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I replaced the radiator in my '94 Escort. A couple of local shops wanted $380+ just to replace the radiator itself and fill it up with coolant. No system flush or hoses. I bought a radiator for $90 and did it myself. Took about 90 minutes. I do need to replace the hoses, but I don't mind paying for that since the lower hose is a massive bitch to do without a lift. I've done this twice before (replaced the factory unit at 122k miles and its replacement two years later due to an accident), but I thought I'd call around only to find the price hasn't changed much.
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Apr 21, 2013 21:31
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Rotated the tires on the Allante'. And replaced a burned out taillight bulb. According to the markings, it was 21 years old.
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Apr 21, 2013 21:57
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Goober Peas posted:Rotated the tires on the Allante'. And replaced a burned out taillight bulb. According to the markings, it was 21 years old. Not surprising. My son got hold of a headlight bulb that was in the glovebox of the VW yesterday. Given the glass shape, the way the internals were assembled and the way the solder on the connector looked I'm pretty sure it was hand assembled.
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Apr 21, 2013 22:11
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Looped the way-too-helpful P/S in my '84 300zx to see how it drives without. Parking is a tricep workout for sure but over 10mph it's awesome. Gonna give it a week before I pull the pump (I just drained it and capped the lines) to see if it's annoying on longer drives because there's a fair bit more feedback. Apparently a gutted rack is a little lighter at low speed but I don't know if I'll bother unless something actually goes wrong with this one.
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Apr 21, 2013 23:44
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Out of curiosity, why remove it? Is this a weight savings thing, or was it failing?
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Apr 22, 2013 01:41
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MrSaturn posted:Out of curiosity, why remove it? Is this a weight savings thing, or was it failing? They pretty much came from the factory failing. Mine's obviously at least the second PS pump in only 63K miles. But I wanted to try it because a lot of Z31 guys swear by manual steering. Z31s, like most 80s cars, had really overpowered racks that were swishy at low speed, and had no feedback at any speed. I drove it about 15 miles today and really enjoyed it except for backing into a parking space; that sucked a whole lot of rear end. Weight saving is a minor issue, space is a bigger one - under the hood it's really goddamn cramped. My only concern is that the amount of feedback (you feel every single bump, dot, etc.) might get to be really annoying over a couple hours on crinkly-rear end Ontario highways. I'm gonna drive it a bunch this week before I decide.
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Apr 22, 2013 02:02
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Ah gotcha. Having daily driven a couple cars without power steering (my '65 Corvair, and my '54 Bel air), I can tell you that even on long rides, it's not so bad. Just stay aware - things like pot holes can really jerk the wheel a good bit. I've heard that for large trucks without PS (think military deuce and a half sized), drivers are taught not to hook their thumbs on the wheel when driving, as feedback from road hazards can actually break thumbs! Easily the hardest task is parallel parking - give that a go and see if you can live with it. Everything else is trivial.
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Apr 22, 2013 02:07
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I finally got sick of my jeep always acting like there's a hellish crosswind so figured I'd pull the electric fan and tighten the steering box.
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Apr 22, 2013 02:16
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Did a drain/fill of the cooling system. No more 8 year old Dex-Cool, now I have (mostly - not counting what I couldn't get out of the block) new Dex-Cool. I returned the AutoZone-branded "Dex-Cool Compatible" stuff, as it was a different formulation - picked up Prestone, which is certified by GM. Original stuff didn't look bad at all when I drained it, but when I pulled the upper hose off of the engine, some corrosion was evident around the neck.  Picked up Meguiar's Ultimate Wash and Wax and washed both my car and the Avalon in the driveway. Both look a million times better, but both need wax badly - especially the Avalon, it has some chips in the hood that are starting to rust. I'm amazed the paint on the Avalon still shines - it's never been garaged, 2003 model year with almost 130k on it. The only real evidence that it's been parked outside its entire life is the headlights are getting a bit hazy on it. Gave it a quick Italian Tuneup on the way back from AutoZone, still pulls like it's brand new and the 1 -> 2 shift at WOT is still nice and crisp. New front tires for the Ion happen with my next check, along with picking up some real wax. Probably new plugs too - it's only at 71k, and they're supposed to be good for 100k, but most of the miles I've put on it have been delivery miles. Speaking of, any suggestions on plugs for an Ecotec 2.2L? I've used NGK on every other car I've owned, I was going to go with either NGK Iridium or Delco unless someone had a better suggestion.
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Apr 22, 2013 02:30
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MrSaturn posted:I've heard that for large trucks without PS (think military deuce and a half sized), drivers are taught not to hook their thumbs on the wheel when driving, as feedback from road hazards can actually break thumbs! I don't even want to think about what an old-school single-stage airbag would do in that situation.
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Apr 22, 2013 02:37
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1st Edition ADandD posted:Looped the way-too-helpful P/S in my '84 300zx to see how it drives without. If I remember right, looping only does so much. Actual manual racks feel better.
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Apr 22, 2013 03:23
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Installed a bitchin' floodlight to the flatbed. Just went out in the darkness to check out the effects and I'm stoked, it's mounted as a cargo light but I'll definitely be using it as an augmented reverse light. Then I shorted it out and blew the fuse because it wasn't mounted in the dash yet, just hanging loose. Whoopsies.
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Apr 22, 2013 03:41
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Gave the GTP a good wash and started in on hitting it with the clay bar. I recently had a failed brake pad event that lead to much rotor grinding. Oh god the rusty specks. Its a goddamn disaster all down the passenger side. I got the rear end looking OK but its gonna take a lot more elbow grease to get all the acne to come off.
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Apr 22, 2013 04:00
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I hit a giant pothole and destroyed a wheel. Back to stock wheels for now  There is a 3 month wait for a replacement wheel, I might just order a different set.
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Apr 22, 2013 04:14
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Washed the Focus and stashed it in the garage since I'm going to be gone for a week. Grabbed the truck to go get food and found a huge puddle of brake fluid under the drivers rear wheel. I've replaced that drat cylinder 5 times in 10 years. Guess I know what I'm doing next weekend.
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Apr 22, 2013 04:16
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Drove the Niva up and down the lump in the yard today to placate my son. Also did a coolant change of sorts. It instantly turned the new stuff brown. Nasty. Now I'm left contemplating what to do with the engine tray thing and the skid plate. Straighten the idiotic folding and then bolt back on, or perhaps scrub, rust treat and paint with something. I don't know. That coolant, the radiator, hoses and cap though... not pretty at all. Couldn't see any oil at least. It was all just muck. A seemingly infinite amount of it. I'm also very strongly considering eliminating the mech fan and fitting thermos. I love the simplicity and reliability of a mechanical fan but at the same time I'd forgotten just how much they piss me off. They get in the way, they drain power and usually when they are working hardest is when they aren't needed.
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Apr 22, 2013 09:51
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Ziploc posted:If I remember right, looping only does so much. Actual manual racks feel better. Z31 racks apparently aren't as much of a bitch to do as some others are, you pretty much tear the rack down to dremel off like one ring and then put it back together. But I only get to drive this car six months out of the year, so I don't want to have it sitting on jackstands for two weeks if it turns out to be more of a hassle. If I like this I will order a reman from rockauto and gut that one... Thanks for the input everybody!
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Apr 22, 2013 12:10
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fps_bill posted:I finally got sick of my jeep always acting like there's a hellish crosswind so figured I'd pull the electric fan and tighten the steering box. You didn't just tighten the backlash adjustment screw on the top of the box in-vehicle, did you? I know people who have literally rolled their jeeps because they did that. That adjustment is extremely picky, like "setting up differential ring/pinion sets" level picky, if it's set wrong thermal expansion during operation can result in the gearbox suddenly seizing at some points in its travel with no warning. The ex-president of the Colorado chapter of NAXJA rolled his jeep at one point because it chose to seize while he was on an obstacle and needed to steer immediately. It's a common internet suggestion to do it how I fear you did it... but it can have bad results. kastein fucked around with this message at 13:21 on Apr 22, 2013 |
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Apr 22, 2013 13:02
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I was getting sick and tired of hearing my windows squeal and squeak whenever I rolled them up or down, so I lubed the bastards. Some cheap silicone lube (~$3.50 at a local discount store) in the window channels, and now they're completely silent as they should be. It's so easy to do that I wonder why the hell people put up with noisy windows.
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Apr 22, 2013 13:16
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KozmoNaut posted:I was getting sick and tired of hearing my windows squeal and squeak whenever I rolled them up or down, so I lubed the bastards. Some cheap silicone lube (~$3.50 at a local discount store) in the window channels, and now they're completely silent as they should be. Because a car, much like a computer, is a mystical entity which must only be worked on by those trained in the pertinent dark arts.
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Apr 22, 2013 14:40
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kastein posted:You didn't just tighten the backlash adjustment screw on the top of the box in-vehicle, did you? Is there a correct way to do it? My truck's got a lot of slop in the box, but I don't want to run the risk of that happening.
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Apr 22, 2013 17:03
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You're supposed to do it on the bench and use an inch-pound torque wrench to measure the input shaft maximum torque, then get that value within a certain range and tighten the adjuster locknut down without letting the adjuster turn at all. There are other adjustments that need to be done at the same time, too. I picked a random Jeep factory service manual off the shelf and checked, here is the procedure for the steering box in a 1996 Jeep Cherokee: STEERING GEAR CAUTION: Steering gear must be adjusted in the proper order. If adjustments are not performed in order, gear damage and improper steering response may result. NOTE: Adjusting the steering gear in the vehicle is not recommended. Remove gear from the vehicle and drain the fluid. Then mount gear in a vise to perform adjustments. WORM THRUST BEARING PRELOAD (1) Remove adjuster plug locknut (Fig. 26). (2) Turn the adjuster in with Spanner Wrench C-4381. Tighten the plug and thrust bearing in the housing until firmly bottomed in housing. (3) Place an index mark on the housing even with one of the holes in adjuster plug (Fig. 27). (4) Measure back (counterclockwise) 13mm (0.50 in) and mark housing (Fig. 28). (5) Rotate adjustment cap back (counterclockwise) with spanner wrench until hole is aligned with the second mark (Fig. 29). (6) Install and tighten locknut to 108 N*m (80 ft. lbs.). Be sure adjustment cap does not turn while tightening the locknut. OVER-CENTER (note - this is probably what you want, but apparently worm thrust bearing must be adjusted first) (1) Rotate the stub shaft from stop to stop and count the number of turns. (2) Starting at either stop turn the stub shaft back 1/2 the total number of turns. This is the center of the gear travel (Fig. 30). (3) Turn the pitman shaft adjuster screw back (COUNTERCLOCKWISE) until extended, then turn back in (CLOCKWISE) one full turn. (4) Place the torque wrench in the vertical position on the stub shaft. Rotate the wrench 45 degrees each side of center and record the highest rotational torque on center (Fig. 31). (5) Turn the adjuster in until torque to turn stub shaft is 0.6 to 1.2 N*m (6.0 to 10.0 in. lbs.) more than previous reading recorded. (6) Prevent the adjuster screw from turning while tightening adjuster locking nut. Tighten the adjuster lock nut to 27 N*m (20 ft. lbs.). SPECIFICATIONS POWER STEERING GEAR Steering Gear Type .... Recirculating Ball Gear Ratio RHD .... 14:1 LHD .... 17.5:1 Worm Shaft Bearing Preload .... 0.45-1.13 N*m (4-10 in. lbs.) Pitman Shaft Overcenter Drag New Gear (under 400 miles*) .... 0.45-0.90 N*m (4-8 in. lbs.) + Worm Shaft Preload (note - don't actually add, they mean "above previous reading recorded in step 4 of over-center adjustments") Used Gear (over 400 miles*) .... 0.5-0.6 N*m (4-5 in. lbs.) + Worm Shaft Preload * I am reasonably certain they mean "new" as a brand new, just manufactured part here. Pretty sure a remanufactured/rebuilt unit would be considered used. This is because the preload goes down when the leftover surface roughness from machining the parts is burnished/worn down by use, so even a brand new reman/rebuild unit is going to have enough wear on it to be "used" rather than new. This procedure almost certainly differs between exact models of steering gears, even across all normal Saginaw/GM type steering gears, so check the proper FSM for your vehicle (or if it's a swapped box, the proper FSM for the donor vehicle it came from) before doing any adjustments. I don't feel like scanning the figures, either, so you'll need to check the FSM anyways I guess. This was all from section 19 of my FSM, pages 20 through 22. kastein fucked around with this message at 21:29 on Apr 22, 2013 |
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Apr 22, 2013 21:27
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I bought some gear oil. Exciting, I know. It's in preparation for the transmission and TC oil change on the Niva. After that about all that's left is brake fluid and engine oil. Oh and diffs and stuff.
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Apr 23, 2013 02:03
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I put a keyless-entry alarm in my Cherokee. I had previously added power door lock motors when I upgraded the speakers. Nice to have keyless entry, like on all my other cars. I add an alarm with keyless entry to everything I own. An alarm only costs about $10-20 more than a keyless entry, and only has about 3 more wires to worry about. I used to be an installer, so no more cost for me, just a bit more labor. Everything was easy to find in the Cherokee. Even so, it took me half a day each Sunday and Monday. I must be getting old/rusty. I used to be able to do 2 alarms a day... of course, I was much more casual with this one than one I would install for a customer, and I expended a little more effort on placement, wire routing, and added features, too. Need to get a liftgate latch from a more-featured model - they have a rear cargo light, and therefore a switch for it, built into the latch. The wiring's there, fortunately. As it is, the liftgate won't trigger the alarm. Not to mention I want that rear cargo light, too. Need to finish putting the 6x9s in the gate, too. Bleagh. Maybe I'll hit the wrecking yard this week - off for vacation. I got a long list of stuff to snag from better-equipped Cherokees.
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Apr 23, 2013 02:34
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Reminds me - your issues with the temp/oil senders on that thing had me worried yesterday, but the oil sender came out of Ozmiander's YJ 2.5 no problem and the temp sender only broke when I tried to get it out of the socket, well after it had unscrewed from the block. I guess you just got unlucky on those. The oil pressure sender is in a real rear end in a top hat location to get to, but at least it's not so close to the oil filter and easy to break in half.
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Apr 23, 2013 03:14
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Darchangel posted:I put a keyless-entry alarm in my Cherokee. I had previously added power door lock motors when I upgraded the speakers. Do the alarms you install have starter interrupts?
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Apr 23, 2013 07:09
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EightBit posted:Do the alarms you install have starter interrupts?
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Apr 23, 2013 10:17
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Could one of you alarm educated people kindly pop by Stupid Questions thread and take a look at my recent stupid question about alarms?
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Apr 23, 2013 12:04
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I decided on the way home from work yesterday my front bumper cover was looking too...attached.
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Apr 23, 2013 17:52
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Condolences. Looks like it held up pretty well, though. Is the Kia(?) in the background what you hit?
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Apr 23, 2013 18:11
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No, that just happened to be driving by. I Hit a Nissan Rouge with a trailer hitch. Rouge did pretty well. Mine is likely a total.
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Apr 23, 2013 19:06
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Swear to god if this stupid motherfucking loving loving CV axle doesn't come out of the transmission i'm melting down the car.
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Apr 24, 2013 19:33
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drat, I guess my give it half a turn then test drive and adjust it back till the wheel self centers isn't the proper way to go about it.
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Apr 24, 2013 19:43
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Update: FUUUUUCK. YOOOUUUUUUUR. SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT. 
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Apr 24, 2013 20:05
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New lip came in in only a few days. It's much better quality than my last one; I'm really impressed! It's a Mugen knockoff. 
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Apr 25, 2013 00:20
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EightBit posted:Do the alarms you install have starter interrupts? Yep. Though I seemed to have F'd this one up - it doesn't interrupt, and I didn't check it until I had everything buttoned up. Either my relay is bad, I wired the socket wrong, or the armed output from the alarm doesn't work. The way I wire them is that the relay only triggers to interrupt when you actually try to start the car. That way, the relay isn't sitting there baking (and drawing current) all the time the alarm is armed. I also got clever and wired the light output to the dome light via a relay, since this model alarm doesn't have dome light supervision (turns on the dome light when disarmed, for convenience and security) but does turn on the park lights for 30 or 60 seconds on disarm. I forgot to diode-isolate the vehicle's lights from the alram output, so now the dome light always comes on when you turn on the lights. DERP. Fortunately the connection is in the kick panel, and easy to rectify. Everything else is working as intended, thankfully.
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Apr 25, 2013 07:36
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I did the usual pre trip check on the Fairlane. In the Niva replaced the Soviet coil with a spare GT40. Big improvement. Tightened its fan belt, fixed the indicators and got all the park lights working again, except for the blown license plate bulb. Every time I work on it it's a little happier.
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Apr 25, 2013 09:04
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Ever milked a jeep?
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Apr 25, 2013 23:38
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Paul Boz_ posted:New lip came in in only a few days. It's much better quality than my last one; I'm really impressed! It's a Mugen knockoff. Pics with it on 
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Apr 26, 2013 00:42
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Nodoze posted:Pics with it on If the stars align correctly I'll have it plasti-dipped and on the car Saturday . The work gods do not permit me free-time before near sundown unfortunately.
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Apr 26, 2013 01:25
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