I am a typhoon victim

Well, not me but my car. Having thought that I had emerged from Typhoon #16 without a scratch, Tuesday night found me listening to my car perform on 3/4 time rather than 4/4.

My car is a Toyota Trueno GT-Z which I purchased a year ago for a little less than $1500 CDN. The Z in its name denotes the presence of a suerpcharger that allows the 1.6L engine to produce over 170 horsepower with minimal lag and superb low end response.

Essentially, a supercharger is a turbine that is powered off an accessory belt from the engine. The turbine compresses the air to about 8psi, force feeding extra air into the engine. As oxygen is essential for combustion, the extra oxygen allows for a more powerful explosion and thus more power. To increase air density further, an intercooler acts to reduce the air temperature and thus feed more oxygen to the engine.

Intercoolers are usually located in 2 possible locations; in front of the engine behind the bumper or on top of the engine. Cars with intercoolers located in latter position can be easily identified with a hood scoop that allows cool air to contact the intercooler. Subaru Impreza WRX's are a common example. With the intercooler located on top of the engine, my car is fitted with a hood scoop. Usually, only air and a small amount of moisture is allowed to enter the engine compartment. However, with the rain falling horizontally rather than vertically during the typhoon, enough water entered into the engine compartment to cause the spark plug to become wet and refuse to fire. Thus, instead of listening to a smooth purr, a syncopated, rough sound emanted from my tailpipe last night.

Fortunately, the fix was a rather simple matter of removing the spark plug, drying it off, and reinserting it. Without any tools however, I had to take it to my mechanic who graciously charged only $25.

When I lived in Canada, my cars were quite new and almost no repairs. My Acura Integra's fuel pump expired making it difficult to start. My Prelude suffered nothing more than a failing battery after 7 years although in the care of my father, the power steering pump failed. With my current car, this is the third item in as many months. Certainly, when you pay so little for a car, a few problems are to be expected.

The first problem was a squealing sound from the left front wheel. The noise first became noticeable when I turned the steering wheel sharply. Gradually, the noise increased to include driving straight ahead. Under acceleration, the noise disappeared but became embarrassing when my foot lifted off the throttle. The problem? Bad wheel bearings. This was diagnosed by the mechanic shifting the wheel back and forth and noticing the 1 inch of slop. The bearings were replaced and the sound disappeared.

Three weeks later, I noticed water on the floor of the passenger footwell. At first I thought it was just water leaking after a severe rain and made a mental note to check for leaks around the windows next time I washed the car. I noticed the water had a bit of an oily texture to it but didn't think too much. Much to my chagrin, it was not merely rainwater but coolant that had exited the engine through the heating system.

Cars have a heater core which is used to heat the car's interior. The heater core is essentially a small radiator that dissipates heat into the heating ducts of the car. The coolant from the engine is pushed through the heater core, heating the surrounding air. It is then mixed with a certain amount of external air to achieve the desired temperature. My car's heater core developed a hole allowing the coolant to leak out, into the ducts and into the passenger footwell. As I drove along, the insufficient amount of coolant caused the engine to overheat, stranding me at an old ladies house. By adding water to the radiator, I was able to nurse the car to my mechanic. There, I was given an option. Replace the heater core for approximate $400 or bypass it for $10. Given that winter was still 6 months away at the time, I agreed to the bypass operation. At present, I am satisfied with my decision. However, I might be cursing my cheapness on those cold winter nights.

My mechanic is a particuarly talkative fellow who takes longer to talk to me than repair the car. As he speaks rapid fire Japanese with a healthy sprinkling of technical jargon and local dialect, my comprehension of his words of wisdom is sparse. However, a few nods of my head, a couple words here and there seem to inspire him to further monologuing. I must admit to being a bit of a car nut so I do my best to understand and learn. I should take up his invitation to visit on weekends for I am sure I will learn a lot more from first-hand experience than I would ever receive by trying to absorb words and diagrams from books.