Kev

I have a 1999 Toyota Corolla, 140, 000 miles on the clock. Last weekend my brakes developed a problem - they were losing power after a couple of seconds of applying the brake pedal, not matter how hard I pushed on the pedal. If I took my foot off the pedal, waited a couple of seconds and then pushed down on it again, the same would happen. Work okay for a couple of seconds, then they would lose power and I'd be coasting again.

I took it into a shop. They said my brake lines and one of my front calipers were almost rotted out and needed replacing. This sounded reasonable to me given the age of the car and I okayed the repair.

Now I have the car back; the brakes are better now but still don't seem 100% okay. I don't get the loss of power anymore, so when I apply the brakes the car brakes evenly, but they seem to be stuck on low power. Mostly when I'm braking my foot is to the floor or close to it. This hasn't been a problem driving (I'm pretty good with following distances generally anyway) but I'm not sure about in an emergency.

Could the mechanic have forgotten to tighten something? I don't have any funny noises that I've noticed. I also haven't done any significant brake work on the car in the time we've had it (since 2006) other than the brake line work this week. Maybe it's just time I got pads et al replaced?

I have a 1999 Toyota Corolla, 140,000 miles on the clock. Had it 8 years, never had any major brake work on it but today a problem developed with my brakes. When I first hit the brake pedal, the brakes apply and I slow down normally. But after a few seconds, even thought my foot is still on the brake, the brakes seem to stop working, or at least work much less effectively. If I take my foot off the brake pedal, wait a few seconds and reapply it the same thing happens. They brake normally for a few seconds, then they seem to lose power. Had to be very careful driving home from the store. This manifested itself on a 20 minute drive - by the time I got home, a BRAKE indicator light had appeared on my instrument panel. I'm going to take it to the shop of course - just want to make sure total failure isn't immediately imminent (the place I go to is a 20- minute drive away), and I'm curious what the problem might be. Any suggestions would be welcome - thanks!

I have a 2007 Ford Five Hundred. Yesterday a creaking noise started in the area of the left front wheel. The noise happens when driving, forward or reverse, straight or turning (although it seems a little worse when turning). I got out of the car and pushed down on the hood above that wheel, bouncing the car a little, and that made the noise happen as well. Any suggestions as to what the problem might be and possible repair cost? I live just west of Cleveland OH.

When I'm sewing the bottom thread gets all jumbled up. The top thread looks fine. I've checked and double-checked threading the bobbin and it looks okay. I had this same problem on my old machine so it must be something I'm doing wrong. Can anyone help please?

ROA = 3%

ROE = 5%

Sales/Assets (TAT) = 1.5

I'm tearing my hair out over this one - can anyone help please?

My computer is 5 years old and I'm wondering if it could be 'freshened up' a little. I don't really want to buy a new one yet and I'm wondering if I could spend a few hundred dollars on more memory and maybe a video card and extend it's useful life for another 18 months or so. I'm mainly concerned about using it to play games. I don't need a tricked-out machine - just something that will play newer games at decent quality levels without too much trouble. I'm particularly thinking of the new Batman and Elder Scrolls games that will be coming out later this year. My current specs are:

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core processor 3800+, 2.0 ghz, 2000 mhz FSB, 512kb L2

Memory: 1024 mb DDR dual channel memory

Video card: nVidia 6600

Got any suggestions?

I put a small-sized load of wash in it. It filled with no problem but when the wash cycle started, the agitator barely agitated at all and the motor noise didn't sound quite right. I stopped it and switched it to the spin cycle. The water drained out okay but the cylinder wouldn't spin at all and it made another strange noise. Does this sound fixable or do we have to buy a new one?

I have a Briggs and Stratton lawnmower. The pull cord is jammed. When I pull it to start the mower, it comes out maybe 6 inches at the most then it won't move. Subsequent attempts get hardly any movement at all. I've turned it on it's side and the blade seems to turn okay. It did this a little towards the end of last summer but we haven't really had any problems this summer so far. Any suggestions?

We bought a 2007 Ford Five Hundred in Dec 08, 19,000 miles on the clock. Took it in for a oil change recently and the mechanic tells me we need new tires! It now has 21,000 miles on the clock - do new cars really come with tires that are only good for 20,000 miles? Like an idiot, when we bought the car, I assumed that the tires would be good for at least 30,000 miles and only gave them a cursory glance. Did the dealer screw me?

I have a '99 Toyota Corolla. Last week I had the front and rear brakes replaced. Before I left the shop, the mechanic told me to expect some 'sluggishness', maybe a little smoke coming off the brakes and an associated smell, for around 50-100 miles. He assured me things like that were normal as the new brakes 'settle'. He said I should try to avoid 'heavy' braking during the next 50 miles or so. I had asked about something like that because the last time I had a brake job done, they squeaked. Anyway, I drove home (8.5 miles) with no problems. Next morning, I'm driving to work and a knocking sound starts whenever I apply anything more than mild pressure to the brakes. Typically, I'm coming up to a stoplight or stop-sign and as I brake the knocking starts, quickly at first, then slowing as my vehicle speed decreases. It's really annoying and I've driven around 80 miles now since the work was done and it shows no sign of getting better. I'm going to take it back to the mechanic and ask him about it but I wanted some background before I do. Any ideas?

I want to replace my garage door opener unit but I want to make sure that I buy a new unit with the appropriate amount of power to be able to lift a garage door my size. It's a double door, wooden and seems bloody heavy. The old unit doesn't work anymore because one of the parts that drives the chain that lifts the door is completely worn out. I assume this is because the unit is old but I can't help but wonder if it expired early because it was lifting a door that was too heavy. Can I just shove the bathroom scales under the garage door to weigh it? It couldn't weigh more than a couple of hundred pounds right?