QOTD: Beating the Heat

It’s hot almost everywhere in this country right now.

Air conditioners are straining. The words “heat dome” are in the news. Climate change is being discussed.

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Piston Slap: Vapor Lock and the Hot R32?
Nick writes:I bought a used 2008 Volkswagen Golf R32 with 48,000 miles in January 2010 (5,000 only in the U.S., 3.2-liter NA V6). Every summer since then I’ve had issues as the weather warms up. Basically, it starts to act up when driving at around 85+ miles-per-hour or so, and it gets even worse if I’m stuck in any kind of stop-and-go traffic. The only sure fix is letting it sit and cool off for 30 minutes or longer.
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Down Under You Can Cook Christmas Dinner In Your Car, And That's Not Good

Australian chef Matt Moran made a video to highlight the dangers of leaving children unattended in cars during the holidays — and for the rest of their summer — by cooking lamb in the car, according to Australian newspaper The Age.

The video was produced for Kidsafe Australia, a group that highlights the dangers of leaving children in hot cars. Moran calls the car his new “ unconventional oven.”

The lamb was actually overdone in the 90 minutes it baked in the sweltering heat near Bondi Beach.

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Piston Slap: So Hot, Yet So Cold!

Nick writes:

Hello Sajeev,

(I really wanted to put the “n” in there.)

I have a ’97 Prelude that will sometimes cycle on and off its air conditioning when it’s unbearable hot outside (June-September here in Phoenix). Air will come out nice and cold, then it will get real warm suddenly for about 30 seconds before getting cold again. It only happens when it’s extremely hot outside and I’ve been driving for awhile. It works fine the majority of the time. What do you think?

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Baby Dies After Being Left Alone Inside Hot Car

A 10-month-old baby is dead after being left alone Thursday inside a hot car in Austin, Texas, KTLA reported. Police haven’t charged the male driver, who was found at the scene, with a crime. It’s unclear how the driver and the baby may have been related.

According to police, employees at a Waffle House spotted the baby around 2:45 p.m. in the car. After calling police, the employees pulled the baby out of the car, which was unlocked, and attempted CPR. Local reports say the temperature was around 98 degrees.

Coroners said the baby died of hyperthermia, or elevated body temperature.

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Piston Slap: The Heat Is On!

Ramin writes:

Sajeev,

I am not a TTAC member, but I read it almost daily. I suppose I should join soon. Anyway having read your “piston slap: we need your help” post, I have one that has been stumping me for about a year now:

The car is an 08 Impreza STI. For the past year or so, the power steering struggles and whines. It is much worse when the car is cold, doubly so when the weather and the car are cold. There is no belt squeal. I have tried flushing and bleeding, both with factory fluid and also with the Lucas stop-leak stuff. Modest initial improvement only lasts a little while. Subaru forum posts suggest the STI cooks its PS fluid because the fluid lines route near hot turbo components. However it seems now even with fresh fluid, the problem persists, leading me to suspect a component has gone bad. I don’t want to drop over $600 for a new pump. Are there any tricks you know of, like for example, replacing a particular gasket? Or, better yet, some advice on narrowing down exactly what the culprit is (short of replacing the whole freaking pump)?

Thanks a lot and keep up the good work – I love the site and what you all have done with it.

Sajeev answers:

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  • Joe This is called a man in the middle attack and has been around for years. You can fall for this in a Starbucks as easily as when you’re charging your car. Nothing new here…
  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)