Q: I own a 1997 Lincoln Continental and am having problems with the instrument cluster.
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At times, all of the digital letters and numbers disappear. At other times, the letters and numbers partially disappear. At other times, they will continuously blink, or I can drive for hours and the problem does not occur at all.
Ford’s service technicians informed me that the problem is in the instrument cluster but that they no longer sell the part. Do you know of a repair for this problem?
— E.G., Homewood, Ill.
A: Geez, your car is on the cusp of antique status. No wonder it is hard to find an instrument cluster. But we warmed to the challenge and found the Instrument Cluster Store (instrumentclusterstore.com).
The bad news is that it doesn’t have one for your Lincoln. The good news is that it found one.
The bad news is that it will probably cost $175 and you have to get it installed. The good news is that you may avoid a speeding ticket.
An Internet search will turn up more vendors.
Q: I have a 2000 Mitsubishi Gallant with about 170,000 miles on it. Lately, the battery keeps draining.
We have replaced it three times within the past three months. If the car is idle for more than a day or two, it will die and won’t even start with a jump.
Do you think it’s an ignition part issue or possible battery connection problem?
— N.D., Northbrook, Ill.
A: You’d be crazy to keep buying new batteries, because the results will not change.
Instead, have a technician check the electrical system for a key-off current draw.
It should not exceed 50 milliamps, otherwise some vampire is sucking the life from your box of volts.
Q: I have a 2004 Mercedes 240 with a 722.6 transmission. I prefer not to take it to the dealer, due to the normally inflated service cost, so I went to an oil service center and asked for a transmission fluid change. They indicated it must be taken to the dealer.
I went to another national oil change service, and again they indicated it is only a dealer item.
Can I actually do it myself (I’m handy with tools), assuming I get the correct fluid?
— J.G., Collinsville, Conn.
A: I don’t know if you can do this yourself, since I can’t assess your skill level. Nor do I know if you have access to a lift or if you plan to lay on your back under the car.
Nevertheless, changing the fluid involves removing the transmission oil pan (a messy job) and replacing it using a new gasket. While the pan is off, it makes sense to change the filter, which just pops out.
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Now, comes the challenging part. You need to buy a dipstick and tube along with several quarts of automatic transmission fluid, which costs about $20 or so per quart.
Your other options are to find an independent transmission repair shop to do the work.