|
joat mon posted:What would be a better gas to run in an original 1959 MEL 430 motor with 10.0:1 compression? 87 ethanol free or 91 with ethanol? Use will be more cruising than racing. Depends on what the fuel system is made of. Cars that old weren't expecting ethanol and used stuff that doesn't play well with it. Some types of rubber in gaskets, and zinc in carburetors, particularly. On the other hand, leaded regular was 89 octane, so you need higher octane without the ethanol (until you know it's safe, anyway). 87 is probably OK, but I would recommend 87 pure gasoline with a safe octane booster. I had a '59 Edsel for a while and that's what I did, anyway.
|
#
¿
Nov 8, 2016 00:32
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 12, 2024 08:03 |
|
|
The Door Frame posted:Wait, when was leaded fuel banned in America? Google says 1996, but that can't be right, can it? Unleaded gas started appearing in the mid 70s, as automakers chose to install catalytic converters to cope with tightening emissions regulations.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 8, 2016 01:21
|
|
|
DavidAlltheTime posted:Low power / no-turbo Golf chat continued... Oven cleaner probably isn't very effective as it mainly uses lye to dissolve the natural fat residues caked in ovens. It won't do much with petroleum-based goo like that. I'm not sure what to recommend, though. It may take some manual scrubbing with a toothbrush. Perhaps some WD40 or something like it would loosen it up?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 12, 2016 05:01
|
|
|
Metal Geir Skogul posted:Not deionized/RO though, as that'll pull ions from the metal in the system, and accelerate corrosion, from what I've read. There's no functional difference between DI/RO and distilled unless you're a chemist and require ultra-pure water. Unless you have exceptionally hard tap water, there's no actual advantage to using deionized/distilled water. Metal parts will indeed corrode slightly in contact with the water to reach an equilibrium ion concentration, but it's probably not significant. It's why coolants have buffers and anti-corrosion additives.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 17, 2016 22:28
|
|
|
kastein posted:Thhe reason to use distilled water is to keep calcium/lime deposits (hard water) from building up in the system. I would flush into containers till it comes out mostly clear, then onto the ground till it is completely clear. Then drain fully (may need to disconnect more hoses and/or remove drain plugs and tip the car around with a jack to get it all out) and fill it back up. That's correct. My point was that unless your tap water is exceptionally hard, the total amount of lime introduced in ~4 quarts of water is minuscule. The vast majority of the metal ions that form the carbonate scale in cooling systems comes from the slow corrosion of the internal metal parts themselves. Using distilled water doesn't hurt, but it doesn't really help any, either, in most cases.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 18, 2016 15:51
|
|
|
Three-Phase posted:Question- I bought a new car, a Toyota hybrid. At the very end of the sales there was a huge discussion of an extended warranty package (7 year and like 80k miles) for about $1500. Why pay $1500 dollars now for repairs you may never make?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2016 03:51
|
|
|
punk rebel ecks posted:I need inflate my tires, but the hose at the gas stations are like impossible to use. Is there an adapter I can buy that connects to the end of the gas station's air hose so I can easily fill up my tires? Those are the standard inflation valves that have been used everywhere for like 100 years. Maybe you should learn how to use it. You push it on, centered on the valve stem so that the valve seals in the hole. When the valve stem is fully depressed it presses on the central button, releasing the air into the tire.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 27, 2016 04:23
|
|
|
punk rebel ecks posted:I understand, but is there no connector I can use to make things easier? No. Man up and learn how to use it correctly.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 27, 2016 04:32
|
|
|
punk rebel ecks posted:I used to use my brother's compressor all the time, but it had a much smaller end. A lot like this. The only trick to it is keeping it square to the valve. You just line it up and push. I figured out when I was about 6 to fill bike tires.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 27, 2016 05:38
|
|
|
rear end posted:Hi friends! Can anyone recommend me a good car phone mount that isn't a CD mount or a suction cup? I have a proclip but apparently it costs a lot to put adhesive stripes that won't kick the bucket after 3 months. (it also shipped with a chipped plastic bit but let's not talk about that) Maybe something like this? It clips into the vanes of an air vent. (Note that I don't necessarily recommend that particular product, just the category of vent mounts. There are probably better ones if you look.)
|
|
#
¿
Nov 28, 2016 15:53
|
|
|
Three-Phase posted:Sheetz has free electronic ones but they are broken like 15% of the time. Underinflation is somewhat worse AFAIK. Overinflation makes the tire wear in the center first and leads to a hard ride, but it will still squeeze out water and give decent (if not optimal) traction. Underinflation leads to wear on the edges first and makes the tire more apt to trap water under it (increased hydroplaning) as well as increasing rolling resistance, which leads to worse gas mileage and higher tire temperatures which wear it out faster.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 30, 2016 15:42
|
|
|
Cashier's checks are supposed to be safe because they're paid for ahead of time, but a fake check is no good regardless. Avoiding Cashier's Check Fraud
|
|
#
¿
Nov 30, 2016 23:39
|
|
|
tactlessbastard posted:I texted the guy he sounded fishy as gently caress. No response. I reposted the ad. Anyone want to buy a van? I like the warning at the bottom 
|
|
#
¿
Nov 30, 2016 23:57
|
|
|
spog posted:
Hood pop-up springs tend to look like this: 
|
|
#
¿
Dec 3, 2016 00:24
|
|
|
Filthy Hans posted:I'm thinking about buying a 2004 Miata LS and want to know about tires for it in case they need to be replaced asap. Are Tirerack ratings a good resource or are there better sites? I've done very well with Tire Rack, myself. You can also ask around in the Miata thread for specific recommendations. What tires you get depends a lot on what kind of driving you intend to do and how much you can afford.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 3, 2016 02:59
|
|
|
theHUNGERian posted:2012 Subaru Outback, 75k miles. That's usually a sign that the bendix is sticking (the mechanism to kick the starter gear off the flywheel when the engine starts). Probably going to need a new starter. I don't know if it can be replaced/rehabbed independently.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 4, 2016 01:37
|
|
|
Three-Phase posted:So, uh, I bought a new car just before Thanksgiving... based on your guy's experience, how long should it take for them to send me the "preliminary title thing" in the mail and my first bill for the car loan? I haven't even seen the car loan show up on my credit report yet... it's been almost two weeks but that includes Thanksgiving. First payment was due 45 days after date of purchase last time I bought one. Took about three weeks to get the loan processed.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 5, 2016 04:19
|
|
|
Three-Phase posted:Gotcha, gotcha... If something happens like the forms get lost in the mail and I miss the first payment (I know that's a hell of a thing right) they won't just immediately repossess my car, right? I think it's generally 90 days. They don't want their car back, they want your money. They'll get in touch with you soon. Relax. We do everything with electronic funds transfer these days. It's set to debit the checking account every month. As long as your income is steady and you don't have to worry about cash flow, it's far easier.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 5, 2016 04:49
|
|
|
Three-Phase posted:I guess I could just envision getting in an accident, fuel tank rupturing, the flares somehow ignite the tank and I literally die in a car fire. Probably pretty unlikely. Unless you're driving a '74 Pinto, rupturing the fuel tank is not a serious worry. I've never had an occasion where road flares would have been even slightly useful, but some sort of LED warning light might be worth considering - particularly if it doubles as a flashlight. You'll probably never be in an accident where you need to warn traffic away in the middle of the night, but you might need to change a tire.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 5, 2016 05:30
|
|
|
It could be something dumb like a stone that fell into a vent and rattles in resonance at particular vibrations. Does it change with fan speed or heater outlet setting? If so, it may just be a loose object in the HVAC somewhere. Particularly if you can isolate the noise as coming from inside the cabin, not the engine bay.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 6, 2016 05:55
|
|
|
DELETED posted:Does anyone have any somewhat official looking videos explaining that modern vehicles don't need to idle for 20 minutes to warm up in the cold? After a lifetime of owning carbed vehicles, my pops is convinced that he needs to warm up both his and my mom's vehicles for crazy amounts of time when it's cold. Even better yet he thinks it's a good idea to just start the vehicles when it's cold and warm them up then shut them down "just in case we need to go somewhere later". I can't get him to understand that modern vehicles are completely different animals, and that all of the electronics in a modern vehicle use a lot of power, which the alternator can't easily supply at idle. He's always having problems starting vehicles when he actually does need to go somewhere, dead batteries, etc, and I'm 99% sure it's because his vehicles spend more time idling than they do driving somewhere. He will not listen to me, but he seems to listen when people on youtube say stuff so maybe I can keep him from hemorrhaging money and tearing up their new vehicles. He ought to be of the age where Popular Mechanics is something of an authority: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a19086/warming-up-your-car-in-the-cold-just-harms-engine/ ETA: Here's a video that says the same thing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKALgXDwou4 Deteriorata fucked around with this message at 21:09 on Dec 6, 2016 |
|
#
¿
Dec 6, 2016 21:01
|
|
|
The Door Frame posted:
Sure. ATF is fine, acetone is fine, blended they're fine. Just very good at dissolving a lot of different kinds of plastic. I would think ordinary polyethylene bottles should handle it.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 7, 2016 05:02
|
|
|
The Door Frame posted:Ok, good. ATF is just oil, basically, with additives.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 7, 2016 05:16
|
|
|
Partial or full synthetic just means it lasts longer. If you go 3-5k with standard, you can probably go 7k with blend and 10k with full synthetic. Hit the minimum standards recommended by the OM and you're good. Anything better than that is gravy. Considering it's an '81 X1/9, the motor oil is going to be least of your concerns. 
|
|
#
¿
Dec 7, 2016 22:02
|
|
|
The Door Frame posted:Which is why I was so frustrated, the oil threads had so many jokes about lubricating the outside of the engine, but few conclusive answers. Do classic cars need Zinc additives at all? Probably not. Engine wear comes from a lot of sources, and reduction in ZPPD in recent years may be just a convenient whipping boy for engine builders. I'm not aware of any actual studies or statistics on it, just word of mouth stuff. The wear area in question seems to be specifically flat tappet lifters. I don't know what engine an X1/9 uses and if it's got them. If it uses roller lifters, you're home free. In any case, modern oils are probably fine as is. If you're really concerned, you may want to seek out some classic car oil that is specifically SA, SB, or whatever the SAE standard was when your car was made and the OM recommends. Then you're safe. I wouldn't recommend an additive in any case, because too much ZDDP causes excessive wear as well.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 7, 2016 22:23
|
|
|
The Door Frame posted:It's an all aluminum SOHC engine that as far as I can tell has flat tappets, so yes to ZDDP oils? Maybe this will do the trick: https://www.hemmings.com/classicoil/
|
|
#
¿
Dec 8, 2016 00:01
|
|
|
FBS posted:The touchscreen in my Mazda 3 has developed a fun and exciting problem: it's detecting a constant input at a single point in the upper central portion of the display. If it's supposed to be covered, let them deal with it. It's not your problem. I listen to the same XM station. 
|
|
#
¿
Dec 9, 2016 20:59
|
|
|
Uthor posted:My sister has 2015 (or so) Town and Country with push button and remote start. She said that the remote start wouldn't work, so she went out to the car and physically couldn't press down on the brake pedal to manually use the push button start. After about five minutes, it eventually worked. Maybe the battery in the fob is dead? 
|
|
#
¿
Dec 13, 2016 03:47
|
|
|
kastein posted:As long as you do it between November and April, in most US states that's legal. Double check yours though. https://rma.org/tire-safety/seasonal-driving-tips/studded-snow-tire-regulations My experience with studs is that they're really noisy and obnoxious on dry roads. They're useful if you absolutely have to drive at speed on actual ice for extended periods. I've learned to get along without them, as I didn't think they were worth it.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 14, 2016 20:48
|
|
|
Belts get very stiff and gripless at temperatures that low, so the squealing was just belts slipping on cold pulleys. They should be fine once it warms up again. Weird noises that occur sporadically only under unusual circumstances are usually not indicative of a problem. Belts squealing regularly at 70°F need to be looked at.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2016 18:34
|
|
|
IOwnCalculus posted:I cannot remember the last time I saw a battery that was actually intended to be topped off by the user. It's just not a thing that needs to be done. Yeah, batteries have been sealed and not intended to be refilled for like 40 or 50 years. It's not something anyone should be doing at this point.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 23, 2016 01:06
|
|
|
Surprise T Rex posted:I'm in the market for new tyres, mainly for city driving in a 1.2 Fiat Punto. I've been looking at shelling out for a full set of Michelin Energy Saver Plus, but I'm not sure if paying for premium brands is basically me throwing money away, or if they'll actually have any benefits beyond just buying some cheapo no-brand things. I know they claim better MPG and everlasting durability etc. but I never know whether that's all just ad-speak. These are one of the top rated tires for a Punto (185-65-R15) at TireRack. At $79 each they're a steal.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 30, 2016 06:50
|
|
|
Surprise T Rex posted:Thanks for the recommendation, but it seems like I can't these around here in 175-65-R15. According to this, anything from 175-215 tread width will fit a Punto. That's specifically for a 2012 and you didn't say what year yours was, but anything in the model run will be the same. You can look up your specific year on the site.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 30, 2016 14:25
|
|
|
spankmeister posted:Yes it has. It's been well circulated by this point i'm sure. The tap water won't hurt anything. The Windex probably won't given how much it will be diluted (if it's only "a bit") since it's mostly water anyway. Don't worry about it.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 4, 2017 18:10
|
|
|
Memento posted:Good points, but keep in mind the new car warranty. I assume you'd be grilled pretty hard on a failure of a component that was even vaguely associated with a system where you had installed an aftermarket part. The Magnuson-Moss Act puts the onus on the dealer to show why your aftermarket part directly caused the failure of something else. They can certainly try to deny coverage, but if you stick to your guns they will usually back down. It's certainly easier to just leave the car alone and not modify it, but if you do know your rights and the law. They can't arbitrarily abrogate the warranty.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2017 04:15
|
|
|
Looks like anti-corrosion grease. It's not the source of your problem.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2017 23:55
|
|
|
drat Bananas posted:Okay, I will double check the manual when I get home. Thank you guys for your help! For front-wheel drive, I generally put the new ones on the front, since that's where I need the best traction. Radials should stay on the same side of the car once they've been driven - they develop a lie to the belts, and reversing them can cause wrinkling and buckling which ruins the tire. Bidirectional means the tread is symmetrical and it can go anywhere on the car and rotate either direction at installation, but once it's going one way it should stay that way.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2017 16:24
|
|
|
EightBit posted:New tires go on the rear, regardless of which wheels do the driving. I have seen that recommended, to prevent the back end from losing traction in sudden stops, but I prefer better traction in front for better general driving. ABS is present on nearly all cars now and should prevent the rear end skidding out.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2017 16:32
|
|
|
I stand corrected, then. I've never had a problem with the rear end hydroplaning on any front-wheel drive car I've ever owned, however.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2017 16:54
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 12, 2024 08:03 |
|
|
TheFrailNinja posted:I've been toying with this idea for a little while now and I think now's the time. Just took a look at the marks in broad daylight and it couldn't be more obvious. Dude probably came back from this hockey game hammered, bumped my car and either got scared or maybe didn't think there was that much damage. I'll post pics in a bit. Tell me more about testing paint transfer though, is that a massively expensive/time consuming undertaking? I go to community college for auto tech and I know some guys who work in auto body repair... I don't think a dash cam would help much with a parked car. The damage is superficial. Fix your car and move on. It sucks but it's not worth obsessing about.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 22, 2017 22:49
|
|