Horrible Mechanical Failures: Looks Like the Tin Man's Undies After Taco Tuesday

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Horrible Mechanical Failures: Looks Like the Tin Man's Undies After Taco Tuesday

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xzzy: Mar 5, 2009

The Door Frame posted:

What's the deal with Australia and tools?

Based on the complaining you hear from Australians when buying games, literally everything they buy has double the dollar figure that it would in the US (their dollar is worth about 75 cents in USD).

Apparently it's not just the shipping cost that does it, there's ugly taxes on importing anything.

# ? Oct 4, 2016 18:07

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# ? May 26, 2024 17:09

Collateral Damage: Jun 13, 2009

As far as I understand it, Australia has import taxes to protect domestic production of things they don't produce.

# ? Oct 4, 2016 18:20

kastein: Aug 31, 2011; Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.

nmfree posted:

I got one of these, on recommendation of this thread. Or maybe one of the tools threads.

I used it earlier this summer to loosen some fittings on the CO₂ setup on my jockey box, and one of my friends asked me, "What the hell is that thing?" He played with it a little bit, and promptly bought one on his phone to use at work (maintenance at a paper mill).

Couple of weeks later, he was using *his* while repairing something at work, and one of the other maintenance people says, "What the hell is that thing?" He played with it a little bit, and the next day, he walked into work with one he bought at Sears.

The moral of the story is "if you don't already have a locking Swedish Nut Fucker, go get one".

Seriously. They should pay me commission, you wouldn't believe the number of people who have seen me use it at the junkyard and immediately asked what the hell it is and where they can get one. If I was a smart person I'd buy a handful and bring them with me to resell :v:

Easily one of my favorite tools, like IOC I often use it instead of a line wrench to loosen flare nuts.

# ? Oct 4, 2016 18:53

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

The Door Frame posted:

What's the deal with Australia and tools?

They imported a bunch from the British a while ago and it's been a problem ever since.

# ? Oct 4, 2016 21:43

Platystemon: Feb 13, 2012; BREADS

It�s like Cuba. They imported a bunch of equipment once upon a time and they�ve been handing it down ever since.

# ? Oct 4, 2016 21:48

CAT INTERCEPTOR: Nov 9, 2004; Basically a male Margaret Thatcher

Collateral Damage posted:

As far as I understand it, Australia has import taxes to protect domestic production of things they don't produce.

No, not really. Australia is a fairly low tarriff country as well has having some very liberal free trade agreeements. We're a fairly open country to import poo poo into. Best example is Tony Abbott.

xzzy posted:

Based on the complaining you hear from Australians when buying games, literally everything they buy has double the dollar figure that it would in the US (their dollar is worth about 75 cents in USD).

Apparently it's not just the shipping cost that does it, there's ugly taxes on importing anything.

Shipping costs 3/5ths of gently caress all on a boat, (hell, even say a pallet of iPhones via air freight... might cost a few thousand a pallet but think about how much you can have on a pallet and how that dilutes the cost) customs duties arent that high either. The flat out truth is that it's profiteering. If you parrallel import a pallet of books for example, you can sell them and make a profit at 50% what major book sellers sell em for. My Samsung S5 is a parrallel import and it is literally 45% of the price of a S5 in a major shop, with all customs and other taxes correctly paid for and a 50 buck profit for the retailer.

I could go on Flea-Bay right now and get a new iPhone 7, import it, pay all the taxes (inc GST) and still end up 50% cheaper.

One of the biggest problems is that parrallel importing, while legal, has big issues with manufacturers. They refuse to support OS supplied devices for instance and they try to make life as hard as possible for the parrallel importers, so they can keep the price scam going.

But basically, we're being ripped off by Apple and co, a lot of us are awake to it but you have a fuckload of idiots that dont care.

# ? Oct 4, 2016 22:05

Fender Anarchist: May 20, 2009; Fender Anarchist

CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:

But basically, we're being ripped off by Apple and co, a lot of us are awake to it but you have a fuckload of idiots that dont care.

As I understand Australia, the rednecks are mighty suspicious of anything that arrives by boat to begin with.

:v:

# ? Oct 4, 2016 22:30

0toShifty: Aug 21, 2005; 0 to Stiffy?

I know this is not an unusual mechanical failure - it's a Sebring after all.

CUSTOMER COMPLAINT: When steering, car does not go in direction steered. Also a clicking noise from the front right.

Go outside and see this:

Had to have the car towed into the shop because whatever dick towed it in put it far away in the parking lot nose in facing downhill. Axle popped out of the transmission. The only thing holding it at that angle is the brake hose.

Get this: this car has only 49,500 miles on it.

The tow driver had a wheel-lift truck and he was able to back it into the shop and get it spotted on my lift so well that I was able to lift it directly off of the truck! Believe it or not - he lifted it by the front wheels.

# ? Oct 5, 2016 00:09

Ferremit: Sep 14, 2007; if I haven't posted about MY LANDCRUISER yet, check my bullbars for kangaroo prints

Small market, one or two importers with a burning desire to gently caress the market as hard as they can for maximum profits- see maglight. $30 4D LED maglight in the US turns into a $90 torch when it hits our shores.

Australians aren't suckers tho- we've worked out the glory of online shopping REEALLY well, to the point that it's causing brick and mortar retailers like Harvey Norman to actually try and be competitive.

Problem is we get hosed on postage from the US- that Stanley wrench is $16 on amazon and then $25 to post the loving thing!

# ? Oct 5, 2016 00:50

Seat Safety Switch: May 27, 2008; MY RELIGION IS THE SMALL BLOCK V8 AND COMMANDMENTS ONE THROUGH TEN ARE NEVER LIFT.; Pillbug

Ferremit posted:

Problem is we get hosed on postage from the US- that Stanley wrench is $16 on amazon and then $25 to post the loving thing!

Similar to Canada, except we aren't on the other side of the loving planet.

# ? Oct 5, 2016 00:54

Powershift: Nov 23, 2009

Seat Safety Switch posted:

Similar to Canada, except we aren't on the other side of the loving planet.

There's also a whole bunch of poo poo on amazon.com they won't ship to canada to protect loving crooks on amazon.ca

# ? Oct 5, 2016 01:00

clam ache: Sep 6, 2009

0toShifty posted:

I know this is not an unusual mechanical failure - it's a Sebring after all.

CUSTOMER COMPLAINT: When steering, car does not go in direction steered. Also a clicking noise from the front right.

Go outside and see this:

Had to have the car towed into the shop because whatever dick towed it in put it far away in the parking lot nose in facing downhill. Axle popped out of the transmission. The only thing holding it at that angle is the brake hose.

Get this: this car has only 49,500 miles on it.

The tow driver had a wheel-lift truck and he was able to back it into the shop and get it spotted on my lift so well that I was able to lift it directly off of the truck! Believe it or not - he lifted it by the front wheels.

At that mileage if its the four cylinder recomend a t belt. Its right at the interval they are known to snap at.

# ? Oct 5, 2016 01:30

Throatwarbler: Nov 17, 2008; by vyelkin

The last year they made that body style was like 2006.

# ? Oct 5, 2016 02:46

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Powershift posted:

There's also a whole bunch of poo poo on amazon.com they won't ship to canada to protect loving crooks on amazon.ca

Being 45 minutes from my US box has its perks :smuggo:

# ? Oct 5, 2016 03:08

Platystemon: Feb 13, 2012; BREADS

slidebite posted:

Being 45 minutes from my US box has its perks

No perks that being < 1 minute from my postbox doesn�t have. :smaug:

Except healthcare. :negative:

# ? Oct 5, 2016 05:26

B4Ctom1: Oct 5, 2003; OVERWORKED COCK; Slippery Tilde

I cannot stop watching. So cringeworthy (hydraulic press channel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhSh_LEHvpo

oldie but goodie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWySdXedUiY
http://i.imgur.com/YDhLmfG.mp4

# ? Oct 5, 2016 06:33

Ferremit: Sep 14, 2007; if I haven't posted about MY LANDCRUISER yet, check my bullbars for kangaroo prints

Made me laugh

Pretty awesome escape though!

# ? Oct 5, 2016 13:36

Saga: Aug 17, 2009

I realise this isn't the stupid questions thread but this is thread relevant.

I'm considering a used R56 Cooper S and the N14 engine has a penchant for shredding its camchain guides and then jumping timing and blowing itself up.

Found one with the right spec fairly far afield and the dealer has sent me this recording of a cold start. Bearing in mind the N14 is direct injection, does this sound like camchain rattle? I don't hear chain slap but it does seem very loud. That could just be "modern DI" noise, which I'm not really used to. They all sound like diesels to me.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1O61NEAfLX1

# ? Oct 5, 2016 14:43

nene: Jan 5, 2007; Mad Scientist

Pomp and Circumcized posted:

The spectrum of light from metal halide lamps includes a huge spike at around 600nm (yellow), which doesn't help. The white form these lights is fake, generated from a number of sharp peaks (each caused by the light generated from a particular metal salt). Their colour rendering is poo poo, as a result. There's a reason why moving lights suck at red and green, and this is the reason,.

It's also the reason why I mostly hire LED moving heads now. Except for MAC700s I guess, cos they're so ubiquitous and cheap, if you'll put up with something that's beat to poo poo and has slipping drive belts.

Pomp and Circumcized posted:

Gaff leaves residue, especially when left on for months at a time. It is thicker, making it harder to layer up tape. It is easier to peel from other gaff, so adding overlapping stripes will end in tears (of the waaahhh variety). It s more expensive than PVC tape.

PVC tapes leave residue as well, whether it's better or worse than the stuff you get from gaff is a matter for debate.

Also, the shows I do typically last a week. The longest was Worldcon 72, and that was eight days load in to load out.

Pomp and Circumcized posted:

Yeah, I dunno, I've only seen it a few times. I think I have a roll of red 25mm AT7 in my box somewhere.

Actually, I found 25mm AT7 for sale from Farnell.

AT7 is already the nicest tape you can get, 25mm AT7 is going to be living in the lap of luxury.

Though speaking of Worldcon just up there, I had to educate an account manager that when I ask for AT220 I mean I want AT220 on the consumables order, not AT202. Presumably Excel have repainted that section of S22 by now, and I've not heard from that account manager since then. Apparently I made her cry.

Pomp and Circumcized posted:

Source fours? Yeah, the Zoom range has two, the originals have 1. Someone makes a really nice coiled sping casette which you can clip onto the yoke to perfectly balance the fixture - nice for 5 degree lenses.

Well the source 4 zoom fixtures have two yoke brakes to take into account the extra weight of the lenses and their carriers and stuff. Though since all the lens tubes are interchangeable anyway, there's no reason that any of them can't have two. Especially the wide angle lenses like the 5�; I've never used one but they look comedy, like the end element got swollen and it's embarrassed about it.

I keep getting Selecon SPXs subbed in for source 4s. The last time it happened I asked about it, and was told it's what there is. I protested that I don't like the SPXs and the light they throw is lovely. Yes, my account manager says, no-one likes SPXs, that's why they're both cheap and available.

# ? Oct 5, 2016 16:16

Terrible Robot: Jul 2, 2010; FRIED CHICKEN; Slippery Tilde

This is all super interesting and stuff but how about ya'll make a separate thread about stage sound and lighting, or post more pictures of what happens when poo poo goes wrong with it.

# ? Oct 5, 2016 16:24

PainterofCrap: Oct 17, 2002; hey bebe

Saga posted:

I realise this isn't the stupid questions thread but this is thread relevant.

I'm considering a used R56 Cooper S and the N14 engine has a penchant for shredding its camchain guides and then jumping timing and blowing itself up.

Found one with the right spec fairly far afield and the dealer has sent me this recording of a cold start. Bearing in mind the N14 is direct injection, does this sound like camchain rattle? I don't hear chain slap but it does seem very loud. That could just be "modern DI" noise, which I'm not really used to. They all sound like diesels to me.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1O61NEAfLX1

If that isn't a diesel: run.

# ? Oct 6, 2016 02:05

Saga: Aug 17, 2009

PainterofCrap posted:

If that isn't a diesel: run.

Yeah, I'd sort of come to that conclusion after listening to it again.

From doing more reading on the interwebs, it seems like these Minis are like RX8s in that there's no point looking for one that isn't broken or won't break within 6 months. Only with the RX8 they're priced accordingly so you can just have the engine rebuilt on day 1 and be fairly confident it won't eat an apex or crank seal for 3 years or 60k.

It's probably a bad sign when your product is being compared unfavourably to a Mazda rotary, but the enthusiasm of poverty-stricken Mini owners is undiminished.

# ? Oct 6, 2016 07:04

kastein: Aug 31, 2011; Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.

PainterofCrap posted:

If that isn't a diesel: run.

That sounds like a cavalier with 250k miles on it.

I recommend not ever buying that vehicle.

# ? Oct 6, 2016 14:54

Saga: Aug 17, 2009

kastein posted:

That sounds like a cavalier with 250k miles on it.

I recommend not ever buying that vehicle.

Yes, that's put me off Minis now.

# ? Oct 6, 2016 20:26

kastein: Aug 31, 2011; Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.

Sometimes you gotta drive the drat thing TOMORROW and two critical exhaust fasteners break off at 10pm.

(a friend found this on a vehicle he bought to part out. Fortunately, that makes it both not his problem, and not his work)

# ? Oct 6, 2016 21:52

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

kastein posted:

Sometimes you gotta drive the drat thing TOMORROW and two critical exhaust fasteners break off at 10pm.

(a friend found this on a vehicle he bought to part out. Fortunately, that makes it both not his problem, and not his work)

Just missing some JB weld to keep the clamps from loosening and you got a stew goin.

# ? Oct 6, 2016 21:54

kastein: Aug 31, 2011; Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.

He lives in CT. Buy cheap C-clamps and crank em down real tight, they rust themselves solid after a few weeks of road spray.

# ? Oct 6, 2016 21:58

CAT INTERCEPTOR: Nov 9, 2004; Basically a male Margaret Thatcher

kastein posted:

Sometimes you gotta drive the drat thing TOMORROW and two critical exhaust fasteners break off at 10pm.

(a friend found this on a vehicle he bought to part out. Fortunately, that makes it both not his problem, and not his work)

I'm struggling to see the failure, I think that is inspired, I'd have never thought of that

# ? Oct 6, 2016 22:07

0toShifty: Aug 21, 2005; 0 to Stiffy?

I had permanent c-clamps holding my down pipe onto my manifold for many years on one of my Sciroccos. It's pretty much just like the factory part!

# ? Oct 6, 2016 22:36

Queen_Combat: Jan 15, 2011

A $4 HFT clamp is cheaper than most factory fasteners, anyway.

# ? Oct 6, 2016 22:39

IOwnCalculus: Apr 2, 2003

kastein posted:

Sometimes you gotta drive the drat thing TOMORROW and two critical exhaust fasteners break off at 10pm.

(a friend found this on a vehicle he bought to part out. Fortunately, that makes it both not his problem, and not his work)

Horrible Mechanical Success.

# ? Oct 6, 2016 22:47

tater_salad: Sep 15, 2007

Nothing a dremmel can't fix...

# ? Oct 6, 2016 23:29

B4Ctom1: Oct 5, 2003; OVERWORKED COCK; Slippery Tilde

kastein posted:

Sometimes you gotta drive the drat thing TOMORROW and two critical exhaust fasteners break off at 10pm.

(a friend found this on a vehicle he bought to part out. Fortunately, that makes it both not his problem, and not his work)

This isn't even the first time I have seen this. There is even an aftermarket company like HELP! that made a specialty set of those for JUST that purpose.

fake edit: Nickson made them
https://www.amazon.com/Nickson-17350-Clamp-Stud-1-3/dp/B000COX90M

then there is this company
http://www.studfix.com

# ? Oct 7, 2016 05:54

Wasabi the J: Jan 23, 2008; MOM WAS RIGHT

B4Ctom1 posted:

This isn't even the first time I have seen this. There is even an aftermarket company like HELP! that made a specialty set of those for JUST that purpose.

fake edit: Nickson made them
https://www.amazon.com/Nickson-17350-Clamp-Stud-1-3/dp/B000COX90M

then there is this company
http://www.studfix.com

Sick, thank you!

# ? Oct 7, 2016 08:57

Queen_Combat: Jan 15, 2011

B4Ctom1 posted:

This isn't even the first time I have seen this. There is even an aftermarket company like HELP! that made a specialty set of those for JUST that purpose.

fake edit: Nickson made them
https://www.amazon.com/Nickson-17350-Clamp-Stud-1-3/dp/B000COX90M

then there is this company
http://www.studfix.com

These are actually really cool

# ? Oct 7, 2016 10:00

BloodBag: Sep 20, 2008; WITNESS ME!

Saga posted:

Yeah, I'd sort of come to that conclusion after listening to it again.

From doing more reading on the interwebs, it seems like these Minis are like RX8s in that there's no point looking for one that isn't broken or won't break within 6 months. Only with the RX8 they're priced accordingly so you can just have the engine rebuilt on day 1 and be fairly confident it won't eat an apex or crank seal for 3 years or 60k.

It's probably a bad sign when your product is being compared unfavourably to a Mazda rotary, but the enthusiasm of poverty-stricken Mini owners is undiminished.

R56 non-turbo: fairly reliable and not really prone to breaking.
R56-S (turbo): stay the gently caress back.

The turbo is notorious for all the poo poo they tacked onto that engine to make power with it. The direct injection, the lovely little oil burning turbo. The reason the tensioners fail and the engine jumps timing is because fuckwits buy the things because "they're cute" and then proceed to follow Mini's stupid 15,000 mile oil change interval. The tensioners tension using oil pressure, and the N14 consumes oil fairly quickly due to a combination of that turbo and the rings, I guess. If you don't keep on top of the oil level in the N14/N16, the tensioners lose pressure and eventually the engine skips time, and you get a nice death rattle warning you about this poo poo a long time before it happens. Anyway, it's not hard to check the oil in these things, but most people are just dumb and don't get that these minis are just as much maintenance whores as their big brother BMWs are.

I keep on top of all the maintenance on my wife's R56 non S and it's been a perfectly reliable little car. I blame BMW/mini for that idiotically long oil change interval for giving the S minis a horrible reputation. Even the little N16 NA engine consumes about a quart every 3,000 miles. I halve the oil change interval to 6500-7500 on the mini just to make sure it doesn't get the death rattle. I'm primed and ready for the other main point of failure on these: GDCS. Other than that it's just a little grocery getter.

E: TL;DR, it's got a bad reputation because people buy a car that needs special care because it's cute and are surprised when it doesn't respond well to being neglected like a Yaris.

BloodBag fucked around with this message at 11:13 on Oct 7, 2016

# ? Oct 7, 2016 11:01

kastein: Aug 31, 2011; Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.

Metal Geir Skogul posted:

These are actually really cool

yeah seriously, I'm never cursing at a jeep 4.0L header while attempting to bang out the pressed in studs from under it again. Just gonna slap a pair of those on and run it.

As I usually say, alls fair in love, war, and exhaust. If it doesn't leak and passes safety inspection it's good exhaust work. :banjo:

# ? Oct 7, 2016 16:41

Funzo: Dec 6, 2002

BloodBag posted:

R56 non-turbo: fairly reliable and not really prone to breaking.
R56-S (turbo): stay the gently caress back.

The turbo is notorious for all the poo poo they tacked onto that engine to make power with it. The direct injection, the lovely little oil burning turbo. The reason the tensioners fail and the engine jumps timing is because fuckwits buy the things because "they're cute" and then proceed to follow Mini's stupid 15,000 mile oil change interval. The tensioners tension using oil pressure, and the N14 consumes oil fairly quickly due to a combination of that turbo and the rings, I guess. If you don't keep on top of the oil level in the N14/N16, the tensioners lose pressure and eventually the engine skips time, and you get a nice death rattle warning you about this poo poo a long time before it happens. Anyway, it's not hard to check the oil in these things, but most people are just dumb and don't get that these minis are just as much maintenance whores as their big brother BMWs are.

I keep on top of all the maintenance on my wife's R56 non S and it's been a perfectly reliable little car. I blame BMW/mini for that idiotically long oil change interval for giving the S minis a horrible reputation. Even the little N16 NA engine consumes about a quart every 3,000 miles. I halve the oil change interval to 6500-7500 on the mini just to make sure it doesn't get the death rattle. I'm primed and ready for the other main point of failure on these: GDCS. Other than that it's just a little grocery getter.

E: TL;DR, it's got a bad reputation because people buy a car that needs special care because it's cute and are surprised when it doesn't respond well to being neglected like a Yaris.

Related, but does anyone know if there's anything to look out for on the 2015 non-S models? I was eyeing one up as a daily commuter. I'm fine with the maintenance, I've got a high-mileage E90 so that's nothing new.

# ? Oct 7, 2016 17:50

InitialDave: Jun 14, 2007; I Want To Believe.

Why the Christ would you want to drive a BMW Mini rather than an E90?

# ? Oct 7, 2016 21:00

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# ? May 26, 2024 17:09

Saga: Aug 17, 2009

^^^^
e: 316i non-turbo auto cabrio versus Mini Works GP. There you go. ee: both of which probably cost about �28k when new!

BloodBag posted:

R56 non-turbo: fairly reliable and not really prone to breaking.
R56-S (turbo): stay the gently caress back.

The turbo is notorious for all the poo poo they tacked onto that engine to make power with it. The direct injection, the lovely little oil burning turbo. The reason the tensioners fail and the engine jumps timing is because fuckwits buy the things because "they're cute" and then proceed to follow Mini's stupid 15,000 mile oil change interval. The tensioners tension using oil pressure, and the N14 consumes oil fairly quickly due to a combination of that turbo and the rings, I guess. If you don't keep on top of the oil level in the N14/N16, the tensioners lose pressure and eventually the engine skips time, and you get a nice death rattle warning you about this poo poo a long time before it happens. Anyway, it's not hard to check the oil in these things, but most people are just dumb and don't get that these minis are just as much maintenance whores as their big brother BMWs are.

I keep on top of all the maintenance on my wife's R56 non S and it's been a perfectly reliable little car. I blame BMW/mini for that idiotically long oil change interval for giving the S minis a horrible reputation. Even the little N16 NA engine consumes about a quart every 3,000 miles. I halve the oil change interval to 6500-7500 on the mini just to make sure it doesn't get the death rattle. I'm primed and ready for the other main point of failure on these: GDCS. Other than that it's just a little grocery getter.

E: TL;DR, it's got a bad reputation because people buy a car that needs special care because it's cute and are surprised when it doesn't respond well to being neglected like a Yaris.

Yeah, I get that the non-turbos are basically fine, it's just I'm not going to step down from a 325ti with a (by modern standards!) indestructible M54 to a 120hp NA FWD car.

I don't think it's fair to blame dumb owners for following Mini's service recommendations. It just means, like you say, that BMW/Mini wanted to advertise very optimistic service intervals and also French engineers (presumably?) can't design a functional oil level sensor. You can't blame the owners for the exploding HPFP either, which is the same sort of poo poo Ford pulls with their diesels these days. Oh or the supposedly failure prone 6-speed?

Saga fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Oct 7, 2016

# ? Oct 7, 2016 21:15

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Horrible Mechanical Failures: Looks Like the Tin Man's Undies After Taco Tuesday

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