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So good news, I finally got my lower control arm off after giving up hitting it. The trick was a huge C clamp between the bolt end and the K frame followed by just cranking it down til it popped out.
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Apr 17, 2018 03:48
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Is there a GM and/or ponycar thread? I just bought a Camaro and I'm looking for forum fun without resorting to car forums on the internet which are... you know... bad.
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Apr 17, 2018 04:13
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I have a general question. Need to take my car to a mechanic, and I'm wondering if I should go with a local independent mechanic, or go to a major chain like Pep Boys or Autozone?
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Apr 17, 2018 09:01
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Mr Interweb posted:I have a general question. I have only taken my car to a chain shop once. It took way to long because in their own words they installed the wrong filter during the oil change and had to clean it up. Next they had the audacity to try to sell me alignment and new tires (mine were a month old) by claiming 1 tire was new, 2 we're 50%, and the last was shot, they even told me to sign a waiver for my one month old tires before I could leave.
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Apr 17, 2018 11:53
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There's really nothing wrong with chain shops, but they are much less likely to cut you a deal or perform actual honest-to-goodness mechanic work. Every time I went to a chain they've charged me some double-digit fee for reading the engine code, which almost never happens at smaller shops anymore. If the problem is electrical/complicated the chains are pretty much not allowed to spend the time to really find it. They'll almost always tell you that you need bearings and seals, too.
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Apr 17, 2018 12:23
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shy boy from chess club posted:Yea clean the battery connections well first. Even an annoyingly small amount of corrosion on the terminals or inside the cables where they go on the battery posts can do this. Then if the cables have a bunch of smaller wires bolted to the battery connections then clean those also (this is usually where the problem is, on the battery connections). If that doesnt fix it follow the cables to where they connect to the starter and engine block and clean those connections. The grounds are the negative cable going to the engine block and probably a smaller one that will connect to the car body near the battery. There may be another one going from the car body to the engine somewhere else too. I dont know specifics on that car but checking those connections will probably fix it. I'll do this once I get home from work and report back. Should I just use some fine grain sandpaper to clean them, or what would you recommend?
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Apr 17, 2018 13:52
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GutBomb posted:Is there a GM and/or ponycar thread? I just bought a Camaro and I'm looking for forum fun without resorting to car forums on the internet which are... you know... bad.  Mustangs have their own thread, but I'm sure a ponycar/muscle car thread would do fine.
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Apr 17, 2018 15:03
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Koaxke posted:I'll do this once I get home from work and report back. Should I just use some fine grain sandpaper to clean them, or what would you recommend? It's also a good idea to take the wire terminals off of the wires and clean them and the ends of the wires thoroughly. Replacement terminals are not expensive, like $8 for a pair, and they tend to be much heavier-duty and easier to work with than the OEM terminals. I had a loose and badly corroded negative terminal last fall and I was able to solve that problem for $12 and 15 minutes of work.
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Apr 17, 2018 15:17
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IronDoge posted:
I would like a classic car thread, but I don't work on mine enough to generate the content to start one.
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Apr 17, 2018 15:22
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Godholio posted:I would like a classic car thread, but I don't work on mine enough to generate the content to start one. Sounds about right tbh most of those don't even drive.
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Apr 17, 2018 15:48
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Mine drives fine, but it breaks less than my '12 Wrangler.
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Apr 17, 2018 16:33
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How do you check your hybrids to see if their engine is making a funny noise? I can’t tell if it’s the engine or what, but I’m hearing a noise when I’m next to a barrier or another car. The problem is that as soon as I stop moving the engine turns off. If I have it in neutral and try to rev the engine, nothing happens. Do I just have to drive past someone who knows cars to see if they hear anything?
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Apr 17, 2018 16:40
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dumb question: how do solid front axle vehicles turn?
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Apr 17, 2018 20:02
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If I have a 2006 Outback and I plan to tow an r-pod trailer (dry weight 2338 lbs), is there anything I can/should do to the suspension to make the ride smoother?
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Apr 17, 2018 20:31
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Razzled posted:dumb question: how do solid front axle vehicles turn? The wheels are mounted on steerable knuckles, through which pass a universal or CV joint to drive the wheel if the vehicle is 4wd. The solid part of the axle only runs to the steering knuckles.
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Apr 17, 2018 20:57
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Razzled posted:dumb question: how do solid front axle vehicles turn? http://www.lastgreatroadtrip.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/front-solid-axle.jpg
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Apr 17, 2018 20:57
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ah cool, thanks now it all makes sense
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Apr 17, 2018 21:34
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Ok I don't know cars very well, but I have a scenario here and I want to confirm if it's a dead battery or something else. ------ Dead car hasn't been driven in a while. Battery appears to have died from not being turned on in a couple weeks. I hooked up my living car for a jump. The dead car appeared to have juice in under a minute. (certain things on the dash became responsive like the stereo led light) I put the key into the dead car to start the engine. The key slot lights up. I turn the key and I THINK I hear a single snap/click. Headlights turn on for a split second and then suddenly everything goes dead. Further key turns do nothing. No clicking, no starting. Just silence. All lights on the dashboard are now dead. My living car is still connected and still running, but the dead car appears to be unresponsive. After about 15 minutes I turn off the jumper car and disconnect everything. I take a multimeter to the dead car battery and see <2 volts. Is the battery dead dead or something else? This was a recent battery replacement from several months ago.
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Apr 17, 2018 22:54
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<2 volts is very hosed. Just being off for a couple weeks won't do that.
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Apr 17, 2018 23:00
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poo poo. I wonder why then. It's been sitting in the garage all this time. I last drove it... maybe a month ago? Even if it was just dead from a long period of disuse, I've always been able to jump the previous battery. Did I start the engine too early or something? e: just to make sure I'm using the multimeter correctly, I measured my living car and got 12.8v so I think I was reading it correctly. Revitalized fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Apr 17, 2018 |
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Apr 17, 2018 23:14
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22 Eargesplitten posted:How do you check your hybrids to see if their engine is making a funny noise? I can’t tell if it’s the engine or what, but I’m hearing a noise when I’m next to a barrier or another car. The problem is that as soon as I stop moving the engine turns off. If I have it in neutral and try to rev the engine, nothing happens. Do I just have to drive past someone who knows cars to see if they hear anything? If it’s a Toyota you can put it into maintenance mode so it idles the engine while parked. Do not attempt to move the vehicle while it is in this mode. Other brands should have similar modes.
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Apr 17, 2018 23:22
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Revitalized posted:poo poo. I wonder why then. It's been sitting in the garage all this time. I last drove it... maybe a month ago? Even if it was just dead from a long period of disuse, I've always been able to jump the previous battery. Take it back to the store and make a warranty claim on the battery
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Apr 17, 2018 23:27
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If it's under warranty, sure. Best option is to bring it to the store regardless. Option 1 is to have them recharge it and test it. It's almost certainly hosed. If so (it is), that brings us to Option 2: replace it and hand them the old one to cover the core charge.
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Apr 18, 2018 00:38
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Hopefully it's just the battery. (the 2 volts is probably a good clue though) I'll find out where the battery came from and take it back. The battery is relatively new (maybe 5 or 6 months old) so I suspect there should be a warranty.
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Apr 18, 2018 00:42
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I have yet to see even a wal-mart $40 chinesium battery have a warranty shorter than a year.
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Apr 18, 2018 01:03
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What brand is it? That'll usually tell you where it's from.
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Apr 18, 2018 01:35
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I have a '94 Accord and I took it to a shop last friday to get the rack & pinion assembly replaced. I also got the drive axles replaced in the same shop earlier in the week. After they were done they told me the check engine light came on, but they couldn't find an issue. My instrument panel is buggy so the light coming on for no apparent reason isn't unheard of. But when I got home and put it in park the engine started to rev strangely, and it only got worse the 2 other times I put it in park. I called the mechanic back and told them about it and they said that it doesn't have anything to do with what they did with the car, but they'll take a look at it. I also got a bad crunching/grinding sound when i backed out of a parking space today. These problems have never come up with this car before. I'm taking the car back to them tomorrow morning but something like this breaking immediately after having work done on it doesn't seem like a coincidence. I don't know what to do if they insist on charging me again when it seems like something they messed up. What do you do if you suspect a mechanic is charging you to fix something they broke?
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Apr 18, 2018 01:46
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Godholio posted:What brand is it? That'll usually tell you where it's from. Interstate batteries. I just called my parents and I think they got it from a mechanic. (It's their car)
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Apr 18, 2018 02:12
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Of course one of the, like, THREE labels that's not tied to a store chain.
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Apr 18, 2018 02:19
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Godholio posted:Of course one of the, like, THREE labels that's not tied to a store chain. There's only like three companies that make all the batteries, anyway. They put a hundred different names on them, but they're all the same underneath.
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Apr 18, 2018 02:22
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I finally got around to replacing the evap purge solenoid, one of the main reasons I didn't just order one online is because I watched a YouTube video from 1a auto claiming to replace the evap purge solenoid when in actuality they were replacing the evap vent solenoid next to the gas tank. It was just enough to cast doubt on the right part, I wasn't sure if a purge and vent solenoid were the same part just with different similar names like a "door handle" vs a "door knob". O'Reilly was able to pull up a diagram, really just an outline drawing g of my engine with the cover off with the part highlighted so it was very easy to change. Really the only annoyance was that the single bolt holding it was on the bottom of the part so I had to work below the solenoid wireing and the vent line, and I was also too impatient to wait for my engine to cool after buying the part. One thing I am a little jealous of is that the O'Reilly scan tool managed to pull a couple more codes than I got from torque, I think it got older historic codes, and it pulled an intermittent purge solenoid code. Do I just need to learn how to use Torque Pro better or is that all because their scan tool is better?
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Apr 18, 2018 02:38
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shy boy from chess club posted:Yea clean the battery connections well first. Even an annoyingly small amount of corrosion on the terminals or inside the cables where they go on the battery posts can do this. Then if the cables have a bunch of smaller wires bolted to the battery connections then clean those also (this is usually where the problem is, on the battery connections). If that doesnt fix it follow the cables to where they connect to the starter and engine block and clean those connections. The grounds are the negative cable going to the engine block and probably a smaller one that will connect to the car body near the battery. There may be another one going from the car body to the engine somewhere else too. I dont know specifics on that car but checking those connections will probably fix it. Seems like this may have fixed it!
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Apr 18, 2018 03:01
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Crotch Fruit posted:I finally got around to replacing the evap purge solenoid, one of the main reasons I didn't just order one online is because I watched a YouTube video from 1a auto claiming to replace the evap purge solenoid when in actuality they were replacing the evap vent solenoid next to the gas tank. It was just enough to cast doubt on the right part, I wasn't sure if a purge and vent solenoid were the same part just with different similar names like a "door handle" vs a "door knob". O'Reilly was able to pull up a diagram, really just an outline drawing g of my engine with the cover off with the part highlighted so it was very easy to change. Really the only annoyance was that the single bolt holding it was on the bottom of the part so I had to work below the solenoid wireing and the vent line, and I was also too impatient to wait for my engine to cool after buying the part. In my own experience, Torque isn't very good at finding historical codes; sometimes it may show a historical code as a pending code, but not often. But keep in mind that given the cost (Torque Pro is, what, $5 these days? and a generic Bluetooth reader is <$20), it's pretty drat good. Hell, my old mechanic used Torque Pro and an OBD2 reader for the first year his shop was open, before finally breaking down and buying proper scan tools. For 99% of what he did at the time, it was plenty. My only issue with Torque is it can't get into individual modules, only the ECU/PCM. Guessing this is a GM? I swear they use the same purge solenoid on half of their cars; the part number for my Saturn cross references to something like 30 or 50 different vehicles, for example. And it's held on with 1 bolt through a bracket. Javid posted:NEW PROBLEM (not really but I'm just now posting about it): screeching noise from, I believe, the front left wheel. Only while moving, and intermittent then, goes away cold when stopped. Stuck piston maybe? Older post, but I didn't see a reply posted. Most disc brake pads have a wear indicator tab on them. Once the brake pads get worn down enough, you get a metallic screeching while moving (and it'll often go away while braking). Check both sides, if one side is worn more than the other, then you have either a sticking caliper, or the slide pins are sticking. Same goes for inner vs outer pads, if one is worn significantly more, you probably have sticking slide pins.
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Apr 18, 2018 05:54
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Yes, it's a GM, sorry I am kinda trying to avoid posting MY IMPALA every post but I guess that is pertinent information given the number of people asking about different cars in this thread. Yes, my car's motor, the 3.6L LFX V-6, is used in about half of GM's lineup. My OBD2 dongle was about $10, one of the cheapest ones on Amazon, but based on what you said I doubt this is a matter of needing a less cheap OBD2 dongle and just normal torque behavior. I guess I need to figure out how to set it up to like e--mail me any time there is a fault, even something small, O'Reilly saw the purge valve related code yet I'm pretty sure everytime it threw a CEL I never saw a purge valve code, just different random O2 sensors.
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Apr 18, 2018 07:10
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You should have been able to see the purge code if it was current or pending with Torque - it showed as both on the Saturd. But the symptoms of a failed purge solenoid, at least on my car, showed up long before it finally tripped the CEL on its own (it had P0420 in there for years though, so I pulled codes once a month to make sure nothing else had popped up). It was hard to start immediately after putting gas in it - it would take several tries, and once it finally did start, it'd belch out a big cloud of black smoke and stumble for about 5-30 seconds. If you want info every time there's a fault, pay OnStar their $rape$ fees, then tap the OnStar button when the CEL comes on. They'll tell you it's an emissions fault and to go to the dealer.  (but you might get an automatic email a week or two after it pops the CEL....)
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Apr 18, 2018 08:38
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Thanks I'm not sure $rape$ is in my budget (and I don't feel any other desire to have OnStar), I am just a little surprised this might not be possible with Torque Pro.
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Apr 18, 2018 08:59
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FWIW, if you've never activated OnStar on it since you've owned it, and haven't torn out the factory stereo (or if you did, you added an OnStar adapter instead of a generic wiring harness), you can get a 3 month free trial by hitting the blue button on the mirror. OnStar is a pretty neat service, it's just massively overpriced. It's insanely easy to get them to give you free months or discounts, I just got tired of playing that game. Especially since the version of OnStar in my car (running on Verizon 1x EVDO, from what I've dug up) will be dead whenever VZW sunsets their CDMA network. Newer versions run on AT&T's LTE network. They can pull a lot more info from newer cars compared to my pair of 2006s. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 09:32 on Apr 18, 2018 |
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Apr 18, 2018 09:30
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Koaxke posted:Seems like this may have fixed it! Just kidding. I went to start it this morning and nothing happened again. There did seem to be a lot of corrosion yesterday, but I got it all off.
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Apr 18, 2018 13:11
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Can I assume that suspension geometry won't be affected by changing top mounts on front McPherson suspension?
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Apr 18, 2018 13:31
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MrOnBicycle posted:Can I assume that suspension geometry won't be affected by changing top mounts on front McPherson suspension? If it's been super bad for a long time it could have sagged enough to throw off toe at your last alignment, but in general you're probably fine.
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Apr 18, 2018 14:14
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