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Re: Reasons To Be Grumpy thread

Started by jumbojak, October 27, 2012, 09:21:31 PM

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jumbojak

Quote from: Claireliontamer on January 02, 2016, 11:29:28 AMWas going to say this to you yesterday but forgot, I'll probably forget again so before I do....do you think it has anything to do with hitting the deer?

I seriously doubt it. The issue seems to be related to a combination of the rain we had and a faulty sensor. The deer just wrecked a headlight and bent a fender and the hood.

"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

jumbojak

Quote from: Guardian85 on January 02, 2016, 11:37:28 AM
He hit a deer? Did you eat it?

No. She hit and ran.... my brother's first question was "where is the deer?!" His freezer is running low....

"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

Biggus Dickus

Quote from: jumbojak on January 02, 2016, 01:12:44 PM
Quote from: Guardian85 on January 02, 2016, 11:37:28 AM
He hit a deer? Did you eat it?

No. She hit and ran.... my brother's first question was "where is the deer?!" His freezer is running low....

Nothing like a good piece of road kill. Here in Michigan a couple blokes got into a fist fight over a deer that was laying dead on the roadside. One guy had hit the deer and gone home to get his truck, when he came back another guy was loading the deer onto his vehicle.

Can't beat venison...worth a good fist fight (As long as you win)

Good luck with the car JJ.
"Some people just need a high-five. In the face. With a chair."

jumbojak


"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

Icarus

JJ those damned new fangled cars are actually the product of a conspiracy. What with all the electronic goodies, owner servicing is almost impossible unless you have serious diagnostic instrumentation.  ECM, NO2 sensor, MAF sensor, crank trigger sensor, and PITA (pain in the ass) sensor, the whole deal is a can of worms foisted on us by an evil syndicate in the east.

My Honda Element had an air bag recall. The dealer did it at no cost but the friggin dashboard light came on soon after the replacement. The light is a warning that the air bags are inoperable. Honda dealer would diagnose the problem for $85. Then maybe $1500 to make the airbags light go off depending on whatever the problem might be. I have a car tech friend with the appropriate diagnostic instrument. In less than 60 seconds he and the magic box determined that the driver side seat belt buckle was faulty. A new buckle from the Honda dealer is $208.  I opened the buckle with a tool that most sane people do not have. The damned buckle was laden with dirt and cookie crumbs or whatever. I cleaned it and the micro switch within the buckle works just fine. I have saved $208 but most people do not have the tools or mechanical knowledge and skills to do such a thing. I say again........ A conspiracy. 

While I was in the Honda dealers "Service advisor" area a customer was settling the bill for routine maintenance for his Honda Pilot. It was a routine maintenance deal. The customer was a little taken aback by the 900 plus dollar bill. The service advisor read him the itemized bill.........A new set of spark plugs, $360 dollars. No shit batman $360 dollars for six spark plugs and the removal and replacement labor charge. Oh Joy. Yep, my tech guy tells me that flat rate R&R to change that vehicles spark plugs is two and a half hours.  You have to release two of the motor mounts to tilt the engine so that you can get at the three plugs in the rear. Some of the GM front drive cars have the same ill conceived design characteristic.

Way back in the day I bought a new 1964 Dodge Dart with the slant six engine. That car got much better fuel mileage than my late model Honda, my wife's Subaru Outback, or her Nissan Altima, or her Mitsubishi Diamonte, or my Mazda MPV.  The little Dodge had no electronic doo dads, it could be repaired with a pair of pliers and a screwdriver, it did not need a diagnostic magic box to tell me that it would like me to replace the plugs or the distributor cap. The little Dart never gave me a minutes trouble in 80,000 miles. I could replace the spark plugs, all six of them, in ten minutes.


jumbojak

Dealerships are a ripoff no matter where you go or what you do. The plugs on a transverse V6 can be a pain - if you don't know the trick. It's as simple as putting the transmission in neutral and using a prybar to tilt the engine forward. Those hydraulic motor mounts in modern cars come in handy for more than just reducing engine vibration. A helper is a plus but one person can do the job if they pin things in the right places.

Fuel filters are similarly tricky. Whereas most older vehicles had a pair of nuts holding the filter in the lines late model cars often have a plastic clip which "requires" a special tool sold by the Snappy man to remove. Two pieces of stiff, bent metal will accomplish the same. Just remember to pull the fuel pump relay and start the engine with what little fuel is left in the lines to depressurize the system. Gas spraying everywhere is no fun at all.

Some auto parts places even have a scanner capable of pulling stored codes along with employees skilled enough to use them. With that and a bit of patience and capacity for understanding it's possible to diagnose just about any sensor related issue. With minimal hand tools and rudimentary skills using them your diagnosis can be used to fix the problem. Just don't expect the idiot light to go off immediately. It can take a day or so for the ECU to come to terms with a new sensor.

That might seem like a pain but it's considerably better than the good old' days when a valve job was considered routine maintainance. Pulling a head and servicing the valvetrain is a job that requires special tooling and experience. I've done it before but lack the tools to do it for myself. Heck, I don't even have a torque wrench, so I would be apprehensive about changing a head gasket myself, though I've done that too. Sure, you can do without one - the proper tightening order is actually more important than the torque spec - but it's still something I'd rather borrow than do without.

All in all I'd take a modern vehicle over a classic. They have their charms but they also have serious issues. One of those grass looks greener from the other side sort of things. Good codes, analytical skills, and internet access can seriously reduce your repair bill. Think about the problem from the simplest to the most complex, get some codes, and do your research. Then shop around for parts. It's usually cheaper and faster than getting a vehicle into a shop and waiting for them to get around to fixing it. 

"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

OldGit

Yes, maintainance of the older cars was cheaper and simpler in some ways - grinding in the valves was hard work, but not rocket science compared with chasing down elusive computer-based faults.

For me, the main point was that they were constantly needing maintainance.  My first Mini actually had six grease nipples to be done every 6,000 miles with an oil and filter change.  The points were always closing up and the mixture didn't stay right for long, nor did the finicky adjustment of the drum brakes.  Etc etc.  Modern cars may cost a bomb fo fix, but it isn't needed nearly so often.

Crow

Quote from: OldGit on January 03, 2016, 11:40:05 AM
Yes, maintainance of the older cars was cheaper and simpler in some ways - grinding in the valves was hard work, but not rocket science compared with chasing down elusive computer-based faults.

For me, the main point was that they were constantly needing maintainance.  My first Mini actually had six grease nipples to be done every 6,000 miles with an oil and filter change.  The points were always closing up and the mixture didn't stay right for long, nor did the finicky adjustment of the drum brakes.  Etc etc.  Modern cars may cost a bomb fo fix, but it isn't needed nearly so often.

Also with many new cars you are covered by their guarantees, especially if you lease rather than buy. Which is the only sensible option if you want to have new models of cars though may not sit well with people who like to own things.
Retired member.

OldGit


Biggus Dickus

Quote from: jumbojak on January 03, 2016, 03:33:07 AM
Quote from: Bruno de la Pole on January 02, 2016, 10:17:04 PM
Nothing like a good piece of road kill.

Bruno's new theme song.... https://youtu.be/qdI4kmvVqfc

I like that, "Five Pounds of Possum in My Headlight Tonight"!

Yeehaw!
"Some people just need a high-five. In the face. With a chair."

Icarus

My background in automotive performance adventure is extensive. I have been an acknowledged authority for induction and exhaust systems for many years. I have built hundreds of race engines and thousands of heads modified by me. Only two years ago I sold my flow bench, cam analyzers, and dynamometers. I'm getting too old to mess with  all that stuff. It was a great 50 year ride and I enjoyed it immensely. Just today I was cleaning out my garage and came across some certificates of completion for OMC (mostly outboards) schools that I attended. I am also a master machinist, graduate mechanical engineer, and certified gearhead. Not only that but I am a curmudgeonly old bastard who is not happy with the state of automotive affairs.

Cylinder heads have improved by a large margin. We do not need to do valve jobs every 6000 miles because the metallurgy of valves, seats and guides,has improved so much. OG is right about the old Brit stuff. Minis, Vauxhalls, Hillmans and the rest had valve gear made of cheese. ( I think that is was French cheese OG.) 

OG if you are reading this, I once had  a Hillman Husky that I liked very well. I also had an AJS 18cs race bike that I loved.  I did get some factory help with the AJay as it was a fierce closed circuit road racer that I campaigned for awhile. The bike was better than its rider, I am almost ashamed to admit. The AJS was the first McCandless swinging arm bike to appear in America.

Later I became a BMW-NSU motorcycle dealer. My NSU race bike was a consistent winner at club racing events. Wop bikes...excuse the non PC expression... like Pirellas, and Ducatis, along with German bikes like DKW, or Brit bikes like Triumph or even Vincents were no match for the Kraut scooter for which I also got factory help. If you remember the IOM events and others of the time, you may recall that the NSU Rennmax was  king of the hill in its day.

Back to the Honda dealer, the Toyota dealer and all the rest. JJ is spot on that the dealers are  criminal extortionists as far as the service department goes. My local Toyota service department hourly shop rate is $120. Not to be outdone the BMW dealer service department rate is $150. That is based on the book flat rate manual. A mechanic....we don't call them mechanics anymore,...  are "service technicians". Those who can not beat the flat rate manual is an imposter. Someone tell me why the BMWs and others have a plastic cover over the whole damned engine so that one can not even determine that a combustion engine is under all that pretty black hidey thing.  Of course it must be removed for servicing the engine which takes time at an exorbitant labor rate that does nothing for the customers welfare, budget, or children's college fund.

You can have your modern day miraculous, technologically superior vehicles.  That damned old primitive Dodge Dart did get significantly better fuel mileage than my 2.5 liter, four valve, Vtec, fuel injected, four cylinder, ultra modern, electronically inspired, engine. It also cost far less to maintain given the current state of standardized larceny of the dealerships. My 67 Ford did pretty well too, better than my wifes  Nissan Altima and way better than the Mitsubishi. OK so the Diamonte was a hot rod, the thing would go like a rocket. At lot more thrilling than the lowly little Dart. The Mitsu was also a frequent visitor to the dealers repair shop. Superior valve and seat metallurgy did not seem to mitigate the cost of driving and maintaining the beast.

Thanks to all you HAFers for allowing me to vent so effusively.  ;D

jumbojak

The cover often functions as part of the cooling system. The sensors on top of the engine last longer when not exposed to the heat rolling off of the exhaust, so usually the radiator fan has a port that forces cool air over the intake and all of the sensors located there. This also helps to cool the intake manifold itself, somewhat, resulting in a slightly denser fuel charge.

You did ask........

"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

Davin

Quote from: Icarus on December 25, 2015, 01:52:49 AM
Davin I do hope that you were able to make a dent in the ultra conservative armor of your relatives.
I might never know. For me it was enough to get them to stop trying to defend their ridiculousness.
Always question all authorities because the authority you don't question is the most dangerous... except me, never question me.

Biggus Dickus

Today was the first Monday of the year after the long holiday, and I think it is trying be worse than the previous year's Mondays. I came into the office early today to get a jump on my work, but didn't get in as early as I wanted because I couldn't find my car keys this morning, so I had to grab the spare set which was in our guest bedroom where we have family staying with us from Honduras...so I had to creep into their room this morning to get the keys out of the desk, and tripped over a small suitcase they had on the floor.

I didn't see it because not wanting to turn on the light at 6:am and wake them I thought I could do it in the dark, needless to say I woke them both up when I crashed into the nightstand. (I think I yelled fuck fairly loud as well)

About mid-afternoon I could barely stand an odd itching on my leg, so I went to the bathroom to check and see if I had a rash or something and discovered a dryer sheet trapped against my thigh inside my pants.

Odd thing is my pants are dry-cleaned, plus I do all my own laundry and don't use dryer sheets, so I'm sure I would have noticed a dryer sheet when I was folding my undies...really?

To top it all off, as I was locking up our server room here at work I snagged my sweater (Practically new) on the corner of a shelf, and tore a hole in it.

I want to start over...fucking year of monkey:(


"Some people just need a high-five. In the face. With a chair."

Siz

First day back at work for me too. A real rude awakening too as I had to be in St Albans by 8:30am. This normally means leaving the house at 6am to avoid the traffic which does get me to site at around 7:30am. I consider this a better option than wading through traffic later on - I usually take a leasurely breakfast somewhere near my site. Anyway, because of a power outage caused by a faulty toaster on Sunday the time on my alarm clock was lost. So just before bed I had to set it... except I set it an hour late. The result: I was woken at 4:30am and left the house at 5am. Yes, I'm a tired bunny now!

When one sleeps on the floor one need not worry about falling out of bed - Anton LaVey

The universe is a cold, uncaring void. The key to happiness isn't a search for meaning, it's to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually you'll be dead!