Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Colostomy Bag posted:

This made me check POR15 to see if they have aerosols (they don't). But holy hell the price for that stuff...yikes.

Yeah it's a sticker shock for sure. Good news is a 4oz can will cover a solid axle. A quart will do all the heavy metal on a car, frame, suspension and axles.

Pray you don't need enough for a flatbed.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
I don't think an 80 yr old man should be trying to use apps and speeding.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
Use an impact wrench and hold it with the other hand or channel locks or a pipe wrench. Depending on if you want to reuse it or not.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
Seems like a great reason to me then. Hobbies should be fun and don't need to be practical.

Just take lots of photos in case you get to a point that the project is a total cluster and you decide to go back.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Colostomy Bag posted:

Fumoto valves.

What is this, a crossover episode?

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
What about a magnet?

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Motronic posted:

Good job showing that gently caress who's boss STR.

Also, long needle nose pliers are amazingly good "gently caress, what do I do now?" tools.

Agreed, especially the double jointed variety. They don't grip incredibly strong but enough for most things like extraction and positioning.

Also I was looking for a link and lol there's a Harbor Freight credit card! If I ever get a new tool chest I bet I'll have one in my pocket.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Achtane posted:

The fuel pump on my '93 Hardbody has died and I've noticed that the gas tank is pretty gross inside, with flakes of rust and poo poo floating around. A new tank is at least $250, it looks like.

I'm not in a hurry to have the truck roadworthy, so I was considering cleaning the fuel tank if it's a fairly straightforward/inexpensive task. But then I don't know how to store or dispose of the old gasoline that's been in it for...a year maybe? It's a nearly full tank.

Is it even worth trying to salvage the old tank?
poo poo, I'll have to deal with the gas either way...what can it be stored in that doesn't cost a bunch of money?

If you can get it operable, even half-assed, you can drive off most of the gas, or all of the gas and bring a jerry can with you to get home. If you're really not in a hurry put a little in another car before each fuel up and dilute it and use it. I would put a gallon in at a time, and at some point youll only have like 5 gallons in the tank and you can transfer all of it to a jerry can.

If you're feeling real ambitious you could give it away to the neighborhood, tell everyone that you're giving away one gallon of gas for whatever and just fill em up.

For what it's worth I cleaned one tank with a kit and sealed it, and the other just with water and some rocks for abrasion, which did get a lot out but was not great. I'm considering calling around to radiator shops to see if they can boil and seal it.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Hunter2 Thompson posted:

I didn't see a bodywork thread, so I suppose I'll ask here :)

What's the right way to paint my project car's floor pan? The surface is a patchwork: It has had some professional major rust repair that's painted with a two-part epoxy primer. Other parts with minor rust I ground to bare metal and painted with POR-15 and/or possibly Rustoleum (I was younger then, good paint was expensive). Other parts still have the original paint. Other parts have original paint covered with POR-15 and/or Rustoleum. Other parts still are bare metal with some surface rust awaiting paint.

I recently discovered the paint adhesion isn't great everywhere. I power washed the floor this weekend and some paint came off in a few areas, revealing bare metal that I painted over with either POR or Rustoleum. Yikes.

Clearly I need to re-do the floor but I could use some direction. I'm not concerned about looks, I just want corrosion protection. What's the right thing to do here?

Thanks!

I'm no expert but I've been shooting a lot of paint lately. I would scuff and clean everything, and where you find adhesion issues, strip that off out into where you know it's good. If you have some rusty metal than I'd use some kind of rust converter product. Then epoxy primer sealer primer the whole floor, and paint that.

I'm finding epoxy primer to be very strong with great adhesion, as well as being a good base for top coating.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

canyoneer posted:

I want to buy some ramps to make life a little easier in oil changes. I have a Honda Odyssey and a Honda Fit, both fairly low clearance but not to the level of a race car.
Any recommendations? Internet hyperbole tells me that the plastic Rhyno Ramps will shatter and kill me, and the Harbor Freight steel ones will also shatter and kill me. Perhaps it's my time?

I would get well made plastic ramps personally. Interested in anyone who has some to chime in, I've finally concluded they would make my life easier as well. I'm probably going to build some made of 2x12s stacked to give the Sierra like 4.5 inches of height. Even one board gave me a usable but tight workspace. But a good short rampset for the Escape could serve both.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Hunter2 Thompson posted:

Nice advice, it makes sense to remove the paint with adhesion issues. I wasn't sure if the rest had to go too.

Is there any particular epoxy sealer primer you recommend, or is pretty much anything from a reputable brand going to work ok for a floor pan?

Also, what's good for scuffing? I've seen those 3M gummy-looking paint and rust removal wheels you put in drills, then of course various types of wire wheel, and obviously sand paper. I imagine each has their place, but what's best for what?

If the paint that's there hasn't failed I don't see any reason to pull it up, just feather into it and seal the whole thing. A few wet coats of epoxy primer leaves me with an evenly sealed surface. The first coat always shows the areas that were more porous like body filler or flat coatings, but the second wet coat almost always seals that fully, and if not a third coat will for sure.

I've only had experience with the Eastwood epoxy, so I don't know if there's better or worse or what. At this rate it'll take two decades before I've tried even 4 brands. I picked Eastwood since I was already planning to get a bunch of stuff there. The next car is painting means more to me so I'll probably get House of Kolor or similar, but it's like $60 more for a gallon. Looks like UPOLs Raptor is great for over rusty prepped metal though, I would have bought that for sure for my flatbed.

Since a floor pan is likely not a smooth flat surface I would imagine you'll do a lot by hand, so buy a big rear end pack of 3m scuffing pads, and sandpaper for when you hit loose or suspect stuff. Like all the Rustoleum stuff I'd try to remove entirely with 80 or 100 grit. I've been buying the adhesive sandpaper rolls for use on blocks, and they work really well folded over and used by hand.

I used a lot of wire wheel for loose scale and paint, flap wheels for really bad rust or a full stripping, sandpaper for surface issues like loose paint and surface rust. And 3m scuff pads for existing finishes to dull them and give the primer something to grip. Then clean it all with solvent and-or degreaser, then soap and water, then spray way window cleaner to get the last of the dust and fingerprints while wearing gloves. Four pack of spray way at Costco for $7 I think. I've gone thru boxes of Scott Towels In a Box.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

diadem posted:

Thanks to everyone for your advice. My mechanic was amazing when I first found him 10+ years ago, but there was some turnover in his shop over the last few years and my sense of loyalty blinded me to the changing reality. I'll bring my car to my wife's mechanic. In the meantime, my wife hasn't driven since she was first pregnant, so it's not like I need the Pilot at all. (She works remotely on account of the pandemic)

Her current request after I mentioned it may just be a vacuum issue: "Sell. Your. lovely. Car."

She wants me to ditch the Pilot entirely and just drive her Corolla. Her Corolla checks off all the reliability and safety things I need, and really the benefits of an SUV are more "nice to have" than anything else (even with a New England winter coming up). When I complained that her car had blind spots, she just simply added additional mirrors the next day herself to take care of that.

So problem solved I suppose? I have a safe car to drive and a new, better mechanic within walking distance of my house to talk to in order to see if the Pilot's easily salvageable.

The financial advice is clear to me here, get the car fixed and sell it. Eliminate the insurance and registration costs of that car, and fix it first so it's easier to sell, provided the repair is cheap. If the repair is more than, and I'm just pulling a number out of a hat, $750 or $1000, just sell it as is. Looks like if it's in good shape you could get $3500-$5000 out of it, working.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

davebo posted:

First time I've had a car where the battery is in the trunk so I thought I'd ask: if I want to use this car to jump-start another car where the battery is in the engine bay, should I hook the cables up to the battery in the trunk, or the points in the engine bay where the manual says to hook them up to if I had been trying to jump-start THIS car?

For further details, my 2012 Kia Optima won't start. I know the battery is old but since my battery tender shows it as fully charged I'm thinking it's probably the solenoid/starter gone bad but want to try jumping it with my Kia Stinger just to make sure. If it won't start with a jump, do I just have to get it towed to the dealership where it's still under warranty or is there anything else I could try for a one-time start?

No idea on the first part.

On the second part, make sure all your battery connections are clean and tight. 8 years is definitely long enough that some corrosion can be in place and causing high resistance.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Charles posted:

Does the steering angle sensor affect emissions?

Seems like they should update the program to fail only for emissions stuff. That being said it doesn't sound like something you want to ignore.

Do you work for VW? That's a great way to scam the emissions system, run a different tune if the wheel is straight for x amount of time. I think theirs was based on having only two of the wheels turning or something, this works on AWD cars too!

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

MrOnBicycle posted:

What kind of primer would you guys use after wire-wheeling and putting on rust converter on something like a truck frame. Zink primers seem pretty cheap and I've seen people on YouTube use them. Etch priming is perhaps the best (but also much more expensive).

I'm addicted to epoxy primer. I hated it the first couple of times and not having the right solvents to clean up, but now. whew. It's the stuff. Smooth spray, good hard coating, smooth finish. I'm actually near the bottom of the gallon I bought, so I've really gotten used to it.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
Is that meant to be spray smaller sections?

So I'm mixing it and spraying out of a HVLP gun. I choose how much to activate and go, the rest can sit on the shelf for a while.

There's some good canned stuff but I believe it's activate and spray and that's it, use the can or waste it.

Also, I don't know what you intend to topcoat it with but maybe start there and work back. I had some Chassis Coat paint and it specifically said do not use over self etching primer. That paint also was good to go over the rust encap. paint too so that was nice.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

MrOnBicycle posted:

Ah yes. Autocorrect while walking. Yeah mixing myself is probably the way to go to reduce waste as I have a compressor and can buy a cheap gun. Don't know what I'll be top coating with. Likely normal paint and then something skin to fluid film. Or I'll go with some other primer and then a proper chassis paint.

Edit: Bought some that can be brushed on just to cover up exposed metal until I find a good solution.

Nice. When you get to using it write a review somewhere! I mixed what I thought was a tiny amount of this stuff to brush on and I ended up painting the thing I wanted, my vice, and a shooting target before I just tossed the rest. I always end up cleaning and painting any part I take off and it would be nice to keep a quart on hand.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
Roll-On Bedliner. I'm considering UPOL Raptor, tinted, for my flatbed. It's black now and would go to white, I'd consider spraying with a lighter primer (probably epoxy gray or tan) first to help hiding.

My questions: should I worry about epoxy primer first or not? I figure it goes on thick enough that I shouldn't worry but also it won't hurt.

Is rolling it on OK? I think I can borrow the right spray gun for it but I would have to get my hands on a compressor and I don't think the neighbor with the gun has a movable compressor I can use, so I don't know where I would get one.

Is that a good brand? It looks like it and has good review but I like the goon input.

It's 60SF, and coverage appears to be 110-130 per gallon so I'm hoping to get by with two quarts. No sides or anything, just a flat surface 8.5' x 7', diamond plate.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

incogneato posted:

Fair enough. It's not about resale value, though--I hope to drive this into the ground. Visible scratches would probably drive me nuts once I noticed them, though.

If you've been warned that it scratches easily, absolutely put a screen protector on it. I do agree with Motronic to just enjoy things and don't cover them for some mythical resale value, a screen protector doesn't affect your enjoyment of the screen though. May as well cover it while it's perfect. In a few years when it's worn out get another it let it ride.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

JohnnySavs posted:

Would it be worth doing a thread on a double whammy mid-life crisis civic si and miata purchase and tinkering?

:justpost:

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

DrBouvenstein posted:

I am somehow having a lot of trouble finding the part I need, a wire harness/connector to my 2008 Mazda 3S low beam.

This is what it should look like:



I've tried two places so far, AutoZone and RockAuto, both sent me the wrong part despite claiming it was a wire harness that would fit. So I'm turning here before I try a third time.
This is the one AutoZone and Advance Auto want to sell me:
https://www.autozone.com/electrical...wE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Lousy Dorman part that doesn't fit, the socket is too narrow for the terminals coming off the headlight assembly. The Rockauto part had the same problem.

The problem seems to be that the harnesses they've sent do, technically, fit the H7 bulb that the car uses...but this car uses a little socket thingy to hold the bulb in place, and for some reason, the terminals that come off of that socket are slightly wider than a standard H7 bulb.
This is the socket that goes between the blub and wire harness:



So can does anyone know a place that actually has a wire harness to fit into that low beam socket I'm a 2008 3s?

What's weird to me is the connector in your photo looks like a three wire connection, which perhaps Mazda decided all cars get the same connection and sized a socket to fit your bulb? I would take the male end down to the auto parts store and see if you can try a few different pigtails.

This one looks a lot more like the one you have. But if course it's impossible to tell the sizes. https://www.autozone.com/electrical...899_216208_4155

And the ever present option of last resort, just use a couple of blade connectors loose. Will definitely get you light, and you can hit the junkyard at your leisure.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

PainterofCrap posted:

Have decided, after 20-years, to look into getting my '66 Pontiac Bonneville body spruced up and painted.

First estimate was $24K. Nope. So I'm exploring options for getting it partly done/done partly by me/some combination that'll let mer get it looking good for less than I paid for the car ($8000)

We have a detailing thread; do we have a bodywork/bodyshop recommendation thread? I'm weakest at bodywork, but at these prices, I may be willing to give it a go.

My neighbor paid that much and also it took 9 months I think? Maybe 11. It's beautiful, but also was the conversation that lead me to spray my truck outside. I figured I could do it for 10% of that cost with tools, and even if the time was the same it was a huge win.

Idk your skill set but I'd expect anyone at all could get it to a primer state that looked great and only needed a little help and prep before painting, saving a ton of money.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

canyoneer posted:

Now instead of watching dark, out of focus youtube videos narrated by a breathy man I get to print out a few pages to look at in the garage and oops I really should have numbered these pages and why won't this bolt move was it tightened by a silverback gorilla with an 8 foot bar ugh this is taking so much longer than I expected

Assembly is the opposite of disassembly.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Withnail posted:

Thanks I live in colorado. But this was an east coast truck, so it's all rusty and crusty in there.

Also in Colorado and I do it as praxis every time. I've had too many brake caliper bolts that required all of my strength plus 5% to get them loose that it's every time.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

unbuttonedclone posted:

I don't think so (my knowledge is reading lots of things about using Helicoils the last few days - read lots of machinists using it in aluminum) If you're doing a spark plug , well, high-temp RTV doesn't really hold it and that's what the package says to use. Currently have red thread locker curing overnight like all the folks on Youtube say, so hopefully I can start the Escape up in the morning.

What are the chances you can mount a gopro in there to capture anything that might happen?

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

istewart posted:

I'm in the process of resurrecting a 1987 F-150 4x4

I think you're on the right track for diagnostics. Keep tracing continuity and check that there is power from the connector and ground through the wiring harness.

I replaced the same style of sockets on my truck, they crumbled when I tried to take them out, and I had to clean contact points on the PCB to get some to work. I just rub them with a pencil eraser, that gets through the buildup without damaging the contacts.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
Drum brakes are a pain in the rear end but I'm sure you can get a replacement wheel cylinder for it, which is what the bleeder comes from. If not, I'd bet you could extract the remainder of that bleeder and replace it.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Motronic posted:

Valve guide seals. Ignore it. Not worth fixing until it's actually a smoke machine/you are burning a significant amount of oil.

(because this is heads off and rebuilt level of effort)

Yep, I agree with this 100%. It's the same issue with the International.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
Why the hell would anyone try to talk you out of that. It's low risk fun.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
Is there enough coolant in the system? When it's low sometimes you don't get enough to circulate through the heater core.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
STR:

Seems like cheap insurance against the hassle to me. Might be just enough work to get the theives to steal from someone else.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

STR posted:

Yeah, and I live in copland. I've already been stopped twice over it. I've been stopped more times in this sleepy suburb in the ~2 yrs I've been here than in the past 20 loving years combined. :fuckoff:

I've never paid much attention to the antitheft screws - guessing they require clips in the bumper? The ones I saw at Walmart were a very fine pitch, while the screws holding my bracket and plate on right now are basically sheet metal screws with a coarse pitch - but they're just screwed through the plastic bumper cover right now (these are the screws that came with the mounting kit when I bought it last year).. I don't really go into any parts stores except for Advance, and always for an online order pickup, so... don't exactly browse them much. IDGAF about wallowing the holes out to accept inserts/clips if I need to - the car is very much a beater.


Maybe you're overthinking it. Get screws the same size and thread as you have, with a security head. Obviously not "secure" but enough of a PITA that a thief walks to the next car. Probably just some rear end in a top hat with like, a flathead screwdriver.

Now I'm overthinking it too, I'd put a plate cover on as well so you can't just rip the thing off.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Thumbtacks posted:

i am not a car person but money's a bit tight and i'm not going to take my car to a mechanic because i can fix it myself. probably.

i have a mazda3 and it seems to be rough idling, i have no problems driving it but when i'm idle it's a little sputtery. according to google this may be the mass airflow sensor. i can probably clean that myself, i've seen some videos and stuff. if it's NOT that, though, I have no idea what it could be. any other things i should be looking out for or check while i'm fixing this?

Are there any other symptoms? Does it burn oil, is it running at a good temperature or hot or cold, is it leaking anything, does it start well, have you recently made any changes, what's the mileage etc.

Rough idling could be a lot of things. Fuel, air, ignition are all variables which means a ton of possibilities. I think you need a second symptom to do any good diagnostics. Or some diagnostic tools to start ruling things out.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
Oh good. It's not going to just spit out an answer of course, so look at the raw data and see if there are any inconsistencies. I don't know what you'll have access to, stuff like temperature, throttle position, fuel pressure may all help. Also give it a good visual and audible inspection. Perhaps there's a crack in the intake behind the MAF that's letting in extra air, or a cracking spark plug wire.

Also be prepared that you won't figure it out and buying a new MAF doesn't fix it.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
Cunifer is a godsend. Any of the steel lines that looked at me funny were replaced with cunifer with zero hesitation. I don't even think I screwed any up, shockingly.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

wesleywillis posted:

I've always known it as "international red".

Red is the ideal color for an International. Over time they become red on their own.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
That reminds me. The drivers side interior A pillar trim on my wife's 2011 Escape is loose and I can not figure out why I can't clip it back on. Has anyone taken one off and put it on? It's like I can't quite get the tabs aligned, and forcing it didn't help. It looks so janky and I'm shocked she has lived with it for years. It's like a broken windows thing for me too, I feel like if it looks bad she'll treat the car bad and then the car will be bad.

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Colostomy Bag posted:

I also use a big closed end slipped over a ratchet handle for a hillbilly breaker bar in tighter places.

Are 10mm drain plugs common?

I was going to ask that, I've not had one with a head that small before. 15mm or larger in my experience. OP are you sure it's the right bolt?

Edit:because I'm a weirdo I actually looked it up and I guess that's right. What a weird plug design. I would use your best quality six point socket at this point.

StormDrain fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Jan 24, 2021

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Thauros posted:

i was an idiot and physically broke the usb port in my car due to forgetting the phone was both in my pocket and plugged in. exacerbating the issue is that a couple months ago any audio apps (phone calls still function) stopped working over bluetooth. i've unpaired it, re-paired it, done every possible recommended step and it still won't work. the bluetooth system in my car (2015 fiat abarth) is reputed to suck horribly and i'm not the first with this issue.

what's the best way to get a functional car stereo again?

In my wife's Escape we sometimes have to pull the fuse to the stereo and let it reset.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter

Motronic posted:

The next most likely idea at this point are the wrong springs.

Even if that's the right part number - I'd be measuring based on the OME spec for them.

Even could be that the original springs were wrong and these are right.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply