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rscott posted:I bought a car yesterday and the loop on the key to attach it to a key ring is broken. What is the easiest way to fix this, just drill a hole through the key fob? Superglue a ring on there? I would use Sugru: https://sugru.com/us/gallery/replace-the-hook-of-your-key-fob https://sugru.com/us/buy/3-mini-packs-of-sugru-3x5g
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Nov 14, 2012 17:30
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Mung Dynasty posted:I've got a question about increasing wheel size. I'll be getting a 2013 Dodge Challenger this week, and is currently equipped with 18" wheels. Some come from the factory with 20s, but this particular one did not. I'd like to eventually upgrade to 20" wheels and have been getting conflicting reports on how this is handled. I dunno poo poo about cars (except that this Challenger is reawakening the car-loving kid in me and I'd like to start learning more) so it's confusing. This is a good article for you: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=25& In short, buy 20" wheels, but you'll have to buy tires with a narrower side wall such that the overall diameter is the same as that of your 18" tires.
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Nov 14, 2012 17:32
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Mung Dynasty posted:I've heard from some people that you don't need to do anything else to the car - just throw them bitches on and drive off. But I've heard others say that your tachometer/speedometer need to be recalibrated to adjust for the increased wheel size, and maybe some adjustments to the suspension or gear ratio. None of that has anything to do with wheel size (18" or 20" in this example). That's just the diameter of the wheel/rim. The outer diameter of the TIRE is what matters, and you can be nearly positive that the 18" stock tires have a higher sidewall than the ones that would come stock on the 20" tires, making the outside diameter of the TIRE the same. Therefore, no adjustments. Edit: Yep, I looked up the stock sizes and there's barely any difference:   Motronic fucked around with this message at 17:42 on Nov 14, 2012 |
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Nov 14, 2012 17:38
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ammo mammal posted:Coincidence, I was just posting about superstrut suspension. It's high maintenance, expensive parts, and complicated to diagnose problems because it has so many joints. I've just been through it. Luckily mine has been maintained pretty well and I only need to do bushings and tie rods. Thanks! Ive got no idea about super strut suspension, so thanks for the heads up. Apparently theres been some aftermarket tuning of the suspension with tein parts, so how maintenance heavy is it? Or is it just that ill have to keep an eye on it and be proactive before anything happens? (which admittedly is a good thing anyway  )
Patrocclesiastes fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Nov 14, 2012 |
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Nov 14, 2012 17:40
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EightBit posted:I don't know if it was this thread, but it has been discussed in AI before: oil goes bad sitting on the shelf, especially when exposed to cold extremes. The viscosity modifiers especially don't like prolonged exposure to cold. wow, I wasn't aware of that. Consider me informed.
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Nov 14, 2012 18:37
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Thanks for the quick answer, guys. Makes sense now. Basically the rubber gets thinner to compensate and keep the total diameter roughly the same. So simple.
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Nov 14, 2012 18:39
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EightBit posted:I don't know if it was this thread, but it has been discussed in AI before: oil goes bad sitting on the shelf, especially when exposed to cold extremes. The viscosity modifiers especially don't like prolonged exposure to cold. This is a big deal with conventional oil, but I'm not sure if synthetic is effected as much.
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Nov 14, 2012 19:09
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FogHelmut posted:This is a big deal with conventional oil, but I'm not sure if synthetic is effected as much. Mobil and Pennzoil both state a shelf life of 5 years on their synthetics when stored in a cool, dry place. Beyond that time or stored in crappy conditions, they state the additives will drop out of solution and the oil will have also degraded. I want to say the shelf life on conventional is 3 years from either of them, so it's a decent improvement in stability.
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Nov 14, 2012 19:54
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ExecuDork posted:/\/\/\ Much like Chrysler! Good question. No idea. If they are nice and dusty / full of insects etc I usually just pull them out and clean them up with an air compressor, blowing from the in-side out so I'm not forcing crap further through. That or just beating it against an object or my hand. Not something that you want to do too many times but dust clogs everything up in no time flat here. If it's contaminated / looks like it's got some kind of solidity to it like it's been sucking oily fumes through it then change it. It's all really bad for airflow. Now, back to my own air cleaner project that would make Red Green cringe...
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Nov 14, 2012 21:07
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rscott posted:I bought a car yesterday and the loop on the key to attach it to a key ring is broken. What is the easiest way to fix this, just drill a hole through the key fob? Superglue a ring on there? I had the same problem with my v40. The PO's dog chewed the hell out of the key. I wouldn't drill a hole in the fob unless you are 100% positive that there's no transponder in there. In my case Sugru worked wonders. https://sugru.com/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Fixing-broken-key-fob-with-Sugru/ E: drat you Safety Dance and your posts hiding out at the tops of pages 
Leroy Diplowski fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Nov 14, 2012 |
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Nov 14, 2012 21:11
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Leroy Diplowski posted:
If you look close, you'll see that I blended black and white Sugru to stick that post up there.
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Nov 14, 2012 21:23
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Astonishing Wang posted:I'm replacing the piston and rings in my engine with a new standard sized piston and ring set. If I hone the cylinder to clean it up, what are the odds it'll be too big for the normal piston? Does honing take off enough material to make a difference? You don't want to buy this stuff until you've finished boring/honing the cylinder, because you need to know what your overbore is going to be so you can buy parts that will fit. If you get ones that are too big, they won't fit. Too small and you'll get piston slap which is bad for the motor.
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Nov 14, 2012 21:54
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punakone posted:Thanks! Ive got no idea about super strut suspension, so thanks for the heads up. Apparently theres been some aftermarket tuning of the suspension with tein parts, so how maintenance heavy is it? Or is it just that ill have to keep an eye on it and be proactive before anything happens? (which admittedly is a good thing anyway Depends what parts are aftermarket, I would assume shocks/springs and sway bar bushings while the strut is kept the same. More than keeping an eye on it you'll want to keep an ear on it, listen for groaning/creaking especially during high speed cornering. And a clonking noise means something is definitely worn out. They start to get noisy well before they wear out but it could be a sign you have some expensive repairs down the line. Basically the superstrut parts are considered "wear" components and have a lifespan of 50-100k km. The upside to all this of course is the good handling! disclaimer: I am new to working on cars and have only been at it a few months. This is one topic I know a little bit about though.
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Nov 15, 2012 00:11
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Ok sparkplug time for a 3rd gen 3sgte. My previous 3sgte I used the oem ngk BKR6EP-8 platinum plug and then later on switched to PFR7B's when I did a few mods (intake/exhaust/slightly bigger turbo/a2w ic/raised boost) which worked well. My current motor only has intake and exhaust, but i've got a bigger turbo to go on (td05 16g, not massive but better than the horrible toyota ct series things) and my old ic setup. I have no idea how old the ignition components are in so i'm going to replace everything. Although i'm pretty sure the car has copper plugs in it atm which a lot of people go for because of cost, although this means they end up changing plugs every time they change their oil. I wouldnt mind this but I dont like having to unmount the chargecooler setup every 4000 miles as its a topmount unit. Anyway I was going to order the PFR7B's again when I found out that iridium BKR7EIX are a fair bit cheaper than the platinums. The only thing is i've heard a few horror stories about tips falling off iridium plugs in these motors (tbf these are mainly silly power builds in the us) and they arent suited to performance applications. Is there any reason to use the iridiums over the platinums apart from price?
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Nov 15, 2012 13:13
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What the the hell? You're crazy; I have had copper plugs last 70,000 miles (and keep a proper gap). Have fun throwing money away, unless you've got something running so wrong that they are fouling constantly.
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Nov 15, 2012 16:28
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marsisol posted:Hi automotive goons! I had a problem with my 2001 Cavalier (I know I know). So it turns out, this isn't a burst brake line. The more I look into, I think it's the brake booster. I noticed a slight hissing sound when depressing the brake pedal when this was happening. The guy at the shop I took it to said he had no problems when he took it for a test drive. So I guess a brake booster can be somewhat of an intermittent problem?? Is this an easy fix if it is the booster? Could it be something even more simple like a clogged filter or something? Thanks again.
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Nov 15, 2012 19:17
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Geirskogul posted:What the the hell? You're crazy; I have had copper plugs last 70,000 miles (and keep a proper gap). Have fun throwing money away, unless you've got something running so wrong that they are fouling constantly. I've never ran coppers, but surely it depends on the application? Most people ive asked told me that coppers are fine in a 3s motor but they tend to deteriorate quickly. Which is why I assume the oem is a platinum plug.
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Nov 15, 2012 20:21
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Not THAT quickly. I wouldn't even check them until 25k.
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Nov 15, 2012 21:01
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Godholio posted:Not THAT quickly. I wouldn't even check them until 25k. Yeah. Changing your plugs every 4k, even if they were 'Champion' branded - that you stole off of lawnmowers by the trash.. is a bit over the top. Even with Stage 3, I'd use what the engine was designed for, unless there was some insanely-great reason to do otherwise (there isn't).
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Nov 15, 2012 21:12
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When I say 3s I dont mean stage 3 or any of that junk, what I mean the motor is a toyota 3sgte. Found in the celica alltrac/gt4 and turbo mr2. I shouldnt bother getting a colder grade plug when running higher levels of boost than stock? This is what i've gone by in the past. I'll just get the oem platinums and forget about it if so.
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Nov 15, 2012 21:48
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a big fwiggen terd posted:I'll just get the oem platinums and forget about it if so. This is the proper plan of action. MASSIVE MAWDZ sometimes need something better, but generally don't do a lot of good. You can likely continue to use a stock air filter, too. They're not quite 4k items. Perhaps 50-to-100k items. Unless you live in Saudi Arabia.
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Nov 15, 2012 21:59
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Is there a credit card that's notably better for automotive/tires specifically? (double warranty period, etc)
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Nov 15, 2012 22:59
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marsisol posted:So it turns out, this isn't a burst brake line. The more I look into, I think it's the brake booster. I noticed a slight hissing sound when depressing the brake pedal when this was happening. The guy at the shop I took it to said he had no problems when he took it for a test drive. So I guess a brake booster can be somewhat of an intermittent problem?? Is this an easy fix if it is the booster? Could it be something even more simple like a clogged filter or something? Thanks again. So did your brakes actually stop working, or did they just get harder to press? If it's the latter, then it certainly could be the booster. A hydraulic failure of the brakes would be a very soft pedal (or one that goes right to the floor) and a burst line would result in nearly zero braking ability.
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Nov 15, 2012 23:07
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IOwnCalculus posted:and a burst line would result in nearly zero braking ability. My experience was a complete and immediate loss of all braking capability (downshifting and parking brake got me off the interstate without a problem, though).
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Nov 15, 2012 23:10
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Under someone's suggestion last page, rather than replace the alternator right off the bat I checked the grounds on my car. I found the damage below on the ground going from the battery terminal to the body. Is that enough damage to cause the electrical pulsating I've been experiencing? My multimeter doesn't detect any resistance there, but is it possible that it performs differently under load? I'll probably replace it either way and clean the connection points to see if that helps. 
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Nov 16, 2012 00:07
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Godholio posted:My experience was a complete and immediate loss of all braking capability (downshifting and parking brake got me off the interstate without a problem, though). So it's not the booster. I'm assuming what you are saying is that your pedal went to the floor. You have a broken line or a bad master cylinder. If you still have fluid it's likely the latter.
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Nov 16, 2012 00:08
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stupid puma posted:I found the damage below on the ground going from the battery terminal to the body. Is that enough damage to cause the electrical pulsating I've been experiencing? My multimeter doesn't detect any resistance there, but is it possible that it performs differently under load? I'll probably replace it either way and clean the connection points to see if that helps. What damage? A bit of missing insulation? You can't tell anything about the condition of that ground until you've taken it off. Remove, clean the terminal and the contact point, reinstall, test.
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Nov 16, 2012 00:09
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Yeah, echoing taking off and cleaning it. Just yesterday I had a problem with a windshield wiper motor not working at all in a 94 acclaim/spirit. Turns out, the BOLT it was grounded with from its baseplate straight into the frame wasn't making a good connection. Removing, cleaning, and re-installing the bolt with some conductive grease (it's in a sealed area with no other connections around it) made the motor work again.
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Nov 16, 2012 00:13
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Godholio posted:My experience was a complete and immediate loss of all braking capability (downshifting and parking brake got me off the interstate without a problem, though). Depends on the braking system and where the failure is. Dead master, yes, you'd go to zero brakes. Burst line, in theory, should mean you still maintain some fluid / pressure if the car is remotely modern and has a split braking system.
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Nov 16, 2012 00:29
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Spark plug chat! Okay! So there's a lot of misconceptions out there about spark plugs, some more outrageous than others (e.g. I replaced the OEM iridium spark plugs in my Corvette with these ridiculously old copper plugs and got a 10 hp increase!) First one, "copper" plugs. Did you know that iridium, platinum, and "copper" plugs all contain the same amount of actual copper? The copper is actually found in the core of the spark plug and acts as a heat (and electrical, but mostly heat) conductor. What that big fat center electrode is actually made of is a nickel alloy. Which is why this: quote:Why run copper plugs instead of the recommended platinum plugs? Is so ridiculous. Oh my god that just makes my head hurt. Nothing said there is correct, none at all. Briefly, we've already covered the copper bit. The V groove is actually designed to force the spark to the edges of the groove, providing a more consistent spark, and therefore more consistent combustion and idling. The nickel wears out a hell of a lot faster than platinum (which isn't really used much anymore anyway, more to that in a sec) so even though they're cheaper, you're replacing them more often. And why is that a good thing just because you modified your engine? What is it about modifying your engine that makes it a good idea to change your plugs more often? Change it when you need to, not just because. Though admittedly, in the long run, the precious metal spark plugs will end up costing you more. Okay! Next up, platinum versus iridium. These days, for OEM applications, there is basically no technical reason to use platinum over iridium (not to mention that platinum is loving expensive as hell). Basically, iridium outperforms platinum in basically every single way. And these precious metal plugs vs the old nickel plugs? Well, they're a hell of a lot better, that's for sure. Every 4000 miles is probably excessive, but like you suspected, it depends greatly on the application (and the way you drive!) Grandma in an old naturally aspirated engine? It'll last a good long while. 17 year old in a brand new DI Turbo? Well, if you manage to get it started, it'll probably last you... oh, I don't know, not nearly as long. To give you an idea: Service life interval of old copper plugs was about 30k miles or so. Platinum, I'm not so sure, probably depends on the engine. 60-100k miles. Iridium spark plugs are at about 100k miles. But, as you can see from the 2013 Cadillac ATS manual the service life interval for the new 2.0L Ecotec turbo is 60k miles, because the engine uses so much boost. For you, a big fwiggen terd, I'd say, get the iridium spark plugs. You're already running 1 HR colder than stock so you should be more than fine. If you're nervous, you can take it out during your next oil change and see how the center electrodes look. (They'll probably look fine.) Leave them in there for 50-60k miles and then check on them again if you want. The hard part is that you've modified your engine, so it's hard to say how the plugs will do in there. For almost all things, the answer is "it depends on the engine". And one last thing: please don't re-gap any precious metal spark plugs. You'll probably damage it unless you have a set of pin gauges (which will run you a few hundred bucks). Measuring with a slide or block gauge can easily damage the center electrode. totalnewbie fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Nov 16, 2012 |
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Nov 16, 2012 00:33
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stupid puma posted:Under someone's suggestion last page, rather than replace the alternator right off the bat I checked the grounds on my car. I found the damage below on the ground going from the battery terminal to the body. Is that enough damage to cause the electrical pulsating I've been experiencing? My multimeter doesn't detect any resistance there, but is it possible that it performs differently under load? I'll probably replace it either way and clean the connection points to see if that helps. Do a voltage drop test on it. With the car running, stick the negative lead on the alternator and the positive on the B- terminal. If it reads more than ~0.1V, you've got a problem.
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Nov 16, 2012 00:34
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Motronic posted:So it's not the booster. I'm assuming what you are saying is that your pedal went to the floor. I'm not the one with the problem, I was just adding to the discussion. My problem was that I forgot to put a cotter pin in place or bend it, so the retention pin holding the pads to the caliper fell out and one of the pads worked its way loose. It got wedged into the inside of the wheel, so it didn't completely fall out thank god. The gap allowed one of the pistons to pop out of place enough for all pressure to be released, along with most of the system's fluid. If the pad had completely fallen out I probably would've lost both pistons and it would've been more than a 40-minute fix. The seals were still good, so the only piece that had to be replaced was the retention pin. I lucked out in so many ways on that one...I'd been driving for 2 or 3 days before it fell apart.
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Nov 16, 2012 01:04
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On the checking for bad earths thing. If the symptoms are constant there is another crude but effective way of testing if it's a bad earth. Get a jumper lead. Put one end on the block and the other on the battery -. If there is an improvement it could well be an earth issue.
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Nov 16, 2012 01:20
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IOwnCalculus posted:So did your brakes actually stop working, or did they just get harder to press? If it's the latter, then it certainly could be the booster. A hydraulic failure of the brakes would be a very soft pedal (or one that goes right to the floor) and a burst line would result in nearly zero braking ability. They just got really hard to press but I was still able to generate braking power, so I'm pretty sure it's the booster or something related.
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Nov 16, 2012 03:03
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marsisol posted:They just got really hard to press but I was still able to generate braking power, so I'm pretty sure it's the booster or something related. Oh...so you didn't lose them. You lost the booster or the vacuum line going to it (the car would idle like crap if this was the case).
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Nov 16, 2012 03:24
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GentlemanofLeisure posted:My brother has a 1999 Ford Taurus with the Overhead Valve V6 (not the DOHC). The head gasket went on it and my dad is having a mechanic friend do the replacement. Can anyone give me the torque specs for the head bolts? Looking online I'm finding anywhere from 40-60 to 193 ft/lbs. Would the Chilton's or Haynes manual have this spec? I think my brother might have that book kicking around somewhere but I'm not sure and he's away at college right now.  oh please god noI have one of these, same age, same engine... I don't have a Subaru-style gasket, do I? I mean, it'll last til at least next year?  It's already on the second transmission. Is there any normal maintenance that can at least delay it?
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Nov 16, 2012 06:00
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http://www.wheelskins.com/ Anyone here have any experience with Wheelskins? My Volvo's steering wheel is starting to feel painfully thin and hard during long trips.
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Nov 16, 2012 15:52
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Friar Zucchini posted:
You have one of the most rock-solid engines ever built. Relax. The transmission is by FAR the weak spot on those cars.
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Nov 16, 2012 18:46
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Does anyone here recommend undercoating or rustproofing their car in any way ? I live on the East Coast (average winter temperature is between 0 and -10 deg C) where they use road salt. I've read and heard so many arguments for and against it and not really sure what route I should take. Some are in favour of it and others seem to think that routinely washing the underside of the car should be good enough. From what I've read, there's water-based, parafin-based and oil-based coatings and a whole variety of methods for applying them. Just curious of what is the best route to take. rt_hat fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Nov 16, 2012 |
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Nov 16, 2012 19:05
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rt_hat posted:Does anyone here recommend undercoating or rustproofing their car in any way? If your car is this important, wash it, or get a junker for daily driving. It will also help blood pressure issues.
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Nov 16, 2012 19:12
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