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1991 Nissan Vanette with 320k kms (it was cheap!) Main issues: -Most annoying is that it really hates starting from cold. Takes a number of times cranking it to no result, then it will run for a second then die a few times, then it's fine (idle could be smoother but not terrible, but otherwise no issues with it stalling, surging/hesitating, etc). Takes a minute or two all told. I was doing some searching and guessing this might be either a vacuum leak or automatic choke problem? That's what I'm hoping anyways, seem like the easiest possible fixes. -Bit of a dead spot in the middle of the steering. I thought it might just be me not used to lacking PS, but I took a look underneath and the manual steering gear box is liberally breaded in oil-flavoured road cheese, so it doubtless needs refilling and probably a gasket replaced at the very least. Would this possibly fix the dead spot, or could have enough damage been done to the gears while it was dry to merit replacement? I don't plan on keeping this thing longer than the rego lasts, so if it doesn't pose a safety hazard I will probably leave it as is. No weird noises or sensations when making turns aside from that dead spot. -Suspension is generally pretty tired all around (see above as far as replacing it), but most noticeably the body sits a bit higher over one wheel than the others, and tread on that tyre is worn way more on the inside than the outside/middle. What could I look at underneath to help figure out exactly what the deal is? I wanted to jack it up to check the wheel bearings out (no noise or anything that I can tell, just to check) but the ancient hydraulic jack the PO threw in doesn't seem tall enough to reach the frame rails from the ground  , and I don't have jack stands anyways. -Thermostat only goes about 1/4 of the way up when driving. Can pull that and try the boiled water trick mentioned on this page. My mechanical knowledge/ability is slightly better than total beginner (have done some basic work on my postie, changing tyres/sprockets, some basic electrical and carbie work), I don't have many tools due to moving here a year ago and only buying a vehicle recently, and I can't find much info about the Vanette online. On the plus side, I have access to the shop manuals at the local library (can't check them out, but can make photocopies), and work at a vocational school that has an automotive program, so I can get work done there cheaper than a regular mechanic. Since I have the postie (and in a pinch, could bicycle to work/for errands) it's fine to be without the van for a while whilst the school works on it. OTOH, there's an event ~2 hours away I'd really like to take the van to next weekend. I made sure to get RACT's premium roadside package so I'm not particularly fussed if it leaves me on the side of the highway, but as far as potential catastrophic failures that could be dangerous, is there anything I could be checking for in the meantime? Brakes are fine and while old and due for replacing soon, tyres aren't that bad. Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 09:45 on Feb 4, 2019 |
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Feb 11, 2016 07:58
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some texas redneck posted:If you're comfortable doing so, you can probably remove the air cleaner housing and see if the choke plate is connected to anything - the linkages are usually held together by small C clips, and they sometimes like to roam to new and exciting places when you're not looking. It could simply be stuck too. I'd guess it's stuck open since it sounds like it runs reasonably decent once it warms up, but it's also been a long time since I dealt with a carb. That sounds similar to something I remember reading in the shop manual, assuming I find the right thing I think I'd be OK with that. I grabbed photos of several pages of the manual of stuff I might try, of these, what do you reckon I'd be best starting off with given the issue?    (lol that guys face)   Raluek posted:Yeah not necessarily. The reason I mentioned leaving the key on (for the amount of time that it usually takes it to start working, you said a couple minutes) is because I've heard about some electric bimetal/heater chokes that close too much in the summer / when it's warm, so you actually need less choke than what you're getting. Which would make sense with it getting better as the choke opens with the heater. Yeah, it fires right up if the engine's been running recently. When I've used it for tip runs it has no problem starting if I've left it for ~30-45 mins or so. Slavvy posted:As for your steering, most steering boxes have a lash adjustment grub screw and locknut which you can use to take up some of the dead space in the middle. Be careful - too tight and you'll have no free play and Bad Things Happen. You also probably have a bunch of rooted ball joints in the steering contributing to the dead zone. That sounds like one of those things I could probably try on my own (although I've only got a middlin' rated torque wrench for doing stuff on the postie that might not cut the mustard with some of the car stuff, dunno) but the risk/reward isn't worth it at my level of experience, especially when I've got the school who would probably do that for free. May have been something PO already tried though, said his old man was a mechanic and did a lot of the work on it. The higher wheel actually is the rear driver's side wheel  In general the suspension is a bit squeaky on bumps and the body does 2-3 bounces when you push down hard on either bumper and let go, something I did note before I bought it but chalked up to "$600 van  ". Seller's driveway wasn't very level though, it would have been smart to stop at a flat car park and do a walkaround then, because I didn't notice the body riding slightly higher over the one wheel until I after I got home and parked it.Haven't noticed any cracked or broken leaf springs but I'll give it a closer inspection tomorrow afternoon when I get home from work, ditto on the bushes. Should mention I'm not daily driving the van; postie suits me a lot better for the urban commuting that makes up most of my driving and petrol is basically a non-expense on that thing. Still, it's done a few 30-50km drives without incident so far, but I'll keep it in dry dock until I at least get a better idea about that rear suspension.
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Feb 11, 2016 12:05
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Just a quick update on the van: Got underneath the rear and had a look at the rear suspension. Leafs (leaves?) all seem to be intact, from what I can see of the bushes there's a fair bit of cracking, would I be able to tell how bad it is without jacking the car up, removing the wheels, and starting to take the suspension apart? Have a feeling this will be left for the school to check out regardless of the answer, but wouldn't mind being able to look like less of a dummy when I take it in. I wanted to check out the choke and vacuum hoses, but parked it right up against the wall, forgot that engine access is under passenger's rather than driver's seat  I did do a combination of what both you guys said: put key in the ignition and let it sit there with just the electrics on for a minute or so before I started trying to start it, and pumping the gas pedal first. It didn't fire *right* up, but did get going with much less fuss than it ever has, probably at least 60% faster. Although I dunno, possibly that's because I did it in the early evening (after a warm summer day) rather than first thing in the morning like usual, hmm. I'll try it again tomorrow morning, this time leaving the car on for a bit longer before starting.My local auto parts store has a 2500kg jack on sale this weekend for AU$100, mighty tempted to go buy it along with a pair of stands. OTOH, I theoretically have access to the school's facilities/equipment for the rest of this year, and might be moving afterwards, would be one more big/heavy thing to deal with when the time comes.
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Feb 13, 2016 09:28
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Update re: the life and times of my beater van After letting it sit for a couple weeks, I fired it up and noticed it was leaking something once running. A quick sniff confirmed it was petrol. Would still idle (after it worked through its usual cold starting issue), but when I tried it again today I couldn't even get it to idle without dying. Granted, I didn't spend a whole lot of time on it, but I figured 1) it wasn't a good idea to be doing that with petrol leaking out at a pretty steady rate and 2) the fuel leak was possibly what was starving the engine. I got undernearth it and traced the leak to this doodad, what am I likely looking at? Am I pretty much SOL as far as patching/plugging it due to the corrosive nature of petrol? I really only needed this stupid thing to last me another couple of weeks/tens of kms until I move. 
Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 07:30 on Mar 14, 2016 |
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Mar 14, 2016 07:27
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Raluek posted:Looks like an inline fuel filter. If it really is temporary, you could probably get away with bypassing it, but a replacement would only be a few bucks. Just wanted to pop back in and say thanks for this! I should have got that it was a fuel filter (would have if I'd seen it from the side for sure), I picked up a wee one for my motorbike a few months ago. The auto parts store is on the other end of town so I didn't get out there until today. Forgot to bring old filter with me but it was easy enough finding the same thing on the shelf, as well as some tubing. I'd checked the old filter and the filter itself was fine (I figured might as well replace it anyhow), was one of the two soft hose connections that must have been bad. I was praying it wasn't the one to the carbie as that would have been a huge pain in the butt to access, fortunately it appears that it was just the short length of soft hose between the hard line to the petrol tank and the filter itself that was bad. Getting everything back in was mostly easy, except putting the old hose on the new filter (one going to the carbie, which I'd really like to replace too, but eff that effort), it did not want to go past the little bulge on the plastic barb. I was finally able to slide it on by using a loogie as lubricant. Is running as well as it was before (sans petrol leak), although unfortunately the tenant downstairs's girlfriend parked right behind my bumper so I can't take it for a test drive right now 
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Mar 24, 2016 07:22
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Looking to do babby's first suspension work, and replace the rear struts in my '96 Starlet. Planning to either buy spring compressors on eBay (AU$22 shipped) or borrow some from work if they don't mind. The passenger side boot has completely disintegrated, which I know will make for a shorter life on the replacement, a new boot will be another $23. The one on the other side has a plastic tube type thing at the bottom, still does't make a seal. Probably ought to replace that too? I am tempted not to as I'm on a budget and not planning on keeping this car forever, if there's a cheap DIY solution I'd be willing to try that. OTOH, a lot of the reason I'm doing this repair is so I can take it on the occasional unsealed roads with less worry (also because I can feel the back end coming loose everytime I hit a bump...), so maybe it behooves me to be proactive there. Pic of driver's side:  Also, thermostat is reading about 35% of the way up the gauge instead of in the middle, guessing I should probably replace that? Other than that (and needing new tyres) this has been a pretty good $500 beater so far 
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Jun 3, 2017 02:46
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Deteriorata posted:Your thermostat is probably fine. Where the needle is in the range is meaningless in absolute terms. Check on what "normal" is before you do anything. The temperature gauge is always toward the lower end on all the cars I've owned. It makes overheating more obvious. Thanks! I think part of it is maybe not running the engine long enough; most of my drives are little 15-20 minute hops around the city. I took it on the highway yesterday and she got up to halfway and held steady. Also there was a rushing air noise at highway speed I remembered from before... thought it might be a bad windscreen seal but turns out probably just the roof racks edit Tomarse posted:like Geoj says. start with a wire brush. Can getting some localised cooling help in situations like this (IDK, some dry ice or something?)? I have used the freezer to unstick some really stubborn bolts on smaller stuff before. Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 01:15 on Jun 4, 2017 |
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Jun 4, 2017 00:22
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I bought a $500 Starlet a few months ago. Mechanically, it's in very good nick for a car of its age/pricing strata (PO's were reasonably fastidious about maintenance and it came with a stack of records about an inch thick), the main reason it was so cheap was it needed a few minor wear items replaced... and the paint is in really tragic shape. I thought I might have a go at redoing the paint as a DIY project; I'm only working part-time and have two weeks holiday coming up. I am fully aware it's not going to look 'good as new'; I'd be happy for it to be a 10-15' paint job. Pros: plenty of time, nothing to lose cosmetically. I have a second vehicle (motorbike) so if it needs to sit while a coat is drying, that's fine. Cons: limited budget, I don't have a garage or even a covered area I can work on it/park it, and I'd be limited to weekends to paint as it's a shared parking lot. (I'd be working on a dirt section that's officially "mine", but I want to do it when the sealed lot it adjoins is empty.) Wouldn't be able to get electricity to my working space, although to strip the paint off I can probably swing an orbital sander on an extension cord out the window when nobody's around, if I'm good about cleanup. Lots of condensation and soon to be frost in the mornings as it's getting cold here. Car needs to be moved back behind the fence (see pic) at night due to likelihood of another break-in, but is fine to sit there during day.  Is this situation pretty much impossible, or could I work with it? I'm in it probably 50% to improve the cars' looks, 50% as a DIY project to learn (got a few dents to fill too). I figured I would do rollers rather than spray. Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Jun 10, 2017 |
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Jun 10, 2017 00:21
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Thanks for the feedback re painting, I think I'm going to have a go! I may try and find a spare body panel to practice on first.kid sinister posted:Also, how long a move? The nice thing about Uhauls is that they're covered... I hope it doesn't rain. That's what tarps and judicious amounts of ratchet straps are for 
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Jun 12, 2017 23:42
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I am liking this thread for the bits and pieces I'm learning from reading other people's stuff. Can anyone recommend me a good car/motorbike repair podcast that's not Car Talk (I tried it, hosts were just really grating to me for some reason), aimed at someone with fairly basic knowledge? Captain Yossarian posted:Stupid question: should I get new tires first, or new struts first? According to the person I got the car from, struts have never been done (200k miles, so they are definitely shot). Tires I should probably get done before winter.. What should be my priority here? I was/am in the same situation. I suppose it depends on how bad each is. I went with struts first because they were very noticeably contributing to poor ride quality, though getting tyres done soon is a priority. Did my rear struts yesterday and the difference is massive, car sticks to the road much better (ie normally) on turns and bumps, and all the creaking and moaning from the back is now gone. It took an embarassing amount of the afternoon to do the first one because I kept making mistakes and having to go back and decompress/recompress the spring, then I had to go to the store and buy some vice grips, etc... second one took more like 45 minutes, most of which was being really careful with the spring compressors. The all-in-one packages that include springs make things a lot safer and easier, although in my case it would have doubled the price of the job, and I could get the spring compressors for free from work. The tyres are also pretty worn out, so I'm going to try and get out to the secondhand tyre place and get those replaced too. After that the car really wants for nothing significant AFAIK (aside from maybe doing that paint job over the break), I'm looking forward to taking it out on some longer trips around the island. Two quick questions: 1) Noticing a higher idle in the mornings, is this the automatic choke compensating for the colder conditions (it's winter down here and just starting to get cold)? It has been a while since I owned a car, used to doing it myself on motorbikes. 2) Some idiot thieves tried to break into it a few weeks ago. As a result, the lock on the hatch is completely ruined (I have disconnected it from the latch), and the driver's side one is a little sticky and looks nasty. Passenger door lock is untouched. Since I never use the lock on the passenger's side, I wondered if I could swap it over to the driver's side (and relocate the driver's one to the hatch if possible, though that seems like a stretch). How likely is it that they are interchangable? Toyota is for some reason really secretive about the shop manual for the Starlet so I'm not sure about parts numbers, although FWIW it shares many of the parts with the Tercel/Corolla. On eBay I have found listings for both "LH + RH front door barrel locks" that appear to be different, as well as a generic "front door barrel lock" that doesn't specify whether it is R or L. Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 03:30 on Jun 26, 2017 |
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Jun 26, 2017 02:55
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On this week's episode of This Old Starlet: Should I not go from 165/70/13" tyres up to 175/70/13's on my 96 Starlet? Local wrecker had two matching sets of the latter*, and just a few random orphans of the 165s. Car manual says to leave it stock, what I found Googling suggested "I dunno, maybe?". I'm not crazy about cheaping out on tyres, but this is a beater and underemployment means funds are tight; wrecker set would be $80 vs the $270 I was quoted for new, though that does include mounting and balancing. The ones at the wrecker were on steelies so I think I should be OK there, can have work do balancing/alignment later (see below). Also, now that I've changed the rear struts I can hear how bad the front wheel bearings are. Bearings are $100 for both sides, I can probably get it done cheap/free at work (we have an automotive program), though I dunno how long the wait is. I am thinking if you guys say the 175s are a no-go, order the bearings and see how long the queue is to have the kids at work put them in, then decide on what to do as far as tyres if they don't find any eminent big dollar repairs looming. Does that make sense? *In the picture, they showed a nice rack with everything labeled. The reality was spending the better part of two hours climing and digging through Tyre Mountin in the corner of the warehouse. Not really complaining, it was a good workout and the Nepalese dudes working nearby were friendly 
Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Jul 14, 2017 |
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Jul 14, 2017 06:14
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Double checking on wheel bearings: I am about to order new ones (I only hear front driver's side one, but those are generally done in pairs, right?). It sounds like it should be them; gets pretty noticeable above 60-70kph, and when the car is making slight turns on the highway. I just jacked the car up and tried wiggling the wheel... I can definitely get some movement out of it, which is transferring to the struts/tie rod ends, that should be the bearings, right? Rear wheel does not move at all, but it also has a different steering setup, so I wanted to be sure. I can also hear a faint metallic "tick" twice per rotation when I turn the wheel by hand. GnarlyCharlie4u posted:The answer is in the question. Javid posted:165 to 175 when the other numbers are the same is pretty minor. Thanks for that! I got quoted $300 for a set of Yokohama Bluearth's, which would be tempting if I were more a man of means, but if I can get away with the newish 175s for $80, I think that's probably the more sensible thing to do. The 4x100 stud pattern for the steelies should be standard across cars, right?
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Jul 16, 2017 04:14
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OK, not sure if it's the bearings now: I put the front end up on jack stands and tried both sides. If I grab either wheel at 3 and 9 o clock, I can get a fair bit of wiggle on both driver and passenger sides, but this seems to be play in the suspension (can see the strut and tie rod moving) rather than the bearing/hub. Or is that actually faulty bearings, and the force would be expected to transfer that way? If I grab the wheel at 12 and 6 o clock and yank as much as I can it's solid, which is why I'm starting to doubt my bearing diagnosis. While I had the front end in the air, I put the car in first but couldn't hear any noise (aside from that faint metallic tick on the driver's side, which is where I thought the bad bearing was), although tbf it's usually not until 50+ kph when I can start noise on the road. Could it be something else? edit: the tick is really faint, I've never heard it while driving, just if I've got the car up on a jack and am listening closely. Raluek posted:Sort of. The bolt holes will be in the right spot, but you'll want to make sure the hub diameter is right, and the backspacing is in the right ballpark. Ah... I have a feeling they may not be the right size (almost certainly off a different make of car), so I'd need to get them re-mounted onto the wheels that are on there. Will have to check the queue at work; OTOH shouldn't be much more work for them to do if they've already got it on the lift and the front wheels off for the bearings. TheFrailNinja posted:Probably not enough to cause an issue, but better safe than sorry right? Keep checking the stick and if it's still reading high you should try and dump some out. It's an easy solution to what could be an expensive problem down the road. Yeah, it is easy enough to drain a bit off that you might as well. With a motorbike I know too much oil can put undue stress on the seals, IDK about a Miata though. If the new OEM ones are pricey, junkyard might be a good place for lug nuts. Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Jul 17, 2017 |
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Jul 17, 2017 01:45
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Raluek posted:3 and 9 is a good test of slop in your steering (tie rod ends, I guess); 12 and 6 is wheel bearings. Clicking can be CV axles; usually when a bearing goes it starts to grumble or whine. If it's a real faint click, it could also be just a piece of something stuck in a tire or a slight irregularity in the brakes. Investigate further! Ah, doing some reading it sounds like you're right about the tie rod ends. I will pop it back up on the jacks later and have a look... especially if it's just the outers, that looks to be pretty cheap and painless to do. I haven't really noticed anything funny with steering, but I'm also somewhat new to not having PS, so The click/tick is when I have the wheel off the ground so it wouldn't be debris in the tread, it'd be difficult if not impossible to hear when the car is moving. Because it's a moan that gets noticeable above 50kph I was thinking bearing (from what I can tell of ball joints/CVs/tie rods that's not symptomatic), the noise does get worse in curves on the highway. I had a dig back through the PO's maintenance records and the right hand rear bearing was done 30k/3 years ago, with a new stud fitted to the driver's side front (suspected problem area) at the same time. 100k kms ago both rear bearings were done, but I can find no record in the last 150,000kms/12 years of the front ones having been done.
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Jul 17, 2017 04:23
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Leperflesh posted:Just to be clear: lifting the car up and feeling for slop in the wheels is good because if there is slop, you know you need to change the bearings. However, there being no movement is not proof that the bearings are fine. The moaning sound you're hearing is probably bearings and them still feeling tight on the wheel doesn't disprove that. Thanks, and crap, won't do that again (thanks for the explanation)! FWIW had the rear wheels chocked, although I know that's not gonna stop a determined car. Gonna order those bearings today, and go out and check inner tie rods to see if those need replacing too. It's only another $50 or so and I can probably borrow the tool from work, but would have to order from overseas rather than domestically.
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Jul 18, 2017 00:43
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slothrop posted:I recently purchased a bottle jack to keep in the car to make emergency tire changes a bit less poo poo. Of course on my 2002 Corolla it doesn't fit under the factory jack points. There appears to be far more clearance further under the car, what are some safe jacking points (if any) that may be located a little higher? Unfortunately, that's kinda the way bottle jacks are desiged (they are usually meant for trucks and stuff with higher clearance). I have one from my old van that I hung onto and it's juuuust barely too tall to slide under my Starlet's jack point. The redneck solution is to drive your car up onto a 2x4 or something, but it's not best practice. On my wish list is a hydraulic floor jack for doing repair work at home... I keep mentally upselling myself on a heavier duty one because I eventually plan to buy a bigger vehicle (Delica, Transit, or maybe a 4WD) but maybe I should just get a car-sized one and use my bottle jack in the future if needed. edit: the bottle jack is also going to be more dangerous for changing a flat since it has such a small contact point that the car could easily be knocked off of; it's meant for getting the vehicle up and onto a jack stand. Scissor jack is more of a PITA to use, but it actually cradles that rail and is less likely to come free/get knocked over. Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Jul 18, 2017 |
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Jul 18, 2017 05:34
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Bearings are on their way! I inspected the inner and outer tie rod boots, which are fine on both sides. I did discover that the outer CV boot has a small rip and is leaking grease on the driver's (problem) side. How much more effort will that be to change if I've already got the hub off to change the wheel bearing? I get no ticking at full lock or anything like that, so thinking I can maybe just get away with doing the boot. Tried getting inner tie rod off to check that but wasn't having much luck, had to put everything away since I was losing daylight. It seemed rock solid when I grabbed it and tried to move it around while it was still in place, but again, I can get that in/out play when I wiggle the wheel at 3 and 6.
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Jul 18, 2017 07:53
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Unbelievably White posted:Are 13 inch rims particularly rare? My body shop is having a hell of a time finding one. 2004 hyundai accent if it matters. Yeah, they are (when I look for them secondhand, pretty much all the hits I get are for trailer wheels). As a Starlet owner, I feel your pain.
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Jul 19, 2017 04:32
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While we're talking about gearboxes/syncros: My Starlet doesn't like being shifted into first while rolling. What I read when Googling is that this is normal on most manuals and is supposed to help prevent money shifts (with people saying you generally don't shift down to 1st while moving anyways). Is this true? I didn't really get a proper education for driving manual cars so I've got a few blind spots. It actually comes up semi-often, as I live in a pretty hilly city and find it a real PITA when I'm coming up to an uphill intersection where I have to slow down for a potential stop, and trying to proceed forward in second would cause a stall. Obviously, if a car is coming I stop and do a hill start, but if I could downshift to first easily it'd be trivial to roll through it if it was clear. I've got to do it twice on my way out of work  As far as I know my clutch is fine, so I don't think it's that. Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 14:48 on Jul 29, 2017 |
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Jul 29, 2017 14:42
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Deteriorata posted:Most transmissions leave 1st gear unsynchronized specifically to make it difficult to shift into while you're moving, as you mentioned. Yu-Gi-Ho! posted:Depress clutch. Thanks, will practice this!
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Jul 29, 2017 23:26
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Deteriorata posted:If you want an auto, get an auto. Many people don't actually like doing their own shifting (particularly if they have to deal with a lot of city traffic), and autos are getting better and smarter all the time. I agree with this post, as someone who bought their first manual car at 30. It's a bit of a pain in the butt if you spend a lot of time in start/stop traffic. I'd rather have an automatic if that was going to be much of my useage. Fortunately my work hours are offset from the usual 9-5, and I don't live in a super congested area anyways, so this is rarely my reality. I find it more enjoyable and satisfying to drive to drive a manual, even though it's a tiny econobox rather than anything sporty. It can be really hard to find manuals to rent (even in Australia, seems like they're being phased out of rental fleets in recent years), unfortunately. You could try a driving school; once you get more or less comfortable with it then you could then make your decision. I basically learned by buying a cheap used manual vehicle and driving it home 2 hours over some mountainous backroads. I was already somewhat familiar with the concept from riding motorcycles for years, so read a few things about cars and watched a few YouTube videos, then pretty much winged it. It's surprising how second nature it becomes after a while.
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Aug 1, 2017 02:34
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Aside from a big socket for the axel nut, a tie rod separator, and a few cotter pins for reinstallation, will I need any special tools or finesse if I'm removing the front hubs from a '96 Starlet? (Repair manual is unavailable, but according to sources it shares most of its suspension components with Tercels/Paseos of the same vintage.) While I'm in there I've got an outer CV boot to replace on one side. I've got a socket set, breaker bar, jack stands, and a torque wrench at home already. To my surprise, the Automotive program at work can't actually work on cars anymore (  , guess a kid hurt themselves or something), but I reckon if I can bring them the hubs, they can press the old wheel bearings out and fit it with new ones. Worst case, I can borrow the tools I need and at least save myself some labour charges at a shop. I have the bearings and CV boot already, and can leave the car up on jack stands for a few days if I need to. Also, does anyone have suggestions for a car other than Corollas I could look for to scavenge wheels (in Australia)? It's a 4x100 stud pattern, looking for 37-39 offset. The wheels on it now are 13", according to Starlet forums it can go up to 15's without needing to modify any body panels*. Corollas seem to be my best bet as they're pretty common, but looking to expand my search net. *But, how does one recalibrate a speedo? edit: is a Dremel a good tool to buy for grinding off the occasional bolt and such? Considering getting one for other projects, and I know they're good for polishing metal with the right attachments, wondering about other usefulness. Any models to avoid? Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Aug 8, 2017 |
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Aug 8, 2017 02:18
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So, I picked up one of those combined 8" sub/integrated amp combo's because it was  and I want to really feel the low end on those Phil Collins cassettes. Didn't come with the wiring harness or anything else though.  Am I boned? I want to keep the factory cassette deck because... reasons, so I know I need a low-line converter like this to gain RCA out. For the power, I can buy a wiring kit from eBay, but not sure about how/if I should go down from a fat 8ga wire. If those 8 pin connectors are standard I'm sure I can scrounge one at the recycle shop, at least. Breakfast Feud posted:Hard line or soft? Yeah, this. I patched a section of the soft lines on my old van (I'm pretty sure with the help of this thread), it was really easy. Buy tubing, buy hose clamps, get under car, install. Be sure to wear eye protection so no bits of road cheese fall in them.
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Aug 12, 2017 04:38
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I honestly have no idea what the brand is, there's what appears to be three cursive letters on the other side, but I cannot for the life of me tell what they are (foz?). Model or serial number is S011013940
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Aug 12, 2017 09:25
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Raluek posted:That looks like a Molex Mini-fit Jr., so the plug should be pretty standard. If you have a dead computer power supply, the EPS12V plug should be that. The tricky part might be finding out which wires do what, so you'll have to see if you can find a schematic for it or a picture of the correct adapter so you can put the right wires in the right place. InitialDave posted:Agree on the molex plug. Breakfast Feud posted:Unless you find the exact schematic for yours I wouldn't risk applying 12V to anything you're not certain of. Personally I would try and take it apart and follow the traces and try to determine which pins are power. Thanks for that! So I have opened it up, not sure how to really tell which of the pins would be power vs speakers, but here she is:  If it's the same as that Blaupunkt molex connector:  4 and 8 are 12V 3 and 7 are ground 2 and 6 are Left 1 and 5 are Right Does that look viable from the picture, or would I need to show more of the PCB to be able to tell? edit: Do I even use the left/right if I'm using the low line converter that converts the tape deck's L and R channels into RCA? Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 07:40 on Aug 13, 2017 |
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Aug 13, 2017 07:36
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After a month of stalking Gumtree, I gave up on finding any wheels or seconhand tyres that would fit my Starlet without messing up the speedo... horray, regional Australia (and sellers who don't know/can't be arsed to figure out the offset of their wheels). 4 new tyres and an alignment later, I'm a happy camper though. Really great to have the peace of mind. I had asked the shop to fit the best of the six year old, balding tyres to the spare (as it still had the original from 1997 in the boot...), but they said they were too low on tread for them to do so. I swung by the wreckers and of course there weren't any good tyres in my size, so I got a 175/70/13 instead of a 165/70/13. In the event of a flat, would that be fine for say, 100-200kms to get home and get it replaced with a properly sized one? * * * I've been getting busy with work and am still waiting on some parts to arrive before I dive into messing with that subwoofer, but hoping to get to it next weekend. I couldn't find any 8 pin Molex connectors at the tip, I assume there's no issue if I cut down a bigger one from an old PC power supply down? Seems like it would fit, don't have a Dremel so figured I'd heat up my soldering iron and melt the part I don't want off. Also, will be going from a beefy 8ga power wire from the battery down to one of those computer power supply wires... that's OK, right? Don't see what other choice I have, but wanted to be sure. Re: wiring so there's no interference: I know best practice is to do power on one side and audio on the other... if I was also doing rear speakers (undecided at this point), should those go down the same side as the audio inputs to the sub, or with the power one? Grakkus posted:I've been offered a 1994 Citroen XM wagon that I want to buy for hauling stuff around in, but it doesn't have A/C. Assuming I could get hold of the OEM A/C system for the car, how much work would it be to get it in and working? Speaking in general terms of course, I don't expect it's a job many people have done on XMs before A bit late on this, but if it's just as a stuff-hauler (ie no passengers you need to keep happy) and you don't live somewhere brutally hot you'd be spending a lot of time idling in traffic, I'd just get a fan that clips to the vents and is powered by the cig lighter. A tint can also go a long way to helping keep a car from getting too hot inside. Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 12:59 on Sep 3, 2017 |
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Sep 3, 2017 12:38
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Over the last month or two I've kept an eye on Gumtree, and have put together a cheap speaker upgrade for my '96 Starlet. I've replaced the factory 4" speakers up front with Alpine 4"ers, and added Alpine 6x9s in the back. Bit of a pain in the butt -- had to fabricate some adapters for the front ones, and have yet to measure out the tricky back hatch to create a parcel shelf for the rear (any tips? don't have the original). The 6x9s are 60 watts, I want to say the 4" speakers are 40? At the moment they are all running off the factory head unit, but only the front or rear speakers will work at one time (toggle using fade). My assumption is that the factory tape deck isn't powerful enough to drive both. Think I mentioned it in the last post but I don't want to upgrade head units*, so I assume the solution is to get an amp, which I have already. It's an older Kenwood, appparently 35Wx4 @ 4ohms, which I know isn't great, but it was dirt cheap and I wasn't planning on going too crazy with this thing. First off, I need to test the amp. I was having a hard time finding the other side of the grommet inside the car, probably need to take the passenger dash apart again. In the meantime, I was just going to pop the hood, run the cables outside into the car, and play around with hooking up the speakers that way before I committed. Is there any easy way to get an ignition signal for the amp to turn on without cutting into the factory wiring harness yet? For wiring my plan was: 1) Get a Toyota wiring harness for a couple bucks + two lengths of that all-in-one 9 wire cable 2) Run that from factory head unit to under the passenger seat where amp will be 3) Connect to amp, run another length back into dash and connect up to original wiring/new speakers. Does this seem viable? I also still have that mystery sub + amp combo dealie which I now have a molex connector for, thought I would have a go at connecting later on. Do I just stack the leads on the battery terminal? Do I have to worry about that + amp being too much for the alternator on a little 90s econobox? *Factory tape deck has a circular, 13 pin connector that I assume is for a CD changer. Couldn't find anything for Toyota, but did see this Kenwood 13 pin to Aux cable. What are the chances that this would work on mine? My assumption is "not very good" but thought it might be worth a go. There is also the option to connect to the RCA input on speakers, but according to the manual having speaker input + RCA input connected at the same time can damage it. Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 22:09 on Oct 2, 2017 |
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Oct 2, 2017 22:04
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 Back is killing me today from all the contorting, but finally got that amp and aftermarket speakers wired in to the factory tape deck*. Huge pain in the butt and I made basically every mistake possible, but feel like I've learned a lot. Since I had a good day at the wreckers on Tuesday, while I was in there running wires I replaced the worn-through driver's side carpet that was bugging me, and added a little coin holder dingus I snagged out of the dash of a nicer one. Also got a set of factory hubcaps that need sanding/priming/repainting, should be a good rainy day project. I've still got that integrated amp/sub combo with the mystery wiring loom that the thread helped me figure out (hopefully). I'm not 100% I won't fry it if I try to connect it up, but at the end of the day it was $20 so I haven't got much to lose. I was doing some Googling and PC molex connectors (what I'm planning on using, grabbed it from a junkyard PSU) are rated to ~11A per wire, so should I be able to just solder that on to a second power wire coming from the battery? It feels a little weird to go down from that beefier wire, but there's nowhere else for power on the amp/sub. This isn't related to the other stuff, but has been bugging the hell out of me since I got the Starlet: it seems to make significantly more wind noise than seems normal at highway speeds. It sounds like it's coming from the top part of the car... my first guess was that the roof racks were the culprits, but when I removed them it didn't make any difference at all. There is a little bit of hole starting to form from rust/corrosion near the top of the windscreen, could that be it? Other guess is the piece of plastic trim at the base of the windscreen which doesn't have the outer clips to hold it fully down. But it's not a rattle at all, just a wind whooshing noise. I suppose the other option is that it's just a cheap car and doesn't have much sound dampening *not really important, but on the wiring diagram for the head unit one of the wires (dark green) is labeled "Do not use", while all the other ones are labeled clearly as to function. The ones that would be for the power antenna just straight up aren't there on mine, but are labeled in the diagram. Very curious what The Forbidden Wire's function is, anyone have a guess?
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Oct 7, 2017 02:57
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Question about tongue weight ratings: One thing I'm thinking about for my next car is the ability to mount a motorcycle carrier. Nothing crazy, thinking a 125cc that would weigh around ~120kg/265lbs. Is it basically just "find a Class II or III hitch for this make/model"? Or does the vehicle itself factor much into considerations for it? The smallest thing I'd be looking at is something like an AWD Corolla wagon or something like that, though ideally it'd be a van. Josh Lyman posted:Amazon vs shop supplier I'm not saying this is the case, but given how often counterfeit stuff winds up on Amazon, your shop is not necessarily in the wrong for not using them even though they are cheapest. Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 12:17 on Jan 26, 2018 |
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Jan 26, 2018 12:03
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Thanks guys! Could have been more clear since this isn't CA -- by motorcycle carrier I don't mean a trailer (which would be nice, but I have nowhere secure I could store one) but one of those rails with a little ramp that fits on to a tow hitch.builds character posted:Class III at least, I think. I’ve used a hitch hauler on a crv, I wouldn’t carry anything heavier than a dirt bike on it. Maybe 275lbs. Your other issue is going to be the rear springs will be compressed if you’re driving anywhere rough. Class III it is, then. I am definitely not looking to put more than a 125 on there, so that should be OK. The idea is to get a car that's very road-oriented and use it for longer trips, and use the bike for exploring more gnarly roads/as a runabout once camp has been set up.
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Jan 26, 2018 22:00
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Schneider Heim posted:Were muscle cars sold in Japan during the 60s? If so, what models were offered? Did they have their own niche? I'm writing a story and I'm planning to write in a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, but I'm not sure if that was ever sold in Japan. I just had a peek at Japanese Wikipedia; apparently only around 10 were sold of the first generation (1967-69). If set in the present day, perhaps others were imported individually in the following years, IOwnCalculus posted:That seems like the kind of car that would only end up in Japan if an American soldier brought it on deployment somehow. is quite correct as the Status of Forces Agreement has pretty generous provisions for American servicepeople. OTOH I'm not sure how possible it is to leave vehicles there, especially if the owner isn't covered by the SOFA. I'm not sure if Japan has more chill import restrictions on older vehicles like the US, where anything over 25 years old is fair game without needing all the compliancing. I'd lead towards it being more difficult though, as Japanese cars have a biannual safety inspection that is basically designed to take older cars off the road. Classics do exist in Japan now but comparatively speaking they are less common, though typically they are immaculately maintained by their very dedicated owners. If you want to look up other makes/models, you can look up the English page on Wikipedia, then go to the Japanese version (if it exists, will be 日本語 in the languages sidebar), and then you can run it through Google Translate if you don't read Japanese. Might try a Mustang? Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 08:12 on Feb 6, 2018 |
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Feb 6, 2018 08:06
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ExecuDork posted:I think I could put something together at Home Depot if it doesn't need to fit the curves of a specific vehicle. The topper is not a high-low, it's flat and when on the truck the roof is the same level as the roof of the cab. It's a cheap piece of fibreglass and it already leaks water in when it rains (mostly around the windows) so a few small holes in the roof won't make a difference. A bit off topic but grab some silicone rubber sealant for those leaky windows.
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Feb 9, 2018 20:37
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KakerMix posted:I've got a 1990 Toyota Crown ~Royal Saloon~ wagon I've imported from Japan to drive around like an old grandpa here in the USA. It's equipped with a 1JZ-GE. I had a '96 Mark II with that engine (or very similar, forget which JZ motor it had) in Japan, it got pretty unimpressive mileage. I bought it for about a grand and had surpassed that again in petrol after ten or so all-too-frequent fillups. Fun as hell merging onto the expressway though, kei cars GTFO'd my way when they saw that thing coming at speed
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Mar 7, 2018 09:38
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1996 Starlet: Has always made whooshing air noises at highway speeds, sounds like it was coming from the top of the car. I'd assumed it was the roof racks but when I took them off, same thing. Could this beginning of rust along the windscreen be the culprit? Door seals seem OK and the noise *sounds* like it's coming from the middle.  If so, I've got some body puddy (or JB Weld) I could use to fill it. This is a $500 car and looks the part cosmetically, so I'm not too concerned about appearance or resale value, what's the recommended quick and dirty solution? I figured I'd use steel wool to get as much of the rust out, then fill. Might paint over it with some red acrylic I have laying around because why not. Second question: on cold starts in the morning I often get a petrol smell in the cabin (can kinda smell outside too) for a minute or so. It doesn't do this when I'm leaving work 8 hours later (similar outdoor temps) though. Where should I start looking? edit: looking back at my post history, no way I'm gonna try and repaint this thing even though there's basically nothing to lose. Currently doing a 'good enough' job on my KLR's plastics and it's been a big PITA that's dragged on forever (nature of the job + weather and work schedule). Can't imagine doing multiple times the surface area, masking, etc... my hat is definitely off to those who do! pumpie2 posted:My delightful neighbors kid hit my passenger side wing mirror with enough force to crack the out housing and smash the plastic 'glass' on the indicator too. This sounds like your neighbours' problem, not yours... Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 07:35 on May 21, 2018 |
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May 21, 2018 07:26
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The factory tape deck in my 96 Starlet has started making a loud-ish whirring noise as soon as a tape is inserted (and won't play the tape). Luckily I had a spare that I picked up on a whim at the wreckers when I was cannibalising the wiring harness out of another car... which upon installation has the exact same issue I made a half-arsed attempt to fix it by shooting some penetrating lubricant into one of them, but didn't make any difference. Is this something that might have an easy-ish fix, or should I roll the dice with another tape deck? I've already picked up a Bluetooth FM adapter so I can still listen to stuff from my phone, but have been building up a collection of secondhand tapes that I'd like to keep listening to.
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Oct 3, 2018 23:18
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Dagen H posted:I'm talking completely out of my rear end here, but I think there's a "belt" (rubber band) that drives the cassette mechanism, and it's probably broken. That actually makes sense - doesn't want to rewind or FF and the whirring noise could very well be something spinning freely that should have a belt-worth of resistance on it. I am going to dig into it this weekend and see. KakerMix posted:Hopefully just broken and not also goopy. That's what the spare one is for 
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Oct 5, 2018 00:04
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96 Starlet (pretty sure it shares the same running gear with the Tercel/Paseo/Corolla) - needs new outer CV boot. Joints aren't clicking or anything, just happened to notice it was torn when I was checking fitment on a spare tyre. Replaced the other side about a year ago so not surprising. I have the boot/grease kit and was going to get it installed for free at work, but at this point the queue is long enough to make it not worth my while to wait. I am not super skilled but did do back struts on the car earlier last year, and should at least be able to check out any tools I need for free, like a ball joint separator. How much of a PITA is this job, and how much could I mess it up? My alternative is one of those split ones you seal up, reviews online seem to indicate they hold up OK (plus my handyman uncle recommended it), but I feel like it's one of those 'no such thing as a free lunch' scenarios. Since I've already spent the money on the proper boot I feel like I might as well go that way unless it's a three hour job or something. Dukket posted:and I guess while were on the topic - car emergency kits. I have a bit more long distance winter driving than usual coming up. Head lamp is a good idea, I've also got a hi vis vest in mine
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Nov 21, 2018 23:11
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Yeah, so let that CV boot go on my 96 Starlet - didn't have access to the tools/shop at work and just got busy with life. I found out a couple weeks ago I could have probably patched it temporarily with some zip ties and an old inner tube, that would have been doable and doubtless extended its life more. So now that the passenger side CV has started clicking, I need to replace the whole CV shaft... not that it's really much more work tbh. Car is a $500 beater that's served me really well, I'd like to eke another few months/thousands of kms out of it while I look for something nicer to replace it if I can. That's been the plan all along and I have been looking, but I'd like the luxury of taking my time since I'm in a pretty small market. Not mad considering how long it took to go back, really. It doesn't look insanely complicated to do (the most involved thing I've done before is back struts, w/ spring compressors, this looks harder but not impossible), but I'm still not confident I won't get partway through and get stuck because I couldn't get something apart. I've got a basic tool kit - breaker bar, socket set, jack stands, trolley jack), but nothing like a ball joint separater, torch to heat a stubborn bolt, etc. Is it worth it to pick up the ball joint separater for $35? https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/toolpro-toolpro-tie-rod-end-ball-joint-separator/377217.html What are the sorta Rubicons I have to worry about crossing in terms of putting it back together again so it can be driven? I've already got in touch with the one mobile mechanic in my area I could find on Gumtree, but he refuses to work with eBay replacement parts (and I refuse to shell out for an OEM drive shaft on a $500 car...). The only other issue I've had is a very intermittent shuddering when taking off in 1st. I can't seem to find any common factor other than the car not being fairly warmed up - outside temp, time since I ran it last, etc don't seem to have any consistent effect. Something I read suggested a possible oil leak onto the fly wheel or something? Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 09:58 on Feb 4, 2019 |
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Feb 4, 2019 09:43
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STR posted:The shuddering is either a glazed flywheel, glazed clutch, or a bad motor mount (most likely the firewall side). Or, oil on the flywheel. In any event, on a $500 beater, it's something you should just deal with (you could try replacing that mount, and it will help, but it's the most difficult one to do on a FWD car). Awesome, thank you! For the oil seal, I'd want one like this? I'd be worried about a catastrophic failure if I was going to drive it until it breaks (not that I'm gonna quit driving it altogether in the meantime, just lean heavily on the motorbike for the time being). The boot was torn for a good while, like 4+ months (I know...), but to the best of my knowledge I only got noticable noise at full lock recently. It's possible it's worse than I think so I'm trying to go as easy on it as I could. Good point on the gearbox oil, had forgotten about that (also a new cotter pin for axle nut).
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Feb 5, 2019 09:04
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Does anyone have any tip/product they'd recommend for revitalising the unpainted bumpers on an early 90s Toyota? They're that dark grey colour, but parts are faded/different colour from exposure to the sun. Not going for perfection, just an improvement. I'm in Australia FWIW Re: CV chat, I just replaced mine and had done some digging/asking around: Grakkus posted:Can someone recommend me a temporary CV boot repair that I can do until the replacement arrives? There's a pretty hefty 2 inch split in it. From what I found, re packing with grease and using a cut up old inner tube + zip ties as a sort of patch is likely the "best" low-rent solution. Didn't actually do it myself though. BraveUlysses posted:i'm going to help a fellow goon fix their CV axle...the boot is starting to tear but probably hasnt started to throw grease. You can go one of several ways: 1) One of those split-boot kits - much less  . I didn't find a tonne of hate for them online, and was recommended to me by my mechanic/handyman uncle, but I doubt they hold up as well as proper ones. Far less work though.2) An OEM or high quality aftermarket boot 3) Just replacing the whole CV shaft assembly - I think in a lot of cases with FWD cars it is only marginally more labour than fannying about with a replacement boot. Could go junkyard for the whole thing, but depending on your vehicle/how much you value your time (to and from yard, searching for a donor, time to pull it), might just want to buy new. This'll mean gearbox oil flush as well though. Is a new OEM boot on your original OEM shaft with XX(X),XXX kms better than a brand new eBay CV shaft assembly? Dunno. I wound up replacing the whole thing with an AU$90 generic eBay part from a reputable specialist and paid a mechanic to do the labour (lack of time, confidence, and not wanting to buy a ball joint separator). Ethics_Gradient fucked around with this message at 10:17 on Mar 17, 2019 |
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Mar 17, 2019 10:05
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