Recent content by AuthorEditor

I haven't used them in years, but strangely in the past our local WM shop was one of the best options for basic maintenance like tires, batteries, oil changes. The shop manager, a woman, really knew her stuff. I talked to her a few times and heard her speaking to employees. Well run shop.

Checked again at WM last night and the filter shelves are mostly empty. I couldn't find anything in the 7317 size. They do have a few lonely Purolator 20K gold filters, but most sizes are missing. M1 and Motorcraft are decimated too. I wonder what you get if you have them do an oil change?

I too miss the grippy Frams and Purolators of old. I've dropped too many hot, slippery oil-covered filters, landing in the drain pan and splashing oil all over.

It's been a few years since he retired, so this only applies up to about 2018. My go-to greasy garage guy worked on all the old cars in town and saw it all over many decades. One day I asked him which cars are the most reliable. Without hesitation he said Honda and Toyota. I then began noticing...

I really wouldn't believe anything I got on the phone from most employees. Maybe if it was an actual technical person who did the testing, but nobody else. I have found you can't trust any information received through normal customer service channels. I've had people flat out confidently give me...

I get it. The glue mess is worrisome, but show me a product line without some quality control issues slipping through. Bought a new Ford once with no heater blower installed. The two gold Purolators I bought recently see exceptionally clean from the outside. No crud in the boxes. Nothing comes...

Lots of speculation in that thread. Not much real information.I too am frustrated that most companies are now not providing real efficiency ratings based on an ISO standard, but that does not mean that we know the rating.

How do we know the new Purolator golds are "low efficiency?"

Or Carquest Premium from AAP, which is my closest auto parts place. Can almost always get a discount if I.order online and pick up in.store.so no shipping charges.

Several WMs I checked out looked about the same, but also nothing in Mobil1 left for Hondas and Subarus. I picked up a couple of gold Purolator 20K mile filters just to make sure I have something for the next oil change, in case this situation gets worse. Not sure if I will stick with them for...

I've been using the marine version of Sta-Bil (the blue stuff) for decades in every tank of outboard, motorcycle, and snowblower gasoline and have not had a carburetor problem since I began doing so. The new version of Sta-Bil 360 Marine rated one of the best by Practical Sailor for corrosion...

But, you have to look at the whole system, not just the cars. For example, our home is about 150 years old and we have no garage. We would have to spend close to $10grand just to upgrade the service and wiring into our home before we could even install a proper Level 2 charger. Even then the car...

People say the Crown Vic got poor gas mileage, but IMHO it was decent for the size of car and what it could do. In fact, in my experience many current generation SUVs and larger vehicles do no better if they aren't hybrids. I kept track of my mileage for many years on my Crown Vic and a Grand...

I think we're still in the "early adopter" phase of EVs. More power to you if you can deal with the costs, learning curve, inconvenience, etc. With any tech product I consider myself a "late adopter." For example, I did not buy a video tape player until it was clear VHS was the winner. I will...

Ethanol fuel helps to remove the water from the gas system since you are running it all year-round. Just like using dry gas. That means there is no water in the fuel to freeze in the throttle body (if it has throttle body injection) or the carb. In the "old days" before widespread use of ethanol...