November 3rd, 2013 
Joe 
Sherry D brought a 2002 Honda Civic to my shop that she recently purchased. She told me that the car would not idle, the engine surged up and down constantly. She just purchased the car, and wanted to know if Read more »
2012 Jeep Liberty transmission fluid leak
As you can see from this picture this rusted transmission fluid pan has just started to form a leak due to rust. The transmission pan in this picture is from a 2012 Jeep liberty. I spotted this fluid leak starting on a routine maintenance check at my shop. It is important that
Rusted axles on older Honda
I haven’t seen an axle do this in some time and it’s not with just Honda’s. You see this can happen with any front wheel drive car, so when you bring your older front wheel drive buggy in for service it’s important that
Honda Accord Rusted Rear Bumper Beam
If you live in the rust belt you are probably far too familiar with the negative effect that road salt has on your vehicle. You should not only be concerned about the rust you see but the
2001 Honda Accord Engine Oil Consumption
Well it’s true over the course of time most vehicles have issues that arise. Whether it be suspension problems,engine problems, or transmission problems time usually tells all. For 20 years I worked as a factory trained Honda automotive technician. I stayed with that product line because
Make Sure That You Put On Your New NH Plate Stickers Correctly!
Whats wrong with this picture? I see this more often than one would think. I am writing this quick little post to help you out a bit. Make sure that after you register your vehicle
Incorrectly installed year sticker
Boulay’s Garage Recycles Plastic: A Green Automotive Repair Shop
What you are looking at three empty plastic containers, an empty engine oil, windshield wash and brake fluid container. Why are you looking at three empty plastic containers? Part of the reason is all of the plastic litter you see here on the beach pictured in this post. Years ago my wife and I went on a cruise to Bermuda, if we knew then what we know now we Read more »
Always Wear Your Seat Belt, Especially With Air Bags!
I was just reminded recently of something that I see from time to time. Take a look at the picture in this post and tell me what you see. Yes that is right you see an empty drivers seat with a seat belt connected. So whats wrong with that? Well nothing is wrong with that if Read more »
What Does Hydro Locking Mean?
Now at some point in your life you may be faced with a flooded road, or parking lot. You think you can drive through it but you are not sure. Well to set your mind at ease I will help Read more »
Its Official “Boulay’s Garage Is Open For Business 8/1/2013
Well it is finally official, my shop is finally open! Its been a long road of degreasing and painting, and gathering equipment etc. I apologize that the sign is not done yet, the process to hang a sign is a lot more involved than Read more »
“Boulays Garage” To Open August 1st.
Hi everyone
I have been very busy lately and I am taking a short break between cleaning and painting walls in my shop to let you know what I have been up to. As many of you know I am opening my own Read more »
Jakob Says: My 2002 Toyota Corolla Has A P0420 And The Exhaust Sounds Loud.
- Question for ya….have a 2001 Toyota Corolla…and it’s very loud. Sounds like an exhaust leak! Now..I went with the car to a car mechanic in town awhile back when the car was not loud due to a check engine light! Now I cant remember what the code was but they replaced the catalytic converter. I had the option of Read more »
Irene Asks: Why Is Our Subaru Consuming So Much Oil?
From: Irene asks: ” Subject: Oil Consumption on a Subaru Sent date: 06/14/2013 11:33:56 AM To: Hi Joe, We have had a problem with our 2nd Subaru. We bought a 2013 Subaru Legacy last Oct. 5, 2012, 4-door, 4-cylinder. It had major oil consumption problems at 2814 miles, it was down 2 qts. of oil. We were over to the dealership in Vt., about 8 times doing oil consumption tests on the car. The service manager admitted that there was definitely something Read more »
Chris R. Asks :Why Does My Car Have Gray Smoke Coming Out Of The Tail Pipe?
Question : Love your book – thanks! I have a 97 Toyota Tercel automatic (my first ever automatic!) it has about 138000 miles. when I drive down a long hill (or sometimes not so long) and stop at the bottom, when I start up again often gray smoke comes out – sometimes a lot! I understand gray smoke is radiator fluid.. but why does it do that? I have one long stretch down 132 from the top of the hill in Strafford VT to Sharon – about 4 miles. not all of that is coasting but much of it is and the last stretch is a lot of braking before I coast on level ground and then turn left onto the on-ramp for the highway. sometimes the engine actually “stalls” – not to die out but as if it is clogged with the smoke and then it finally drives (hesitates for a few seconds) and the worst bout of smoke billows out but then everything is fine. thanks for any ideas! 🙂
Answer
Well Chris if you are indeed sure that it is gray smoke out of the tail pipe and not blue here are some of my thoughts. The first thing I want you to do is check to see if your coolant level is okay in the coolant reservoir. If the smoke smells sweet that is a tell tale sign of burning coolant. Also check your engine oil level as well,if your oil level is low top it off as needed. Make sure the engine oil does not have a “milky” appearance to it. This would indicate that coolant is entering the oil from a bad head gasket or cracked cylinder head. If your coolant reservoir is empty make sure that the actual level of the coolant is not low in the radiator when you remove the radiator cap from the radiator. Careful do not remove the radiator cap when the engine is hot! If the coolant level in the radiator is low fill it to the top with pre-mixed antifreeze, then re install the radiator cap. Then fill the external coolant reservoir to the max line as indicated on the reservoir bottle. Drive the car and monitor the coolant level, if the coolant disappears or the level in the reservoir drops significantly I suspect that you have an issue with your engines head gasket leaking coolant past it into the combustion chambers. It is also a possibility that your cylinder head could have a crack in it and coolant may be entering the combustion chambers that way as well. I suspect this may be the cause of your issue, check the things that I suggested and give me some feed back as to what you get for results.Hope this helps,and thanks for the question.
