Help!! (from the north country)

This happened with my previous car, a Taurus. My mechanic said "We start cheap, first", and changed the engine thermostat. Voila. Fixed. Have a reliable mechanic check coolant temp. There are other possible causes, but always start with the simplest and cheapest first.

Why did the repair work?

Because thermostats usually fail open, and send the coolant through the radiator - the engine takes forever to warm up.

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That's what I always thought, but Mark seems to feel otherwise. Oh well.

Mark, I'm open to new ideas, but the repair worked. If the antifreeze had been totally replaced, that would also make sense as a factor, but as I watched, he only lost about two cups, which was topped off after everything was done. What else could it have been?

Wait...there WAS one more thing done to the car: He always checks tire pressure. He probably added some winter air, for better traction.

Your mechanic probably installed a thermostat with a higher opening temperature.

There are 2 probable causes for insufficient heater output.

If the engine coolant temperature gauge on the instrument panel reads cold, then the thermostat is probably stuck in the open position and a replacement thermostat will probably fix the problem. If the coolant is more than 2 years old, have it replaced while changing the thermostat.

Another potential cause is a heater control valve that is stuck in the closed or partially closed position, especially if the engine coolant is reaching normal operating temperature. The heater control valve is located on the firewall. If you are not familiar with what it looks like, the easiest way to find it is to have someone inside move the temperature control back and forth from cold to hot while you look at the connections for the hoses about the same diameter as a garden hose on the firewall between the engine and passenger compartments. You should see a metal cable moving a lever about 2 inches long. The cable/lever is attached to the heater control valve, and that allows hot coolant to pass through to the heater core. If the cable is detached from the lever or the cable does not move the lever, then there is a problem with the controls. You can try manually moving the lever one way or the other to see if the heater works. By the way, it is not necessary to have the engine running while you look for the heater control valve, and it is probably safer if it is not running.

Good luck!

Kind of a harsh indictment of your buddies?

Left turn, and time for a brain teaser:

Watched this past summer as the 3 mechanics at my favorite shop did a preliminary diagnosis of an engine problem, while sipping coffee, before actually bringing the car into the garage. Chrysler Le Baron, don't recall what year. After starting, the engine ran fine for about 30 seconds, and then gradually died. While dying, some terrible knocking was heard - the kind you hear when octane's too low. After this happened, it could be restarted right away without a problem, after which it died again.

Whattya think?

More information would be helpful, like model year, engine, whether it is fuel injected or not, and whether there is a check engine light or not. When and engine runs and gradually dies with bucking/stumbling, the problem is often fuel-related. Some Chryslers had problems with deposits building up on the valves that would keep the fuel from entering the combustion chamber. Other possible wild guesses are fuel delivery problems and an opening EGR at idle.

That's all the info I have. I'm sure the mechanics had checked to see if there was a check engine light coming on, but I walked into the scene after they'd already been at it for a minute or two, and none of them walked away from engine compartment, except to reach into the car and restart it a total of 3 times.

Since you saw the car, I thought that you would at least have a range of model years, since the Le Baron has been around for a long time.

Do you know what the problem was or are you just asking rhetorically so people can give wild guesses without having a way to tell whether they are correct or not?

Never mind. It was the knock sensor, which I found interesting for a number of reasons at the moment.

When I asked those questions, I did not intend for them to be an insult and I apologize if it came across that way. I asked those questions as a way to improve the odds that I can provide a correct answer. ;-)

I will admit that I would never have guessed a knock sensor as the cause of the problem, because the knock sensor will retard ignition timing but does not have anything to do with whether an engine runs or not and should not even be working at idle. Knowing a few more facts and knowing how a little bit knowledge can be dangerous when working on cars, my guess is that the Le Baron's owner heard knocking or pinging and tried to adjust ignition timing and got the timing so messed up that it wouldn't even run at idle. The shop probably pulled a trouble code, changed the knock sensor and put the ignition timing back into spec.

I didn't take it as an insult. I'm leaving the desk soon, and I didn't want to keep you hanging until Sunday!

I suspect they double checked error codes later. What I heard outside was a guess (and a lunch bet). The youngest guy had all sorts of theories. The two owners were pretty sure it was the knock sensor. Probably an unfair challenge for the younger guy, who ended up buying lunch, from what I heard.

As far as how the sensor could kill the car, I could find out, if you like. I'm going there for some more torment next week.

I suspect they double checked error codes later. What I heard outside was a

It is not too important since I have not worked on LeBaron since I fixed my wife's company car about 20 years ago, but I am curious as to how a knock sensor could make a car stall.

I'm curious too. Stay tuned sometime next week. Look for the subject line "LeBaron Knock Sensor". :-)

Will do!