Keep in mind, I'm not a car person. I'm qualified to change tires, check fluids, and I could work my way through an oil change -- but this is all new to me, and I've never even tried this work before. If I have seemed uncertain, it's because I've had multiple shops making multiple predictions about ...

Well, is installing an external valve cheaper than installing a new turbo? Because I guess that's what I'm looking at here.

Hey all, I posted a couple weeks ago about problems with my 1997 Volvo 850 T-5. Long story short, I'd been told that there was a vacuum leak at the turbo. Several people here recommended I check the vacuum hoses, but the problem wasn't in the hoses themselves. The shop I took it to over the weekend ...

Sommerfeldt, I will do so. :) I don't recall mentioning my transmission, though -- I've had problems with the AC (it looks like something called AC clutch gap) and with the turbo vacuum leak. The car was throwing a catalytic converter error at one point, but my biggest question is whether a vacuum l...

Mika,

I can certainly try to look and see if I see any rotten hoses or obvious leak points. Unfortunately, clearing the code isn't enough for NYS inspections. They'll check to see if the car has completed its full diagnostic tests, and they won't pass it until it does.

Sommerfeldt, I have neither the tools nor the skill necessary to troubleshoot the problem independently, and I live in an apartment complex that is notorious for cracking down on people who try to do car work. I've seen them threaten to tow people for changing a tire (no joke). From researching, I *...

"Post a picture of what is leaking?" I can't, I wasn't told. The shop (which is highly recommended) told me that they did a smoke test. Let me give you a little more backstory: The car was initially showing two codes -- P0133 (slow O2) and P0420 (Catalytic Converter below efficiency). I re...

Ahah. Ok. Do you know anything about this supposed Turbo cover that you can get from Mitsubishi?

I've got a question regarding a 1997 Volvo T-5 that I'm hoping someone can help me answer. My car has been throwing an ODB2 engine code for several months. the code, P0133, indicates a bad oxygen sensor -- and replacing the O2 sensor did dramatically improve fuel economy. But the code didn't turn *o...