AUTO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

by Bob Hagin

Q. My sister-in-law has asked me to take on the job of doing regular and scheduled minor maintenance on her '93 Jeep Cherokee. She wants me to do the oil and filter changes and the other things that are listed on her service schedules. Professionally, I'm a body-and-fender mechanic but doing those jobs doesn't require an engineering degree. My only question is regarding the warranty on the car. Does not having a dealer's shop or a regular repair shop do the job void the warranties? I don't want to do them if it will cause her trouble with the company if something should go wrong.
--- B.C. Boise, ID

A. This is always a sticky question for owners of late model vehicles that are still under some kind of warranty and the answer is sometimes difficult to ferret out. The first step is to wade though the warranty in question to see if you can get anything out of it. Usually the wording is too complex and the printing too small to really get an answer. The next step is to ask the service manager or salesperson in the dealer's store for an answer but make sure that you get your answer in writing - and even then it may be incorrect. In your case, I called the public relations department for Chrysler in Auburn Hills, Michigan and was put onto a guy in the technical services department who said that your warranty would stay in effect as long as you recorded their frequencies as well as when and where you bought the oil, filter and other items. My suggestion is that you buy only first-class stuff (no discount filters, for instance), don't cut corners and do it as if you were performing the job for somebody else for money.

Q. We have a 1991 Hyundai Excel with an automatic transmission and 61,000 miles on the speedometer. We bought it from a co-worker who had been having trouble with the car stalling after he left home, parked at work and then restarted it at the end of the day. It stalls immediately after putting it in drive. We got it for an exceptionally good price and felt that it was a problem that a competent mechanic could rectify. On several occasions we have taken it to the mechanic that has worked on our cars in the past but he has not been able to solve the stalling problem. We have not taken it to a Hyundai dealer's shop for several reasons and I hate to do so because its prices are much higher than my regular mechanic charges.
--- H.C. Buffalo, NY

A. When a complaint like yours is chronic problem, most factories eventually come up with a cure. The stall-after-restart problem has plagued various Hyundais for several years and in particular it happens to Excels built from '90 to '92. It apparently took the factory some time to get the problem identified and a repair kit made available. It is a cold start kit that makes the engine run a little richer when the engine is run, shut down and then restarted in warm weather. The company suggestS that several other tune-up problems such as vacuum leaks and incorrect ignition timing be checked, repaired and/or adjusted before the special electrical enrichment harness is installed.

Q. I've just become interested in old cars in general and muscle cars in particular. I acquired a '69 Chevy Nova V8 to with a 307 cubic-inch engine to restore. I know it's not a true muscle car but I'm having fun working on it. Are there monthly magazines that cover this hobby?
--- B.H. Oakland, CA

A. Musclecar Review is devoted specifically to those old thunder machines of the '60s. It's in Florida and you can call them at 815-734- 6026. Another is Classic Auto Restorer which seems to give more how-to features. It's phone number is 904-445-4608. The display ads in the back of both list dozens of businesses that offer trim pieces, engine and suspension parts and all kinds of bits and pieces for Muscle Cars.