Dear JB:
    I recently had a new steering rack and pinion unit and a new power steering pump installed on my 1994 Ford Ranger to the tune of $800.  The problem is that the steering is now "jerky" when trying to turn while the truck is not rolling, for example, when I'm parking, etc.  The garage that fixed it said to let all the air work its way out of the hydraulic system, but it's been three weeks and I still have the same problem.  Do you think that either the rack or the pump is bad?
Signed,
Powerless in the Poorhouse

Dear Powerless:

    The fact that you paid a premium price indicates that the garage probably used premium parts.  Either that or they saw the "Sucker" sign your brother-in-law pinned to your back.  Cheer up, though, your problem is about to be solved.  The secret I am about to reveal to you is unknown to just about everyone, even in the auto repair world, and makes no sense, but it works!  You do indeed have air trapped in your hydraulic system and just driving around doesn't purge it. You

have to take the weight of the vehicle off the wheels.  Now, take the vehicle back to your mechanic and ask him to raise the front wheels off the ground so that you can steer it all the way back and forth several times with the engine running.  Let the vehicle back down and, like magic, it will now steer perfectly.  (Of course, if that doesn't work then you probably have a bad rack and pinion or pump!)

Dear JB:
    I have a problem with a 1995 Dodge intrepid with the 3.3 liter V-6.  In spite of the fact that I have had a major tune-up, replaced the ignition coils, fuel injectors, the engine computer and the fuel pump my car continues to run absolutely terrible and to top it all off now the "cruise" light on the dashboard is flashing while I am driving.  It's to the point that I don't know what else to do but junk it.  Any ideas?
Signed,
Getting Out of Dodge

Dear Getting Out:
    Ideas about junkyards?  Yes, there are several good ones in your

area...  Oh, you meant ideas about fixing your car.  OK, here's one.  Well, actually, you gave it away when you asked the question. You see, the camshaft and crankshaft position signals to the computer have to be synchronized in order for the computer to figure out when to

open the fuel injectors and also when to fire the spark plugs.  If these signals become UN-synchronized it drives the computer crazy and the car runs poorly.  In most modern engines this happens when the timing belt jumps, but your engine has a timing chain which hardly ever wears out.  Your engine uses the flywheel for the crank position information which works well until it cracks and then slips and retards the crank position signal.  The fix will be to replace the old flywheel with a brand new one.  Oh, I mentioned that you gave the answer away in your question.  How?  Chrysler engineers decided, in their wisdom, to have the computer flash the "Cruise" light whenever the cam and crank signals aren't synchronized.  How nice!

Happy Trails,
JB Griffin, III 

JB can be seen each Thursday morning on WDEF-TV News 12's Morning Show at 7:30 A.M. where he answers your car questions.  He can also be heard Saturday Mornings 7-9 on Talk Radio 102.3 FM on the Saturday Morning Garage.  He spends the rest of his time taking advantage of helpless motorists at North Shore Auto Repair in Chattanooga.  E-mail JB at jeepster1515@yahoo.com to have your car care question answered in this column.