More thoughts on reason Blazer would die at stops
By Doug McAllister
This reader responded to our question last week from an owner whose 1997 Chevy Blazer would stall at stops.
"My Buick LeSabre would occasionally "lock up" on me when I came to a stop. It was as if the transmission suddenly had something jammed into it. I was able to restart the car immediately. Several months later, it would happen again.
"It turned out that a relay in the trans needed to be replaced. Not sure if that applies in this situation."
A. Thanks for your input. I remember years ago GM had a big problem with that.
It was the solenoid that controlled the lock-up torque converter that would fail. When the vehicle would get warmed up, it would stick and keep the torque converter locked, causing the car to die when you pulled up to a stop - almost like you forgot to push in the clutch on a manual car.
When it died it would release and the car would start and you would be on your way. It actually became a fairly common repair. I have not seen this type of problem in recent years, so they must have gotten it figured out.
Good story. It brings back some memories of when this first started happening, how hard it was to figure out and what the heck was causing the problem.
Q. I am constantly having to put air in the tires on my Saab 9/3. What could possibly be wrong? First one and then another and I don't see any nails or anything in the tires. I am so sick of having to put air in these things on these cold mornings.
A. I can understand how this is getting old. You didn't say whether or not you have taken the car in to have the tires leak-checked yet, but I would bet it is leaking between the wheel and the tire.
This is quite common on aluminum wheels and it tends to be worse in the colder weather. The fix would be to have all the tires dismounted, the corrosion cleaned off the wheels and then some sealer applied.
What happens is the aluminum corrodes, causing gaps in the sealing surface of the wheel, which will eventually allow air to leak out. It gets worse as the tire gets a little low.
Invest in the reseal and your morning trips to the air pump should be over!
• Douglas Automotive is at 417 W. Main St., Barrington; 123 Virginia Road, Crystal Lake; and 416 Northwest Hwy., Fox River Grove. For information, visit douglasautomotive.com. Send questions to underthehood@dailyherald.com.