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I just moved from Texas to Illinois. I need a tldr of How To Take Care Of A Car In The Rust Belt For Dummies. I do have a garage, mercifully. My DD is a 2014 Mazda 3.
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Oct 23, 2020 06:02
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FBS posted:I just moved from Texas to Illinois. I need a tldr of How To Take Care Of A Car In The Rust Belt For Dummies. Depends how far you want to go, but rinsing the underside with water as often as you can be bothered is a good start. Fluid film etc is good stuff. Stay away from rubberised under coatings etc. Keep the car as clean as you can manage.
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Oct 23, 2020 06:10
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ATTN: Chicagoland Bias Wash your car when you get gas once a month or week depending how much you care. Definitely soon after driving on freshly salted roads. Yes, most gas station car washes are touch, but it's the price you have to pay. MrOnBicycle posted:Fluid film etc is good stuff. Yes
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Oct 23, 2020 06:38
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FBS posted:I just moved from Texas to Illinois. I need a tldr of How To Take Care Of A Car In The Rust Belt For Dummies. Get some sort of "Oil spray" before the snow flies and salt gets dumped down on the road. Google around for car rust proofing places, look at reviews, google some more, look at more reviews etc. Like the others have said, keep the car as clean as you can, drive through car wash often, especially the ones that spray under the car. If you haven't done so, now would be a good time to get your coolant flushed too. If it hasn't been done recently. A heater that is "adequate" for Texas winters, probably won't be for Illinois winters.
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Oct 23, 2020 11:34
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Krakkles posted:There's a ton that goes into what a car ends up sounding like, and I think that "old > new" is an oversimplification. Very incomplete list of factors: Ranzear posted:It's mostly just better fueling. All of those deceleration pops and gurgles in the above videos are actually fake. It's a little bit of fuel and an ignition cut when 'normal' modern injected vehicles just cut fuel entirely in decel. It's just as fake as engine sounds in electric cars for exactly the same reason: People are stupid and think less of a car that doesn't make certain sounds. See that's what I was thinking about the newer stuff, the pops and bangs are usually just always there in new stuff and the fact you can add more or take them away with a tune is rather telling. There's a guy round the corner who has a nice Mercedes but it literally pops and bangs at like 2k RPM which just sounds crap, older stuff tends to naturally pop and bang only way up in the rev range. Modern stuff just does it everywhere. I suppose there's a whole stack of reasons, like why do ITBs sound so fantastic? Why does the tiny exhaust on my friend's 1986 Civic burble away in such a pleasing manner on lift off? I dunno, older stuff just sounds more raw and rough, new poo poo just sounds very tuned and sterile I guess? Probably why all the popping and banging being added. Like this to me, sounds loving incredible... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umO3iqac_4c There's a lot to be said for a manual gearbox and the rise and fall of the rev range too, DCT stuff although clearly better and faster but it just doesn't have the drama y'know?
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Oct 23, 2020 12:07
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wesleywillis posted:Get some sort of "Oil spray" before the snow flies and salt gets dumped down on the road. Google around for car rust proofing places, look at reviews, google some more, look at more reviews etc. Eric at South Main Auto, upstate NY, has a few things to say about rustproofing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXvl9nt57Kg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSg0yvwcbXA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKmM5IByVCQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9YDe02cW5Q
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Oct 23, 2020 13:07
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wesleywillis posted:Like the others have said, keep the car as clean as you can, drive through car wash often, especially the ones that spray under the car. Many of places reuse much of the water for environmental reasons, so there are some that argue that you'd be spraying the underside with salt water. I don't know how much truth there is to this and how much of a real life difference it even makes.
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Oct 23, 2020 15:41
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The places that do reuse water (and most reuse at least some of it) generally run it through one hell of a filtration system. Using salt water would leave some downright nasty stains on the car. The final rinse is usually fresh water from the tap (still filtered a bit), unless they've installed a reverse osmosis system. That's a shitload of money, but if the wash is busy enough, it may pay for itself within a few years.
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Oct 23, 2020 15:54
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I bought this kit for a 2003 tahoe which is a weekend warrior work truck: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SPL62PP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I am no expert mechanic, but I've replaced shocks, brakes, water pumps, belts, etc. Should I tackle replacing these parts or pay someone $500?
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Oct 23, 2020 16:49
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If you can do shocks and water pumps, you can do this.
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Oct 23, 2020 17:09
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Easy mode so long as you can separate ball joints (buy or rent a ball joint separator). Tie rod ends may result in teaching everyone around you new words, depending how crusty they are.
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Oct 23, 2020 18:38
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You'll probably also need a pitman puller and a ball joint press (looks like a giant C clamp).
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Oct 23, 2020 19:08
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C-Bangin' it 
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I don't know where you live so this might not really be relevant, but give all the fasteners a good hose down with penetrating fluid the night before you plan to start work. Give it some time to creep in there and you'll thank yourself for it.
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Oct 23, 2020 19:28
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Thanks I live in colorado. But this was an east coast truck, so it's all rusty and crusty in there.
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Oct 23, 2020 19:32
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Withnail posted:Thanks I live in colorado. But this was an east coast truck, so it's all rusty and crusty in there. Also in Colorado and I do it as praxis every time. I've had too many brake caliper bolts that required all of my strength plus 5% to get them loose that it's every time.
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Oct 23, 2020 22:23
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This is probably as stupid a question as I can muster, but on the topic of carwashes. My car has exhaust vents in the hood. They're not intake vents, they're literally there to just vent air out of the engine compartment. Is it alright to bring this through a regular (touchless) carwash? I assume yes, because I don't know what could be getting more wet than it would in just a rain storm, but being stationary while gallons of water pour into my hood seems like something I shouldn't willingly invite.
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Oct 24, 2020 00:07
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It's probably fine, but highly dependent on how well seals are holding up. My 20 year old Jeep does just fine driving through water and having a considerable number of vents in the hood, through which water absolutely pours, but my same year Mustang absolutely shits itself if you get water anywhere near the top of the engine (good thing that hood scoop is fake!). If it's a newish car, it's probably fine.
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Oct 24, 2020 00:19
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Olympic Mathlete posted:Like this to me, sounds loving incredible... Because it's straight-piped and would piss off your neighbors and your neighbors' neighbors and maybe only half the town one county over and would have every cop learning your daily route. You're not getting the incredible volume difference in videos on the internet. It's also a 50s F1 car, basically the definition of looking fast and sounding fast but barely beating a modern hot hatch even with 600hp.
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Oct 24, 2020 00:49
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Ranzear posted:Because it's straight-piped and would piss off your neighbors and your neighbors' neighbors and maybe only half the town one county over and would have every cop learning your daily route. You're not getting the incredible volume difference in videos on the internet. I just had to go back and play that video and yeah.......that's the kind of car that everyone on the same road with you needs to wear hearing protection. I don't think Olympic Mathlete has been around many truly loud cars and probably doesn't quite get the way sound is compressed when recorded. It's like 70s V8s in the dawn of the smog control era: disappointing low horespower garbage that sounded FURIOUSLY FAST.
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Oct 24, 2020 00:54
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Uh, audio is my industry so I'm very aware of how loud stuff is and how recordings have to be limited so it can accurately capture the sound in terms of proper representation without being a blown out mess. My comment was about the type of sound it makes, not the sheer SPL. I don't care about the car itself not being fast compared to modern cars, again, that's not my point or what I was asking. I wanted to know why old cars just sound better (to me, obviously). The answer is surely more than just straight pipes because new cars straight piped can sound like rear end. Olympic Mathlete fucked around with this message at 10:08 on Oct 24, 2020 |
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Oct 24, 2020 10:06
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Olympic Mathlete posted:Uh, audio is my industry so I'm very aware of how loud stuff is and how recordings have to be limited so it can accurately capture the sound in terms of proper representation without being a blown out mess. It's more than straight pipes, but the specific example you posted is like 50% because of straight pipes. Psssst: nobody knows your occupation/industry, so when you post something that you get "corrected" on you should look back at what you posted to figure out why you came off like you don't know something you are claiming to be a subject matter expert on.
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Oct 24, 2020 15:28
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Olympic Mathlete posted:My comment was about the type of sound it makes, not the sheer SPL. I don't care about the car itself not being fast compared to modern cars, again, that's not my point or what I was asking. I wanted to know why old cars just sound better (to me, obviously). The answer is surely more than just straight pipes because new cars straight piped can sound like rear end. Personally, I think most engines sound good once you can actually hear them. Any car I've been in that has been stripped out sounds 1000x better than stock, from big V8s to inline 4s; when you can hear air rushing into the engine and the revs aren't muffled it's all great.
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Oct 24, 2020 16:28
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Subarus should be muffled, forever.
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Oct 24, 2020 16:32
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Absolutely. Subaru's boxer engines sound like turds, and even worse with the turbo. They should have that hilarious fake engine noise that the i8 has.
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Oct 24, 2020 18:25
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I'm putting a full HKS exhaust on my 86 and y'all can kiss my rear end. 
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Oct 24, 2020 19:24
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I agree about boxers. There was this guy who would idle his car in front of my house while he waited for his spouse to get off work and it was super irritating listening to it try to rattle itself apart.
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Oct 24, 2020 20:30
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I've noticed that all flat engines with a loud exhaust sound like they're misfiring horribly.
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Oct 24, 2020 20:33
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wesleywillis posted:I've noticed that all flat engines with a loud exhaust sound like they're misfiring horribly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXsCbBxkr90
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Oct 24, 2020 21:45
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Exception noted. I'm typically referring to Subarus and AC VWs I suppose, though the various Porsches that I've heard are no picnic...
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Oct 24, 2020 22:39
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Do I need a special helicoil type for aluminum?
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Oct 24, 2020 23:57
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I don't think so (my knowledge is reading lots of things about using Helicoils the last few days - read lots of machinists using it in aluminum) If you're doing a spark plug , well, high-temp RTV doesn't really hold it and that's what the package says to use. Currently have red thread locker curing overnight like all the folks on Youtube say, so hopefully I can start the Escape up in the morning.
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Oct 25, 2020 01:17
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ummm... yo, good luck with that  I ordered the normal set, it seems to be fine
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Oct 25, 2020 01:27
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unbuttonedclone posted:I don't think so (my knowledge is reading lots of things about using Helicoils the last few days - read lots of machinists using it in aluminum) If you're doing a spark plug , well, high-temp RTV doesn't really hold it and that's what the package says to use. Currently have red thread locker curing overnight like all the folks on Youtube say, so hopefully I can start the Escape up in the morning. What are the chances you can mount a gopro in there to capture anything that might happen?
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Oct 25, 2020 03:16
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I mean I can record it tomorrow morning when we start it up. The RTV'd sleeve sunk down when screwing a spark plug into it (after 24 hours). So, we (my dad) took it out with an ez-out - it was in the combustion chamber... it had no friction from the RTV. Bought another sleeve at O'Reilly's and put it in this morning with thread locker. We'll see in about 10 hours.
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Oct 25, 2020 03:28
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unbuttonedclone posted:I mean I can record it tomorrow morning when we start it up. The RTV'd sleeve sunk down when screwing a spark plug into it (after 24 hours). So, we (my dad) took it out with an ez-out - it was in the combustion chamber... it had no friction from the RTV. Bought another sleeve at O'Reilly's and put it in this morning with thread locker. We'll see in about 10 hours. Thread locker held. Started it up and it was running really rough. gently caress I thought. Then my dad discovered one vacuum hose I forgot and now it's running good, which is why I have a supervisor when working on cars. I'll keep the thread updated if it fails. Edit: A rear brake cylinder is failing now, lol. I don't think Escapes are supposed to go past 150k. I'm determined to keep it though. unbuttonedclone fucked around with this message at 13:53 on Oct 25, 2020 |
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Oct 25, 2020 13:45
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My 2016 Mazda 3 has a setting that tells me the percentage life remaining for the oil. How much should I trust it? It wants me to go 12-15000 miles between oil changes. Granted almost all my driving is highway miles but even with full synthetic that seems a lot. Or am I just an old Gen Xer who is remembering the days of 3 months / 3000 miles
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Oct 26, 2020 12:14
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A good synthetic such as Mobil One can supposedly go 15,000 miles. The thing is, better keep an eye on the oil level. Myself, I'd shoot between 10K and 12K at the most just because of so many variables on how the average car is driven. Conventional I do at 5-6K. Let another oil debate begin!
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Oct 26, 2020 12:39
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Check it/smell it. Go by the ease of reading the dipstick markings. When it starts getting dark, see if it smells burnt. With synthetic, I would start at 6000 miles IF there is no oil consumption history, with the visual check. Disclosure, I is old boomer 
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Oct 26, 2020 14:50
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regulargonzalez posted:My 2016 Mazda 3 has a setting that tells me the percentage life remaining for the oil. How much should I trust it? It wants me to go 12-15000 miles between oil changes. Granted almost all my driving is highway miles but even with full synthetic that seems a lot. Or am I just an old Gen Xer who is remembering the days of 3 months / 3000 miles I've got a 2015 Mazda 6 with the 2.5 and intervals are 7500 miles as per the manual. I'd say check your manual because 15000 seems way high.
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Oct 26, 2020 15:19
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Boaz MacPhereson posted:I've got a 2015 Mazda 6 with the 2.5 and intervals are 7500 miles as per the manual. I'd say check your manual because 15000 seems way high. I don't have my manual with me but isn't that the service interval for standard duty and highway driving / light duty is 10k? Or I could be misremembering. Either way, the infotainment info does seem high, was just wondering whether it is valid. I'll check the oil and see.
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Oct 26, 2020 15:26
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