Trucks and cars

[FZR1KG]

Almost done fixing and maintaining after way too long of neglect.
Replaced tires, shocks, plugs, MAP, IAT, oil, filters, O2 sensors, EGR, lower wishbone on one car.
Replaced tires, timing belt, spark plug boot, fuel sensor, repaired transmission on the other car.

Can I just say that the Dodge Dakota V8 is about the most unserviceable car I have ever owned.
They expect either a mechanic with hands like a 3 year old and the strength of Arnie or a list of specialised tools you can only get from Dodge, if they sell it to you.
I had to bite the bullet and let a mechanic change the upstream O2 sensors as it was too much of a PITA to do.
Two hours to change the EGR valve and I have lost a 9mm spanner in the engine bay of hell never to be found again.

The Isuzu Rodeo is not far behind at 8 hrs to replace a timing belt, though I did that one on my own.

But, they both work well now.
Plenty of power and decent fuel economy.
Tomorrow I get a new spanner and tighten the last bolt I couldn't reach while fitting the EGR of death on the Dodge.
Oh, and my hand has almost recovered, I can close it now without pain. Woohoo. Life is good!

[geonuc]

That's a good long list of stuff. You have an engine bay?

[FZR1KG]

That's a good long list of stuff. You have an engine bay?

The engine bay is between the firewall and the radiator and the two front fenders, where the engine sits in the car.
What is it called in the USA?

[cid]

Cheese on crackers...it'd probably have been cheaper (and a lot simpler) just to remove the radiator cap and drive a new truck under it...

[FZR1KG]

Cheese on crackers...it'd probably have been cheaper (and a lot simpler) just to remove the radiator cap and drive a new truck under it...

Can you speak it the engles?

[geonuc]

That's a good long list of stuff. You have an engine bay?

The engine bay is between the firewall and the radiator and the two front fenders, where the engine sits in the car.
What is it called in the USA?

Oh, I thought you meant a service bay. My bad.

How the hell can you lose a spanner in the engine bay?

[SciFiFisher]

That's a good long list of stuff. You have an engine bay?

The engine bay is between the firewall and the radiator and the two front fenders, where the engine sits in the car.
What is it called in the USA?

That's an engine compartment in the U.S.

[cid]

How the hell can you lose a spanner in the engine bay?

This boy hasn't done a whole lot of work under the hood, has he?

[FZR1KG]

How the hell can you lose a spanner in the engine bay?

I have to admit I like CiDs response but it doesn't explain things.

Modern cars (90's and above) have tightly packed engine bays.
While I understand that my hands are large compared to average not even my wifes hands could get into some of these areas.
That means its pretty much impossible to have a reliable grip on tools.
Some tools such as ratchets come with a locking release to stop the socket coming out, but, the extensions for it don't.
Getting a socket and extension into a spot that requires a 90 degree bend and has only an inch of clearance means you have to fit the socket and extension first.
Then you attach the ratchet.
Needless to say leaning into the engine bay so far that you're on your toes because they "conviniently" placed the EGR valve after the last drivers side cylinder next to the firewall and four inches down in a truck with a V8 to, just to twist a 6 inch 1/2 inch extension 90 degrees then drop it straight down onto the bolt suing only your fingertips is pretty prone to having the extension slip out and fall.
Then we add credit to the designers ingenuity because they left recesses everywhere inside the valley covers so large that a sane person might wonder if it was originally intended to secretly transport 20 pounds of drugs from Mexico per vehicle. Guess where any dropped tools go?

It took half an our with a mechanics lighted mirror and a lighted bendable and extendable retrieval magnet to get that fucker out again.

Then we have the same situation with a small metric spanner because its impossible to get a socket and ratchet in there to tighten the bolt.
The clearance they left requires you to turn the bolt about 30 degrees of a turn, remove the spanner, spin the spanner 180 degrees so you can engage the open end to pick up the last 30 degrees (hex bolts have 60 degree angles and open end spanners are offset deliberately to enable locking at part angles) and repeat the process about 20 times. Spinning a spanner while on tippy toes and full body extension with the tips of your fingers is really prone to droppage. Especially as each turn get your knuckles hit against steel because they left as much piping in there as they could.
Speaking of piping, who the hell designs solid (non flexible) piping that creates a partial knot when installed?
The PCV valve and the EGR valve piping form a interweaving knot when fitted. I cursed many times at the stupidity of that one seeing as there was a far easier and shorter path that would have left room as well. Who the hell does that?
That one may be discovered by future historians when they find the vehicle buried in 20 metres of mud where I dumped it to safe guard it from ever torturing another human being again.

Geonuc, did that help explain how things get lost in an engine bay? LOL

[geonuc]

I always worked on proper cars that had room in the engine bay, so while I dropped lots of stuff, I always could recover it. Ain't no way I'm doing anything under the hood (bonnet) with the Acura, the Pathfinder or the Corolla.

[SciFiFisher]

I realized my shade tree mechanic days were numbered when the car I owned needed to have the engine removed to change the starter.

[FZR1KG]

I realized my shade tree mechanic days were numbered when the car I owned needed to have the engine removed to change the starter.

There are cars out that need the engine removed to replace the spark plugs.
No shit.

I always worked on proper cars that had room in the engine bay, so while I dropped lots of stuff, I always could recover it. Ain't no way I'm doing anything under the hood (bonnet) with the Acura, the Pathfinder or the Corolla.

I don't think they make proper cars any more.
The last semi decent car I worked on was a ford Courier diesel, Ford ranger here in the USA but it was never release here with the diesel option.
That was a 2001 model, mechanical diesel pump, mechanical injectors.
Changing the timing belt took 20 minutes.
The hardest part was dealing with the turbo but that I can understand. its not always easy to design a very accessible turbo on a car but it wasn't too bad either.

The Dodge Dakota (2006) however rates as the worst car I have worked on.
The Rodeo (2001) isn't much better. 8hrs for a timing belt. Seriously????
Sure I could have done it a in about 6 if I had the tools I needed on hand and 6 hrs is the estimated time to do it from Isuzu.
Same as the water pump.
One guy on the internet said it was one of the most complex jobs he's ever done. I won't agree with that but its a total PITFA.

I need to become a millionaire so I can pay someone to do this shit instead of laying on our crushed rock driveway doing car repairs.
The good news is that my back no is no longer able to be pierced by man made objects like knives, swords and possibly medium calibre firearms.
The thousands of little cuts have joined together and formed an impenetrable shield of armor.

[geonuc]

My 71 Datsun 240Z was a proper car.

[cid]

Modern cars (90's and above) have tightly packed engine bays.

No kidding. My first car (that ran) was a '64 Rambler American 2 door, 232CI I-6, 3 on the tree + overdrive.
There wasn't anything under the hood that you conldn't fix with a rock and the top of an old tin can. You could
sit on the fender and drop your feet into the engine bay ON BOTH SIDES while doing a tuneup or whatnot.
And when's the last time you figured out the engine won't start because the tab on the condenser is on upside
down and grounding out inside the distributor??
I used to have a notebook I whomped up on the Rambler -- all the engine specs, how to do this, how to make that
do that...any more, I can't even tell you what color the block in the Cavalier is painted...

There are cars out that need the engine removed to replace the spark plugs. No shit.

Absolutely. My roomie in the Air Force had a '69 Mustang with a 429 SOHC motor. Throbbed at idle like a 17-year-old
at a strip club, ran like a scalded dog, and sucked premium fuel like a free diver coming up for air. Want to change plugs?
To get to the last one on each side of the engine, you had to loosen the motor mounts and jack up the engine to clear
the cross-bracing for the front suspension. PITFA indeed...

[FZR1KG]

I still remember cars where you can look into the engine bay and see the ground.
The F100 4wd 1979 model we sat on the fenders to work on the engine too.
I could get under it without a jack to raise it.
The 4wd dakota needs body stands though I can just manage to squeeze in with 1/2 inch between my chest and the frame.
The Isuzu 4wd I have to put on body stands to get under.
My diesel back in oz, no problem. No stands, no jack required.

I looked into the engine bay of a Kia once. Once.
That thing I couldn't even see the engine. It was plastic covering so much they may as well left off the hood.

The F100 used to fly. Had a 302 in it with 4 bolt mains but blew that and put in a 351. It went slower but I never had the chance to tune it up as it got stolen.
Getting the thing bogged was a nightmare. Had it bogged in Q.L.D. once while loaded to about 4 tons gross.
Took a day to get it out and we had another car pulling it.
Probably the most unreliable car I ever had too.
2 engines, two 9inch diffs, three clutches two of which were twin plate (load of crap they are), one steering box, one radiator, springs, shocks, pan hard rod, steering damper gas system, multiple sets of bushes, two carbies and the sunroof. Pretty sure I left a few things out.
Not built to take Aussie heat or conditions let me tell you.
It did go 1000km on one tank of gas but I had a 330 litre gas tank. Back when LPG was like 15 cents per litre it was great but then it jumped up to 50 cents and it was useless.
Oh, and it spluttered every time it was a grey cloud.
junk junk junk.

[cid]

It reads out! It's computer controlled! It vibrates! It shifts to the next level (so to speak)!

With a little compute-o-geek ingenuity, someone has developed a shift knob (for the moment, for the Shelby GT500 Mustang) that has a built-in gear readout, and interfaces with the engine control system to vibrate when it's time to shift...and he got the idea and some parts from an XBox 360...

...for those late night lover's lane tete-a-tetes...that vibrating shift knob has potential...



...oh sure...like the same idea didn't occur to you...

[Parrothead]

Heck, just what it takes in some cases replacing a headlight. Sealed units, may have taken a bit of time, depending on model. Once you had the trim around it loose, you could just pull down from the top, get it unplugged, plug replacement in, replace a couple of screws and be good to go. Now with the halogen bulbs, one is usually accessible enough, the other you either take off half the back of your hand trying to get the bulb out or you look at it and say "How the fuck am I supposed to get at that!".

ETA: It always seems to be the latter one that needs replacing.

[SciFiFisher]

The really sad trend in motor vehicle repair is that the technicians are not learning how to troubleshoot and diagnose cars. You hook the car up to an analyzer and if the analyzer doesn't spit out an error code they can't tell you what is wrong. Cookie had a car that would die (just turn itself off) while driving down the highway. She had a shop tell her there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with it because the anaylyzer would not spit out any error codes.

[Loresinger]

If the day ever comes that Iky can drive again, I will find a way to get him a red mustang convertible (the one that was driven off a pier by a "friend" so many years ago) or maybe I will wait until medical issues subside and just trade in my car for a red hardtop (convertible and winter do not match)

[cid]

When it went on special, I thought that little 12VDC air compressor from Harbor Freight sounded good. Well, they don't sell that particular
model any more according to the website, so it's a good thing I got one along with the 8' extendabll clip-it-to-the-battery power socket.
Finally unpacked it/hooked it up/filled that low tire on the car. It takes forever and a day (we're not talkin' industrial capacity here), and I don't
exactly trust the pressure gauge on it, but I do have a good tire pressure gauge to make checks with, and it all comes out in the wash.

So...if you're looking for something to take care of that cash burning a hole in your pocket, and there's a Harbor Freight close, checking to see
if they've got that little ultra-cheapo cigarette lighter socket compressor and the battery clip/power socket gizmo to have stashed in the back
of the car is a good thing. if you have to fill a tire/a basketball/a volleyball/an air mattress/etc it's a nice thing (comes with extra needles/adapters to fill stuff).

Harbor Freight has almost the same effect on me that the tool department at Sears has on Tim Allen...

[cid]

Drove Mom up to Toledo to see nephew-in-jail over the weekend, and on the way back, stopped by for some pictures of a historical site...

Willys-Overland Motors was born in 1912 after its purchase in 1908. Suffice it to say it had a long and varied history, but the company in various guises has been and always will be famous for one thing -- the Jeep.

When people think of driving in bad conditions (mud, snow, bad roads, Apocalypse), the word 'jeep' comes to mind. But the famed factory where Jeeps
were born is no more...


As you drive up to what used to be the plant front gate, you're confronted by a lock and this sign. The place is now an EPA superfund cleanup site...


The only thing left standing is the factory smokestack, dating back to when the factory was built in the 1930's...

For those wishing to pay a short visit to this motorized holy of holies, it's just off I-75 as you go through Toledo.
There are signs that make it fairly obvious which exit to take.
Where is the main gate of the old plant?
Where else would it be?

...right at the intersection of Jeep Parkway and Willys Parkway...

...ahhh...motorhead memories...

[cid]

Well, someone had to have it...

Talk about a Saturday night cruiser with provenance...the very first Mustang sold has been restored to all
its pony car beauty...

[cid]

Ya gotta buy all four, but tires are cheap...they don't use the front ones...

[cid]

I have been on at least 4 of these in the last 10 days...

#'s 3, 4, 5, and 10...I can't say they're the worst (that always lies around the next bend), but they are
memorable...for what reasons, I won't say...

[cid]

A Jag XK-E...sigh...