J.B.
We just recently purchased a 1983 Chevy sport van G20, my husband is doing some routine maintenance to it, but it desperately needs a new fuel pump.  He has located the fuel pump, but can't figure out how in the world to get to the darn thing without disassembling the whole engine.  Can you help? signed,
Van Tastic

Dear Mrs. Tastic,
That's easy.  The instructions say: remove van body, replace pump, reinstall body!  Seriously, though, there is quite a bit to the job, although I love it when a customer rolls in and asks how much to just "stick" a

fuel pump in a van.  The first thing is to make sure whether the pump is on the engine or in the gas tank.  Yours is most certainly a carbureted model which means that the pump is on the engine located behind the AIR pump.  (Here in the south we call it a "pollution" pump.)  You will probably need to remove it in order to install a special bolt into the front of the engine to hold up

the fuel pump rod.
The necessity of this special bolt will only become apparent AFTER you waste all day Saturday trying to do the job without it!  Another little trick to this job is to NOT cross thread the steel line nut in the new pump by making sure to remove the other end of the line from the carburetor first.  Oh, and go ahead and replace the rubber line at the pump and back at the tank.  Cracked rubber lines will starve the pump for fuel and are usually what makes you condemn a perfectly good pump in the first place!

Dear JB,
My 1997 Oldsmobile has been producing a steady stream of bubbles in the radiator.  It has also been running a little hotter than normal.  What

should I replace?
signed,
Oldsmobubbles

Dear Bubbles,
You just made some mechanic very happy! Or at least his mortgage company.  You will need a new set of head gaskets and maybe a set of heads.  Be sure that he has them checked for cracks.  Also, you will need to determine the original cause of the gasket failure, so that you don't repeat singing "Tiny Bubbles."  I would suspect a partially clogged radiator to be the culprit since GM switched to the Dex-Cool antifreeze.  Other causes could include a sticking thermostat, electric radiator fan motor or a bad water pump.

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.