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From. The will try anything once to part a Japanese car in the midsize sedan market and in domestic land here with sporty pretensions sailing your way next on motor. Motor Week TV's automotive magazine brought to you by a general support grant from the Press division of the Union Carbide Corporation. America goes with Broadstone your host for Motor Week John Davis. Hello and welcome again to motor week. Only 20 years ago. Believe it or not Japan exported less than 25000 cars to the U.S. this year the figure will be close to 2 million. Some change most of the
Japanese cars we've seen here have been of the small subcompact variety. But that could change too because now they're seriously beginning to tackle the midsize markets. And we have one of the advance guard models for our first road test this week that Toyota Camry four door sedan. So far Japan has an export had anything like our second road test subject that Cadillac El Dorado. This time it's the touring coupe rendition getting a workout from our testing staff. Pat Goss will get to work out to solving more maintenance problems sent in by viewers and Joyce Braga will have a rundown on the new Saab 900. As for our latest Orientale challenge this car has likely already given Detroit executives a need for Maalox. It's the toy had a camera a four door sedan introduced only last year. The camera is Japan's most serious attempt to date at tacking the bread and butter domestic mid-sized car market and our car road test last fall. The hatchback version of this car came in last but
we couldn't fault the camera on such items as interior space and comfortable ride. And those are priorities that rank near the top and family car buying decisions since most of this market is made up of Ford or sedans. It seemed only fair that we should give the knockback model and even closer inspection. The Toyota Camry. Base price begins at eight thousand one hundred forty eight dollars with the four door sedan starting at ten thousand ninety eight. Our test car cost thirteen thousand. But cameras are in high demand and short supply these days. So be prepared to pay a premium above list price. Along with Toyota's usual high quality fit and finish buyers will get two thousand five hundred forty pounds of conservative styling on a one hundred two point four inch wheelbase that's slightly longer than Ford Tempo and slightly shorter than Chevy Citation. The camera is Toyota's first bigger front wheel drive car and come stript with a five speed
manual transaxle or a four speed automatic and the fancier elete trim. Toyota Dub's the cam raise two liter four cylinder. They're lightweight advanced super responsive engine it incorporates microprocessor controlled fuel injection with an output of 92 horsepower and 113 pounds of torque more than most other engines of similar size. For 1984 a 73 horsepower 1.8 liter turbo diesel option is also available. While the transverse insulation means fan belt changes will be time consuming. Spark plugs dipstick and the oil filter should be easy to service. The primary human engineering note of the camera is that finally a Japanese car can easily accommodate a wide variety of American builds without apologies. They can raise Cabanis ary to say the least with excellent visibility at all corners. Three adults may find
shoulder room tight in the rear that head leg and foot room are most ample. Entry is further aided by wide doors and low step oversoul. Seat fabrics look sturdy enough and the front buckets have multiple adjustments so all our testers found comfortable driving positions. But we're sorry to see Toyota resume and abandon their Detroit tradition Labby seat stuffing with a little lower back and side support. Instrumentation on the elhi includes a large Speedo fuel and water temperature readouts. The big TAC is welcome even if this is an automatic. We also like the double glove box and all Cambray Ellies come with loads of standard equipment including power windows cruise control and a fine 5 speaker am fm stereo. The excellent ventilation controls are aided by upper dash vents that push air along the headliner to the rear. And the four speed overdrive automatic transaxle features a switch that allows the
driver to select economy normal or power shift points. A nice touch but we found it didn't affect mileage and performance much. If you choose the sedan over the hatchback. You do give out some trunk space but not much. It's big in there since the underfloor spare tire leaves a wide flat area. Only the high rear cyl will generate some gripes here. Our biggest gripes though are with overall road response. That's what caused us to be less than enamored of the car before. Handling is just not up to most of the American cars it expects to conquer body roll as in the wallow class with lots of front end plow and very slow responding struts and spring. Steering rack and pinion with power assist while only moderately fast. It still overwhelms the suspension and high mileage tires. On the other hand highway ride is very smooth and there's enough power to throttle out of most emergencies without undue fear of losing tire to road contact
in the rear. Another measure of everyday maneuverability is a parking lot turning diameter while usually oversized in front drive cars. The camera is thirty seven feet scored well for its class acceleration numbers were well within our all car average range with a zero to 60 time of fourteen point two seconds. We ran all these tests with the transmission shifting switch in normal. Over our 501 on ramp exam speed of 53 was reduced to nine point eight. Second. With all gear changes occurring crisply. And passing traffic on a two lane blacktop will take a decent five point six seconds from a steady state forty to a legal top speed of 55 MPH. But even with adequate power and just passable handling the Camry's panic braking performance was what we found most lacking before. The combination disc drums still felt spongy and sloppy pedal pressure was
high with a little feel but at least this Sadan stopped in a reasonable 133 feet from 55. Much improved over the hatchback we tested earlier. In addition there was a milder tendency for rear end swing something that had alarmed us before. If you do hear an alarm it will be over the tune like noise level of only 66 decibels really outstanding and they equally impressive fuel economy. The EPA rates the Camry automatic at 32 city and 43 highway. Our actual result of 33 while only slightly above the lower estimate would put most US cars regardless of size to shame. So our conclusions about the Camry sedan generally match our opinions of the hatchback. It's still not a car for any form of spirited driving but it may be just what the average American family is looking for. It's roomy quiet with enough power and impressive fuel economy. So Detroit should
be frightened by the Toyota Camry. Even with all its performance faults to us this first major mid-sized Japanese offering provides potential family car buyers with everything they think they'll need and maybe more. Ever since we first made an offer many viewers couldn't refuse to send in their car problems to Pat Goss. Our mailbag has gotten a lot heavier but there's always room for more though. So here's your chance once again. Our address is motor. Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. That's motorway Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7 and with the latest round of advice for a couple of unhappy car owners Here's Pat Goss John I've been playing in the Motor Week mailbag again and I come up with a couple of very interesting letters. First one is from a Mr. Craig not really of Aberdeen Maryland. Now he has a
1975 Ford LTD and since 1980 he's had to have one or both of the front brake rotors turned every nine or 10 months. Now the problem started after he had about 50 thousand miles on the car and his mechanic is at a loss to find the cause. Well you know many times just turning the front rotors doesn't really do anything except mask the problem. Now what would I do in a situation like this. Well first of all I would check all of the brake hardware on the car. I'd make sure that the brake calipers on the front that they work properly that the wheel bearings are properly adjusted. I'd also check in the rear of the car to make sure that the parking brake works right and that the wheel cylinders are proper. Make sure that everything that is mechanical in the brake system is functioning properly. And then next time that the front rotors have to be turned I'd go a step farther. It's a matter of fact I'd go to the rear of the car and I would examine the rear brake drums seat
many times the problem that is seems to be up at the front is actually back here in the rear drums. What happens is is that when the drums are hot. Many times you apply the parking brake and you get it on a little bit too tight and that causes these drums to warp. Now when you turn the front rotors by themselves it seems to correct the problem but it comes back in short order. So what I would do is turn not only the front rotors but the rear drums as well. At the same time and make sure that when this is done that it's done on a good quality brake lathe and that it's done by a mechanic that absolutely knows what he's doing because this has to be done just so or else this problem recurs. It's a very common problem too. Now our next letter is from Michael C. Coco the 3rd of Baltimore Maryland. He has a 1981 Mustang with a 2.3 liter four cylinder engine. And he says that when the weather is cool and damp He says the car
stalls or as is very difficult to keep running after he's driven it for a few minutes. You know that isn't an unusual problem at all in late model cars. Not only Fords but all cars. See it's really a function of some of the emission control devices on the car. And one of the most common culprits is right here in this tube. It leaves from the exhaust manifold up to the air intake of a car. Well if this tube falls off for deteriorates and brakes or something like that you'd have some really serious performance problems during warm up and especially if it happens to be cool and damp. Now why. Well see as the air moves into the carburetor and it goes through the carburetor accelerates goes through it very fast and this has a tremendous cooling effect on the air. And if the air happens to be damp it actually gets cold enough as it goes through the carburetor to form Frost inside the carburetor. Now when the engine gets warm enough this frost starts to melt and it runs down into the engine and that stalls the engine or makes it
very difficult to run or you know it it sits there and shakes and shimmies and so on. Well the thing to do is to check all of these this tube. There are various control devices that control the the amount of air flowing through that tube. Like here we have a hose and over here there are some sensors and so on all of this has to be checked and it has to function properly. So Mr. Ko-Ko Why don't you have your mechanic try my suggestions here and let me know how you make out. Ever wondered how the motoring press seems to know so much about New car models before they even get into showrooms or on the streets. I'll let you in on a secret. The answer is money not bribes of course but the big bucks spent by car manufacturers on giving the press previews of the new products. These press previews don't come cheap. Large numbers of prototypes or early production models
have to be ready for some flinging around by hard working reporters and there's always got to be some new unique location for the event such as a 10000 foot runway. This one happens to be at Washington's Dulles International Airport where bords Lincoln Mercury division launched its 1984 high performance products in early November. Some 25 members of the local business state are shuffled to this windy overcast airstrip and after a brief warning not to interfere with any aircraft. Everybody was set loose to see if the cars lived up to their publicity hype. We all knew Lincoln Continental mark seven luxury sports cars was the main attraction along with costarring bevvy turbocharge mercury and. Here was a rare chance test Tom's speech without distraction. Is flashing red light traffic for speeding tickets no expense account would ever cover. The Board. Reps weren't too sure about everyone's driving ability.
Almost all the cars they went down the runway didn't come back. Usually it's something over a hundred miles an hour. But you do have to keep your head about you and say you never got. That wrong. There aren't many driving styles because there are signs. CHRIS CLARK. There's another ritual that happens at previews besides gawking at home driving the cars half the time is spent on the press catching up on themselves like who's writing for whom you've got to look something for me. You can catch up on your constitution and maybe get a little ahead. Lots this takes place Miles. Occasional exclusive interview making the trip really. As real as we can. Mercury also set up a similar long. Road. To. FREE Traffic guardrails. Everybody could see just how much material on was in their. Lot. Last week.
There's more than one way to pop the clutch. And the brakes can work out to. Force they made just a little noise. From behind the wheel to behind the scenes. The details of the new cars are carefully Expo's naturally Ford hopes this will result in lots of blowing copies of the public's new car appetite to be further stimulated. While it's hard to learn what these cars will really be like on the open road after such short drives you can detect most of their faults and yours too of course. Accidents do happen even on 10000 feet of open concrete. But that just makes it a good story for the cocktail hour at least until the next preview. Provide something even better. And what does Saab have in mind for us for 1985 and 86.
JOYCE Well John something new for their 900 series and this is the first major alteration for that car line since I drove all from the smaller 8:51 series back in 1979. I mean they've taken time out from all their other ventures to actually make a new car. Well not exactly of course as you know for Saab making cars more or less of a sideline. You know they make most of their money from their jet planes and their cruise missiles are electronics in their trucks. So since they've got all that going they've looked to Southern Europe to find a partner in building this new large car. And the result is the all new Saab 900. That's the one here on the top. And it was designed in collaboration with Italy's Fiat and it's a nice marriage of style and traditional Saab sturdiness. Now because of their aircraft experience Saab has always been ahead of their time in making aerodynamically design cars ever since they first started in the car business in 1950. But as you can see from this test me all the new
900 really shows the Italian influence. In fact it looks a lot like a larger upcoming. Long Landsea and Alfa Romeo sedans. Now the new car reportedly is going to be 14 and three quarter feet long overall. Now that's about nine inches shorter than the current 900. But it will have a slightly longer wheelbase and that means it's going to be even roomier inside than before. And before was already plenty roommate and the doors are going to extend into the roof line and the current aerodynamic fashion which makes it much easier to get in and out of. Now the 900 are still will be front wheel drive with a standard two liter four cylinder engine that should turn out about 110 horsepower with a top end of 110 miles an hour. Mileage should be about 24 combined. And what the current Saab is already getting. Now there is one major change with the engine installation. It will now be transversely mounted. And as for the chassis it's going to have
a new strut suspension at the front but continue with a rigid rear axle on trailing arms for winter weather sturdiness. Now we should also expect to see Saab's new 16 valve 175 horsepower turbo engine in one version. And the rumor mill claims all four wheel drive model is being tested this year in Lapland. That is a place that has some very serious ice and snow. And for that kind of weather they're going to be offering a heating system that melts ice off of your windows within two minutes. A heated windshield. Well thanks Joyce once again you really cleared things up for which we're also about to do with our next road test you know you'd think that with sales of domestic luxury cars doing nicely these days the folks at Cadillac would be all smiles but thinking about the future is producing some glum expressions around GM's prestige division. Their traditional Acadie
buyer is getting ever older and Cadillac is having a tough time attracting the fluid to young to the fold. It seems that current buyers couldn't give a hoot about sportiness But that's exactly what the youngish upwardly mobile lust for what to do for the small Cimarron sports sedan was supposed to be one answer but so far it hasn't exactly set any sales records and caddies often rumored to megabuck Italian sports car may still just be all talk. So current reality has forced Cadillac to turn its considerable engineering talent to putting some sport into one of its more handsome luxo boats a Eldorado coupe. And here's what they wrought a car that's proof that time doesn't stand still. Take a long look at this black knight of the highway. Also available in a hue called Sonora Sattell fire mist. That's a medium Amber metallic to us. The Eldorado touring Coop's trim is strikingly simple. Most Chrome has been replaced with body colored inserts. The oversized 225 70 tires
stand out nicely on cast 15 inch wheels and a solid gray black rocker panel molding runs the entire length of the Eldorado. Now clean slab side. But the real treat about the touring package is what you can't see. Cadillac's touring suspension system includes larger front and rear anti sway bars higher effort power ball type steering stiffer springs and more responsive shock value. And all of it works wonders. An average speed through our slow slalom of forty three point seven miles per hour rates good for any car and better than most. There are still lots of body roll but steering is quick precise with little plow. If you remember that the Eldo is run will drive you even more. Through these he regularly spaced cones are touring Coope refused to lose all its composure even when the pathway was barely wide enough for it to pass the Turing Qube is in the sports car limits of its handling ability can be reached all too quickly
too zealous tug on the steering wheel followed by an equally forceful attempt to recover produce this quick but controllable spin. Even with the standard cars very cushy ride you can still put a lot of faith in its overall agility. But acceleration times reflect the Eldorado is obvious birthright. While shifts are smooth and reasonably press 0 to 60 times are only averaging thirteen point one second. In addition to standing quarter mile produced only a fair showing of nineteen point three seconds at 70. Partially because the force speed automatic overdrive is the only transaxle available. However since you always feel like you're going slower than you actually are in this 3330 pounder too much power might just bring too many citations at least a typical passing time of 5.4 seconds from 40 to 50 by was dead center of our acceptable range. The Aldo's breaks however did a splendid job with four wheel power dist
pedal pressure solid yet easy to manage stops from 55 Avars to surprisingly short 128 feet. Rear wheel lockup typical for a front wheel drive car was always manageable with only modest tail twitch bait and pull were never a problem. The only engine available with the taring package is the aluminum alloy 4.1 leader V8 the Cadillac introduced in 1982. Output is modest to 135 horses and 200 pounds of torque. With fuel delivery through a pair of computer controlled throttle body injectors. Despite the maze of hoses and wires the small 8 fits easily into the elbows long engine bay. And on board diagnostic systems should also help. Dealer mechanics find most power plant problems quickly. Probably not cheaply. Nothing cheap either about the touring coupe single color interior from the smallest power switch on the door to the telescoping and tilting wheel. Everything says Cadillac.
Unfortunately it also means you get fuel range and speed read outs only international buyers at least have their choice of English or metric. The lushest looking leather covered bucket seats have multiple adjustments but not quite enough side support for our taste. Making it easy to slide off your perch and turn the touring coupe also has a nifty twin storage console between the seats. Like all Eldard hose the dash is laden with plastic wood but of an unusually lifelike quality prop. I suppose since here it surrounds one of the most lifelike sound systems you can buy. The renowned Delko Bose cassette receiver the four speakers each with its own 25 watt amp are matched to the car's interior design. The system works far better in the Eldorado than in more cramped cars such as the Corvette. You'll have no trouble hearing it either. At 55 we recorded only 65 quiet decibels and
although we doubt most owners will use the term Coop's backseat at least it's roomy enough for most possible preoccupations as is the trunk R4 bags that and with no problem no space would be far more usable if it weren't the center mounted spare tire that always looked ready to fall. Though the touring coupe is hardly a few old Separ we have little problem with the EPA mileage ratings of 18 city and 28 highway nor our test loop average of 20 given the mission and the clientele of this car. But what impressions did it leave with our own jaundice eyed crew. The Eldorado touring coup is not a performance sports car over the traditional Cadillac buyer who's looking for us what is in suspension along with a tremendous sound system all around it is absolutely terrific. Frankly I thought the Eldorado touring coupe was going to handle something like the United States. I'm surprised it's quick and it's competent and frankly for a big whale of a car it's a lot of fun.
All in all we have to come away feeling good about this $25000 country club racer. It has no real faults but we're not sure it's what Cadillac needs to attract a new younger market. It's still awfully big. But we did enjoy our visit with the Eldorado touring coupe and made others aspirations of Cadillac ownership a lot more understandable and we'll see you next week on motor with. Motor Week has been brought to you by a general support grab from the press don't divisional the Union Carbide Corporation. America goes with Presto. Ready for all mud and ruts and a new downsized version. Or would you rather stick
to the highway and a new yet familiar sports car. Hello I'm John Davis. Next time on motor week and on and off road test of the Ford Bronco to utility vehicle and a strictly on road test of the Dodge Plymouth conquests rounding things out will be our timely maintenance advice and new car reviews so join us next time on motorways. It's the second time around for this downsized off roader and for
this Oriental sports coupe now sporting a different name. Both are off and running next on motor. Motor Week TVs automotive magazine brought to you by a general support grant from the Press division of the Union Carbide Corporation America goes with press don't your host for Motor Week John Davis. Hello and welcome again to motor week. Ford's country cousin the Bronco too is under harness first this week for some muddy off road testing. It's back on the blacktop for our second road test of the Dodge Plymouth conquests.
Back in the maintenance garage Pat Goss will show you how to bleed your car's brakes and Joyce Braga will be breaking the latest news on more new models from General Motors. So let's start things off with our four by four friend here a bit of a throwback to the original Bronco Off-Road vehicle that Ford introduced in the early 60s. That one was small simple and lightweight but it could still navigate rugged terrain with ease. But when everybody else came out with much bigger four by fours Ford lost faith and the Bronco grew fat to keep up. Now two oil crises later Ford has decided to reintroduce a small four wheel drive model. This Bronco too though it's about the same size as its grandparent. It's now making a much bigger splash both in sales and in mud and goo. Despite being 1000 pounds lighter 19 inches shorter and nine inches narrower than its full size Broncos stablemate the Bronco 2 is still clearly up to its all terrain mission
where the 4500 pounds going limit and about seven inches of ground clearance. There isn't much in the great outdoors that the Bronco 2 can't do. It's twin Eyebeam front suspension a Ford truck hallmarked for years allows easy navigation of all but the most rugged landscape. Though a short ninety four inch wheelbase does mean a lot of pitching overruns. Since the Bronco is smaller than either of its main rivals the S10 blazer or Jeep Cherokee that short wheelbase might have made for a killer highway ride to. The board's careful selection of spring rates and shocks actually gives the Bronco to what we think is the best combination of on and off road comfort and its class. The Bronco too stuffy chassis also makes for a very high square looking block of sheet metal. It's generally regarded as less attractive than its GM and Jeep counterparts. So Ford threw in a curve or two to soften up its looks
the unusual rear side glass arches gracefully into the roof and provides for a brighter interior and for 1984 those large glass sheets can be ordered as detachable units combined with a sunroof. They almost make the Bronco too into a backwoods convertible. Your choices are limited though when it comes to Bronco to drive trains Ford wagers that most buyers will want V-6 power so they declined to offer four cylinder. Like the competition. There's also no such thing as a two wheel drive version. So except for the selection of a four or five speed manual gearbox or a three speed automatic all Bronco to engine bays look pretty much the same. The German made two point eight. Leader is the most powerful engine available and a vehicle of this size. It's rated at 115 horsepower and 150 pounds of torque since all its four wheel drive road mates also support a base price just shy of ten thousand dollars. It
gives the Bronco to a clear marketing edge. The interior of our Bronco 2 includes the high line SL tee trim fully loaded and comes in at fourteen thousand two hundred dollars. Like the entire vehicle that trim comes straight from the Ranger line of pickups. Only trouble is it's almost too fancy to get dirty. At least the colourfully striped seat fabrics are sturdier than they look with very good support. One very welcome feature is a foot release that allows the front bucket's to tilt forward for easy entry to the rear. Back there you'll not only find plenty of room for three adults but you also get split cushions for excellent caring flexibility. We highly recommend ordering the swing away tire carrier so cargo capacity isn't wasted on the spare and this double action tailgate lets you open the window glass only for loading smaller objects though it's not very long. The cargo cavity is high and wide and has a very flat floor
with the rear wheel wells taking up only a minimum amount of space. In general they don't waste much space in the Bronco too. For instance you can get such handy features as these optional side storage compartments to engage the Bronco tu's part time to speed four wheel drive system. You just push the single lever it operates so smoothly that we had to watch the dash mounted indicator to know it was working. The indicator is nestled between two circular pods that can be ordered with all necessary instrumentation except a tachometer. That's too bad since engine operation is a high point of the Bronco too. Just for openers it delivered a better than truck like zero to 60 performance of fifteen point eight seconds. While we never expect these vehicles to really shine on the blacktop you still may want to pass a game warden or two. So at six point five seconds from 40 to 55 you should at least be able to better.
His government issued transport. But since we all know the Bronco is basically a truck. We have to talk about brakes stopping the Bronco too from a slow 30 miles an hour is no great accomplishment. Distances averaged an OK 42 feet but it's behavior at higher speeds is of more concern. I'm 55 despite an acceptable stopping average of 136 feet. Several times the brakes lock instantly causing a four wheel slide and sway. I found the same tendency with the 10 Blaser. Also based on a pickup the only four wheeler that didn't do that was the Jeep Cherokee and that evolved on its own. Since these vehicles are being sold as all weather all road station wagons and not trucks they should like the jeep and more car like braking stability back on the positive side. The Bronco too is quiet for its type with only 71 decibels of noise at 55 so you can turn up the FM and wail with wailing light on
past the gas pumps. Since this new classic downsize off roaders also gives decent fuel economy. The Bronco to with an automatic is rated at 18 city and 24 highway with a test total of 20 being recorded on our 100 mile economy loop. So compared to the 10 blazer and Jeep Cherokee we find the Ford Bronco too is very competitive. We have several advantages. It has a fine ride on all driving surfaces and offers the most powerful engine only its brakes were a notable negative and that's unfortunately all too typical of its breed so with its versatile carrying abilities and good creature comforts. The Ford Bronco two certainly rates is a reasonable choice and a growing downsized for by for a Reno. What's the prescription for an ailing brake system. Well for a quick transfusion of
information on bleeding your car's brakes Here's our maintenance Dr Pat Goss Pat. John we've received a lot of letters from viewers asking about believing their own brakes. They want to know if this is a do it yourself sort of an operation. Well yes it is if you know exactly how to do it. Well before we get into exactly how to do it we have to know a little bit about how the braking system on the modern automobile works. First take a look at this diagram. We'll start inside the car. The brake pedal and it puts your foot on the brake pedal and what that does is it activates the master cylinder. The master cylinder acts like a pump and it pumps brake fluid out through lines and hoses to all four wheels. Now as this is pump to the four wheels it puts pressure on the wheel cylinders and the calipers of the car which in turn pushes the brake pads against the rotating parts of the wheels. This produces friction and that friction is what stops the car. Well everything works
fine until such time as the brake fluid in the system becomes contaminated with air. The air doesn't work well on a brake system it's compressible doesn't exert enough force on the hydraulic parts and you have a spongy feeling brake pedal and a pedal that may go too close to the floor. Now bleeding is nothing more than getting rid of these air bubbles in the brake system. Now before we get into how you would do it you need to know what you're looking for on the car itself. So the first thing that you're going to be concerned with is right here this is a wheel cylinder. This is from the rear wheel of a car. And what it is is this is the hydraulic part that actually moves. You wouldn't see most of this. The big part of it would be inside the brake drum. What you're concerned with is this little piece right here. This sticks out the back of the wheel. It's a bleeder valve. Looks very much like a grease fitting. Now that's the rear wheel on the front wheel we have this assembly. This is a caliper for the disc brakes.
Now if you happen to have four wheel brakes on your car you would have calipers on the rear wheels as well instead of the wheel cylinders and on the calipers. You still have bleeder valves. Here we have one right here. It's bigger than it is on the wheel cylinder but you still have them. OK. Now this is what you're looking for under the car. Now you need some equipment. The first piece of equipment that you need is this. This is a bleeder wrench. This is designed for attaching to these bleeder valves. You'll notice right here it has a six point opening in it. And then you notice that it has a high offset so that it will clear the various parts underneath the car as you turn the bleeder valves. Then you will need a piece of neoprene hoes such as we have here neoprene hose instead of rubber because rubber swells up when brake fluid touches and it doesn't do you any good. So a neoprene hose and the neoprene hose has to be of a size that will fit over the
end of the bleeder valves on your car. Right next you will need a clean glass jar. Then you will need a brass hammer. Last but not least you'll need a can of the proper type of brake fluid for your particular car. Now what's the proper type. Well look in your owner's manual most owner's manuals will tell you what's required for your car. If it doesn't look in a service manual and if you still don't find it look on the lid of the master cylinder because most cars will have a little label on the top of the master cylinder that tells you what type of brake fluid that you should use in your car and it's vital that you use the right type. You'll also need an assistant in this. But before we get into that what do you do. Well the first thing that you do is you go under the hood of the car and you fill the master cylinder right up to the top with the proper type of brake fluid. And be careful whenever you're handling brake fluid. Don't get it
on the paint of the car. Brake fluid is some of the most fantastic paint remover you've ever seen in your life. Don't spill it. All right. Now there is a proper sequence that you must follow in believing the brakes and that sequence is very simple. You start with the right rear wheel first then you go to the left rear wheel then the right front wheel and last you go to the left front wheel you must follow that sequence. But before you actually go through that sequence you take your bleater ranch and you go to all four of the wheels and you put the bleeder ranch on each one of the bleeder valves and you loosen them slightly just turn them a quarter of a turn or so and then tighten them up very gently. The reason you do this is because many times bleeder valves will rust in position and you can't turn them. So you start out you do one or two of them you get maybe to the third one and you can't turn it. So now you've got half a job. You don't have any brakes and you can't finish it.
So make sure that each one of these will turn right now what do you do next. Next you take your rubber hose. I should say neoprene hose put it over the bleeder valve like so with the ranch behind it. Then you take brake fluid out of a sealed can for about one inch of it in the bottom of your clean glass jar like so then you put the end of the hose into the bottom of the jar like so then you have your assistant pump the brake pedal and pump it up till it's solid. Then while he the assistant holds pressure on the brake pedal and if you would Craig do that please you very gently open the bleeder valve. And as you do it you'll see bubbles. OK. Now on cars with front wheel disc brakes will add a little trick to this. Remember the
brass hammer we talked about while the brake pedal is being depressed and the bubbles are coming out of the hose tap the back of the caliper very slightly. This helps break up the air bubbles in there and they'll come out of the system much much better. Ok now you repeat this process on each wheel until you get no more bubbles out of the hose than you snug the bleeder valve up tight and go on to the next wheel. OK. But there's one final caution. Don't pump the brake pedal more than five times before topping off the master cylinder with brake fluid or you'll have to go back to square one and start all over again. You probably didn't want to be reminded from the depressing statistics department comes this fact the average price of a new car has now reached over
$11000 since a new car is a costly investment. You'd probably like it to last for a while. And one thing that means is keeping out rust. The best way to do that is not with traditional undercoating But we're talking about here is rustproofing done by such companies as auto armer Quaker State. Rusty Jones and Ziebart rustproofing offers special advantages and to find out what they are. We zipped over to a local Ziebart Protection Center to see how it's done. First after the seats and carpets have been protected with paper the car is driven into the service area where a technician consults a microfilm chart of the specific car he'll be working on. These charts are prepared in cooperation with the manufacturer. They show exactly where potential rust problems may occur and how best to rustproof those areas. The microfilm will also show which components have to be disassembled in order to do the work here. The spare tire is being removed to gain access to the
wheel so. And the rear deck panels are taken out so the serviceman can get to the wheel well area. In places that aren't so easy to reach access holes have to be drilled the door for and rear hatch the microfilm even tells the service man the proper spray nozzles to use for each part of the job. The rustproof coating is then sprayed into those hard to reach areas by getting the rustproofing formula into those hidden places. It provides a form of protection and you can't get with old style undercoating that's sprayed only on the bottom of the car that undercoating is a sound deadening material similar to TAR. It will keep water and salt off the undercarriage for a while but it eventually hardens and flakes off or rustproofing sealant works in a different way. It bonds itself chemically to the metal surfaces and because the rustproofing formula is thinner than undercoating it can get into tiny cracks and
crevices with all the various tools available. A car can be protected in just about every potential rust area from front to rear. And after spraying the holes are then filled with color coordinated plugs. After that the car is put on a special rack and sprayed underneath with a final rustproof coating that again covers better than traditional undercoating yet also deaden sound. You should know that aftermarket rustproofing may not be necessary if you live in areas that are free of salt air or heavy snows. All new cars now come with at least a three year factory warranty on our body now rushed through. But if you want the maximum protection against rust then a good aftermarket rustproofing will make your car ready for the most corrosive conditions that man and nature can dish out. By the way if you own an older car that's already been hit with rust they can spray those rusty areas with a special chemical that changes rust to a harmless and
or material that's on this area right here. After that your car can be coated with regular rustproofing. So we're still catching up on news from General Motors. Joyce. Yes John. Now we're moving from the small car news of a week ago to the big car news and this is the 1986 front wheel drive replacement for the Buick sabre and the Olds 88. Now for the first time these models are going to be different from the full size Chevys and Pontiacs. That's a big departure isn't it. It really is. Now the new replacement was code named the H car. And that was because they were going to build it on the chassis. But GM decided to change its letters to numbers. So now it's going to be known as the GM seven day. Now the GM 70 will replace the current lightsaber and the old 88 but not the Chevy Caprice and the
Pontiac Parisienne all four of those cars now have the same chassis but at least through 1986 the Caprice and the perigee and where we main beach chassis rear wheel drive cars I suppose like everything else it's also going to be downsized who naturally. How did you guess. You know they're trying to improve mileage. Now the wheelbase is going to shrink to 110 point eight inches. That's in the current one hundred fifteen point nine inches. And the overall length will be chopped to one hundred ninety four point two inches. That's down from 212 inches. And also be a good 600 pounds lighter. The chassis of the new body GM 70 is basically the same as the new front wheel drive somebody Buick Electra the Olds 98 and Cadillac Fleetwood and Deville the only real difference is as a GM 70 or maybe about two and a half inches shorter than those cars the biggest engine available will probably be the 231 cubic
inch V-6 from Bielek and they might add a turbo with fuel injection as usual and optional 4.3 liter diesel probably available also. Now with that new lighter weight the EPA estimates should be about 23 miles per gallon with a high of 30 with the diesel. Now the word is that the Olds 88 will share the hood and front fenders with a Buick Le Sabre though they each get a different grill. This is the first time these two models have had the same sheet metal. The most unusual design feature is the hood that flows over the front fenders and the advantages to this is that it moves the fender the hood same to the side which makes for a smooth hood and is your assembly that is sort of a European touch too. Right. Well thanks Joyce. OK. Now we move from cars of the future to car of the past. And let's see if we can jog your memory. Maybe you remember about a year ago we first saw a car called the
story on its sold by Mitsubishi. Well sales of the story on Sports Group have been strong enough that Chrysler Mitsubishi's American connection wanted its own version to further beef up its performance image. The result was our next subject. Twelve thousand one hundred eighty seven dollar dodge Plymouth conquest. Maybe you also remember that we found the original story on was very fast but had a few rough edges. So has a name change and some tutoring from the Highland Park finishing school really made a difference. There's only one way to find out if there's one thing that drew boos on the original Mitsubishi story on it was them overzealous oriental style. But the first thing we found was that the Dodge Plymouth conquests clone is devoid of that triple set of hood scoops and air vents that cluttered up the rather striking overall shape. Also gone is the molded bumper license plate holder and the cowcatcher look a less radical Chens spoiler eliminates that.
The revised conquests skin looks so much better that they're giving Star Dionne's the same alterations. The next point of contention was the interior. Overall it seemed busy and cluttered while the dash itself was stark and functional. So Chrysler put in more demure colors and fabrics providing a clean purposeful feeling to match the seats firms supported Patay instrumentation remains the same with our car having the preferred standard gauge package dials are big clear and well positioned you can get this electronic cluster as an option. We found its Takk badly lagged actual engine RPM. One feature left on altered from the story on is the Endore seat belt. It ends once and for all. Having to crawl over or under tangled belts when trying to reach the rear seats power is Mitsubishi's now venerable 2.6 leaders silent chapt four cylinder within easy to service top mounted turbocharger power ratings are
145 horsepower at 5000 RPM but with the maximum of one hundred eighty five pounds of torque coming in very early it only 2500 RPM that makes straight line acceleration and the conquests close to exhilarating 0 to 60 times are fine. Ten point one seconds. Over the standing quarter mile with modest wheels spin and the first two of its five years are typical test time of sixteen point nine seconds resulted in an 80 mile per hour terminal speed. That makes the two thousand nine hundred thirty pound conquest faster than Chrysler's own homemade Daytona laser sports. OK so we already knew speed was easy for the conquest but then we found that story on handling is also conquests handling. It's not bad mind you just confusing. With four wheel suspension gas filled struts and thick stabilizer bars. You expect flak fast cornering. But while the ball type steering is quick
it communicates the car's intentions Corlett and makes it all too easy to exceed the system's power boost. When pushed hard that conquest goes from slight plowing understeer as you enter a turn to tail hanging oversteer a second later. Fortunately the Coop's more than ample power allows you to regain control easily. The 4 wheel disc brakes on our conquests did not have Mitsubishi's rear wheel anti-lock system but they worked well anyway with mostly straight stops of only 121 feet on average from 55 miles per hour. Pedal pressure is good although one of our cars front pads did lock up before the other on occasion. Conquests fuel economy is rated by the government at 21 city and 31 highway. Our test sample did no better than 20 on our motor week surburban mileage loop. We have to add that a similarly equipped story on we tested earlier did deliver a consistent 20:7.
So has the conquest ne story on really changed. Well like a chameleon. Just enough to fit in it's looks inside and out are now more refined its power is formidable even if the handle. Works are still with us and you might end up saying that a story on by any other name makes him most able conquest. Next time ask the Chevy Celebrity Eurosport and the Hun to see our X and we'll see you next week on motor with. Motor Week has been brought to you by a general support grab from the postone division of the Union Carbide Corporation. America goes with Presto studio vehicles courtesy of tilson Ford incorporated. Can.
An ordinary family car make it as a sophisticated driving machine and this new mileage champ changed our minds about commuting. Hello I'm John Davis. Next time on motor week Chevrolet's new celebrity Eurosport gets a workout followed by the revolutionary new Honda Civic CRF. And we'll be talking about grading motor oils and sneak a look at the 1985 VW. I'll see you next time on motor
Series
Motorweek
Episode Number
315
Episode Number
316
Contributing Organization
Maryland Public Television (Owings Mills, Maryland)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/394-93gxdb84
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Description
Episode Description
MotorWeek, televison's original automotive magazine
Series Description
"MotorWeek is a magazine feauring segments on automotive news, reviews, and road tests."
Created Date
1984-02-21
Created Date
1984-02-28
Asset type
Episode
Genres
Magazine
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:58:24
Embed Code
Copy and paste this HTML to include AAPB content on your blog or webpage.
Credits
AAPB Contributor Holdings
Maryland Public Television
Identifier: MOTORWEEK #315/316 (MPT)
Format: Betacam: SP
Generation: Dub
Duration: 01:00:00
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Citations
Chicago: “Motorweek; 315; 316,” 1984-02-21, Maryland Public Television, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 4, 2026, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-394-93gxdb84.
MLA: “Motorweek; 315; 316.” 1984-02-21. Maryland Public Television, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 4, 2026. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-394-93gxdb84>.
APA: Motorweek; 315; 316. Boston, MA: Maryland Public Television, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-394-93gxdb84