Mailbag: Heater core, A/C Compressor, Oil Pump woes...

[Bruce Nunnally]

I had my heater core replaced by bypassing it and after that I started hearing a clunking noise and smoke was coming out of my engine I was told it was the air conditioning compressor that burned up and messed up my oil pump and sippin Team band so I replace them drove it and again the same thing happen again smoke came out smell burning plastic and got hard to drive anyone can help any ideas

[Cadillac Jim]

What probably is causing the problem is something like a slipping serpentine belt, but we need more information.

We need the year and model of your car to help out. Also, what does the smoke smell like? Oil? Coolant? Rubber?

If it is a 2005 model or earlier, you can read the OBD codes, which will tell us everything that the car "knows" about what is happening with it, and that is an enormous help. See the link in my signature block for a Caddyinfo page on how to read your OBD codes. Write them down and post them here.

Note that the air conditioner has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the oil pump. I have no idea what a "sippin Team band" is and I refuse to speculate - although it does sound a bit like a serpentine belt. Replacing a serpentine belt without finding out what is causing it to slip is like replacing a flat tire with a tire that does not have air in it.

I would get another mechanic, and one that is ASE certified. Look for the logo on a certificate hanging on the office wall:

Read the name and date off the certificate and make sure that the oldest one is less than three or four years old. Ask for the technician named on it by name and ask him who is going to work on your car.

Another point: if a mechanic doesn't have the patience to explain to you what is wrong with your car in terms that you understand, you shouldn't let them work on your car. If someone only conveyed to you that something called a "sippin Team band" was bad but did not explain to you that the serpentine belt, a long, winding belt on the front of the engine that drives the alternator, A/C, and power steering like fan belts of yore, then they didn't know or care whether you understood them or not. Some of the responsibility for getting a clear idea of what a technician sees wrong is yours, too: don't hesitate to ask questions and don't authorize work that you don't understand.