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Flappy Paddle is the one true shifter. [Car] Thread.

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Posts

  • SiliconStewSiliconStew Registered User regular
    saltiness wrote: »
    I don't care if they add it as long as it's something you can turn off and it stays off. I hate it when they implement these systems where you need to turn them off every time you get in the car. The traction control on my Fit is idiotic for steep San Francisco hills and I have to remember to turn it off every time I'm faced with those conditions.

    Perhaps you should stop re-enacting those Bullitt fantasies. :p

    Just remember that half the people you meet are below average intelligence.
  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    931rG.jpg

    :cry:


    Owner of the Maserati came down the parking deck ramp too fast, lost control, went under the Jeep and pushed it into the Porsche.

    matt has a problem on
    nibXTE7.png
  • L Ron HowardL Ron Howard The duck MinnesotaRegistered User regular
    Poor Porsche.
    Couldn't care less about the other two though.

  • schussschuss Registered User regular
    webguy20 wrote: »
    So before I do some real serious research, any idea how many parts share between an 89 cherokee and a 91? Both running the straight 6. I have the 89 and the opportunity to pick up a 91 with a blown transmission for just a few hundred bucks. I want to make sure its worth my while to buy as a parts rig.

    Most running gear should be the same, as it wasn't really changed much from 1984 until the end of the run. Just make sure it's the same tranny (as those years involved an engine update) and you should be good.

  • CommunistCowCommunistCow Abstract Metal ThingyRegistered User regular
    I'm for protecting people from their own stupidity because sometimes other people's stupidity can get you killed. This situation does seem to a bit more rare than other cases, but that doesn't bother me.

    No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
  • CommunistCowCommunistCow Abstract Metal ThingyRegistered User regular
    So I replaced my pads and rotors for the first time. I have no idea why I was scared of doing it myself considering I've installed a turbo myself. That was so stupidly easy.

    No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
  • badpoetbadpoet Registered User regular



    Owner of the Maserati came down the parking deck ramp too fast, lost control, went under the Jeep and pushed it into the Porsche.

    I really hope that Porsche is a kit car. Ugh, can't imagine what I'd do if my Speedster got killed by someone as stupid as that.

  • L Ron HowardL Ron Howard The duck MinnesotaRegistered User regular
    So I replaced my pads and rotors for the first time. I have no idea why I was scared of doing it myself considering I've installed a turbo myself. That was so stupidly easy.

    Uh, yea.
    Did you bleed the system and all that too?
    I've thought about taking my car to the garage down the street where they'll do it under pressure, and completely flush the entire thing out.

  • CommunistCowCommunistCow Abstract Metal ThingyRegistered User regular
    No I didn't bleed the system, but the brake fluid looked pretty good.

    I have changed the brake fluid in the miata before so I wouldn't be to worried about doing that on the Subaru if need be.

    I think one of the reasons I avoided doing my own brakes before was because someone told me that if you do something wrong pushing the calipers back you could mess up the ABS pump.

    No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
  • CormacCormac Registered User regular
    I tried to change my rotors and pads this past October, and while the process is certainly simple enough my garage torqued the lug nuts on my wheels so high that I barely got the front passenger side off and was completely unable to get driver side off. I only had access to hand tools, and while I was able to improvise a breaker bar that kind of worked I ended up having my garage put the driver side on for me. That defeated the purpose of doing it myself to save some money (I also wanted to try it myself out of sheer curiosity, and a general interest in learning how to do basic car repair/maintenance myself), but my garage only charged me a 1/4 hour of labor or $20. I mentioned to them that they might want to torque my lug nuts a bit less because in the event of a flat tire there would have been no way I could have gotten the lug nuts off myself without an air wrench. Other than that issue the actual process is really pretty simple, and I'd do it again assuming I had access to power tools and/or a real breaker bar.

    Steam: Gridlynk | PSN: Gridlynk | FFXIV: Jarvellis Mika
  • fshavlakfshavlak Registered User regular
    Cormac wrote: »
    I tried to change my rotors and pads this past October, and while the process is certainly simple enough my garage torqued the lug nuts on my wheels so high that I barely got the front passenger side off and was completely unable to get driver side off. I only had access to hand tools, and while I was able to improvise a breaker bar that kind of worked I ended up having my garage put the driver side on for me. That defeated the purpose of doing it myself to save some money (I also wanted to try it myself out of sheer curiosity, and a general interest in learning how to do basic car repair/maintenance myself), but my garage only charged me a 1/4 hour of labor or $20. I mentioned to them that they might want to torque my lug nuts a bit less because in the event of a flat tire there would have been no way I could have gotten the lug nuts off myself without an air wrench. Other than that issue the actual process is really pretty simple, and I'd do it again assuming I had access to power tools and/or a real breaker bar.

    Very stubborn lug nuts does not always point at a garage over tightening them. Cars subjected to the cold and salt you see in the rust belt will often have almost impossible to remove lug nuts, even if they were properly tightened when last installed. We did the brakes on my housemate's Explorer last spring, and all of the wheels were very difficult to remove due to both stuck lug nuts (they were properly tightened when installed), and even once the lug nuts were off, the wheels didn't want to let go of the spindles. Lots of kicking and swearing involved in that job.

    If you keep up with your tire rotation, though, you are unlikely to have problems.

  • CormacCormac Registered User regular
    Yeah, due to living in upstate NY I can definitely see how cold and salt could attribute to how tight my lug nuts were. I had a little trouble getting the wheel itself off the spindle too, but a bit of kicking/tugging, rubber mallet hitting, and swearing worked it free.

    Steam: Gridlynk | PSN: Gridlynk | FFXIV: Jarvellis Mika
  • xeroismygodxeroismygod Registered User regular
    PB Blaster to solve stuck nuts. PB blaster, breaker bar, dead drop hammer, or rubber mallet work wonders.

  • CommunistCowCommunistCow Abstract Metal ThingyRegistered User regular
    PB Blaster to solve stuck nuts. PB blaster, breaker bar, dead drop hammer, or rubber mallet work wonders.

    That is usually unnecessary. I just take the lug wrench bar-thing that comes in the trunk put it on a lug and then stand on the end of it. If need be, I will bounce up and down on it until the lug nut comes loose.

    No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
  • L Ron HowardL Ron Howard The duck MinnesotaRegistered User regular
    PB Blaster to solve stuck nuts. PB blaster, breaker bar, dead drop hammer, or rubber mallet work wonders.

    That is usually unnecessary. I just take the lug wrench bar-thing that comes in the trunk put it on a lug and then stand on the end of it. If need be, I will bounce up and down on it until the lug nut comes loose.

    That's exactly what I do.

    @Cormac, what you should do is add some grease to on the nuts themselves. I do this to all my cars, cuz I hate having to be out in the cold changing a tire when the nuts are rusted on.
    Either that, or loosen and tighten them up a lot so they never rust together.

  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    I can't recommend enough getting an air compressor and an air wrench if you're doing your own car maintenance. It's like night and day, not having to struggle with stuck bolts. You can get a decent 8 gallon, 125 psi compressor from Harbor Freight for ~$120, and a 1/2 inch, 400+ ft lb air wrench from Home Depot for ~$70. Worth every penny.

    nibXTE7.png
  • CommunistCowCommunistCow Abstract Metal ThingyRegistered User regular
    I can't recommend enough getting an air compressor and an air wrench if you're doing your own car maintenance. It's like night and day, not having to struggle with stuck bolts. You can get a decent 8 gallon, 125 psi compressor from Harbor Freight for ~$120, and a 1/2 inch, 400+ ft lb air wrench from Home Depot for ~$70. Worth every penny.

    Do those usually come with a torque setting? I would imagine that it would be bad to over torque something with an air wrench.

    No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
  • xeroismygodxeroismygod Registered User regular
    Torque sticks is what you use with the impact wrench or just snug it then go over it with your torque wrench.

  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    I can't recommend enough getting an air compressor and an air wrench if you're doing your own car maintenance. It's like night and day, not having to struggle with stuck bolts. You can get a decent 8 gallon, 125 psi compressor from Harbor Freight for ~$120, and a 1/2 inch, 400+ ft lb air wrench from Home Depot for ~$70. Worth every penny.

    Do those usually come with a torque setting? I would imagine that it would be bad to over torque something with an air wrench.

    Yeah, there's usually a restrictor on the wrench you open and close, to adjust it.

    nibXTE7.png
  • MushroomStickMushroomStick Registered User regular
    I can't recommend enough getting an air compressor and an air wrench if you're doing your own car maintenance. It's like night and day, not having to struggle with stuck bolts. You can get a decent 8 gallon, 125 psi compressor from Harbor Freight for ~$120, and a 1/2 inch, 400+ ft lb air wrench from Home Depot for ~$70. Worth every penny.

    Do those usually come with a torque setting? I would imagine that it would be bad to over torque something with an air wrench.

    Yeah, there's usually a restrictor on the wrench you open and close, to adjust it.

    Correct me if I'm wrong guys, but aren't impact/air wrenches only for taking nuts/bolts off?

  • MyDcmbrMyDcmbr PEWPEWPEW!!! America's WangRegistered User regular
    I can't recommend enough getting an air compressor and an air wrench if you're doing your own car maintenance. It's like night and day, not having to struggle with stuck bolts. You can get a decent 8 gallon, 125 psi compressor from Harbor Freight for ~$120, and a 1/2 inch, 400+ ft lb air wrench from Home Depot for ~$70. Worth every penny.

    Do those usually come with a torque setting? I would imagine that it would be bad to over torque something with an air wrench.

    Yeah, there's usually a restrictor on the wrench you open and close, to adjust it.

    Correct me if I'm wrong guys, but aren't impact/air wrenches only for taking nuts/bolts off?

    You're wrong.

    They can be used to put them off, after you thread them on by hand, but the same fact applies to using any wrench.

    It doesn't take much to cross thread.

    Steam
    So we get stiff once in a while. So we have a little fun. What’s wrong with that? This is a free country, isn’t it? I can take my panda any place I want to. And if I wanna buy it a drink, that’s my business.
  • TehSlothTehSloth Hit Or Miss I Guess They Never Miss, HuhRegistered User regular
    MyDcmbr wrote: »
    I can't recommend enough getting an air compressor and an air wrench if you're doing your own car maintenance. It's like night and day, not having to struggle with stuck bolts. You can get a decent 8 gallon, 125 psi compressor from Harbor Freight for ~$120, and a 1/2 inch, 400+ ft lb air wrench from Home Depot for ~$70. Worth every penny.

    Do those usually come with a torque setting? I would imagine that it would be bad to over torque something with an air wrench.

    Yeah, there's usually a restrictor on the wrench you open and close, to adjust it.

    Correct me if I'm wrong guys, but aren't impact/air wrenches only for taking nuts/bolts off?

    You're wrong.

    They can be used to put them off, after you thread them on by hand, but the same fact applies to using any wrench.

    It doesn't take much to cross thread.

    Yeah, you just have to be really careful about it. There are also special bits you can get that just ratchet over a specific torque so you can bolt things on properly.

    FC: 1993-7778-8872 PSN: TehSloth Xbox: SlothTeh
    twitch.tv/tehsloth
  • fshavlakfshavlak Registered User regular
    I can't recommend enough getting an air compressor and an air wrench if you're doing your own car maintenance. It's like night and day, not having to struggle with stuck bolts. You can get a decent 8 gallon, 125 psi compressor from Harbor Freight for ~$120, and a 1/2 inch, 400+ ft lb air wrench from Home Depot for ~$70. Worth every penny.

    I have a compressor and impact wrench, as well as two air ratchets (Craftsman brand, not high end but decent consumer grade stuff). The impact wrench only hits ~250 ft lbs, and it wasn't enough to pull the lugs off. We eventually just muscled them off with the lug wrench without a cheater bar. My favorite way to bust stubborn lugs loose is to get the wrench on the lug at about 45 degrees from the ground, so that you are pulling up on it to loose the lug nut. You can probably put more force on the wrench by pulling up on it like that than you can by standing on the thing, but you have to be careful about your technique so as not to hurt your back.

    The worst part of that job was getting the actual rotors off the spindles. Hours of hammering and prying on them. Even broke out a sledge. I was hitting the back of one of the rear rotors with a hammer, it was wheel four of four, so the very last job in what had become a pretty long day, and I managed to miss the rotor and hit myself right in the kneecap with a big fucking steel mallet.

    Some cars demand blood sacrifice to do anything to -- I can't even change the oil on that car without inflicting some minor injury on myself.

  • BeltaineBeltaine BOO BOO DOO DE DOORegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    So... a VW Type 2 Single Cab has crept up to the top of my DO WANT list.

    download1147290826.jpg

    I've found myself needing a truck more and more, and well... if I'm gonna have a truck, it may as well be something different.

    Beltaine on
    XdDBi4F.jpg
    PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
  • CommunistCowCommunistCow Abstract Metal ThingyRegistered User regular
    fshavlak wrote: »
    Some cars demand blood sacrifice to do anything to -- I can't even change the oil on that car without inflicting some minor injury on myself.

    I thought that all car work was like this. I usually sustain minor injuries when a bolt breaks loose and I smash my hand into something. At least gloves reduce the amount of damage done.

    No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
  • TheBigEasyTheBigEasy Registered User regular
    Hello car thread ... I happened to visit the TechnoClassica in Essen, Germany, last month. And there were a bunch of old (and some newer) cars on display and for sale. I shot a few photos:

    https://plus.google.com/photos/102496116244002272126/albums/5723427338852256657?authkey=CPWVsKP-84LteQ

    This is viewable even without a G+ account. It was all I could do to keep from drooling the whole day at the cars that were on display. And I couldn't even take fotos of everything, as my phones battery gave out somewhere in the middle of the history of Mercedes SL class.

  • DemonStaceyDemonStacey TTODewback's Daughter In love with the TaySwayRegistered User regular
    Question I'm curious about...

    I did some internet research first and it seems that smaller engine vehicles that produce lots of heat are more likely to use more oil. So would it stand to reason that a heavily modified small engine vehicle would use even more oil? And if so... is 1 quart every few weeks possible?

  • BeltaineBeltaine BOO BOO DOO DE DOORegistered User regular
    DaemonSadi wrote: »
    Question I'm curious about...

    I did some internet research first and it seems that smaller engine vehicles that produce lots of heat are more likely to use more oil. So would it stand to reason that a heavily modified small engine vehicle would use even more oil? And if so... is 1 quart every few weeks possible?

    If it's rotary, it is. :P

    XdDBi4F.jpg
    PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
  • DemonStaceyDemonStacey TTODewback's Daughter In love with the TaySwayRegistered User regular
    Beltaine wrote: »
    DaemonSadi wrote: »
    Question I'm curious about...

    I did some internet research first and it seems that smaller engine vehicles that produce lots of heat are more likely to use more oil. So would it stand to reason that a heavily modified small engine vehicle would use even more oil? And if so... is 1 quart every few weeks possible?

    If it's rotary, it is. :P

    Not a rotary no... but I know that rotary engines do indeed use lots of oil. All the more reason I'm curious if it's possible outside the world of RX-7s...

  • tinwhiskerstinwhiskers Registered User regular
    My Saturn eats about 1 qt every 600-700 miles. But it's from 1996, and has 189k miles on it...so thats maybe not the best example.

    6ylyzxlir2dz.png
  • L Ron HowardL Ron Howard The duck MinnesotaRegistered User regular
    fshavlak wrote: »
    Some cars demand blood sacrifice to do anything to -- I can't even change the oil on that car without inflicting some minor injury on myself.

    I thought that all car work was like this. I usually sustain minor injuries when a bolt breaks loose and I smash my hand into something. At least gloves reduce the amount of damage done.

    Heh. I went to change the air filter in my car and I ended up drawing blood. And the car is a 2006. I'd thought by now they figured out how to not extract blood as payment for fixing the car.

  • L Ron HowardL Ron Howard The duck MinnesotaRegistered User regular
    DaemonSadi wrote: »
    Question I'm curious about...

    I did some internet research first and it seems that smaller engine vehicles that produce lots of heat are more likely to use more oil. So would it stand to reason that a heavily modified small engine vehicle would use even more oil? And if so... is 1 quart every few weeks possible?

    No. The cars shouldn't be using oil, at all. My parents have a VW Passat with 180k miles on it and it doesn't burn a drop.
    Of course, the thing has all kinds of shitty electrical problems to make up for it, but it doesn't. Same goes for their Acura RSX. And actually my Lincoln doesn't burn or lose oil either, but that has a V-8.

  • DemonStaceyDemonStacey TTODewback's Daughter In love with the TaySwayRegistered User regular
    DaemonSadi wrote: »
    Question I'm curious about...

    I did some internet research first and it seems that smaller engine vehicles that produce lots of heat are more likely to use more oil. So would it stand to reason that a heavily modified small engine vehicle would use even more oil? And if so... is 1 quart every few weeks possible?

    No. The cars shouldn't be using oil, at all. My parents have a VW Passat with 180k miles on it and it doesn't burn a drop.
    Of course, the thing has all kinds of shitty electrical problems to make up for it, but it doesn't. Same goes for their Acura RSX. And actually my Lincoln doesn't burn or lose oil either, but that has a V-8.

    See this is the exact opposite of what my internet research told me.

  • The DeliveratorThe Deliverator Slingin Pies The California BurbclavesRegistered User regular
    It really depends on the engine whether it's going to eat oil or not. Some, like the 1.9L in older Saturn SL1s, are notorious for it. My '00 needs to be checked once a month, and is usually down a quart. It's been like that since my dad bought the car years ago with like 60k miles on it. The ancient escort I used to have never needed a top-off ever. My 1.8T Jetta I checked religiously because of having a turbo, but it was always fine. It's just a quirk some small engines have. If you're worried about it check various forums for the specific car or maker and ask.

  • DemonStaceyDemonStacey TTODewback's Daughter In love with the TaySwayRegistered User regular
    It really depends on the engine whether it's going to eat oil or not. Some, like the 1.9L in older Saturn SL1s, are notorious for it. My '00 needs to be checked once a month, and is usually down a quart. It's been like that since my dad bought the car years ago with like 60k miles on it. The ancient escort I used to have never needed a top-off ever. My 1.8T Jetta I checked religiously because of having a turbo, but it was always fine. It's just a quirk some small engines have. If you're worried about it check various forums for the specific car or maker and ask.

    Well my engine is a farrrrrrrrrr way from stock so I can't really compare it to other cars of the same type. So that's why I was just curious if it was possible for a small engine making lots of power and revving extra high to be using oil in some non-catastrophic fashion.

  • fshavlakfshavlak Registered User regular
    fshavlak wrote: »
    Some cars demand blood sacrifice to do anything to -- I can't even change the oil on that car without inflicting some minor injury on myself.

    I thought that all car work was like this. I usually sustain minor injuries when a bolt breaks loose and I smash my hand into something. At least gloves reduce the amount of damage done.

    Heh. I went to change the air filter in my car and I ended up drawing blood. And the car is a 2006. I'd thought by now they figured out how to not extract blood as payment for fixing the car.

    My car doesn't always demand blood. It seems odd that my housemate's '01 Explorer would when my '97 Town Car doesn't, until you realized that my car spent most of its life in South Texas, and his car has been in rural PA and upstate NY since it was built.

    I had the front suspension almost completely apart on my car, and aside from becoming filthy I did no harm to myself.

    A couple weeks ago we replaced the idler pulleys and tensioner on the Explorer because it was making awful whining noises, and as part of getting the tensioner off and back on I was shoulder-deep in the space between the fan and accessory drive. I have little paper-cut sized wounds from the plastic fan all the way up my arm to damn near my shoulder. The tensioner bolts are tricky on the Ford 5.0 (the old 5.0, not the Coyote).

  • BeltaineBeltaine BOO BOO DOO DE DOORegistered User regular
    DaemonSadi wrote: »
    It really depends on the engine whether it's going to eat oil or not. Some, like the 1.9L in older Saturn SL1s, are notorious for it. My '00 needs to be checked once a month, and is usually down a quart. It's been like that since my dad bought the car years ago with like 60k miles on it. The ancient escort I used to have never needed a top-off ever. My 1.8T Jetta I checked religiously because of having a turbo, but it was always fine. It's just a quirk some small engines have. If you're worried about it check various forums for the specific car or maker and ask.

    Well my engine is a farrrrrrrrrr way from stock so I can't really compare it to other cars of the same type. So that's why I was just curious if it was possible for a small engine making lots of power and revving extra high to be using oil in some non-catastrophic fashion.

    Heavy modification does sometimes take a good swipe at reliability. Using oil can be a good indication of something that may fail eventually. Then again, I knew a guy that drove a beat-up old Ford truck that would stop by the service station every two weeks to fill it with used oil until it was running out of the dipstick holder. He did that for years and the thing still ran.

    It's probably just a small leak somewhere. Depends on how badly you want to go chasing down the problem.

    Go run it up to operating temp then get out and open the hood and take a good whiff. Smell burning oil?

    XdDBi4F.jpg
    PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
  • DemonStaceyDemonStacey TTODewback's Daughter In love with the TaySwayRegistered User regular
    Beltaine wrote: »
    DaemonSadi wrote: »
    It really depends on the engine whether it's going to eat oil or not. Some, like the 1.9L in older Saturn SL1s, are notorious for it. My '00 needs to be checked once a month, and is usually down a quart. It's been like that since my dad bought the car years ago with like 60k miles on it. The ancient escort I used to have never needed a top-off ever. My 1.8T Jetta I checked religiously because of having a turbo, but it was always fine. It's just a quirk some small engines have. If you're worried about it check various forums for the specific car or maker and ask.

    Well my engine is a farrrrrrrrrr way from stock so I can't really compare it to other cars of the same type. So that's why I was just curious if it was possible for a small engine making lots of power and revving extra high to be using oil in some non-catastrophic fashion.

    Heavy modification does sometimes take a good swipe at reliability. Using oil can be a good indication of something that may fail eventually. Then again, I knew a guy that drove a beat-up old Ford truck that would stop by the service station every two weeks to fill it with used oil until it was running out of the dipstick holder. He did that for years and the thing still ran.

    It's probably just a small leak somewhere. Depends on how badly you want to go chasing down the problem.

    Go run it up to operating temp then get out and open the hood and take a good whiff. Smell burning oil?

    I haven't noticed any burning oil smells and I haven't been able to find any leaks which is has left me baffled!

  • SliderSlider Registered User regular
    My Saturn eats about 1 qt every 600-700 miles. But it's from 1996, and has 189k miles on it...so thats maybe not the best example.

    I drive a 1998 Nissan Sentra that has 221,000 miles. I use it to commute. It has a few leaks, but doesn't eat oil.

  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    For what its worth, my 93 240sx (may it rust in peace) would require about half a quart a month, but that car kind of had a lot of issues.

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