|
zundfolge posted:so the previous owner didn't have any warning that anything was amiss until the temp gauge pegged. Other than the great cloud of steam or the big puddle of green under the car, but who notices little things like that? quote:Beancounters Cheapskate car buyers  I know, I know - playing Devil's advocate. I, for one, would pay $100 more per car for this or that part to be metal rather than plastic/bolted rather than riveted/routed differently/etc. edit: got my Cherokee inspecticated. Passed emissions with flying colors - nice for 230K miles. First time I've inspected it. It had a fresh cat on it from the PO, but I honestly had no idea how it would do, other than it seems to run well. Guy at the Kwik Kar liked my "2.5L - Low Output" sticker on the back. Darchangel fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Nov 19, 2013 |
#
¿
Nov 19, 2013 17:23
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 15, 2024 11:14 |
|
|
Rhyno posted:I broke the driver side seat belt retractor in the Miata. Not sure how I did it but I heard a snap and now it won't retract. Clock spring snapped from fatigue, most likely. It happens.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 10, 2013 11:10
|
|
|
drukqs posted:Installed this bad boy about 45 minutes ago The proper, and more manly, solution is to modify the bracketry.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 20, 2013 00:50
|
|
|
Happy Goon Year! I installed the Pioneer double DIN I got my wife for Christmas in her Kia Spectra5. There was nothing really wrong with the factory radio, but she wanted Bluetooth for the phone, and iPod control. It's a little bright, but you can adjust the color to mitigate that. I love the single giant knob in the middle for the primary control. Easy to use while driving. Also replaced the weak power for lock motor in my Cherokee.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2014 21:05
|
|
|
some texas redneck posted:New phone mount came in. Old one was a cheapie from Wal-Mart, and it was stuck to the center stack with double sided tape. It was kinda ugly, and couldn't hold the new phone anyway (the N4 barely fit in it). I was looking at one of those for my Heep. I already have a Rockform case with the built in magnet on my iPhone, and the matching magnet on the dash, bit it's really too low for nav use. One thing that appealed to me was their claims of a super suction cup. I've had several cheapies have the base get hot enough to deform and no longer pull the cup in enough to stick. I'm hoping the Rockform magnet and the mount magnet will play nice. My luck they'll repel each other and shot the phone into the back seat.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 9, 2014 08:24
|
|
|
Drilled out the bolt that holds down the jack and stuff under the rear seat in the Cherokee. Some dipshit previous owner spilled something back there and didn't dry it out, so any exposed metal rusted up under there. It's a through bolt, so I just drilled it to the tap size, chiseled out the little remaining bit, and chased the threads with a tap. Found a brand new jack and handle in a Grand Cherokee, and a clean bolt last yard visit. All I had time for last weekend. I've got a rear wiper and switch, wiper delay box, and fog light switch waiting to go in when I have time and the cold isn't making all those plastic bits brittle. Oh, and a factory roof rack. Then I need to find a headliner.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 10, 2014 20:53
|
|
|
Kill-9 posted:Found it. It was the oil pump dying. I've now got zero oil pressure. Damnit. Dang. Did you find it before an engine damage?
|
|
#
¿
Feb 10, 2014 20:54
|
|
|
I had to finally replace the battery in my Cherokee as well. Actually, this was the Optima red top from my Cutlass, which got moved to my 90 RX-7, and then to my Cherokee. I moved it to the Cherokee when it started having trouble spinning the rotary fast enough to start it easily. The Jeep took less to get it started, so I swapped them. I knew it would have to replaced eventually. What got me, though, was that it gave up suddenly. Started fine in the morning, started fine after work, started fine at the hardware store, then when I stopped to get gas, barely a click. 8V on the meter. A nice lady let me jump the thing off of her car, and away I went to O'Reilly's. $120 later, and everything's fine. The Optima was from 2005, so I guess I got my money's worth. e: typos
|
|
#
¿
Apr 15, 2014 19:51
|
|
|
Cross-post from the Jeep thread, and it was actually a couple of weeks ago, but I've been a slacker about getting the pictures uploaded:Darchangel posted:Installed some more upgrades on my stripper SE XJ. I like my junk to have all the toys.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 23, 2014 21:50
|
|
|
Replaced the oil pressure sender on my XJ Cherokee. It went open lead (which is pegged high on the gauge) 13 months after I put it in. Fortunately, I was thinking when I bought it, and got the slightly more expensive (~$5) lifetime warrantied version. Boo-yah! It gets a wash and an oil change tomorrow, and then Monday it will take me from DFW to Longview, TX for a week for work. Looking forward to seeing what kind of highway mileage it gets (poor, I'm sure).
|
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2014 07:16
|
|
|
Lamar Smith R-TX posted:I'm betting you're talking about the red one... Yeah it is seriously decked out. It's owned by a friend who parts out MR2's for a living. I told him something along the lines of "your car is built out of other peoples' misery and poor decisions" which, I mean, it totally is. He cherry picks certain items out of totaled MR2's and they get installed onto this one. This sounds like how I'm slowly upgrading my Cherokee. From super poverty spec base model, it now has a center console, overhead console with temp and compass, power windows, power door locks, power mirrors, better seats from a Grand Cherokee, cargo light, underdash courtesy lights, leather steering wheel, and will soon have delay wipers and cruise control. Still a 4-banger 2WD though... After an oil change, wash, and a coolant change over the weekend (and a bit of an engine-bay cleaning), it got me the 146 miles from DFW to Longview, TX for work with no problem. 70-85 most of the way (75 MPH speed limit, gently caress yeah!), AC all the way.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 18, 2014 23:20
|
|
|
Changed the oil in my diff, and painted it while I was at it. I hate rust. I've been meaning to change the oil since I bought it, over a year ago.   One more to go - I still need to flush and fill the brakes to have changed all the fluids. Clutch I can't really do anything about, because Jeep went with a plastic master and slave with no bleeder. You buy it all as a pre-filled assembly.  e: I'm going to paint the disc hubs and calipers to match eventually. White because the exterior of the Jeep is white, and I didn't want ricer red or yellow. Blue was an option, as was cast-iron grey. Darchangel fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Sep 25, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2014 01:09
|
|
|
EightBit posted:My 2000 tj has the factory fluid in the clutch hydraulics, and it's still clear as new fluid. Just saying that it might not need to be changed if you haven't left the cap off. it's a little dark, and it seems to stick a little at the bottom sometimes, when the pedal is to the floor. Being all plastic, there's not too much rust possibility, at least. Bovril Delight posted:I'm so confused about the angle of this truck on the jackstands. ? The camera is at an angle because I was lying on the ground at the time and it was difficult to see the image on the phone. The driveway does slope down towards the street, AND down towards the garage. The chunk of concrete under the stands is the only level spot on my driveway. Is that what you mean? Also, I'd like to gloat for a moment about the complete lack of rust under there: Look at it, ye Northerners, and weep at what you will never have.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2014 18:10
|
|
|
Love that 2-seater tonneau cover.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 15, 2014 23:47
|
|
|
SperginMcBadposter posted:Replaced that other rear hub on the car. Had to drown the old one in pb blaster to get it to separate from the brake drum. Also changed out the thermostat because the old one wasn't closing and the temp gauge would tank when the car was moving or the heater was running. For some reason the leak where the endtank attaches to the radiator core stopped happening after I changed the thermostat. Did you try to use the threaded hole in the drum to separate them? That's what it's for. Though, looking at it, that hole is pretty grody too.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 13, 2014 01:29
|
|
|
Memento posted:Adding to this, drums that have screws holding them on, like these ones, will have the same thread in the hole as the screw. This might tempt you to use the screw to get it off. Don't. If you didn't need to use a centrepunch to get those screws out and wrecked them, you'll wreck them trying to get them in that hole with a screwdriver. Oh, hell no, don't use the bolts that hold on the disc/drum. Those things are made of only the finest cheese, and will strip/mangle if you look at them wrong. They're usually too short to use for popping off the drum anyway. I have no idea why they make those things so soft. e: and yeah, they're pretty much just there to hold the disc/drum on during assembly.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 13, 2014 21:08
|
|
|
some texas redneck posted:I actually do have a factory petcock on mine, but it flows so slowly that it's easier to just remove the hose. Makes more of a mess, but gets the job done a lot quicker. I also found the block drain plug as well, which will make a hell of a mess unless I can get my hand on a set of ramps (any DFW goons have a set I can borrow next week? or at least a decent floor jack so I don't have to use the stock emergency jack to get it onto stands?).. I've got a set (had 'em since I was 17!) you can borrow/use, but I'm way over in Euless.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 18, 2014 16:29
|
|
|
Rhyno posted:Was winterizing the Miata (it gets to live under a cover for a few weeks while I play with the Civic some more) and checked my tire pressure. 18psi on three wheels, 11 on the third. Holy gently caress. I checked the tire pressures on my RX-7 yesterday and had about the same. Hadn't driven it since it got cold here in TX. E: guess I better check the Cherokee, too.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2014 15:36
|
|
|
Rhyno posted:I neglected to mention that I had just driven it the other day after a few weeks of not touching it. I remembered to check before I drove it this last time, but I'm pretty sure they we just as low the previous time I had it out. My Cherokee is my daily, but I try to drive the RX-7 once a week or so to keep everything fresh.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 1, 2014 06:33
|
|
|
PhoenixWing posted:That's basically it. Liquified gas under high pressure that sprays out of the portion that burst. Here's a little video of one going off in a VW Bus: http://youtu.be/Kswau1mGBE8 I think I need to get some of those. Where do you get them (I'll probably Google later, on phone now, but it would help to know what they tend to be called)? Got a new tire for the Cherokee this morning. It had 3 Goodyears and 1 Firestone when I got it. Discount Tire wouldn't move the Firestone to the aluminum wheels when I got those (too old, and dry rotting), so I ended up with a new Kumho. One of the Goodyears was just about to the wear bars, and I suspected a vibration the truck had was coming from that tire, so I replaced it with another Kumho. Happily, that did take care of the vibration, and now I have matched pairs on each axle. Now I'm sitting waiting while it gets state inspection.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 20, 2014 19:41
|
|
|
Geirskogul posted:They're called the blazecut, and around $200. Worth it. Sweet, thanks. I'll check them out. The Jeep passed inspection and emissions with flying colors. Numbers are great, particularly considering almost 243K miles on the original engine.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 20, 2014 20:30
|
|
|
Yerok posted:The 22RE in my 1986 Toyota blew the head gasket today at 148k. How is that even possible? Buying a head gasket kit and trying to get it done tomorrow. Make sure you actually blew the head gasket. I replaced the head gasket in my girlfriend's (now wife) '78 Celica because it was burping up chocolate milkshake through the PCV Turned out the loving Pep Boys water pump had gone bad in less than 6 moths and drilled a hole in the back of the water pump housing, which on a 20R happens to be the front of the timing cover. I was extremely pissed about spending the time to do the gasket and then still having milkshake... Hers still ran OK - I just assumed that the gasket had eroded between the water jacket and the oil passages. If yours is running like it's got a bad cylinder, that I imagine that the head gasket is actually the problem. I wish we had kept that car - '78 Celica ST coupe. Sold it for like $300 when we bought her '96 Sonoma. Solid car (we put in a used Japanese 18RG-U to replace the 20R after the milkshake. Ran great.)
|
|
#
¿
Jan 2, 2015 05:51
|
|
|
Helped a 20-year-old kid in the local RX-7 group partially rebuild the front end on his '79 RX-7, which he inherited from his dad, who bought it new. He's managing a lot of stuff by himself, but while he has access to some tools, his dad is more of a woodworker. He managed to do the springs and struts OK by himself, woth some coaching over the phone and internet, but was a bit lost with doing the control arm, sway bar bushings, and the radius rod bushings.He had to replace the control arm because the thin stamped steel on the '7s doesn't like it if you don't press the ball joint out and in juuuuuust right, and you end up with a loose ball joint fit, which he did. He can have that one tack welded as a backup, later, but for now we just put in a complete control arm (which is the way the manual wants you to do it anyway.) No real problems, fortunately. We're in north Texas, so rust on fasteners isn't really an issue, EXCEPT the dang spacer tube on the end links rusted to the long bolt. On one side, we just let it go with the control arm, but I had to cut the other one off at the control arm end. New ones are nice Energy Suspension pieces (as are all the bushings) with coated parts, so he should be OK in the future. I had to teach him the trick of making low ramps out of 2x6 lumber (actually, mine are 2x12s) to roll the car onto in order to get a jack under a slightly-too-low car, at least until he gets a shorter jack. The new Racing Beat springs lowered the car enough that his regular jack wouldn't quite fit. It's a nice car. It needs a paint refresh, but is in very good shape, and is almost painfully stock. He's doing a little bit of modding on the suspension, but the majority of the car is to remain stock. A little more stock than I would aim for, but I'll take that over ricing out a very nice original car. He's also acquired and '80 that's been hacked up a bit, so he's going to go nuts on that one - widebody, turbo 13B, etc.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 4, 2015 06:10
|
|
|
doogle posted:
That happened when I replaced the stock springs in my '90 RX-7 with Racing Beat sport springs, The silly thing ended up slightly higher that it started, the stockers were so worn out.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2015 19:48
|
|
|
Fixed the parking brake on the P71 CV - PO hadn't engaged the cable on the actuator. Needed that to pass inspection. I also like having a functioning parking brake, even in an automatic. He also got one of the brake pads a little askew, fortunately, that din;t hurt anything, and I put it back together correctly. since I was on a roll, I re-enabled the dome light (it was set to the police-preferred "dark car" setting, so the dome light did not come on with the doors.) I had to remove a shorting plug in a connector under the steering column, and disconnect the battery to get the body computer to acknowledge the change. Why they couldn't just use a 3-position switch like most Japanese cars, I have no idea. Replaced the bulbs in the dome and map light with (much brighter) LEDs. also changed the trunk release button, which on P71 is mounted in the middle of the dash, to only work with the ignition, rather than battery. Painted the rear wheels last weekend, so put those back on after the brake work was done. Front wheels get painted this weekend.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 3, 2015 23:44
|
|
|
Replaced the water pump on the P71, because it wasn't the alternator bearings making all that noise. I would have known this before I bought the tool to remove the special snowflake overrunning clutch-equipped alternator pulley (I was just going to replace the bearings, because $200 200A alternator) if I had taken the time to pull the belt and spin everything by hand FIRST. Fortunately the tool was only $25. Also replaced the belt while I was in there, because it was starting to look crack-y. Yesterday, I replace the EGR assembly because the DFPE was bad, and it's integrated. That seems to have done the trick, since all monitors except the catalyst monitor show ready, and no MIL. I'll go get it inspected Saturday morning, so I can finally get it registered on Monday (TX - unified sticker now.) Then my new cop car will be all legal! 
|
|
#
¿
Apr 10, 2015 20:10
|
|
|
Left Ventricle posted:I swapped out my worn-out bench seat in my old man Buick Century wagon for some buckets and a console from a Celebrity Eurosport VR I found at a yard. (Click for bigger.) Those look noice! PhoenixWing posted:Found out today that Pick n Pull refuses to sell alloy wheels and instead ships them all direct to a metal recycler. A Pulsar finally came in with it's original wheels still on it, and they wont even let me buy them I hate it when yards do that. I know it makes them more money, but... I can't find a transmission or carburetor (!) in my favorite yard at all, and you have to go find the aluminum wheels pile and sort through it. Same with driveshafts and fuel pumps (I'm looking for an EFI fuel pump assembly to add to a non-EFI tank.) P71 Crown Vic passed inspection no problem on Saturday, got reg and plates Monday morning. All mine, and all legal! Replaced the missing "Police Interceptor" badge on Sunday:  Need to flush and fill all the fluids, just to be safe.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2015 19:02
|
|
Saw them behind a locked gate propped neatly against a wall. 
|
Professor Bling posted:Replaced the fuel filter on my RX-4. The only reason this is noteworthy is it involved removing a trim panel in the trunk, climbing into the trunk, and then getting to the filter, because apparently hiding the filter up in the farthest forward corner of the upper passenger side of the trunk was a great plan. Turns out when you're 6'3 with bear paws for hands, you end up knuckle-knocking the trunklid arm assembly about six loving times just putting a new filter in. Wow. I believe I would see about relocating that little jewel to somewhere reasonable.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 22, 2015 21:18
|
|
|
Found a 2003 Grand Marquis in the wrecking yard with minimal damage, and pulled out the seats and carpet for my P71 crown Vic a while back. Put the back seat and carpet in last weekend. Just plopped the carpet right over the cop-spec rubber floor mat. It was thin enough that there was no problem, and I should get a little bit more sound and heat barrier out of it. Out with the old:  In with the new:   Cleaned all of the lower plastics while they were out to fit the carpet, too. Front seats will be dealt with later. I'd like to keep my center console, so may have to do some modifications to the Grand Marq seats. Also grabbed the underdash panels with courtesy lights, and the headlight switch and daylight sensor out of the Grand Marquis. A little under-the-dash wiring needed for that, and it's finally blazing hot and humid here in TX, so that will likely wait for a month or two. Need to build another subwoofer box specifically for the CV's trunk shelf - the test box sounds fine, but it's your basic cube, and takes up a third of the cargo well.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 6, 2015 00:07
|
|
|
ShittyPostmakerPro posted:Greased the brake rotor faces while I was at it to hopefully stop some of the brake squealing. Wait, what?
|
|
#
¿
Aug 20, 2015 18:27
|
|
|
ShittyPostmakerPro posted:I was wondering if anyone actually reads half the stuff that people write in here. I had to read it several times because I was sure I missed a word or something.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 21, 2015 01:43
|
|
|
jhcain posted:Took the old engine and trans out. Way behind, but hell, yes! The Crown Vic P71 started sqeaking a bit in reverse, then chattering at speed, then picked up a vibration. Nothing rubbing on the driveshaft, so out it came for inspection. Hmmm:   I don't like rust-colored dust anywhere near bearings. Felt a little crunchy when moving, too. Uh. Where the gently caress did they go? Remember that rust-colored dust? Yeah.   Spicer to the rescue! (in stock at O'Reilly's, even!)  Greasable, this time.  Genuine cop!: 
|
|
#
¿
Jan 18, 2016 22:46
|
|
|
kastein posted:I don't think Spicer makes any subaru size ujoints. Rockford driveline does, though. Glad I got the Spicers then, not that I'll be abusing a daily driver street car all that much. The OEM non-greasable joints lasted 10 years, after all.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2016 19:23
|
|
|
Powershift posted:Could be worse, you could have tried backing it off with a ratching box end wrench. That's just what I was thinking. Get the bolt backed out just enough to trap the wrench/socket/ratchet. I forget precisely when, but I've been there.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2016 00:56
|
|
|
kastein posted:That exact situation is why I now own two 9/16 gearwrenches and one 9/16 stubby gearwrench*. I just this weekend looked at a Pop Mech article on "things to throw out of your garage right now". One of the tips was "extra/duplicate tools", and I remember thinking: "are these people insane? There's no such thing as 'extra' tools." There's always some point where you will need two of a thing to get something in or out.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 1, 2016 20:34
|
|
|
ShittyPostmakerPro posted:Just get one of these: Now I'm tempted to put one of those in my Crown Vic. Because. kastein posted:If you don't put a duck call on that BOV you are doing it wrong SAC. The first time I saw that video I nearly killed myself laughing. Then I realized that you could do the same thing with the business end of a whoopie cushion. One day, I will have a turbocharged car. And it will make farty noises. I'm enough of a nerd that I would put in a solenoid diverter valve to make it selective.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 2, 2016 00:38
|
|
|
Tamir Lenk posted:Now, waiting for new cylinders to replace the possibly 50-year-old brakes in there, I got to play with a new toy. I need to get myself a parts cleaner. Cleaning in a bucket or tub works, but... I polished one of the headlights on my wife's Kia. The left one had been replaced due to an accident, making the right one, which was original 2008 and sad in the first place, look even sadder:  It was bad enough to need the little 4-step sanding kit included in the Meguire's kit. This is after just the first pass of polish:  You can see the crunchy bits on the top right, and along the bottom.There's a little over by the bullet light on the left, too, obscured by the glare. After the four grades of wet super-fine sandpaper, I polished just the center to show the contrast:  Finishing the polish, we have this:  Still a tad fuzzy compared to the new one, made to appear worse by the glare from the setting sun on that side, but acceptable.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 4, 2016 18:27
|
|
|
Ries posted:Bought some new wipers and installed them minutes before it started raining. No more random areas not being wiped away Same, on my Crown Vic, but I installed them the evening before it started raining during the night. also installed fresh, brighter headlight bulbs. Geirskogul posted:Went thrift shopping and found this badass light in the misc section. Goes from red to white Looks like a cop car "ticket light". The one in my P71 looks similar, but is white only (1156 taillight bulb), but I've seen others, particularly newer LED ones, that do the red/white thing. Good for not killing your night vision.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 27, 2016 01:23
|
|
. Last week I had replaced the bushings on the front sway bar, I don't notice a difference at all.
|
Finally took the lovely purple bubbled window tint off of my '90 RX-7. The passenger window was pretty much useless, it was so bubbled an foggy. I stripped the rear window years ago because it was bad. It took the side windows a little longer to get to the point where you couldn't see out. It came off pretty easily with a sharp scraper. The bubbling helped.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 6, 2016 20:12
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 15, 2024 11:14 |
|
|
Crustashio posted:A handheld steamer helps a shitload for peeling it off, but I still found i've always had to razorblade residue off afterwards. Which is why I still haven't done the rear window on my M3, don't want to hit the defroster lines. I've got one, but the damned thing clogged up or something. It's definitely building pressure, just none of out comes out of the nozzle... I killed the defroster on the RX-7 when I pulled the tint off then. I have another hatch to go on eventually. Bucephalus posted:Rear springs and shocks on MIL's Cobalt. Had a front spring on my Cutlass do that once, a bit higher in the spring. Went over a rise in the pavement - *TONG* - and the car was a couple inches lower on one side. Whelp, time for performance lowering springs! Got Edelbrock springs that turned out to be too soft or short for the Cutlass. My crossmember was 3" off the pavement. Looked killer, but I whacked that crossmember all the time. The rears were fine, so I assume that the Olds small-block w/ AC was heavier than a comparable Chevelle. Bought Hotchkis front springs specifically for a small-block Olds with AC, and everything is great now. Even worked well with the Edelbrock rears, as far as ride height.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 8, 2016 23:57
|
|
