforsaken

17:47

location? Boyfriend. My son's a

17:49

rockhand. This

17:49

is the place for rocks.

17:51

All rocks. We're we're not far

17:53

from Yellowstone. Oh, I mean, like geodes and

17:55

stuff like that. Oh, yeah. That kind of

17:57

rock. Well, humans love the sun of yours a

17:59

lot.

17:59

You bought the tears yesterday. I'm

18:02

a teacher. I

18:04

like I like teaching. You like teaching.

18:05

And he likes rocks. Yeah.

18:07

And you're stuck in Montana.

18:10

Well, I mean, most of the five hundred thousand

18:12

people who are there don't think they're

18:14

stuck. They think we are stuck. It's a Or a stoop.

18:16

No, Deborah knows she's stuck.

18:19

Well, tell them to hurry up and get

18:21

the rocks they need to get there back

18:22

to Chicago. So anyway, what's up?

18:25

Well, I have a black

18:28

Cadillac cimarron An

18:31

old old mom. Oh,

18:31

yeah. Well, they were made the It's actually black

18:34

and

18:34

rust if you wanna count the rust.

18:35

Black and rust. Yeah.

18:36

But there's a a check

18:38

engine light that comes on. really nice

18:41

mechanic fellow who had checked

18:43

it all over, and he figured that it

18:45

might be a loose wire. I

18:47

it this is how it started. I had about four miles

18:49

down the road to the highway, and then I'd be driving

18:51

about three miles down the highway at about, you

18:53

know, fifty fifty five. And then this little check engine

18:55

light would come on. And there would be

18:57

not a sound. There would be no grinding. The

19:00

temperature would be okay. And

19:02

then I get into town, which

19:04

is maybe another half hour of

19:06

driving away. and then I get down to twenty five miles

19:08

an hour, and the light would click off all that

19:10

itself. And then when I

19:12

turn around and head back out on the highway,

19:14

a light would

19:14

come back? come back on about

19:15

three miles out of town or so. It

19:18

seemed kind of regular and consistent. I could drive

19:20

it an hour. and there would be no

19:22

problem. No smoke. No whistles. Mhmm.

19:25

And and I didn't drive it for a couple of weeks while

19:27

I went out of town. I came back.

19:29

And now

19:30

Your measure of whether the car is

19:32

okay, then is whether there's any

19:35

smoke coming out like one of the hall. If

19:37

the door smoke, everything's okay by you.

19:39

No. It's check-in. This is really grim

19:41

going on under there. Yeah. I think you have

19:43

the Montana mentality. Everything's

19:46

fine. As long as

19:48

there's nothing on fire, everything's okay. It

19:50

can't get any worse. That's how it

19:52

goes. Alright. k.

19:53

That's cool. The mechanic had me check

19:56

the radiator and this and that,

19:58

and he came out and checked for

20:00

loose wires and said, well,

20:02

no. I I you know, I've checked this. I checked

20:04

that. III just don't think there's anything more

20:06

maybe than a loose wire. Yeah. It it yeah.

20:08

Unfortunately,

20:08

he's the one that has it.

20:10

Actually, I talked to another

20:11

guy who said, oh, honey, there's so much spaghetti under

20:13

there. You know, you really need to take this through

20:16

diagnostic with another computer. Let's Oh.

20:18

Computers. Oh, I called any of my women

20:20

customers all honey. How do you hit with

20:22

a ranch? Is that what the bloody screen

20:24

on the side? Well, listen,

20:27

hon. You need to take

20:29

it to someone who who can interpret the

20:31

information. First of all, the check engine light has

20:33

nothing to do with the engine. Oh.

20:35

Okay. What it has to do with this is the computer.

20:37

Well, it it has something to do with the with

20:39

the engine, but not directly. The check engine

20:41

light is telling you is that the computer

20:44

is storing a trouble code because

20:46

one of the sensors that operates the

20:48

fuel injection and the

20:52

electronic ignition is sending a message to the

20:54

computer that's incorrect, and the

20:56

computer can sense that, and it'll store

20:58

that cold. And why

21:01

happening at high speed. I don't know. It could be any

21:03

number of things that are that are wrong, but the way

21:05

they find this out is underneath the

21:07

dashed as a test port. and

21:09

they can either jump

21:11

these two connections with

21:13

with a paper clip even even be that

21:15

crude and the check engine light will

21:17

flash and it'll flash for

21:19

example, a signal. Two flashes and then

21:21

a pause and then three flashes and

21:23

it'll do that three times. Right. And that

21:25

will signify a code twenty three. look

21:27

up in your jockey guide book, what code

21:29

twenty three is, and it says,

21:31

oh, something good. Who's what?

21:33

That's what's what's spaghetti and

21:35

not on the sauce. And and

21:37

the and the mechanic will then follow

21:40

a a diagnostic chart,

21:42

you'll figure out what's wrong, maybe. Yeah. But these

21:44

guys trying to figure out what is by opening the

21:46

hood and looking for loose wires. No.

21:48

It's like fixing a computer like

21:50

with a hammer. Yeah. What else do

21:52

they fix these guys? Like, combines and

21:56

tractors? Yeah. They probably You you might you might

21:58

consider taking this to a

22:00

Cadillac dealer if you can find what I understand there's one in

22:02

Wyoming. Oh, there you have. There

22:04

might be one. In fact, I'm not so

22:06

sure that the that the

22:08

computer in this thing is much different

22:10

from the same computer. I mean, the trouble

22:12

causes the general motors. Anyone that

22:14

works on Chevrolet's or Buick's will be able

22:16

to work on this car. So you need to find someone

22:18

that's GM literate.

22:19

Okay. GM literate. I love it. Good

22:21

luck, Deborah. Thank you so much.

22:23

Thanks

22:27

for listening. You got nothing better

22:29

to talk about. Don't

22:32

move because more calls and the new puzzle

22:34

are coming right up.

22:53

Hi. We're back.

22:56

You listened to car talk

22:58

on national public radio with us clicking back

23:00

to Tapper Brothers, and We're here

23:02

to answer your questions about cars and car repair and the crash

23:05

test dummies widows and orphans fund.

23:07

We haven't had been having contributions to

23:09

that fund lately. No. They've fallen way

23:11

off. I really have. I don't understand why. We'll have to go on

23:13

a national tour, I think. Hey, you know what it's

23:15

time for? I know you know what it's time for because it's

23:17

always time. Always this time. Every time we come

23:19

back from our break, it's

23:21

time for our charming new puzzler. Charming.

23:23

Well, IIII for lack of a

23:25

better word, I guess, I use the word charming,

23:27

but you'll be the judge.

23:29

Well, I might even think of a better word, but go

23:31

ahead. Oh, I'm sure there are many better

23:34

words. But I cute. I was thinking of

23:36

cute, but But

23:38

but the charming, like like Charming to

23:40

do it. Yeah. I got no. Let me give it to you.

23:42

Here it is. You have a balloon that

23:44

is filled with air. Okay?

23:46

Yeah. Big like a boom.

23:48

Like a boom you'd get at the circus

23:51

except those are filled with helium, but Just

23:53

when you're brought up your boy. And

23:55

you tie the knot with a string. And and

23:57

and where you where you tie the thing in

23:59

a knot, you

23:59

also will fix a little string Yeah.

24:02

And you tie a weight to the balloon.

24:04

Mhmm. Okay? And the purpose of the weight

24:06

is Small weight. A small weight. It has

24:08

to be chosen very carefully

24:10

the purpose of the weight is so that you wanna place

24:12

the balloon in water --

24:15

Mhmm. -- like a swimming pool. Yeah. Such

24:17

that the weight will keep the

24:19

balloons top just even

24:20

with the top of the waters we describe in

24:23

geometry, ten gentle to the

24:25

surface. So that it so that it looks

24:27

as though it's floating. The top the

24:29

bottom of the balloon is Submitting the

24:31

entire balloon is submerged except

24:33

for the very top. All all

24:35

the entire balloons I misunderstood

24:38

Yes.

24:38

Yeah. The entire

24:39

bile balloon is submerged.

24:42

Okay? So that the weight is just

24:44

preventing the

24:44

balloon from isn't how you described this

24:47

puzzle to me before. Like, change That's

24:49

that's the charm. It's

24:52

irrelevant. I

24:54

don't think so. Well, we'll find out. Go

24:56

ahead. Alright. Go ahead. Okay. So the balloon is

24:58

this balloon is submerged. You got that?

25:00

I've got it. Alright? And the and the weight is keeping the balloon

25:03

from rising beyond the surface of the

25:05

water. And you can imagine this would work. Right? You had

25:07

the rains like to float. the

25:09

right. If if the weight weren't there, if you came with your

25:11

scissors and snip the the

25:13

string, it would pop right. It would pop right

25:15

up. But like the inner tubes doing here at the

25:17

beach, pop pop Pop pop right to the top. Oh, to

25:19

the surface. But you can see that the weight in it, of

25:21

course, it has to be chosen carefully. But

25:23

for the sake of this puzzle, you don't have

25:25

to know the weight of the weight could be a

25:27

good dumpster. The weight of the weight could

25:29

be anything. Sure. We don't say

25:31

that it's two grams. Did I make it too

25:33

complicated already? No. I don't think it's can I

25:35

work? But go ahead. No one. Now, you

25:37

take your hand and you push down

25:39

on the balloon. Alright.

25:42

And you push it down into the water,

25:45

one

25:45

foot. Yeah. I liked it the other way.

25:47

Alright. I'll

25:47

start off. you push the weight, you push

25:49

the balloon down one foot, and of course, it will

25:52

go down one foot. It'll go down nice and

25:54

smoothly. As you push it down -- Right. -- and

25:56

you take your hand away.

25:58

Yeah. What happens?

25:59

What happens? Yeah.

26:03

Well, that's it?

26:04

Well, no. I have to

26:05

read the rest of it. Why? What

26:08

happens? No. If you know what happens, you'll know why.

26:10

We'll explain the WiFi.

26:11

You just tell us what

26:14

happens. No. But you get multiple choices. Fifty

26:16

percent of the people who say, alright. Let's

26:18

we'll get the right answer. Alright. What happens in what?

26:20

Well, thirty three percent. If you think

26:22

you know the answer, or you just wanna take a

26:24

stab at it. Send it to Tesla

26:26

Tower. Kartok

26:28

Plaza, Box

26:29

thirty five hundred, Harvard

26:31

Square. Do I have to spell this

26:34

every week? HAHVAHDSQUAYAH

26:39

Just to keep spelling it until I stop

26:41

delivering on mail. It's

26:45

hot enough yet, the post office. They're

26:47

getting near Cambridge. Our fair

26:49

city, Mat 02238

26:52

And if you win, you win. If you lose, you

26:54

lose. Right. But send us your mail anyway. And

26:56

incidentally, if you have a wonderful new

26:59

pussler, that you

26:59

think we might wanna use,

27:01

send it along. We always appreciate it. Because

27:04

don't forget. You can win

27:06

either a wonderful car talk t shirt

27:08

or our meteoric book. Right. And

27:10

if you send in a puzzle that we use, you

27:12

happen to be listening and catch us when we use

27:14

it, you also can win. Yeah. We'll send you a

27:16

book or t shirt or anything else or

27:18

Tabbaloni sandwiches and mayo. Puzla

27:20

Toth. Okay. Repeat the address. We don't have it.

27:22

Puzla Tothar. Yeah. Car

27:24

talk plata. Box three

27:26

thousand five hundred. Oh, I like that. Set

27:28

it a little differently there. I was gonna use three

27:30

point five times ten or so.

27:34

Harvard Square. Cambridge.

27:36

0II missed

27:38

it. Come on one second. Cambridge.

27:40

Our fair city. It's

27:43

not flexible. You gotta stick with

27:45

the same format or you're done for.

27:47

Mass 34522238

27:52

We take a call -- Yeah. -- one hundred 3329287

27:55

Hello. You're on Kartock. Hi. This is

27:57

Miriam in Pittsburgh. Hi, Miriam.

27:59

have a Ford Fastiva. You

28:01

poor thing. I know. I

28:04

confess.

28:04

I know. Every

28:06

time we turn either the fan on

28:08

or the lights on, It

28:10

races. It was. It's really

28:13

loud.

28:13

Nope. Yeah. And we don't know

28:15

why it does it. We took it to a mechanic,

28:17

and he said it's the alternator, but he didn't still a

28:19

lot of confidence in it, us. So we

28:21

took it to another mechanic and he said it

28:23

was all turned up to factory specifications and

28:27

it makes such a noise when we

28:29

turn on the lights or the You

28:30

turn on the lights and the engine speed actually

28:33

increases? Yeah. And you turn on the

28:35

blower -- Yeah. --

28:35

and the engine speed increases? Yeah.

28:37

What other

28:38

accessory devices do you have? Do you have lights? You

28:40

turn on the radio. You have wipers?

28:43

Yeah. That doesn't have any effect. No. That doesn't have any

28:45

effect. What else do you have? No

28:47

no air conditioning. No. No.

28:51

because I'm listening. No. Windows. You roll down

28:53

the windows. Power windows? No.

28:55

No. No. Anything else? Real window

28:57

deflager? No. No. Alright.

29:01

So this is a bare bones car and you and

29:03

you and you understood by the fact

29:05

that you can take this to what's

29:07

who someone who should be a competent,

29:09

qualified mechanic, and that person can't

29:11

figure out something on one of the most basic cars

29:13

on the road. Yeah. Right

29:16

away, because they don't care.

29:18

Well, maybe they they figure a Fortiva

29:20

isn't even worth thinking about. Well, they

29:22

figure people that own them with Cheapskades.

29:24

So if anything if they were to present you with the an

29:27

estimate for repairs, you wouldn't do it anyway. Right.

29:29

So I bother. Right? They say this is gonna

29:31

cost you twenty five bucks a half again and I

29:33

live with the noise. But we'll help you

29:35

marry him because we we know that you're distressed

29:38

by this. Somewhere, I don't know if it's

29:40

carbonated or fuel injected, but it doesn't make any

29:42

difference. Okay. what you have some places

29:44

something called an idle

29:46

up solenoid. And the purpose of

29:48

this thing is to sense when there's a load

29:50

on the engine, either

29:51

produced by some electrical draw or

29:53

by some other device like power steering or

29:55

air conditioning, which, of course, you don't

29:57

have. When when you turn on something

29:59

like

29:59

the lights? Yeah. Then it means that

30:02

the alternator has to crank out more

30:04

electricity. Uh-huh. When the alternator has to

30:06

crank out more electricity, it puts

30:08

a

30:08

load on the engine. The engine has to work

30:10

harder. to make that electricity. And the engine

30:12

slows down. Slows down. So the idle up

30:14

solenoid says don't slow down because

30:16

this piece of junk will stall, and

30:18

it makes it speed up. except that

30:20

someone has misadjusted the thing. So it's speeding it up

30:22

too much instead of going from eight

30:25

hundred RPM up to nine fifty

30:28

or something. it's going up to twenty five

30:30

hundred. Okay. Enough

30:32

to make you notice that something's wrong. Oh, you

30:34

really can't. And this is a simple

30:37

solution. Yeah. So take it back to these

30:39

dinklings, simple and ask them to

30:41

adjust the idle up solenoid.

30:43

And if they say, what's that? somewhere

30:46

else. Okay. Good luck. Thank you

30:48

very much. And make sure they check your purge

30:50

valve while you're there. Your

30:52

whole Never mind. Don't pay any attention to them so long,

30:55

Mario. Bye bye. Bye bye. While

30:57

another precious hour of your youth has been

30:59

so wonderful. Listen to

31:01

car talk. Our producer is Doug

31:03

Berman. Is that who he is? Our

31:05

associate producer and dean of the College of

31:07

Automotive College is Ken Bailey face

31:09

Rogers. engineer and assistant producer

31:11

is Jennifer Jiffy Loeb, and our assistant

31:14

oh, our technical adviser is

31:16

mister John Lawler. Our

31:18

public opinion polls are Paul Murphy

31:20

of Murphy Research. Which John Lawler is

31:22

that? It was

31:23

the same John Lawler was here every week. John

31:25

Freelunch Law. When you're named Paul, I

31:27

wasn't sure there were so many John Lawlers.

31:29

Yeah. But it's a very common name. It is a

31:31

very common name. Yeah. Is he wait

31:33

wait him up so he can hear all of

31:36

this? Dude, I mean, like,

31:38

there's John Bugzy Lawler. Oh, yeah.

31:40

Remember him? Yeah. Yeah. John Sebastch and

31:42

lower? Oh, yeah. He was on a staff for a while.

31:44

Uh-huh. Yeah. But

31:47

this one is John

31:49

Free Lunch. Jawad, yeah, dude, not

31:51

technical enough. Not to be confused with any of the other

31:53

John Law. It was -- Right. -- that had been on it. I

31:55

thought it was good. That's the goodbye.

31:57

Alright. Fine. the manager of the tepid brothers

31:59

capital depreciation one is less is Marty's ruling

32:01

with Michael Milkin and then halfway house in

32:03

Beverly Hills. Right? our

32:05

director of long range strategic

32:07

planning. By the way, is she falling down the

32:09

Java whittled case around?

32:11

Why? sitting long range plants. Well, you're

32:13

here every week, aren't you? Yeah. We're gonna stuck

32:15

here every week. No. It's long range.

32:17

Where do go to Hollywood? anyways,

32:19

she's married to Frank Sohar now she's

32:21

known as what? Sohar. Sohar.

32:24

Sohar. Our staff symposium is Bella

32:26

Cartard and our director far

32:28

Easter relations is tied

32:30

mainly chain. There's no. I

32:32

was thinking Oh, shit. Chief count.

32:34

I don't know. our distinguished chief counsel from the law firm of

32:36

Dewey, Raymond. How is you? Louis Dewey? No one over

32:38

at Obong Pan in a Harvard Square as you and

32:41

Louis Dewey, are clicking back to tablet

32:43

brothers. Thanks for listening and don't drive like my

32:45

brother. Drive like my brother. See you

32:47

next week. Bye bye.

32:55

Khartok is a production of

32:57

Dewey Cheetah and How and WBR in

33:00

Boston. And although Bob Edwards and

33:02

Kyle Castle, always try to deny it while

33:04

we're on, this is NPR National

33:07

Public Radio.