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randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

hobbesmaster posted:

I replaced the cabin air filters in my 2000 Accord today. That was up there with apple laptop repair in obnoxiousness. I'm not sure whether to curse Honda or whoever replaced the filter last - two of the screws for the glove compartment reinforcement stuff managed to be partially stripped and over torqued. I have no idea how that even happens. The filters were pitch black and covered in leaves and the air conditioner just about doubled in strength after replacement so I'm thinking that it had not been done in a long time (I think the previous owner just kept up with oil changes).

I'm pretty sure the filter in my 2001 Accord has never been done - the HVAC blows pretty weak even on high (it makes noises like the fan is running on high, but not much air comes out). My mechanic laughed when I asked him how much he would charge me to replace it and told me I probably didn't want to know, and said it was a 1-2 hour job. At $85/hour.

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randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Today, had a shop install a low end Alpine head unit Alpine CDE-102 so I could get an aux input, in place of the stock double DIN am/fm/cd. Plus a single din kit and Metra harness. Normally I'd do this myself, but I have no clue how the dash comes apart on this car. Installer told me a ton of plastic around the original stereo was busted and thought an aftermarket one had been stolen before, I agree because of damage to the bezel - but thankfully all of the original wiring and harnesses were intact.

Removed what little was left of the factory antenna. It had been snapped off at the base and someone had tried to drill the remainder out, completely trashing it. Amazingly, 1 nut on top, 1 screw behind a panel in the trunk, 1 wire, and the whole assembly is out.

Got in a heated argument with the guy at Kwik Kar over an oil change, complete with him saying I have "no loving idea how to work on a car" after I told him I've been working on them since he was in diapers. I refuse to change my own oil these days, most other stuff I do myself. Refused over $500 worth of upsales, he wound up opening my hood as high as it would go, slamming it, which cracked the grill and warped the hood, then peeled out pulling out of the shop and locked up the brakes in the parking lot. I demanded a manager, manager wouldn't talk to me, so I've talked to the district manager who's supposed to meet with me tomorrow. Also filed a BBB complaint even though I know that's next to useless.

Picking up a brand new OEM Nissan antenna assembly for the car tomorrow. Also going to go junkyard hunting for a new bezel and center console, along with a new switch for the windows. Drivers side window rolls down fine, but won't roll up unless you beat the living poo poo out of the door. Can't even get a click out of the relay when you hit the button to roll it up. Switch is easiest, I'll dig further if that doesn't work.

Oh yeah, guy I bought it from frantically called me today and told me it was never supposed to leave the lot with plates, I had to go back and get temporary paper tags.

Fixed my license plate lights and the trunk light. All just burnt out. A couple of lights in the climate control are out, I plan to fix those. I'm probably going to just go ahead and replace all exterior bulbs so that I don't get a surprise ticket.

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Aug 26, 2010

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

thelightguy posted:

Thought about telling the guy at the inspection station to gently caress off when he insisted that I needed the little flap in the middle of the unleaded fuel nozzle restrictor in the fill neck in order to pass PA emissions, despite the only listed requirement I can find for the restrictor is that it has to be too small (less than 0.92" diameter) to fit a leaded fuel nozzle.

Both my last car (2001 Accord) and current car (1999 Altima) are missing that little thing. I never had a problem getting the Accord inspected, and the Altima's inspection is good until November. Inspectors never said a thing about it, but you'd better make drat sure your gas cap seals tight, they actually test that here.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Mine's pretty minor. Finally finished getting all the pieces to put the stock antenna back in - when I purchased the car someone had unscrewed the stock one and drilled into the base, ruining it. Had the new one mounted, I was just waiting on the trim/seals. Pretty drat easy job to swap everything, wouldn't have been any harder if it was a power antenna (1 more wire).

Total cost was about $50, not too bad from the dealer. What was bad was paying $23 to have them cut a new key from the VIN, the key I got with it looks like it's about to snap in half.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

I put gas in it today.

Also, I got tired of my stereo sounding like someone running their nails down a chalk board and got some new front speakers (new rears will be purchased soon).

Old and a little busted

Click here for the full 1024x768 image.


Kicker DS650's somehow replaced them... perfect fit.

Click here for the full 1024x768 image.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

I backed into a ditch in the middle of nowhere. But Macguyvered my way out of it with a scissor jack, a tire pressure gauge, and some fishing line. Okay not the fishing line.


Back left wheel doing its best with experimental anti gravity. Seems to be working. Barely had enough room to get the jack under the frame rail.


Scissor jack deployed.


YAY BACK ON ROAD TAKE THAT YOU STUPID DITCH :smug:

Jacked up the back left as high as the jack would go, using the tire pressure gauge as a handle since the lovely previous owner didn't leave one in the trunk. Hopped in the car, revved it up a bit (3k or so?) and dropped the clutch in 1st, and drove off the jack - something that's generally ill advised, but hey, it got me out of the ditch. The jack is a bit wobbly after being run over, but no damage to the car.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

PBCrunch posted:

Next time jack the car up and then fill in the void under the tire and then let the jack down.

That's the first thing that came to mind, but I didn't have anything to fill it with. I was hardly the first one to fall off of that as you can tell, and I was in the middle of nowhere. There was well over a foot of space between the tire and ground before I jacked the car up.

Besides, this was faster. :effort:

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Changed the power steering return lines on the Altima today. Well, most of them. I got 3 of the 4 rubber lines done, there's 1 left that I can't get to without getting the car at least up on ramps or jackstands.

Several feet of 3/8" and a foot of 5/8" hose later, it's no longer leaking. Well, much. The one hose I couldn't get to is damp around the clamp I could see, but at least it's not loving dripping like another hose was.

Also, found out I didn't position the catch tray right when I started yanking hoses.... and the cardboard I laid down under the car soaked through. Anyone have suggestions on how to get a shitton of power steering fluid out of a concrete driveway? :suicide:

Now I just need to do the $@!*# motor mount and I'll be happy. Noticed the bolts holding said motor mount to the engine were basically finger tight. :wtf:

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Godfuckingdamnit Nissan, why do you have to use such horrible, horrible hose clamps?

I chased down my power steering leaks yesterday. Well, I thought I did. I did indeed get them fixed, only to have another one pop up. When I woke up today the liquid contents of my power steering fluid were all over the driveway. Huge mess.

The culprit? Not a hose, but a stupid goddamn clamp that was loose. The small stretch of rubber hose that connects the steering rack's return line to the cooler, about 2 or 3 feet of hose.

I don't have jackstands. I don't have ramps. Hell I don't have a jack that's good for anything but changing a tire, so the only way I could get to that loving clamp was from above. The only way to get to it from above was by wedging my hands between the intake manifold and firewall. I was able to get a little bit of breathing room by unbolting the power steering cooler, but not much.

As you can see, I gave up trying to even get the remaining half of the clamp off, it's just laying there. I don't loving care, because I got a new clamp in there and it loving stopped leaking, so there.


Click here for the full 1024x667 image.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Picked up a Polk 12" subwoofer from cowboom.com, a lovely wiring kit from Walmart, a used sub box, and dug out the lovely Dual "460 watt" (when lightning strikes maybe) amp I had leftover from my Integra.

Didn't even know if the amp still worked, haven't hooked it up in 5 years. But it does. And my stereo has a nice kick to it now, though it'd probably kick a bit nicer with a decent amp.

In retrospect, I really wish I'd paid someone to run the + wire from the battery, or maybe removed the drivers seat first. Screwed up my back pretty good trying to drill a hole in the firewall and pull the wire through it. Every other car I've had I was able to sneak the wires through an existing grommet, not this one.

Tomorrow.. motor mounts. :suicide:

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Smogged my car today. Tech somehow broke the fuel door, it won't stay closed.

Finally changed my passenger side motor mount. It was vibrating "slightly".


That's supposed to be one piece right?

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Kylie Sven Opossum posted:

I'm getting pretty worried about the rear main seal. I don't think it was this bad last year. The transmission is going to need some work soon so I'll replace it at that time. Here is the puddle from where it sat for about an hour while I replaced the link, trans puddle right behind the oil puddle and Coors bottle for size reference:



Hah, drat, that looks about like what my F-150 used to do, except I was running straight 60 oil in it. If I put 10w30 or 20w50 in it the oil light stayed on and it would run dry pretty quick.

I gave up trying to keep the truck clean, the tailgate and back bumper were always coated and dripping in oil.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Once I found out what a bitch it was to do the rear main seal, plus the whole no oil pressure at all with regular oil bit, I gave up on oil+filter changes and fixing leaks. Plus the little bit that didn't leak went out of the exhaust when it was cold. It was easier to dump in a quart of oil every morning...

Drove it from El Paso TX to Dallas TX in 1997 (1980 year model, 351M/2bbl), only used 8 quarts of straight 60 oil on the trip. Stepdad got ripped off pretty bad on it, paint and interior looked brand new (tweaked frame), transmission fluid had never been changed and resembled tar, gushed oil everywhere, and the exhaust fell off going down the highway one day shortly after he handed it down to me.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Changed the fuel filter, since the car was acting like it was starving at WOT. Turns out it was the original filter. From 1999. With 140k miles.

To add to the fun, for whatever reason, Nissan uses a filter that's attached with hose clamps instead of clips, banjo bolts, or something that you expect to stand up to high pressure. The hoses were stuck on the filter and I couldn't get them off to save my life, I wound up cutting them. The filter now sits a few inches lower in the engine bay due to the shorter hoses.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Baby Hitler posted:

A little PB Blaster and some dull jawed pliers will get any hose off, you just have to twist carefully.

That and Nissan hose connections are awful.

The ones they used on the fuel lines actually aren't bad at all, but I agree on all of the others.

For today's fun... new serpentine belt, master power window switch, new clamp for the negative battery cable.

I'm now on my 4th power window switch since August. The manager at AutoZone swears up and down something is hosed up with my windows - every single switch has had the 1 touch down function work when it felt like it, usually rolling the window down halfway. The FSM says the 1 touch down circuitry is inside the switch. The new switch's one touch down doesn't work at all and the power lock switch on it doesn't work either, but they wouldn't let me have the old switch back. :argh: The original switch's one touch down worked great, the only reason I had to replace it is I managed to break off the connector.. (disconnect BEFORE removing door panel)

When I put on the new belt, I took off the a/c belt.. and discovered a very faded Nissan logo. Oh hello 11+ year old belt, the serpentine belt that broke this morning was probably just as old. Also discovered my front main seal is leaking. :(

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Unfortunately no - this car is pretty basic when it comes to electronics. I mean, it IS an entry level 90s Nissan. :v:

From the factory service manual:


Schematic:

Click here for the full 782x758 image.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

wav3form posted:

I think the Z28s were around 3500-3600lbs and stock output about 350 engine hp and dyno around 315 or so. As far as the subaru, it was an STI and it looked pretty sharp but I doubt it had anything serious done to it. A stage 2 would be much more of a challenge.

Looks more like the 2002 Z28 had about 310 hp, and a little over 3300 lbs. The SS was good for 325 hp.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

First: new tires from Discount Tire. Two of mine had some serious dryrot going and were down to 4/32, the other two were down to 2/32. All four were oversized and would occasionally rub when hitting hard bumps. It's supposed to have 195/65 or 205/60 depending on trim, it had 225/65. Thanks previous owner!

Discount was another story.. they gave me the car back with the wrong size tires and sans two hubcaps, then when I looked at the invoice to make sure they had entered the tires I had asked for, noticed they had charged me for the replacement certificates when I specifically told them I didn't want the certificates. You can sorta blame that on me, I wasn't paying attention to the total when I swiped my card. If I had enough money for the certificates I wouldn't be buying $45 tires.

Second: New valve cover gasket and spark plug tube grommets. Valve cover was just barely leaking, but the spark plug tubes had plenty of oil when I changed the plugs.

Oh hey, while I'm under here... might as well see if I can figure out why the ECU says the TPS is reporting 86% when it's at WOT. Turns out there's a stop screw on the throttle body, and the previous owner (or someone, anyway) had turned it in as far as it would go. It was reporting 86% because.. the throttle body wasn't actually opening fully.

Then noticed the hose from the MAF to the throttle body was just barely attached. It was almost completely off the throttle body, and the clamp for it wasn't even attached to the hose, it was hanging on the throttle body.

When I put the valve cover back on, I noticed the PCV breather hose was split nicely - and it recirculates back into the throttle body via the same hose that I just tightened. More unmetered air! Until I can get a new hose from Nissan, I wrapped the hose tightly in silicone tape. edit $30 for that loving hose wtf

In unrelated news, the car no longer bucks or feels like it's falling flat on its face between about 2700-3200 rpm. In fact it's a completely different car. It now accelerates smoothly from idle to redline, instead of bucking and other foul behavior. And the exhaust no longer smells like satan's rear end in a top hat when I start it. :iiam:

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 02:51 on Mar 6, 2011

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Replaced the oxygen sensor on the Altima - as I suspected, it was either original or a dealer part - Bosch logo with a Nissan logo stamped next to it. Surprisingly, it came out with no fuss whatsoever, I didn't even break any clips on the harness. It now has a Denso in its place that I picked up from Amazon for $30. Original had 141,300 miles.

Also finally got around to replacing my split PCV breather hose - unmetered air leaks :argh:

Reset the ECU and filled up - we'll see if I can start getting decent mileage now. My best tank to date was 25 MPG, 95% highway, and it's rated 31 mpg highway.

Changing the oil tomorrow and sending a sample off to Blackstone - wonder what fun stuff they'll see courtesy of the pcv breather hose...

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Neighbor lost 2 trees during the storm last night. Got to dig my car out from under some limbs. Thankfully the fence was propping them up somewhat, so there was no damage to my car except for some (more) scratches.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Thought I was going to be doing a simple brake pad swap. I knew the rotors had some grooves and really should be replaced, but I was going to try and put it off until I had a bit more money.


Wait, why do the new pads have so much overhang? Checked the old pads, sure enough, about 7/8 of the pad was worn away with a huge lip remaining.

I'm still trying to figure out what car these rotors were supposed to go on. But some of the cash I budgeted for my summer tuition has now been invested in two rotors from Napa.


Not a huge (size) difference, but they're definitely different sizes.

I swear every time I try to do anything on this car, I wind up having to do 3 or 4 things instead. :argh: former owner :argh:

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 03:58 on Apr 30, 2011

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Changed the oil and got a sample for Blackstone. It knocks for about 2-3 seconds at startup, and it had a massive unmetered, unfiltered air leak for awhile.. so I'm sure they're going to find some interesting stuff.

Also... split my 14mm socket trying to get the drat drain plug off.

Dear Walmart,

While I appreciate that you don't want cars leaking oil after an oil change, may I suggest that half a tube of RTV, reusing a copper crush washer, and cranking the drain plug to 1,000,000,000,000 ft/lbs is not the way to go. Instead, may I suggest using the proper gaskets, and maybe actually tightening the oil filters enough to seal? Mine was leaking nicely and was just finger-tight, and I had to purchase a new drain plug due to the copper crush washer becoming one with the plug.

Sincerely,
Some Texas Redneck

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Not MY ride, but I fixed the door handle on mom's car. Also, gently caress dealerships that tell you it'll be 3-4 weeks and they'll call you when it comes in... then call you to inform you they're sending it back if you don't pick it up ASAP (oh and btw we've had it for over a week now).

The good news: the new handle was already painted and looks brand new, they even matched it to the paint code by the VIN!
The bad news: the rest of the paint is 8 years old... and looks it. :downsgun:





It was surprisingly easy, once I managed to find the clip attaching the rod to the old handle. 3 10mm bolts for the handle/lock, and a handful of phillips screws to get the door panel off.

2003 Toyota Avalon, if anyone actually cares. Just broke 110k and still runs/drives like the day she drove it off the showroom floor.

Oh, the dealer quoted her $400 "and we won't charge you for the labor" to replace the handle. I got the handle from the same dealer for $80. And yes, I did give the dealer the VIN to make sure they got the right color, and it looks like they still managed to get a different color..

edit: :argh:

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 06:33 on May 24, 2011

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Finally rehung my back bumper cover - stepdad smacked it pretty good when he came home from work half asleep one morning, and it's been sitting 2" lower on the left side ever since.

He still denies doing it even though there's an imprint of his license plate on my bumper. :colbert:

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Seat Safety Switch posted:

White fades a little from UV damage, I bet.

It does, but I finally double checked the part number they gave me. Turns out it's "Super White Pearl", not "Diamond White Pearl" (which is more of an off-white).

Super white pearl was offered on the first generation Avalon. And the first and second gens use the same handle. :suicide: Assfucks.

Mom doesn't care, thankfully.. it wasn't a huge pain to replace, just tedious, and getting the rod off of the old handle was a pain in the rear end. Not something I want to repeat. Still, aside from a few scratches on the front bumper, her 8 year old Avalon still looks new, inside and out, so it bugs me a bit.

If it was my car I wouldn't give 2 shits, there's zip ties holding both of my bumpers on for fucks sake, but I didn't buy mine new.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

I've had to replace 2 interior door handles on my own cars in the past, but never an exterior handle... and I normally drive beaters or cars just barely above beater status, aside from my last car.

Surprised the poo poo out of me when it broke, it really doesn't seem that flimsy, and the car's a 2003 with a little under 110k on it. It was also the passenger door, and she rarely has passengers in the car... :iiam:

Unfortunately, she just got one more reason to "sell it before it falls apart"...
She's never owned a car with more than 50k miles before, nor had she ever owned an import before this car. She swears up and down it's on its last legs, even though she has the newest and nicest car out of 3 in the house. :argh:

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Disconnected the knock sensor to get rid of some nasty bogging between 2000-2500 rpm.

Car's had a P0325 stored since I've owned it, but on most Nissans, it won't trip the CEL... just pulls timing like crazy if you leave the sensor connected. According to several people on the nissanclub.com forums, if you disconnect the sensor it stops pulling timing (but still stores the DTC). No more bogging!

I'd replace the sensor itself, but it's only slightly less difficult to get to than the PCV valve - both are directly under the intake manifold (WTF Nissan?). The sensor has its own sub-harness that plugs into the main harness near the firewall, so disconnecting that part of the harness is easy. If you have a lift you can get at the sensor from below, but it's still in a really cramped spot. And even on Rockauto, the cheapest sensor is a little under $70. An OEM one, with a new harness, is $190 at courtesyparts.com.

Apparently a ~500k resistor in the plug will get rid of the DTC entirely - once the engine cools I may try that. I don't drive it hard, nor is the timing advanced any, so I feel fairly safe bypassing it.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Got a dashcam, of sorts. I usually have TeleNav or Waze running on my phone if I'm going more than a couple of miles, mainly for traffic and radar updates. Adding dashcam functionality was easy.

Decent video quality (considering the lovely mount I'm using anyway), horrible audio quality. Doesn't save video unless there's an "event" (phone experiences some kind of shock, or I touch the screen), at which point it writes the past few minutes of video to the SD card and uploads it to a server.

Kinda neat I guess.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

This records GPS info (including speed), it just doesn't record it on the video itself. If you play it back on the phone it shows speed and location, same if you upload it to the developer's website from the phone.

My phone also has 2 cameras (front and rear), so in theory it could do that if the software was written. But as it is, this rapes the battery hard... as in it pulls more than the car charger can put out (700mA). But hey, it's a 4G wimax phone, I'm used to having to keep a charger on me. v:v:v

Seidio has a 3300 mAh battery for my phone, I really should get it and ditch the 1500 mAh it has now.

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 07:03 on Jun 9, 2011

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)


Holy crap :tinfoil:

It's pretty configurable in terms of what it'll upload and when, though uploading a 480p video over 3G is pretty painful (4G is pretty spotty in my neighborhood). But thankfully you can also have it snap a series of photos and upload them almost instantly.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

The Altima got a set of horns from a 1990 Cadillac Deville :v: Still need to make some proper brackets, but it's better than the pathetic "meepCOUGHWHEEZEcoughmeeeeeeep" ... thing.. that it had. Total cost: $12.20 at Pick n Pull.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDFBZA3ywvk

Also a new bracket for the power steering fluid reservoir - the old one held the reservoir fine, but one of the a/c lines also attaches to it. That part of the old bracket was broken, so the line was hitting the hood.



I feel so butch now. :gay:

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Jun 14, 2011

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Motronic posted:

THAT'S what I was talking about.

Appreciate the idea :D $12.20 (with tax) for the horns, though I had to figure out where the gently caress Cadillac hid them (inside the fenders wtf). Already had some female spade connectors, and I figure I'll spend $3 or $4 making some proper brackets. I should probably wire up a relay, for now they're running off the stock wiring. Since the stock horn relay is under the hood already, I might just run thicker wires to it - the stock wire is something pathetic like 22 or 24 gauge.

Also saw a pretty drat nice 2001 Eldorado in the junkyard, body looked brand new, no accident damage, and the interior was in pretty good shape. :saddowns:

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Jun 14, 2011

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

nurrwick posted:

I also found out my head gasket is leaking externally. I guess that's up on my list... the QR25 in this car is almost flush against the passenger side body where the strut and wheel are, so i don't expect that will be fun and I will instead continue to feed it about .75 quarts of oil every 5000 miles.

What's up crappy Nissan head gasket buddy :hfive:

Mine's leaking coolant externally, around the #4 cylinder. :saddowns: And the KA24DE in mine is also shoehorned into an entirely too small engine bay - even changing the serpentine belt is a complete pain in the rear end, and changing the idler pulley requires removing an engine mount and lifting the engine. So far no signs of coolant/oil mixing or exhaust gases in the cooling system though.

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Jun 15, 2011

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Started out by finally renting a Rug Doctor and cleaning the back seat - it was stained with soda and looked horrible. Then realized the back seat now looked really clean and the others looked terrible in comparison. Took over 2 hours, 1 of those spent solely on the front passenger seat. As soon as I hit that seat with the rug doctor it turned dark brown :wtf: (my upholstery is gray), whoever had this car before me was a dirty motherfucker.

Finally got a complete set of hubcaps that don't look absolutely terrible. Wonder if Discount will shatter these next time my tires get rotated, fuckers broke 3 out of 4 last time. :argh: I realize they were old, but goddamn you'd think they'd be a little more careful after breaking 1.

Looking for a front bumper cover now, and probably either a polishing kit or new headlamp housings. I'm guessing these were polished before I got the car, they looked new when I got it and look like rear end now (1 year later).

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

trouser chili posted:

Now I'm pulling CV axles out of a 89 Integra and replacing them, heat index is 105. Blech.



That was on Friday - it was 88 when I woke up that morning at 4 loving am. gently caress this summer.

Though I'm still trying to figure out how the heat index was lower than the actual temp..

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Jul 11, 2011

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Viggen posted:

I'm relatively sure if he wears daisy dukes and a baby tee, he's still going to get jumped - even if he IS holding a wrench.

Last time I tried that I was told that muffintops and man boobs don't go well with baby tees. And chest hair is still up for debate.

But I totally have the rear end for daisy dukes. :butt:

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Drained/filled my transaxle.

Do you know what gear oil with 146k miles/12 years smells like? I'll give you a hint: :psypop::hf::barf:

I pulled the drain plug first, stuck my finger in to see how low it was, and... uh.. wait a minute, nothing. I couldn't feel any oil. Sludge yes, oil no. I could see the gears through the opening and they were coated in oil, but it was nowhere near full. It holds 4.8 quarts, my 6 quart catch pan only filled halfway. It's seeping from one of the axle seals. :doh:

Also spent 45 minutes going at the LF axle nut with a 2 ft breaker bar and sledgehammer. All I managed to do was knock a chunk out of the (concrete) garage floor. Need to pull the LF knuckle off so I can have a new bearing and hub pressed in.

Any DFW goons have an electric impact wrench that I could use for a day? :allears: (or know where I could rent one)

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Bucephalus posted:

Socket on axle nut. Breaker bar on socket. Breaker bar handle touching garage floor. Car in reverse. Slowly/gently release clutch. Presto.

I thought about that, I wasn't sure if that would end in amusing failure or not. But it turns out a ~5 ft section of iron pipe on the breaker bar works wonders, I busted a nut real quick with that. :v: Convincing the 2 bolts attaching the steering knuckle to the strut to budge was another circle of hell though.


gently caress YOU CAR, I'M BETTER THAN YOU


:smug:

In the morning I'm gonna take that mess to a machine shop and have the new bearing and seals pressed in.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Dropped the knuckle off with a friend this morning to get a new bearing pressed in. He said the old one pretty much shattered when it was pressed out. That's bad right? :v: The metal had turned blue with some rust and lot of pitting.

Also replaced the drivers side axle seal, spilled a bunch of sweet 80W90 on myself, and put everything back together once my friend dropped off the knuckle.

It's so strange being able to hear the stereo when the car is moving. And the engine. And even wind noise. All I could hear before was that damned wheel bearing.

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randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Finally replaced the knock sensor. Now that it's hooked up, it's hesitating pretty bad between about 1800-2500 rpm, but it's no longer throwing a P0325 at me.

So far it's gotten new plugs, cap, rotor, O2 sensor, fuel filter, knock sensor (the sensor because it was throwing a code for it), and a new PCV hose.

I do know one of the plug wires is iffy - if it's not on just right, it misfires on #2. It doesn't hesitate at all with the knock sensor disconnected, so it's gotta be a sensor, right? It doesn't do anything that would make me think it's a vacuum leak.

I'm going to go ahead and replace the plug wires since one is iffy anyway, then double check the timing and clean the MAF. Any other suggestions?

(it's the 99 Altima of doom)

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