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I took my '94 Ford Ranger to my old mechanic a while back. It was leaking oil. Now, I trusted this guy a lot, and lots of my friends did too. He was a bit pricey but always seemed to be on the level, and did what he could to mitigate costs without cutting corners ("got you a good part from a junkyard instead of ordering new," that kind of thing). He says the oil leak is dangerous because it's coming from something called the head gasket valve cover and it's started to drip onto the exhaust manifold (it had started smoking a lot so this I don't doubt). Said that after looking at it the only solution was to replace the valve cover and gasket. So I get the truck back, pay the man, and finish moving our furniture to our new house 1,100 miles away. Thanked him for his work, and said goodbye. I know a guy down here that's really handy with trucks. Got his own lift in his garage and every tool you could imagine, and pretty much restores cars and works on vehicles for his friends all day, goes to school at night. Ranger starts leaking antifreeze so I ask him to take a look. While he's got it torn apart, he remembers my commenting about paying a shitton for a new head gasket valve cover and takes a peek. He tells me the old mechanic just tightened the existing valve cover down, and points out that there's like two decades' grime on all the bolts except one. If he'd removed it and replaced it, surely there'd be signs of a wrench being used on the other bolts, right? Is he right? Did I get bamboozled, and if so, is it "call and bitch him out" level or is it "just go to small claims immediately?"
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Dec 12, 2016 18:20
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GOTTA STAY FAI posted:Is he right? Did I get bamboozled, and if so, is it "call and bitch him out" level or is it "just go to small claims immediately?" It depends - your terminology is confusing. Did you pay him to replace the valve cover gasket (which keeps oil from leaking out from between the valve cover and the head, and has nothing to do with coolant) or the head gasket (which seals the interface between the cylinder head and the engine block, and keeps coolant and oil from mixing and/or leaking)? They're separate parts and the former is much cheaper and easier to replace than the latter. If you still have the bill for the work, what does it say?
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Dec 12, 2016 19:57
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zundfolge posted:It depends - your terminology is confusing. Did you pay him to replace the valve cover gasket (which keeps oil from leaking out from between the valve cover and the head, and has nothing to do with coolant) or the head gasket (which seals the interface between the cylinder head and the engine block, and keeps coolant and oil from mixing and/or leaking)? They're separate parts and the former is much cheaper and easier to replace than the latter. If you still have the bill for the work, what does it say? I'll have to dig the invoice out when I get the truck back from my buddy but I remember it was definitely not the actual head gasket, but rather some part nearby/attached to it called a valve cover. Thanks for the help. I'm consistently amazed how genuinely helpful AI folks are. The extent of my knowledge of cars is "I've been in an Autozone before" so I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to help me out.
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Dec 12, 2016 20:27
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freelop posted:VW Polo However... Have you checked the fluid level?
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Dec 12, 2016 20:30
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GOTTA STAY FAI posted:I'll have to dig the invoice out when I get the truck back from my buddy but I remember it was definitely not the actual head gasket, but rather some part nearby/attached to it called a valve cover. How much you paid for parts & labor would also be helpful in determining if you got scammed. Geoj fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Dec 12, 2016 |
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Dec 12, 2016 20:30
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Whoops, could swear I'd included that. The total bill was near $400 after tax. Don't have the invoice in front of me so I don't know the breakdown of parts vs. labor.
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Dec 12, 2016 20:35
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Depending on what he did you either got scammed or a pretty fair price. $400 for a valve cover & gasket is highway robbery, however if he replaced the head gasket for $400 that's pretty reasonable.
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Dec 12, 2016 20:50
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InitialDave posted:Those have electric-driven hydraulic power steering, I believe, so I think your interpretation of the warning symbol is correct, but I also agree it could be a duff warning light. I haven't and shall tomorrow. When driving back from work it flickered a little but never reached half the intensity it does when actually lit on ignition on.
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Dec 12, 2016 22:38
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$400 for a head gasket would be obscenely cheap. I was getting quotes over $1500 for the pair for my beater Taurus back in the late 1990s.
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Dec 12, 2016 22:39
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Would these wheels fit on my 1997 Volvo 850? The V70 is the same as the 850 wagon, but I don't know if the AWD makes the offset different or anything.
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Dec 12, 2016 22:43
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Yeah $400 for a valve cover gasket on a RWD car should be really easy, minimal labor and it's a Ford so cheap parts. Here's an irritating problem: Car in question is the gf's 2006 Subaru Impreza. The cigarette lighter blows it's fuse the instant you plug a car charger into it (tried multiple ones). It shares a fuse with the power mirrors, but using those does not blow the fuse. Using a multimeter and pulling out the socket (so just testing the wires) It's showing that it's connected even with the fuse removed. This means I have a short somewhere in the line right? So since the mirrors work without shorting, it isn't in that part of the circuit. It seems like my options are to either take the dash apart and find the wiring issue OR run a standalone wiring+fuse to the cig lighter and ignore the shorted one. The latter option is much easier, but less "correct". Completely unrelated but there is a slight squeaking noise when the clutch pedal is fully disengaged. It's dead quiet when you put the slightest pressure on the pedal, is there maybe an adjustment for the pedal or clutch fork? I haven't spent a lot of time under her car yet I admit.
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Dec 12, 2016 22:45
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'03 Civic hybrid. The beeping warning that's supposed to play when you open the driver's-side door while the headlights are still on...doesn't play. Hasn't ever in the ~9 years I've owned the car, and I just got used to carrying a jumpstart battery for the times when I forgot and drained the battery. But it occurs to me this might possibly be something I could fix myself, rather than paying the dealership to look. I just have no idea where I'd start. Any opinions/advice?
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Dec 12, 2016 22:56
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:'03 Civic hybrid. Does the interior light come on when you open that door?
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Dec 13, 2016 02:54
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How long, in terms of raw time not miles, is the lifespan of a tire? At what point do you toss them regardless of remaining tread of (lack of) visible cracking issues?
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Dec 13, 2016 03:40
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Uthor posted:My sister has 2015 (or so) Town and Country with push button and remote start. She said that the remote start wouldn't work, so she went out to the car and physically couldn't press down on the brake pedal to manually use the push button start. After about five minutes, it eventually worked. Maybe the battery in the fob is dead? 
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Dec 13, 2016 03:47
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Javid posted:How long, in terms of raw time not miles, is the lifespan of a tire? At what point do you toss them regardless of remaining tread of (lack of) visible cracking issues? That depends so greatly on storage conditions, climate, etc as to be unanswerable. There's a reason we go by visible rubber condition; tires are likely to succumb to environmental damage on their exterior first, so it's a good easy indication that they need to be replaced that's visible before the damage reaches the inner structural layers. Rubber doesn't exactly oxidize, most of the damage comes from water, road grit, salt, UV, extreme hot/cold and heat cycling in general. By comparison the deterioration of a tire sitting unloaded in a warehouse is practically negligible. E: That said I probably wouldn't DD a tire more than 10-15 years old for any longer than I had to, but again any tire that's actually bad will start showing visible signs very quickly if you go looking for them.
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Dec 13, 2016 04:09
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spog posted:Does the interior light come on when you open that door? No, but they don't have an automatic mode as far as I can tell -- just on or off. But geeze, I've owned this car for long enough that I've forgotten what normal cars do. 
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Dec 13, 2016 04:35
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I'd start with the little switch that tells it if the door is open or closed. The light should turn on when the door opens. This is a thing that dates back to the 1950s, maybe earlier.
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Dec 13, 2016 04:53
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CornHolio posted:Would these wheels fit on my 1997 Volvo 850? They'll bolt right up, the AWD doesn't change anything about the wheels on those cars. 
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Dec 13, 2016 05:08
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CornHolio posted:Would these wheels fit on my 1997 Volvo 850? Just make sure the tires are something you actually want on your car. The tread pattern looks a bit odd/archaic to me, make sure they're not chinesium. Also it's a good idea to check for the stamp indicating the time of manufacture. It's no good if they're twelve years old even if they were only "used three months last winter". If things are not quite to your liking it's at least grounds for informed haggling.
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Dec 13, 2016 06:20
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:No, but they don't have an automatic mode as far as I can tell -- just on or off. But geeze, I've owned this car for long enough that I've forgotten what normal cars do. The switch on the light in the middle of the roof has 3 positions. Off, auto, and on. I forget which way is auto, but I seem to remember the middle being completely off. Try putting it in a position where it's not on, and open every door. If it doesn't do anything, put the switch in the other position that seems to be off. I'm betting the key-in reminder (beeping if you open the drivers door with the keys in the ignition) isn't working either. tl;dr I'd suspect the switch that tells the car the door is open. The switch is REALLY easy to replace, it's on the doorjamb by the latch. Deceptor101 posted:Car in question is the gf's 2006 Subaru Impreza. The cigarette lighter blows it's fuse the instant you plug a car charger into it (tried multiple ones). It shares a fuse with the power mirrors, but using those does not blow the fuse. Using a multimeter and pulling out the socket (so just testing the wires) It's showing that it's connected even with the fuse removed. This means I have a short somewhere in the line right? I would suspect the socket itself before anything else. Does plugging ANYTHING into it blow the fuse? Or is it specifically phone chargers? The "tip" part is the positive, and inside the socket, is insulated by only a thin piece of .. something. If the socket is worn out, any pressure on that center part will short it out and pop the fuse. As for the multimeter stuff... uh.... I dunno why it'd be doing that. Maybe it's sharing the same ground connection with something else, and that connection is loose? Causing it to backfeed the circuit? That's my only guess... Wait.. you are plugging a phone charger into it, right, and not one of those goofy "charge your car through the cigarette lighter!" devices, right?
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Dec 13, 2016 07:20
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Enourmo posted:That depends so greatly on storage conditions, climate, etc as to be unanswerable. There's a reason we go by visible rubber condition; tires are likely to succumb to environmental damage on their exterior first, so it's a good easy indication that they need to be replaced that's visible before the damage reaches the inner structural layers. OK. Context is that the tire place refused to mount my studded tires today because their date code (allegedly) says 1999. There's still lots of tread, no cracks, etc and they've served me well since I got them used in 2011. They're on my car November-April and in a garage in their bags the rest of the year. I have to drive across the state on Friday and there are mountains involved so I'm really not keen to just not have my loving snow tires. This is the first I've heard of the age issue EVER, including asking back in April "are these good to put back on in November" and they said, in English, "yes" I wanna find out if he's full of poo poo or if nobody else at the place has thought to look at a date code in five years of handling these tires. Like either he's reading a code wrong or they were already 12 years old when I bought them. E: I do prefer to trust the opinions of pros but this chain is known to be more than a bit alarmist about minor or non-issues. Also everyone not employed by them had said what you just did, basically, so I'm probably gonna just mount the loving tires myself and deal with replacement, if warranted, after this trip is out of the way.
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Dec 13, 2016 09:05
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Take a picture of the DOT date code and post it.
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Dec 13, 2016 10:27
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If you're bringing tires in to be swapped with existing tires (such as summer to winter) on the same wheels, 99% of techs aren't going to bother looking at the date code. http://www.tirebuyer.com/education/how-to-determine-the-age-of-your-tires will help you figure out how old they are. If they really are 17+ years old, uh.... yeah, get new ones, but so long as you can't see much dryrot, I'd probably run them on my own car (not advising you do this before knowing the true age). I'm betting they were reading the side with a truncated code though. Tires made before 2000 generally have a 3 digit date code. 2000 and newer have a 4 digit date code. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 10:58 on Dec 13, 2016 |
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Dec 13, 2016 10:53
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Yu-Gi-Ho! posted:The switch on the light in the middle of the roof has 3 positions. Off, auto, and on. I forget which way is auto, but I seem to remember the middle being completely off.  I completely forgot about that light. Forgetting features about my own car! ...because I never use them, but still. The only cabin lights I remembered were the ones at the front which are strictly toggle on/off.quote:Try putting it in a position where it's not on, and open every door. If it doesn't do anything, put the switch in the other position that seems to be off. Yep, the light turns on when the switch is in the middle position and any door except the driver's door is open. And yeah, no beeping for the key in the ignition either. Good to know about the switch, and thanks for the advice! I'm guessing the part I'm looking for is a "door jamb switch"? Are these generic parts where I just need to roughly match what's already there, or is it important that I get a specific replacement?
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Dec 13, 2016 15:39
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:
This looks like your guy: http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/honda,2003,civic,1.3l+l4+electric/gas,1409879,electrical-switch+&+relay,door+jamb+switch,4360
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Dec 13, 2016 16:42
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opengl128 posted:This looks like your guy: http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/honda,2003,civic,1.3l+l4+electric/gas,1409879,electrical-switch+&+relay,door+jamb+switch,4360 Noted. I'll want to find the corresponding switch in my car before I order anything, I think. In fact, it occurs to me that I could probably just remove the switch from one of the other doors and install it in the driver's-side door, right? No need to order anything.
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Dec 13, 2016 17:14
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Maybe. I could see the driver's door switch having a different connection on the back.
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Dec 13, 2016 17:15
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I have a '67 Fiat 500 that used the old square-ish style 11"-wide European plates. Now I need to fit U.S. plates. I'm more concerned about the rear than the front. The bolt holes in the back of the car are 10" apart. What I'd prefer to do is simply use a flat aluminum US license plate-shaped bracket with 7" apart plate holes that I can drill additional holes in 10" apart. This seems oddly difficult to find. The closest thing I've found is this, which looks promising, but is also pretty expensive considering it's a flat plate of aluminum. http://www.authenticclassics.com/License-Plate-Bracket-fits-108-111-113Ch-190S-p/auth-003470.htm E: Could I just use a blank? That might be the cheapest/easiest option, but maybe I'm not considering some complexity of mounting it. rope kid fucked around with this message at 17:45 on Dec 13, 2016 |
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Dec 13, 2016 17:33
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You're not. I bought a cheap sheet of blank at Lowes to make my own front license plate bracket for my Jeep when I bought a heftier steel bumper. Rather than trying to drill through, it shares the fairlead mounts. Measure and cut the overall shape, measure and drill the holes to match the mounting points and the license plate screws. Easy. I spray painted it black. Edit: I thought I had more pictures. 
Godholio fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Dec 13, 2016 |
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Dec 13, 2016 17:54
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zundfolge posted:They'll bolt right up, the AWD doesn't change anything about the wheels on those cars. Bought them, they bolted right up (I figured they would, couldn't find anything online indicating otherwise), the tires are fairly new Cooper brand. They're fantastic in these conditions.
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Dec 13, 2016 17:56
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I've got a vacuum leak coming from between the master cylinder and the brake servo on my truck. Am i right in thinking that this is a sign of the servo being hosed and it isn't just that I should have a gasket between the 2 items? The master cyl flange looks to have an intentional 'weep hole' so that it doesn't actually mate tight against the servo even if there was a gasket (This is where the leak is coming from)
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Dec 13, 2016 18:53
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I'm looking to buy a used car, a 2002 toyota camry SE, 6-cylinder with all the options. Only 60k miles on it with ~30k on it in the last three years according to owners son (owner is 85 year old giving up driving) The son says dad had $1000 of service/replacements in the last few months and the car is in very good condition. I saw it and drove it last night, everything looked good, tires are newer like he's said. I asked about the timing belt and the son said he needed to check with dad to find out. He's asking $4500 and I offered $4000. Online offers seem to put it at $3500-$4200 for my area/options/conditions. I'm planning on having a local dealer do a checkup before sale ($100) Questions are: 1. Is this a decent price or am I getting a bad/good deal? I think $4000 is fair and would probably go up to $4250 if he wants to meet. $4k would be better for budget but I can do either. 2. Timing belt worries me, my research says age is an issue as well as milage. I'm not a car guy and i don't know any car people, so what ive read online is about it. I don't mind getting it repaired but that should knock cost down. 3. Anything i'm missing to ask or think about? First time buying a car from 3rd party, i've always driven used bought from friends/family. Any advice or other things to look at would be appreciated! Sorry if this belongs in BFC thread, i have financials down mainly (unless this is a ripoff that i'm not seeing) so i thought here was better
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Dec 13, 2016 21:38
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Tomarse posted:I've got a vacuum leak coming from between the master cylinder and the brake servo on my truck. - Is it the right master cylinder for a vacuum setup? - Are all the seals present? Edit: To clarify, the seal isn't necessarily formed by the master cylinder mounting to the servo, but there's an output seal of some type in every example I've seen. InitialDave fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Dec 13, 2016 |
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Dec 13, 2016 22:04
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Raluek posted:Take a picture of the DOT date code and post it.  So looks like they are from 99. Aside from the missing studs these look alright, right?  Either way I can't drop $tires right now so it's these or my summer tires for the winter.
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Dec 13, 2016 22:52
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Yu-Gi-Ho! posted:I would suspect the socket itself before anything else. Does plugging ANYTHING into it blow the fuse? Or is it specifically phone chargers? So the car didn't come with a cigarette lighter, only a plastic thing to block the hole. The only thing we have been able to test is a car charger, but we've tried one that works in my car fine. I have a air compressor I could test too, but I know the more times you blow a fuse the worse things get. I could try looking around for grounds, nothing is aftermarket on this car other than the radio, so that might be a place to look. Regardless, I shouldn't be seeing connectivity between the two wires without a fuse in right? The circuit should be inactive, right? And yes, a regular phone charger, not a charger for the car battery. Those strike me as quite dumb.
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Dec 13, 2016 23:27
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InitialDave posted:The ones I've seen have sealed between the master and servo, with an output seal of some kind. I've found a 'relevant' parts catalogue and there is no seal in it (http://www.landroverweb.com/Pdf-files/Manuals/Defender_Parts_Catalogue.pdf page 488) I'm getting a leak between items 1 and 5 (incase I wasnt clear). The mating face on the master cyl has a deliberate cutout in it like a weep hole. You shouldn't ask if this is the 'right' part! - This is in the 101  It is master cyl Landrover NRC8690 (Which is for a non-ABS defender 110) The servo that is currently fitted is a Saab 8942609 (saab c900/99 1979-1986). This is in the same lucas/girling family as the original one but has slightly different mounting points that I made an adaptor for. I have just ordered a replacement Landrover NRC4775/STC2878 servo (which is the OEM match for that master cylinder), along with a proper adapter plate as its mounting studs are different again!. My brakes have always been poo poo - even with the front disks I have never been able to lock the wheels up hard. Perhaps the throw of the pushrod on the saab servo is slightly out too?. Hopefully with a matched combo of master cylinder and server it will rule it out.
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Dec 13, 2016 23:54
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Ok, if it's a Land Rover one, then there should be a seal where the pushrod from the servo actuates the master cylinder. So the master cylinder itself is not part of the vacuum seal. I've just been down to the garage to take the master off the servo I have for the Series 3 (it was very stuck on there), and it is like this. However, some cars seem to use a seal round the master cylinder where it enters the servo to act as this seal, in which case it is. If you put a master cylinder of the former type on a servo of the latter type, it'll likely leak like a sieve, even if it nominally bolts up. If the Saab one also has an output shaft seal built into the servo, it's probably just knackered and needs a seal kit. The Landie servo on the Landie master cylinder should be fine. Point is, there's alway an output seal of some kind on the servo/master join. InitialDave fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Dec 14, 2016 |
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Dec 14, 2016 00:33
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Javid posted:
Uh, if you can't afford to get new tires, maybe you should find a different way around. Seventeenth year old rubber is pretty sketchy.
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Dec 14, 2016 00:34
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I have poo poo to do and public transport here is essentially nonexistent. When I take off a set of tires for the season, they alert me which ones if any will need replacing, and I can space those purchases out over the interim. If somebody had been like "oh these are too old" back in April when I directly asked them for that info, I could've replaced one a month over the summer and be fine now, but I can't drop hundreds RIGHT NOW because they only figured out tires have date codes this month.
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Dec 14, 2016 00:49
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