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some texas redneck posted:Discovered just how borderline GM cooling systems are. (what do you mean GM lets the accountants design critical components?) My car (GM) sits between 220-230F all day long, though it's supposed to. Have you checked for air in the system?
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Nov 19, 2013 14:17
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zundfolge posted:so the previous owner didn't have any warning that anything was amiss until the temp gauge pegged. Other than the great cloud of steam or the big puddle of green under the car, but who notices little things like that? quote:Beancounters Cheapskate car buyers  I know, I know - playing Devil's advocate. I, for one, would pay $100 more per car for this or that part to be metal rather than plastic/bolted rather than riveted/routed differently/etc. edit: got my Cherokee inspecticated. Passed emissions with flying colors - nice for 230K miles. First time I've inspected it. It had a fresh cat on it from the PO, but I honestly had no idea how it would do, other than it seems to run well. Guy at the Kwik Kar liked my "2.5L - Low Output" sticker on the back. Darchangel fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Nov 19, 2013 |
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Nov 19, 2013 17:23
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some texas redneck posted:Discovered just how borderline GM cooling systems are. (what do you mean GM lets the accountants design critical components?) I have a heat exchanger. 
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Nov 19, 2013 17:41
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New corner lamps, and fender turn signals. I'm a bit disappointed that the corner lamps are the ugly US ones, but not enough to try to source the European ones (without the ugly inlay) for $$$$$. Its too cold to finish my leather repair on the seats.. might as well give her new eyes. E:  HOLY CRAP ITS ALL SHOWING UP NOW! 
Viggen fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Nov 19, 2013 |
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Nov 19, 2013 21:27
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angryhampster posted:Definitely considering this for mine now...what color would look good on a red sedan? Neon colors, always.
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Nov 19, 2013 23:28
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drukqs posted:Very impressed by how quickly these arrived... Placed the order at like 4:30 this past Friday and they're on my doorstep before 11am Monday. Tirerack++ Had these mounted balanced and aligned today. Horrific tale to go with it. Made an appointment with Wheel Works last week for 10:30 AM today. I arrived there early, told my friend who was going to drop me at work that I was just going to wait it out because they said it would only take 90 minutes to complete. Big mistake. Because their policy seems to be to cater to people who just "drop in" ahead of people who have either A.) been waiting or B.) been waiting and made an appointment ahead of time it was 1PM by the time my tires were on the wheels and on the car. They tried to get my MR2 onto their alignment ramps, said my bumper was too low so the guy parked my car in the lot. I asked if they had any wood to lift the car up a bit, "no we've been doing a lot of cleanup lately, you should just take the car to (our competitor up the street.) I walk into the attached O'Reilly Auto Parts, I'm friendly with one of the workers there, he tracks down ONE plank of particle board for me. I had my friend drive down with a second piece of wood. Good to go, right? No, I showed the piece of wood to the employee who had just parked my car, he says "Sorry bro I'm on lunch!" I leave the plank of wood next to the ramp my car can't get up and go to the waiting room. The manager walks in and says "I want the employee who went on lunch to finish your car, you'll just have to wait for him to finish his lunch break." and "I need to align this other customers car first, he didn't have an appointment but he's been waiting longer." I know for a fact this guy was at the shop at least half an hour ahead of me, we had talked earlier about the unreasonable wait time, so I tell him to go ahead. I'm outside in the rain watching this dipshit sip a fanta for 45 minutes, meanwhile, the other car has been off the alignment sled for like 15 minutes. He pulls my car around, we set the wood up, then another employee yells over "NO THAT WOOD IS GOING TO BREAK, STOP!!" They talk for a bit, then the idiot employee fucks off and goes back to work. 2:00 and my car is getting aligned. I didn't get out of there until 3pm. 4 1/2 hours. If I hadn't stayed onsite, if I had gone to work my car wouldn't have gotten aligned. Absolute f*cking outrage. Never again.
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Nov 20, 2013 02:35
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I know how that goes, it took the loving slackers at the Worcester MA Wal-Mart next to rt146 two hours to balance 4 tires off my jeep. I was the only vehicle that person worked on the entire time. Pissed me the hell off because I quite literally could have driven to another goon's dad's house, bought him a whole box of wheel weights, removed the wheels in his dirt driveway, balanced them myself, put them back on, and driven back and taken less time and money than it ended up costing me. I only went to that wal-mart because it was on the way to work and I figured it'd take half an hour.
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Nov 20, 2013 03:16
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I can recommend Car-X if they're near you guys. They take and honor appointments for this poo poo. They get loyal customers so you might have to wait a couple days for an appointment slot. You can leave it with them or wait a bit in a nice room with coffee. They do whatever the routine maintenance you want of course, their prices are reasonable. I believe they're NOT independently owned franchises so the good quality is company-wide.
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Nov 20, 2013 03:36
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The Discount Tire shops around here are like drat beehives. Insanely fast.
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Nov 20, 2013 04:35
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Shifty Pony posted:The Discount Tire shops around here are like drat beehives. Insanely fast. I have one of these by me I believe. I don't know where I'm going to go next time but it sure as poo poo won't be this place.
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Nov 20, 2013 05:01
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I broke out the video camera and tripod so that I could have a second set of eyes that I can trust (my own). Looks like the lower ball joint is the source of my woes, and hits me with a tinge of "why didn't I change it when I was there?". I have some chores coming up at the end of the month so I'm going to limp through them and fix this in December. For your pleasure, 'exhibit A' and a video of me idling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tvkhNUHN1o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_zsBKNWz9E
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Nov 20, 2013 05:51
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Luckily there is a Mavis discount tire a very short walk from my job, so if I need anything tire/allignment/simple done to my cars I just drop it off in the morning and tell them to take their time, as long as it's done today. Once I was snow drifting my Miata, hit a patch of ice and SLAMMED a curb, rashed the rim so bad I thought it would need to be replaced. Got a quote from a rim shop to refinish it for $130. Figured why not and brought it to Mavis and they ground it down and somehow reshaped it to the point where I couldn't tell anything was wrong and remounted+balanced it, no charge. I threw the guy $20 and I've gotten quality/expedited work ever since.
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Nov 20, 2013 06:17
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drukqs posted:I have one of these by me I believe. I don't know where I'm going to go next time but it sure as poo poo won't be this place. They are not franchised and at least at the ones near me they are religious about using the torque wrench to finish the lugs. Always nice to see that instead of the rattle gun just being run until you have no hope of getting it off by hand. A bit over generous with applying the bead lubricant but that washes right off.
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Nov 20, 2013 06:20
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Shifty Pony posted:The Discount Tire shops around here are like drat beehives. Insanely fast. This. The one I usually go to tends to overquote how long it'll take by a little bit, so when they say it'll be an hour it's actually done in 40 minutes. Fantastic prices too, even with the painfully expensive wheel balancing. Free rotations and air checks too, even if you didn't buy tires from them. My only real gripe is they're not open on Sundays, and only work 8-6 the rest of the week. They take appointments, at least. kastein posted:I know how that goes, it took the loving slackers at the Worcester MA Wal-Mart next to rt146 two hours to balance 4 tires off my jeep. I was the only vehicle that person worked on the entire time. I feel your pain - I took mom's Avalon there to get the tires re-balanced ($5 vs $17/ea at Discount). They said 45 minutes... 2 1/2 hours later they finally page me. I stopped by a few times thinking I'd missed the page... nope, dude was just really loving slow. They did a good job balancing them, at least. If there's a next time, I'm going to a different Wal-Mart that actually has other stuff within walking distance; this particular one only had a Discount Tire  , a car wash, Sam's Club, Burger King, and a gas station within half a mile. You can only wander the aisles for so long before you find yourself being followed by security.
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Nov 20, 2013 09:08
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StormDrain posted:I broke out the video camera and tripod so that I could have a second set of eyes that I can trust (my own). Wow, great idea with the tripod and camera, that would have been impossible to catch otherwise. Also, your video makes me miss my IH pickup.
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Nov 20, 2013 16:07
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trouser chili posted:Wow, great idea with the tripod and camera, that would have been impossible to catch otherwise. Also, your video makes me miss my IH pickup. Thanks, I used it before to watch the valve train in operation and review it later, slightly slower. You get to go over something like it's the drat Zapruder film.
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Nov 21, 2013 02:29
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Raged at myself for losing my T50 and 1/4 ratchet... and my 1/4 sockets. Needed to replace the PS pump on my Taurus, got to the alternator bracket, needed a 8mm, couldn't find one, drove to Harbor Freight, yanked everything off, OH GEE THE TENSIONER PULLY IS A T50, AND I ONLY HAVE A T45. Tomorrow I will finish this thing.
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Nov 21, 2013 04:34
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I started it!  -31*C, no block heater, no battery charger. All key cranking. Then once i got on the road, i couldn't get over 1500 RPM. Figured it was the fuel filters, changed them, decided to cut the top off to see if they were indeed plugged, but the filter element inside the primary filter was frozen to the container, which i'm pretty sure is bad.
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Nov 21, 2013 05:16
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Powershift posted:Then once i got on the road, i couldn't get over 1500 RPM. Figured it was the fuel filters, changed them, decided to cut the top off to see if they were indeed plugged, but the filter element inside the primary filter was frozen to the container, which i'm pretty sure is bad. Fuel Water Seperator? Might need to look at that (I'm sure you already have)
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Nov 21, 2013 07:38
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Carteret posted:Fuel Water Seperator? Might need to look at that (I'm sure you already have) Yeah, turns out i've had the wrong fuel filter on the primary for the last 30 or so thousand kms. the one on there now has a drain on the bottom to drain trapped water out once in a while. The only 2 fuel filters mack had in their system for the truck were both on the fuel pump, but the primary filter on my truck was on the other side of the engine. I had to get the part number off the base the filter screwed onto so they could match up the right filter for it.
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Nov 21, 2013 07:53
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On the way out here, I got hilariously horrible highway mileage. Granted, high head winds, but the 2 tanks I used getting out here were worse than my normal pizza delivery MPG. Once I got here, it ran hot on the mountains, and I could hear pinging even under light throttle. Filled it up with what passes as mid grade here (88) a few days ago when it had under 1/4 tank. Filled up again today - again, 88 octane. 28 mpg... all city.  I nailed 21 mpg on an all highway tank getting out here; my best tank on the trip was a whole 24.5 mpg.. 100% highway, 100% with cruise control on.  Both of those tanks were literally "fill up, get on the highway, set cruise to keep up with traffic, don't stop until I'm below 1/4 tank".I'm going to guess this car really hates the 84-86 pisswater being sold as regular in west TX. e: car is rated 25/32 city/hwy, IIRC. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 10:50 on Nov 22, 2013 |
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Nov 22, 2013 10:45
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some texas redneck posted:On the way out here, I got hilariously horrible highway mileage. Granted, high head winds, but the 2 tanks I used getting out here were worse than my normal pizza delivery MPG. Most vehicles sold for the American market aren't rated for gas lower than 87 octane. I'm surprised that you found a place that sells 88 as "premium". And yeah, using gas shittier than what it was designed for will cause all manner of problems.
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Nov 22, 2013 15:35
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Attempted to put new control arm bushings in yesterday. 5 hours of frustration, blood, misery. I bent one bushing collar on a new one, knicked one control arm with a sawsall right where the bushing goes in, got my axle stuck in some sort of almost-broken limbo (fully extended and stuck). All said and done I got one bushing in half assed and lovely. The real problem was getting the old one out. I had a vice, ball joint press kit, lots of hammers, and finally in desperation a sawsall for the remaining band. Also, I punched the concrete floor when my hand slipped torquing on whatever. When I fell into bed I ordered some moog crap. Two new bushings, two endlinks, and sway bar bushings. I'll be doing this all over again... except at a DIY garage with a real god drat press. Maybe somebody here knows because it seems like the internet doesn't. I have a Cobalt SS 09, which is an FE5 suspension vs. FE3 for older SS's and FE1 for regular Cobalts. I know a LOT of parts are interchangeable while being different levels of "quality" or performance. When I search for Moog bushings all that ever seems to come back when it filters for my car are FE1 bushings. While I'm sure they fit fine they also have a slightly alarming "Soft ride suspension" tagged with them. I searched through Moog, JEG, Rockauto, etc. Does anybody have a clue if these are indeed soft squishy bushings I don't want? Also when I looked at their sway bar end links they have a "Non-Turbo" version and a "Naturally Aspirated" version and they are different. I ordered the "Non-Turbo" ones as I found a reference to that part number that somebody else used in an HHR SS, but I hope I'm not setting myself up for disappointment.
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Nov 22, 2013 18:30
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EightBit posted:Most vehicles sold for the American market aren't rated for gas lower than 87 octane. I'm surprised that you found a place that sells 88 as "premium". And yeah, using gas shittier than what it was designed for will cause all manner of problems. Depending on the elevation, gas stations across the US sell different octanes. I've been places where 85 octane was "regular." I live near the Rockies in Canada and 87 is the lowest octane you can get. edit: WTF. quote:Now a week into emergency rules making 85-octane gasoline legal to sell in South Dakota, many gas stations in Rapid City have not yet posted mandatory labels on pumps warning customers to check the owners manual before filling up. Maybe this is just Americans being penny-pinching weirdos with a weak Federal government and not so much an elevation thing. Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Nov 22, 2013 |
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Nov 22, 2013 19:11
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Maybe this is just Americans being penny-pinching weirdos with a weak Federal government and not so much an elevation thing. It also tends to have a lot to do with elevation. I live at about 6,000ft above sea level, but there is a cheaphole station towards town that sells 85.5 for 2 cents less than the rest of the stations (who have 87). I've used it exactly once, to refill the lovely U-Haul that I rented when I moved.
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Nov 22, 2013 19:17
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Depending on the elevation, gas stations across the US sell different octanes. I've been places where 85 octane was "regular." I live near the Rockies in Canada and 87 is the lowest octane you can get. Maybe this works for carburetors (thinner air means richer mixture, you can get away with shittier gas?), but EFI vehicles usually have some method of detecting the density of the intake air and will end up trying to run the lovely gas at a normal mix and either ping and knock like a skeleton jerking off or cut timing.
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Nov 22, 2013 23:04
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Started my 205 up for the first time in 3-4 years. Pretty much fired up first go 
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Nov 23, 2013 05:52
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EightBit posted:Maybe this works for carburetors (thinner air means richer mixture, you can get away with shittier gas?), but EFI vehicles usually have some method of detecting the density of the intake air and will end up trying to run the lovely gas at a normal mix and either ping and knock like a skeleton jerking off or cut timing. Nope. Altitude reduces your cylinder pressure because you can't get as much air into the engine (you never hit the high load cells), which in turns reduces your octane requirements. WOT here in the Denver area averages around 75% open throttle at sea level. EFI doesn't automatically compensate for altitude either. A MAF system can adapt because its measuring the actual air intake. Speed-Density implicitly assumes what the engine efficiency is at certain load ranges, which altitude has an effect on (primarily by screwing with exhaust back-pressure). Alpha-N tends to be a royal PITA no matter what. OEMs not having some kind of MAF input tend to bandaid this by measuring Baro at start, but this is only a rough compensation and works because OEMs leave a healthy cushion in their tuning. A Pikes Peak Hillclimb vehicle (which will go through several thousand feet of elevation change in 10 minutes) will usually do real-time Baro over exhaust manifold pressure to accurately adjust.
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Nov 23, 2013 06:15
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I'm surprised MAP based systems can't handle it as well. Don't really see a technical reason they can't. As for poo poo I did to it, I went out to start it and bring it into the shop, it clicked and went completely dead, not even the headlights work. All signs point to an intermittent in the battery positive to fuse/relay box feed. Kicking it a few times, cursing a lot, and loving about with the wires while probing with a multimeter resulted in it starting up perfectly. So then I threw a new gas tank in it (again) in under 40 minutes, and I'm halfway through a new exhaust system from the manifold flange back right now. Should be a lot quieter with a non haggard exhaust. kastein fucked around with this message at 06:20 on Nov 23, 2013 |
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Nov 23, 2013 06:18
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kastein posted:I'm surprised MAP based systems can't handle it as well. Don't really see a technical reason they can't. MAP is speed density. Your engine efficiency at a particular RPM and load is an input into the fuel calculation. Engine efficiency (how much air it can consume and expel compared to its displacement-how much it should be consuming) changes based on altitude. Edit: let me make this clearer A mass metering system (MAF/AFM) directly measures how much air is entering the engine. With this, you can compute the exact amount of fuel to add to get the desired air/fuel ratio. Altitude changes which affect how much air enters the engine are automatically compensated because the system directly measures how much air enters the engine. A speed density system uses engine RPM (speed), manifold air pressure (density), and engine efficiency to calculate how much air is entering the engine, and then uses that to calculate the correct amount of fuel. The speed and density parts of the equation come from sensors (real time data), but the engine efficiency variable comes from a look up table that is usually experimentally determined when tuning the engine. Altitude changes are not fully compensated in a speed density system because while the density variable (which is affected by altitude) is measured, the efficiency variable value should change in response to altitude but doesn't (fixed look up table). Brigdh fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Nov 23, 2013 |
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Nov 23, 2013 06:28
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loving goddamn Blazer is finally running again. Figured out the deal with the blocked-off coolant passages on the new manifold gaskets (revised flow through the manifold when they switched to TBI), got everything put together and the system bled. Changed the oil too, it smoked as it was pouring out. I assume it's due to various crud and degreaser dripping down into the engine while I was cleaning the valley, plus moisture from it sitting exposed (hood closed, but w/e) during the bit of rain we've had this past week. Ran fine before and after the oil change, I'll keep an eye on things but so far so good. Side note: OBD-1 systems really suck rear end at first starts after the battery's been unhooked for a while.
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Nov 23, 2013 07:00
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Fucknag posted:loving goddamn Blazer is finally running again...Ran fine before and after the oil change, I'll keep an eye on things but so far so good. 
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Nov 23, 2013 21:29
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Points and timing. points block wasn't touching between lobes. Timing strobe broke while timing so the job was finished statically with a test lamp. Crappy photo courtesy of crappy phone. 
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Nov 23, 2013 21:33
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Put the donut gasket I was missing in. Sounds mean with the cherry bomb but all the noise comes out the back now instead of most of it coming out under the engine and chassis  Fucknag posted:MOTHERFUCKING WELP Holy poo poo, that sucks. What happened?
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Nov 23, 2013 23:28
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kastein posted:Holy poo poo, that sucks. What happened? So I was driving to work this morning, hopped on the highway for 1 exit's worth, maybe a mile or two. Get up to speed, then I notice I'm having to hold WOT to maintain 65, then 60; at 55 I look down and watch my oil pressure drop to zero and the check engine light came on. Pulled off at my exit, popped the hood and smoke was rising from the throttle body.  I initially thought it may have overheated, air pocket stuck in the system from filling it last night (I bled it for a good hour, but still) leading to localized overheating or something. No dice, after I got towed it sat in the parking lot at work for a good 6 hours, then my boss fired it up to try and move it up to a bay to look at it, and you could hear the screeching clear across the parking lot. Best I can figure, not all of the crud I mentioned came out when I drained the oil, and some of it blocked a passage somewhere and ruined my day. I'm looking at $700 rock bottom for a junkyard motor, $1100-1700 for a rebuilt longblock, and $lots to rebuild my engine; it needed rings and valve seals already, bare minimum. The truck just isn't worth that much, especially considering the work to swap it (and new and exciting mystery problems if I got the junkyard motor) and the fact I have no garage space due to the Protege still being down. I'm looking at a cheap Civic on Craigslist; if I can swing something like that for $800-1000, I can dump some motor honey into the Blazer and take it to LKQ for scrap value, and possibly net out at like $500 for a new car. We'll see how things shake out.
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Nov 24, 2013 01:44
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Longblocks are $180 at pick n pull. Yeah it would be a gamble, but they will let you exchange it if you get a bad one.
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Nov 24, 2013 04:38
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Last week I cut out some rusty bits.JPG) This weekend I filled them in again .JPG) Then I removed the floor .JPG) and got my heater fixed in place .JPG) It is an Eberspacher D2 diesel fired heater. I have so far cut holes for the exhaust and intake and fuel pipe and fitted its metering pump in the engine bay. Next I need to secure the exhaust (and possibly wrap it in places so it doesn't melt my soundproofing), T the fuel pipe into the main engine feed and run some wiring for it. I also fitted a new collar onto my stub axle using the power of the freezer and my oven .JPG)
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Nov 24, 2013 17:30
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  new plugs and airflow meter installed. Runs muuuch better now. (also went to a colder plug temp)
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Nov 24, 2013 22:13
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Replaced my S2000s clutch master cylinder which is a comically easy job except for a bit of needing to cram yourself in the drivers side footwell. The hydraulic clutch line fitting wouldn't completely sit flush with the new (and OEM) MC which resulted in me sitting outside today in 28F weather saying gently caress you gently caress you gently caress you gently caress you gently caress you for about 2 hours as I tried to remove and re-attach it. On the 4th attempt I said gently caress it and put fluid in, it's holding pressure and fluid with no leaks so who knows? The S2000s MC is also mounted way above the slave cylinder so you can just crack the bleed screw and bleed the system without needing to pump the pedal. Honda also doesn't include changing clutch fluid in any of the services so you end up having it look like this: 
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Nov 24, 2013 22:33
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Sold it!  Well I didnt, but my brother lost his job a few weeks ago so I asked if he wanted to sell it. Had 2 people come look at it and the 2nd one just dropped off a deposit. Bought the car almost 5 years ago for $1950, backed into a telephone pole earlier this year, and now Im selling it for $1300. Not a bad deal.
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Nov 26, 2013 22:23
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