Specs and Review

(Let us introduce you to the ninth edition of GCBCs new daily auto news recaps including stories from around the web that are either important, informative, interesting, intriguing, or all of the above. Brought to you by GCBCs operations manager, Steffani Cain, articles just like this will appear weekdays on GCBC. Ed.)  

Here are five must-read, must-watch auto news stories, reviews, and videos for Thursday, February 26, 2015.

FUTURE
This is the new, second-generation, Lamborghini Huracan-related Audi R8. Through the end of January 2015, 6182 of the first-generation R8s have been sold in America. Personally, Im not a fan of the look.  Seems like a bad mixture of old design and spacecraft design. But thats just me.


REVIEW
If you haven’t been following along with Edmunds’ long-term test of the 2015 Ford F-150, you ought to. "You want a decent amount of suspension articulation if youre going to venture off the pavement very far, especially if you see yourself getting into the kind of frame-twist situations where one tire could hike up off the ground."

TTAC
Everyone knows that pickup trucks are capable vehicles. But do they know just how capable? Todays pickup trucks arent just capable of toting your stuff and towing your toys while offering space for your family. Theyre capable of grabbing the three best selling positions in America for five consecutive months. Our founder and sales analyst has the details for you on TTAC. "The pickup truck world’s consistent hold on the whole of American best seller’s podium is steadily tightening."

RECALL
Status unchanged since yesterdays Sprinter and FJ Cruiser recalls.

WATCH
Are Cadillac’s disappointing sales figures still the price the brand must pay for inauthentic ads like this one, funny as it was?

Emission control and fuel system malfunctions sometimes mimic engine problems. Occasionally, important items are neglected during an engine job. Larger engine shops often employ specialists capable of diagnosing these complicated problems.

An air-fuel mixture that is too lean (too much air/too little fuel) can cause burned internal engine parts.


Oil/Fuel Wash
An overly rich mixture (too much fuel/too little air) can cause fuel wash or oil wash (when oil is washed from cylinder walls, resulting in cylinder wall wear). Leaking fuel injectors can result in cylinder wall oil wash, too. They can also cause intake valve deposits that will affect engine idle and emissions. A bad vapor canister purge valve can also cause oil wash. When only one side of a piston is worn, this is often due to oil wash. The worn side will be the major thrust side. An explanation of piston thrust surfaces is provided in Chapter 13.

(a)

(b) (a) A burned exhaust valve like this one causes lower or no cylinder compression pressure. (b) Severely burned valves

 Many areas use reformulated gasoline (RFG) to lower air pollution. RFG does not cause problems with
engine wear under normal conditions. But a richer than normal air-fuel mixture can result in accelerated
engine wear because the alcohol or ether in RFG dilutes the oil on the bearings, cylinder walls, and piston
rings. When mixed with the oil, it does not evaporate as easily and the diluted oil loses much of its lubricity. When a low mileage engine fails and there is no evidence of excessive dirt, abrasives, or machined material, diluted engine oil is a prime suspect.


Oxygen Sensor Problems
Modern engines use oxygen sensors in the exhaust to compare the oxygen content of the exhaust

with that of the outside air. After a short warm-up period, it gives the computer information to control
the air-fuel mixture. If the engine runs rough when cold, but the problem goes away after a short
warm-up, the oxygen sensor could be masking an air leak.
Check to see that the sensor is not dirty. Dirt or undercoating can plug the sensor’s outside air intake port, affecting the signal from the sensor. This can result in a richer than normal air-fuel mixture.


COMPRESSION LOSS
Compression loss, another reason for an engine overhaul, can be traced to two causes: compression leaks and engine breathing problems.

Compression Leaks Compression can leak due to several causes:
a blown head gasket , burned valves , worn or broken piston rings, a damaged piston , or a broken valve spring


When valve clearances are too tight the valves cannot seal against their valve seats, resulting in a compression leak. Tight valves can result from wear to the valve faces or valve seats, either of which allows the valve stem tips to move deeper into the cylinder heads. Closer valve clearance can also result
when valves have been adjusted incorrectly.
Exhaust leaks make noise at ½ crankshaft rpm

FIGURE 3.12 A damaged piston resulting from detonation

FIGURE 3.13 A broken valve spring.

FIGURE 3.14 Valve face wear will cause the valve stems to move into the head, eliminating valve adjustment clearance

FIGURE 3.15 This broken exhaust manifold bolt resulted in a burned exhaust valve due to thermal shock

(Let us introduce you to the eighth edition of GCBCs new daily auto news recaps including stories from around the web that are either important, informative, interesting, intriguing, or all of the above. Brought to you by GCBCs operations manager, Steffani Cain, articles just like this will appear weekdays on GCBC. Ed.)  

Here are six must-read, must-watch auto news stories, reviews, and videos for Wednesday, February 25, 2015.

REVIEW
First looks at the 2016 Volvo XC90 have been published. Check out Car & Driver, Jalopnik, Digital Trends, Forbes, and Autocar.

INSIDE THE AUTO BUSINESS
If youre one who places your faith in Consumer Reports, youll want to check out their new 2015 Autos Spotlight Section, where CR highlights their, "2015 Top Picks, Car Brand Report Cards, best and worst new cars." And more.

TTAC
The Nissan Leafs sales declined in January for the first time since January 2013. Our resident sales analyst has provided the truth about this cars sales on TTAC. As hes known to do, he uses a sports analogy to help drive home the crux of the matter. "In the same way that consecutive games without a point draw attention to the fact that Sidney Crosby previously achieved a 25-game point streak, the Nissan’s Leaf slight decline in the lowest-volume month on the calendar shines a light on what was a 23-month streak of year-over-year improvements."

RECALL
Mercedes-Benz is recalling 5586 specific Sprinter vans for a door issue: "In the affected vehicles, the abutting wedge, a component attached to the door jam to make opening the door easier after a severe frontal impact, may have been installed incorrectly." Meanwhile, a Toyota recall impacting just 116 2014 FJ Cruisers relates to a steering problem: "In the affected vehicles, the intermediate steering shaft which connects the steering wheel and the steering gear box may have an inadequate weld."

WATCH
The driver of this old Mercedes-Benz M-Class took advantage of a bit of wintry weather to test out his donut-making skills in the Plano mall parking lot.