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My friend's old Buick land-barge is making a godawful rattling noise on idle/deceleration. It's coming from this area: It sounds like someone is shaking a ball bearing around inside that big hunk of metal, and goes away when you give it gas. Any ideas? I can find out more car make/model specifics if that would be helpful.
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Sep 27, 2010 01:59
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TheSpiritFox posted:She's slowly getting used to it, I appreciate at least knowing there isn't another option to explore. You may want to try getting on a Civic board and see if someone is selling their stock exhaust after upgrading to an obnoxious one. May get a good deal on it. Or may even be able to just do a swap for the current muffler, if you can figure out what kind it is.
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Sep 27, 2010 02:12
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Uthor posted:You may want to try getting on a Civic board and see if someone is selling their stock exhaust after upgrading to an obnoxious one. May get a good deal on it. Or may even be able to just do a swap for the current muffler, if you can figure out what kind it is. Why would this be a better, faster, or easier solution than just getting a silencer? Though they didn't mention anything about processes most sites that advertise silencers say they can be on or off in five minutes with the right tools. I'm pretty handy with most things mechanical once I figure them out. Anyone have any good insight specifically on silencers? I want to learn as well as fix the problem if at all possible, not find an alternate solution that involves Civic boards.
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Sep 27, 2010 02:38
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TheSpiritFox posted:Why would this be a better, faster, or easier solution than just getting a silencer? Though they didn't mention anything about processes most sites that advertise silencers say they can be on or off in five minutes with the right tools. I'm pretty handy with most things mechanical once I figure them out. Because getting the tastefully-designed OE part is a lot less complicated than trying to quiet down something thats meant to be obnoxious?
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Sep 27, 2010 02:42
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eddiewalker posted:Because getting the tastefully-designed OE part is a lot less complicated than trying to quiet down something thats meant to be obnoxious? I'm not going to navigate completely unfamiliar boards to find something I know almost nothing about and buy it off someone I don't know. If a silencer isn't going to do me a ton of good then replacing the muffler is probably a viable option, but I need more than "go to a civic board" to go on here. Whatever I buy is probably going to be new, I'll use e-bay or a website if I know exactly what I need to buy and can find somewhere to get it installed or install it myself. Any recommended performance or stock mufflers that are relatively quiet? I'm willing to spend probably up to a hundred, maybe one fifty to get this done (not including installation, if that's necessary) but I'd prefer to keep the entire thing under a hundred if possible. I just want my car to sound like a normal car and not vibrate tooth fillings when it goes over 2500 rpm. Something you can't hear from three blocks away. Hell, how much should I expect installation to cost? How much would a stock civic SI exhaust cost, what would be a "good deal"? I need information, if you can't or won't answer the actual questions I've been asking it doesn't help.
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Sep 27, 2010 03:49
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You could always try slinging that attitude elsewhere, oh Holy One.
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Sep 27, 2010 05:48
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Nah, I'm with Fox here. It's a pretty straightforward question: are silencers effective, and by how much, and is there any difference in effectiveness across brands? If the answer is no, they're totally ineffective, then "go find a stock muffler" is useful advice, of course, but Uthor didn't say that.
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Sep 27, 2010 06:16
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Leperflesh posted:If the answer is no, they're totally ineffective, then "go find a stock muffler" is useful advice, of course, but Uthor didn't say that. I don't know about silencers. I just thought he'd like to hear about an option that he may not have thought of (cheap stock mufflers are available on enthusiast boards). Sorry that I tried to help.
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Sep 27, 2010 06:18
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Uthor posted:I don't know about silencers. I just thought he'd like to hear about an option that he may not have thought of (cheap stock mufflers are available on enthusiast boards). Sorry that I tried to help. You are helping. It's a good idea. eddiewalker posted:Because getting the tastefully-designed OE part is a lot less complicated than trying to quiet down something thats meant to be obnoxious? You aren't, jeez. Tasteful, really? Setting up a cash transaction or a swap with somebody you don't know on a random forum you just found with Google seems like it could actually get a little complicated, by comparison to a bolt-on mail-order part from a real company that's bound by laws and stuff.  What a shocker that a dude asking these type of questions would be intimidated by or just not interested in this option.TheSpiritFox posted:Hell, how much should I expect installation to cost? How much would a stock civic SI exhaust cost, what would be a "good deal"? I need information, if you can't or won't answer the actual questions I've been asking it doesn't help. If you want to know how much installing a new muffler is going to cost, go look at the pipe on the engine end of your muffler and see if it's welded on or held on with a clamp. If it's a clamp and you have some hand tools, installation is free because you can do it yourself. If it's welded, you can your replacement to a muffler shop and get the old cut off and the new welded on for under $100. For a replacement, you could also consider going around to the local performance shops; anyplace that puts fartcans on Civics oughta be able to either sell you what you want as a remnant or something similar or put you in touch with one of their recent customers who now has a stock muffler gathering dust in his garage. I.E. the Civic forums option only local with less risk and more walking. Do the footwork, if you call you're probably just going to get a "go gently caress yourself".
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Sep 27, 2010 07:12
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Leperflesh posted:Nah, I'm with Fox here. It's a pretty straightforward question: are silencers effective, and by how much, and is there any difference in effectiveness across brands? I had an obnoxious exhaust on my last car. The "silencer" didn't make a very noticeable difference of any kind... in noise or power. Of course, the car was hilariously underpowered to begin with. The only reason the exhaust wound up on there was because it was free, and I regretted it pretty quickly. They can be installed/removed in a minute or so, usually with an allen wrench. Some are adjustable (mine was). You can try posting on craigslist or forums to swap for a stock exhaust - that's how I wound up with mine (straight trade) if you don't want to keep the loud one on there.
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Sep 27, 2010 09:08
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Splizwarf posted:You are helping. It's a good idea. Notice he asked why finding an original muffler would be, "a better, faster, or easier solution than just getting a silencer?" I answered that. I didn't say anything about WHERE to find it, Steve.
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Sep 27, 2010 09:32
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woohoo! Drama in the Stupid Question thread.MrZig posted:Did anyone save that thread where a poster (can't remember his name) made a living off of buying cars off craigslist for cheap, cleaning them/fixing them up and selling for a huge profit? He posted a very detailed guide on how to make your craigslist ad very appealing and how to make a quick sale. I'd like to read it all again. Hey, I asked the same thing a couple months ago when I was selling my car but got no response. toaster_pastry was the author of the thread, though. He responds to PM; hopefully, he doesn't mind if I paste this PM, as it was pretty helpful... toaster_pastry posted:That's really about it.
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Sep 27, 2010 13:25
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Last night when my girlfriend was on her way to my house, her '00 Explorer V6 started making a crazy loud rattling noise and started smoking. She turned it off and I came over to look at it, and noticed that there's a hole the size of a quarter in the driver's side valve cover, exposing the timing chain. According to her, besides the noise and the smoke, it "ran fine", but I'm hesitant to run it to verify this statement. Any clue what could break off in there with enough velocity to fly through the valve cover and still have the engine run normally?
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Sep 27, 2010 20:27
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I have an '88 Bronco II with the (apparently infamous) ticking lifters problem in the Ford 2.9L. My stepbrother recommended I buy a new rocker arm assembly and lifters so that he can do the work to replace them (he's the car guy in the family). I'm having a bit of trouble locating exactly what I need. I'd like to buy these parts online. Has anyone here dealt with this problem? Whether or not you have, what's the best site I should buy these parts from? Thanks in advance.
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Sep 27, 2010 20:37
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himajinga posted:Last night when my girlfriend was on her way to my house, her '00 Explorer V6 started making a crazy loud rattling noise and started smoking. She turned it off and I came over to look at it, and noticed that there's a hole the size of a quarter in the driver's side valve cover, exposing the timing chain. According to her, besides the noise and the smoke, it "ran fine", but I'm hesitant to run it to verify this statement. Any clue what could break off in there with enough velocity to fly through the valve cover and still have the engine run normally? A timing chain guide, maybe?
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Sep 27, 2010 20:51
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DELETED posted:A timing chain guide, maybe? That was kind of my first thought, but wasn't sure if it was realistic for it to eject with such velocity. How involved/expensive would replacing a timing chain guide be? himajinga fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Sep 27, 2010 |
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Sep 27, 2010 21:04
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himajinga posted:Last night when my girlfriend was on her way to my house, her '00 Explorer V6 started making a crazy loud rattling noise and started smoking. She turned it off and I came over to look at it, and noticed that there's a hole the size of a quarter in the driver's side valve cover, exposing the timing chain. According to her, besides the noise and the smoke, it "ran fine", but I'm hesitant to run it to verify this statement. Any clue what could break off in there with enough velocity to fly through the valve cover and still have the engine run normally? How does she feel about getting a new car? That or find another Explorer with a decent engine and a rusted out/otherwise trashed body in the junkyard for a donor. But really I'd look for a replacement, if she's in love with the Explorer they're common as dirt and almost as cheap.
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Sep 27, 2010 22:48
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I have a 96 Toyota Camry, my remote for my key less entry has broken into three pieces, the button fell out and now i can't get the security function off. is there any way of bypassing this feature?
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Sep 27, 2010 23:31
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Splizwarf posted:You are helping. It's a good idea. A friend who's into cars suggested twin loop exhaust to me. Some googling led me to ebay and a large list of basically two different types OBX Mugen something or other - $75 and Twin loop canister mufflers...I think - $42 Civic forums talk about the OBX and I've seen good and mediocre reviews, but nothing beyond anecdotal comparisons. If I were to buy this, would I be replacing the entire exhaust pipe up to the engine connection? I'm leaning towards that OBX mostly because it's the only one in my price range anyone's said anything about, would I need to buy pipe or would that be part of what Mineke or whomever would charge me for installation? It doesn't look like he's sending more than the actual muffler. I plan on doing an oil change soon, I'll get them to lift it up for me so I can check out the underside. I need to figure out if I've got 2.5 or 3 inches of pipe diameter, right? It says universal but I imagine inlet size matters. Both of the above are in my price range, but I'm definitely open to other options that are similarly priced. TheSpiritFox fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Sep 27, 2010 |
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Sep 27, 2010 23:43
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I have a 1983 Chevy Caprice Classic (auto 5.0L V8), and it recently hit 150,000 miles. This made me realize I've been a Bad Car Owner, since I've been kinda lax about keeping records of what service I've had done on it. I also seem to be missing one of the manuals that came with the car, this of course being the one with the maintenance schedule in it. Stupid Question Time I last got my oil changed on Aug. 15, which was a bit less than 2,000 miles ago. The receipt that I have from them (Valvoline) recommends that I have the following done: tire rotation, front & rear differential, transmission flush, radiator. I know I should probably get the tires rotated and flush the transmission (having had the latter suggested by another shop). Should I get the differential(s) and radiator serviced, as well? I'll note that I'll be taking it to a local shop (who seem to have a good reputation) for this stuff. Also, if anyone can point me in the direction of a maintenance schedule for this car, I'd really appreciate it. I signed up for the Autozone website, but their maintenance schedule thing is incredibly obtuse to use, and it doesn't seem like they just want to just give me a list of how often each thing should be done. I've also had little luck doing web searches.
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Sep 28, 2010 00:44
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Okay, so my 2000 Altima is still having problems. It some times stutters/struggles from a dead stop untill it hits 2500rpms then it "catches" I also seem to have problems with it going if its running at around 2000rpms and I try to accelerate or am going up a hill around those rpms. Once I hit around 2500rpms it runs decent. It is throwing the following codes: Knock Sensor Malfunction, Cylinder 2 Misfire, and Running Lean. It has new plugs, wires and injectors. Where should I go from here?
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Sep 28, 2010 00:50
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clamiam posted:I last got my oil changed on Aug. 15, which was a bit less than 2,000 miles ago. The receipt that I have from them (Valvoline) recommends that I have the following done: tire rotation, front & rear differential, transmission flush, radiator. I know I should probably get the tires rotated and flush the transmission (having had the latter suggested by another shop). Should I get the differential(s) and radiator serviced, as well? I'll note that I'll be taking it to a local shop (who seem to have a good reputation) for this stuff. I usually say, if you can't remembder when it was done or don't know, then its probably time to do it. You only have one differential BTW. The timing chain might be another thing to do sometime soon. THey're usually pretty long lived, but they do stretch and can break from time to time. Which is bad.
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Sep 28, 2010 01:01
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clamiam posted:
These are all things you can do at home relatively easily. Well, tire rotations are a bit of a pain in the rear end since you have to have all 4 wheels in the air at once. I wouldn't pay a mechanic for any of that, except maybe the tire rotation.
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Sep 28, 2010 01:12
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TheSpiritFox posted:
Can you move the seat up or down? (not forward, but up) Failing that, see if you can find the blocks they put on pedals for short people, and put one on the clutch only. I've got a bad knee and have no problems with the clutch in my cooper. It works best for me when my seat is down low.
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Sep 28, 2010 01:35
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JackRabbitStorm posted:Okay, so my 2000 Altima is still having problems. It some times stutters/struggles from a dead stop untill it hits 2500rpms then it "catches" I also seem to have problems with it going if its running at around 2000rpms and I try to accelerate or am going up a hill around those rpms. Once I hit around 2500rpms it runs decent. EDIT: I am a dumbass that didn't read your post fully. Try a compression test in #2? nitrogen fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Sep 28, 2010 |
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Sep 28, 2010 01:47
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nitrogen posted:EDIT: I am a dumbass that didn't read your post fully. Try a compression test in #2? I will give that a try on friday, I need to buy a compression tester, my last one walked off.
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Sep 28, 2010 02:16
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TheSpiritFox posted:A friend who's into cars suggested twin loop exhaust to me. Some googling led me to ebay and a large list of basically two different types They're poo poo and a loving joke. Just look in a Summit catalog, find something that matches the diameters of your pipe and the muffler's length and other dimensions, have it shipped to you and find a local friendly non-franchised store and give them some money!
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Sep 28, 2010 02:59
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I have a 2004 Astra H diesel, and a few weeks ago the interior lights got stuck permanently on. So I took out the bulb in the front, and it solved the problem. I noticed a few days ago that the springy metal piece that the bulb fits onto was loose. Today, I got in and started it up, and heard a spark. I went to the gym, came out, started it up and heard more sparks, only this time, in the few minutes I was sat in the car park, smoke started to come out the light fitting and all along the seam at the top of the windscreen on the passenger side, and the lights on the bulb buttons started flickering on and off. Not having a spanner in the car, I thought I'd drive home and disconnect the battery there, but the smoke started pouring out so I pulled over, luckily right outside a fire station and had them disconnect the battery for me. So, first of all, why would the bulb be permanently stuck on in the first place, and second, how does that cause my car to almost become ablaze? The fire crew said the source looked like the bottom of the a-pillar, and it smelled like electrical burning, so I'm guessing a wire got burnt through somewhere. Also, would I have to go to Vauxhall over this or can any garage sort this kind of problem?
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Sep 28, 2010 03:32
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Black88GTA posted:transmission flush = I'd stay away from this one. Flushing a high-mile auto transmission that hasn't been regularly serviced will often kill it Could you explain: 1) The term "regularly serviced"? I only said I haven't kept good records, not that I haven't serviced the car. 2) Why two different garages have independently mentioned to me "you should probably flush the transmission when you hit 150k"?
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Sep 28, 2010 03:45
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clamiam posted:Could you explain: 1 - transmission flushes every 30k (i'm guessing thats what the manufacturer recommends). Have you gotten 15k and 30k services when you hit those milestones? 2- 150k is a multiple of 30k
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Sep 28, 2010 03:49
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Brigdh posted:1 - transmission flushes every 30k (i'm guessing thats what the manufacturer recommends). Have you gotten 15k and 30k services when you hit those milestones? The car had over 120k when I bought it from my grandpa seven years ago 
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Sep 28, 2010 04:04
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clamiam posted:The car had over 120k when I bought it from my grandpa seven years ago
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Sep 28, 2010 04:08
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clamiam posted:Could you explain: My fault, I read your post as to say that you hadn't been maintaining it.  Anyways, if the transmission has been flushed on a regular basis (say every 30k - 50k miles), you should be able to do it again without problems. However, if it is rolling around on fluid that's been sitting in there since the Reagan administration, it will have built up goopy deposits inside the transmission by this point. And here's the problem. Fresh tranny fluid contains lots of strong detergents. Introducing fresh detergent-laden fluid to a transmission with poo poo caked inside of it is likely to dislodge some of these solid chunks of poo poo. These chunks of poo poo will then swish around inside your transmission until they clog up small passageways in the valve body, which is likely to ultimately kill your transmission for good.As for the garages - they only care about making money on easily upsold services. They don't give a poo poo if your transmission subsequently shits the bed as a result of what they did. They can easily absolve themselves of blame by saying "hey buddy, it's a 27 year old Chevy with 150k+ miles on it, what did you expect?"  If you go after them for "damages", you will just look like a big douche trying to accuse the shop of doing something to break your old-rear end Chevy with a million miles on it. Given the age / mileage of the car, there is no way you would ever get a cent out of them - and they know it. Or maybe they have good intentions, and I'm just jaded. v  v Before I started working on my own cars, I got ripped off more than once by dishonest mechanics - it seemed that was all I could find. In fact, that's what pushed me to start learning how to do all this stuff myself.Your call, but unless it's been flushed regularly, I'd leave that one alone.
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Sep 28, 2010 04:09
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himajinga posted:That was kind of my first thought, but wasn't sure if it was realistic for it to eject with such velocity. How involved/expensive would replacing a timing chain guide be? Oh, it is quite realistic. My Jetta shot its timing chain out and busted a hole in the chain cover, which might actually be tougher than that valve cover you mentioned. I can't tell you how much it would cost on that engine, but for a good reference on a car that would cost much more...I paid the dealer $1300 to do the chains (don't flame, I had bought the car less than a week ago and didn't wanna DIY a car I knew nothing about...) on my VR6 and that required taking the transmission off. An explorer oughta be much, much easier.
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Sep 28, 2010 05:03
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Went to go fill up my 1999 4-cyl Toyota Camry today and I pulled the gas latch and..... nothing happened! It seems random, I heard the latch mechanism working but it would not pop the door open. I had to pry it gently open with a key :/ What is most likely the problem? And more importantly, what is the fix? I'm somewhat car savvy, but I am pressed for time lately. I'm in the Bay Area if any AI goons wanted to help me out for a 6 pack!!
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Sep 28, 2010 05:15
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heeebrew posted:Went to go fill up my 1999 4-cyl Toyota Camry today and I pulled the gas latch and..... nothing happened! It seems random, I heard the latch mechanism working but it would not pop the door open. I had to pry it gently open with a key :/ What is most likely the problem? And more importantly, what is the fix? I'm somewhat car savvy, but I am pressed for time lately. Try shooting some WD-40 (or similar light penetrating lubricant) into the locking mechanism that the fuel door interfaces with, then move the mechanism with a screwdriver. Odds are its just frozen.
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Sep 28, 2010 05:19
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I have a recurring issue with my 1996 Ford Contour (2.0L Zetec, 5spd manual). About 6 months ago, I was driving around and I noticed the coolant temperature gauge was bottomed-out and the car was behaving differently. After a while, the lights got to be very dim and the radio shut off. I checked the fuse box and found the 7.5A "Engine Control" fuse was blown. I replaced it and the issue went away. This happened about once a week for a few months. When investigating the issue I found the wires going to the temp sender on the thermostat were exposed, so I taped those up. The insulation was cracked but the wires/connector were great. Had the problem one more time after this, and after I shoved in a 20A fuse for a bit, it's been fine. Yes that was dumb, but I had a 250mi trip and I was running late. Running on the 7.5A since then. I noticed that when the fuse was blown, everything electrical would go dim/turn off (I found that the alternator field voltage was on this fuse so that makes sense), and the car would run great. Usually when people have this fuse go, it won't even start, but my car ran better than I had ever seen it. Normally when I'm coasting and hit the throttle to keep up the speed, the car jerks forward harshly as soon as I hit the pedal. Also, shifting gears always feels terrible and jerky, as if the engine drops RPMs instantly during the shift. I have driven in other manual cars just fine, and this also did NOT happen at all when that fuse was blown. The car also idles up and down sometimes, and when the fan kicks on high in hot weather, the car feels like it's going to stall (RPMs dip like crazy and the car shakes). I have no idea what the gently caress is going on. I work on cars all the time and I routinely take apart and repair my buddies' cars, but this is beyond me. I have no CEL at all. Everything that I would suspect (throttle position sensor, air/coolant temp sensors, vacuum leak, MAF sensor) would normally throw a code so I'm stumped. I'm contemplating just tossing a new TPS on anyways since all signs point there (awkward/high idle, revs dropping during shifts, on the "Engine Control" fuse). Either that or a new ECU. Sorry for all the text, and I don't even know if these issues are connected, but I figured I would give as much info as possible.
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Sep 28, 2010 09:18
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Black88GTA posted:As for the garages - they only care about making money on easily upsold services. They don't give a poo poo if your transmission subsequently shits the bed as a result of what they did. They can easily absolve themselves of blame by saying "hey buddy, it's a 27 year old Chevy with 150k+ miles on it, what did you expect?" This is somewhat true. The Garage isn't going to be malicious about it. The service should be done, and it is what it is. The transmission fails from viscosity break down, or from clogged passages, either way is untenable. At least that's how the shop I work at looks at things. "Sure this repair bill is enormous, but it all actually does need to be done". I mean, it's not exactly our fault people leave things until they're well and truly hosed.
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Sep 28, 2010 12:59
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My sister-in-law sent me a message on facebook this morning asking if I knew anything about alternators because she thinks hers died. Now while I'm going to have the alternator tested (I have no idea how she knows it's dead) how hard is it to replace the alternator in a 2000 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi? I know on the 3.1/3.4 you have to unbolt the engine and rotate it forward, but I'm thinking the Bonneville's engine bay is big enough that that isn't necessary.
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Sep 28, 2010 13:39
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The driver side window got smashed in on my sister's 95 thunderbird and for about a year it had an adhesive plastic temporary window in place. Now I'm the one driving the car and I got the window replaced but the door trim and paint is still covered in pieces of plastic and adhesive which seem to be impossible to remove. The shop that did the window were going at it with a buffer, I tried goo-gone and a plastic putty knife. None of which accomplished anything. Any ideas?
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Sep 28, 2010 14:00
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