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Buick owner questions need for $365 repair
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Q I have a 2001 Buick Century with 25,000 miles on the odometer. I recently had an inspection by a Buick dealer, and was told that the rear wheel cylinders were leaking.
The car was put on a hoist, and the mechanic peeled back the rubber boot on the end of the wheel cylinder, put his finger inside the boot and showed me some hydraulic fluid on the tip of his finger. I mentioned that it appeared to be normal seepage and didn't look like a leak and there was no evidence of a leak outside the boot.
After spending $365 to replace both rear wheel cylinders, I researched a repair manual and found that wheel cylinders are lubricated with hydraulic fluid before assembly. I think they took advantage of me. What do you think?
A I'm always concerned finding brake fluid on master cylinders, calipers and wheel cylinders, but my Alldata automotive database found GM service bulletin 03-05-24-001A, dated March 2005, which outlines inspection procedures for wheel cylinders and recommends against peeling back the boot for inspection because of the risk of debris and contamination leading to premature wear of the cylinder bore.
The bulletin confirms the assembly lubrication, as you described, and continues by saying "evidence of a damp area on the boot does not indicate a leak in the cylinder. However, if there is excessive wetness (i.e. drips) coming from the boot area of the wheel cylinder, it could indicate a brake hydraulic fluid leak requiring wheel cylinder replacement."
Q My son purchased a 2004 Audi S4 about a year ago. The car has a 4.2-liter V8 engine. The vehicle starts and runs well -- until it has warmed up. After the vehicle warms up, the engine quits, much like turning the ignition off.
The car turns over well but will not restart. After an hour, it will start and run fine again until it has warmed, and then it will stop again. No fault codes have been detected. When we tried disconnecting the coolant temperature sensor, the check-engine light appeared but the problem persisted.
A An internal-combustion engine needs three things: air, fuel and spark. The simple do-it-youself diagnostic approach would be to check for spark, fuel and air after the vehicle has stalled.
Easier said than done. Audi uses an electronically controlled throttle with no direct link between throttle pedal and throttle, a coil-on-plug ignition system buried under the engine cover and air induction system, so to check fuel pressure you'd have to crack open the high-pressure fuel fitting in the engine compartment -- not safe under any circumstances. Take it to an Audi dealer.
Q Any ideas how to replace the fuel filter on my van without a shower of gasoline? Is there pressure on the line when the ignition is off? The vehicle is a 2003 Chevy Express 2500 van with the 6-liter engine.
A Finally, a do-it-yourself project! GM wants you to disconnect the battery, connect a fuel-pressure gauge to the fitting on the fuel rail, wrap a towel around the connection and use the bleed valve on the gauge to bleed off residual fuel pressure.
If you don't have the gauge, locate and remove fuel pump relay 57 and fuel pump fuse 12 in the fuse box under the hood, then repeatedly try to start the engine until it doesn't fire at all. Disconnect the battery, wrap the fitting on the fuel rail with towels and use a small tool to depress the pintle to relieve any residual fuel pressure. Now you can crawl under the van and change the fuel filter. A fresh fuel filter every 30,000 miles is good maintenance.
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