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I've done some work on the shitbox (92 Accord) this week. Important Tools  Flushed my coolant system.  Oops. Pulled my distributor cap and rotor to check for wear.  My dad "helped" me.  After a quick trip to the parts store for a cap and rotor (that, granted, I definitely needed anyway) I pulled my valve cover to put a new gasket on.  Cleaned the valve cover.  Those spark plug tubes are notoriously leaky, and are the main reason I pulled it. Of course, what I didn't realize till after I had finished is that there's o-ring seals for each tube as well. Not that it matters, since doing those requires pulling the camshaft, which means timing belt fuckery, something I wasn't trying to play with. gently caress interference engines. I also didn't bother adjusting my valves, which was dumb in retrospect, but I couldn't figure out how to turn the engine. (gotta go in the driver's front wheel well.) Took out lovely copper WalMart plugs, put in proper NGK platinum.  Put it all back together with a new PCV valve.  It even works! Much better too, I think part of my rough idle in the past has been lovely, oily plugs, combined with a worn distributor. I get paid tomorrow, so I'm going to pick up some new plug wires to replace the oil-soaked old ones. Also on the to do list: new fuel filter and cleaning the buildup out of my intake butterfly valve.
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Apr 2, 2010 05:48
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dissss posted:Raged yet again at on-street parking: Holy poo poo, how does someone even manage to do that much damage in that location?
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Apr 2, 2010 11:54
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Rear window visor arrived and I loosely test-fitted it for this picture. It goes in for paint on Wednesday.
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Apr 2, 2010 17:24
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Coasterphreak posted:I also didn't bother adjusting my valves, which was dumb in retrospect, but I couldn't figure out how to turn the engine. (gotta go in the driver's front wheel well.) Turn the key without the coil attached to bump the engine. Chances are that your engine doesn't have adjusting screws on the lifters, so adjusting means replacing shims. Wait, are there adjusters? It's hard to tell in that picture. eddiewalker fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Apr 2, 2010 |
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Apr 2, 2010 17:38
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Drove it at the wettest track day ive ever been to  Unfortnuatly slamming into a puddle of standing water at 100mph over and over again cracked the bottom of my front fascia. I should have just stayed home instead.
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Apr 2, 2010 17:42
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Rogz posted:Holy poo poo, how does someone even manage to do that much damage in that location? I guess its just thin metal with nothing supporting it and the other driver hit with the very corner of their bumper. Tracked down the culprit though, it was the old guy from across the road. Typical.
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Apr 2, 2010 23:37
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This showed up for the E55. woooooooo (34-41rwhp gain with tune only, 65rwhp with pulley and tune)
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Apr 3, 2010 02:30
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I proved that I am completely incompetent when it comes to suspension work, and broke my car to the point where I have to have it towed to a shop and fixed by real mechanics. The full story is in the BMW thread.
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Apr 3, 2010 04:10
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upper engine stabilizer mount for my 850. worth every penny.
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Apr 3, 2010 04:34
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I've only been up for four hours and I've already installed new spark plugs, made a trip to a Nissan dealership to get new rubber grommets for the upper radiator mounts, and taken same off of car and replaced them. I've run out of things I planned on doing, but it's been such a productive morning I can't help but imagine what other possibilities are in store!
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Apr 3, 2010 16:05
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I finally replaced the broken front sway-bar end links on my SVT Focus. Definitely feels different through corners now 
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Apr 3, 2010 20:42
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Barn Owl posted:This tiny hose split when I started up my truck. Only took an hour and a half to get the parts and wrestle my gorilla mitts between the intake manifold, dizzy EGR (or vacuum thing I don't know), heater core plumbing, and circulatory pump. 3" of hose with one inch gap between the nipples. Ford 429 or 460?
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Apr 3, 2010 21:51
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Two weeks ago I did this: So it needed a wash. After that, of course, I drove it down some dusty dirt roads and ruined the effect, but now my mirrors are useable again and at least I managed to blast off almost all of the caked-on mud on the wheels. This is important, because the dirt roads led me to a junkyard, where I pulled 4 wheels off of this old Acura:  because I want to keep my good winter tires in decent shape for next year. $100 got me 4 "sporty" (my neighbour's reaction) aluminum wheels and half -decent all-season tires.  The four tires fit in the trunk, surprisingly, though with basically zero room to spare. Got 'em home and swapped everything out, with the help of my neighbour who loaned me his impact-driver and a proper tire-iron.  Now I can drive on clear, warm pavement without worrying I'm painting it black with winter-grade tire rubber. Also, I don't what junkyards are like where other people are, but today I was very glad to be wearing my steel toe / steel shank work boots.
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Apr 4, 2010 02:59
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ExecuDork posted:Also, I don't what junkyards are like where other people are, but today I was very glad to be wearing my steel toe / steel shank work boots. Your picture looks about like the one nearest me, except mine is gravel instead of grass. Definitely don't want to skimp on footwear.
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Apr 4, 2010 04:14
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Finally replaced the mud guard and bumper brackets today, in a convenience store parking lot in the middle of nowhere. All the while a group of old Japanese bikers were watching me wrestle with my $10 socket wrench set and old plastic rivets. Yes, I broke several of them.
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Apr 4, 2010 07:43
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Getting ready to do my waterpump in hopes that it's not my thermostat as to why my car is overheating.
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Apr 4, 2010 19:11
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Cop posted:Getting ready to do my waterpump in hopes that it's not my thermostat as to why my car is overheating. Geez what kind of car do you have where the waterpump is the EASIER of the two?
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Apr 4, 2010 20:47
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2004 Impala. Waterpump sits right on top and the thermostat is on the back of the engine. I read here that it might be easier to remove the exhaust crossover pipe. Waterpump is done and we will see if it overheats still.
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Apr 4, 2010 20:55
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Had to replace the thermostat on my wife's Ascender this weekend, kept throwing a CEL with it not coming up to temp properly. Posts on the trailblazer forums indicate a bad thermostat, so I bought one at O'reilly for 26 dollars. They didn't have Concentrated Dex-Cool either so I needed two bottles ($15 each) of premix as well. The actual replacement wasn't that bad, but you have to remove the alternator to get to it properly. Took me and a friend 45 minutes or so. No CEL yet.
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Apr 5, 2010 00:04
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Headlights were annoying me, so I picked up a 3M refinishing kit. Before:  After: 
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Apr 5, 2010 00:12
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I started on my non-automotive reciprocating piston insanity of the season. The walk behind field mower got a whole can of Onan 4C and filled the yard with smoke. Then I replaced the air and fuel filters. Then, I put a quarter can of seafoam in the oil and ran it around a side yard that wasn't too wet for a half hour. Then, I drained the horribly black oil, changed the filter, and refilled with some straight 30 Rotella T. I pulled the old spark plugs, which were surprisingly clean (probably from the 4C), and let it cool down while I ate dinner. Afterward, I put in new and precisely gapped NGKs and ran it around for a while again. Unfortunately, the problem it had last year is still there and possibly worse. The engine won't run smoothly off choke. With the choke on, it'll run at exactly 3300 RPM. With the choke off at any throttle setting, it'll surge horribly. I can't find an actual carb kit on any website, so i'll just piece one together tomorrow at work. Who doesn't make a carb kit for their engines? The chainsaw got a new fuel pickup, spark plug and a thorough cleaning. Started right up despite me leaving the gas and oil in the tank to rot all winter. Still to do: remove and flush the fuel system on the walk behind. I found vegetation inside the fuel filter. Fully rebuild carb. Replace all the blades and probably a few pulleys, too.
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Apr 5, 2010 01:25
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Skyssx posted:I can't find an actual carb kit on any website, so i'll just piece one together tomorrow at work. Who doesn't make a carb kit for their engines? If its a Honda engine they don't. You either have to buy a new carb or order all the pieces separately. I ran into that problem with my X-Mark.
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Apr 5, 2010 01:42
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Pipkin posted:If its a Honda engine they don't. You either have to buy a new carb or order all the pieces separately. I ran into that problem with my X-Mark. Kawasaki, but good to know about the Honda. Sometime before winter, i've got to replace an Onan engine with either a Honda GX or Briggs Vanguard (apparently Toyota), and I was already leaning towards the Vanguard for parts availability.
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Apr 5, 2010 01:50
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surivdaoreht posted:Headlights were annoying me, so I picked up a 3M refinishing kit. Couldn't you just open the hood instead of taping it off?
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Apr 5, 2010 02:12
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kill me now posted:Drove it at the wettest track day ive ever been to Pretty cool. I've never seen (nor ever expect to see) a 300 on the track. I have seen one Magnum, but it was a rental.
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Apr 5, 2010 02:55
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Washed the car, then immediately got rained on.
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Apr 5, 2010 03:07
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Change the coolant temp sensor in my VR6. Not bad if you have slim hands. The GTI is happy once again until something else breaks. 
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Apr 5, 2010 03:15
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Cop posted:Getting ready to do my waterpump in hopes that it's not my thermostat as to why my car is overheating. Yay! That fixed it. There was a leak at the bottom of the pump. But of course after I got done I forgot to bleed it so it started overheating much worse. Thanks to my brother for asking me the dumb question, "Did you bleed it afterward?"
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Apr 5, 2010 04:32
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Speeding ticket in my ride today, does that count? 
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Apr 5, 2010 05:53
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Attempted to remove the vacuum control box in order to replace the fuel filter. Dropped every fastener I removed into the engine compartment, necessitating a total of at least an hour fishing around with a flashlight and a magnet. Also failed horribly at removing the vacuum lines from my intake. Gave up, put everything back together, and called it a day.  gently caress the vacuum line hell that is a Honda engine compartment.
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Apr 5, 2010 06:04
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DogDodger posted:Pretty cool. I've never seen (nor ever expect to see) a 300 on the track. I have seen one Magnum, but it was a rental. They're quick. Surprisingly so. We had a guy come to the track last month with an SRT-8, and sure, it's fast and loud, but I was floored by how quickly the thing could scrub speed, especially for a two-ton car. He braked harder and later than most of the cars out there, and the car was shockingly composed under braking. No drama whatsoever.  Click here for the full 1024x683 image.
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Apr 5, 2010 21:52
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I tried to swap the differential in the 840 today, and failed miserably at it.  I had removed the tail section of the exhaust a couple weeks ago with minimal drama. All that's left is a bunch of nuts holding the driveshaft to the input shaft on the diff, and the loving ALLEN BOLTS holding the axles to the output flanges. You see, BMW in their infinite wisdom, thinks it's a good idea to use a mess of 8mm allen bolts to hold the axles in place instead of regular old hex bolts like everyone else uses. So you end up with 12 bolts that have spent the last 16 years seizing their way in there, and naught but an 8mm Allen socket with which to remove them. Of course, the first one I tried putting a wrench on started to strip, so I quit before I hosed it up. That was not the only place I failed. My "new" diff came from an E32, which has different input / output flanges than the E31. So, those have to be swapped over as well. The output flanges are cake - they just pry out. However, the input flange nut requires somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 - 160 ft-lbs to break free. Once broken free, you then have to torque the nut back in place to the exact position it was in before you removed it (and note the torque required to do so) so that you don't mess up the preload on the gears with too much / too little torque on the nut when you put the new flange on. Well, I couldn't get the output flanges to stop rotating no matter what I did. I got some brackets from HD and bolted them to a board and then to the output flanges, but when I tried torquing them, the flanges just rotated and bent up my brackets. I'm stumped on how to keep the whole thing from rotating when I do this. After my series of failures, I was kind of depressed so I took the car for a spin with open exhaust just because.  It was funny seeing people looking around for the culprit, and then the  look shortly after once it dawned on them which car it was.
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Apr 5, 2010 23:13
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I got home from work at 7 tonight with about one hour of sunlight remaining. To do: rear shocks and drum brakes on a Ranger. Rear brakes on a ZX2, which I didn't even get to. The Ranger is behaving like perhaps a drum is out of round, and on ice, the torque from the engine at idle overcomes the brakes unless you stomp on them hard enough to lock the front tires. hosed if you do, hosed if you don't. I jacked up the Ranger using the differential, set two jack stands and impacted the wheels off. Much more corrosion under the wheel caps than my previous truck. The wheels weren't rusted to the drums, both came off with a punch to the top of the tire. From there, both drums were rusted to the hub. One came off using regular hammers. The other resisted a 4 lb sledge. I would have tried some oil, but apparently i'm out. So I broke out the propane torch. After some alarming "proing!" noises from the drum itself, it was free from the hub, but locked on due to the shoes grinding a race track inside. The side that came off had shoes that appeared to be virtually untouched. The automatic adjuster was a little stiff on the side that came off, and I familiarized myself with how i'd have to manipulate the other to loosen it. The adjuster on the stuck on drum is apparently rusted too snugly for me to move it. I changed out one of the shocks and called it a night since dinner was getting cold. I think the one side being in new condition, and the other (probably) being hosed, combined with the open differential, shows why the vehicle exhibited dangerous behavior on ice. I'm going to pick up a Milwaukee angle grinder with cut off wheel and carve away the stuck drum. I think i'll find some badly worn and mangled shoes inside. I'm going to fully disassemble and rebuild both with large amounts of anti-seize.
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Apr 7, 2010 04:54
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Got my E36 back from a real mechanic yesterday, now with all new control arms, inner/outer balljoints, LCABs, and end links. The car feels incredibly different. They also did a complimentary inspection, and basically told me everything that was wrong with my car granted I already knew about every single issue (except the wiper fluid sensor, but they were wrong, it was just low  ) but still it hurts seeing it confirmed.
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Apr 7, 2010 17:10
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ozziegt posted:Couldn't you just open the hood instead of taping it off? Eh, it made a bit of a mess. I'm glad I did it this way, because otherwise there'd be dust and poo poo all over the engine bay.
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Apr 8, 2010 11:13
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Got my roof spoiler back from paint and put it on the TSX... happy with how it came out. I think it flows well. And extra show points never hurt anyone, especially with the first show of the season coming up Saturday.
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Apr 8, 2010 13:39
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Both outer tie rod ends. New PCV valve, new air filter. Screwed around with my idle air control valve, now my cel is on, oops. Changed my supercharger oil.  175000 mile old supercharger oil. Mmmm.
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Apr 10, 2010 23:32
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Bud Manstrong posted:He braked harder and later than most of the cars out there, and the car was shockingly composed under braking. No drama whatsoever. having a mile long wheelbase and fairly even weight distribution does wonders towards keeping the car composed both under braking and acceleration. Its far from an ideal track car for a number of reasons, but for what it is it will hustle around a track way better then it should after a few relatively minor upgrades.
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Apr 10, 2010 23:50
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FogHelmut posted:Changed my supercharger oil. Put that in your kitchen or bathroom and see if anyone tries to use it.
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Apr 11, 2010 00:06
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Polished and waxed the 99 Subaru Forester, then tried to remove the wheels to strip and repaint as the paint is flaking off. The lugs were removed easily, but three of the wheels are rusted to the brake rotor 
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Apr 11, 2010 00:17
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