Damaged Hood May Not Need Repainting
Question: The paint on the hood of my new 1992 Mercury Sable was slightly damaged by a bird dropping. It is not that noticeable, but the gloss was taken off an area about the size of a silver dollar. I am left wondering whether the car has a really weak paint job. The dealer has offered to repaint the entire hood, but I wonder whether I should have that done.--M.S.
Answer: Repainting the hood should be a last resort. It is possible that the damaged area may eventually lose its paint, long after the dealer is willing to repaint the hood. But even in that worst case, you can always have the hood painted for a couple hundred dollars of your own money.
The very best paint job by a dealer probably will not be as good as the original factory paint. The color may match the rest of the car and look adequate for several years, but after four or five years the paint on the hood will deteriorate.
The factory paint is baked on, meaning it is “cross linked and hardened” by heating. In the after-market, the paint hardens through additives, though it is helped by heat lamps.
If the bird dropping simply etched the clear coat and did not damage the underlying color coat, you will certainly be better off leaving it alone.
You may want to examine the damaged area with a magnifying glass and try to determine whether the paint has minute cracks. If not, the damage probably goes no deeper than the clear coat. In many cases, scratches or other imperfections in a clear coat can be polished out with a mild car polish.
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Q: We own a 1988 Buick Le Sabre that has gone through five fuel pumps--about every 9,000 to 12,000 miles. The Buick dealer can’t diagnose the cause, except to say that something in the electrical system is causing the fuel pump to fail. He thinks there is a sudden burst of energy. The last fuel pump’s brushes were burned out. Do you know what causes this? We have only 10,000 miles to go before the warranty expires.--P.L.
A: First, I suggest you find another dealer. This shop has to be a total loser if it can’t find what has caused five fuel pumps to fail. There are plenty of Buick dealerships and other General Motors dealers that could help you.
The notion that the pumps are failing because of an electrical surge is suspect. If the electrical system is faulty, it would cause a surge to electrically powered devices on the car, and you would have failures in everything from light bulbs to computers.
The early Buick fuel pumps were known to be trouble-prone, often because they would hum and whine loudly, but they seldom failed.
My hunch is that something is overtaxing the fuel pumps. First, your mechanic should make sure the fuel system is operating at the correct pressure. The fuel-pressure regulator, which controls the fuel pressure to the injection system, may be faulty.
The regulator is a simple spring-operated check valve that maintains pressure at a constant level. When the pump, which runs at a constant speed, supplies too much fuel, the check valve opens and circulates some of it back to the gas tank.
A second possible cause is that the fuel filter screen inside the tank is partly clogged, forcing the fuel pump to work harder.
Finally, because this problem has been identified while the car is under warranty, it is the manufacturer’s obligation to fix it even if the warranty expires.
