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Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 08-30-2008, 08:22 PM:
 
For the last couple of months, the clutch on my car has been getting progressively worse and worse. On Monday, I ordered most of the parts I needed to replace it, expecting to lay my car up for a week or two once my sister turns 18 and gets a car and license. That way, between her car and my brother who lives with me, it wouldn't be a huge deal. Well, my car decided that it had its own plans, and the clutch completely gave it up Wednesday night. Fortunately, I didn't have unchangeable plans this weekend, so I've got enough time to work on it, but the last parts I need won't be in until Tuesday morning, so hopefully reassembly goes smoothly.

Anyone else work on their own cars and relish being greased up laying on their back on concrete as much as I do? I got rust particles in my eyes today twice while dropping my exhaust before digging out my safety glasses. One of my least favorite things, so a good reason to have some eye protection on hand.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-30-2008, 08:41 PM:
 
I don't work on my own car as a rule outside of changing light bulbs and other easily-replaceable parts because I'm just experienced enough to be dangerous, but your thread is apparently mistitled...after reading your post, it should either be "My car sucks" or "I love working on cars."
 

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Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 08-30-2008, 08:42 PM:
 
Yes,

In the past three months I have replaced the engine with a higher compression one, transmission, front and rear brakes, headlight capsules, removed and installed my supercharger again to upgrade the intercooler, welded up a 2.5" mandrel bent exhaust, and many other things on my 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. I take pride in doing things myself, especially things that others would shy away from.

It keeps me out of trouble and out of sleep. But I now have a 12 second 1/4 mile FWD grocery getter and a lot less cash.
 

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Posted by Tristan Lane (Member # 1169) on 08-30-2008, 09:29 PM:
 

quote: Adam Fraser

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my 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP

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quote: Adam Fraser

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replaced the engine with a higher compression one

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quote: Galen Murphy-Fahlgren

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the principle of cars being generally poorly packaged for working on in your driveway transcends make, model, and age.

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Very true! I'm in the auto parts business by day. People who try to work on their own late-model cars without the right equipment probably replace a lot more parts than they really need to.
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 08-31-2008, 12:02 AM:
 
In April, I tagged me this 1990 Ply RS Turbo from one of the BLVD dealers here in Nampa for a grand:




Thing ran pretty awful and found out why:

Horrible boost leaks everywhere, timing was way out of kilter, No. 1 spark plug well was full of water *gasp* which killed that plug, knock sensor wire was ripped off giving me a CEL light causing weakened turbo response, two motor mounts collapsed, one injector was acting up, no. T-stat installed ... and the T-belt was in horrible condition.

After shoving 400 bucks into the T-belt area of replacing the two belts, all the pulleys, autotensioner, dried out that sparkplug well (figuring that I might of had a cracked head down in that well to get water in it, but got lucky on that area), replacing two mounts, "T-stat" and flushing the junk, rust and crud out of the block and radiator, removed the AC condensor since the AC was disconnected, finding a good knock sensor out at the local junkyard, fixing all of the leakage, getting timing back to specs...and finding out that the 4G63 motor in this thing is a JDM EVO-1 motor with a large TD05-big16G turbo hanging on the front and getting a new set of injectors from a DSM forums member that had a new set of injectors plus fuel rail, I now can manage to press my front seat passengers in their seat without any problems when I hit boost..... and with no engine managment of any kind....just that danged torque steer is present with these turboed FWD cars that have unequal CV axles.

Oh, and EVO-1 motors were hitting 255hp out of the factory.

..and if I behave and keep the throttle from hitting boost during shifting and driving, I can still hit close to 30mpg with this "road rocket."

..now for the body work to fill in door dings and a good repaint job.

And this is my 3rd DSM to play with ...

I love sports cars ...

quote: Tristan Lane

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Mine detonated like a sonofabitch on anything less than premium

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quote: Galen Murphy-Fahlgren

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is Washington a 93 octane state

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quote: Galen Murphy-Fahlgren

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Anyone else work on their own cars and relish being greased up laying on their back on concrete as much as I do?

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quote: Bruce

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Our coot friend, Phil...

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Brad Jr =


 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 09-12-2008, 04:18 PM:
 
I used to work on cars out of necessity when I worked at a theater and made poor man's wages. For the cost of an oil change in today's world it isn't worth the hassle of disposing of the used oil and what not.

I am very mechanically inclined but never had much interest in cars. I would always try fixing one problem only to break three other things because they were rusted and would not come off the car to get to the original broken part. Oh, and I hated busting my knuckles all the frickin time. With the invention of Mechanix gloves I bet that would be much better now.

If I buy a car and I drive it for say....8-10 years, after that it's worth about nothing and full of rust and worn out parts. I can buy a precision machined projector for 1/4 the cost and run it day in and day out, and 50 years from now if I take care of it, it will still be in great shape. I would much rather invest my time and money in something that will last a lot longer and cost me a hell of a lot less.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-12-2008, 04:57 PM:
 
Here in Utah there are lots of old cars still running. I saw a Chevy Vega Wagon yesterday that actually didn't have any rust on it at all, anmd it wasn't bel;ching a cloud of smoke behind it..., was probably on its 12th engine or so. The problem here is that cars last so long that the supply of parts to keep em running hits bottom.

On my cars the Land Rover got a new Tranny last January... considering I beat the tar out of it off road and it's British I guess thats not too bad and they replaced it with a brand new unit anyway. The Hummer has been zero problem at all. It just runs and runs and ya can't kill it. I figure these may be my last SUV's ever so at least the Hummer has to hit the 5 year mark.

Mark
 

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Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 09-12-2008, 08:38 PM:
 

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

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On my cars the Land Rover got a new Tranny last January... considering I beat the tar out of it off road and it's British I guess thats not too bad and they replaced it with a brand new unit anyway.

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Didn't Land Rover just get bought by a company in India or Africa or something? I wonder if that will make parts harder to come by.
 

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Posted by Marc Hansen (Member # 705) on 09-12-2008, 10:57 PM:
 
Tata Motors of India a huge conglomerate in Asia & Europe part of the Tata Group. They bought it to get the North American dealership network. They have a new ultra cheap economy car they want to sell here. They also bought Jaguar. The Tata Nano is rumored to be in the 2000 to 4000 dollar range. Since they intend to keep and expand the dealer network parts availability should be no problem.
Marc
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 09-13-2008, 12:50 AM:
 
Heh, my car is normally pretty sweet, getting 37.5MPG City. Plain old gas, no hybrid, no e-85, etc. Especially with the latest gas hikes the past few days. However, I feel it may cost me a little bit. When I go to start it, I turn the key, the starter soleniod fires to engage the pinion, but the motor doesn't turn. There's not even a groan or an attempt to turn the engine. I can do the a few times and eventually it'll run happily starting the engine. But over the past few days, it's becoming more difficult and have had to use the advantage of an incline to effectively push start it. I'm thinking that the motor in the starter itself is fine, but whatever switch closes to enable to run, which apparently only engages after the pinion is engaged so as to not grind it, is getting flaky. I'm thinking that pretty much equates to a new starter anyhoe. I don't think I can replace just that switch. Damn fool cars. Maybe I need to break out my bike.
 

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Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 09-13-2008, 11:43 AM:
 
Phil:

Charles: Replace the starter drive overrunning clutch on your current starter motor. Its also known as a 'starter bendix'
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 09-13-2008, 07:07 PM:
 
Probably nearly as expensive, and as much a pain, just to replace the whole darned thing. However, I'll look into it for sure if it'll save me a few bucks.
 

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Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 09-13-2008, 11:06 PM:
 
Early on in my driving career I had a number of cars with manual transmissions. Then in 1954 Chevrolet came out with a "Powerglide" automatic transmission. I bought one and every vehicle I've owned since then has had automatic transmissions. So, no clutch problems. I don't understand the popularity of stick shifts with young drivers unless they like to imagine they're in the Indy 500 or want to make their pipes bang louder.
 

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Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 09-14-2008, 07:34 AM:
 
Stick-shifts are great! You get total control of your 'go-power.' There's nothing like dropping it down a gear and blasting down the highway or powering around a curve. Although I admit having a stick in a small car usually is just extra work for no fun ... I do like a manual transmission in an SUV for off road, as you can control your speed much easier. But the wife can't drive a stick, so my current SUV is auto.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-14-2008, 08:32 AM:
 

quote: Marc Hansen

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They bought it to get the North American dealership network.

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quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

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their mechanics are assembly replacers not mechanics actually capable of any real repair job... If your tranny goes they replace the whole tranny, if the engine goes they replace the whole engine, same for the differential...

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Exactly right Mark, I own an automotive machine shop and my customer base includes 11 new car dealerships and none of them have real mechanics anymore, just parts replacers. 20 years ago they would each average 2000 - 4000 a month with me, now a BIG month is 200. Any really good mechanic has gotten fed up and went out on his own. We still get the work, just not from the dealers. Since I have full access to the dealer shops I have seen things being done that would scare the HELL out of you.
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 09-16-2008, 05:09 AM:
 
Well, now the start's working like a champ. It goes to show you kids, if you ignore a problem for long enough, it'll resolve itself. Ok, ok. So the problem's not actually fixed, but I do feel better that it can wait till my next day off (Fri) so I'll have time to check it out fully, and hopefully fix it.

quote: Robert E. Allen

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I don't understand the popularity of stick shifts

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quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

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Most LR owners go to local (real) mechanics that specialize in LR's.

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quote: Robert E. Allen

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I don't understand the popularity of stick shifts with young drivers

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I learned stick when I was 8 yrs old driving a small IH FARMALL Model A tractor (right hand drive with dual brakes and clutch with a tranny that wasn't syncronized) on our small farm pulling a one bottom plow, hay rake, or cultivator...along with just having fun driving it.



My 80 yr old mother will not drive automatic either-she hates them-and when she bought her new KIA Spectra in 2006, she thought about automatic, but chose the manual.

Yet, when doing Driver's ED in high school, all we had was automatic cars. Yet, when I started to drive, it was standards to where I 'forgot' how to drive automatic one day due to the habit of hitting the clutch pedal and hitting the break pedal instead and always sending myself into the steering wheel.

Auto trannies are more of PITA to me since it's such a complicated tranny compared to the manual tranny since there are so many small parts inside of them that can easilly fail - keeping an eye on the fluid levels (both in tranny and radiator for if you have a boilover, tranny suffers also since the fluid runs through the radiator and heat kills auto trannies in a quick), along with some domestic manufacturers just can't build auto trannies to last as long as a good ol manual tranny with auto tranny repair robs your life savings.

But, in all due actuality, the main reason I like manuals is that I have full control of the car. I let off the gas, the motor acts like a brake, suddenly slowing me down along with my downshifting until I need to touch the brake. You let off the gas with an auto, all you do is just coast until you have to do the brakes. Also, why there are more brake jobs needed with auto cars than with manual cars..if the driver does the above.

Granted, with auto trannies, there is no break in the power stream when it's shifting, but the down side is that there isn's the 100% transfer of power between engine and the wheels since the fluid is in between the two, whereas the clutch disks are ensuring the 100% transfer of power to the wheels - why the MPG on a manual is higher than the auto version.

So, I also support what Charles also said .. "the control thing with driving manuals" with my choice of vehicles also.
 

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Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 09-16-2008, 02:50 PM:
 
Charles and Monte have it just about dead on. Between the superior durability of a manual trans and the superior efficiency of the system, it is a done deal for me. Manual systems also weigh less, both in total weight and rotating mass.

Control is a huge part of it for me too, as is tactile response. A manual driver is much more likely to be able to "feel out" their car, and I can head off problems with a variety of systems through early detection. Example: since liquid cooling systems are often operated via belt driven pump, the system generally functions at a proportionally lesser degree to heat production at low engine speed. Hence, if I suspect a cooling problem, I can find it before it would plague typical vehicle operation just by keeping my engine speed extremely low, down around 1200rpm. While I never drive at these engine speeds in normal circumstances, the system is designed to accommodate this set of factors, but you may notice an increase over normal operating temperatures if your system is in the early stages of failure, like if you have radiator damage or blockage, the pump isn't providing enough pressure at low engine speeds to overcome this failure. Conversely, I am aware of a problem with the system, I can get the coolant flowing faster by maintaining a higher engine speed, hence pump speed.

All these points aside, I was raised driving manual cars since I was 13 and am less comfortable driving automatic. My father hasn't had an automatic since the '70s, and my mother only drives autos because she needs a car with seven usable seats. Since my dad was always the one who had the most cars (and fastest), I usually drove what he wasn't using. My mother's only spare car was her full sized van, and being in high school and driving a full size half ton van with a weak 302ci V8 isn't as cool as a turbo 5cyl Audi.
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-16-2008, 07:47 PM:
 

quote: Galen Murphy-Fahlgren

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the system generally functions at a proportionally lesser degree to heat production at low engine speed.

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...this may work if you didn't have a T-stat in the circuit in an old 1962 CHEV 292cid "Stovebolt Straight 6",but all motors needs the T-stat to help the motor be at its most temperature range for proper operation.

Plus with new motors, all of them are computer monitored. If the coolant not at a correct temp reading, the temp sensor will tell the ECU that the motor isn't hot enough for the correct range and the ECU to tell the injectors to shove in more fuel to get the motor at the programmed temperature operating range. Thus, you take out the T-stat, or the T-stat is stuck open, your fuel ecomony will go to pot in a quick due to the system is running
super rich as all get out with the injectors shoving in tons more fuel than necessary.

All the sensors under the hood have to be left alone to conform to a 'closed loop' connection with the ECU. If any sensor fails or is unplugged, this is called 'an open loop" condition and the ECU then has to make the best judgement to get things back "in the loop of things."

Thus, it doesn't really matter if one drives slow or fast, the temp reading will always be the same.

Also, if one does prev maintenance on their vehicles, cooling issues and failures are completely eliminated with regular, two year, system flushes.

Plus, you should know that the WP pulley is usually smaller than the crank pulley. thus it's always spinning over 1k RPM's when the motor is on idle at 750 rpm. And a WP is working quite well at that shaft speed.

I have a good one to ask the youngers since we got on the topic of manual transmissions: Any of yous know what the term "three on the tree" is related to?

-Monte
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 09-16-2008, 09:58 PM:
 
Hmm, heard it before, and may have been told it before, but I have a memory comprable to a 90yr old crack addic with both alheimers and dementia. I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached. But I'm guessing it has to do with the shift pattern looking like a tree, and 3 gears? Or maybe the tree is some alternate term for the steering column, and so 3 gears on the column. I know four on the floor means a floor mounted shifter with 4 gears.
 

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Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 09-17-2008, 12:33 AM:
 
Trucks sick too. My 02 Ranger (nicknamed the Rump Ranger) (heck, my 2000 YZ250 dirt bike is named Double Nuts) decided that this past week, when I had NO money, was the perfect time to have the heater control valve explode and dump all the coolant on La Brea Ave. in about 25 seconds.

Luckily, I had just renewed my insurance with emergency towing. I got the truck back to my palatial estate, rode my mountain bike to the parts store and got a replacement valve.

Got it back together in an hour or so.

At least Double Nuts doesn't give me as many problems, though it still has an attitude problem.
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 09-17-2008, 03:11 AM:
 
My parents 1962 Chevy 2 Nova and 1970 AMC Hornet both had "3 in the tree". Both also had small block V-6s. The Chevy was built like a tank. The Hornet, not so much.
Oh...one of my coworkers thought if he drove his car fast over a flooded section of road (Lubbock had it's record one-day rainfall last Thursday) his car would skim over the water. It didn't work. He got water in his engine.
 

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Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 09-17-2008, 03:24 AM:
 

quote: Monte L Fullmer

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Any of yous know what the term "three on the tree" is related to?

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quote: James Westbrook

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My parents 1962 Chevy 2 Nova and 1970 AMC Hornet both had "3 in the tree". Both also had small block V-6s

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Interesting - didn't know that '70 Hornets had V6's - thought they had either the 196cid (from Rambler days), or the 232cid straight 6. Then in 1972 they grew up to get either the 258 or the 304cidV8 like my '72 Gremlin X had in it with a 3.91 rear end with a 3sp on the floor.

But, I bet that Hornet received a odd firing Buick "Fireball" V6 that the AMC Jeep "CJ" counterparts were using..and so did the Chev II's, which were eventually christened as the "Nova"

Remember when Buick took that motor and made a 225cid all-aluminum V-6? One of the rarist motors to find, and when it was new, that entire motor had that shine of freshly molded aluminum sitting under the hood driving a prop shaft all the way back to the tranny that was directly connected to the differential in a Starfire.
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 09-17-2008, 01:54 PM:
 
I don't recall the Buick reconfigurating the V-6.
I'll be honest: I was a kid when we had those 2 cars. I recall someone showing me how to count spark plug wires to determine the number of cylinders the engine had and I recall, in the Hornet, as 3 on one side and 3 on the other. It could have been a straight 6 as I have slept several thousand days since then (1974).
The Hornet was traded in for a 73 Chevy Nova, 2 door, with a 307 V8. I drove this car through High School.
I recall there had been some controversy where Buicks got Oldsmobile engines or vise-versa...in the 70s or 80s. I didn't understand the controversy then and still don't.
 

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Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 09-17-2008, 06:56 PM:
 
Oh, those Oldsmobile Rocket V8's. I sure do miss them.
 

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Posted by Todd McCracken (Member # 4718) on 09-17-2008, 07:30 PM:
 
I had a 73 hornet with the most ultimate set of 8-tracks

To my knowlege they were all straight 6's. Mine certianly was, though if memorey serves it was huge. Loved the desert setting on the AC, you could make ice with that thing.
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 09-17-2008, 09:30 PM:
 
Grr. I wish I had an AC like that. I'd be one cool dude.
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-17-2008, 09:38 PM:
 
AMC used a lot of Chrysler components (using TorqueFlight auto trannies and AC systems) in their 70's vehicles. Yet, the ignition system for the v8's was GM DELCO ignition.
 

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Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 09-17-2008, 09:41 PM:
 

quote: Robert E. Allen

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I don't understand the popularity of stick shifts with young drivers unless they like to imagine they're in the Indy 500 or want to make their pipes bang louder.

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