AI Stupid Question Thread II -- READ THE FIRST POST BEFORE ASKING YOUR QUESTION

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > AI Stupid Question Thread II -- READ THE FIRST POST BEFORE ASKING YOUR QUESTION

«‹›2 »

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Recently my power steering pump has been making an awful "nasely" whine that increases in pitch with RPMs. I checked the fluid, it was at the fill line so I filled up to max. Didn't help.
Today I bled the system of air (thought I doubt there was any air, just wanted to make sure) and it is still making a horrible noise. How long do I have before it stops working? It seems to work just fine except for the noise.

94 Saturn SL2, 132k miles

# ¿ Feb 22, 2007 21:09

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 18, 2024 20:40

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Pixelated posted:

The fuel filter in my 94 Chrysler Town & Country is due for replacement. The Haynes manual I have says to jumper one of the injectors to ground and +, to dump the residual pressured fuel into one of the cylinders.

This doesn't sound right to me or my grandfather, so is this right? if not, how would I do it?

Disable fuel pump by pulling the appropriate fuse, then start the car and run it until it stalls. On the fuel rail there should be a little cap that you can remove to reveal a schroeder valve that you can press to let out the pressure from the fuel rail. Keep a shop rag there, you don't want fuel spraying around your engine bay.

At least, thats how it was on my 94 saturn when I did it. Yours may be similar, or completely different :iiam:

# ¿ Feb 22, 2007 23:00

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Pixelated posted:

That worked! There was a lot of fuel left in the rail, and we panicked when it dripped off the rag ind inbetween the valve cover and intake plenum and started BOILING, but besides that and the stupid clamps, and the headache I have now from rolling around to get tools, it was pretty easy.

Thank you very much for the help.

No problem

Luckily gasoline evaporates incredibly quickly so you and your garage won't smell like gas for too long.

# ¿ Feb 23, 2007 01:23

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Idiot race posted:

Quick question

I've got some new brake rotors and they seem to be covered in some sort of greasy film. I'm pretty sure that it shouldn't go on the car covered with greasy stuff, so will brake cleaner be suitable for removing it?

Yeah, that coating is probably for rust prevention. I'd say go ahead and clean it off.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2007 00:21

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Dark Solux posted:

Recently my power steering pump has been making an awful "nasely" whine that increases in pitch with RPMs. I checked the fluid, it was at the fill line so I filled up to max. Didn't help.
Today I bled the system of air (thought I doubt there was any air, just wanted to make sure) and it is still making a horrible noise. How long do I have before it stops working? It seems to work just fine except for the noise.

94 Saturn SL2, 132k miles

Sorry to repeat myself but no one had any answers yet

I'll ask my Steering & Suspension teacher what he thinks... bah POS car.

# ¿ Feb 26, 2007 13:11

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

aventari posted:

if you're sure it's not the belt, it's probably the bearings inside the pump. They can get worn out quickly if the belt is overtightened. Same goes for water pumps, alternators, a/c pumps, etc.

I was thinking it was the bearings because the belt is just fine, and hasn't been removed or adjusted (well, has a self tensioner) since I did the alternator last summer. Sure sounds like bearings. Guess I'll drive it till it seizes...

# ¿ Feb 27, 2007 16:13

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

buns of molybdenum posted:

Is there anything fundamentally bad about a difference in camber of .5 degrees between the left and right front wheels? My left front is -1.5 and my right front is -2. I asked the guy to max out the negative camber as he could and that's what he said was the most he could get out of each. I assumed they would be closer than that but when I got the results I wasn't going to bitch and make him go redo it.

A cross camber of 30' is max spec for most cars, as long as the tolerance isn't stacked with something else (like castor). All thing being equal, it would pull to the left a little bit.

What are the measurements for the rest of the suspension? Caster, SAI, toe, ect.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2007 17:34

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

buns of molybdenum posted:

code:

Castor:         Left +3.10   Right +3.33
KPI:            Left +2.74   Right +2.50
Camber:         Left -1.50   Right -2.05
Toe:            Left +0.05   Right +0.04
Setback:        -0.19
Included Angle: Left +1.25   Right +0.44

Before the alignment it was pulling to the left but it doesn't seem to be pulling now.

What kind of car is this?

Also he probably adjusted the camber like that to make up for road crown.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2007 19:01

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

buns of molybdenum posted:

03 Evo 8. I asked for the front camber to be maxed out and for 0 toe.

Did he look at the rear suspension at all? It may just be that is the limits for camber, as in it came like that from the factory (compensated for road crown) if you want more then you will have to start replacng suspension bits/ drilling different sized bolt holes to put camber bolts in.

But that should be enough negative, eh?

# ¿ Mar 10, 2007 19:07

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Uthor posted:

FWD and all the wheels/tires are the same. I'm just wondering what regular oil change place will do. I plan on rotating them myself this week and want to keep going the same way the oil change people have been rotating them.

It's different with each manufacturer. Toyota is front to back, some are criss-cross. Also depends if you have a full size spare. I personally do criss cross, but then again it's just a saturn.

As struan87 said, there is no set standard.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2007 00:11

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Minto Took posted:

Sometime this year or next, my car will pass the magical 50k mile mark. When I replace my shocks, I figured I'd throw in aftermarket parts while I was down there for a stiffer ride and take care of wheel gap. My question is--for a daily driver--should I go all out with a coil-over kit or stick with sport shocks and springs? Also, when should I be concerned about camber angle and how would I adjust it?

for a daily driver I wouldn't go with coilovers. That'd be a hell of a stiff ride and you'd run the risk of bottoming out. What car?

Also, your camber angle will become more negative the more you drop the car. you adjust it with either cams on the upper and lower control arms, changing bolts on the strut, or something similar. Hard to say without knowing what car and what type of suspension it has. Or what your goals are- DD, solo2, track, ect.

# ¿ May 10, 2007 03:13

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

vwdriver posted:

Today I basically brushed up against a curb while parking. Is it a good idea to rebalance the tires?

If you notice a lack of wheel weights (there should be like an imprint where a weight was) and your steering wheel is shimmying or vibrating then sure, but generally wheels dont become out of balance unless you remount tires on them (The tire being the part that is generally out of balance).

# ¿ May 11, 2007 00:00

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Mario posted:

What's the best way to clean up some older (though unused) brake pads? These were left in the trunk by the previous owner of my car and I'm finally getting around to refreshing the brakes. They have a bit of rust on the friction surfaces as shown in this picture (this shows the worst of the set). https://wi.somethingawful.com/23/2317cc6fec98ac787b2f993c6b4829a9a6fea29a.jpg So do I use some fancy garnet paper or something, or just toss 'em on and everything will be fine?

Those look pretty bad, but if you trust your life to them, you can grind them down with sandpaper until they look new.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2007 22:31

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

ChlamydiaJones posted:

Also how much will I hate replacing the cabin microfilter? I've seen the steps on a couple sites and it looks hellish but has anyone ever actualy DONE it? Mine has 140k miles on it so I KNOW it's the reason my heater airflow is that of a flies wings....

Have you looked behind your glovebox? Thats where they are on toyotas, anyways :shobon:

# ¿ Jun 24, 2007 07:34

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Be Konstructive posted:

I don't think that this is enough to make an entire thread about it, so I'll post it here. I drive a '98 Saturn SL2 with 109,000 miles on it and have been doing most of the repairs myself. About a month ago the tensioner arm on the serpentine belt completely failed on my drive home from school, which is about a 30 mile drive. Long story short... no tension on the belt meant the alternator couldn't power the battery, which led me to replace the alternator and battery about a week later.

Over the past two days, a new problem has peaked into my rear view. My car, seemingly at random, refuses to start. I checked the connections to my battery (good) and alternator (good also). The battery is completely charged, and with the alternator being brand new, I am doubting that is the problem either. When I turn the ignition the car will make a "click," like it is trying to start, but will not get past that. The electric stuff in the car (windows, alarm, radio) all works fine. If I leave the car sitting somewhere for a few hours, it will start with ease and I can get a good 2-3 starts out of it, but if I run a quick errand, and try to start the car repeatedly within a few minutes, it seems only the will of Satan himself will turn my car from "piece of plastic on wheels that makes cool clicking sounds" to "go-machine." It will click once every time I try the ignition, but will usually start after half a dozen tries and some sweet talking to her. All of the fuses are fine also.

Does anyone have any idea what could be happening with my car? I have a feeling that it may be a faulty starter, and will bring it into a shop to confirm/deny, but am wondering if there are any other culprits that I should be on the lookout for.

I had a similar problem with my saturn sl2, and the starter finally quit on me.

Have fun replacing that loving starter :argh:

its inbetween the block and the firewall underneath the intake manifold and above the steering rack.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2007 02:07

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Hutla posted:

I have a 2000 Honda Civic. I just got my emissions checked and the report came back saying that there is an O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction. Is this something that I need to go to a repair shop for, or could my dad possibly fix it with some ineffective help from me?

If I need to go to a shop, how do I find a good one that won't screw me over because I'm a girl? I'm in Atlanta if it helps.

02 Sensors are fairly straightforward to replace. Did they say what sensor it was? Bank 1 sensor 1 or bank 1 sensor 2?

# ¿ Jul 10, 2007 12:15

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Hughmoris posted:

I have a question about running the A/C and the effect it has on fuel efficiency.

I am going off the assumption that running the A/C on my '96 Mercury Cougar will decrease my gas mileage. My question is, will I lose even more mpg if I run the A/C on the highest/max fan setting compared to if I just run it on low fan speed? If there is a loss, is it noticeable enough to pay attention to? Thanks.

Well, the A/C is working harder when you are pushing more warm air through the evaporator. However, changing the blower speed from low to high probably isn't going to affect the MPG that much.

Food for thought: The air comming out of the vent is at it's coldest when the fan is on low and warmest (relativly speaking) when the fan is on high.

# ¿ Jul 24, 2007 00:45

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

grzydj posted:

What exactly does the dealer do when they flush your cooling system? I recently did all my 30k interval maintenance on my '04 WRX. All I have left to do is have the fuel injection system cleaned/flushed and the cooling system flushed. Subaru says that it's vital to the engine, and for my remaining warranty.

I realize I can basically only drain my radiator with the tools that I have, so I'm wondering what it is that their magical flushing system does exactly. Same thing with the fuel injection cleaning.

I've never owned a new car before, so this is all new territory for me.

Well the easy way for the DIYer to do it is to drain all you can out of the system, then put a garden hose in the top of the radiator and blast the system out with water. Once you see clear water come out of the hoses (disconnect the heater core hose) then it should be flushed.

But it won't be as complete as doin it the way we do it at the dealership, which is blast coolant backwards through the thermostat (30 pounds of pressure to open the thermostat backwards) flushing the old coolant out with the new.

# ¿ Aug 6, 2007 23:03

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

grzydj posted:

I did that with my old Toyota's before with decent results. I guess I'll just have to buck up and pay the dealership to do this and the fuel injection cleaning thing.

Fuel injection cleaning?

Sounds like they'll pour some poo poo in your gas tank and spray carb cleaner down your intake tract.

If you're lucky they will do a treatment similar to seafoam (suck it in through a vacume hose). It is fun when we do that. Smoke ahoy!

# ¿ Aug 7, 2007 22:25

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Endor posted:

I'm curious about whether my car is exhibiting "bump steer", if it has some other kind of suspension/steering/alignment problem, or if this is normal:

In a recent thread, someone mentioned "Bump Steer". From what I've read, it describes an issue that happens when you drive on uneven pavement (like an asphalt road with big "ruts" going parallel to the direction of travel) and your wheels have a tendency to turn themselves without any input from the steering wheel. The driver has to rapidly correct the steering wheel back and forth to keep the car going straight.

My 2005 RX8 does something kind of like this on occasion. There's a regular asphalt road near my house with fairly deep ruts because of heavy truck travel. As I drive through the section with the deepest ruts, my steering wheel exhibits a tendency to turn itself in one direction, either left or right depending on where my tires are positioned on the ruts. If I hold onto the wheel tightly, the car will continue to go straight, meaning the tires don't move independent of the steering wheel. I just have to "fight" the steering wheel to make it go straight. If I were to let go of the wheel, the car would swerve in one direction pretty rapidly.

Can someone tell me whether this is something I should get examined by a mechanic, or is this normal? My girlfriend's CR-V doesn't seem to exhibit this problem as severely when driving on the same roads. Is this just because my RX8 has a more sport-tuned suspension?

Bump steer is caused by the tie rods moving in an arc and thus changing length as the suspension moves up and down. If one wheel moves up or down more than the other, the tie rod will move in or out (in the travel of the arc) and cause the steering wheel to turn to the left or right. Bump steer doesn't occur when both sides of the suspension move up and down in unison because the tie rods change length equally and the net change (in total toe) is zero.

There is nothing you can do about it really.

We need a suspension megathread I think..

# ¿ Aug 9, 2007 00:01

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Man In The Boat posted:

I understand superchargers improve performance, especially at low RPMs compared to turbos. A big drawback to them is that they reduce fuel economy. Why aren't there superchargers on a clutch which is engaged when the throttle reaches a certain position or the driver flips a switch? This would improve fuel economy for normal driving and still provide an improvement in performance.

Is it because the torque load (or whatever it's called) required to engage the supercharger is too high for a clutch that would fit? Is it that starting and stopping the supercharger would ruin the bearings or vanes?

Toyota had a system like this for their Previa I believe. Most people looking at supercharged cars aren't the same people looking for fuel sippers. Unless its one of those tiny 1L forced induction cars :v:

# ¿ Sep 26, 2007 01:30

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

tkNukem posted:

In a car with a standard transmission...
is it wise to open the throttle/press the accelerator all the way when in a high gear?

The V6 camry was never offered with a standard. You have the 4 cyl (5s-fe/2az-fe). And it won't damage it too much. However it isn't reccomended. Lugging the engine and all that.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2007 20:55

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

tkNukem posted:

yes sir, it was - the standard came standard on the 1993 Camry SE V6, from what i understand. either way, my 3vz-fe engine has a 5 speed next to it. are you thinking of the gen 3.5's and up that have the 1mz-fe?

in any event, would having a v6 make a difference? I mean, applying gas at low rpms in a high gear would affect the drivetrain moreso than the engine, right?

Yeah I was thinking the ones with the 1mz/3mz/2gr-fe. My mistake. Your car should be fine. It would affect the engine moreso than the drivetrain-- The drivetrain isn't seeing much shock from the sudden application of throttle when its so down low. I'd be more concerned about lugging the engine. But I'm sure it will be fine.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2007 22:53

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Oddhair posted:

Thanks for your responses, and thanks Uthor for the Golfmkv forums, I had already joined vwvortex.

I know you aren't both telling me that coasting uses no gas at all, obviously there's still combustion, just less gas than accelerating or maintaining speed. It just seems to me that the engine idling at ~800 RPM is going to net me less fuel usage than ~2000-3000, no matter if I'm accelerating, coasting or decelerating at 2000.

Engine coasting/braking uses no fuel. When you let your foot off the gas and are engine braking, the injectors do not inject any fuel. The computer will see that the throttle position sensor is at idle, manifold vacuum is high, and the O2 sensors go full lean and will go into open loop to stop the process of injecting fuel. When the RPMs of the engine drop below a certain point (a little bit above idle speed) the injectors will start opening again and combustion will occur.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2007 22:07

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

jailbait#3 posted:

What does a typical ECU do when a sensor (MAF in this case) is unplugged? How long does it take for it to use default settings? The car in question is a 2001 Saturn l300 v6.

It will run in open loop, you will have horrible fuel economy and possibly some drivability issues. It will err on the rich side, possibly causing your catalytic converter to overheat and stop working correctly.

And if you unplug it with the key on engine off it will still throw a code.

# ¿ Dec 11, 2007 06:37

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

jailbait#3 posted:

I'm wondering because I think the MAF may be bad (it's failed once already). I had hoped that an unplugged MAF would result in default settings. The bastard MAF is telling the ECM the car is lean, when in fact it is running extremely rich. You'd think that the O2 sensors would catch that...

The 02 sensor is the only way the computer knows if the car is running rich or lean. The MAF just measures intake air velocity and temperature (density).

What car is it? If it's a toyota I can pull up the testing procedure (using a DMM) to see if its outputting false data.

edit: duh its a saturn, sorry

# ¿ Dec 12, 2007 06:12

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

deviant. posted:

No. Seafoam only removes deposits. You could try a "high mileage" oil since they're supposed to condition seals in older engines.

It will be pricey (I think the belt on my car ran 3-400 due to all the labor), but if the chain (Saturns of that era used timing chains instead of belts) snaps you will be left without a running car at the least. I don't know if the 1.9 is an interference engine, but if it is you will smash up your pistons and valves.

I guess it depends on how long you plan on keeping it. It's only six years old, and if it's still in good shape the chain replacement is cheap insurance.

There's a TSB out for the oil burning but frankly I doubt it does much. If you want it, PM me and I'll email it.

And it has a timing chain that lasts the lifetime of the engine. Non interference as well. So don't worry about that.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2008 04:53

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Zero Gravitas posted:

If the battery light on my 1994 Camry is turning on occasionally is it worth replacing the battery, or should I just go straight to the auto electrician and get them to look at the alternator?

Probably best to get the alternator bench tested (take it off and take it to autozone or something).

That light means the voltage is dropping when the engine is running and the alternator isn't putting out enough.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2008 05:45

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

GWBBQ posted:

91 Lincoln Mark VII
Check engine light blinks steadily under heavy acceleration, occasionally under light acceleration. Blinking supposedly means the fault corrected itself, but I'm not convinced. Any ideas?

Generally means heavy misfiring. Not a good thing to be driving around on.

aksuur posted:

So I finally figured out that I had a bad spark plug wire, been running like that for at least 2-3 weeks. How could that kind of long-term misfiring affect the cylinder/rest of the car? After I figured out the problem, I put a can of Seafoam in the fuel tank to help clean out the injectors. I'm wondering if there are other things I should be concerned about.

Running like that would be dumping unburnt fuel down the exhaust, which is quite bad for the catalytic converter. Cause it to overheat and melt the substrate and all that.

# ¿ Feb 29, 2008 13:37

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

BabyJesus posted:

Stupid Question:

With my car in neutral (6-speed MT) and the front two wheels off the ground (FWD)...is it normal if the tires rotate VERY slowly? I can stop them easily with my hand, but when I let off they start again.

I couldn't decide if it was the vibration causing this or if something was hosed up in my drivetrain somewhere. This car only had 11k miles on it, and I drive it normally (no clutch dumping, etc).

That's normal, the input shaft for the transmission is swirling the fluid around in the transmission and thus everything else swirls a bit too.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2008 15:40

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Bahamutsrage posted:

I got into a little argument with a friend of mine regarding his automatic transmission. Everytime he goes to Drive, Neutral or Reverse he just quickly pulls that poo poo right into place.

Now I've been taught to do it one by one slowly because (I think) it could gently caress up the transmission or something of that nature. He on the other hand loving just shifts in the speed of light and the car doesn't sound like it's taking it well

One by one and slow is the way to do it? Or just shifting it really quickly is alright and won't do anything?

The car is a 2007 Camry by the way

That transmission (U660 if it is the 2GR V6, U250 if it is the 2AZ I4) is completely electronically controlled; When he goes from park to drive it it just sending signals to the transmission computer. Also interesting to note that it will shift to second and then first when you move it to drive in order to reduce shift shock

# ¿ Mar 28, 2008 03:05

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

SAVE BIG posted:

I'm sure this is stupid, but I'm stuck and can't find anything on-line. I'm not much of a car person - I apologize in advance for incorrect terminology.

I'm trying to replace the front rotors on a 93 Mazda Protege. After battling with the rusted brake pad assembly, I finally got it disassembled, but can't get the rotor off. I've done this before on a different car where the rotor was just freely sitting on the bolts, but after some research I guess some rotors are attached to the wheel hub. However, everywhere I look seems to say that in this case, there would be two Phillip's head screws holding it on. My rotor does not have this. For reference, here's a picture of what the rotor looks like (not my actual car):

The only thing I could think that would be holding it on would be some sort of screw in that little hole off-center from the upper right corner. However, if I look into that hole, the sides are threaded, but all I see is a flat metal surface that there's no way I could screw out. Is something here somehow holding the rotor on? Will I have to try to drill it out? If I remove the spindle nut will I be able to get to it from the other side (some Q&A sites seem to imply this may be the case for some cars)? I've also read that in many case the rotor could get rusted to the hub - based on the amount of rust I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. I tried to lightly knock the rotor loose a bit, but to no avail. Is the rotor still attached somewhere, or am I gonna just have to bust a rusty connection.

Big hammer, or try threading a bolt into that hole. It will seperate the rotor from the hub.

Or you might have to take that spindle nut off. Generally they are just rusted where the rotor meets the hub. When you get it off, try to grind/sand some of the rust off, then apply anti-seize on the rotor mounting surface. Most of the rust should just flake off though.

# ¿ May 8, 2008 03:58

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

That is a weighted damper for the exhaust system. Keeps vibration down but most people don't notice a difference when they fall off. That is deffinatly off your toyota, judging by the toyota part number

# ¿ Oct 25, 2008 18:26

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

foundtomorrow posted:

I need to know this:

On a 2005 Ford Escape:

The headlights are turned on at night. The bright lights are then engaged clicking the left stalk(the headlight stalk) forward. Now the brights are engaged. Do the brights turn on along with the low beams or do the low beams turn off and the high beams stay on by themselves?

This is a two-bulb setup, not a dual filament.

Thanks.

The low beams shut off when the high beams are are. When high beams are on, your foglights (if OEM and on a seperate switch from the lowbeams) will shut off as well. Having a lot of foreground light (running low beams+high beams) compromises your vision at night, not allowing you to see in the distance, which defeats the whole purpose of high beams.

# ¿ Oct 31, 2008 03:01

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

No, they will instantly fail it for the check engine light being on. Get it scanned and fix it before you get a NYSI or you'll be out :10bux:

for no reason.

# ¿ Nov 9, 2008 19:41

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

jlboan posted:

I have a 1998 Chrysler Concorde LXI with the 3.2 v6 with around 145k on it. A while back it started making this annoying (but not horrible) clunking noise when going over bumps. Over time this has gotten worse to the point that even slight imperfections in the road cause this sound, and I can feel the vibration of the impact of whatever it is in the floorboard with my feet. It seems to be worse when going uphill, but not limited to that. Also, it pulls both directions. Seriously. Whichever direction I last turned, that is the way the wheel pulls, and it does not get better over a relatively long straight distances (after 50 miles on a highway with few curves, its still pulls in the direction that I turned to get onto the highway). Sometimes it feels like it pulls harder than other times, I'm thinking it is when I make a number of turns in the same direction without turning back the other way, it gets to the point where I have to noticeable put some force into keeping the wheel straight.

Here’s what I’ve done to try and resolve the issue so far:
� All new struts about 2 years ago ($1600 of pain)
� Replaced drivers tie rod just before that (about $30 in parts and beer money for my ex’s dad who replaced it while possibly high on meth)
� Had driver's tie rod end replaced about 3 months ago, $450. After this the steering felt tighter for a couple of days, but still pulls both ways and the noise is still there. Took it to two different shops before I had this done. At one shop we jacked it up and grabbed the wheel and it was fairly loose, so new tie rod ends were necessary.

Do you guys have any idea of what I should be looking for? This thing is really becoming a money pit, but I can’t really do without, and I’m afraid if I take it back to the shop it will just be another $500 down the drain.

This is a classic case of a bad strut bearing. Memory steering and clunking as it compresses/uncompresses and gets stuck trying to spin in it's bearing race.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2008 21:34

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

jlboan posted:

Thanks! My heartfelt appreciation for the help. Since my struts are newish, should I see about the warranty, or is this a different part? Sorry, I'm not so good with suspension parts.

Unless specified, they probably reused your old strut mounts with the new struts. Which means in order to do the strut mounts, they have to unbolt the whole strut assembly and compress it. Unless they mentioned replacing it/its on the invoice/you got loaded struts then its not a parts warrenty claim.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2008 05:26

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Slipping belt, slipping on your vane pump pulley. Probably need a new belt at the very least.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2009 21:42

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Polynomial posted:

I'm having a hell of a time finding a Haynes or a Chilton's manual for my 2005 Toyota Matrix. Is it listed as a Corolla or something?

The Corolla manual should be just fine, mechanically they are identical with the exception of the AWD matrix. However, as far as I know, chilton/haynes don't even make repair manuals for the corolla/ corolla matrix.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2009 00:34

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 18, 2024 20:40

Dark Solux: Dec 8, 2004; Old School Saturn God

Polynomial posted:

Thanks for the info. I think I've seen Corolla ones from Haynes. Ahh, yes, here it is.. I've seen some good deals on ebay for the Toyota 3-volume set. I wonder if that'll be way too technical for a casual tinkerer such as myself?

Another option is to get a 1 day subscription to techinfo.toyota.com, that is the same information dealers use. Just download the PDF files for your car. And print when you need them. But the 3 volume set is rather overkill for a casual tinkerer. But the Haynes one probably isn't as detailed as you might like.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2009 03:17

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > AI Stupid Question Thread II -- READ THE FIRST POST BEFORE ASKING YOUR QUESTION

«‹›2 »