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The fact that it goes wonky when it is cold on a cold day & improves somewhat when hot indicates to me a warped or cracked intake manifold or gasket, either at the head or at the throttle body base plate.
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Jan 14, 2021 16:36
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How important is the plastic splash cover underneath the front end? The one on my car (06 Mazda 3 4-Door) seemingly got ripped off by the previous owner, and is being held on with zip ties. Can I just get rid of it entirely?
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Jan 14, 2021 16:52
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DildenAnders posted:How important is the plastic splash cover underneath the front end? The one on my car (06 Mazda 3 4-Door) seemingly got ripped off by the previous owner, and is being held on with zip ties. Can I just get rid of it entirely? Auto manufacturers don't put any extra parts on cars. They'll save $0.01 per car if they can. So the general answer is always "no, you need that part." The more specific answer in your case is it does what is says on the tin. Without a splash guard you will bet getting loads of water up into the engine and on the belts. This will lead to excess wear eventually making them slip and squeal when you go through a puddle. If you live in a salty place it will expose the engine, accessories and fasteners to even more salt so they will rust faster. In some cases it may even lower fuel economy slightly due to being used for airflow under the car. In short, nothing's going to go wrong immediately, but if it's broken or missing scrivets just get the broken/missing pieces and reattach it properly.
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Jan 14, 2021 16:57
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DildenAnders posted:How important is the plastic splash cover underneath the front end? The one on my car (06 Mazda 3 4-Door) seemingly got ripped off by the previous owner, and is being held on with zip ties. Can I just get rid of it entirely? No. Replace the parts, go on eBay and pick up 1,000 of the proper push fasteners for $3.00, get in there, and install it / them. I can't speak specifically for the Mazda, but I've done these on Hondas and Nissans. There are typically two inner fender wells, and one or two panels that tie from the underside of the front bumper to a rail or the front of the engine subframe. Make sure that you replace each and every fastener, as these panel sets will lose their structural integrity rapidly after a couple of those rivets are gone. In the alternative, you may be able to drill/ziptie it into submission, but if the panels are badly cracked or missing chunks, replace them.
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Jan 14, 2021 17:10
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How do those professional battery testers work, just put it under load and watch the voltage drop? I didn't find any stores locally that would do it for free so I'm thinking if I can DIY it somehow. I wanted to go for a drive in the snow today but the Miata wouldn't start. Cranking very slowly, obviously a battery or connection issue. I dragged it home and measured 12.4v, and it doesn't look like it's taking much charge, just 0.7A. So I'm assuming it's toast but wanted to test first.
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Jan 14, 2021 19:24
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If my car gets totaled, and I buy it back from the insurer, can I drive it at all or must it be towed? I assume I won't have any proof of insurance so it'll be hard to get repair quotes? The car is entirely drivable but has bumper, hood, and radiator support damage from a low speed impact. No check engine light or leaking fluids, alignment tracks straight etc.
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Jan 15, 2021 05:00
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Suicide Watch posted:If my car gets totaled, and I buy it back from the insurer, can I drive it at all or must it be towed? I assume I won't have any proof of insurance so it'll be hard to get repair quotes? The car is entirely drivable but has bumper, hood, and radiator support damage from a low speed impact. No check engine light or leaking fluids, alignment tracks straight etc. Mechanically: that's up to you. Your insurer will still let you carry liability insurance on it. Them totalling it is about the cost to repair vs. its value as a whole. The real question is: are they going to make you get a salvage title? It may depend on the state and whether or not your insurer is required to notify the state that the car was a total loss. If you own the car outright and hold the title, chances are they'll just let you take it home once you agree to pay them the salvage value. I have retained salvage on a total loss. In fact, the insurance company was delighted to pay to have it towed to my house, since that stopped the storage charges that were accumulating on the daily.  I kept it & broke it down for parts, obviously
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Jan 15, 2021 05:33
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Is there some good article/story on how 1.5L engines in the mid-80s made like 1200 horsepower in race form?
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Jan 15, 2021 05:53
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Turn up the turbo boost and RPM until the engine just barely survives one race.
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Jan 15, 2021 06:49
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PainterofCrap posted:Mechanically: that's up to you. Your insurer will still let you carry liability insurance on it. Them totalling it is about the cost to repair vs. its value as a whole. Figured collision coverage would be tougher! Although I've read that an adjuster/appraiser can inspect and make the care insurable again? Thanks, either way this makes sense as liability should apply to me as a driver and less so on what I'm driving. MA seems to have an interesting regulation where cars > 10 years old at time of loss (which applies here) don't get salvage titles when totaledsee here: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/total-loss-and-salvage-vehicles So I think if I buy the car off them I can retain the clean title
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Jan 15, 2021 08:53
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PainterofCrap posted:The fact that it goes wonky when it is cold on a cold day & improves somewhat when hot indicates to me a warped or cracked intake manifold or gasket, either at the head or at the throttle body base plate. That's the direction I'm leaning. It's a plastic manifold, so warped is highly unlikely. Cracked is possible, the PCV nipple on it is prone to snapping off if you manhandle it, but AFAIK I'm the only one who's ever removed the PCV hose, and that was fairly recently. The only work ever done to the engine has been belts, coolant, spark plugs, and a valve cover gasket (belts were done by a shop at some point, the rest by me), not counting stuff like oil changes and air filters. Was a bit disappointed to find a bit of varnish under the valve cover despite ~3k oil changes most of its life (my ~170k Saturn looked a little better), but until last year it's always seen lube shops for oil changes, so always cheap bulk oil. I switched it to Mobil 1 and OEM Toyota filters as soon as I got my hands on it. Seeing as it's something that gets a bit worse every winter definitely has me thinking intake gasket, but it seems like the idle is wavering a bit while warm now too. Gonna do the propane torch thing and see what happens. Honestly pretty surprised it's not throwing any codes yet with how lovely it runs when it does act up, but I suspect it's sealing up a bit better once it gets warm enough to go into closed loop. Should be cold enough after work tomorrow morning for it to act up, I'll check fuel trims then. Next up on it are the front LCA bushings (more likely complete LCAs), it's kinda scary to drive at the moment thanks to its lust for ditches whenever getting on or off the gas.
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Jan 15, 2021 14:47
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Sagebrush posted:Turn up the turbo boost and RPM until the engine just barely survives one race. Also: spend  on developing and building that one engine
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Jan 15, 2021 15:19
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I never have luck with the propane/carb spray trick. Wish HF would crank out some super budget smoke machine.
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Jan 15, 2021 15:20
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C-Bangin' it 
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Colostomy Bag posted:I never have luck with the propane/carb spray trick. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=299263 People sell them pre-made on ebay all the time if you don't want to fuss with getting all the parts.
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Jan 15, 2021 16:25
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I've had good luck with propane and propane accessories if it's a decent enough vacuum leak, so long as I have a nearly full tank on the torch (don't bother if it can barely stay lit) . I'll have to do it when the engine is stone cold in this case, since it seems to seal up enough that it only has a slightly wavering idle once warm. Still surprised it's not throwing some kind of code now that the idle isn't a rock solid 750, friend's Cruze was throwing lean codes when it could still maintain a rock solid idle when the valve cover cracked (gently caress you GM for making valve covers out of plastic), fuel trims were pegged full rich at idle, but fine while driving. I'd rather not do carb cleaner since it sometimes does nasty things to rubber gaskets; if it was an old school paper/cork gasket I'd go for it. At least the upside is the intake is on the radiator side; when this started being a thing I was so pissed off because HOW DARE YOU CHANGE TRADITION, but it makes intake stuff so much easier (but lol good luck with the O2 sensor when it shits). Smoke machine would be real nice, but I don't even know if that'd be viable with this except on a cold morning after sitting 12+ hours. Even then I'd need to get #1 to TDC, otherwise all the smoke is just gonna go out of the exhaust. I don't have access to a garage at the moment, nor do I have access to power outside, so that's really a no-go unless I can park it at the DIY shop overnight, then push it into a bay when they open. It gets the bitchiest when it's in the 20s or 30s, which is pretty rare here, but it'll act up as high as ~40-45F. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Jan 15, 2021 |
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Jan 15, 2021 16:47
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Just want to compare my thoughts here with some other folks opinions. I have a 2010 Nissan Altima SL sedan with 161,000 miles on it that requires the catalytic converter and some smaller exhaust pieces to replaced, the quote is around $2200. The car is in okay condition and I havent had to replace anything major otherwise, just the usual wear and tear maintenance. My gut tells me its not worth dropping $2000 into a car thats work $3000 or $4000 at most. I do drive 25,000 to 35,000 miles per year so i wouldnt be surprised if something else major crops up in the next year or two.
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Jan 15, 2021 17:15
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Motronic posted:https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=299263 I'll be darned, thanks.
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Jan 15, 2021 17:41
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B-Mac posted:Just want to compare my thoughts here with some other folks opinions. How long do you plan to keep the car, and is it in otherwise good shape? If you plan to keep it a year or two (or hell, just want to fix it "good nuff" to sell it to someone), shop around, and target the uglier parts of town, avoid chain shops. Find some random exhaust shops (best found near junkyards), but any road that's made up of car shops, window tint/alarm shops, exhaust shops, etc is a good starting place) and see what they say, then ask if they can do it less for cash (93.79851% of the time they're more than happy to cut you a [sometimes large] break for cash so long as you don't care about stuff like receipts, since it's going straight into the owner's pocket). You need to do this in person, over the phone they're just gonna give you the sucker rate. You can easily cut that bill well past half; just don't expect the replacement cat to last more than a couple of years. It won't be pretty, but it'll probably be enough to turn off that check engine light and get you through smog. And they'll (usually) be a lot more honest than most chain shops. Tell them you're fine with a universal cat if they say anything about needing to order one. This goes out the window if you're in California or other states that follow CARB regulations. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 18:10 on Jan 15, 2021 |
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Jan 15, 2021 17:56
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B-Mac posted:Just want to compare my thoughts here with some other folks opinions. This is sort of a toss up really. Your car is a known quantity, and while it's only worth 3-4K if you sell it, what would it cost to replace it with another car of unknown quality? 3-4K doesn't really get you a quality problem free used car these days. What are your current expectations of how long this car is going to last? What is the plan to eventually replace it? If spending 2K will get you another 12 months and 25K miles out of the car, that breaks down to like 167 bucks a month or 8 cents a mile depending on how you like to look at it. Does that seem worth it to you? Also I'd shop that quote around, I don't know what exactly you need replaced, and what parts they're using, but that seems high for exhaust work. Find a local exhaust shop that'll do a patch up job to get you through another year or two. edit: STR makes a very good point. Cash money at a local exhaust shop in a not great part of town will get you a really good deal. skipdogg fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Jan 15, 2021 |
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Jan 15, 2021 18:09
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I do drive 25k to 35k miles a year for work so I wouldnt replace it with $4,000 vehicle. The wife would like a mini van anyway so maybe this is the cosmos telling us to get the van now and Ill drive her 2015 low mile vehicle. Thanks for the replies, appreciate it.
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Jan 15, 2021 18:15
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If you're in a place where there isn't an emissions inspection, you don't need to replace it. A used/reman cat will probably work in the short term as well.
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Jan 15, 2021 18:18
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My 2011 Chevy HHR 2.4L has visible damage to the underside of the oil pan, and ive found videos on how to remove it, prep it, and expoxy over the crack. While looking over all the bolts and clips I'd need to remove to allow the dipstick to come out with the pan, i saw some oil residue up near where the oil filter cap is, and im wondering if i have 2 problems? Heres a video. Sorry its half upside down, i was using the phone camera to see in small spaces to look for clues. You can see the damage to the oil pan at around 1:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ06_izfiu0 I have no idea if the oil on top is old or new, i really only pop the hood to change the oil. I saw oil drips on the garage floor a couple days ago and took a peek and now im unsure if this is the kind of repair a computer toucher like me should begin if i dont know all the variables.
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Jan 15, 2021 18:34
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:A used/reman cat will probably work in the short term as well. In many/most parts of the US, it's a felony to sell a used cat to anyone except a recycler. Even if it's not illegal where you are, it's 100% guaranteed to be stolen. Nobody just up and sells a random cat sitting around their garage. B-Mac posted:I do drive 25k to 35k miles a year for work so I wouldnt replace it with $4,000 vehicle. The wife would like a mini van anyway so maybe this is the cosmos telling us to get the van now and Ill drive her 2015 low mile vehicle. I still say slap a cheap cat on it - just so you can sell it easier, if you're in a smog area. Should be a few hundred outside of Cali or other CARB areas. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Jan 15, 2021 |
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Jan 15, 2021 18:38
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e: loving quote/edit mixup
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Jan 15, 2021 18:42
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STR posted:In many/most parts of the US, it's a felony to sell a used cat to anyone except a recycler. 
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Jan 15, 2021 18:42
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Sorry, let me run that through the Vice Grip Garage filter. They're 98.980951% likely to be stolen, give or take 25.0915%.
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Jan 15, 2021 18:44
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Motronic posted:https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=299263 I went with plans for a PVC-based one and it's mostly okay, except that I melted the first PVC cap. Recommend sticking with metal construction (paint can, ammo can, whatever). If you can crank down the regulator on your air supply elsewhere you can skip the regulator on the input of the smoke machine. But, overall, it makes lots of smoke and works well. I do agree that this seems like the kind of thing HF could make at $50 and sell plenty of, but maybe it's a bit too on the nose for them to sell something that intentionally lets the smoke out. StrugglingHoneybun posted:My 2011 Chevy HHR 2.4L has visible damage to the underside of the oil pan, and ive found videos on how to remove it, prep it, and expoxy over the crack. I can't see what you're stating as "oil pan damage" but in general, repairing an oil pan with epoxy is the kind of thing that is only done to turn a giant gaping hole into a small leak that will let you drive the vehicle home. If it's cracked and leaking through the crack, congratulations that crack is completely contaminated with a substance that epoxy will not loving stick to. It is theoretically possible to properly fix a cracked pan via either welding or epoxy, but either of those would require you to pull the pan, completely clean and degrease it, and then repair it. At that point it's most likely way more sensible to just buy a replacement oil pan. As far as the rest of that oil, you definitely have a leak coming from somewhere above the pan. Can't really tell from the video but obvious suggestions would be a valve cover gasket.
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Jan 15, 2021 18:57
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Wait what is this smoke machine business? You blow smoke up the tail pipe and look for where it leaks out?
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Jan 15, 2021 19:20
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RadioPassive posted:Wait what is this smoke machine business? You blow smoke up the tail pipe and look for where it leaks out? IF you're looking for an exhaust leak, sure. You can put it in the intake or vacuum lines to look for leaks there as well. And you have a hand free to move the j-boot and vac lines or whatever around to find those annoying "only leaks sometimes" problems. It's super handy for a bunch of different things.
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Jan 15, 2021 19:24
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Wouldn't work everywhere but would a squirt gun of soapy water should show you where it's leaking? Use your phone to look into harder to reach places?
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Jan 15, 2021 20:01
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Outrail posted:Wouldn't work everywhere but would a squirt gun of soapy water should show you where it's leaking? Use your phone to look into harder to reach places? On hoses under VACUUM? No.
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Jan 15, 2021 20:05
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Thank you, im getting a whole new oil pan and a valve cover gasket and will tear into it this evening. Thanks for you help
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Jan 15, 2021 20:22
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IOwnCalculus posted:
I would hate having to explain to the cashier I'm returning something because it doesn't smoke when plugged in. Talk about mass confusion from their staff.
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Jan 15, 2021 21:47
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PainterofCrap posted:The fact that it goes wonky when it is cold on a cold day & improves somewhat when hot indicates to me a warped or cracked intake manifold or gasket, either at the head or at the throttle body base plate. DING DING DING DING, I THINK WE HAVE A WINNER Just watched OBD2 data for a bit. It goes into closed loop shockingly quick (car has been parked since ~10pm, it was ~7:45am when I messed with it, ambient temp around 35F - it showed closed loop after about 30 seconds). The AFR and short term fuel trim are all kinds of fucky as soon as it does - the worst point seems to be when the coolant hits about 120 (so basically when the head starts getting a bit of heat into it):  It also feels like it's missing a bit, though it's not popping any codes aside from an immobilizer code. Holding the throttle around 2k brings the AFR back to normal, so it's a small enough leak that the fuel trim is able to compensate for now. Sometimes. There's times when it absolutely does not want to idle, but that's usually when it's a bit colder. After it gets a bit warmer, things look quite a bit better, though it feels like it's still stumbling a little. I don't know of a way to track misfires in Torque, but it feels like an occasional miss.  Only codes popping - these are related to the immobilizer, seems like the transceiver is probably dead or dying. It's never caused an issue, and I wouldn't have ever known it was an issue if it wasn't throwing the code.  Soon as I find my torch I'll get a fresh tank and wave it around the intake gasket. Or get some carb cleaner. Pretty sure if I spray it at the right time it'll wind up a bit. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 15:16 on Jan 16, 2021 |
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Jan 16, 2021 15:13
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Is it a bad idea to stick stiffer springs in my minivan front suspension? 2000 Toyota Sienna CE FWD (gen 1). The minivan is my camping/hunting vehicle and it gets pretty beat up offroading. It has a ~100 lbs skid plate up front and slightly larger tires. I could really use some more ground clearance, even a tiny bit would be nice. I'm thinking of this because the shocks need replacement and this could be an opportunity to put in stiffer springs "for free". I think I can stick in springs for a 2005 gen 2 Sienna (heavier vehicle) to get a higher spring rate. Linking to moog because they have detailed dimensions in their specs: 2000 Sienna (my van) front springs design load 1200 lbs. 2005 Sienna FWD design load 1347. 2005 Sienna AWD design load 1460. It looks like the struts have different mounts between 1st and 2nd gen Siennas, so I'd be able to swap the springs only. So is this a bad idea? I suppose the springs and struts tuned to work well together, but how much will this matter on a 20 year old minivan? I would like that extra inch or so of height, if possible.
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Jan 16, 2021 20:21
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Is it worth upgrading to another vehicle while it's still worth a little?
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Jan 16, 2021 20:48
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Outrail posted:Is it worth upgrading to another vehicle while it's still worth a little? Sure. Depends on how much it's worth to you. If you hate the car you're driving, it's worth getting rid of it for something better sooner than something you love. How much the car is costing you in maintenance and its overall reliability matters, too. Ultimately, if you want a new car and can afford it, go for it. Buying a new car involves more than just raw financial numbers.
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Jan 16, 2021 20:52
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StrugglingHoneybun posted:Thank you, im getting a whole new oil pan and a valve cover gasket and will tear into it this evening. Trip report: Got the oil pan installed. The dip stick tube was a pain in the butt. The top leak may have been from a missing o-ring on my filter cap, and so im postponing the valve cover gasket adventure until i gather more info.
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Jan 16, 2021 22:53
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hi, i know nothing about cars, so apologies if this is stupid. but i am trying to identify this model of jaguar:  at least i think it's a jaguar? in any case, thanks in advance! abelwingnut fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Jan 17, 2021 |
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Jan 17, 2021 02:11
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According to carfax' plate lookup tool that is a 1985 jaguar xj6.
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Jan 17, 2021 02:17
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