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spog
Aug 7, 2004

It's your own bloody fault.
2006 Saab 9-3 convertible.

Want to add LED DRL to it. At the moment, doesn't have any DRL enabled (all lights turn off when the ignition is off)

I am thinking that one of these, connected straight to battery terminal and the sidelights

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360994863499?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


Plus, these under the headlight glass

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Daytime-Running-Styling-Lights/dp/B004ROPXES/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=19EN03VBRAF0D6DNX2C8


Will do the job. Anything I have missed (apart from the obvious taste issues)

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Alarbus
Mar 31, 2010

MrChips posted:

First question - no, it doesn't do any harm running normal tires in place of run-flats. In fact you might actually like how the car rides and handles on normal tires. Run-flats have very stiff sidewalls, which can negatively affect both of those characteristics.

Second question - personally, I don't skimp on tires, especially on a daily driver. As tired as the saying is, your tires are the only part of your vehicle that touches the road and they are a critical safety system. Budget brand tires are often not as well engineered as name brand tires, which could have a serious negative effect on wet and dry traction, and in the long run the the cheap rubber compounds they use can cause your tires to wear out fast enough that you would have been better off with the name brands.

Fourthed or whatever it's up to now.

I've run non run flats on two BMWs now, it's better that way. Also, non run flats are cheaper than the OEMs anyway, but still don't skimp on tires.

Kia Soul Enthusias
May 9, 2004

zoom-zoom
Toilet Rascal

b0nes posted:

Also am I obliged to fix stuff on the car?

Yes.

Omglosser
Sep 2, 2007

Slavvy posted:

Are you revving the car in neutral? Things don't work the same in neutral as in drive so you really need to look at the current data whilst driving. The ecu knows there's no load and you're just revving it for shits and giggles so it won't open the TB properly and some cars even cap the revs around 4,500rpm so you don't blow the engine up like a dumbass. I've never worked on a vibe but my toyota experience has shown me that 2az's (and modern toyotas in general) are just really sluggish and unresponsive at the best of times. Unless you had the ignition on when you were cleaning the TB, you couldn't have hurt anything; I've done it dozens of times with no issues.
No, the car was just in the 'on' position. I had been told that if you force open and electric throttle body manually you can damage it.

Slavvy posted:

You can't force the TB open using the gas pedal, it doesn't work that way. The ecu doesn't open the TB proportionate to the percentage the gas pedal is depressed. It instead calculates the amount of torque you're demanding from the engine (your accelerator pedal is actually a torque pedal) and opens the TB however much is necessary to reach that result. Torque percentage and TB opening percentage are not linear.
Actually yes you can, at least in my car's case. The first time I ever cleaned the TB I switched the key to the 'on' position and pressed the pedal down with one of those pedal depressor things that latches onto the steering wheel. I remember having an issue of some kind right after that so I didn't do it that way again(it was a long time ago).

Slavvy posted:

Or are you expecting both accelerator position percentages to be the same? Cause that's normal. What do you actually think is wrong with your car, if anything?

Well I would expect the position to go up to 100% when I press the pedal to the floor, not 81.2%. Also it shouldn't read at 15.7% when the car is off and my foot is off the pedal, should it? I just did the same check on an 02 grand prix and it went from 0 to 100 when I went from off pedal to all the way down. The car was just in the 'on' position when I did the reading, not running, so there was no revving going on. It just seems like the pedal sensor or the throttle position sensor is out of whack, which may be what slows the car down when I really stand in it. I know it's a high torque 4-banger with AWD so I don't expect my eyes to sink back when I step on it, but there is a distinct difference in acceleration at seemingly random times. Also my gas mileage is pretty lovely. I'm lucky to get 22-23mpg and I do drive mostly on the highway. I really keep up on my regular maintenance and check my tires twice a month consistently so I doubt it's anything like that causing poor gas mileage.

Kia Soul Enthusias
May 9, 2004

zoom-zoom
Toilet Rascal

Omglosser posted:

Well I would expect the position to go up to 100% when I press the pedal to the floor, not 81.2%. Also it shouldn't read at 15.7% when the car is off and my foot is off the pedal, should it?

I'm pretty sure those are the exact numbers my Mazda 3 gives me for the position of the gas pedal. It's normal.

Slavvy
Dec 11, 2012

Omglosser posted:

No, the car was just in the 'on' position. I had been told that if you force open and electric throttle body manually you can damage it.

Actually yes you can, at least in my car's case. The first time I ever cleaned the TB I switched the key to the 'on' position and pressed the pedal down with one of those pedal depressor things that latches onto the steering wheel. I remember having an issue of some kind right after that so I didn't do it that way again(it was a long time ago).


Well I would expect the position to go up to 100% when I press the pedal to the floor, not 81.2%. Also it shouldn't read at 15.7% when the car is off and my foot is off the pedal, should it? I just did the same check on an 02 grand prix and it went from 0 to 100 when I went from off pedal to all the way down. The car was just in the 'on' position when I did the reading, not running, so there was no revving going on. It just seems like the pedal sensor or the throttle position sensor is out of whack, which may be what slows the car down when I really stand in it. I know it's a high torque 4-banger with AWD so I don't expect my eyes to sink back when I step on it, but there is a distinct difference in acceleration at seemingly random times. Also my gas mileage is pretty lovely. I'm lucky to get 22-23mpg and I do drive mostly on the highway. I really keep up on my regular maintenance and check my tires twice a month consistently so I doubt it's anything like that causing poor gas mileage.


CharlesM posted:

I'm pretty sure those are the exact numbers my Mazda 3 gives me for the position of the gas pedal. It's normal.

Yeah an 02 grand prix will have a throttle cable and a completely different set of readings.

Definitely don't dick around with it set to ON, if you want to clean an electronic TB you should only ever do it with the car completely switched off and manually open the throttle plate. You may have confused the ecu or damaged something in the TB motor by doing that. But anecdotally, the 2AZ is quite a bit less lively than 4 cylinders from other brands with the same sort of capacity. Surely it can't be that expensive to just grab a junkyard TB and try it?

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

b0nes posted:

When I was talking about ethics I wasn't trying to imply the car would explode on impact. It's safe to drive but it really could use some tires in the future, and an alignment.

OK, I don't know how much you know about this stuff, so I'm going to lecture you and if I'm off base, I apologize. But it seems to be a common area of severe ignorance among the public, so folks in AI tend to have to say this stuff a lot, which is why I suspect you might not be aware of it.

What is the most important safety feature of a car? No, not seat belts. Not brakes, either. Nor the crumple zones, nor the safety glass, nor the air bags.

The most important safety feature of a car is its tires. The tires limit the driver's ability to maintain control in an emergency, whether that's braking, turning, or sometimes accelerating. Whatever the grip the tire can summon, in whatever the current conditions, is the maximum the car and driver can do to avoid accidents.

It follows, then, that if a car has poor tires, it's more likely that the driver will have an accident, and if there is an accident, it's more likely to be more severe. Tires that still have "some" grip may give you a longer stopping distance than otherwise: even if the antilock brakes come on, they will modulate braking in accordance with the ABS system's detection of how whether/how much the tires are breaking loose from the pavement and starting to spin, and that is a function of the quality and condition of the tires. Similarly, in an emergency turning situation, maximum pressure on a single tire may cause it to break loose and go into a skid; the better the tire, the harder you can take an emergency corner without losing control.

So if the tires are in poor condition, they should be replaced. If they are still within their normal tread life and are not otherwise damaged, then fine. If the tire still has 10% of the tread left before you get to the wear indicator bars, and there's no cracking, chunks missing, uneven wear, etc. then fine... drive on the tire until it's done.

But walk through a parking lot and look at the tires, and if you know what a worn out tire looks like... you'll see something like every fourth vehicle has tires with excessive wear. Throw in tires that are obviously underinflated, so old they're cracking, or are mismatched, and it's more like one in three or even one in two. It's awful.

Alignment goes hand in hand with tire condition. Slightly less important, but a car that is misaligned doesn't just produce uneven wear on the tires... it can behave unexpectedly or poorly under certain extreme steering/braking/accelerating conditions. The same is true of suspension and steering components.

So nobody here has any way of really knowing exactly how bad your tires are, or how bad your alignment is. Our default answer is going to be "get it fixed" because you don't want to be partly responsible (ethically, if not legally) for your friend getting into an accident because you provided a car that wasn't as safe as it should have been.

Sometimes people come into AI and tell us that the reason they have mismatched tires, or don't get their car aligned or suspension fixed, is because they can't afford it. While I'm very sympathetic to the fact that people in poverty or near-poverty situations are sometimes stuck with few options for getting to work, and not enough money to get things fixed... nevertheless, driving an unsafe vehicle is a matter of life and death. If a person cannot afford the basic safety-related maintenance of their car, then they can't afford to drive.

Hopefully that's not you, but you'll have to make that assessment. If you're not sure how to tell, take pictures of your tires' tread, tell us details about the alignment problem, and we can tell you if we think it's safe or not.

Fender Anarchist
May 20, 2009

Fender Anarchist

Omglosser posted:

09 Pontiac Vibe 2.4L(Toyota 2AZ-FE) AWD 115k
I was just playing around with my new OBDII scanner and I noticed this:

Foot off the pedal:


Pedal to the floor:


Basically I'm wondering if I need to replace the TB or the pedal sensor? Or is there something else going on?

Slavvy posted:

Or are you expecting both accelerator position percentages to be the same? Cause that's normal. What do you actually think is wrong with your car, if anything?

I think he's expecting the positions to read 0 and 100%, which will never be the case.

Sensors run on 5V power. 5 volts represents 100% sensor reading, 0v represents 0. Now say you unplug the sensor; (or the sensor fails) it reads 0 volts, 0%, but if the computer thinks that's just normal no-pedal, it can't tell anything's wrong. Similarly, if a short occurs bypassing the resistor in the sensor and it gets constant 5 volt power, it'll interpret that as wide open throttle and happily redline the engine until you turn the key off.

Having the "off pedal" and "max pedal" positions represented by non-0/non-100% positions lets the computer tell when the sensor fails in one of those two ways. It's a fail-safe. It still knows that 15.7% sensor position is zero throttle, and 80% sensor is max throttle.

If the engine responds appropriately at all pedal positions, and doesn't idle at 3000 rpm, stop worrying about it.

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal

InitialDave posted:

If you attach a wire to the solenoid's low-current/switch-on terminal, that which is normally connected to the ignition switch's "start" position, and touch it to the positive battery terminal, the starter should crank. If it doesn't, you have a duff starter, solenoid, or main power wiring (the first and last sound unlikely, as you say shorting the starter terminals works).

If it does crank like this, but won't on the key, I'd say duff wiring from the ignition switch, or something like a shifter interlock microswitch or old immobiliser is interfering.

Thanks for the advice on rewiring the ignition on my truck--pulling current from the battery positive post on the relay to the switch post on the relay worked like a champ.

I don't know why that had never occurred to me... I was just under the assumption that the current to trigger the switch in the relay had to be smaller, eg from the ignition switch or something like the fuse panel. Then again I have a very layman's understanding of everything and I'm sure I used the wrong terms somewhere.

To clarify an earlier question, I was shorting the starter relay with a wrench to crank it up, not the starter solenoid. The starter itself is brand new... I really like what Dave said about the wiring from the ignition switch, I've replaced drat near everything else at this point trying to troubleshoot it. I'm just happy it's starting again! Now to figure out why the truck occasionally likes to stall out when it hits third gear :suicide:

Catatron Prime fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Mar 22, 2015

Slavvy
Dec 11, 2012

Fucknag posted:

I think he's expecting the positions to read 0 and 100%, which will never be the case.

Sensors run on 5V power. 5 volts represents 100% sensor reading, 0v represents 0. Now say you unplug the sensor; (or the sensor fails) it reads 0 volts, 0%, but if the computer thinks that's just normal no-pedal, it can't tell anything's wrong. Similarly, if a short occurs bypassing the resistor in the sensor and it gets constant 5 volt power, it'll interpret that as wide open throttle and happily redline the engine until you turn the key off.

Having the "off pedal" and "max pedal" positions represented by non-0/non-100% positions lets the computer tell when the sensor fails in one of those two ways. It's a fail-safe. It still knows that 15.7% sensor position is zero throttle, and 80% sensor is max throttle.

If the engine responds appropriately at all pedal positions, and doesn't idle at 3000 rpm, stop worrying about it.

Yeah this. The grand prix will have 0-100% because it'll just be a simple rheostat that open-circuits and shuts a different terminal at idle and WOT.

Sentient Data
Aug 31, 2011

My molecule scrambler ray will disintegrate your armor with one blow!

OSU_Matthew posted:

Now to figure out why the truck occasionally likes to stall out when it hits third gear :suicide:

If your ignition coil has a condenser/capacitor attached to it (little metal canister about the size of a short AA battery), check it and see if it's bulging/leaking. Also worth checking your distributor pickup/hall effect sensor, especially if it's the photo type. If it got dirty in there or if a little component got damaged, it can screw things up.

Both of those aren't specifically related to high gear, but they can cause random stalling at any rpm without throwing a code, and they're more likely to act up when the engine's warmer. Ditto a hot short in the coil or whatever it's called, where the internal wires expand slightly from the heat and only occasionally short out when hot. The first two are more notable to check out since they'd get missed more easily due to the components literally not existing in more modern cars.

Failed capacitor will cause radio interference to various sensors (especially the hall effect sensor), and the distributor pickup failing will basically have the same synonyms as a cps sensor failing if you came across that cause while googling

stump
Jan 19, 2006

Sorry for not replying to the answers to my question a while back about the Corsa handbrake, I lost patience and decided to let the garage do it when it gets MOT'd.

On a completely different note I'm going to be hiring a car in Las Vegas for my honeymoon in August to drive LV>Tahoe>SF>LA>LV. What's the best affordable tier of hire to go for to increase my chances of getting something decent?

In the UK is go for Ford Mondeo (Fusion) size, as most cars in that snack bracket aren't terrible. So I was thinking of going for "Ford Fusion or similar", or maybe Fullsize / Premium. Ideally I'm looking for something with a bit of poke (as in sub 9 second to 60, not a corvette), cruise and aux in or Bluetooth audio. Handling and economy aren't as important.

I was thinking about a mustang, but since it'll likely be a last gen base spec v6 for £100 more than a nice sedan I'm not convinced. Also I would stick out like a sore thumb as a goddamn tourist.

Lastly what are the hire companies to avoid / go for? I've always had good experiences with enterprise in the UK.

Omglosser
Sep 2, 2007

Fucknag posted:

I think he's expecting the positions to read 0 and 100%, which will never be the case.

Sensors run on 5V power. 5 volts represents 100% sensor reading, 0v represents 0. Now say you unplug the sensor; (or the sensor fails) it reads 0 volts, 0%, but if the computer thinks that's just normal no-pedal, it can't tell anything's wrong. Similarly, if a short occurs bypassing the resistor in the sensor and it gets constant 5 volt power, it'll interpret that as wide open throttle and happily redline the engine until you turn the key off.

Having the "off pedal" and "max pedal" positions represented by non-0/non-100% positions lets the computer tell when the sensor fails in one of those two ways. It's a fail-safe. It still knows that 15.7% sensor position is zero throttle, and 80% sensor is max throttle.

If the engine responds appropriately at all pedal positions, and doesn't idle at 3000 rpm, stop worrying about it.

Thanks everyone, I'll stop worrying about it then. why can't all cars be exactly the same

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal

Sentient Data posted:

If your ignition coil has a condenser/capacitor attached to it (little metal canister about the size of a short AA battery), check it and see if it's bulging/leaking. Also worth checking your distributor pickup/hall effect sensor, especially if it's the photo type. If it got dirty in there or if a little component got damaged, it can screw things up.

Both of those aren't specifically related to high gear, but they can cause random stalling at any rpm without throwing a code, and they're more likely to act up when the engine's warmer. Ditto a hot short in the coil or whatever it's called, where the internal wires expand slightly from the heat and only occasionally short out when hot. The first two are more notable to check out since they'd get missed more easily due to the components literally not existing in more modern cars.

Failed capacitor will cause radio interference to various sensors (especially the hall effect sensor), and the distributor pickup failing will basically have the same synonyms as a cps sensor failing if you came across that cause while googling

Thanks! I will check into both of those things... It's important bits of knowledge like that I woulda never figured out on my own.

I need to look into the stalling a bit more before I can actually adequately describe it, but it's not completely random. Basically when the truck hits ~35 mph, it shifts up and has a hard time maintaining rpms unless you floor the gas. It feels like the transmission shifted up a gear too high, and the engine can't put out enough power to keep up and stalls if I don't floor it. Or that the engine isn't receiving adequate fuel supply (I don't think it's fuel related though, because it works just fine the rest of the time).

It feels very similar to leaving a vehicle in second after coming to a complete stop, and then releasing the clutch and trying to move while in the wrong gear.

I'm assuming this is something I'll have to get a real mechanic to look at, but I'd desperately at least like to have some direction to poke in first. Half the reason I bought the truck was to be a learning project, and I'm not ready to give that up yet.

babyeatingpsychopath
Oct 28, 2000
Forum Veteran

Omglosser posted:

Thanks everyone, I'll stop worrying about it then. why can't all cars be exactly the same

They are all exactly the same. You push the pedal, it goes. It idles at some speed. There's OTHER STUFF that happens in between your foot and the ground that makes all cars work the same. The specifics are just that, though. Specific.


babyeatingpsychopath posted:

'97 Olds 88 with the 4T60E transmission.

Doesn't want to go into reverse. It seems like the revs have to be in a VERY specific range for the reverse clutch to engage, and I can hear a squeak when it does so. If I let it sit in R and hold the brake, I can hear a quasi-rhythmic squeaking that pulses in time with transmission engagement.

Is this fixable just by dropping the pan off and tightening some band?

Will a transmission flush fix this?

Should I just drive this until the transmission stops working then replace the transmission?

I feel this fell off the page and someone here knows something about transmissions.

Safety Dance
Sep 10, 2007

Five degrees to starboard!

stump posted:

Sorry for not replying to the answers to my question a while back about the Corsa handbrake, I lost patience and decided to let the garage do it when it gets MOT'd.

On a completely different note I'm going to be hiring a car in Las Vegas for my honeymoon in August to drive LV>Tahoe>SF>LA>LV. What's the best affordable tier of hire to go for to increase my chances of getting something decent?

In the UK is go for Ford Mondeo (Fusion) size, as most cars in that snack bracket aren't terrible. So I was thinking of going for "Ford Fusion or similar", or maybe Fullsize / Premium. Ideally I'm looking for something with a bit of poke (as in sub 9 second to 60, not a corvette), cruise and aux in or Bluetooth audio. Handling and economy aren't as important.

I was thinking about a mustang, but since it'll likely be a last gen base spec v6 for £100 more than a nice sedan I'm not convinced. Also I would stick out like a sore thumb as a goddamn tourist.

Lastly what are the hire companies to avoid / go for? I've always had good experiences with enterprise in the UK.

I rented a convertible Mustang for a trip out west last year. I think I got a latest-gen, fairly nice v6. It was reasonably quick and fun to drive. I rented through Alamo. It cost me something like $330/week.

Realistically, if you go through any major company (Alamo, Hertz, Budget, Enterprise) and get any car not in the Economy or Subcompact ranges, you'll find something that ticks all your boxes.

Godholio
Aug 28, 2002

Does a bear split in the woods near Zheleznogorsk?
Not all rentals are basic. I rented a brand new Mustang GT from Hertz because I wanted to try out the (new at the time) 5.0.

InitialDave
Jun 14, 2007

I Want To Believe.

OSU_Matthew posted:

I don't know why that had never occurred to me... I was just under the assumption that the current to trigger the switch in the relay had to be smaller, eg from the ignition switch or something like the fuse panel.
A very oversimplified way of remembering it is that voltage is pushed, current is sucked. In general, if you are applying the right voltage to something, you can't "supply" too much current - it'll take what it needs. On the other hand, if you put a restriction in place (like too small a cable or a really bad connection), it all goes tits up, like trying to drink a thick milkshake through too small a straw (Though milkshakes tend not to catch fire, unless you really ramp up the alcohol content).

All you need to do now is follow the wiring from the fuse panel, to the ignition switch, to the starter, and find out at what point it doesn't give you power when you turn the key to the "start" position. Or say gently caress it and run a wire direct from one to the other.


stump posted:

Sorry for not replying to the answers to my question a while back about the Corsa handbrake, I lost patience and decided to let the garage do it when it gets MOT'd.

On a completely different note I'm going to be hiring a car in Las Vegas for my honeymoon in August to drive LV>Tahoe>SF>LA>LV. What's the best affordable tier of hire to go for to increase my chances of getting something decent?

In the UK is go for Ford Mondeo (Fusion) size, as most cars in that snack bracket aren't terrible. So I was thinking of going for "Ford Fusion or similar", or maybe Fullsize / Premium. Ideally I'm looking for something with a bit of poke (as in sub 9 second to 60, not a corvette), cruise and aux in or Bluetooth audio. Handling and economy aren't as important.

I was thinking about a mustang, but since it'll likely be a last gen base spec v6 for £100 more than a nice sedan I'm not convinced. Also I would stick out like a sore thumb as a goddamn tourist.

Lastly what are the hire companies to avoid / go for? I've always had good experiences with enterprise in the UK.
While it is fun to rent something stereotypically :911:MURICA:911:, I wouldn't pay a premium for a Mustang or a Challenger or anything, they're not particularly special to drive in hirecar-spec.

First thing I'd check is if you have what I have, which is the ability to use something like I had, National's Emerald Club at the executive tier - mine is automatic because I work for an American company who obviously give them a lot of business, but it's worth investigating if your company have anything similar, because it means you get free upgrades and faster service. Literally off the airport shuttle, get in whichever car I fancy, drive out the gate.

Consider an SUV. I spent most of my time in the US tooling about in a fully-loaded Expedition, and it was great for rumbling about in. Fuel is cheaper than piss anyway, so the MPG doesn't matter.

Don't worry overly about performance, everything will be auto anyway, and you'll have no trouble keeping up with traffic if you're used to British norms.

Godholio
Aug 28, 2002

Does a bear split in the woods near Zheleznogorsk?
You know, instead of just throwing out ideas on rental options, here's my advice:

Figure out what rental agencies are/near the airport (I assume McCarran). Check out their websites, you can (and absolutely should) reserve ahead of time rather than showing up and picking at that time. You'll be able to see what they have...if they're assholes and only have the "classes" of vehicle, call them up and see what's there. It's Vegas...you can get anything from a Fiesta to an F-250 to a Ferrari.

If it's me, I'm gonna rent something completely different from my daily options. That's why when I actually took a trip 5 years ago (jfc) I went with a 5.0 Mustang. My daily driver at the time was an 8 year old CHV Focus, and my when-its-not-leaking-fuel driver was a 66 Corvette. The Mustang was totally different and only a few dollars more (like 25?). A truck/SUV might work for you, or some American muscle/sports car. But I'd avoid the V6s in that class, you won't be impressed; however, you can absolutely find the V8s even they will almost certainly be automatics.

Godholio fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Mar 22, 2015

Grumbletron 4000
Nov 30, 2002

Where you want it, bitch.
College Slice

babyeatingpsychopath posted:

I feel this fell off the page and someone here knows something about transmissions.

I can offer my experience with the 4t65hd in my Grand Prix. Its in the family I guess. Mine never had any trouble with reverse but it was slipping bad from 1-2 and 2-3. Turns out theres a manufacturing defect in them. Something about a thing not being machined right and the clutches burning up. I got a rebuilt one installed for about $2k. The rebuilt one has that defect fixed. Its been all things good since I got the new one.

Sorry I can't be more helpful but maybe you can glean something from my experience.

mr.belowaverage
Aug 16, 2004

we have an irc channel at #SA_MeetingWomen
1998 Mazda B4000, manual.

Last year, it was hard to shift into first and second. Very quickly, I couldn't clutch at all. I ended up replacing the clutch friction plate, pressure plate, slave cylinder, master cylinder and hydraulic line between them. Aside from the weird plastic fingers that hold the master cylinder pushrod to the pedal breaking when I breathed on them too hard, everything was great.

Last week, I noticed it started to get hard to shift into all gears equally. There is no noticeable drag, so I don't think it's a bad clutch or slave. (This is a concentric, internal slave cylinder) When I clutch in, and try to shift, it feels like I'm pressing against a wall in the tranny. With a few attempts, or sometimes some pressure, it will drop in. I think it's better moving than stationary. Is this synchros? How can I check/diagnose this?

edit: to add 4x4, in case that matters

Slavvy
Dec 11, 2012

Sounds like your clutch isn't releasing.

Protip: clutch slave/master cylinder quality is notoriously poor and it's possible to get hosed ones straight out of the box!

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

What Slavvy said - your clutch isn't releasing fully, the "wall" your hitting is the synchros. The synchros give zero resistance while the clutch is in and the vehicle is stationary (once the transmission has spun down, which only takes a few seconds once you step on the clutch while stationary), you only use then if you're moving. That can be caused by the master cylinder, slave cylinder, and/or the flexible hose between the body and slave cylinder.

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





When it's acting up, put it in neutral and then depress / sidestep the clutch once or twice (letting it come up as fast as possible). If it immediately gets better you definitely have some air in the system, probably caused by a failure of one of the hydraulic components.

Guancho
Aug 23, 2010

You don't write any postcards when you're on the road to self-discovery
I have a clutch question as well.

I'm going to look at a 1979 Trans Am this week and the guy says that the clutch needs to be adjusted,the clutch is new and isn't grabing when you put it in gear.

Does this sound like just an adjustment and is there anything I need to look for or try when I go look at it?

Slavvy
Dec 11, 2012

Sounds like a crock of poo poo. Go check out the car, see what it actually does instead of relying on information given to you by someone trying to sell you something, then report back.

Raluek
Nov 3, 2006

WUT.

Slavvy posted:

Sounds like a crock of poo poo. Go check out the car, see what it actually does instead of relying on information given to you by someone trying to sell you something, then report back.

Basically, this. If it just needed to be adjusted, he would have done that already so he could sell it with no problems. I probably wouldn't buy it unless I could diagnose it on the spot and figure out what I needed to do to fix it, or was comfortable opening my wallet to have the transmission rebuilt or the clutch replaced or whatever. It could be something minor, but sellers always lie, or omit important information.

stump
Jan 19, 2006

quote:

hire car stuff

Good stuff. Still swithering over wether to get a mustang or not. Will look at SUV's too. Sadly my company doesn't have standing agreement with anybody, Dave.

CharlesDexterWard
Apr 25, 2012
I've got a 2000 Toyota Celica and seem to be having issues with the car 'tram lining' on uneven roads. I don't really notice it much around town, usually at highway speeds if I go over a bump in the road I can feel the steering wheel move. On really bad roads with divots in the road the steering wheel will pull. It's not like I'm going to lose control but it still doesn't feel right.

There is an intersection in town which I pulled up to the other day though and the steering wheel turned pretty strongly as the road is quite uneven there.

I got my wheels aligned which seemed to help somewhat but not completely, and I also check my tyre inflation regularly to ensure its within spec.

I am going to try to inspect the tie rod ends soon to see if perhaps they need to be replaced. I'm still pretty new to wrenching on my own car so I've just been getting together jack stands and a jack, and waiting for my dad to come visit to give me a hand so I don't screw something up.

What should I be checking for this issue?

Guancho
Aug 23, 2010

You don't write any postcards when you're on the road to self-discovery

Slavvy posted:

Sounds like a crock of poo poo. Go check out the car, see what it actually does instead of relying on information given to you by someone trying to sell you something, then report back.


Raluek posted:

Basically, this. If it just needed to be adjusted, he would have done that already so he could sell it with no problems. I probably wouldn't buy it unless I could diagnose it on the spot and figure out what I needed to do to fix it, or was comfortable opening my wallet to have the transmission rebuilt or the clutch replaced or whatever. It could be something minor, but sellers always lie, or omit important information.

Oh yeah I'm well aware sellers lie. I was just curious what else it could be besides a clutch adjustment or ways to tell if it's more serious. Honestly if the rest of the car is solid I'm alright with dropping some coin to fix the clutch since this will be a project car anyways. I'll just have to wait and see what it's like

Safety Dance
Sep 10, 2007

Five degrees to starboard!

CharlesDexterWard posted:

I've got a 2000 Toyota Celica and seem to be having issues with the car 'tram lining' on uneven roads. I don't really notice it much around town, usually at highway speeds if I go over a bump in the road I can feel the steering wheel move. On really bad roads with divots in the road the steering wheel will pull. It's not like I'm going to lose control but it still doesn't feel right.

There is an intersection in town which I pulled up to the other day though and the steering wheel turned pretty strongly as the road is quite uneven there.

I got my wheels aligned which seemed to help somewhat but not completely, and I also check my tyre inflation regularly to ensure its within spec.

I am going to try to inspect the tie rod ends soon to see if perhaps they need to be replaced. I'm still pretty new to wrenching on my own car so I've just been getting together jack stands and a jack, and waiting for my dad to come visit to give me a hand so I don't screw something up.

What should I be checking for this issue?

I thought this was normal, but then again I drive a farm tractor.

EightBit
Jan 7, 2006
I spent money on this line of text just to make the "Stupid Newbie" go away.

CharlesDexterWard posted:

I've got a 2000 Toyota Celica and seem to be having issues with the car 'tram lining' on uneven roads. I don't really notice it much around town, usually at highway speeds if I go over a bump in the road I can feel the steering wheel move. On really bad roads with divots in the road the steering wheel will pull. It's not like I'm going to lose control but it still doesn't feel right.

There is an intersection in town which I pulled up to the other day though and the steering wheel turned pretty strongly as the road is quite uneven there.

I got my wheels aligned which seemed to help somewhat but not completely, and I also check my tyre inflation regularly to ensure its within spec.

I am going to try to inspect the tie rod ends soon to see if perhaps they need to be replaced. I'm still pretty new to wrenching on my own car so I've just been getting together jack stands and a jack, and waiting for my dad to come visit to give me a hand so I don't screw something up.

What should I be checking for this issue?

Did the alignment shop give you a printout of what the angles were before or after the alignment?

Is this something that has been getting worse? All vehicles are going to follow road contours to an extent, some more than others due to steering design etc. If your caster angle is really low, then you will get more of that effect, for instance. It's normal to feel some pull on a road that is sloped to enhance drainage.

Slavvy
Dec 11, 2012

It's sad that steering feel is something that's unexpected and possibly indicative of a problem nowadays.

brand engager
Mar 23, 2011

Speaking of steering feel, I've got some slight oscillating in my steering wheel at 60+mph. What I mean is I can feel the steering wheel alternate between pulling slightly left and right, and the speed it alternates changes with vehicle speed. Is this a needs alignment/worn out rubber suspension bits issue? Car is 2001 ford zx2.

EightBit
Jan 7, 2006
I spent money on this line of text just to make the "Stupid Newbie" go away.

SperginMcBadposter posted:

Speaking of steering feel, I've got some slight oscillating in my steering wheel at 60+mph. What I mean is I can feel the steering wheel alternate between pulling slightly left and right, and the speed it alternates changes with vehicle speed. Is this a needs alignment/worn out rubber suspension bits issue? Car is 2001 ford zx2.

Yikes, sounds like worn out steering components. Not something that should be put off.

brand engager
Mar 23, 2011

EightBit posted:

Yikes, sounds like worn out steering components. Not something that should be put off.

Which parts do you mean? The steering rack itself or the connecting stuffs?

Raluek
Nov 3, 2006

WUT.
I'm rebuilding an LM7 (truck 5.3 LS-style V8). Well, more like refreshing it a bit since I have it apart anyway. It's only got 80k on it, but I bought it from someone who rolled the vehicle and it ran for a bit upside down. The heads are off at the shop getting a valve job and new springs, I'm going to put a hotter cam in with new lifters and trays. Three of the cylinders have some surface rust in them, so I was going to hone the cylinders and put in some new rings. I figured I'd put in new bearings while it's apart, even though the rod bearings look just about perfect.

My conundrum is that I don't really want to do the main bearings. Is it a bad idea to skip them? I'd have to take apart a lot more of the engine, and the harmonic balancer / front pulley really really doesn't want to come off. So I'm considering leaving the main bearings alone, and just rotating the timing cover out of the way of the cam swap. Is this an acceptable shortcut, or is it stupid?

E: I'm reading on LS1tech that they use thread locker from the factory, and that heat will allow that bolt to come out. Still, even with it off I think my life would be significantly easier if I left the crank in. Maybe?

Raluek fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Mar 24, 2015

Fender Anarchist
May 20, 2009

Fender Anarchist

SperginMcBadposter posted:

Which parts do you mean? The steering rack itself or the connecting stuffs?

Could be rack, tie rod ends, control arm bushings, strut mounts... basically you need to get it in the air and inspect everything on the front end.

Slavvy
Dec 11, 2012

Raluek posted:

I'm rebuilding an LM7 (truck 5.3 LS-style V8). Well, more like refreshing it a bit since I have it apart anyway. It's only got 80k on it, but I bought it from someone who rolled the vehicle and it ran for a bit upside down. The heads are off at the shop getting a valve job and new springs, I'm going to put a hotter cam in with new lifters and trays. Three of the cylinders have some surface rust in them, so I was going to hone the cylinders and put in some new rings. I figured I'd put in new bearings while it's apart, even though the rod bearings look just about perfect.

My conundrum is that I don't really want to do the main bearings. Is it a bad idea to skip them? I'd have to take apart a lot more of the engine, and the harmonic balancer / front pulley really really doesn't want to come off. So I'm considering leaving the main bearings alone, and just rotating the timing cover out of the way of the cam swap. Is this an acceptable shortcut, or is it stupid?

E: I'm reading on LS1tech that they use thread locker from the factory, and that heat will allow that bolt to come out. Still, even with it off I think my life would be significantly easier if I left the crank in. Maybe?

Having taken an LS2 apart recently I would advise you to just man up and find a way of undoing the gigantic crank bolt.

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Raluek
Nov 3, 2006

WUT.

Slavvy posted:

Having taken an LS2 apart recently I would advise you to just man up and find a way of undoing the gigantic crank bolt.

Yeah looks like the bolt has red loctite on the bottom of the bolt-head and on the threads, so heat is required. What's the deal with taking the rear main seal part of the engine apart? Looks like I'll have to get in there to get the crank out.

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