<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" Senior Editor Mike Allen answers readers&amp;#039; car questions. Q: I recently acquired a 1993 Olds 98 Regency Elite from my father in Indiana with 240,000 miles. It has been a great car, great mileage and little service other than oil, tires and brakes. He never even changed the antifreeze. Since I brought the car to Texas, the temperature slowly climbs after about 30 min. of driving in traffic. It gets up in the 120 to mid 130 degree range. I have replaced the thermostat with the same (195 degree), had the radiator removed and completely serviced, and replaced the water pump and still have the same problem. I&amp;#039;m not sure what to do next. Since the car has been so troublefree as is, I question even changing to a lower thermostat. I&amp;#039;m not sure how that would effect the normal operating temperature for winter driving. When I changed the anti-freeze it looked like mud so I wonder if the motor could be plugged with the sludge. I would appreciate any advice you could offer. DARRELL A: Get the cooling system flushed with a caustic flush to get more of that mud out of the system. The radiator might need to be rodded out if that doesn&amp;#039;t do it. Q: I own a 1999 Ford Escort. When I accelerate the engine makes a metallic rattling noise. The car&amp;#039;s performance doesn&amp;#039;t appear to be affected. ALYSIA HUNT A: That rattling is probably pinging from too low an octane. Try better gas. Q: I was reading your article &amp;quot;Looking For A Miracle&amp;quot; and I was wondering about the water device. Would it make any difference if the water was dripping in the intake instead of being sucked down so it is just cooling the air? CHRISTOPHER YOUNG A: No. Q: I have a 2006 Toyota Corolla. I want to get as much out of each drop of fuel that I can. I saw ads for a vortex generator that makes the air in the intake swirl; their claims seem to make sense. Are these devices just &amp;quot;snake oil&amp;quot; or do they really make any difference? BOB BLANK A: Read Looking For A Miracle. Q: I have a 2000 Buick Regal that won&amp;#039;t start. But the dash lights flicker on and off, and the ABS and track lights stay on. When I engage the turn signal all the lights shut down. Once or twice i was able to start the engine, but the shift lever stayed locked in park and would not release. The ABS light and trac light stayed on, but the engine only ran for a short time. Any ideas? I&amp;#039;ve tried changing the battery, an auto shop put it on their computer, but no one can figure out what the problem is. WALLY A: Bad ground, probably between the battery, engine block and the body. Q: I recently bought a &amp;#039;94 Mazda 626 from a friend. This is my first car and I would like to learn basic maintenance and some more advanced repairs. I also wanted to learn how to do some body work. What are some good resources to learn about this stuff? A: Try PM&amp;#039;s How-To Central. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a819/3593956/>