AI Stupid Question Thread - The automotive forum is calling about your car

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > AI Stupid Question Thread - The automotive forum is calling about your car

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Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

So, we may be picking this up as a band van.

http://reno.craigslist.org/cto/4876582806.html

As this isn't a Chrysler that I have a lot of experience with, what things ought we to look for beside making sure the tranny isn't toasted?

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 21:41

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# ¿ Apr 30, 2024 08:09

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

A manual would really be preferable, especially since we're already in the mountains and it's nicer to not roast your brakes over Donner. We'll see how this one goes, though. I'm especially intrigued by the "microwave" and "commode" and "bed" options for band touring. I'll update if we buy it.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 23:01

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

West SAAB Story posted:

Let me know if you'd rather have a Ford Explorer that needs an intake gasket done (leaks a bit when pushing uphill below 20F) which can now actually accelerate uphill for about half that. I don't think I'd want to take the 4.0 up Donner though. Taking it to Davis is enough of a workout. Seats are loving awesome, and it almost has a SID since its an Eddie.

Does it have an awesome mural on the side though?

Nope, didn't think so.

:smug:

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 23:16

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Mr. Wiggles posted:

So, we may be picking this up as a band van.

http://reno.craigslist.org/cto/4876582806.html

As this isn't a Chrysler that I have a lot of experience with, what things ought we to look for beside making sure the tranny isn't toasted?

Bought it.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2015 21:57

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Uthor posted:

How's the commode?

Haven't tried it yet - my singer picked it up in Tahoe this afternoon and we'll be checking it out as days go by.

PaintVagrant posted:

I have an airbrush. Just sayin'.

This may be important, as the "tasteful" mural on the side does not mean "fully dressed".

# ¿ Feb 13, 2015 22:49

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

spog posted:

I am picking up a subtle vibe that you guys prefer the plugs to slime. I've never heard of using them before, but if you rate it, then I'll give it a try. I assume that the first one on Amazon is the right choice:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DYNAPLUG%C2...ywords=dynaplug

I'm going to get the Slime branded pump kit that I posted earlier (and not the more expensive OEM)- I need a pump anyway and I want something that will give me an option if the plug won't work (like my last puncture).

The reviews say that it is water soluble, so the tech won't hate me too much and I make it a policy of buying new tyres if I ever get a defect with one anyway.

EDIT: I am kind of stunned at the number of people who expect/are using this as a permanent repair. Even on motorbikes.

I've run rawhide plugs as permanent repairs for a looooooooooooooooooong time.

loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2015 02:46

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Currently driving in our tour van to a gig (van posting!) - 1990 dodge 2500 with a 318, 46k miles. We're heading down donner summit towards Sacramento, and the van is running good, bit the check engine light just came on? Why might it do that?

# ¿ Jul 24, 2015 20:45

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

There is nothing to plug a scanner into in a 1990, as far as I know.

# ¿ Jul 24, 2015 21:02

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Ha-ha, that flashing thing is hilarious. We'll do that next stop.

# ¿ Jul 24, 2015 21:16

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Slavvy posted:

Are you a 90's kid or just don't realise that literally every EFI car was like this until someone thought to make a pluggy-in-thingy?

I never did fuel injected cars until I bought an OBDII truck in 2001. So like most of us born in the late 70s/early 80s I have a weird time slip on early fuel injection cars. If the van was a 1970s model I wouldn't have these questions.

Anyway the light is off now and we can't make it come on again. Got to play a show, but maybe it will come back on tomorrow and I can play with the flash thing.

Mr. Wiggles fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Jul 25, 2015

# ¿ Jul 25, 2015 01:38

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Guys, I'm needing help, and the thread in A/T ain't doing the trick. The thing is, I think I'm looking for a unicorn.

Mr. Wiggles posted:

I mean, basically, I need to get a car/truck/SUV/something that gets good mileage and is reliable. I don't want to spend over 12 or 15 on it, and it needs to be able to get down a rocky lovely dirt road 5 times a week PLUS do freeway work.

Am I?

# ¿ Mar 18, 2016 16:28

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

It's not about getting stuck - I've been doing this road in my yaris for a while.

But full story: I got divorced, moved to a different town making my commute a hell of a lot longer, lost my benz, fighting for my bike, and I got t boned Tuesday and my yaris got totalled. So now I'm driving the insurance rental, but that will run out soon.

The commute is 60 miles of freeway and then 10 miles of super heavy washboard with embedded rock, each way. So I need a car that will handle shock and vibration, but still return good mileage. XJ is great, but their mileage isn't and this is Reno so finding one that hasn't been turned into a crawler means that it's on it's last legs or won't pass smog.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2016 16:44

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

K, I can go to SLC. But what sort of car?

I mean, i loved my yaris, maybe that's a good idea? I've been trying to find a 2, but there's none around. Fit?

Something that's not a little hatch? FML

# ¿ Mar 18, 2016 17:03

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

InitialDave posted:

Buy another one?

Mine was an 08. Are the newer ones as tough? As fun to drive? Better than a fit or 2?

# ¿ Mar 18, 2016 18:53

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Godholio posted:

You're putting 20 miles of washboard trail on your vehicle every day. How long did your Yaris stand up to that abuse, and how much longer did you expect it to last? The suspension on those cars just isn't designed for anything like that.

This is the only video I can find of the road to work.

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/shot-of-dirt-road-pony-express-trail-in-churchill-stock-video-footage/174224805

Anyway, the Yaris held up surprisingly well. I was about to turn 200K on it. Yes, it had some rattles and squeaks, but it wasn't bad. The thing is, an XJ will kill me in gas for the freeway portion, as much as I love them out here (they're great out here - I drive one around work every day, in fact). I can't think of anything with a more modern/fuel efficient engine that's set up for high frequency suspension workouts, though. Like, RAV4s are great on gas, but they're basically Corolla suspensions, yeah? poo poo, I don't know. I'd be willing to pay a bit more if there was something that was reliable, had good mileage, and could handle the above kind of road every day a little better than my old Yaris, though.

Bonus shot of the Yaris on the flatbed:

# ¿ Mar 18, 2016 22:15

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Yeah, you're all correct probably. That's good perspective.

I'll find a Yaris or Fit or something for the best price I can then.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2016 22:53

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Found a couple of things. I'm looking over in SLC which is cheaper by far. Thoughts, please?

http://www.westautosales.net/2007-Ford-F150/Used-Truck/Murray-UT/6918775/Details.aspx - seems like a good truck. Mileage okay yes/no? I know it will hold up on the dirt.

http://www.petersonauto.com/w/listing/3374/0/1/MAZDA/0/car_Make/ASC/25 - really really like this Mazda

http://www.kengarffhondaoforem.com/used/Honda/2012-Honda-Fit-Orem-988e3c3b0a0e0ae84c12d7154a711ccc.htm - this Fit seems good if a little pricey

http://www.youngsubaru.com/used/Scion/2010-Scion-xD-Ogden-f6384efc0a0e0a6b3c8b741f118ff8a1.htm?searchDepth=3:3 - I know the Scion will be comfortable and super reliable.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2016 00:00

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

0toShifty posted:

I vote for newer Corolla but take off the 15s and get 14" steelies and larger aspect ratio tires. It'll be comfy. it'll never break.

Corolla is a great car, yeah, but I hate sedans.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2016 01:34

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Looks like I'm gonna pick up that Mazda on Tuesday, assuming the plane flight don't kill me.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2016 20:22

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

I got the 2. I'm in love with it. Will post a thread soon.

# ¿ Mar 23, 2016 02:12

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

blk posted:

Should I buy this?

https://eugene.craigslist.org/cto/5500672342.html

Want something I can haul big things in and serve as a snow car when necessary. I hear this gen of 4runners are kind of rolly and not great in collisions but other than that I don't know much about them.

I am always very cautious about cars that get a ton of work done and then get sold.

That V6 will have constant head gasket issues, too.

On the other hand, an SBC fits mighty nice in that engine bay...

# ¿ Mar 24, 2016 02:34

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

InitialDave posted:

I'm looking into a new set of tyres for the Cappuccino, but the size of the tyres mean that most of what's out there are budget/eco options for superminis, so I'm not really sure what to go for.

Standard size is 165/65R14, 175/60R14 would also be fine (the difference in diameter is tiny). I don't want to go up to 185s.

Here are some of the non-ditchfinder contenders I've found so far:

Bridgestone Potenza RE088
Continental PremiumContact 2
Dunlop Streetresponse2
Falken ZE914
Hankook Optimo K415
Vredestein Sportrac 5
Yokohama A539

Anything leap out to people as being a definite best option? Anything that's truly horrific and should be avoided? Something else out there I should look at?

I've had very good luck with Falkens of all tread patterns, so I'm inclined to go with those. The Potenzas are fantastic tires as well, but usually command a premium. The Yokohama will have the longest treadlife of all the tires on your list while still giving good grip.

For the money though I'd probably go with the Falkens.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2016 04:07

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Proxes is not a bad tire at all. If that's where your heart leads you, go for it!

# ¿ Apr 7, 2016 17:31

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

InitialDave posted:

Hmm. I had General Grabber UHPs on my Jeep because they were noticeably cheaper than other brands, and was very happy with them, but they're not available in your size.

Those grabbers are great tires. That's what I'd go with.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2016 23:59

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Do not besmirch my glorious Yugo.

# ¿ Apr 11, 2016 04:53

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Hello. Please read the last post in my Mazda2 thread and make me feel better thanks I am a fragile flower.

# ¿ Oct 17, 2016 18:27

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Ok, here's an odd one. For a research project I'm looking at, I need a motor that makes at least 60hp, is dry sumped so that it can run in multiple orientations, is fuel injected, and can run on various aircraft fuels like Jet A. The smaller/lighter the better.

My first thought was a rotary of course, but one of the caveats is that the motor has to be currently in production, and as far as I know nobody is making a wankel right now. So, do you have any ideas?

# ¿ Jan 16, 2017 17:26

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Mr. Wiggles posted:

Ok, here's an odd one. For a research project I'm looking at, I need a motor that makes at least 60hp, is dry sumped so that it can run in multiple orientations, is fuel injected, and can run on various aircraft fuels like Jet A. The smaller/lighter the better.

My first thought was a rotary of course, but one of the caveats is that the motor has to be currently in production, and as far as I know nobody is making a wankel right now. So, do you have any ideas?

So, actually I found a small rotary manufacturer in England that makes UAV rotaries that might work. But it would still be cool to have some other options.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2017 18:42

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

EightBit posted:

Are turbines not allowed?

Yeah, if I could find one small enough that wasn't a zillion dollars. No problem with a a turbine.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2017 19:28

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Right. No aircraft certification needed. Probably running in a constant rpm situation to power a generator in a series hybrid system.

The Abrams runs a rotary secondary APU, but it's only 30hp so that won't work.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2017 06:55

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Fiance's car, 2005 CR-V, 5 speed auto. Looks like it's developed a transmission shudder when doing partial throttle acceleration (no kickdown) in the 45-60mph range. It feels to me like a torque converter lockup problem, but then I'm not really familiar with Honda transmissions. Assuming that's what it is, what's the going cost for torque converter replacement these days? Alternatively, should I be looking at something else as the cause of the problem, like an ECU issue?

# ¿ Oct 16, 2017 19:17

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Wouldn't that manifest itself under other conditions?

# ¿ Oct 16, 2017 21:22

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

DogonCrook posted:

Usually no. They generally get weaker because they start to leak voltage through the protective case. You can turn out the lights and mist water in them and youll see why its happening. It also somehow leaks right thriugh the plastic and depending on what they use it sometimes looks smokey where it arcs through the plastic or burnt in some way. Its probably tiny fractures you cant really see that cause it but i have no idea.

For whatever reason the voltage gets high enough it jumps there and not your spark plug, drops rpm, voltage drops, spark makes it back through, rpm goes back up, arcs again etc. So yeah that process can happen very rapidly and make it shudder for sure especially if its right in that sweet spot of high load were it wants to shift.

So, this is a known Honda issue, then? Cause it sure felt like the torque converter, and the car is at 190k, but the transmission was also just serviced in July and has only like 3k since then, which is why I was wondering. I'd be much happier if it was the coil rather than the tc.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2017 23:55

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Playing with it some more. Condition only presents itself between 45-60, only under partial throttle acceleration. If I go WOT or force a kickdown, then the condition goes away. Trans is shifting smooth every time, and the engine is never stuttering.

CEL has just come on.

# ¿ Oct 17, 2017 18:08

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Ran a diagnostic on the CR-V. No transmission codes. I did get a P0420 (Catalyst system efficiency below threshold) and P0171 (System Too Lean Bank 1). So that would seem to back up the idea that the coils might be going and that a new set of them, plus some plugs and wires, might solve the issue. I'm not sure when the last time plugs and wires were done, since I've only been doing the maintenance on the car for the last 30k miles, so that won't hurt in any case.

# ¿ Oct 17, 2017 19:53

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

monsterzero posted:

I doubt coils would lead to a p0171. That's usually caused by something like a vacuum leak. If your spark was weak, you'd appear rich to the O2 sensor if anything.

So what, dirty MAP sensor? Dirty throttle body?

# ¿ Oct 17, 2017 20:36

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Yu-Gi-Ho! posted:

Bad coils would not cause a lean condition, nor would plugs. They'd cause a rich condition.

Throttle body gasket, intake manifold gasket, split vacuum hose, badly clogged fuel filter, failing fuel pump, failing brake booster, wound be my suspects. Anything that's going to let air get in after the MAF. It could also be an O2 sensor starting to fail - in my experience, they fail lean, causing the ECU to go "OH poo poo, THROW MORE GAS AT IT!. Usually you'll get an O2 sensor #1 (upstream) code fairly quickly, but it can also cause P0420 if it's running too rich for the cat to do much, if it hasn't picked up on the upstream sensor failure yet. But the sensor usually fails quickly enough that the ECU picks up on it being failed (not always).

I'd personally go ahead and do whatever maintenance it may be behind on, do any obvious repairs you discover along the way, and purchase a small propane torch. You can start the engine, then wave the (UNLIT, but open) propane torch around any suspect areas (particularly the brake booster and the throttle body, but also where the throttle body meets the head - wave it around any vacuum lines too). If the engine RPM increases, you've found a vacuum leak.

Check evap hoses as well at the same time, and if you have access to a fuel pressure gauge, it wouldn't hurt to see how the fuel system is doing. If you have access to an OBD2 reader or Bluetooth OBD2 adapter, you should be able to take a loot at long and short term fuel trims, along with O2 sensor output. That stuff can be really helpful.

Interesting today - the engine light has gone off (codes stored but nothing active) and the condition has gone away. Haven't done anything to check the intake pathway yet.

# ¿ Oct 19, 2017 19:59

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Do we have an insurance thread? I can't help the feeling that I'm getting screwed.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2019 05:45

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

Has anyone here been to Radwood? It's coming to Vegas this weekend.

# ¿ Apr 24, 2019 20:49

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# ¿ Apr 30, 2024 08:09

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

What is the current AI hivemind opinion of lowering springs vs coilovers on a torsion beam car?

# ¿ Jul 18, 2019 23:20

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > AI Stupid Question Thread - The automotive forum is calling about your car

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