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I put lights on my wagon!  
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Nov 25, 2012 23:24
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I put on dollar store antlers for the kids
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Nov 25, 2012 23:45
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meatpimp posted:Replaced the front struts in the Deville. Holy poo poo the Monroe Quick Struts kick rear end! So... When spec is -.7* to +.3* and your actual camber readings are +2.1* and +2.7*, that can make a CV joint unhappy. Got it all aligned today and it rides perfectly well. Also got a set of Winter tires on the stock 16" chrome wheels. Firestone was having a weekend-long special and I ended up getting the same Firestone Winter tires that Tire Rack sells -- mounted, balanced, installed, plus the alignment... for less than what the bare tires would have cost from Tire Rack. Hell of a good deal.
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Nov 26, 2012 00:18
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Sir Cornelius posted:It's easier to inspect a screw terminal, and very few people knows how to crimp correctly. A lovely aligned terminal will turn black in a matter of days and so will a crimp. The problem with a crimp is that I'll have a hard time finding it. yeah, you wouldn't believe the number of bunk crimps I've seen, especially on the larger gauges. A lot of people seem to think "bash it with a hammer" / "grab it with a pair of pliers" is a suitable crimping method.
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Nov 26, 2012 00:31
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After 2 hours of struggling and having to reassemble a headlight, I got my euro projectors in and properly aligned. So much better. Although in the process I hosed my hood latches up so I need a screwdriver to close my hood from now on   
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Nov 26, 2012 04:52
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Tires, alignment, battery, wiper blades, air filter, oil filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, fresh fluids, new front turn signal lenses and replaced the rear driver side reverse light and turn signal bulbs, adjusted the clutch and throttle slack. Winterized...why not. Really gotta get that engine bay cleaner as it's been sitting for six months.  Next up driver side window regulator, driver manual door handle/lock mechanism, camshaft seal, oil pan seal, tie rods, CV axles and driver side lower control arm 
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Nov 26, 2012 09:11
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Washed my car by hand and I'm never going to another automated car wash again. Seriously only took 30 minutes and the soap is cheap cheap cheap. It may not be a high-class wash job and I just washed the suds away with hot water and let it air dry, but it looks good to me. Why do people use automated washes again? KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 10:08 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 10:05
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KozmoNaut posted:Washed my car by hand and I'm never going to another automated car wash again. Seriously only took 30 minutes and the soap is cheap cheap cheap. It may not be a high-class wash job and I just washed the suds away with hot water and let it air dry, but it looks good to me. I'd think laziness/ease to use automated washes, and the fact you *save* money not having to buy shampoo and other cleaning products. Mostly what i encounter is just an irrational fear of paint scratches, if you use a decent piece of cloth/microfibre and dont put massive pressure on it everything will be fine and dandy. Car paint is meant to take a beating, otherwise it wouldn't last through a single hailstorm for example. Wait until you start waxing it though, that's more time consuming, again it beats automated washing as that would just pour hot wax indiscriminately all over your car + windows, wax on windows is bad. The car detailing thread (if you missed it) has a ton of information and some useful tricks aswel. EDIT: After recieving some comments about my headlights being overly bright and causing glare from both friends and being blinked by fellow drivers, (Philips halogens, not HID) i decided to go for the comedy option, instead of having xenon look-a-like blueish headlights, i went for comedy Gold: Old VS New   The contrast is adjusted, the color difference still isn't coming out that much, it's a huge difference.  I love it, its gives off a retro vibe, hell it's still the signature mark of old-timers especially if they were made in France, where up to early 1990 all cars had yellow headlights, since then many have been replaced by the usual and now common white headlights. I haven't had a single complaint since then, and i must admit the yellow color makes it easier to drive at night on my eyes. I've been aching to get some hands-on experience with my first car, and decided after reading the manual + maintenance book that my Automatic Transmission Fluid was never replaced, reading the horrible mechanical failures thread was one of the big reasons i decided to replace it:   Gushing!  Some fourteen years and 110,000KM's / 69000Miles later, the fluid turned into wine, it still smelled like cotton candy too! I didn't take a sip though, something about organ failure and all that.  The transmission *is* running a bit smoother, i've added Dexron III-H (recommended Dex II or III), seeing as this car was filled up 14 years ago i suspect i drained Dexron II. When i emptied the oil pan into an empty milk jug i noticed a tiny grain of metal in it and some sparkling dust, i presume this to be mostly harmless as i've driven approx. 500KM's/220Miles on the new ATF without problems. Last but not least for fun & because i can i drained the oil and refilled it again just to see how that goes, the engine ran below the low-point two weeks ago so i already added three liters of 10W40 semi-synthetic, aside from the "sweating" on the bottom near my transmission, there are no clear leaks whatsoever, and the engine is burning about 1 liter of oil per 1500KM/1100Miles. I am aware that i did not replace the oil-filter, this was done recently before i bought the car, so the filter now has 25000KM/15000Miles in terms of usage. I cleaned the bolt + washer thoroughly, the shape of the bolt was unrecognizable, having been turned into a ball of magnetized particles, i know re-using a washer is a sin but i did not have a fitting replacement at that moment, now two-weeks later everything is still perfectly sealed:  More Gushing!  Gorillian Dollars fucked around with this message at 13:33 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 12:48
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Actually, it was the detailing thread that got me into washing my car by hand. That and the fact that I already had the soap, big soft sponge, wax etc. for washing my bike. The wax will have to wait a couple of weeks until I can use my dad's heated garage, though.
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Nov 26, 2012 13:31
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Heated garage, lucky guy. Waxing your car (more like giving it a good mud facial) at 8 degrees Celsius for two hours outside in the wind isn't something to repeat, that and you get very clumsy when you stop feeling your hands.
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Nov 26, 2012 13:36
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Replaced the pleather shift boot in my Genesis Coupe
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Nov 26, 2012 14:01
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bitwarrior posted:Replaced the pleather shift boot in my Genesis Coupe That's  as all hell.
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Nov 26, 2012 14:21
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bitwarrior posted:Replaced the pleather shift boot in my Genesis Coupe This is awesome.
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Nov 26, 2012 14:36
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWJfyLBYLKQ I did this on Saturday. I didn't get a good recording of it, other than the abject terror of my passengers. It has hairpin switchbacks, and virtually no notices. It has often narrows down to one lane due to washouts, and thankfully, not a lot of traffic - although a guy with a Uhaul straddling the lanes was about 2s from taking out my front end. Stay on YOUR side, drat it! I want to do it again! I want to do it again! v- (Not my video) - Yeah, there were trees, I guess. After a few minutes of this road, though, I didn't care until I got off the road and back to the Redwoods. V  V
Viggen fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 17:47
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Looks like a very nice road to drive through, i enjoy sharp corners with no visibility beyond, it keeps you on edge and aware of your driving, rather than the 1000-yard highway stare. And amazing scenery ofcourse!
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Nov 26, 2012 18:41
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Finally got her towed to the mechanic. Hopefully this repair doesn't bankrupt me.
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Nov 26, 2012 18:49
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bitwarrior posted:Replaced the pleather shift boot in my Genesis Coupe It'd be unbelievably terrible on a VW, but cute on a Genesis. Took off the front anti-roll bar on the Capri to search for a clunk, which I am 99% sure is the front wheel bearing anyway. Trying to sell it, anyone want a crappy MazdaFord Australian economy convertible?
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Nov 26, 2012 19:14
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With help from my friends I managed to put an '02 TS 5-speed into my '97 Outback Sport, thus fixing the horrible screaming that came from the input shaft before. Lots of stuff needs to get done as a job like this touches tons of parts of the car and exposes them to scrutiny (need to buy new exhaust gaskets, get holes in the exhaust fixed, need to get new CVs, need to double-check gear oil levels, and double check & torque several bolts, something wacky is going on with the speedo cable) but it's already a lot nicer to drive. It is however a bit heavier than the old box so the dead/dying rear struts are getting overwhelmed going over washboards. The gear ratios are just different enough to make me relearn the car (taller second gear is intriguing and may cut my rallycross times) and having a fresh clutch in there makes a big difference too. I dunno if I would do this again without a lift, transmission swaps are lame and contain many heavy parts. Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 03:56 on Nov 27, 2012 |
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Nov 27, 2012 03:52
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What did you do to your <INSERT FAMILY MEMBER HERE>'s ride today? Tale of the 1994 Plymouth Acclaim 3.0 Shitbox continues. After fixing the "no ground" issue with her windshield wiper motor (Chrysler, a chromed plastic washer does not a good ground make), and replacing both rear wheel cylinders for the drum brakes ("that's where the brake fluid was going?"), we discovered that her serpentine belt tensioner has slowly been bending, to the point that the belt doesn't stay on for more than an hour or so.  x6 and an hour later, she's got a new tensioner, and the belt stays on.Gallery: http://imgur.com/a/zhjfW Box O' Parts:  Old one next to new one:  Here, you can see the slight bend in the old one by the gap in the rotating joint. Also, the pulley on the old tensioner is only half-dirty, as it's been slowly, slowly bending over time, and the belt has been migrating outward.  New tensioner installed. So nice to see the half-slipped-on serpentine automatically pull itself into alignment, instead of trying to escape.  It's nice to have just enough experience in these matters to not completely blindly throw parts at a car. Now, I contemplate for a few minutes (and even thoughtfully stroke my non-existent goatee) before heading off to RockAuto and blindly purchasing parts and throwing them at the car.
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Nov 27, 2012 06:10
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Started delivering pizza again.  On the plus side, with tips, mileage, and lovely wages, I'm averaging about 12-14/hr, and my delivery area includes an old-money country club neighborhood. About double what my lovely fast food job was paying. Too bad all of that extra money will be eaten up by CV joints, tires, brakes, and clutches  but at least I can buy some gifts during the holidays. Big upside: the GM of the store I'm at is someone I've known a long time and worked with before, I'm basically writing my own schedule.I've had a clicking CV joint since May, I don't dare look at the gas pedal if I'm even slightly nudging the wheel to the left right now. for STR's CV joint and tire fund! I should have the money to swap it in about 2 weeks though..e: I post this in this thread because 1 delivery mile may as well be like 5-10 regular miles.. also this makes loving 13 years, off and on, of this poo poo randomidiot fucked around with this message at 11:47 on Nov 27, 2012 |
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Nov 27, 2012 10:35
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gently caress, man. Write a book about Zen and the Art of Altima Maintenance, get rich, stop getting kicked around by life like that. At least you're on a reasonable schedule, that helps I suppose. You can get to the junkyards and parts stores when they're open!
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Nov 27, 2012 12:42
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What did I do to my ride today? I took it to the body shop because some gently caress backed a lawn mower trailer into the lower passenger fender on my s2000. My buddy works at the body shop so they're painting and installing my airwalker side skirts and APR lip at the same time. I've been meaning to get it done but I guess my hand was forced. I didn't realize how stressful it is when a nice car gets roughed up. I didn't give a poo poo about my 300zx TT from an appearance perspective so this is new to me 
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Nov 27, 2012 17:50
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I ordered my wagon some aftermarket 3" downpipes because the stock ones managed to sardine can open on something. So much for not doing any motor modifications  
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Nov 27, 2012 18:22
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poo poo dude it's on, now.
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Nov 27, 2012 18:59
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KozmoNaut posted:Why do people use automated washes again? I'll be honest, I do it because drying off a car with the rock-hard tap water we have in AZ without getting water spots everywhere is a royal pain in the dick.
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Nov 27, 2012 19:10
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IOwnCalculus posted:I'll be honest, I do it because drying off a car with the rock-hard tap water we have in AZ without getting water spots everywhere is a royal pain in the dick. The water here is so hard I get headaches when I shower. What I usually do is wash my car during a light rain or when the weather forecast promises rain. But yeah, Arizona probably isn't the best place for that method. That's just an excuse to use a leaf blower, though 
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Nov 27, 2012 19:33
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Took it apart: The PCV hoses in my V70 disintegrated while I was trying to replace some nearby vacuum lines, and they were gunked up anyway, so I ordered the parts to refresh the PCV system and got a head start on the disassembly in the meantime. Based on some writeups on other sites and my inexperience with newer Volvos, I was worried that this part of the job was going to be a pain in the rear end, but it was surprisingly easy. If only the innumerable rubber vacuum elbows around the intake hadn't also disintegrated in the process... 
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Nov 28, 2012 07:59
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New wiper blades and a gallon of washer fluid  My jets are clogged though The Trico-made Carquest brand blades are actually quite nice compared to the Bosch Icons the PO had on there.
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Nov 28, 2012 13:20
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Paul Boz_ posted:poo poo dude it's on, now. Yea man, she's going to me sounding real mean. I'll post a video after the install, just gotta borrow my friend's GoPro. Beach Bum posted:New wiper blades and a gallon of washer fluid Really? I have a set of the Trico blades for maybe 3 months now and think they are utter poo poo. Streaking and skipping all over my windshield.
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Nov 28, 2012 15:01
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Found out the heater is jammed on its pretty fuckin' hot setting. A quick google reveals it's a common VW "feature", is expensive to fix and a bit of a bastard to get to so that's nice. VW doesn't want me to be bored. Also noticed that Stefano Domenicali looks a bit like Eric Morcambe. Probably not related to the above.
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Nov 28, 2012 20:17
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I found a vacuum leak that was sort of my own making. One of the plastic tubes to the charcoal canister was damaged so I snipped the section out and put some hose on. The hose fell off since then. Forgot to clamp it. Also it started running rough yesterday. Already knew the culprit. It was that damned spark plug lead boot that some idiot mechanic damaged when he broke the insulation on half the goddamn spark plugs. The plug boot was bound with tape. I've progressively added more when it starts arcing again. So I pulled the hardened tape shell off and marvelled at the boot being black and crunchy from the arcing. Glued up the crack and it's holding for now without arcing. It really, really needs new leads.
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Nov 28, 2012 22:27
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General_Failure posted:I found a vacuum leak that was sort of my own making. One of the plastic tubes to the charcoal canister was damaged so I snipped the section out and put some hose on. The hose fell off since then. Forgot to clamp it. Spend and fix it already!
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Nov 29, 2012 06:27
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EightBit posted:Spend The missing hose clamps on the vac hose? Yeah yeah. I was going to grab them today when I was buying some bullet connectors to do horrible things to a transfer case shift motor but forgot because I just wanted to get home. The temp hit at least 40C here today. I'm not in summer mode yet. If you are talking about the spark plug leads. Currently about $120 for the absolute cheapest. It needs to be done I know. but then it also depends on how long I plan on retaining the car. If things improve a bit here I'd probably get a set of magnecor leads made. I have some on the VW and they are very good leads. Probably good for +0HP, but they are reliable. I also did more searching for another ride, if that counts. It led me to decide that if I ever worked in the porn industry my name would be Rusty Bulkhead. Hell if I cared enough I'd be tempted to change my username here to that. But then that money could be better used, like on the pocket chopper. Today on the car, I listened. That engine makes so many interesting noises that I can't quite identify. If I could reach the throttle linkage in the engine bay it'd make things so much easier.
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Nov 29, 2012 07:59
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$120? What the hell?
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Nov 29, 2012 08:15
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It's a pushrod V8, so the plugs aren't sticking up through the valve covers - and probably has a distributor, not coil on plug. Go buy a set of leads for a similarly sized V8. Take an old lead with you to make sure the plugs at each end will fit on the distributor and spark plug. They don't have to be an exact match, so long as the lengths are close enough that the wires aren't draped across the exhaust or belts, nor so short that you can barely attach them. Just need to make sure they'll snugly attach to the distributor and spark plugs (and needle nose pliers can make that a lot easier). Done. Probably for a lot less than $120 too. What's the most common pushrod V8 with a distributor over there? You can probably make a set of leads from that work. e: I'm pretty sure I could snag a set from Rockauto for $30-40 and spend $20 to ship them over there, and they'd probably work just fine. e2: the most expensive set for a 1995 Ford Mustang 302 on Rockauto is less than $30, the cheapest being $12. It's not the same engine, but the placement of everything is close enough that they'll probably work. e3: rockauto wants $60 for shipping to Australia for leads  yet I can have them shipped to my house for under $10. Looks like shipping for a small package from the US to Australia is in the neighborhood of $20, using USPS. I'm sure some goon would be willing to have Rockauto (or hell, even Amazon) deliver to them, then reship to you.
randomidiot fucked around with this message at 08:46 on Nov 29, 2012 |
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Nov 29, 2012 08:32
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some texas redneck posted:It's a pushrod V8, so the plugs aren't sticking up through the valve covers - and probably has a distributor, not coil on plug. A set? Holy poo poo that's cheap. leads usually range from about $100 to $250 a set depending on the vehicle here. I think it's either the AU or BA Falcon that's about $250. Scary poo poo. I've got heaps of leads as I tend to stockpile old ones that still work when I come across them but none have the weird setup that the V8 Fords have with the sparkplug nipple like things on the distributor. I might have to find someone and organize a relay. Especially if I get around to putting the photo of the tensioner up in the stupid question thread and someone can ID it. You think all that poo poo's expensive. The sensor on the EGR valve is bad. The cheapest I found was from Repco and a cheap knockoff at that for $800. They kind of gagged on the price too. It can stay broken. When I can I buy parts from the U.S. Like the holley rebuild kit. It cost less than I paid for a needle valve here. aaaaanyway. off I go to post that photo.
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Nov 29, 2012 09:02
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Holy gently caress. I've never seen a cheap set of wires cost more than $40 for a common vehicle here - at a parts store. They start at $12 and run to $40 for my 2.4 Nissan on Rockauto, and seem to start around $35 at a parts store down the road. Take a picture of the distributor cap, and of each end of a couple of leads, maybe measure the longest and shortest of them too. The nipples sound just like what my 1980 Ford (351M/400) had on the distributor cap, I'm wondering if a set of leads from that would work. I think it used a 351C distributor and heads.. Plug wires/leads are pretty drat generic aside from the plugs on each end; I've bought bulk wire and crimped my own before, though that was way back in the mid 90s. There's a few ranges of core size, but it's not the end of the world if you're slightly off (your radio might hate you if you go with really poo poo wire). Is it the EGR temp sensor that's gone bad? I bet AI could collectively figure out what would work with some photos and measurements. The hardest part will probably be the tensioner, though some limited research has me thinking it should be similar to a late 90s US 351W part. e: wow, rockauto stocks some parts for some Aussie Fords... but apparently only with the 3.9. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 09:38 on Nov 29, 2012 |
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Nov 29, 2012 09:30
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some texas redneck posted:Holy gently caress. I've never seen a cheap set of wires cost more than $30-40 for a common vehicle here. They start at $12 and run to $40 for my 2.4 Nissan on Rockauto. You can see why throwing gobs of money at it doesn't get me very far. It is an utter bastard to get parts for. It's the EGR something sensor that's bad. I'll have to take some more photos etc and do some estimation with the lead lengths. The left side I have to dismantle the LPG setup to get to and even then shred the poo poo out of my hands to access. these vehicles were designed for an I6, not a V8 and it shows.
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Nov 29, 2012 09:36
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Just guessing, but the plugs probably sit between the valve covers and exhaust manifolds, right? Fairly evenly spaced? Distributor sticks straight up through the intake manifold at the front of the engine? Snag a pic of the distributor cap, an exhaust manifold (attached), and measure the longest lead from whatever side is easiest to get to. A picture of each end of the lead would be good if you can get it. I'm almost positive a set from a US 302/351 will fit, and even with shipping (.. then re-shipping), it should be a shitload cheaper. Even an OE Ford/Motorcraft set is <$50 on Rockauto. The only sensor I can think of in most EGR systems is a temp sensor - also sometimes called a flow sensor. Ford may have used some sort of sensor to detect when the valve is physically open, but most cars I've seen just use a temp sensor to detect when exhaust gas is flowing past the valve. If it's a temp sensor, it'll screw into the EGR tube or intake manifold somewhere after the EGR valve - when the valve opens, the sensor says "oh gently caress this poo poo just got really loving hot".
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Nov 29, 2012 09:48
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General_Failure posted:I think it's either the AU or BA Falcon that's about $250. Scary poo poo.... the weird setup that the V8 Fords have with the sparkplug nipple like things on the distributor. General_Failure posted:these vehicles were designed for an I6, not a V8 and it shows. I'm just a spectator in this, but as another Ford Falcon owner I'm a very interested spectator. No particular worries with my spark plugs or leads or anything like that, but an unanticipated large repair bill is very much something I want to avoid. Like everybody else.
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Nov 29, 2012 12:26
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